Taking each step slowly and cautiously, they walked around the room with the sage. In this particular room, they made extra sure the white smoke made its way right into the very corners.
When they were satisfied they had used enough sage, they closed the door and left down the hallway. Charlie didn’t realise she had been holding her breath, she let it out as she walked, relieved.
“Where should I try the mirror?” She asked as they returned to the kitchen.
“I don’t know. How about our room? You need to be somewhere away from Rahni so she doesn’t see what you’re doing,” Blair answered quietly, passing the main living room.
“Okay, I’ll just give Cate the lighter and we’ll get started.”
They let Cate know what Charlie was planning and returned upstairs. The blue room only had a large mirror sitting on top of the chest of drawers. It was too high to sit in front of so they found a smaller, hand-held mirror in the main bathroom. She placed it on the bedside table and positioned a chair directly in front of it. She took her position while Blair watched on from the bed.
She tried to remember everything she had ever heard of the mirror theory. It wasn’t much, nor was it complicated. The idea was to stare into the mirror with a clear mind. After a while, the reflection would change into the view of the other dimension. It was a radical theory but many psychics believed it offered some insight into the unseen.
She started looking into the mirror. Her whole face took up most of the small surface. She could see only a portion of the wall behind her. She stared, not speaking and barely blinking. Focusing on her rhythmic breathing, she tried to clear her mind of all thoughts. The more open her mind was, the easier it was going to be.
After ten minutes, she thought something flittered across the surface. It had only been there for a tiny moment before disappearing. She questioned whether she had really seen anything at all. She continued to stare. Blair kept watching, he could see the mirror from his seat on the bed. If he had seen anything, he wasn’t mentioning it either. Only silence filled the room.
After almost half an hour of sitting there and not moving, Charlie saw something. This time, she knew she had really seen it. Her features were changing. Her nose was thinning and her cheek bones were getting higher. The eyes she was staring into were no longer her own. They were younger, more innocent that hers. Her lips were a light shade of pink and much more delicate than what she was used to. Her hair was fading too. No longer was it a dark shade of brown, instead, it was almost mousy blonde. She tried not to move, hoping the features would become clearer. She knew exactly whose face she was staring at. It was Eve staring back at her now.
Blair sat straight up, watching the transformation. He shifted to the edge of the bed, trying to get a better look. He didn’t say a word for fear it would disappear. Whatever was making the change happen, it seemed fragile, like the connection could be lost in a heartbeat. The image kept morphing back from Eve to Charlie. The rational parts of their minds were telling them it was impossible. Their eyes and brains couldn’t reconcile the two images.
Suddenly and without warning, the image changed again. This time, instead of an innocent teenager looking back at her, it was the face of a man. He had dark menacing eyes and his lips were curled in a smirk. He was only there for a fraction of a second before the mirror started breaking. The crack spread right over the mirror like a snake circling its prey. Charlie finally blinked.
The silence of the blue room was broken by a loud bang. It made them both jump. It happened just before shards of the broken mirror flew off the base and hit Charlie straight on. She screamed and her hands shot up to cover her face. The remaining pieces of mirror scratched her hands before falling into her lap. Blair immediately went over to her. She pulled back her hands and turned them over. Blood was dripping down from her cuts. They were shaking. She started to cry, more from the shock of what just happened than from the pain.
“You need to get to the bathroom,” Blair exclaimed. He took her by the arm and helped her down the hallway to the main bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror and glanced at her face. She had a cut across her cheek that reached from her jaw to her eye. It was bleeding so much it was starting to drip onto her shoulder. Blair sat her down on the edge of the bath and rummaged around for something to press against it. He found a washer and held it up to the cut.
“Hold this against your cheek as hard as you can. It will stop the bleeding. I’m going to get Cate, she’ll know what to do about it,” he raced out of the room and down the stairs as quickly as he could. He found Cate still in the kitchen. “Something’s happened. Charlie’s all cut up. We need your help.”
Without another word, he took off back upstairs. Cate followed closely behind, worried about what the problem could possibly be. As soon as she saw Charlie’s bloodied hands holding the washer, she felt sick to her stomach.
“What the hell happened?” She demanded.
“The mirror broke and came at her. The shards of glass hit her face and hands. The cut on her face is really bad. She might need stitches,” Blair explained. He watched as Cate knelt beside Charlie and took over holding the washer. She peeled it back gently to inspect the wound, it was almost soaked through.
“I don’t think it’s deep. I think it will be alright without stitches. Charlie, do you want us to take you to the hospital to get it checked?” Cate looked her sister in the eyes with concern. Charlie shook her head slowly.
“I don’t want to go to the hospital. Just cover it up and get the glass out.”
“Blair, hold the washer while I fix her hands. It looks like there is still some of the mirror embedded in there. How could this possibly happen?”
“Her face morphed into Eve’s, it was amazing. Then it changed to a man’s face. The next thing we knew we heard this noise and then the mirror started breaking. We watched it crack and then it just flew off the base at her. She put her hands up to protect her face but it was too late, obviously,” Blair said quickly. He was shaken by the whole experience. He didn’t like seeing Charlie hurt, he felt so protective of her.
