| House Of Luxor By Tanith |
 |
| Disclaimers - I don not own any of the characters from the Mummy films Rating - General/horror Characters - Rick/Ardeth/Tanith/Jonathan/Evy Summery - People from mummy put in different time, place and story. Feedback - Yes Please ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ |
| It was a large house, set behind a big wall, with towers, windows, carvings on the walls and statues all over the place. It was just outside Luxor and no-one had lived there for quite a few years. It had a bit of a reputation, haunted people said, so when the last family moved out a few years ago, it had remained empty. The man who built it, in 1850, had murdered his wife, her mother and their 2 children, then killed himself. It was said that he still haunted the house and had been seen running with an axe in his hand. The reason the last family left was because they couldn't put up with the screams, the crying and the banging. Their children had been terrified so the house went up for sale. But no-one wanted it. People even said it was the curse of the pharaohs. Over the years it had fell into disrepair and the statues were getting broken. The local people who walked past, wouldn't even look at it. Someone one day would buy it and probably pull it down but until then, it stood, with it's dark windows and locked doors, on it's sandy hill, overshadowed by the temples of Luxor. Tanith had flown out to Luxor because she wanted to see the temples and also because she wanted to see Ardeth Bay, Rick and Jonathan who had been doing a mummy film. She had met them before and had got on well with Ardeth and Jonathan, and she really liked Ardeth. While she was waiting for the others to arrive, she met Evy who was there to see Rick. "I want to do a bit of sight-seeing while I am here" she said "I'm into haunted houses and tombs" "Maybe we could go together" replid Tanith. "It could interesting" "Yeah great, wouldn't it be good if we could drag Ardeth, Rick and Jonathan along too" "depends if they are busy or if they want some company or not. I don't Know about Rick but Ardeth can be moody and totally ignore you, but there would be no harm in asking but doubt it" Jonathan was the first to arrive and seemed really pleased to see Tanith. He gave her a big hug. "How nice to see you Tanith" he said "it's been a long time, what are you doing, here?" "I borrowed some money, got a flight when heard Ardeth would be here for 2 weeks and I'll take it from there" "Do you still love him?" asked Jonathan. "Yes, it's been over a year, I must be mad, knowing he doesn't love me" " it's a long time to love someone without getting anything back. Others would have given up" "I'll never give up, as I said I'm a fool but there's nothing I can do about it" Jonathan got his key and went up to his room. He told the girls he would be back down in about an hour. Ardeth should be there by early evening and Rick was flying in the next day, earlier than planned, which pleased Evy. The filming was not till, Friday, tomorrow in fact, not long to wait then they could see what Ardeth and them were doing at the weekend. When Ardeth came in, he saw Tanith with Jonathan. He looked pissed off but Tanith knew it was hard to tell sometimes. He never spoke until he was ready, he got his key and went upstairs. "He looks in a right mood" said Tanith. "I'll give him a few minutes then I'll go up and see" said Jonathan. He came back down nearly an hour later and went over to reception then came over to Tanith and Evy. "He's not in a mood, he says he has a splitting, headache, had it all day and can't shift it. He said he'll have a shower and then a rest before he comes down. He was quite pleased to see you believe it or not." By the time he did come down, Evy and jonathan had gone to bed. Tanith sat in the lounge with a cup of tea. He ordered a coffee and came and sat with her. "Hi Tanith how you doing?" "I'm OK, yourself" she asked "I'm fine, surprised to see you here. | thought you'd forgotten about me, it's ages since saw you." They chatted for about an hour, all the while Tanith could see that he must still have that headache. |n the end she asked him. "Have you still got that headache Ardeth?" "Yeah, it's a bad one, nothing I've taken seems to make any difference. | get them every so often, it's to do with the injury got to my eye a few years ago. That is why I am only drinking coffee tonight. I'd love a drink but I've taken too many painkillers for that. How did YOU know?" "Oh Jonathan told me, and it shows in your face. Look can I try something, it-might help" "I can't take any more tablets" he said. "NO, it's nothing like that. this sofa is huge, if you'll! trust me, come and lay down. There is only us here now, it's nearly midnight" He got up, reluctantly and went and laid on the sofa with his head at one end. Tanith knelt down behind him. "| won't hurt, just close your eyes and relax" She began to massage his temples and forehead. This got rid of headaches on some people. "Where did you learn to do this?" asked Ardeth. "A friend, nears ago, but it doesn't work on everyone" "Well it's working on me, my headache is actually easing off. trouble is, it's making me go to sleep" Tanith carried on for about minutes, you didn't need to do it for too long, she got up. "how's that, better?" As she looked at him, she realized that he was asleep. She smiled. "Can I get you anything else?" said a voice behind her. Looking round, she saw the waiter standing there. "Thank you, I'll have another tea please, is it ok for him being there?" "Yes, there's no-one here now, | go off in an hour so you can stay as long as you like" Ten minutes later he came back, under his arm was a blanket. "I thought you might like this, he'll feel cold when he wakes up" "THat's very kind or you, thank you" He left the tea tray and went back to the kitchens. Tanith covered Ardeth with the blanket and sat in the chair next to him. /At least the sofa was comfortable, not hard like some or them.She must have fallen asleep in the chair because when she woke and looked at her watch, she saw it was 4 am. Ardeth was still asleep, she bent down and kissed his forehead as she went to look out or the window. