The Gathering Darkness Page 3

  “It goes to the attic. We store our stuff up there.” He bent to one side and began to pick the stuff back up he’d been carrying.

  Without thinking I asked, “Do you need any help?”

  “Sure, if you want.”

  I picked up the two remaining paint cans and followed Marcus into the stairwell that led to the attic of the Ravenwyck. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like it there.

  The stairs creaked loudly under our weight. I cringed at the sound and stayed close behind Marcus. How totally absurd this was—especially after my recent ordeal with Maggie. If Sammy had asked me to follow her up here, I would have told her she was crazy. But as if I couldn’t help myself, here I was, following this enchanting stranger into the attic of my nightmares.

  Paint cans scraped against the narrow passage walls, knocking loose paint chips onto the stairs. I gritted my teeth together. I didn’t want to get caught exploring, especially since I was supposed to be working.

  The stairwell turned a corner halfway up, leaving the light behind. Our shadows grew long on the wall, taking menacing shapes—a product of my overactive imagination. I wanted to turn back, but something in the back of my mind pushed me forward. I looked away from the shadows and focused on the back of Marcus’ hair, which was half tucked inside his collar.

  A moment later, he came to an abrupt stop and opened a narrow door. It opened with a groan, letting another gust of dank air escape—this time colder. He flipped on a switch, which shone much welcome light down the top section of stairs.

  “Couldn’t you just leave this stuff in an empty room downstairs?” I was even more nervous now, as I looked into the attic.

  “Maggie wants us to keep it up here out of the way.”

  At the mere mention of her name, another pulse of pain shot through my arm.

  Marcus stood inside the attic looking back at me. I forced my feet to move and joined him under the dangling light bulb.

  I sat my paint cans down beside some others and turned to leave, but waited on the top step while Marcus organized some stuff—no way was I going back down there alone. I folded my arms across my stomach to try to keep warm.

  Behind Marcus, gloomy daylight filtered through endless grime-coated dormer windows. No light reached the middle of the vast attic. In fact, the space was so expansive I couldn’t see either end.

  “Doesn’t it bother you to come up here by yourself?”

  “Should it?” His eyes, as always, were serious, but a slight grin adorned his face.

  With my bravest look, I said, “Um, I guess not.”

  “Do you want to look around?” Out of character, an eyebrow rose in anticipation of my reply.

  “No.”

  His grin expanded and his eyes softened. “Come on. I’m here.”

  How gallant of him. Clearly, there was a hidden meaning in those last two words, even if he hadn’t realized it. I felt protected and compelled to follow him. For the first time he seemed almost normal, in a quiet sort of way. He also smiled a lot more than Sammy had given him credit for. I couldn’t resist his charm. Had he lured me up here? Or had I come of my own free will? I had no idea. Except now, the attic didn’t seem as threatening anymore.

  “Alright, if you can find a light switch over there.” I pointed into the darkness.

  With a half-grin, he pulled a flashlight out of his back pocket.

  We walked out of the circle of light and into the dim, natural light filtering through the dirty windows. In front of us, layers of dust blanketed everything, turning the attic into a landscape of muted gray. At first we walked in silence, side-by-side. The only sounds came from the creaky floorboards and my accelerated heartbeat.

  It was difficult to stay in the natural lighting of the dormer windows at times; there was so much junk piled in places.

  “Have you been over here before?”

  Marcus shook his head. “No, but I’ve always wanted to check it out.”

  Funny, he didn’t seem like the check-it-out type, as most boys did. And why hadn’t he and Evan ever checked it out together?

  As we walked, we started talking about school and before I’d realized it, we were in the middle—where no light reached, except for the small glow from the flashlight Marcus held.

  It was in this shadowy section in the middle of the attic, that I came upon an old trunk. It wasn’t the first one we’d passed, but this one looked different. As the beam from the flashlight passed over it, I saw there was no dust on it.

  “Hey, have a look at this,” I said.

  Marcus turned and came back to where I had so bravely stopped.