“Well, it must have come off with a lot of force. Some of this glass is really deep in the skin,” Cate stood up and opened the drawer of the vanity. She fished around and pulled out some tweezers, gauze, and band aids. She knelt back down and used the tweezers to pull out all the smaller pieces of the broken mirror. It took her almost half an hour to finish on the hands. She placed gauze over them and used the band aids to secure it all in place.
Next, she took the washer off Charlie’s face. She found a new washer and wet it under the tap. Very gently, she rinsed all the blood off of her sister’s face and took another look at the cut. It didn’t look deep, more superficial. Either way, it would have hurt severely. She rubbed some iodine lotion right over the cheek, making Charlie wince with the stinging sensation. Placing gauze and band aids over the wound, she stood back to survey her work.
“I think that’s all we can do. At least the wounds are clean now. Look at how much glass I got out of your hands,” Cate held up the small plate of mirror shards for Charlie to see. At least half of the mirror was there, all covered in Charlie’s dark red blood. “Do you feel okay?”
“I feel better than I did. I was kind of freaking out before. I’ve calmed down a lot now. Thank you for fixing me up. Do you think I’ll have a scar on my face?” Charlie’s voice was no longer shaky, Blair was relieved to hear it go back to almost normal.
“You’ll have a scar for a fair while. Try rubbing vitamin E cream on it when it’s healed, I have some in the vanity. That sometimes helps with scars. It helped get rid of my stretch marks after I had Rahni. That was quite an accomplishment. Now, come on. I think you should take it easy for a while. You can watch television with Rahni and Sammy,” Cate led them all downstairs and into the living room. She tried to formulate a story to tell her daughter when she asked about Auntie Charlie’s injuries. She decided on being as vague as possible.
The little girl nodded and continued to pat the dog. Cate left them in the living room and returned to the kitchen where she was preparing for an early dinner. The others all watched cartoons in silence.
Charlie was trying to forget the stinging she felt in her hands and cheek. Blair watched her with concern, worrying about what else the house was going to do to them. Nightfall was not welcome and they dreaded it with each passing hour.
From the living room, they heard a scream come from the kitchen. Charlie and Blair looked at each other before racing in to see what had happened. Cate was standing next to the sink, clutching at the counter. Her head was bent down and she was visibly shaken.
“Cate, what happened?” Charlie asked. She approached her and placed a bandaged hand on her arm.
“I saw someone in the reflection on the window. It gave me a fright. It was only there for a minute but I’m sure it was a man’s face,” Cate managed to stammer out. She turned around to face the others. “I can’t go on. I just can’t do this anymore. Every second of every day I am terrified about what could happen in this house. I can’t take it anymore!” She started to cry.
Charlie took her in a hug, careful to keep her cheek away from touching anything. “It will be alright. They’ve had their fun and will probably grow tired of it soon enough,” she soothed.
“No, they won’t. This house used to be peaceful and now they have arrived, it’s gone to hell. Every day when I wake up, I dread getting out of bed. I am constantly on my guard just looking for the things they could be doing. I can’t live like that. I’m always so paranoid. When I think about Rahni and the fact she’s talking to a dead person, I almost go crazy. One of us is going to get severely hurt, I just know it. If that person is Rahni I will never forgive myself.”
“So what do you want to do then?” Blair asked.
“Well, I can’t use this place as a Bed and Breakfast the way it is. I guess I’m going to have to move. When you two go back to university, it will just be Rahni and I here, there is no way I could handle that. Rahni will be at school all day and I’ll be too scared to be here on my own. I’m just so terrified of my own house. I have no choice but to consider selling.”
“Do you want to sell though? You adore this house, you said you fell in love with it the minute you saw it. I remember how excited you were when you moved in. Remember? You called me every day and told me exactly how you were arranging the furniture.”
“I know. I do love this house. It’s where James and I made a home but it feels alien to me now. It’s not the same house anymore,” Cate sobbed.
“Just leave it a couple of days to think it over, okay?” Charlie let her sister go and stood back. Cate nodded her head and wiped away her tears.
The afternoon had a sombre feel to it. Cate was kept occupied by her thoughts of moving out of the house. She didn’t want the situation to come to that but she felt like she was being backed into a corner. Neither Charlie nor Blair wanted her to move either. The house was a beautiful home, it was from the day they stepped foot inside the doors. Abandoning their home just didn’t seem possible. However, the worse it got there the more real the possibility was becoming.
That night as they prepared for bed, they decided it was safer to sleep in the same room. They didn’t want to leave Cate and Rahni on their own and Charlie and Blair didn’t like the prospect of being separated either. They made four beds in the living room. Cate and Rahni would fit on the lounge together. Charlie and Blair had a blow-up mattress on the floor.
Rahni was confused at first but as soon as Blair explained they were pretending they were camping, she had happily agreed. Rahni, though young, was smart. She understood much more than they gave her credit for. She could tell the adults were scared of something, she just didn’t really want to find out what it was.