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning she saw Ardeth standing there. "God you made me jump" "How Iong have | been asleep?" he asked. "It's nearly 4am" she replied looking at her watch "How's the headache?" "It's nearly gone, I didn't mean o fall asleep on you, it's massaging my head made me relax" "Well you must have needed it, |'m glad it worked" Ardeth put his hands on her shoulders, she leant against him. "Why don't you come up to my room, I want to have a shower and change" Tanith followed him upstairs and sat watching the T\/ while he had a shower. He came out of the bathroom with a dressing gown on, his hair still wet. He sat down beside her and put his arm round her. "Your hair is all wet" she laughed. "So" He shook his head and she got covered in water. She tried to get up but-he pulled her closer and kissed her. "Do you really love me?" he asked. "What do you think?" she replied blushing. They didn't make love but they kissed and cuddled on the bed, then both or them fell asleep. |t was 9 am when they woke up. "Ardeth what do you think or haunted houses, do you believe in them?" "Well; l've never been in one but yes | believe in ghosts, why?" She told him what her and Evy were going to do on Saturday and wondered if he and the others wanted to go with them. "I'm game, assuming that we have nothing else on, Jonathan will probable come but I don't know about Rick " "I hope so for Evy's sake" said Tanith. Later that day, Tanith and Evy came back into the hotel, they had been out shopping. Ardeth was busy and Tanith didn't say anything about the night before. As they walked in Jonathan came over. "Tanith, Ardeth wants to see you, he's in there" Tanith and Evy walked into the lounge and saw Ardeth sitting with Rick. He beckoned them over. "Hi Ardeth, Rick" said Tanith " This is Evy" "sit down" said Rick. Ardeth smiled at Tanith and ordered tea and more coffee. "I had a word with Rick about what you asked earlier" said Ardeth. "Yes, I understand you want to go ghost hunting" he said. "Well there's a house ouside Luxor, that hasn't been lived in for years and is reported to be haunted. I thought we could go there and stay overnight, see what happens" answered Evy. "We'll need to take warm clothes, food and sleeping, bags, as we don't know what's inside. There might not be any furniture or anything, let alone electric" said Tanith. "We'll arrange that" said Ardeth "Look we're going out but will be back about tonight. We'll meet you in here, I'll get all the stuff with Rick during the day" They all agreed and said their farewells till later. The day passed without incident as did the evening. Come the Saturday morning, they all met up in the lobby. Rick had organized a car and after packing all their stuff in the boot, then waited for Jonathan and then they would be off. Ardeth drove and had looked at the route before they left. They didn't have any filming till Tuesday so they could make a long weekend of it. Tanith sat beside Ardeth and Evy sat in between Rick and Jonathan. Ardeth had informed Tanith that Rick was quite taken with Evy with her long brown hair, which Tanith was quite pleased about. Evy had liked Rick ever since he had been in the first film and this was a dream come true for her. It didn't taken them long to find the place and wandered through the old statues. "Is that the place?" asked Ardeth. "This is it, great isn't it" replied Evy. They went up to the front door which was set on top of about 10 steps. Getting out of the car, they stood and looked up at the place. " This place is spooky" said Jonathan "And we're going to stay here?" "It looks this way because nobody has lived here for years" said Rick "| suppose anyway" "Oh well, come on, let's go in" said Tanith. "Who has the key?" asked Rick. "We don't need one" replied Tanith "Look" She pushed the big door, it opened, it wasn't locked because no-one would go near the place to nick anything. Walking through the doors, they came into a large hall, with several doors leading off it. "| thought no-one lived here, this place is perfect" said Tanith. "| don't understand, when I got a letter about this place, it said It was dusty, in total need of repair. Out this is weird" There were lights all over the hall, polished floors, carvings on the walls. |t looked like it had always been lived in. They walked into the other rooms, all were the same, perfectly furnished, very comfortable. One room had a very large table in it, with place settings for 5 people. As though they were expected. "I don't like this place" said Rick "There is an aura or evilness about it" "Don't be silly), | grant YOU it's strange but evil....." replied Evy. "Evy, when did you say this place was built?" asked Jonathan. "The 185O's, the