  “Look.” I touched the trunk with my fingertips and rubbed them together to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me, but my fingers were dust free.

  “Strange,” Marcus said.

  “Yeah.”

  Feelings of familiarity picked away at my brain. I began to think that we hadn’t ended up in this spot by chance. No, it was a more complex path that led us to this particular chest. Again, Maggie popped into my head, sending a chill under the surface of my skin. I reached over and rubbed my aching arm.

  “Why do you think it doesn’t have any dust on it?” I asked as if he would know.

  “Maybe it was brought up here recently.”

  “Maybe.” I wasn’t completely convinced.

  Marcus shone the flashlight on the floor around us. “Weird, though. There aren’t any footprints in the dust except ours.”

  My bad feeling was justified.

  He shone the light over the trunk. Two wide leather straps, fastened by an old padlock, held it shut. My fingers traced over a spiral pattern carved into the wood. Marcus reached for the lock and pulled on it.

  The instant Marcus’ hand grazed the wood, whisper soft tingles touched the tips of my fingers. I pulled my hand away. Marcus let go of the lock at the same time. The tingles diminished. Maybe they’d never been there. I tried reading the expression on Marcus’ face, but it was impassive.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I said with a sense of urgency. I’d had enough weirdness for one day.

  “Yeah. Evan will be wondering where I am by now, anyway.”

  It didn’t take us as long to get back to the dangling light. I put myself in front this time. I was terrified of leaving a dark room, and there was something comforting about Marcus being between me and the darkness. I was halfway down the steps when I heard him close the attic door.

  “Well that was interesting,” I said once back in the hallway.

  “You seemed spooked. I shouldn’t have taken you up there.”

  “No, I’m glad I went.” I tried to mask the lie with a smile.

  “There you are!” Sammy stood in a doorway up the hall with her hands on her hips. “Where were you?” Her eyes drifted suspiciously from me to Marcus.

  “Ah, I was just checking out the attic with Marcus,” I said sheepishly, feeling as if I had just gotten caught doing something naughty.

  She took a step closer to us. “After what had happened earlier, I was worried. I thought you might have skipped work and gone home.”

  I glared at Sammy and then laughed to cover up my embarrassment, but thankfully Marcus didn’t ask any questions. A few minutes later, Evan found the three of us standing in the hallway. Marcus didn’t offer him an explanation for his disappearance, and Evan didn’t ask for one.

  “Well, I made up the last room, so we can take off now,” Sammy said, still eyeing me suspiciously.

  “We’ll walk out with you,” Evan offered.

  Chapter Four

  Maggie was nowhere in sight as we headed down the grand staircase, across the foyer, and out the front door. But her presence lingered everywhere.

  The sky had darkened, and I was grateful for the company. As usual, Evan talked incessantly. He was in the middle of an animated description of the last party they’d all been to, when my cell phone rang. I got a small thrill when I saw Luke’s name in the display window. I lingered back so the others wouldn’t hear my conversation.

  “Hi, Luke.”

  “Hey. How was school? Any dead witches?”

  It was a joke that my friends in Boston would tease me about whenever I’d visited Deadwich in the past. They never realized how literally I took it.

  I laughed grimly. “It was okay. How did it go there?”

  “Your name was on the list for Mr. Moore’s class. That’s who me and Courtney got.”

  A puddle formed on the edge of my eyelids. It would have been the first year Luke and I would have been in the same class. I longed to be in that class with him and Courtney.

  “Brooke? Say something.”

  “That would have been cool.” I wiped away the tear that fell down my cheek.

  “I’m sorry about the other night. If I hadn’t taken that beer outside—”

  “No, it’s not your fault. My parents had it planned all summer.”

  “You coming, Brooke?” Sammy shouted back to me. They had reached the end of the street. I hadn’t realized I had come to a stop in a dark area until she’d spoken.

  “Yeah, I’ll be right there.” I yelled back.

  “Are you with someone?” Luke asked.

  “Sammy and I are just walking home from work.” No need to mention the fact that we were also with two cute guys.

