The Haunting

by Lindsey Duga

  It was like the cold in the study and in her bedroom. It felt physical and tangible. Unnatural.

  Emily paused, listening for something. Anything. Where was Archie?

  Another giggle issued from the looming darkness of the library. “Down here,” a voice called, beckoning her.

  “Kat?” Emily responded, not knowing who else it would be.

  Her pulse increasing, Emily moved on to the next row of shelves, then froze. Slowly, shadows began slithering down the volumes, moving like small hands. They seemed somehow alive, like they really were hands grabbing and clawing at the old leather books, dripping onto the pages and down their spines like spilt black ink.

  Then a sudden memory came to her. Her first day at Blackthorn, Emily had seen shadows coming down the manor like this—alive and angry. Had that actually been real?

  She felt something crawl over her own spine, as if the shadows had reached out to claim her as well.

  Too scared to move or think, Emily didn’t notice Archie’s presence until he tugged at her nightgown with his teeth, growling furiously.

  With a gasp, Emily finally found the strength to move, then stumbled out of the row of books before—

  CRASH.

  The bookshelf toppled onto the ground with a loud boom that shook the entire floor.

  Emily fell to her knees and scrabbled backward against the wall, breathing wildly as Archie nuzzled his head into her lap. She could feel him shaking, too, his tail in between his legs.

  Her pulse was skipping, heart pounding erratically in her chest like it couldn’t decide if it wanted to start or stop.

  Remembering the eerie feeling of fingers on her neck, Emily whimpered, pressing her shoulder blades harder against the wall. But no shadows moved around them. She could hear her breathing. She could move her fingers again.

  What happened?

  “What happened?” demanded a voice from above.

  Emily nearly jumped out of her skin. She hadn’t even seen Kat approach.

  Kat looked down at her, hands on her hips, her expression concerned and annoyed at the same time.

  “I … I …” Emily stammered. “The bookshelf …” She pointed a shaking finger at the overturned case, books scattered beneath it everywhere, old wood splintered to reveal pale, sharp edges of broken lumber.

  Kat didn’t bother looking over. She regarded Emily with a tilt of her head, and her big blue eyes looked almost silver in the moonlight. “You should be more careful.”

  “But I—”

  “Shhh!” Kat hushed, then looked over her shoulder into the darkness. “I hear footsteps. Someone’s coming.”

  “Maybe it’s Miss Greer. She—”

  “Remember what you promised me, Emily. You can’t tell them I’m here or I’ll get in trouble!” With that, Kat picked up her skirts and ran back through the library.

  Emily wanted to call after her that she didn’t want to be alone, not now, not after the living shadows and the bookshelf, but Kat was already gone. At least Archie stayed with her. Archie nuzzled her elbow as Emily got to her feet. The pup was as happy to have her as she was to have him.

  Emily had barely moved before she heard footsteps—pounding ones—coming down the hall toward her.

  Apparently Kat had been right.

  Emily fought down a fresh wave of fear, hoping that it was someone she knew and not a monster or the puppet master of these creepy moving shadows.

  No, that hadn’t been real. There was no way it could’ve been real.

  A deep male voice bellowed her name, getting closer and closer.

  “Emily … Emily … Emily!”

  Mr. Thornton!

  Relief flooding through her, Emily raced to the door just in time to see both Thorntons and Miss Greer come in with panting breaths.

  Trying to keep her voice from cracking, Emily told them what had happened, leaving out the part about Kat and their game. Kat’s parting words echoed in her mind: Remember what you promised me.

  Emily didn’t mention the crawling shadows, either. It was her imagination, a nightmare. It had to be. It just had to be.

  Mr. Thornton dropped down to one knee and took her shoulders. “As long as you’re all right, my dear. But please, no more nighttime escapades.”

  Emily nodded, more than glad to oblige. “I promise,” she said breathlessly. She was already adding the library to the increasing list of rooms she never wanted to enter again.