It wasn’t easy falling asleep after the night before. The bright light of the living room didn’t help either. Although turning them off was definitely not an option. The darkness gave the power over to evil, the light kept it away. However, by midnight everyone was sound asleep. The house was silent for most of the night.
Suddenly, in the early morning hours, they were awoken by the sound of a rumbling noise. All four of them sat up in their makeshift beds and tried to work out what was happening.
The whole room was shaking. The new ornaments sitting on top of the bookcase were rocking, as was the lamp. The movement was so persistent they were causing the rumbling sound that had woken them. The small coffee table was rocking, the television was moving, everything in the room was shaking as if they were experiencing an earthquake. They could even feel the vibrations through their temporary beds.
“What’s going on?” Blair asked, to no-one in particular. Charlie shrugged, confused. They watched the room around them in amazement. There wasn’t a thing that wasn’t moving. The television remote control fell off the table from the rocking. Blair caught it and returned it to the table top.
Cate pushed back her bed covers and stood up. Her jaw was set in a determined grimace.
“You have made your point! We are moving out of here! You don’t have to tell us again! WE ARE MOVING!” She yelled. The others watched on in horror. They had never seen Cate so angry before. Her face was red and she was clenching her fists. Rahni started to whimper at the scene.
Just as Cate had finished with her rampage, the shaking stopped. She sat down on the lounge with a huff. She didn’t know whether she should be laughing or crying. The situation was too insane to possibly be real.
“Tomorrow I am looking for a real estate agent to sell this place. I’ve had enough.” She laid back down on the lounge and pulled the covers up to her chin. After a few moments, the others did the same. Not another word was said on the subject.
Chapter 13
“Do you really think this is a good idea?” Charlie looked at Blair, he had been wondering the exact same thing but wouldn’t admit it.
“It’s our last shot. If this doesn’t work, then nothing will.”
They were seated in the living room, waiting for a knock on the door. Earlier that morning when they were all huddled around the kitchen table having breakfast, Blair had convinced Cate to try one last thing. As soon as nine o’clock came, he had telephoned the local church and asked the Priest to pay a visit to the house. He explained how he thought there was an evil presence lingering there. Father Perry had initially laughed until he realised the caller was dead serious. Blair would never joke about his religion. He had grown up attending church every week and held his faith close to his heart.
“I don’t think this will change Cate’s mind, even if it does work,” Charlie said with a sigh.
“We have to try anyway. Remember we are also trying to save Eve from the guy. It’s not just about the house anymore.”
“I know. When I think about her being tormented by him forever... it’s just horrible. How long do you think the Priest will take to do his thing? Cate said she and Rahni would be at her friend’s house until late this afternoon. We’ll have to call her if it’s going to go until later.”
“I can’t imagine it taking any longer than a couple of hours. I don’t know for sure though, I’ve never done anything like this before,” Blair admitted.
“I wish this rain would stop. We have had the old plans to the house for days now and haven’t been able to get out in the garden to dig. I know that whatever is buried out there is important to Eve. The sooner we can find it, the better.”
“I know, it’s frustrating. The rain can’t last much longer, surely,” Blair was cut off by the sound of knocking on the front door. They hurried into the foyer and pulled open the heavy wooden door.
Father Perry was exactly how you would expect a priest to look. He wore a long black outfit with a crisp white collar, his dark hair framing his face. What didn’t fit the expectations was his ag
e. Charlie guessed he would have been in his early forties. She had pictured him as being well into his seventies, crouched over and with white hair.
Blair stepped forward and shook the man’s hand. “I’m Blair Bennett, this is my girlfriend Charlie Lane. Thank you for coming.”
“Well, you sounded like you needed help and that is my department,” he smiled. “Tell me all about the problems you are having in this house.”
“Can I get you a drink or anything first?” Blair asked politely, the priest shook his head. “Okay. Well, we had a psychic here a few days ago and she identified that there was an evil spirit here. He has been doing things to us for the last couple of weeks. Just yesterday he broke a mirror and threw the shards at Charlie.”
Father Perry took a look at Charlie’s face and hands, he grimaced. “Sounds like something is wrong here. I can try blessing the house with holy water. I brought lots with me, I had a feeling I would be needing it.”
Blair smiled, relieved he was being taken seriously. His greatest fear was that the priest would arrive and think he was a stark raving lunatic. “Excellent. Any help you can give will be very much appreciated. Did you want a tour of the house before you start?”
“That sounds like a good idea. I have to admit though, I have only seen this done once before in my lifetime. So I will do my very best. It’s not exactly a service that gets many requests.”
The three of them walked around the lower level of Sage Manor before climbing the main staircase onto the second storey. They visited each room. They hesitated at the upstairs living room but didn’t give away their trepidation. They entered anyway and were relieved to see it exactly how it had been left the day before. The priest was silent as they walked. They returned to the foyer.
“It’s a beautiful old house,” Father Perry commented. “I’ll get the holy water out of my car and we’ll get started.”
Blair helped him with the water. It was still pouring with rain outside, creating large muddy puddles all over the pathway. Charlie followed them, trying to hold an umbrella over their heads to keep them dry. It was a relief to step back inside. She shook the umbrella on the porch and left it to sit beside the welcome mat.
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