  “Oh. Well, I guess I’d better get going. I’ll see you sometime.” The sadness in Luke’s tone made my throat ache when I swallowed.

  “I really miss you, Luke,” I blurted before hitting ‘end’. I almost wished he hadn’t called. I wiped my eyes with the backs of my hands then rushed to catch up to the others.

  Before turning the corner, I glanced back at the Ravenwyck. The roof peeks were still visible. I shuddered and turned away. The brothers left us soon after. Evan had been reluctant to go. “The night’s still early,” he’d said. Sammy seemed reluctant to go home as well, but I used the tired excuse, first day at a new job and all. I really didn’t want to hang around the darkening streets.

  When we got back to Sammy’s house, she helped me organize my new room. Every once in a while I found my eyes drawn to the bedroom window and the view of the Ravenwyck. How lucky for me. I put my stuff away in the closet, brushed my teeth, and then crashed beside Sammy on my bed. She was watching music videos on the little TV that sat on the dresser.

  I tried to focus my mind on the TV and not the Inn and the events that had transpired there earlier, but my mind didn’t cooperate. The music video gradually became a dull hum in the background, until it disappeared altogether. Absentmindedly, I rubbed my thumb back and forth over my fingers. It hadn’t been something I’d imagined. The tingling, no matter how faint, had been there.

  I snapped myself out of it. Music flooded the room once more. I sat up cross-legged. “Sammy, you’re going to think I’m crazy, but I really think Maggie is um … psycho.”

  “Oh, come on, Brooke. I admit, maybe she’s a little strange, but she’s really old. No one knows how old, even.”

  “That woman is more than strange.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “I think she’s evil.”

  Sammy rolled her eyes at me. “Brooke, I’ve been working there all summer. She’s really sweet … honest.”

  I threw my head back against the pillow in frustration and let out a deep breath.

  “Just give it a couple more days. Once you get used to working there, you’ll see how sweet she is. The Inn’s always freaked you out. You’ll get over it.”

  Then how do you explain the pain in my arm where she’d touched me and the numb tingly sensation in my fingers where I’d touched the trunk? I wanted to scream to her.

  “Well, we’d better get to bed.” Sammy yawned and stretched before getting up and walking to the door.

  “Oh, Sammy, is there a nightlight?” I asked sheepishly.

  “Yeah, sure. There’s one in the hallway. I’ll get it for you.”

  “It’s just that the streetlight shone through my window at home. I sort of got used to it.” I was sure Sammy could see through my excuses. But as long as there was light … .

  Sleep didn’t come easy that night. When I closed my eyes, it seemed darker than usual despite the nightlight. A pain began to radiate from the spot in my arm where creepy Maggie had touched me. When I finally did fall asleep, it was fitful. I tossed and turned and finally woke up. At least I thought I was awake, but I couldn’t open my eyes or speak; a clear case of sleep paralysis.

  Someone was in the room with me. A shadow passed over my closed lids. There were low whispers, although nothing I could make out. I tried to scream, but couldn’t. My body began to heat up as if it was on fire. The heat made my throat close off. I fought with every fiber to move. The voices stopped abruptly. My eyes flew open. It was dark, profoundly dark. I hauled in a deep breath to alleviate the smothering feeling.

  What had happened to the nightlight? My heart thumped louder and faster until I felt it pulse in my ears. Fumbling with the switch, I tried turning the table lamp on—it didn’t work. The power wasn’t off. The display on the alarm clock said twelve o’clock, midnight. Too afraid to even blink, I sank under the covers and stared into the darkness. The only sounds were the loud thumping of my heartbeat, and my own ragged breathing. The room was still.

  My arm began to throb again. It was impossible to ignore the pain. I was chilled to the bone and started to shake uncontrollably.