  Emily stayed in bed until long after the sun filled her bedroom with golden light. After her new mother had tucked her in, Emily stayed awake for hours, watching the shadows dance beyond the small candle at her bedside. She was still afraid, worried that at any moment they could start slithering toward her like dark snakes.

  But they didn’t, and eventually she fell asleep to the sound of Archie’s breathing and the occasional thump of his tail as he dreamed.

  Now that it was morning, Emily wasn’t sure if all that she’d seen last night hadn’t been any more than another nightmare. Perhaps she’d fallen asleep, or perhaps—

  “Miss Emily, you’ll sleep the day away!”

  Miss Greer burst into the room like the sun herself, carrying a tray piled high with bread, butter, tea, sausage, a hard-boiled egg, and porridge with what smelled strongly of brown sugar.

  Even though the fear still lingered in her gut, Emily’s stomach won, growling eagerly in response to the sight and smell of such a full breakfast. Emily hurried around the bed, carefully stepping to avoid Archie, who was now lying on his back, basking in the warm sun on the rug.

  “Thank you, Miss Greer,” she said, taking the tray from the housekeeper.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Thornton missed you at breakfast, my dear,” she said, bustling around the room, picking up things to launder—things that Emily didn’t even consider dirty—and bundling them into her large arms.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t sleep very well.”

  “No, don’t s’pose I would, either, after an incident like that. You stay away from those old bookshelves y’hear?” Miss Greer wagged a plump finger at her just as Emily was taking a large bite of bread and butter.

  Emily hurried to swallow. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good. Don’t need any more things breaking in this house. Why, just the other day, there …” Miss Greer trailed off, her usually rosy cheeks going just a little pale.

  “What?” Emily asked, tensing slightly.

  “Never you mind,” Miss Greer called over her shoulder as she hurried for the door. “Stay out of the scullery, my dear. I’ve a lot of work to do.”

  After finishing her breakfast, Emily put on a simple blue cotton dress, patterned but not so fanciful that she would worry about getting it too dirty. She wanted to spend today outside. Yesterday, with her new father, had been so blissful that she thought maybe it was what she needed again—some hours spent in the sun where none of her fears or her imagination could get the best of her.

  Archie was happy to join her. She raced him to the main staircase, her hand wrapping around the post and hanging on the ornate piece of wood as the dog danced around her waist, then pranced down the steps. Laughing, Emily took off after him through the hallways warmed with light from the open curtains, and out the side door Miss Greer used to enter and exit the manor. She preferred this door instead of the front ones—those were far too heavy.

  Just as she’d remembered, the door led her out into an overgrown garden. It was full of life beyond anything that Emily could’ve imagined back at the orphanage. She’d thought the blackberry bushes where she’d first met Kat had been wild, but that was nothing. This was a magical place. It had the thick scent of honeysuckle in the air, thanks to the huge tangle of the stuff growing against the side of the manor. Weeds and flowers mingled together in one giant jungle. There were the bright orange petals of calendulas, the rich pink of the foxgloves, and the dusty purple of lavender. And though Emily didn’t know very much about plants, she was able to tell which were the herbs because t
hey were so well maintained, probably because Miss Greer used them in her cooking.

  Emily was so caught up in the garden that she’d hardly noticed that Archie had begun to wander deeper into the weeds. She was just about to call him back when she felt a whisper of cold against her neck.

  For a split second she was too scared to move, but then her reflexes caught up and she whirled around.

  Kat stood less than a foot away, her hands tucked behind her back, an excited grin plastered on her face. “Found you.”

  Emily resisted the urge to scowl at her friend for scaring her. Had Kat blown on her neck? “We stopped playing that. And I was the one seeking, remember?”

  “You don’t have to get so mad. I told you why I had to leave,” Kat huffed, folding her arms.

  “I’m not mad,” Emily replied, though she was slightly annoyed.

