Angel Manor (Lucifer Falls Book 1) (27 page)

“Well, ye know that tha place used ta be a convent about two hundred years ago, right? They took care of little orphan children. Until one o’ tha nuns burned it doon.” Emma looked around the table and smiled at her captive audience. Terrence liked the way she smiled, and he was tempted to put his hand on her knee under the table.

“Only two people survived: a nun and a wee girl. They thought tha nun might’a torched tha place, but no one knows tha real story. Ye know how things go; people talk an truth turns in’te urban myths.”

“Emma loves her myths,” Lindsey giggled, and took a sip from her pint of cider.

“It’s an interesting place.” Emma focused her gaze on her glass, her finger moving around its rim in a circular motion. Terrence could see the excitement in her face. “Years after tha convent burned doon, tha wee girl came back. She’d been an orphan, but this rich family adopted her, so she had a lot o’ coin. Her adoptive parents died or something. There’s stories that say she killed them, and tha t’was tha little girl who set fire ta tha convent.” She put her lips to her glass and took a sip, allowing her audience to mull the words over. “Whatever happened, tha nun and tha child built tha house and called it Angel Manor, in honour of tha burned down convent, because tha t’was called tha Holy Angels Convent, see? They used to call tha nuns tha Angels.”

“Aye, only they weren’t angels at all, were they, Emma?” Lindsey raised her eyebrows.

Emma leaned forward, lowering her voice. “No, ah hear that tha Sisters were really Satan worshippers. There was an article about tha convent. The kids went in, but never came out. No one ever knew what happened ta them. And that convent was centuries old, but there was no record of any o’ tha kids after they got to tha orphanage. They just disappeared.” She leaned back with a smug smile. “There’ll be some stuff on it in tha library.”

“I don’t know. I think in this case, ‘ignorance is bliss’ works fine for me,” Angus muttered. “I’ve got to sleep in that house, you know? I’m already happy no one died in the house itself, just in that convent.”

“Are ye kidding? Lots of people died in that house.” It was Bonnie who spoke now, her soft voice cutting through the background noises of the other customers. “Some of them even died in our lifetime.”

“Aye, like the previous owner and her three children. Everyone who’s ever lived in that house has been a complete recluse, but apparently two o’ tha old lady’s children tried ta run away from tha house a few years ago, both adults mind ye. One o’ them fell in love and wanted ta get married and have kids, tha other just followed. Both died within four days of leaving.”

“What does that have to do with the house though? They didn’t even die there.” Angus lifted his hands in front of him as if he were defending himself against blows, and Terrence snorted.

Emma ran her fingers through her hair, her eyes dark. “They say that once tha house has ye in its grasp, it won’t let ye go.”

“That’s comforting.” Terrence felt the blood drain from his cheeks, and he thought of the dreams he’d had about his brother again. They’d been so realistic.

“Anyway, tha old lady and tha last son died in tha house itself. He went first. Killed himself he did.”

“Nice.” Angus pulled a face.

“That whole house is built on blood,” Emma said. “It started with tha construction. At least four men died during tha building o’ tha house, an’ another two disappeared without a trace.”

Terrence and Angus exchanged a look, and Terrence saw his own worry reflected in his friend’s eyes.

“Disappeared? Two guys disappeared?” Terrence stared hard at Emma. “Two?”

“Aye, two… why?”

“Fuck, mate… we had two guys disappear from our group. The coaches think they ran away, but I’m not so sure now.”

“Ye’re having me on.” She leaned back a little, an incredulous smile on her face.

“Nope. Go ask if you don’t believe me. We called the police and everything.”

“What did tha police say?”

“Well, the guys who ran away are notorious for sodding off. They contacted the boys’ parents and stuff, so I guess if they don’t show up sooner or later, they’ll make a case out of it.”

“Could just be them then, not tha house.”

“Yeah, could be. But it just struck me as odd, them leaving like that.”

“Maybe the house ate them.” Lindsey said and laughed. Bonnie giggled along, but there was an eager gaze in Emma’s eyes.

