The Shadow Box: Paranormal Suspense and Dark Fantasy Thriller Novels

by Travis Luedke

  ‘I feel weird now, knowing I saw a kid who died in such a sad way.’ Juliet moved her shoulders about. ‘Actually, I don’t know how to feel lately.’

  ‘I think you did a good thing,’ Nick offered. ‘What you can do is amazing.’

  ‘It’s also frightening.’

  ‘I suppose it is.’ He imagined ghosts appearing to him and wasn’t sure how he’d react.

  ‘Carl’s spirit said something strange about Alan.’ Juliet frowned. ‘Something like The machines took all his money away … or maybe, He gives all his money to machines … He said so much so fast that I can’t remember it all now, but it was something along those lines.’

  Nick was a little disturbed to hear the kid’s simple words spoken by Juliet, but he pondered what she’d said. ‘Gambling?’

  Juliet gave a single nod. ‘I think so. A young boy wouldn’t understand much about gambling, but spirits seem to know what people are thinking and feeling … Maybe he picked it up from Alan’s thoughts and then described it the only way he could … ?’ She shook her head, closing her eyes briefly. ‘I don’t know if spirits mentally mature or not, past whatever stage they were at when they died. Carl’s spirit appeared to me as a boy, and he acted as young as he looked. But you said he died years ago.’ Her face showed sadness. ‘He was wearing only shorts …’ She pressed her eyes shut again.

  Nick wanted to comfort her somehow but didn’t know what to do. As sad as it all was, he felt amazement exhilarating him. There were so many ghost-related questions he was dying to ask. But now wasn’t the time. ‘Alan’s in debt from gambling, then,’ he said, deciding to believe it, ‘but I don’t know who his friends are. Probably just lowlifes he made a deal to share the profits with, after selling the stock.’

  No response came from Juliet, so Nick thought for a moment. He knew a few people his age who casually gambled and he’d heard how easy it was to blow large amounts. Fast. But most people knew when to stop.

  When Juliet opened her eyes, she asked, ‘Will you want to call the police and press charges against Alan and that other man?’ Then with obvious reluctance, she added, ‘I can give a statement …’

  ‘No,’ he answered almost immediately. ‘They’re gone now, anyway, and I don’t want to involve you in this any more than I already have.’ He sighed and thought about the days ahead. ‘I can’t avoid seeing Alan at work, so I’ll deal with the problem then … Maybe I will have to tell Mora everything.’ … even if it upsets her …

  Juliet nodded neutrally, then said, ‘We should get back on the road.’

  Nick began to drive again, his forearms aching where they’d taken the blows intended for his face.

  A sign that read ‘Private Road’ came into view, and Nick assumed the route led to the manor. He drove up the muddy path on a steep hill he couldn’t see over from the bottom, his car churning and whining on its ascent.

  When he reached the top, the manor was visible in the distance. ‘Wow …’

  ‘This is the first time I’ve seen Grendel Manor,’ said Juliet.

  Although Nick knew Grendel Manor was less than a hundred years old, it was built in an Elizabethan style: perfectly symmetrical with enormous rectangular windows; four chimneys that protruded from a grey slate roof; golden walls partly covered in ivy; and at the top there were surmounted rooms, shaped by semicircles and spirals.

  The weather was cold and dry, the sun’s weak attempt offset by the strong wind on the northwest of the island—but the sun still achieved a sublime glow on the manor walls.

  As Nick drove down the private road, it curved to the right and transformed into a gravel parking area. There were no other cars, but the gravel suggested one had recently visited.

  It seemed strange to Nick that the manor wasn’t secured off in any form. He’d been expecting to come across a giant iron gate and a wall surrounding the perimeter, but there was nothing. On approach he’d seen a mass of land behind the building, a group of trees, and the cliff edge beyond that. It was like a private valley, shielded by the surrounding hills.

  He parked, then got out at the same time as Juliet. His body protested, yearning for rest, so he squeezed his eyes shut to block out the agony. ‘I hope someone’s in,’ he said, lifting his eyelids and looking over at Juliet.

  ‘Me too.’ The wind played with her hair as she nodded and politely smiled.