story goes that the family who built it were murdered by the husband and it's them that haunt the house, why?" "Haven't you noticed, everything, apart from the lights, are from that era. The furniture, the curtains, everything. Obviously the lights were put in by a later family but you'd have thought they would have changed the furniture" replied Jonathan. Rick was standing by the door, he genuinely looked scared, which was funny in a way, considering what he did for a living. Tanith went over to him and put her hand on his arm. "Come on Rick, it's ok, it's only a house" "Maybe but I'm not normally wrong about a place, we should leave" He walked into the hall, Ardeth came over as Tanith watched Rick in the hall. "What's wrong?" asked Ardeth. "Its Rick, he's scared or this place, | mean, really scared" "I'll have a word" Ardeth went to talk to Rick who had by now, gone outside. Tanith went back to the others, They decided to explore the rest or the house. As they got to the stairs which were at the end of the hall, Ardeth and Rick came in with their stuff. Obviously Ardeth had persuaded Rick to stay. "We're going to look upstairs and find what rooms we can use to sleep in" said Evy "This place is big enough to house an army" They found lots or rooms on the first floor, some or which were locked but the bedrooms were lovely. The furnishings were just like downstairs. Finding a room each was easy but Evy said her and Tanith could share, Ardeth had one on his own but next to Tanith and Evy. Jonathan and Rick had the rooms opposite, Rick was still very unsure and would really have liked to share a room. Maybe he could persuade Evy later.Each room was the same in some ways but different in others. All had carvings on the walls, stained glass and huge beds. The beds were made up and after looked very comfortable. By the time they had sorted out their stuff it was about 2pm and they all met downstairs for something to eat. On the sideboard was a lavish lunch, chicken, vegetables, deserts etc. Where did it come from? "There must be someone here" said Jonathan "This doesn't just appear" "Let's go and rind out, | suggest we find the Kitchen" replied Ardeth. It didn't take them long to find it and although there was no-one there, there was a note. |t said 'Hope you enjoy the food, | will be back tomorrow noon to prepare your meals. | was informed you were arriving today, sorry to have missed you ~ Mrs Duncan. "What does she mean, informed, who told her we were coming?" asked Tanith- "Well I didn't" replied Evy "As far as I knew the place was a wreck" "At least we have a meal already cooked" said Ardeth "I suggest we eat it, we'll see her tomorrow perhaps she can tell us who told her. Come on" They all sat down to a lovely meal and then relaxed in the bug lounge, It was the length of the house and nearly as wide, with large sofas, chairs, bookcases full of books and a huge fireplace at the far end. Jonathan got a fire going and they sat down with a drink. All except Rick, he was pacing the floor. "Rick, come and relax" said Evy. "] can't, |'m going for a walk" he replied. "We'll he be alright?" asked Evy "Yeah, he's always been sensitive to places and situations, he'll settle down soon.' Rick went up the stairs to his room, when he got there he decided to have a shower but the house didn't have any, only baths. He ran the water and went to change into a dressing: gown. He returned to the bathroom and stepped into the bath; hoping it would relax him.Suddenly he heard a banging noise coming from the bedroom. He called out but no-one answered. He swore under his breath and got out or the bath to see what it was. When he got to the door, there was no-one there, he tutted and went back to his bath.As he lay there, he thought he saw the carvings on the wall move. He must be tired he thought. But as he looked then were definitely moving, Then he heard a voice, a little boys voice, it called his name. "Rick, Rick, you have come home, you must help me. Rick, Rick" "Who's there, come on, stop messing about" he shouted. Going into the bedroom, he noticed the curtains blowing and the window open. He certainly hadn't opened it. He closed it tight and re-arranged the curtains. He. heard the voice again. "Help me Rick, help me" He somehow knew it wasn't any or the others but he also, at the moment wasn't scared or the voice, it calmed him somehow. It was the house that scared him. The voice seemed to be coming from the fireplace in the room. they all had one. He walked over to it, on the top were carvings or animals and above the fireplace was an oil painting or a family.Just a lady with two children, one about 6 and one or about 10, both boys. The voice seemed to be coming from the painting. "Who are yOU?" he asked. "What do YOU WAnt?" "YOU have to help us, you have to stop him, Rick you have to stop him" "Stop who, who do I have to stop, I don't understand" "Help us Rick, YOU have to find us and help us" He wanted to look at the painting closer up, so he got a chair to stand on. He was 6ft 2" tall but the painting was high on the wall, Standing on the chair, he leant over the carved animals and touched the painting,. The 10 year old boy had blonde hair, a long race with blue eyes, the 6 year old had dark hair with brown eyes. The woman was sitting on a chair with the boys standing next to her. She had a crinoline on, with her hair high on her head in the style of the day. He guessed about 1850-1860. He had to put his hand on the lion carving