The Complete 1st Freak House Trilogy: Box set (The 1st Freak House Trilogy)

by C. J. Archer

  It was a long time before he spoke again. "We'd better go down to dinner."

  "Yes. Sylvia won't be happy if she's gone to all that trouble, and we don't eat."

  He turned around, a weak smile on his lips that wasn't reflected at all in his miserable eyes. He indicated I should walk ahead of him, and I passed through the door. The heat inside me roared to life, and I gasped as a spark shot from my fingers. I stamped it out where it landed.

  "You really shouldn't speak to me with such tenderness," I teased. "It's rather dangerous."

  "I know," he said, tugging his collar. "I'm burning up inside."

  We met Sylvia and Samuel in the dining room and discussed how to hunt the demon. Nobody would allow Jack to go on his own and that meant Samuel had to go with him. They settled on an early morning start.

  "What about Bollard?" I asked. "He could join you. Three is better than two."

  "I'll ask August later if he can spare him," Jack said.

  "Tell me what Mrs. Dodd was like," Sylvia said, ladling soup into Jack's bowl. She'd taken it upon herself to serve everyone the first course, and I admit to being surprised that she hadn't complained once.

  "She was lovely." I stared down at my soup. "It was nice to know that she'd cared for us as babies. She worried about Tate and Langley too. She seemed fond of them both and quite sad that Tate has turned out the way he has."

  "I did find her observation about Tate a little…odd," Samuel said.

  "What observation?" Sylvia asked. She set down the soup tureen on the sideboard and joined us at the table.

  Samuel, Jack and I exchanged glances.

  "Out with it," she prompted. "I refuse to be kept in the dark."

  Both men suddenly filled their mouths with soup, so it was left to me. "She implied that he liked male company."

  "That's not terribly surprising. A lot of men do. Look at the proliferation of gentlemen-only clubs."

  "She wasn't referring to their friendship," I said, my face heating. It was, after all, not the sort of conversation one should have at the dinner table, or indeed anywhere.

  Sylvia dropped her spoon, splashing pea and ham soup onto the tablecloth. "Good lord! You mean he's…fond of men. Isn't that illegal?"

  "Is it?" I asked.

  Jack nodded. "Tate's lucky she never gave his secret away."

  Good lord. I had no idea.

  "Well." Sylvia picked up her spoon. "That puts a different light on things. Obviously he was already warped before he injected himself with the fire."

  "There's no evidence to suggest that," Samuel said. "Whether he was born that way or came to it later in life, the science isn't clear."

  "Perhaps it's not something that can be scientifically explained," I said. "Love generally isn't."

  "Love!" Sylvia scoffed. "Who's speaking of love?"

  I concentrated on my soup in order to hide my pink cheeks. I admit that intimacy of that nature was an unfamiliar topic to me. I thought love and passion went together. After all, I felt both for Jack. But perhaps in others that wasn't how it worked. I felt completely inadequate to talk about it and wished the topic would change altogether.

  Samuel cleared his throat. "I think you and I should watch over Hannah tonight, Langley."

  I gave him a nod of thanks and he smiled back.

  "Agreed," Jack said. He pointed his spoon at Sylvia. "Not a word from you about it being improper to be in her room."

  "I didn't say a thing! I actually think it's a good idea. Perhaps we shouldn't tell Uncle though. And another thing."

  "What is it?" Jack asked.

  "May I come in too?"

  I grinned. "Of course. Perhaps Tommy—"

  "No. I draw the line at having him with us. Besides, Tate knows you won't be sleeping in the servants' wing. He won't send Ham in there. Tommy'll be quite safe where he is."

  "Perhaps I should sleep in the servants' wing too then," I said.

  "Good idea," Jack said. "Well done, Syl."

  She beamed. "Thank you. I'd wager you didn't expect me to come up with a good idea."

  "Yet again, you're right. Oh look, pigs are flying past the window."

  She gave him a withering glare. "Very amusing."

  After dinner we made up the beds in one of the servants' rooms. Since two of the maids slept together, it had a large bed, but the room itself was quite small. The men decided they only needed one extra mattress as one of them would always be awake to keep watch.

