A Shade of Vampire 43: A House of Mysteries(32)

“Who would put a drape against one of these windows?” I asked curiously. It seemed like the strangest thing to do, especially in a house so in desperate need of some natural light.

“Beats me,” replied Serena.

She put the lamp down, pushing the drape further off the window, and we all peered out. I had actually never seen the front of the house—I’d been too nervous about accidentally crossing over the boundaries of the garden to do much exploring.

There was a large courtyard outside, directly in the center of which was a small island of grass, surrounded by a dirt track. Blooming magnolia trees grew in the center, sending their petals scattering across the rest of the courtyard. On either side of the track which led up to the front door of the house—I presumed, as the entrance was covered by a shaded porch—there was more overgrown garden: magnolia trees and weeping willows with wild clusters of flowers and weeds. The dirt track led away from the house for a few yards, ending suddenly, the overgrown garden becoming replaced by the swamp land. The effect of a plantation house being lifted from its natural surroundings and dumped in the middle of a jungle was more obvious here than in the back garden. The difference was startlingly pronounced, and for the first time I found myself genuinely believing Draven’s tale—it felt like I finally had evidence that such a miraculous thing had taken place.

“Wow,” Vita breathed. “This looks so weird.”

“Do you think one of those is the magnolia tree that Phoenix saw in his vision?” Serena asked.

“Could be,” I replied, “we should tell him.”

“I said yesterday that he should go and look for the tree,” Serena murmured in reply, “but I don’t know if he did or not. He didn’t mention it.”

I thought that if he’d found the tree in his vision, he would have said something, so I assumed that he hadn’t. Turning away from the window, I looked around.

“Where to next?” I asked. There was another door on our left, but that was it. I looked up at the ceiling, but couldn’t see any kind of trap door that would indicate an entrance to the attic. Without waiting for the others, I pushed open the door. It groaned loudly from disuse, and then opened up into a small, completely bare room… except for a narrow set of stairs leading upward.

“This must be the way,” I said, beckoning the others through. There were two windows in here, unobscured by drapes this time, and sending shafts of light across the bare and rotting floorboards.

“Be careful,” I said, picking my way across them to the staircase. When I reached the first step, I put my foot out, testing whether or not it would take my weight. It seemed quite sturdy, perhaps the only thing in the house that did, and I started to ascend. Serena and Vita followed closely behind. When I reached the last step, there was nothing except the top of the ceiling, with a perfectly square board cut into the plaster. With some trepidation, mainly nervousness about the possibility of humongous rats, I pushed against it. It gave way easily, setting a smattering of dust and plaster debris on top of our heads. I coughed, my eyes stinging as the grime covered me.

“I’m going to need another shower,” I said, looking down at my filthy hands and feet. I hoped they had shoes up here too. If we were going to get out of here eventually, I’d rather not traipse about the jungle in bare feet.

With a final push, I moved the board to the side and clambered up into the attic.

“What did I tell you!” Serena announced as she climbed up behind me. The attic was surprisingly full of light. The ceiling had skylights built into it, bathing the room in sunshine, but also making it the temperature of a furnace.

“Let’s open them,” I replied, already starting to feel beads of perspiration rolling down my back. We each took one of the four windows, pushing against them with effort. One wouldn’t budge at all, no matter how hard we tried, but the other three did—letting in slightly cooler air than below in the gardens.

I looked around the attic. It was full of heavy-looking chests, more paintings covered with mildewed sheets, broken chairs, side tables and lamps. There was even a haggard-looking rocking-horse in the far corner, one of its eyes popped out, with stuffing falling from the socket. I shuddered.

Why is this place so consistently creepy?

Serena moved over to one of the chests, flicking the latch up and pushing it open. More groans emanated from the hinges, but then the lid swung open with a heavy thump.

“Bingo,” she called out, already rifling through its contents.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” I remarked as she pulled out a large, yellow-white petticoat.