Jenny nodded and between them they took an arm each and helped Mason to his feet. Though his breathing was easier now, she could see he was still weak. Slowly, they led him down to the kitchen and sat him in a chair. While Jenny stood beside him Luke found a glass and poured him some water.
"Sip this slowly, it will ease the pain and help."
Jenny took the glass and held it for Mason, her hands were shaking but already she could see he felt better. Whatever Luke had done had saved them... for now. If he could save Mason, surely he could save Abby."
Mason sipped at the water, coughing occasionally, but he was looking much better already.
"I think you should leave the house, Mason," Luke said. "It appears the spirit is against men and I feel it would be safer if you were outside."
"That's my little girl up there," Mason managed, his voice croaking badly. "I can't just leave her."
"You won't leave her," Jenny said. "I will be here and so will the reverend. Maybe it would be better if you were outside anyway, maybe she will be less antagonized."
Luke was nodding. "That makes sense, and along those lines, I think we should carry on this conversation outside. Who knows how far she can hear, we do not want to tip our hand."
Mason put down the glass and stood and they all walked out of the house. Luke led them several hundred yards away from the property and then sat down on the grass. Jenny thought he did this because he was worried that Mason would not be able to stand for long and she was grateful to him.
"There are things I have to tell you," he said. "Each Diocese has what we call the Diocesan Deliverance Team. This is a team containing a priest with special training and another with psychiatric training. Their job is to come into situations like this and assess them. Most of such occurrences can be explained by simple psychiatric disorders."
Jenny could not listen to this any longer. "How can you say that this is a psychiatric disorder?"
"I didn't, I said that most such occurrences can be explained that way. In this instance I believe we have a vengeful spirit. Now, I am part of the Diocesan Deliverance Team for this area. Officially, I should speak to the deacon and seek the help of the psychiatric priest before I go any further." He raised his hands to stop Jenny interrupting once more.
"I understand, in this circumstance, that that would be foolish and could cost lives. What I want to do is talk to the spirit with prayer, under most circumstances that will persuade her to leave. However, I strongly suggest that Mason stays outside. I am happy if you both stay outside, but that is up to you."
"I want to come with you," Jenny said. "I cannot leave my baby in there alone."
"I was hoping you would say that, however, if I ask you to leave you must do so, instantly and without any arguments."
Mason stood and hugged Jenny to him.
"Be careful in there," he said, and then he popped his phone into her pocket before pulling away.
Jenny and the priest went back to the house, before they entered, he stopped her.
"I intend to pray, this time it well be the Lord's Prayer in English, before, I did it in the Latin and I may do so again but I think the English will work fine. This is about intent and staying strong. I will also be using another prayer. While I am doing this I want you to talk to the spirit child. I know you will want to talk to Abby but it is important that you don't. Tell the spirit child it is okay to leave, that there is nothing to fear and that you care for her and would not tell her such things if you did not believe them. Can you do that?"
Jenny nodded though she knew it would be hard. If Abby was frightened she wanted to tell her it was all right and yet she felt some sympathy for Victoria too. Something awful must have happened to her, otherwise she would not still be here.
Together they walked back into the house.
As they came close to the room she could hear Abby crying. There was no other sound, just the lonely and sad crying of her young girl and it tore out her heart. Luke squeezed her shoulder and opened his Bible and began to pray.
"OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name."
"Victoria, you know how much I care for you and I hate to see you suffer," Jenny said, and all the time the crying of her daughter was like a knife to her heart.
"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
"It is time for you to leave, but do not worry, you are going somewhere wonderful," Jenny said, despite wanting to break down the door and hug her baby.
A shriek of pain and anger came from behind the bedroom door.
Jenny ran to the door but Luke stopped her. He held his finger up to his lips but all the time continued praying.
"Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us."
Jenny was fighting down her own tears and trying to control her voice. She knew she must not let Victoria know how angry and worried she felt and yet it was almost impossible.
"I have been talking to the local priest, he knows all about you now and he knows what happened to you. That is why he is here to take you somewhere nice, somewhere where you can relax and feel love and joy."
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen."
The sobbing from behind the door had stopped but the hallway was darker and Jenny felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. A shadow crossed over them and it prickled the skin on her arms. The air was charged and it felt as if something was coming, something was about to happen. She looked at Luke, he felt it too but he shook his head and continued praying. Suddenly, the room was cold, so very cold that their breath misted before them. Jenny rubbed her arms and wondered about Abby, was she scared? Could she help her? Though she wanted to rush into the room and hold her she knew she must trust the priest.
"Visit this place, O Lord, we pray, and drive far from it the snares of the enemy."
"You can trust me," Jenny said. "I want only the best for you and this life is lonely and painful it is not what you want. It is time for you to go, to leave us. We will not forget you, we will visit you and bring you flowers and you will be at peace."