  It was only early, but I felt so tired that I retired for the night. Jack remained with me, reading by lamplight in the corner, while Sylvia and Samuel sat with Tommy in his room down the hall in the men's quarters. If Jack shouted, they would hear him.

  I slept soundly, but something woke me while it was still dark. A noise in the distance. A thump or crash perhaps. I listened. Sylvia's soft breathing filled the silence. I lit the lamp and held it up to brighten the room. Neither Jack nor Samuel was present.

  I strained to hear. Nothing. For several long minutes there were no sounds except that of Sylvia sleeping. She rolled over and stretched an arm across my lap. I lifted it off gently so as not to wake her, just as Jack came in. He saw me and let out a breath.

  "What is it?" I whispered. "Was Tate here?"

  "Ham."

  "Oh God."

  Samuel walked in, his fist closed around something. "He ran off."

  Sylvia sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What's happened?"

  "They frightened Ham away," I said.

  She pulled the bed covers up to her chin. Her wide eyes stared at the doorway. "When will it stop?"

  "How did you scare it?" I asked the men.

  Samuel opened his hand. The amulet lay on his palm. "I showed him this and began to recite the chant Culvert gave us. Ham turned and ran right out the door."

  "But I thought the amulet was used to summon the other demon."

  "Perhaps it was used for both."

  Jack sat on the bed near my feet. "Try to go back to sleep, Hannah. It's the middle of the night."

  I lay down, but I didn't think I'd be able to sleep. For one thing, the house creaked and groaned, and for another, Sylvia had effectively wrapped herself around me for reassurance.

  I did fall asleep eventually, however. It was light when I awoke again. Jack lay on the mattress on the floor, but I suspected he was awake. I peered down at him and he looked up at me and smiled.

  "Good morning," he said.

  I yawned. "Good morning. Sleep well?"

  "As well as can be expected." If his tired eyes were any indication, he hadn't slept at all. My heart leapt into my throat and I felt so lucky to have him watching over me.

  "Thank you. You're my guardian angel."

  "And I am your maid," Samuel said, breezing into the room. He set the tray he carried on the table beside the lamp and passed a plate of toast to me and another to Jack. "Eat up, Langley. You'll need your energy."

  For demon hunting. I swallowed my first bite of toast and set the rest down. I no longer felt hungry.

  ***

  Sylvia and I watched Samuel, Jack and Bollard leave. Jack had threaded a silver chain through the amulet's hole and wore it around his neck. Both he and Samuel knew the words to the chant by heart. I wasn't sure what use Bollard would be since he couldn't speak, but I suppose an extra pair of hands may be needed to keep the demon at bay while one of the others chanted the incantation.

  Staying put in the house was one of the hardest things I'd ever had to do, but of course it was necessary. I didn't feel well enough to be of any real help.

  Tommy joined us in the parlor, but we three moved to the scullery to wash dishes. I washed and Sylvia dried. Tommy picked up another towel, but Sylvia ordered him to put it down.

  "I have to do something," he said. "Ma'am," he added as an afterthought.

  "No, you don't," she snapped. "You're injured."

  "It's kind of you to care for me, Miss Langley."

  "It's not a kindness. I don't want the
plates smashed. You can't do anything useful with only one good arm."

  I bit back my laugh. Tommy scowled and sat on a stool. The only thing Sylvia would let him do was tell her where to put the dried dishes.

  The small scullery's windows were too high up to look through, unfortunately. I needed to keep watch for Jack and the others or I'd go mad. When the dishes were finally finished, I announced I was going upstairs to one of the bedrooms where the view was better. I was almost at the door when the sound of breaking glass stopped me dead.

  "What was that?" Sylvia whispered, coming up behind me.

  "Stay here," Tommy ordered.

  "No," I said, keeping my voice low.

  Sylvia caught his good arm. "You're not going out there."

  "I have to see—"

  "Tommy." The tremble in her voice made me turn round. She looked up at the footman, terror in her eyes. "Please stay."

  He nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Come away from the door." He grabbed a knife out of a drawer. I thought it a good idea so I took one too. "Hide in the pantry," he ordered both of us.

  I backed up to the pantry entrance, Sylvia behind me. Tommy stood at the scullery door and raised the knife.

  Footsteps pounded along the floorboards. They grew louder.

  Closer.