at the front or the fireplace to keep his balance, Suddenly he felt the carving move, literally and before he knew what had happened, he had been knocked across the room, landing against the bed. stunned for a minute, he got up and looked at the lion, it was been earlier, a wooden carving. His race stung and he walked over to the dressing table and looked in the mirror. All down one side of his face, were four long scratches, that were bleeding. Just as if he had been caught by a cats paw, a large cat. He was angry and picked up an ornament off the dressing, table and threw it at the carving, to prove to himself that it was wood. It bounced off the lions head and landed on the floor, He turned to look at the scratches again, when out of the blue, the ornament was picked up by something, and thrown back at him, hitting; him on the side of the head, knocking him out. Outside on the landing, Tanith and Evy were going to their room to get something when then heard a bang coming from Rick's room. Evy knocked on his door. "Rick, are you alright?" There was no answer, so she went and looking round the door, saw the ornament smashed on the floor, by the bottom of the bed. As she walked over to it, she spotted Rick laying on the floor. She ran over to him and shouted to Tanith to get the others, Tanith ran to the top of the stairs and shouted for Ardeth and Jonathan. "Ardeth, Jonathan, get up here quick, it's Rick." They raced out or the lounge, up the stairs and into Rick's room. Evy had Rick's head on her lap with a damp sponge, trying to bring him round. Slowly it worked. "Rick, what happened?" asked Ardeth helping him to his feet and sitting him down on the bed. "YOU WOuldn't believe me if I told you" he replied. "Try us" he said. Rick related the story of what had happened and waited for the others to laugh, Evy had gone downstairs and brought back a brandy and got Rick to drink it. "Don't you think that's funny?" asked Rick. "We're not laughing Rick, you don't get scratches and a bump that size from nothing" said Ardeth. "But you don't exactly believe me do you?" said Rick. But the carvings are solid wood Rick, Look" said Jonathan as he hit one. "The bump could have been caused BY this chandelier, it's hanging down which it wasn't earlier on, it looks like the cord has broke. If it did, that swinging down could have hit you" "But that doesn't explain the scratches" said Rick. "And what about the voices" "YOU WEre tired, that's all" replied Ardeth. "Okay, we'll leave it there for now" said Rick. "Here, let me clean those cuts up" said Evy "I've found some antiseptic, keep still" The others went downstairs and Ardeth poured a drink. "What do you think?" asked Jonathan. "He's just tired, we've been filming for a month without a break" said Ardeth " and I think he was waiting for something to happen to justify the house, I'm sure he'll be alright" "Well, I don't know about you" said Tanith "But I am going to explore this place, anyone else want to." She walked out to the hall and into one or the other rooms. Upstairs Evy had got Rick to lay down for a while. He was exhausted although he wouldn't admit it. "Get some sleep" said Evy "I'll be back later alright" "Thanks Evy" he replied "I'll be okay" She shut the door and went to find Tanith. Ardeth and Jonathan stayed in the lounge having a drink. Ardeth was also tired and said he was going to have a lay down. That left Jonathan who not wanting to have a sleep decided to and explore the house. One of the rooms then went in wasn't very big but off this room was another corridor that seemed to go on forever, with doors leading off it. "Have you noticed the carvings on some or these doors, they are either of children or animals, whoever did them was good at his trade" said Jonathan. Tanith opened a door about half-way down, but it was stuck, she called Jonathan over to give her a hand to open it. They pushed it very hard and it suddenly gave way. The room beyond was covered in dustcovers and cobwebs, This was what they had been expecting, for the rest of the house. Evy pulled off some of the covers to reveal, children toys and a cradle. "Look at this" said Jonathan 'it's one of those funny gramophone things that you wind up. I wonder if it still works" Jonathan found a disc and put it on, then turning the handle a few times, put the needle on the disc, it did work, very crackly but it placed, jt sounded like 20's music. Evy was trying one of the toys, that also worked. It was a lovely room and then wondered why it had been left like this when the rest or the house had been cleaned up.They left that room and went further up the corridor. What none or them noticed was that as then left, the cradle started rocking all by itself and one of the musical baby things started playing.Back in Rick's room, he was dozing;, his face still stung and his head hurt a bit. As he lay there the windows seemed to open by themselves and the net curtains blew out into the room. As they blew, a child face cold be seen making an impression in the net, then the voice could be heard again. "Rick, wake up Rick, help us" Rick opened his cues and sat up, he could have sworn he heard something, feeling a draught, he looked towards the window and saw the curtains blowing into the room. He was about to get up and close the windows when he saw the face in them and the heard the child's voice. "Rick, help us, please find us" "Who are you, what do you want from me?" "We want you to find us and stop him from