The air was heavy and hard to breathe, the darkness seemed deeper and the feeling of malevolence made Jenny want to run. What must Abby be feeling?
"May your holy angels dwell with us and guard us in peace, and may your blessing be always upon us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
"Do not be afraid," Jenny said. "You can leave this awful life, you can leave this place and find the love that you have always wanted. It is there waiting for you and will surround you as soon as you let go."
Jenny felt the air ease, she could breathe and as she took a breath and let it go she noticed the misting, the chill was gone. Little by little the room seemed lighter and she knew that they were winning.
“There is a home for you, be brave and go to it and know that love will find you. Our love will help you there.” The words were hard to say and she hoped that Victoria would not take Abby with her, what could she do to stop that?
Luke nodded his head in encouragement. "Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen," he said his hand on his Bible.
The door to the bedroom opened. This time, Jenny couldn't stop herself, she ran into the room. Abby was sat on the bed, there were tears in her eyes and she was holding Mr. Good Bear but she looked like their daughter again. Jenny pulled her into her arms and hugged her tight, kissing her head and her hair.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
Abby wiped away the tears.
"Victoria was frightened and she got really mean, but she's gone now. She was my friend but she's gone."
Jenny squeezed her a little tighter.
"She has gone to a better place and you will soon find new friends, I promise," she whispered into her ear.
Chapter 18
It was if a depression had been lifted off the house and suddenly, the sun was shining. The following morning Abby couldn't remember anythin
g and she was no longer holding the bear. That in itself made Jennifer feel better and she grabbed the thing as soon as Abby wasn’t looking and consigned it to the rubbish.
Mason's throat was red and raw and his voice was scratchy and hoarse. Jenny dropped Mason off at work and Abby at school. She went in and spoke to the teachers and though she didn't mention what had happened she said that there had been some problems and that they were resolved now. The teachers were happy to give Abby another chance and simply moved her to a different class. There they found her a new mentor, a girl called Gwyneth, who would look after her and see that she found friends. When Jenny left she was pleased to see that Abby was smiling and laughing. It looked like they had survived and that it was all over.
Jenny drove back to the house and started working on the course material for her artist's retreat. She spent the whole morning and was so engrossed that she didn’t realize what time it was until the phone rang. For a moment, her nerves jangled along with the bell. Was it the school again? Was Abby in trouble?
Leaving her work, she crossed to the phone and snatched it from the base station.
"I just thought I'd see how you were doing?" Mason said.
It was great to hear his voice, even though it was still very croaky.
"I'm doing great. I’ve done most of the coursework for my first retreat. Oh, and when I left, Abby looked to be having such fun at school."
They talked for another 15 minutes and to Jenny it felt as if this was the first time they had talked openly and so freely since Mason lost his job. Things were going fantastic and she could not wait for the future. It was only four more weeks until her first retreat and she knew she had a lot to do.
By the time the weekend came the house was more normal. There'd been no more talk of Victoria and Jenny no longer felt as if it was rejecting her as if there was a presence. At the weekend they decided to walk into the woodland and explore the local countryside. It was a beautiful day and though Jenny never said anything, she deliberately walked in the opposite direction to the small path that she had found. They spent a few hours walking in the woods pointing out birds and a squirrel and all the different trees for Abby. It was peaceful. Jenny and Mason held hands as they walked while Abby skipped ahead laughing before running back with something she had found. The first was an acorn, then some sycamore seeds, and then a branch that was twisted until it looked a little bit like a rabbit. Just when they were about to turn back they came upon the grave.
Jenny felt her blood run cold but this was not a supernatural chill. It was simply the fear of bringing back the bad memories and how Abby would react.
Abby ran towards the stone and got down on her knees.
"What is this?" she asked, her face all innocent inquiry.
It was obvious she didn't remember coming here and Jenny wasn't about to remind her.
"It's just a stone marker, unfortunately, the words are worn away so we can't read it. We must be nearly home, come on, I'm hungry, aren't you?"
"Can we have cheese triangles and toasties?" Abby asked.
Jenny was so pleased that Abby hadn't remembered, she could see that Mason was confused but she decided to tell him later. The last thing she wanted to do was mention Victoria, especially in this place.
Soon, they were back at the house and everyone had cheese on toast for lunch. Abby went to her room to finish up some school work and Mason sat down with Jenny at the table.
"What was that stone?" he asked. "I saw you go white and I saw you watching Abby like a hawk, was that something to do with Victoria?"
Jenny nodded but there was a lump in her throat and she had to swallow it before she could speak. The last thing she wanted to do was remember what happened. Since the day of the exorcism the house had seemed so bright and so full of laughter and love. The last thing she wanted to remember was the darkness and feeling of control and terror that came with it. Yet, she knew that Mason deserved an explanation. Knowing him he wouldn't stop until he had one.
