Vesta Mansion: Book One - The Power Inside

by P. A. Priddey

  Michelle pushed her dark hair to the side. ‘They might not believe me.’

  ‘Tell them the police will soon announce they could only find one body, and by then someone else will have the story.’

  ‘What about the other women?’

  ‘Tell them as much as you want, but no mention of demons and warlocks of course.’

  ‘I think I can come up with something,’ said Michelle, and walked to the library.

  ‘Thank you,’ said Blaze.

  Alex turned towards her. ‘How are you this morning?’

  ‘I’ll be fine as long as nobody makes a fuss over me,’ said Blaze, as she felt little arms go around her waist. She looked down and saw Adhara, Sarin and Tia smiling up at her, and noticed Shaula with her arms open.

  Alex smiled. ‘Try telling them that.’

  Blaze picked Shaula up. ‘It doesn’t include them.’

  ‘What’s with the phone call?’ said James.

  ‘You heard the reporter talk of tragedy and how sad it all is,’ said Alex. ‘It’ll get worse with public sympathy, and they might even build a memorial for them. The only ones I want sympathy for are the women, and want the family men to be thought of as evil scum.’

  ‘I’ll be looking into the crystal ball,’ said Blaze. ‘I don’t want them getting away with it.’

  * * *

  Michelle took a cheap phone out of a drawer, and put a sim card in before turning it on. She looked at her notepad where she had written what to say, and a phone number she found on the internet and keyed it into the phone.

  ‘Rachel Evans, speaking,’ said a voice.

  ‘Hi, I have a story for you,’ Michelle replied.

  ‘I’m in the middle of a big story at the moment.’

  ‘I know I’ve been watching, and I’ve something to tell you about the Chamberlains.’

  ‘What about them?’

  ‘Murder for a start, and the explosion was no accident.’

  ‘Is this some sort of crank call? I’m far too busy for this.’

  ‘Listen to what I have to say,’ Michelle insisted. ‘Or I’ll be giving this story to another reporter, and when the police tell you they could find only one body you’ll know I was telling the truth.’

  ‘One body?’ said Rachel, sounding surprised.

  ‘Yeah, and if they find any more they wouldn’t have died last night.’

  There was a brief silence on the other end. ‘There were at least thirty people in the house that I know of.’

  ‘They left last night before the explosion.’

  ‘They couldn’t have, we would have seen them.’

  ‘How many reporters you got out the back?’

  ‘None, there’s a forest.’

  ‘Yeah, and that’s the way they went.’

  ‘Why on earth would they go that way?’ said Rachel.

  ‘It was the only way they could get out without being seen.’

  ‘I’m sorry, but I’m not following any of this.’

  Michelle leaned back in her seat, and put her feet on the table. ‘The Company is finished. They’ve emptied the bank accounts, and while everyone was occupied with the front of the house they made their escape out the back. You’ll never see them again.’

  ‘Is that all of your story?’

  ‘You never asked about the one body the police will find or partly find.’

  ‘Who was it?’

  ‘Chamberlain’s wife, she was murdered.’

  ‘Why would they murder her?’

  ‘It’s a ritual they’ve always had. If you ever check the history of the family, the mothers always died young.’

  ‘But surely they would’ve been seen by doctors.’

  ‘All death and birth certificates would’ve been done by someone connected with the company, the Chamberlain’s are Satanists.’ Michelle told the reporter everything she had written, and walked out the library an hour after entering it.

  Alex smiled as she sat opposite him. ‘How did it go?’

  ‘Not too bad, and I left her very angry towards the Chamberlains. I told her there would be bodies buried on the grounds.’

  ‘Good work, but I don’t expect her to say anything just yet.’

  ‘It looks like you got her fired.’ James pointed at the television, as there was now a man reporting.

  ‘Don’t say that,’ Michelle grumbled.

  ‘They take it in turns,’ said Alex. ‘I just saw her talking to a police officer.’

  * * *

  Carrie was about to ask Alex about the picture when Adhara sat on the sofa next to him.