finding us" "Stop who from finding YOU?" "father, he wants us, he won't leave us alone, he keeps trying to find us" Rick got out of bed and walked over to the window, the face disappeared. He pulled the windows shut again and as he turned round, the carvings on the door to his room seemed to come to life. It was a man, who looked like he was carrying an axe. "Come here" he called "Come back" "Get away from us" called out the boys voice, "save us Rick" The voices faded away and the man disappeared through the fireplace. Rick went over to look at it when suddenly, with a loud bang the flue fell down and soot flew out into the room covering everything. Rick screamed in surprise. Ardeth came bursting in the door. "What's wrong, what's happened?" This time Rick wasn't going to say anything, he made an excuse. "| was trying to do something with the fire and the flue roll down, sorry" The others came running, in, and burst out laughing at the state or Rick, he was covered from head to root in soot. looking at himself, even he had to laugh. "I think you need another bath Rick" laughed Ardeth "We'll have a look at the fire and try and clean this place up a bit. As he went back into the bathroom, he wondered what had caused the fire to do that and what was going on with the children and the man. He would have to find out. Somewhere in that house there must be a library with some records in it, all these old houses kept family records. He would have a word with Evy, she would help him without telling the others.The others cleaned up his room, it didn't take that long, he had got most it, it had looked worse than it was. They finished and Jonathan, Rick and Evy went downstairs. Ardeth went into his room and Tanith told the others she would be down in a minute, She knocked on Ardeths door. "Come in" he said "| wanted a word with you" "Something's up isn't it, you didn't believe what Rick said happened did you?" "No, I'll tell you why, .just before he yelled, I was then walking past to go downstairs, when | heard this voice, or thought | heard a voice, coming from his room" "What sort of voice?" "|t sounded like a child, asking Rick to help them, then I heard a mans voice, not Rick, shouting come here, next thing there is a bang and Rick screams" "So what he said earlier could be right, why didn't you say anything in front of the others? "I'm not sure net, but I think we should keep an eye on Rick, something is happening to him here, for whatever reason something in this house is after him, I know we all laughed when he said he was scared or this place but | am beginning to think he could be right" "Maybe we should leave, get him out or here, or at least tell him we believe him" We will, but we'll leave it till tomorrow, see what else, if anything, happens" "But what if it's putting his lire in danger?" "At the first sign of anything like that we'll leave. I'll bet my last dollar that Rick is, right now trying to find out more about this house and who those people are, we will just have to make sure he doesn't get hurt doing it, because he won't leave till he has, I know him" Ardeth was looking out or the window, Tanith went over and put her arms round his waist. He sighed. "Something wanted us here, wanted Rick here, it wasn't Evy, this house has been done up for us, we have to find out why" He turned round and held Tanith tight, she took his hand and lead him over to the bed and jumping back onto it, pulled Ardeth beside her and holding the side of his face with her hand, kissed him gently. He responded and pushed her onto the bed. "Where is Rick and Evy? asked Tanith. "They went off to have a look round, | didn't want to, they'll beback soon" "I think I'll go and look for them" replied Ardeth "ARE YOU COming?" "Yes, I'll come, but where do we start, this house is huge?" said Tanith. "Well, if Rick is going to look for anything to do with this house, first we'll look in the library, that is a good place to start" The library was right down the end or the corridor off to the left or the hall, whoever built this place, loved corridors. As then went in, Ardeth switched on the lights, as the shutters were closed at the windows. It was a large room, with shelves on every wall, all full or dusty books, at least the higher shelves were where they could be reached they were free or dust.There was a large desk in the middle, with about 4 chairs scattered about the room. Again the ceiling; and fireplace were covered in carvings, but these ones were or little imps and demons, with angels on the ceiling being chased by the demons, oral least that is what it looked like. "Well there are enough books here to keep anyone busy for a long time" said Ardeth "But no sign or Rick" "Lets have a look at these ones over here" said Tanith "'They are dusty enough to have been here a long time" Ardeth stood on the library ladder an passed some or them down to Tanith, who piled them on the desk, then they both started to look through them. Meanwhile, Evy and Rick had found their way down to the basement, it covered the whole area or the house and was dark and musty. Evy went one Way and Rick went the other. Both would call the other if they found anything.It looked like it was quite empty at first, but as they walked through, they found old furniture, books, trunks and other things that looked like they hadn't been used for years.Rick found a door behind one or the trunks and pushed it open. He had to turn on the torch he had brought with him as it