  Leading ahead, Nick passed through a foliage archway in the front garden and then found a chalky path with green grass on either side. The manor loomed taller with their approach. Juliet, walking confidently, kept her distance behind and didn’t try to overtake.

  ‘Whoa,’ said Nick. ‘This place is so big.’

  Juliet gave a courteous glance towards the building but didn’t seem particularly impressed.

  After using the heavy door knock a few times, they waited. A moment later, Nick heard movement from inside before the large door swung open. The man who answered eyed them suspiciously. ‘Can I help you?’

  ‘Hi. We just wanted to ask some questions, if that’s okay?’ Nick said as reasonably as possible.

  ‘Of course. Would you like to come in?’ The man was short. He took a moment to look Juliet up and down before smiling.

  Nick received an uncertain look from Juliet, but he turned back to the man and answered, ‘Please. Thank you.’ He walked inside and Juliet followed.

  The entry hall was enormous, with a staircase leading to an indoor balcony. To the left was an open cabinet with various ornaments on it, including a statue head of Alexander the Great. Portraits and art covered the walls—pictures of winged devils, horned beasts, and headless angels.

  The style indoors was Hellenistic, which Nick found odd after the exterior design. He wondered if every room had a different theme. Why not? The manor was certainly big enough.

  Nick tilted his head to look up at the ceiling and saw a large iron chandelier hanging metres above. ‘I think this room is larger than my entire house,’ he said, and laughed. The man gave him a curious look when he smiled.

  ‘Hmmm. I designed everything,’ said the man. ‘My name is Aldrich Grendel,’ he added eminently.

  Nick noted that Aldrich’s name didn’t match his appearance and strange voice … Is that a type of Arabic accent? Maybe mixed with some others … ? Unsure, he decided to quit guessing.

  Aldrich’s skin was a light tan leather colour, and his deep mahogany hair was curly, with a heavy fringe resting to one side. He had dark eyebrows and shadowy stubble that shaped his masculine face. Underneath a tweed jacket, he wore a burgundy jumper, and below he had on dark cord trousers and tan brogues. He also sported a wooden cane with an oval brass head, although he didn’t seem to use it for support. Age-wise, he must have been in his mid-thirties, but he gave off the cultivated air of someone who’d seen many more years.

  ‘I’m Nick, and this is—’

  Juliet cut him off as he gestured towards her. ‘I’m Juliet Maystone; it’s nice to meet you.’ She shook Aldrich’s hand.

  ‘How long have you lived here?’ Nick asked, trying to ease into the bigger question on his mind.

  ‘Why?’ Aldrich replied brusquely.

  ‘Oh, never mind, just curious.’

  ‘It’s none of your business.’

  Nick frowned, his senses piquing at the strange behaviour. ‘Erm, sorry,’ he said noncommittally, ‘forget I asked. It’s not why we came here, anyway.’

  ‘I don’t care why you came here,’ Aldrich said with contempt and looked at Nick quizzically, as if trying to place him.

  ‘Erm … Have I offended you somehow?’

  Then Aldrich said, ‘I’m bored of this.’ He stared at Juliet, into her eyes, and then did the same to Nick. It was piercing, intimidating, and seemed to have a strange effect on Juliet—her posture slumped, making her stand zombie-like.

  ‘Give me whatever valuables you have on you,’ said Aldrich, ‘then leave here and forget this place.’ He shifted his gaze from Nick to Juliet and back.

>   Was Aldrich joking? Nick turned to see Juliet’s reaction. She reached into her pockets, her movements methodical, as if she were sleepwalking. She took out her mobile and walked towards Aldrich, offering it to him.

  ‘What are you doing to her?’ Nick shouted.

  Aldrich jumped, and Juliet paused, becoming absolutely still. Aldrich looked at Nick fiercely, studying his face, appearing confused. He even seemed a little frightened. ‘You!’ He pointed. ‘You should not have come here.’ He turned to Juliet and stared into her eyes again. ‘Kill your friend,’ he ordered vehemently. ‘Kill this Nick. Do it now!’

  After a slow pivot, Juliet released her mobile. It bounced on the floor. When she looked up at Nick, her eyes were distant and uncaring.