“Ah’ve always wanted to see that house from tha inside.” She looked directly at Terrence now. “Do ye think ye could sneak us in?”

“Eh…”

“It sounds like a right scary place. And ah always get really horny when ah’m scared.” Her bottom lip pouted a little and she fluttered her eyelashes.

“Yeah, we can sneak you in,” Angus said. He clapped his hands together with anticipation. “How about tonight? Unless Sunday night isn’t convenient for you. Don’t know if you have school in the morning or something.”

“We’ll be fine, right girls?” Emma looked at the other two, and Terrence saw that Bonnie looked a little frightened. He didn’t like the idea of the girls going to Angel Manor, but at the same time, the thought of having horny girls to play with in the dark cancelled out any fears he might have had.

“You can’t ride with us. The coaches won’t have it. Do you have a ride?”

“Aye, I got a car.” Lindsey lifted her hand, the action almost childlike, and they all laughed a little.

“Well, if you go to the house after one o’clock, that’s when everyone’s usually asleep. We can sneak out and let you in through the back door. Make sure you park your car out of sight.”

The girls nodded.

“This is gonna be so cool,” Emma said, and something about her keenness made Terrence’s heart sink.

***

Freya squinted at the letters on the page, but they were difficult to read and she felt like flinging the notebook across the room. Instead, she let out a stifled scream and punched the armrest of the chair.

“Why did this person write in chicken scratches?”

“Found nothing, eh?” Logan looked up from his own study with a weak smile. He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. “I can’t really concentrate on mine.”

“Can you at least read it?”

“Yes, but…” His green eyes sought hers, but Freya looked away. “Damn it, Freya, should we talk about what happened in the attic?”

She raised her eyebrows. “The ghosts? We talked about that, and now we’re trying to find out who they are.”

“No, not the ghosts…” He put the book down, got up from his seat and crouched down next to her, his hands on either side of her, gripping her arm rests. She couldn’t look away from him; he was too close. “Freya, we had sex. Very weird sex… we should talk about this.”

“What’s there to talk about?” Her cheeks burned.

“I don’t know… maybe just what you think about all this. I mean, I know I wanted to have sex with you, but I’m not even sure if you had voluntary sex with me or if… if…” He looked from side to side, desperately trying to find the words.

“Or if it was the house?” She finished the sentence for him, her confidence blossoming from his insecurity. His face lifted, the expression he wore either hopeful or tormented, Freya couldn’t tell. “It wasn’t the house. Though perhaps the house sped up the process a little.” She put a hand in front of her mouth to hide her smile, but it soon turned into a laugh. Logan’s face cleared up with obvious relief, and he joined her laughter.

“It was certainly intense.” He shook his head, still laughing.

“Oh God, and the spiders. That was just… horrifying.”

“Yeah, that’s a night I won’t soon forget. I wish it could have been different though. I would have liked it to have been a bit more… special.” He leaned forward and pulled her hand away from her mouth.

“Protection would have been a good idea too.”

Logan recoiled a little. “I didn’t even think of that. Holy shit, are we in trouble here?”

“No, I’m on the pill, and I’m pretty sure I have no icky diseases. I hope you don’t.”

“Clean.” His face was stern. “I’ve been tested recently. I… I… like to be safe.”

She nodded, her eyes averted. “That’s good then. I think we should be okay. Just… if we’re ever going to do this again… maybe better safe than sorry?”

“So…” He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, offering her a crooked smile. “There’s a chance we might do this again?”

Chapter 22

“Ah can’t believe we’re doing this.” Bonnie shuddered and pulled her coat close around her. The end of summer was still warm, but the nights were getting chillier. “Noo, ah don’t mind going inside that spooky house, but do we have to do it at one in the bloody morning?”

“Ach, where’s yer sense o’ adventure?” Emma pushed her hip against Bonnie, who had to take a step to the side in order to keep her balance. “What if we see a real ghost?”

“What if the house eats us?”