  Before she could say anything else, Archie burst through the bushes next to them and skidded in front of Emily, beginning to bark ferociously at Kat.

  Shocked, Emily pulled Archie by the collar as Kat backed away, her face tight with a little fear and a little anger. “Archie, no!” Emily had never heard Archie react that way to anyone before.

  “What’s wrong with that mutt?” Kat snapped.

  “I don’t know, he’s never like this.” Emily rubbed his muzzle in an effort to calm her friend. “Maybe he’s just scared of what happened last night when we were together. You know, with the shadows.” Quickly, she tried to explain to Kat what she’d seen, but the girl was shaking her head before she’d even finished.

  “Emily, you know shadows can’t move on their own,” she grumbled. “You read too much.”

  “What does reading have to do with anything?”

  Kat shrugged and looked to the right, then up, then to the left, and back to Emily. “Never mind. I was going to show you the garden anyway. There’s one place in particular you’ll love. Come on.” Kat beckoned Emily to follow, this time waiting at the edge of the path before stepping into the undergrowth of the overflowing plants.

  Once again, Emily was amazed by all the places and hidden secrets of Blackthorn that Kat knew. The bookshelf had been a one-time occurrence, and she couldn’t blame Kat for running away and not wanting to get into trouble. Emily’s feet felt lighter at the prospect of learning even more about her new home.

  With an encouraged grin, Emily followed Kat through the garden. Now much calmer, Archie trailed behind them, pausing to sniff almost everything, but trotting quickly to catch up if Emily got too far away. They passed hedges of laurel taller than their heads, and big patches of peonies and cowslips. Brambles caught at their stockings, but Kat didn’t slow, not until they came to a well that was covered in moss and ivy so thick that Emily could barely see its stones.

  Tiny daisies and clovers decorated the greenery over the well. Emily loved it very much. In her mind, it was a magical tunnel entrance to a world of fairies and Cornish pixies.

  If I looked over the edge, would I catch a glimmer of their light?

  “Come closer,” Kat said, jumping between overly tall patches of flowers and weeds.

  Emily did. She was transfixed by the mystical sight of the well and wanted to look over the side to see if what she was imagining was actually true. But a few steps away, she paused. She hated heights. If she looked down she’d probably just see darkness and a small hint of murky, muddy well water. Nothing to be excited about, or to scare herself over.

  “You can’t see into the well from all the way over there, silly,” Kat said with a light, tinkling laugh.

  That laugh again. Emily pushed the thought away as Archie whimpered at her side. She put a comforting hand on top of his head.

  “I don’t need to see down. I’m fine here,” she said, running her suddenly sweaty hands over the front of her dress.

  Kat’s expression slowly faded from a smile into something dark and angry. “Emily,” she said, her fists curling at her sides. “Come here.”

  The command was so forceful Emily couldn’t help but comply. She didn’t want to face Kat’s anger. Hesitantly, she stepped up to the edge of the well and looked down. Besides the slight feeling of vertigo and disappointment that there were no fairy lights, Emily found that it was exactly as she expected: dark, with a trace of light shining on the stale, moldy water. Emily stepped back, but as she did, something caught her eye. On the edge of the well, the beautiful green moss and clovers started to turn brown and dead right in front of her eyes. Cold leeched off the stones like honey dripping from a beehive. Overhead, the sun that had warmed Emily’s cheeks, hands, and back suddenly vanished. It was quickly replaced by a chill that descended from above, not unlike the chill that overcame her in Mr. Thornton’s study. Thick storm clouds, not uncommon on an English summer afternoon, transformed the entire garden into a world of gloom.

  Despite the sudden and odd weather change, Emily couldn’t tear herself away from staring down into the well. What she saw should have been impossible.

  The decay grew rapidly, sweeping across the well’s surface and sinking into the stones underneath. It was like her living shadows had moved from the manor to the garden to spread their dark disease. They seemed to be everywhere.