was so dark. What he saw startled him and he dropped the torch. Feeling, around, he found it and switched it on again, shining the beam around, he saw an altar at the far end, with a cross in the middle and candles either end. Qn one or the walls were more pictures or the family that was on his bedroom wall. This wasn't what startled him, it was that all the walls and altar were covered in blood, not fresh blood, but old blood, dried and fading, but anyone could see what it was.He stepped outside the door and called Evy. After several calls, she came over and asked what he had found. He looked fairly shaken and pointed into the room.Evy went in and after seeing, what was in there, went back to the main room of the basement. "My God, Rick, what ever happened in there, there's blood everywhere, and the bones and the altar. " Bones, what bones?" "On the floor, several bones and a skull, didn't uou see them?" Rick walked into the room again and looked, then he came out. "| was so startled by the blood that | didn't look on the floor, whose are then, whose blood is it?" "I don't know but let's set out of here and find the others, and have another look tomorrow, it's getting late and I could do with some sleep" Rick took a deep breath and agreed. Just as they were walking back to the lounge, Rick stopped and motioned Evy to be quiet. "Did you hear that?" he asked. "I didn't hear anything; Rick, what was it?^ "Oh, probably nothing" he replied as a gust of wind blew down the corridor and shut a door at the far end. "Just the wind" As they walked on he looked behind him. He definitely heard voices, children's voices, he had to find out what was going on tomorrow. Evy had agreed to help him to an extent but he wouldn't say anything to the others, they would think he was mad. He didn't want to stay in the house, he didn't like it but something was intriguing him about the place and he had to rind out what.They reached the lounge and all or them had a drink before retiring to bed, Nothing was said about anything now, tomorrow would be soon enough. As they got to their rooms and said goodnight to each other, Ardeth whispered to Tanith, to come to his room he had round something in the library when she had gone to make a drink. The others shut the doors and everything seemed quiet. "] thought YOU weren't going to say anything till tomorrow" said Tanith. "I'm not going to to Rick but | wanted to know what you thought or this" replied Ardeth. He opened a book that was laying on his bed and took out a folded piece of paper, It was old and faded and he was careful in opening it, in case it fell apart. On it was a family tree, probably or the family that built the place. "Look at the names or the last few entries" said Ardeth. Tanith picked it up and looked at it carefully, she looked back Ardeth. "It's Connellson, so what?" " Connellson,, O'Connellson, O'Connell, it's the same name as Ricks" "So that could be the connection why things are happening to him, these people could be his ancestors. We have to tell him" She looked through the rest or the book and at the back was some blank pages that had been written on. |t was a list or names, with ages beside them. "Did you see this Ardeth?" He came over and they looked at it closely. There were the names of a lot of children all with lines through their names. "I wonder who they were?" said Ardeth"It seems strange that they have all been crossed out and not one or them over 12." "We'll have to look for other books tomorrow that might tell us, if they are not in the library we will have to try the attic. Attics are normally full or things that people don't use or want to keep." Ardeth put the book on the dressing table and poured himself a drink from the decanter that he had brought from downstairs. He laid on the bed with the drink in his hand. Tanith went and laid next to him. He drank the whiskey, put theglass down and they both snuggled up and fell asleep almost straight away. Evy couldn't sleep, so she put on her dressing sown and knocked on Rick's door. He opened it and asked her in. "I couldn't sleep either" he said "I keep thinking about that room." He sat on the bed with his hand on his head, she sat beside him and put her arm round him. "Why don't we just leave this place in the morning, it's not doing you any goodand | am beginning to think you were right about the place" "N0 I know I said when we got here that I wasn't going to stay, but I have to find out what is going on here. I did hear those voices and I did see something, I can't leave, not yet" "Ok we'll stay for a while, but if anything dangerous happens, we leave, ok" Rick agreed and went into the bathroom, Evy climbed into bed and waited for him to come back. She knew it was being selfish but she was going to take this opportunity to try and get a bit closer to him. She liked him, although he wasn't- no oil painting, he had come there by choice, no-one had forced him to. He came back in and looked at Evy on the bed, smiled and got in with her. "We shouldn't really be doing this, but I don't want to be alone tonight Evy" "Neither do |" she replied. About 3am, Evy woke up as she thought she heard a banging noise in the room. She sat up in bed and looked at Rick, he was asleep. As she looked around the room, she could see nothing so laid back down. Suddenly another bang made her jump and woke Rick. "What on earth was that?" she asked. "I don't know" he replied. The banging, seemed to be coming, from the fireplace. Evy