“Dinnae be daft.” Emma made a ‘pshhh’ sound and waved her hand at her friend. Her mind was wrapped in a happy fuzz from the alcohol, and Lindsey, the only sober one, clung on to her arm as they made their way up the hill towards the old Manor.

“Are ye sure we needed to park the car all the way down there in the bushes? Ah don’t think anyone is expecting us, ye know?” Bonnie glared down the steep hill to where the vehicle was parked, but it was impossible to see it in the moonlight. “Ah think we might be being a bit too James Bond about this.”

“Better safe than sorry.” Lindsey winked at Emma, who nodded in agreement.

“Always wanted ta see tha inside of that house.” Emma slurred. She added as an afterthought, “Jesus, this hill is a wee bit steep, isn’t it? Ah wish ah wasn’t wearing heels. Ah’m too pissed for this bollocks.”

“Oh please, ah’ve seen ye a lot worse than this.” Bonnie giggled, and Lindsey laughed along. Emma just shrugged and rolled her eyes. The three girls climbed the steep hill and carefully made their way towards the building.

“Look at those angels,” Bonnie said with a deep sigh.

“Those survived tha fire,” Emma said. “They cleaned them up apparently. T’was a miracle they didn’t burn with tha rest o’ tha stuff.”

“Does stone even burn?”

Emma shrugged. “Ah don’t know, ah guess it does, considering tha convent burned ta tha ground.”

“Don’t be stupid.” Lindsey shook her head. “Stone doesn’t burn. The convent burned to the ground because buildings often have wooden structures inside. They burn, and then the stone collapses, usually breaking when it does.”

“Oh.” Emma felt a bit sheepish. “Well, there ye have it then. Tha angels miraculously survived tha falling stones.”

“Can we go look at them up close?” Bonnie inched forward.

“They’re right in front o’ tha front entrance. Ah’m not sure if that’s such a good idea. We’re supposed ta meet tha guys round back or something.”

“Psst.” The harsh whisper cut through the darkness, and the three girls froze in their tracks. Emma felt Lindsey’s fingers dig into her skin and she hissed with pain.

“Ladies?”

The voice came from the shadows, and it was Emma who first moved towards the sound. Lindsey trailed one step behind, her hand still around Emma’s arm. Two guys were standing near some bushes, and one waved at them.

“There ye are,” Emma whispered loud enough for everyone to hear. “We were wondering how we were going ta find ye. This house is pretty big. Ah had no idea where we were supposed ta meet.” The two young men stood side by side, their faces cast in shadows. “Lead tha way.”

“We’ll go in through the back. The others are waiting for you inside.”

“You’re going ta give us a tour of tha house, right? Show us some of tha really scary places?”

“Of course. Come on.” The black guy made a motion with his hand and walked towards the back of the large mansion. He was shorter than Emma remembered. The other guy trailed behind. He was handsome, his tousled hair a mousy brown colour, though his face looked a little gaunt in the moonlight. He was dressed in a thick black jumper and had his hands pushed deep into his jeans pockets.

They snuck around the building. The girls followed the lead of the dark-skinned guy, who crouched as he walked, and they all tried to be as quiet as possible. They stopped at a pair of white painted terrace doors, and the guy held open the door for them. Emma smiled gratefully.

“Thank ye, Terrence.”

The boy paused for a moment, then he smiled. “I’m Tyrell.”

“Ah thought ye said yer name was Terrence?” She squinted at him.

“Terrence is my brother.”

“Och, well ye two look a lot alike.” Emma shrugged.

“We’ve been told that before.” He smiled at her, and a shiver ran down Emma’s back. His eyes didn’t smile along with his mouth, she noticed. “Go on in.”

***

Bam watched the three girls from the window. Her eyes were fixed on Chuck, who leered at the living flesh the way he used to focus his attention on her. She still feared him and the sight of him turned her cold.

A wave of emotion passed over her, amplified by the Manor. The young women were suddenly the focus of her attention, as an inner predator took over her senses. Thoughts of pushing sharp blades into their skin and watching the blood well up made the space between her legs tingle with the heat of desire. She pictured peeling their skin and plucking the gleaming muscles underneath like a harp.