"That was the grave of Victoria Pennyford, the spirit child that was haunting us. If you remember, I told you she was buried in unhallowed ground. That was the grave. I found Abby there one day... well, that was the day when she was taken so ill. Today, I feared I would lose her again. I was so afraid that if she recognized what the grave was that it would bring it all back. Luckily, she doesn't seem to remember."
Mason nodded.
"We were so lucky you went to that priest. I don't know what happened but I know things have changed and it is over. Even the stains, the one in the bedroom and the one in the hall, they seem to be fading. I think if I run the carpet cleaner over them again they will be gone."
"I hope so," Jenny said, and yet somehow, she felt uneasy. Seeing the grave had changed things for her and she could not shake the feeling that something was coming.
Later that night when she was all alone she went back to the research she had found on the Internet. Once more, she looked at Gail Parker's blog and read what she had intended to read before. The stories were fascinating and terrifying all in one go. However, there was lots of good information. Things to arm herself with in case this was not over.
It seemed that the spirits fed on fear and negativity. It powered them and gave them strength. The more strength they had the more control they had over the real world. While some spirits were looking for peace, others were simply destructive. Those of the latter persuasion were very difficult to get rid of. They would hold on to what they deemed was theirs, and though they may be weakened, if they were ever invited, they could come back. After a couple of hours of reading, Jenny decided to email Gail and tell her about the house. She was very surprised when she got an email straight back.
Gail, along with her partner, Jesse, were researching as many haunted houses as they could. They had made a career out of it and would be happy to come and investigate if she needed it. However, they were currently looking into another house, one that was in Scotland and so it would be a couple of weeks before they could get there. What she did suggest was that Jenny researched the house. That the more she knew about it the more she would know how to deal with it. Before she could reply, Mason came through with a glass of wine and so Jenny sent back her thanks and called it a night.
Mason sat on the sofa and Jenny sat with her legs across his as they both sipped at their wine.
"Are you ready for the first visitors?" Mason asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Jenny laughed. "Though I can't believe how nervous I am. This is my dream, and yet now I would do almost anything to not have them coming." It felt so good to them to talk about normal things and to be able to laugh and joke with no dark presence looming over them. Mason couldn't fully understand the difference but she could tell that he felt it.
"You will be fine, I've seen the paintings you've done, they're fabulous. Your guests will be blown away."
Jenny hoped so, that her dream was finally coming true and that the ghost wouldn't be able to ruin it for her.
Soon, they went into the bedroom and Jenny no longer felt threatened as she crossed the threshold. The throw rug she had bought ended up having to be thrown away. Blood had somehow soaked through it from the stain on the carpet. Yet now, as Mason said, the stain was fading. Maybe she would go into town and pick up a carpet cleaner again, maybe this time both of the stains would go. With that thought in her mind she lay down to sleep and yet all she could think about was researching the house. There was nothing on the Internet and so she decided to go to the library tomorrow. She could do that at the same time as she picked up the carpet cleaner and then maybe she would call in to see the priest. So far she had never got around to thanking him and she knew she should have. Though Mason often played it down, she really believed that without the man's help, that Abby would be dead now. Maybe she would be haunting them too, haunting them with Victoria. Jenny shuddered. Before she drifted off to sleep she could not get rid of such a terrible thought. Her little girl trapped in this house
forever. Driven mad with rage and grief and suddenly she felt truly sorry for Victoria. However, if the spirit ever came back for her daughter then she would destroy her. All she had to do was find out how.
Chapter 19
The following morning Jenny drove Mason into work and then dropped Abby off at school. She made a quick stop at the supermarket to pick up some shopping and the carpet cleaner and was driving back to Shadow Hill House. As she passed the little church she decided to pull in and see if the reverend was there.
She pulled the car to a halt and felt suddenly guilty. This should have been done before. It was so easy to come here in a panic when she needed help and yet she had not returned to give her thanks. The vicar had put his faith in her, he had listened when he didn't need to. More than that, he had acted and she could not thank him enough for it. Yet she could not pluck up the courage to get out of the car until a knock on the window had her jumping out of her skin.
Turning, she saw Luke’s smiling face and she grinned back at him.
"Why don’t you come in for tea?" he said through the window.
Jenny nodded and followed him into the rectory.
It was a neat and tidy, if old fashioned kitchen. Jenny sat at a small oak table. There was a large pink chrysanthemum in a pot in the middle of it and she stared at the flower while he made the tea.
Soon he placed a teapot, 2 cups, milk, and sugar on the table and sat down with a smile on his face.
"It is so good to see you," he said. "I've wanted to call around but was not sure that I could face coming near that house again. I do hope you'll forgive me?"
Jenny felt her mouth drop open and for a moment she did not know what to say.
"It is I who need to apologize," she managed. "I have wanted to come and thank you ever since that night and yet somehow I've never felt able. How do you thank someone for what you did? Whatever I came up with seemed so insignificant."
The Haunting of Shadow Hill House Page 12