  What the hell was happening? Light, I need light. I covered my eyes with my hands and wished for light or a quick death to end this nightmare that was my life now. I felt a tingle in the tips of my fingers, and at the same time, a dim glow seeped between them. Slowly, I lowered my hands from my eyes. The room was aglow in the soft light of the nightlight once more. Momentarily stunned, I lay there and looked around the room. Everything seemed the same as it had before I’d gone to bed. Then a soft voice spread warmth through my body, taking the chill and fear away.

  “Claire, I am with you. You’re safe now.”

  “What?” I bolted upright. “Who said that? And who’s Claire?” No one answered, but I knew the voice. My heart rate slowed. Perhaps I conjured the voice from my subconscious because it was what I wanted to hear. It didn’t matter; I felt safe.

  I lay back down and closed my eyes with Marcus’ words imbedded in my mind. I fell into a semi-conscious state, the realm between awake and asleep, where your subconscious mind takes over rational thinking, but you’re still somewhat aware.

  In my mind, a warm glow surrounded me. I saw Marcus bathed by a halo of light. It was very dark behind him, as dark as pitch. But he kept it at bay. I felt safe and fell into a deep sleep.

  Chapter Five

  The next morning as I got ready for school, all I could think about was the nightmare. The same one I’d had on my last visit to Deadwich and the visit before that. Except this time it brought me Marcus, and with him came light.

  I thought about the name Marcus had called me in the dream, “Claire”, or had he called someone else Claire? Why did that name seem so important? I shook my head to clear it. For a moment, I wondered if I really was losing my sanity.

  Because Marcus and Evan weren’t as fast at painting rooms as Sammy and I were at making them up, Maggie gave us the rest of the week off to allow the boys to get a few more rooms painted. School became a welcome distraction from my night terrors, or whatever they were—I had them every night. And just like the first night, I awoke at midnight to the sounds of ghostly whispers and shadows. And every time, a feeling of peacefulness came over me soon after, keeping the shadows and whispers away. Only then was I able to drift off to sleep and dream of Marcus and the light.

  I could hardly look at him now without feeling shy about having him in my dreams every night, so I became a recluse where Marcus was concerned. But that didn’t prevent him from coming to me at night.

  Evan, on the other hand, hardly left my side during recess and lunch. He made me laugh a lot, and he was growing on me. Now I understood why all the other girls had crushes on him. They couldn’t help themselves. Yes, he was obnoxious, but in a charming sort of way.

  By the end of my first week at Deadwich High, I knew everyone in my class and then some. I also came to realize that Sammy and her group of friends, which now included me, were the popular girls in school—not a bad position to be in.

  On Friday, the lunchroom buzzed about the upcoming long weekend and the party on Skull Island, the one thing that put a damper on my day. What if I had a nightmare out there? I tried not to think about it, but it was impossible to ignore, since that was all anyone within a three-table radius babbled about.

  Evan had taken up the habit of sitting next to me during lunch the past couple of days, leaving Marcus and their friends at another table. I couldn’t decide if I was comfortable with it or not. We were definitely getting closer, and I wasn’t sure if it was what I wanted. For one thing, I didn’t want to fall into the Evan-trap as every girl had before me, and for another, I was interested in someone else. But it was happening between us so effortlessly, and I didn’t know how to stop it without hurting Evan’s feelings and making a fool of myself.

  “So, City Girl, are you ready for a night in the country you won’t forget?”

  Evan’s arm pressed against mine. I wanted to pull away.

  “Oh yeah, am I ever.”

  Evan didn’t seem to pick up on the nip of sarcasm in my tone.

  “A night with no restrictions,” he said.

  That statement alarmed me. I twisted my neck to face him. “None?!”

  Everyone thought I was being funny and laughed, including Evan. I really had no idea what he’d meant by “no restrictions,” but laughed to blend in and hoped I hadn’t sounded too nervous.

  “We’ll show you how to party Deadwich-style.” He laughed out loud, nudging my arm with his elbow as he did.

  Megan, who had made it perfectly clear throughout the week that we weren’t friends, snickered. At least there would be a bunch of us together, unless everyone paired off and went their separate ways. I wasn’t sure how these country all-nighters worked.