  She charged.

  Nick stepped backwards, but she was on him before he could do anything. She went for his throat, strangling him, and her nails drew blood from his skin.

  The pains from the previous attack swelled in the fumbling.

  A rage flared in Juliet’s eyes, and Nick could see that she was desperate to kill him. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he had to get free from her tightening grip. Struggling to breathe, he brought his elbows up and wriggled his fingers between Juliet’s hands and his neck.

  When he managed to overpower her, he heaved in a breath. He used the anger built up in his body, from the pain it had already endured, to push Juliet hard. She fell backwards onto the floor. But the desperate determination was still in her eyes.

  Aldrich’s eyes widened at Nick freeing himself. He seemed rooted to the spot but had his knees slightly bent, as though ready to suddenly dash. Then he jerked his head towards Juliet and shouted, ‘Kill him, kill him!’

  Nick did the only thing he could think of. He ran to the open cabinet, picked up the statue head of Alexander the Great, and launched it at Aldrich. It smacked him in the temple. He fell. The statue cracked on the floor beside him, and his cane toppled and clanked about before rolling away from his body.

  Juliet was still on the floor. She seemed dazed now. ‘Why am I down here?’ She looked up at Nick. ‘What happened?’ After standing up, she peered across at Aldrich. A small pool of blood was forming around his head. ‘What happened to him?’

  Nick’s thumping chest convulsed painfully. It took him a moment to locate his voice. ‘We have to leave. Now!’ His words came out raspy from the strangulation.

  ‘What? Shouldn’t we call an ambulance?’ She pointed at Aldrich.

  ‘Trust me; we have to leave.’ Nick ran out of the front door, Juliet following, and then hurried up the chalky path. His bruises burnt with the rapid blood coursing through him.

  Juliet shouted from behind, ‘Why can’t I remember anything?’

  ‘I’ll tell you in the car. We have to leave.’ He struggled to unlock the vehicle, his hands shaking. Once inside, he waited for Juliet to get in and then drove back over the hill and down the private road, away from Grendel Manor.

  ‘Nick, slow down,’ Juliet appealed. ‘You’re driving like a madman.’

  As soon as he reached a public road, he slowed his driving. Instinctively he had driven towards Amiton, taking a different route from the way they came.

  ‘Where are we going?’ asked Juliet. ‘Please tell me what happened.’

  ‘Sorry … We just need to get away from there. I need to think.’

  ‘Pull over soon, then, please. I don’t feel safe with you driving like this.’

  He drove for a couple more minutes and then found a place to stop. Juliet looked at him, at his neck. Shock ran over her face. ‘What happened to your neck?’ She leaned closer to see the damage. ‘Did Aldrich do that?’

  Nick peered into her eyes, searching for a sign of comprehension. She really doesn’t know … And he wasn’t sure how to tell her, so he answered, ‘Not exactly ...’

  Juliet appeared bemused, then looked down at her hands, inspected her nails. She gasped, tears coming to her eyes. ‘I don’t understand. Did I do that to you? My hands ache … There’s blood under my nails—’ Her voice broke.

  Nick began to explain what had happened and put one hand on her shoulder. She seemed okay with the physical contact. Her face went through a series of expressions when he described the way she’d handed over her phone obediently and then charged at him in a rage.

  ‘My phone! I left it there ...’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Nick said, unsure, ‘we’ll think of something.’

  Juliet closed her eyes and audibly inhaled. She kept going to say something and then stopping. Nick gave her a while to compose herself, feeling as if she’d tacitly asked him to.

  Even in his panic, he was amazed at Aldrich’s ability. He had to find out more. Would Aldrich know how Nick’s psychic power had come about? Could he teach him to gain control of it?

  His brain continued to reel out questions until Juliet asked, ‘So Aldrich can control people with his mind?’

  Hearing it said so simply made it sound undeniably possible. ‘I think so.’

  ‘How does he do that?’ Her eyes squinted in horror.

  ‘How would I know? How do you see ghosts? How do I see the future?’

  ‘But what are we going to do now?’

  ‘I just need to think.’ He tapped the steering wheel impatiently, waiting for lightning to strike, but nothing came to mind.

