Page 26 of Eldritch

“Do you need the address or directions?”

“Nope. I live on Halbeck Road about three miles from you.”

“Okay. See you then.”

“Look forward to it.”

After she hung up, the others stared at her in curiosity. Letisha wore a big smile.

“Eight o’clock?” Letisha asked. “Guess we can’t sleep in.”

Maria yawned. “Well, I’m going upstairs. I’m tired.”

“Thanks guys. We accomplished a lot today even with the...well, the footprints,” Sybil stood and picked up her empty plate. “Thanks, Letisha, for the awesome meal.”

“I got this.” Pauline took the plate right out of Sybil’s hand. “I’ll wash up.”

With that, Maria took off for the second floor. Letisha and Sybil followed a few moments later.

Once on the second floor, Letisha turned to Sybil. “I’m surprised Pauline wanted to wash dishes.”

Sybil laughed. “Just what I was thinking. But she’s anal. My guess is she’ll volunteer to do it every night. She isn’t being altruistic. Her goal is to make sure that everything is done according to her preferences.”

Letisha crossed her arms. “You’re right. That’s gotta be it. Speaking of clean, at least the footprints haven’t come back.” She scanned the hallway. “That’s a good sign.”

“We still don’t know how they got there.”

“True.” Letisha lowered her voice and glanced down the hallway toward Maria’s bedroom. “You mentioned Clarice thinks it’s ghosts? Did you suggest that to her?”

Sybil made a sound of exasperation. “No, I didn’t. Clarice wasn’t definitive about ghosts. She said there were rumors. She never said that she experienced anything here when she was growing up, either.”

“Huh. Well, we will have this entire project done soon and be back in Denver in no time. It doesn’t matter.”

“It’s early yet. I think I’m going outside to the terrace a little while before I go to bed. Looked like there were some chairs and a table left out there,” Sybil said.

“See you in the morning,” Letisha said as she left.

Sybil pulled her heavy-duty fleece cardigan closer around her and snapped up the front over the long-sleeved thermal shirt she wore under it.

She headed downstairs and, once in the Great Hall, skirted around the baby grand piano and to the terrace door. She unlocked the door and stepped outside. Cold air drifted over her. It smelled so good out here, her lungs appreciating fresh air after being in the old house all day.

Glancing around, she saw the cracked stonework under her feet, with patches of old grasses that had died as fall came in growing through the cracks. All stuff that Clarice would need stonemasons to fix before she sold the place unless a buyer would take it as is. In the middle of the long terrace, there stood the old iron table and chairs. This space needed more chairs and a bigger table. She sat on one chair and groaned. It needed padding.

The sun’s light was a diminishing orange orb behind the darkening tree line to the west. While mountains dominated the west, the sun seemed determined to sneak through a crack in the thick trees and the mountain ridges. Here, the trees didn’t dominate the skyline as aggressively, yet they were still huge compared to most pine trees. When she took a deep breath of the cool air, the same unease she had faced when she first entered the woods around this house returned. The forest was steeped in shadows now, and she wished more than the light streaming from the Great Hall windows illuminated the terrace.

She slumped down in the uncomfortable chair. Nope, this chair still needed padding for the ass and back. Oh well. It didn’t matter. Wasn’t like she’d be living here permanently. Yet as she sat here, taking in the rapidly approaching darkness, she felt drawn to the area. To the trees that seemed to whisper her name in soft voices.

Watch. Watch. A sweet and begging voice. Watch this house.

She shook her head. God, these woods...this place had something in it. Something insidiously primal.

Immeasurably old.

You can’t say that out loud. Can’t say any of that out loud. Not to anyone.

She ignored the voice in her head and closed her eyes for a moment.

* * *

---