  ‘Don’t the pixies like coming in here anymore?’

  ‘Yeah, but they love being outside, too. They were trapped for so long, and are making up for lost time.’

  ‘Will they be leaving soon?’

  Alex nodded. ‘Most of them, but a few will stay.’

  ‘Can we go and play with them?’ said Sarin.

  ‘I thought you had lessons.’

  ‘We did, but wanted to make sure Auntie Blaze was OK,’ said Sarin innocently.

  Sally walked over to them. ‘Their lesson today will be outside learning about trees.’

  Luella smiled. ‘That’s a nice idea, I’ll come with you.’

  Livvy beamed. ‘Me too.’

  James leant over the sofa Alex was sitting on. ‘I never thought you’d refuse to spend time with your daughters.’

  ‘Neither did I, but it feels selfish not letting them have an education, and anyway I’m going to learn about plants now.’

  ‘So, did you like the picture you were sent?’ James asked quietly, but not quietly enough as Carrie could hear.

  ‘It was just a joke, there was no message flashing when I looked.’

  ‘That was mean of them.’

  Alex shrugged. ‘I know, but I do go red when it comes to that subject. It appears I’m easy to tease.’

  Carrie felt relieved, she had expected Alex to say something or even send her a message back, saying something like “wow love it” but he didn’t. Carrie had thought he didn’t like the picture, but he hadn’t seen it. She felt sad it embarrassed him, and decided to go to the woods with them.

  * * *

  It was midday when Blaze came out the office, and Alex returned with Carrie and James.

  ‘The demons have stopped moving for the day.’

  ‘Where are they?’ said Alex.

  ‘Near the edge of a forest in South Wales.’

  Alex sat. ‘That was quick, why were they moving about in the daylight?’

  ‘They can still look human when they want, but they’ve stopped because they’re exhausted.’

  Alex frowned. ‘I hope I haven’t made a mistake.’

  ‘How do you mean?’ said Blaze.

  ‘If the reporter says all the men escaped through the woods, there could be people out looking for them.’

  ‘I’ve no doubt,’ said James. ‘The police will believe they had transport waiting for them.’

  ‘That’s a good point. I guess they couldn’t wait to organise anything when they found out the other demons were no longer there.’

  ‘We have breaking news concerning the Chamberlain family,’ the man on the television said. ‘We will go straight to our reporter on the scene.’

  Rachel Evans appeared holding a microphone. ‘The police have told me they will be making a statement shortly, which they believe there was only one person in the house when the explosion occurred. It is also believed it was no accident, but planted to get rid of evidence.’

  Alex felt stuck playing the waiting game, and spent the afternoon in the gym practising with a staff. He knew what to expect from James and Asima, who managed to get a hit. Carrie was faster than he expected, but couldn’t get a hit on him. It was Paige and Claire who surprised him the most, as they were as fast as Carrie.

  * * *

  ‘It’s gonna be a long night,’ Blaze sighed at dinner.

  ‘In what way?’ said Alex.

&n
bsp; ‘I’ll be watching the ball, as I want to keep an eye on them in case they get there sooner than we expect.’

  Alex pointed his fork at her. ‘You can’t do that . . . you’ll be up all night.’

  Blaze shrugged. ‘We might miss something important.’

  ‘Is there any chance you can call the image up, and leave it for others to watch?’

  ‘You left me watching it once,’ said Daralis. ‘When you popped out of the office to get something.’

  Blaze nodded. ‘That’s true.’

  ‘Then we’ll take it in turns,’ said Alex.

  Blaze and Daralis took the first watch, and Alex sat with them for the first twenty minutes to see what the demons were up to.

  ‘They’ve split up,’ said Blaze.

  It worried Alex. ‘In different directions?’

  ‘No, the same direction, just into smaller groups.’

  ‘Probably trying to look less noticeable.’

  The demons had covered a lot of distance, and by midnight they were nearing mid Wales. Those who took a watch only had to do an hour, which was long enough. Alex took his turn after the girls were taken to bed, and was joined by Carrie and Skye.