reached for the light beside the bed, but it wouldn't work. As they looked towards the fireplace, a faint green light, in the form of a mist, seemed to come from the grate and move out into the room. It formed into a child of about 10 years old, a boy, in a night shirt. "Rick, you have to help us, he knows you are here, he must not find us, we have to hide from him. YOU must stop him" "HOW CAn I help you, what do you want me to do" asked Rick "Where are you, | can't help you unless i know where you are" "Look in the basement, we are there, so is he, help us Rick." Just as he finished speaking there was a loud banging and the boy in the mist disappeared and a man appeared from the fireplace, with an axe in his hand. Rick recognized him as the man in the picture, he stopped at the bed. "Leave this place or die" said the man. He left as quickly as he had come, leaving Evy shocked at what she had seen. She put her hand on Rick's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Rick, I should have believed you this afternoon, is that what you saw earlier?" "Yes, but I didn't see the boy that time, well I don't think I did, I heard him and I heard the man. have to go down to the basement" He got out of bed and put his dressing gown on. Evy tried to make him wait till the morning but he wouldn't, telling her that he had to find out more about this. "Ok, but | am coming with you, you heard what he said, you are not going down there on your own." "I don't believe it will hurt me" he replied. "Oh no, look what's happened to you so far, that bump and those scratches are no figments of your imagination, they are real" "Alright, I take your point, come on" They crept past the other rooms, they didn't want to wake them up. At the bottom of the stairs they picked up the torches and went down to the basement. It was even darker and creepier than earlier on. Rick and Evy went straight o the little room where the altar was. Looking round, apart from the few bones on the floor, there wasn't really anything there. "Let's have a look around the rest of the basement, there must be something else here" said Evy. It took them about an hour to cover the whole place but couldn't find anything obvious. Rick sat down on an old trunk and sighed. "Maybe there isn't anything here after all" said Rick "Perhaps it was in my imagination" "Well if that is the case, why did I see it too, if there is something here, we have to find it" "But where, we have looked everywhere" replied Rick. "Then we'll have to look harder, move some of this stuff, maybe there's a hidden door or something" As she spoke a green mist appeared at the other end of the basement. "Rick look" said Evy quietly. The mist got bigger and moved towards them then disappeared through the floor. They walked over to the spot where it had gone, there were some boxes and a large trunk in the way. "There must be something under this lot" said Rick. "Lets move it and have a look" Evy moved the small boxes and Rick moved the trunk. Where the trunk had been standing, was a trap-door with a large bolt and padlock. "We need something to break this lock" said Rick. He looked around to find something he could use. After a few minutes he came back with a metal bar. Wedging it behind the bolt and the padlock, prized it off. It didn't take that much force as it was fairly rusty. Moving the bits out of the way, Rick lifted the trapdoor. Evy shone the torch into the hole, it seemed never mending but there was a ladder on one side. "Shall we go down?" asked Evy. "We have to" replied Rick "I'll go first" He stepped onto the first rung of the ladder and descended into the blackness. Evy followed. The ladder must have only been about 20ft long but it seemed to take ages to reach the bottom. They shone the torches round when they did step onto solid ground. It was a large tomb of sorts, quarried out of the rock under the house. It wasn't as large as the basement but sloped downwards. As they walked down the slope they saw that there was two doors, barred and bolted on one side. Rick put his shoulder to the first and it gave way quite easily. Inside were about 20 small coffins, several were open and they gingerly looked inside.There were bodies of children and they guessed that the others contained the same. "My God Rick, these couldn't have been more than about 8 or 10 years old. Who were they? I thought the man who lived here only had 2 boys" "So did I and why are they locked in here?" They looked closely at one of the bodies, Rick pointed out a hole in the top of the head of one of the children. "I would take a guess that this child was murdered" he said. Leaving that room, they went to the next door and it opened just as easy. Inside this room were 4 coffins, 2 adult and 2 children, one was separate from the others. This time Rick prized the lid off one of them, to have a look. It was one of the children, you could see that this child had been murdered too. The other two with this one were the same. The one with woman in it, had on the same dress that was in the painting in his bedroom. "These must have been the family in the portrait. That coffin over there must contain the father" said Evy. The lid to this coffin wasn't nailed down, so Rick just pushed it across. Inside it was empty, he was obviously wrong. Suddenly a noise behind them made them turn round. Standing in the doorway was the man in the portrait or at least the ghostly shape of the man. Evy stepped behind Rick. The man spoke. "You