  ‘We have to go back,’ said Juliet. ‘I told him my name, and you told him you’re called Nick. You’re saved in my phone as Nicolas Crystan … If he can control people, then he could have us killed.’

  ‘But what if he gets you to attack me again?’ Nick saw a guilty look on her face.

  ‘I’ll stay out of the way. Why couldn’t he control you with his mind?’

  ‘I don’t know …’ He contemplated it. ‘It felt like his eyes were piercing into me, but it had no other effect.’ A car sped by and made him jump. He laughed at how jittery he was, then tried to mentally relax before saying, ‘I agree. We have to go back. Aldrich must have something to do with my mum’s disappearance … I need to talk to him again.’

  ‘What if you’ve killed him?’ Juliet winced. ‘You can’t ask him questions if he’s dead.’

  ‘But you can.’ Nick raised his eyebrows, then guilt rushed over him at the thought of turning an accidental murder into an advantage.

  ‘It doesn’t work like that.’ She shook her head. ‘Spirits just seem to show up whenever they feel like it. I can’t summon them.’

  ‘I hope he’s not dead. I only did it to get you out of the trance you were in. It was all I could think of.’

  ‘You saved me again.’ She huffed a light laugh, and her eyes lingered on his for a significant moment.

  He took them in, their calming sky-blue, and almost wished he could get lost in them. But his mind snapped him back to urgency. ‘I think we’re missing something,’ he said. ‘We can’t just go back like this. My mum tried to tell you I have to take something with me, didn’t she?’

  ‘She vanished before she could tell me what.’ A hopeless look entered her eyes, then Nick saw her go mentally inwards. She looked up at him with an expression that clearly meant, ‘You’re not going to like this.’

  ‘Why don’t you use your ability?’ she asked.

  ‘What? I’ve never used it before. It’s like what you said about the ghosts. The visions come to me. I don’t know how I do it. When I tried to use it before, it gave me a splitting headache.’

  ‘But if you can see the future, then we’ll be one step ahead. What if he’s already sent someone after us? Please, Nicolas …’ She put a hand on his knee. ‘Please try.’

  He didn’t say anything, but he enjoyed her touch on his leg. What she was asking of him made sense; he just didn’t want to fail and let her down. But what if Aldrich had sent someone after them? A premonition would give them the upper hand.

  ‘There might be repercussions,’ he said. ‘I saved your life, but now you see ghosts, and that poor woman fell where you were meant to. Was t
hat just a coincidence? I had painful flashes relating to her death. Maybe I deserved the pain for messing with fate …’

  He watched Juliet close her eyes at the mention of the woman who’d fallen. When she opened them she said, ‘Rowena Howard appeared to me yesterday. She explained what happened to her and she doesn’t blame us. I’ll tell you about it another time.’

  That was some relief, at least, although he still felt awful over the loss of a life. He half smiled to Juliet, then gave a nod.

  She continued. ‘We’ll think of the repercussions when we need to, but for now we have to try something. What else can we do?’

  ‘Okay, I’ll try, but don’t expect anything to happen.’ He closed his eyes, squeezed them shut as hard as possible, and scrunched up his face, trying to think of the future. Holding his breath, he tensed his body. ‘It’s not working …’

  ‘Relax, Nicolas. You look too tense.’

  Trying a different method, he began to breathe deeply. He told himself not to worry, that it didn’t matter whether it worked or not. Imagining himself sinking into the seat stilled him. Then he visualised his whole body and mind being connected to everything. He saw his entire self as a tree growing outwards, branches and roots weaving into the world. The relaxation was so deep that he lost the sense of where he was and what he was trying to do in the first place.

  When he opened his eyes, he was no longer sitting in his Vauxhall Corsa.

  *

  He walked through a foliage archway, then turned around and saw three people trailing behind him: Juliet, Tom, and Tommy. All three looked nervous.

  This time he knew he was inside a vision. It felt as real as the first one had, except on this occasion he wasn’t so absorbed that he actually believed it was happening. He simply watched through his own eyes.

  Ahead of him, the large front door of Grendel Manor was open. In a hushed voice, he said to Juliet, ‘Stay outside. We’ll go in and check.’