  ‘Wouldn’t this be more comfortable in the hall?’ said Skye.

  ‘Probably,’ said Alex, ‘but we’d have to cover the windows, and turn the lights down. It wouldn’t be much fun in there, and we only have to suffer an hour in here.’

  Carrie smiled. ‘I wouldn’t call it suffering.’

  ‘I guess you’re right, it does have its perks.’

  Skye looked at them, and shook her head.

  * * *

  Alex returned at six in the morning. Blaze and Joseph were already sitting at the desk. ‘It’ll be light soon, have they got anywhere to hide?’

  Blaze shook her head. ‘I can’t see anything but fields.’

  ‘That’s strange, I wonder if they’ve made a mistake or gone off course.’

  They watched for almost an hour when the image flickered and turned fuzzy, it was now on the second group.

  Blaze blinked. ‘What just happened?’

  ‘You didn’t do it?’

  ‘No, and it’s not the same group.’

  ‘I’ve a horrible feeling I know what I’ve been missing, and made a big mistake,’ Alex groaned, as the image flickered again, and was on the last group.

  ‘What is it?’ said Blaze.

  Alex stood up and scratched his head. ‘I’m not sure, but it appears the shield protecting them isn’t just covering a house, but half a country.’

  ‘That would take someone with incredible power,’ said Joseph.

  ‘Or the combined power of a few,’ said Alex, and walked into the main hall. ‘Will you come with me and see if you can sense something?’ he asked Rho.

  Of course, said the wolf.

  ‘House can you hide us when we get there?’

  It will be no problem, said the spirit, as the vase appeared in front of them.

  They were soon in the field as the last group approached, and disappeared in front of their eyes.

  ‘OK,’ Alex sighed. ‘Was anyone else not expecting that?’

  It’s a new one on me, said Rho.

  It is strange, said House. If it is a shield, why can we not see them as we are inside it?

  ‘I don’t know,’ Alex conceded. ‘We best get back and see if we can work it out.’

  Only Blaze and Joseph were in the hall, and Alex could smell cooking from the kitchen.

  ‘They put a lot of hours in,’ he said.

  ‘Yeah, they do,’ said Blaze. ‘But shouldn’t you be worried about other things at the moment.’

  ‘I’m not going to worry about it, as I’m confused and need food.’

  ‘Good job I started early then,’ said Summer, coming out of the kitchen. ‘Who’s watching the ball?’

  ‘No one, the demons have vanished,’ said Blaze.

  Summer raised an eyebrow. ‘That doesn’t sound good.’

  ‘That’s an understatement,’ Alex huffed. ‘I’ve made a right pig’s ear of it.’

  ‘Don’t you dare blame yourself,’ said Blaze. ‘You’ve done everything you possibly could.’

  ‘Maybe I should have concentrated more on finding where the warlock’s soul is hidden. I should’ve known it wasn’t gonna be that easy.’

  Joseph put his hand on Alex’s shoulder. ‘No offense my young friend, but are you that experienced at all this?’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘This kind of thing has been my life’s work, and my fathers before me, and yet I’ve been no help at all.’

  ‘You’ve been a great help.’

  Blaze sighed. ‘I tell you what, let’s agree there was no way of knowing, and work on a way to resolve it.’

  Alex nodded. ‘Sounds like a plan, now let’s eat.’

  They decided to wait for everyone to have breakfast before discussing the subject. Alex was trying to figure out the morning’s events, and the idea of a shield covering half a country was too implausible.

  James scratched his head. ‘They just vanished right in front of you.’

  Alex nodded. ‘They were about twenty feet away.’

  ‘It doesn’t sound like a shield to me.’

  ‘No, as Joseph said, it would require great power to do that, and wouldn’t it also hide everyone else who lives there?’

  ‘What if it’s just for demons?’ said Paige.

  ‘Maybe,’ Alex pondered. ‘It would still take a lot of power, but of course it might not be over such a large area.’

  ‘You believe it’s something else?’ said Joseph.

  ‘Yeah, it looks almost certain now there are others with power helping the demons, and they were just waiting for them to come in range.’