  Ham rushed in, swatting Tommy aside as if he were a fly. Sylvia screamed. Ham came at me. I slashed out, striking him in the chest, but it didn't slow him down. He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder.

  Sylvia screamed again. I screamed too and beat the brute with my fists. I clawed at his neck, pulled his hair. If it hurt, he gave no indication. He ran for the door.

  Tommy launched himself at Ham's legs as we passed, but the demon kicked him away. Tommy landed awkwardly on his injured arm, face down on the flagstone floor, unconscious.

  "Sylvia!" I cried. But it was useless. What could she do? What could any of them do? Jack was gone and the amulet with him. There was no one and nothing to stop the demon.

  Sylvia's screams followed me all the way down the hall and out the door.

  CHAPTER 14

  Ham ran down the steps with me slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. It was an awkward, uncomfortable position. My ribs hurt, my head too as blood rushed to it. I shouted and hammered at his back, but nothing slowed him down. It was hopeless. He was taking me away, and there wasn't a soul who could stop him.

  A gunshot fired. I felt Ham flinch, and I thought he'd been struck, but he kept running with me clamped over his shoulder. I looked around, but saw no one. Who'd fired the gun?

  Another shot rang out and I glanced up in the direction it had come from—back at the house. Langley was at one of the upstairs windows, a shotgun pointed at the sky. He wasn't firing at us, thank goodness. I was as much a target as the demon.

  Why was he firing at all?

  I got my answer in the form of Jack and Samuel running out of the woods, Bollard loping behind. Langley had used the gunfire as a signal. Ingenious.

  Jack was so fast he reached us well before the others. He punched Ham in the jaw and Ham stumbled, dropping me. Jack caught me, but quickly let go before the touch became one of desire instead of rescue.

  "Run, Hannah!" He ordered as he threw another punch at Ham.

  I did, only to stop in my tracks. Reuben Tate came toward me. He wasn't running. Indeed, his steps were labored, as if every one were an effort.

  No one else had seen him. Bollard and Samuel had joined in the fight against Ham and were occupied. The demon was strong and every punch inflicted an injury. Tate suddenly stopped walking and looked at the house. At Langley.

  Langley stared back. Raised the gun. Aimed.

  Tate's Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't move. He wore no hat and wisps of his white hair waved in the breeze. I held my breath and tensed, waiting for the crack of the gunshot.

  None came.

  Langley could have shot him if he were accurate enough. Yet he didn't, and I couldn't blame him for that. They'd been friends once. It would take a truly heartless man to kill someone, let alone someone he knew well.

  Then I realized he was no longer looking at us, but at the woods. I turned. A scream caught in my throat. The other demon ran toward us at a rapid pace. Langley did fire then, but if the bullet hit the demon, it had no effect. It kept coming.

  Tate moved again, faster than before, his face a picture of horror and revulsion. He stumbled twice, falling to his knees. He awkwardly pushed himself up each time with his one hand.

  "Jack!" I shouted. "Jack, the other demon!"

  "Demon?" Panic pitched Tate's voice high. "Ham! Here! Now!"

  Ham obeyed, simply walking away from his opponents. They didn't go after him. All eyes focused on the other demon.

  Langley fired again, but it didn't deter the creature. It wasn't afraid of the noise or of being hit. If any bullets did get their target, it made no difference. The demon kept coming. And coming.

  It went for Tate first. He was the closest and the weakest, his missing arm making him more vulnerable. Tate squatted and folded in on himself in an attempt to be as small as possible. "Kill it!" he shouted at Ham.

  Ham reached the demon before it got to his master. Then, for some reason, the demon backed away from him. Perhaps it recognized another of the same species and didn't want to fight. Ham was, after all, much bigger, although I doubted he was stronger.

  The demon's small eyes settled on me. Unlike Ham, there was no resemblance to anything human in them. They were yellow and small, set wide apart. I saw no trace of the spirits of the children.

  Fear turned my legs to jelly. My heart flapped wildly. I stumbled back, put my arms up to defend myself.

  "Hannah!" Jack shouted.

  Heat and fire roared past me. A fireball slammed into the demon, but had little impact. Unlike the first few times, it didn't scurry away. It had learned that fire couldn't hurt it.

