Love's Darkest House

by Ginny Lynn

  “Dignified? You’re a whore of Satan and now you’re too much of a high class lay to let me grovel at your invisible feet. That is rich.”

  “Silence, you cowering mongrel! I have had enough of your voice. I will tell her the story and you will sit and watch the horror of it cross her pretty face as she sees what you really are.”

  “Can I help him up while you tell the story?” I asked her.

  “Why does it matter to you?” she asked out of surprise.

  “It bothers me to see him in such a condition. Besides, if I’m to see the true Kenrick Giles then shouldn’t I be able to look him in the eyes when you reveal him to me?”

  “Quite right, Renata. Go ahead and help him up, but no untying him. That part amuses me.” She waved me forward and I skirted her as best as I could while shuffling around the furniture to get him.

  He looked so angry and defensive when I got to where he lay vulnerable and bleeding. His strong arms had been tied at the wrists and then tied to the rope that secured his ankles to the bottom rung of the wooden chair. He was trussed up like a pig going to market. The thought of him being unable to stop her was what Aster wanted from this staged scene.

  I would have to tip the chair back up without it sliding out from under me. My arm strength wasn’t up to doing this gracefully. Standing over his head, I slowly pushed it into a more upright position and whispered in his ear, “Any ideas?”

  “Nothing other than getting us out of here. You?”

  Aster looked over at us as I kept up with my turtle-like progress. “What are you two whispering about?”

  Kenrick grunted and said, “She’s making unladylike noises, and I’m laughing at her.”

  “Do you think that she is not strong enough to help out such a virile man?” Aster questioned.

  “Yes, if given the proper motivation plus the adrenaline to back it up. At this moment, she is too frightened to properly save herself let alone anyone else.”

  I finished my task and reached around to place a palm in between his open legs as I pushed him firmly back into place.

  “Watch it, buddy. I’m not the one tied up for the big event,” I said softly in his ear.

  His gaze flickered down to my unbound breasts bouncing against my nightshirt and he winked at me. I wanted to drop him back on the floor.

  “Renata, you and I have some work to do with this one. He seems to have lost his tongue and his manners since I left him last.”

  “Why do you want him if he’s so much of a cur?” I asked, using her own words back on her.

  “The man can kiss like the devil himself and I won’t deny my heart still leaps at the sight of those liquid eyes.”

  I blushed at the mention of the kiss, even if the context was ghoulish.

  “So, you have tasted the dear lady, have you, Kenrick?”

  He said nothing and just glared daggers at her.

  “Maybe you can hold your tongue, at least in this moment, but you had no problems using it on our new friend. I’m jealous but pleased at this confirmation.”

  “Jealousy should be beneath a dead woman,” Kenrick said with a mocking grin.

  Aster’s eyes flashed, and she made a gesture with her nimble fingers. Blood beaded from the corner of his lips where the smirk had been just a second ago. He spat it away from her, and she laughed as if he’d just offered her a posy or graced her with a compliment.

  “Check his restraints,” Aster said as she turned back to her book of secrets.

  Placing my hand on top of the knot at the chair bottom, I saw something flicker from the corner of my eyes. It appeared to be a small piece of glass he was using to cut into the rope that held him in place. Looking down at his feet, I saw a more jagged piece and palmed it as I feigned looking over each inch of the rope. As my hands slid upward, and in a more sexual area, I slithered my shard into his empty hand and met his rapidly moving eyes as they tried to keep up with all movements in the room. He gave a slight nod before Aster gave us a roving glance as she read another page of lines and directions.

  “This one won’t let you go either, my dear. You either slighted her or she’s more witch than I first guessed.”

  “I’m no witch, Aster,” I retorted.

  “Maybe not, but you possess enough of a gift to make things easier for my transformation.”

  Once I was done, she motioned me back over to my original spot as she waited for my full attention. Gazing to the attic door, I saw a dresser had been moved just over the doorframe as to make opening it more of a challenge. I was strong enough to shove it aside but could she be strong enough to stop me from fleeing? That was the question and I hoped why he kept barbing her with his silver tongue. Once I was seated, I saw a few smears of blood from my stumbling effort with Kenrick. She saw where I looked and shook her head at me.

  “Don’t waste too much, as I’ll need some of it before morning.”

  “Enough of this cryptic talk, just tell me what the hell is going on,” I said a bit too brisk for someone in this precarious situation.

  “Yes, the night is getting old, and this must be completed before the sun touches the ground with its full rays.”

  It gave us an estimate of how long we had to distract her or to stop this madness entirely.

  “It all began when I was a young woman who fell for the handsome farmer who helped tend the household lands.”

  “In a land far, far away,” interrupted Kenrick.

  That got him another metaphysical slap across the face. This one didn’t throw him down but it left the impression of a small hand across his right cheek. Could she be weakening or just concentrating harder on her target?

  Once she turned her back on him, I noticed his hands moving against the restraints. He nodded at me and I understood he wanted me to keep her attention as he attempted to use both shards to break his bonds.

  “Go on with your history lesson, Aster.” I waved a hand in the air.