have gone too far, you will die for this" Then he disappeared, Evy took hold of Ricks hand. "What did he mean by that and if we are to die, why did he disappear?" "I don't know" said Rick "Let's leave here, I think we ought to show the others what we have found" As they left, the little boys voice was heard, echoing around the tomb. "You have found us Rick, now you must set us free, you have to stop him or we will be destined to wander the earth plain forever" "How do we stop him" asked Rick "And why me?" "You will find out and find a way" He was gone and they walked towards the ladder, Evy climbed up first followed by Rick. Just as they nearly reached the top, an invisible force threw Rick off the ladder. He landed at the bottom, Evy screamed his name and hurried back down. He was laying on his side, out cold, she took his hand and tried to bring him round. "Rick are you alright?" "I think so, what the hell did that?" he said as he woke up. "I don't know, one minute you were climbing up the ladder, the next you were falling, did you lose your footing in the dark?" "No, I felt something wrap itself round my waist and pull me off the ladder" "Are you hurt, can you stand?" "No, I think I have twisted my ankle, you'll have to get Ardeth" "I can't leave you down here, at least try and get up the ladder" Rick said he'd try and with her help, managed to get out of the tomb. He lay exhausted on the floor of the basement. Evy told him she would get the others as he couldn't manage another step. She ran out of the basement and into the hall, up the stairs and banged on Ardeths door. "Ardeth, I need your help quickly" "What is it, what's wrong?" "It's Rick, he's twisted his ankle in the cellar, he needs your help" "Ok, I'm coming, what was he doing down there?" "We'll tell you about it after we get him into the lounge" "Tanith, try and find some bandages or something and wait for us in the lounge" said Ardeth. He ran down the stairs with Evy and into the basement. Rick was sitting against a trunk. Ardeth hurried over to him. "What happened?" "Just get me out of here" With Ardeth and Evy's help, they got Rick into the lounge and laid him on the sofa. Tanith bandaged his ankle while Evy got him a brandy. Jonathan had come down by this time wanting to know what was going on. They all sat down while Rick and Evy told them everything that had happened. Ardeth asked Tanith to go and get the book they had found. "Your story is incredible but we found something last night, we were going to show you this morning" Tanith brought the book in and gave it to Rick. "The names of the children are in the back of the book must belong to the ones in the tomb" said Ardeth "But why were they killed I wonder"?" "Look at the family tree here, it shows you are linked to the house" Rick looked and after a few minutes looked up. He turned pale, they weren't sure whether it was because of his ankle or because of what he had just realized. "My God, the man in the portrait is my great, great grandfather, I always wondered why no-one spoke about him and why our name had been shortened. The woman in the portrait must have been his second wife, my great great grandmother brought up my great grandfather on her own, which was hard in those days, if he was a murderer no wonder no-one spoke about him" "I think we ought to leave this place now" said Jonathan. "You're right" replied Ardeth "Let's get our things and leave" "No, I'm not going, I have to help those children, somehow, you go if you want to but I'm staying" "Rick they are already dead, there is nothing you can do now, you have to leave this place" said Tanith. "Their bodies maybe but not their souls, I have to help them" Ardeth poured another drink and walked over to the window, he beckoned the others over. "I've never heard him talk like this before, we have to get him out of this house or he will have a break down" said Ardeth. "he won't go" replied Evy "And if he stays, I'm staying with him" Before Ardeth could answer, the lights flickered and a banging could be heard, getting louder and louder. They all looked at one another, it seemed to come from inside the walls and the doors to the hall buckled in and out. "What the hell is it?" screamed Jonathan. "I don't know" replied Ardeth as he and the others moved over to Rick. Rick sat up on the sofa and Evy sat with her arm round him. The banging got louder so that they had to cover their ears. Then suddenly it stopped. The familiar green mist, that Rick and Evy had seen before, drifted under the door. They all saw it this time. It was the man, Ricks great, great grandfather standing there, with an axe in his hand. "I told you to leave, now you will all die" He disappeared again as he had in the tomb but this time he threw the axe. Instinctively they all ducked, which was a good job because the axe was lodged in the wood panel behind them when they turned round. Ardeth went over to it and pulled it out. "He might have been a ghost but this is real, what in God's name have we uncovered here" said Ardeth. "And how do we stop it?" asked Rick. "I don't normally drink" said Tanith "But I've changed my mind" She poured herself a large brandy and downed the lot. "Be careful" said Ardeth "That is quite strong if you are not use to it" "I'm alright" she replied. Rick had laid down again and fallen asleep, Jonathan had stormed off to his room, vowing to lock himself in and not come out till they were sensible enough to leave. |
| House Of Luxor - continued |