  "Hannah!" The shout came from Tate this time.

  Jack grasped the amulet hanging from his neck and began the chant. The demon's eyes widened. It turned on him. Ran. Jack spoke faster.

  The demon swiped at him, sending him to the ground.

  "Jack!" I screamed.

  He pushed himself up, stumbled and fell again with a grunt. "Amulet," he said on a groan.

  It lay a few feet away in the mud. Samuel dove for it and began the chant anew. The demon raced at him and Samuel threw the amulet at Bollard. He caught it, but Samuel continued the chant.

  The demon seemed confused at first, then must have decided Bollard was the weakest. It smashed a first into his face and Bollard crumpled to the ground. The amulet tumbled out of his grip.

  Jack scrambled for it, but again the demon attacked. It pounced on him. Jack rolled and kicked out, striking it in its middle. Samuel continued to chant.

  A muscular arm snaked around my waist and hefted me up. Ham!

  Jack hadn't noticed. He and Samuel were busy fending off the demon and trying to send it back. I swallowed my scream. I didn't dare distract them.

  "Get her away," Tate snarled at Ham.

  I hadn't seen him up close in weeks, and the change in him was profound. Sweat made the hair at his temples damp. Dark shadows circled sunken eyes amid his pale face. He looked deathly. I wondered how long he had left.

  How long I had.

  I struggled against Ham, even though I knew it was useless. He was too strong. I kicked and scratched anyway and would have bitten him if he didn't hold me from behind.

  "Come with me willingly," Tate suddenly said. "With your help, I might find a cure in time."

  I stopped fighting and stared back at him. "Why did you do this to me? To yourself?" I wanted to scream at him that I'd been only a baby, but there was no point now. It was done, and I needed to save my energy.

  "Many reasons." He glanced past me to Jack and the others. I dared not look. The demon's snarling and Samuel's chanting told me it wasn't yet over. "Come with me, Miss Smith."

&nbs
p; My breaths came in short, sharp bursts. Ham held me tight, but didn't squeeze. I didn't feel tired, but I did feel weak. Useless. I hated it. "What will happen if I do?"

  He glanced past me again. We both knew now was not the time for this discussion. "Just come with me!" he snapped. "Ham, go."

  "No!" Jack cried out in anguish from behind me.

  I turned, thinking he was watching Ham drag me away, but his attention was entirely on the other demon. It held the amulet between its claw-like hands and snapped it in half. Samuel finished the chant.

  Nothing happened.

  The demon's mouth split into what could have been a grin, but was little more than a stretch of the slit in its face. It tossed the pieces of the amulet away.

  Oh God. What now?

  Nobody moved. We were all too stunned. Our one chance lay broken and useless in the mud. The demon knew it too. It went for Jack.

  I screamed.

  "We have to get away," Tate said to Ham.

  Ham dragged me off. I dug my heels into the ground, but my attempts were pathetic.

  I watched as Jack managed to punch the demon over and over, but it had little effect and he was tiring quickly. I could see it in the way he stood, his shoulders not quite so square, his chest rising and falling with his hard breathing.

  Bollard joined him, but he wasn't as fast or capable as Jack and the demon easily swatted him away.

  Then Samuel spoke. "Look at me." His voice was compelling, smooth as silk.

  I looked away, tried to break the compulsion to sink into his voice and do as he said. It wasn't easy, but I managed.

  "Look into my eyes and listen to my voice," Samuel intoned.

  The demon looked. Then it smashed its fist into the side of Samuel's face. His eyes rolled up, his lids fluttered closed, and he fell to the ground.

  The demon turned on Jack. It swung at him. Jack ducked and spun so sharply that the contents of his pocket emptied into the mud. He got up and threw a punch at the demon, but he wasn't moving as fast as usual. He was exhausted. It was only a matter of time now. The demon would win. We had nothing to defeat it.

  Oh Jack. God no. Please, please no.

  Ham, Tate and I reached the edge of the lawn. I resisted all the way so our progress wasn't as fast as Tate would have liked. He urged Ham to run. The brute still held me around the waist, leaving my legs loose so that I was able to trip him. We tumbled to the ground, and he let me go. But only for a moment and not long enough for me to escape. He picked me up and swung me over his shoulder again.