  “Back then flirting was not as bold but I did what I could to attract him to me. I saw him gaze on the bodies of the ladies who came to the house and knew from tales that he wasn’t as virginal as my father had hoped. One night, I watched him with a lady from a few houses down and knew I had to be the next one for his attention.”

  It was hard to keep eye contact with someone who could be seen through but I managed to keep her facing me. It was sinister how she had stalked her prey for this long and wouldn’t let her death be the end of the hunt.

  “I began to experiment with spells and potions but my gift was lacking where most spells were concerned. The only one I was effective at casting happened to be the one which brought me back as a ghost after I had mistakenly taken my own life in the process. Playing with magic is not all games as some of the best results can have the highest price.”

  “Tell me how because I am intrigued to be speaking to a ghost,” I asked.

  “Intrigued? This makes me like my choice in people to possess even better, but we’ll get to that. Kenrick wasn’t picking anyone to court so I pursued him to distraction. Earning enough money to purchase the more exotic plants, I began making the love potion I came across. I wasn’t going to use the first few batches on my own love as it might not be safe, so I sold it to the foolish girls in the neighborhood who wanted to have the more rich gentlemen become enraptured with them. They wanted my potions to obtain wealth and standing in the material world where I wanted love, passion, and the freedom to practice.

  My father shunned anything not conventionally Christian so I hid most of my dealings. Sometimes I believe he purely wished not to see what I was becoming. I didn’t need his approval but I needed him to support my life as I sought out one of my own making. He even refused to believe how I had come to die that unfortunate night. Since I had become a spirit, I saw my own funeral plus the life on the estate those many years afterward. I went into a state of solitude for many of those years as things were not worth the effort to make myself known. Then you brought me back to full con
sciousness.”

  She was gazing directly at me and it spread a shudder across my skin. “How did I accomplish that?”

  “Your power breathed into this house and shook me awake from my years of boredom. Out of all of the people in this area, I had found the one person who could get me out of these self-induced doldrums and back to living. You were meant to save me. I honestly believe it. And when you didn’t run screaming from the house at the first hint of ghostly energy, you silently confirmed my belief that I could get on with what I was meant to be.”

  “What is so fabulous about me? I have life crippling visions that make every moment a danger as I never know when I’ll succumb and blackout. I’m a mess and no one wants to be involved in such an insane way to live. Friends walked away and would-be lovers ran as fast as their feet could carry them as they realized what a nightmare I was. No one in their right mind would want my life.”

  Kenrick interrupted again. “Aster is far out of her right mind and always has been. She has admitted to being a practicing witch and that is enough proof for me.”

  “Kenrick, you would be wise to be quiet. Don’t make me strike you again.”

  I met his eyes and he nodded at me again before twisting his hands in a manner to where I could see the remaining strand of rope left between his legs. A jolt of excitement ripped from my heart as I got a glimmer of hope, but I schooled my face not to show it as I had to keep the ghost talking.

  “Having seen the positive effect of the potion on other men, I brewed up one last batch to use on my intended. That day, I made the mixture in the graveyard, as no one would be likely to find me there and I had already fashioned a story of being busy for the next few hours so my father wouldn’t be concerned with me. It was perfect until I met up with Kenrick the same night. Things hadn’t gone as planned.”

  Remembering that part of my visions and her watching him from the tree line, she finalized the plan for her last move. The next one had been her clipping off the ingredients she needed. It was all falling into place. All this meant that it had to be true about how old Kenrick was but not what had kept him alive this long.

  “I see realization dawning in your eyes, Renata. You see where this leads, do you not?”

  “The visions you showed me were of the day this all occurred,” I stated simply.

  “Yes, but the first vision was not of my doing. When I saw what you could do, some of it was accidentally transferred to you as you were more emotional. I apologize but it gave me the idea to show you that I really hadn’t meant you any harm, either of you.”

  “This tells me what your intentions were but something happened, didn’t it? Something got messed up so badly, it not only backfired but killed you.”

  “Correct.”

  “The bitchy witch didn’t think that I had what it took to tell her no. Did you, Aster?”

  With a flash, she flung her arm out, causing the chair to fling back a good two feet before he was slammed to the ground. I went to check him out but she got in front of me and held up a single finger.

  “Do not force my hand,” she stated calmly.

  Power crept from her in invisible figures and poked at my quivering skin. I couldn’t help him if I got knocked out, so I had to remain as calm as possible. I learned that in a self-defense course the school had sponsored one night. But they never covered how to protect yourself from a spirit who was after you.

  “Continue your story.”

  “Yes, time is fading. I’ll finish my directions as I tell the end of the tale.”

  Floating back to the book, she bent down to collect all of her items in a precise order on the platter. Not noticing that Kenrick had begun to move slowly.

  “Meeting Kenrick in the greenhouse had been a way to have us out of sight and was a place of power for me. I had brought wine from the cellar and had the potion hidden in the pocket of my apron. Toasting my successful crop, I shared a glass with my love. I was about to pour the potion into his glass when an unexpected storm began to brew. The thunder had scared me, causing me to drop the bottle, as I began to undo my dress. Kenrick being a gentleman went to retrieve it for me. Sadly, he recognized the bottle from one I had sold a girl earlier in the week. I hadn’t known he had been watching, so I was surprised at him throwing it across the room.”