  Emily gasped and tried to move her hands away from the well, but the cold held her in place, pulling her. Then the stones shifted—crumbling and falling down with a great splash. Losing her balance, Emily almost toppled after them into the well’s sinister depths.

  But Archie took hold of her dress by his teeth, growling and pulling. Teetering, Emily threw herself to the ground and took relief in the stability and solidness of the grass and earth under her.

  Kat peered over her, eyes wide, gold hair hanging down in tendrils, and repeated her words from last night: “What happened?” Her face was hard to see, as she was backlit from the bright sunlight that had suddenly returned. Almost as if it had never left.

  Heart pounding, Emily sat up and inched back, staring at the well. Half of its side had just crumbled away. Emily didn’t know stones could do that. Had it been just like the bookcase? She felt as if she was going mad!

  “I … I don’t know,” Emily said, trembling despite the fact that the air felt warmer and she could feel the sun on her face and arms again. Archie licked her cheek and she scratched his ears, still fighting off the feeling of almost falling.

  Kat crouched down in front of her, soft blue eyes roaming over Emily as if checking for any obvious wounds. “It looks like part of the stones gave away. I’m glad you didn’t fall in. That would’ve been awful.”

  “But it wasn’t just the stones. The moss and grass turned dead and—” Emily’s explanation faded as Kat’s brow furrowed deeper, obviously skeptical of the tale.

  “Maybe you imagined it, Emily. Just like last night,” Kat said, her tone calm and soothing. “Don’t worry, there are other parts of the garden I can show you.”

  But all that hadn’t been her imagination—it couldn’t have been. It was right in front of her, after all. So the bookcase hadn’t been her imagination, either. Although, she hadn’t stayed around long enough to investigate the splintered wood and the squashed books.

  Emily hated the idea of it, but felt like she had to go back and see for herself. Just in case.

  They spent the rest of the late morning exploring the garden with no more strange incidents. Kat showed her all the different kinds of shrub roses and the small patch of strawberries that were constantly being nibbled on by rabbits. Thrilled at the possibility of seeing the furry little thieves, Emily made a mental note to return soon to the fruit patch.

  At teatime, she heard Miss Greer calling for her from the side door of the manor. She turned to invite Kat in for tea, but the girl had disappeared into the vast wilds of the garden.

  It was just as well. Emily had decided to visit the library while it was still light out, and for some reason, she didn’t want Kat with her when she did.

  Archie sniffed the threshold of the library door. Em
ily held the key ring in her hand, but she was having a hard time preventing them from jangling. Her fingers just kept shaking.

  What was she doing back here? What was she hoping to prove? That she wasn’t imagining everything? That she wasn’t going crazy?

  The questions spun in her head as she pushed the big brass key into the lock and turned it. The click that followed sounded very loud to her, and the creak of the door as she pushed it open, even louder.

  But the library during the day was like an entirely different room. It was bright, with sunlight pouring in through the windows, showing off tiny little dust motes floating in midair. Archie bounded into the room, his tail wagging, clearly much happier in the warmth of the summer day. Feeling braver, Emily hurried through the room. Even if the atmosphere was much different than last night, the bookshelves still felt threatening, after one had nearly crushed her.

  Toward the back of the room, she came across the big mess. Except that she suspected either Miss Greer or Mr. Thornton tried to clean it up a little. The bookcase still lay splintered and cracked, but the books were stacked neatly in towers off to the side.

  Seeing the broken furniture, though, brought the fresh memory straight to the surface.

  She’d seen enough.

  Emily rushed out of the library. “Archie!” she called as she got to the door. The dog ran to her side quickly and she turned and locked the door again.

  Yes, the bookcase had indeed fallen. But she still had no idea if the moving shadows had been real.

  Making sure her heart rate was normal, Emily hovered near the door until she heard a sound toward the end of the hallway.

  Her heart leaping into her throat once again, Emily whipped her head in the direction of the sound. It had been metallic, not unlike a key fitting into a lock.