  ‘You don’t believe they could shield the demons individually?’

  Alex shrugged. ‘Could be, but the warlock sent the demons all over the country looking for pixies . . . and they didn’t walk there.’

  ‘You mean teleportation?’

  ‘It makes sense. We have a portal and maybe the warlock has one, too, or others who could do it.’

  ‘We have to be in contact with the vase to do it,’ said James. ‘Can others do it without having to do that?’

  ‘I’ve never heard of it,’ said Daralis. ‘But they are demons, and there maybe something more powerful which could do it for them.’

  ‘I have a theory,’ Skye added.

  Alex looked at her, and at her blue eyes. There was something different about her, then he realised. ‘Where are your glasses?’

  Skye smiled. ‘I don’t need ‘em anymore, in fact I can hardly see with ‘em on.’

  Alex nodded and looked at Sally, who wasn’t wearing her glasses either.

  Claire nudged him in the ribs. ‘I’m quite sure Skye said she had a theory.’

  ‘Sorry, I’m listening.’

  ‘Well,’ said Skye. ‘I was thinking about how House hides you, does he make you invisible?’

  ‘To others, as he puts a shield around us.’

  ‘Then there might be someone else who can do it. He might have been in the shield which was invisible to you while he waited for the demons to arrive, and what if he has a portal thingy to teleport ‘em away?’

  ‘Marvellous!’ said Joseph. ‘And it does fit.’

  Alex smiled at Skye. ‘Yes indeed, well done, the only problem with it is why didn’t they teleport them from the house?’

  ‘Maybe they couldn’t,’ Luella interjected. ‘They might only have the power to do it over a certain distance.’

  James rubbed his eyes. ‘Then we won’t be looking for demons anymore?’

  ‘Sort of, but it’s the place they’re hiding we need to find,’ said Alex. ‘And it’ll be north of where they vanished.

  ‘Could it be another warlock?’ said Carrie.

  ‘There was more than one,’ said Daralis. ‘They were never as powerful as the one we’re looking for.’


  ‘Were there any good warlocks around?’ said James.

  Daralis shook her head. ‘No, there were wizards of course, one in particular we knew very well.’

  ‘What happened to him?’ said Alex.

  Luella’s face dropped. ‘He disappeared.’

  ‘You cared for him?’

  ‘He’s our brother,’ said Daralis, and Alex looked shocked, he had an uncle.

  ‘Do you believe the warlock had something to do with it?’ Blaze asked.

  Luella shook her head. ‘No, he’s too powerful for the warlock, even when he got his extra powers. We’d have known if our brother had died.’

  ‘Back then,’ said Daralis. ‘We didn’t call them wizards or warlocks. They were druids, some good and some bad. Not all of them had powers, and our brother was hunting down the bad ones when he vanished. That’s when the Romans came, and many of the bad ones fled overseas, we thought he followed them.’

  ‘That’s why I have such long holidays,’ said Luella. ‘I keep hoping I might sense him,’ she said, and Alex put his arm around her.

  ‘Is there anywhere else he could have gone?’ said Joseph.

  ‘We thought he might have gone to the Other World,’ said Luella. ‘We did look, but the portal was gone.’

  Alex’s eyes grew big and stared in disbelief. ‘Other world! You might need to elaborate on that.’

  Luella leant forward clasping her hands together. ‘It was always called the Other World, or the Old World. It was a wonderful place, but had many horrors, too.’

  ‘It’s where the pixies and pucas came from,’ Daralis added. It was safer for them over here at the time. There were many of the other mythical creatures you’ve heard of.’

  ‘Then elves and dwarves are real?’ said Joseph.

  Luella nodded. ‘Very real, and there were many others, too.’

  ‘We had many friends who were elves, they are a wonderful race,’ said Daralis thoughtfully. ‘They called our brother the Great Wizard, and we were the Great Ladies.’

  ‘What was this portal?’ said Alex.

  ‘It was a gateway between both worlds,’ said Daralis. ‘There was a rumour they would stop coming here.’