  Seemingly satisfied with the contents she had arranged, she began to light the two candles that had remained untouched, until now. Her eyes were closed and she said something under her breath as fire caught to both wicks.

  “He knew what I had planned and would have no part in it. I was stricken with unrequited love for this man who dared to call me all sorts of foul names. I was a witch but not a murdering harlot after his soul. When I tried to tell him my true intentions, how much I loved him, he tossed me to the floor of the greenhouse like trash.

  “He departed as I cried, leaving me in the storm to fend for myself. He was no gentleman, my love. But I still wanted him, badly. Knowing I could fix things, I grabbed up what was left in my bottle and ran to the cemetery to see if more had been left in my hidden cauldron. I was heartbroken but I saw he had gone up into his room and could see him getting ready for bed. The cad was going to pay for abandoning me. I cast out the words in Latin that would cause my demise. If this man could go to bed after leaving me to weep, then the only satisfaction he would ever get was from those dreams. I vowed he would never find love in the waking moments of his remaining days. He would never feel the depth of true love if it did not come from me. This man would pay for scorning my gifts and my heart.”

  Aster’s form blinked in and out so rapidly it was a strobe of lights before my unbelieving eyes. She was reliving the amount of hurt and rage that had changed her life and taken her into the spirit world.

  “As I completed the spell, I was struck by lightning, thus ending my short life and giving him the essence of immortality. But something in that spell also turned me into a metaphysical being who watched as the world evolved around me. Sticking to his side, I saw the spell had indeed made him pay for his sins against me. He was turned from a living breathing man into a sort of incubus who only lived when feeding off the sexual energy of a woman. You can imagine my surprise that I could invade his dreams to get the satisfaction I craved as a living woman but he devoured any strength I had at the moment of entry. I could only visit him once the energy was enough to join him again, but then something strange happened to stop my visits to his bedchamber. It was you. That was when I knew for certain I could use you to come back. You would save me from the useless world I had been cursed to and take me back to the land of the living. If I could get enough energy, and the right spell, I could bring myself back to life in your body and still use the potion on Kenrick. I want to thank you, Renata, as you are about to make the ultimate sacrifice for me.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  She intended to kill me so she could have my body. Aster would use me to take over the house, the money, and force Kenrick into falling madly in love with her. She was insane and about to snuff me out as a way to make her fantasy life come to fruition.

  Then she was on me in a heartbeat as she drew her sheers up. Flinging my hands up in a defensive move, she embedded the point into the palm of one hand in her attempt to stab me in the chest with the wicked blades. Then I heard a roar that had nothing to do with the circulating storm outside and everything to do with the man who was advancing on the altar Aster had made for her ceremony.

  I thought he was going to yank me away from her but her form wasn’t thick enough for us to shove her away. I could feel the pressure of the blade burning into my right palm but that’s where her energy was being focused. Kicking and shoving had no effect on her as her eyes bulged from their shadowy sockets at her level of concentration. Hearing a crash, Kenrick grabbed at the platter and kicked the furniture over as he bellowed at her to release me. She didn’t. In fact, the grip on my neck increased as I fought the pressure at my hand. She wanted me to be out cold so I couldn’t fi
ght her anymore. Did it mean she was running out of energy from this onslaught? God, I hoped so.

  Yelling for her, he dumped the contents of the plate and broke it over his knee. Aster screamed so loudly my ears felt as if they would burst. The crushing embrace at my throat decreased as she took in the damage he inflicted on her things. He stomped on the platter and the more action he took, the weaker she became by the destruction of her power items. Shards of ceramic mixed with green globs while he pummeled the contents into the bare wood of the floor under us. Spots danced before my eyes as my lungs scrambled for oxygen. Another ear-splitting scream emitted from her throat and she faded away, leaving me to slump on the floor, gasping for air.

  Coming to me, he kneeled. “We have to get out of here before she materializes again.”

  “What are we going to do? She could appear at any time and kill us both.”

  Shaking his head, he said, “She could have done that a million times over the last hundred years but she didn’t. She can’t let me go so I’ll be kept alive while she tries for another way to cast the damned spell on me.”

  “Do you have an idea on how to stop her? For good?”

  “She mentioned the graveyard and the cemetery as being places of power, so we can try there.”

  “No way in hell am I going to put myself in her place of power so she can try to kill me again. Are you crazy?”

  “We have to, don’t you see? One of those places is where she placed her essence so she could come back. If we find out where it’s hidden, then we can destroy it and her with it.”

  “It’s insane.”

  “Have any better ideas?” he inquired wryly.

  I had to admit that I didn’t.

  “Keep pressure on your hand, and we’ll grab a towel on the way out of here.”

  He pulled me to my feet and led me out of the attic and to his room. There he tied a washrag around my blood covered hand and slid his slippers over to me. Sliding them on felt wrong as I had dried blood on my skin but it was the least of our concerns right now.