Into the Thinnest of Air

  We all turned to look at her, and she stared right back at us, entirely calm and assured.

  ‘What?’ I said, as politely as I could under the circumstances.

  ‘I think we should try to make contact with the spirit of this place,’ said Valerie. ‘Open our minds to whatever’s here with us.’

  ‘OK,’ said Jimmy. ‘As really bad ideas go, I would give that one top marks. Come on, Val! Something’s already taken two of us, and you want to attract its attention?’

  ‘If that’s the only way we can get some answers,’ said Valerie. ‘I think we’re dealing with whatever remains of Elliot Tyrone. Brought back by the recreation of his world. Maybe we can reach out to him and get him to tell us what really happened at that awful Christmas dinner of 1886.’

  ‘I didn’t know you were a medium,’ said Penny.

  ‘She isn’t,’ said Eileen. ‘She just likes reading about them.’

  ‘I can do this!’ said Valerie.

  ‘You want us to sit around in the dark, holding hands, asking “Is anybody there?”,’ I said. ‘Really?’

  ‘Preferably in a way that won’t get me hit again …’ said Jimmy.

  ‘The presence is here,’ said Valerie. ‘Whatever it is, it wants to speak to us. What have we got to lose?’

  ‘You want me to make a list?’ said Jimmy.

  Valerie rounded on him. ‘I thought you believed in me!’

  ‘I do!’ said Jimmy. ‘I’m just not sure I believe in this … Oh hell, let’s do it! I don’t suppose it’s any stranger than anything else that’s been happening.’

  ‘I think it’s a marvellous idea,’ said Albert. ‘Maybe I’ll get a chance to speak to Olivia …’

  ‘I think you made more sense when you weren’t talking,’ said Eileen.

  But eventually we all ended up sitting round the table again. Holding hands and looking at each other uncertainly.

  ‘Oh, this can only go well …’ said Jimmy.

  ‘Have faith,’ said Valerie. ‘And be strong. If we’re going to get any answers out of the spirit, we’re going to have to be steadfast and resolute.’

  ‘I don’t really do that …’ said Jimmy.

  Eileen looked at me. ‘You don’t believe in ghosts. How do you feel about spirits?’

  ‘Guess,’ I said.

  ‘Shall I turn out the lights?’ said Penny.

  The look on everyone’s face made it clear that wasn’t a popular idea.

  ‘Everyone hold hands tightly,’ said Valerie. ‘And don’t break the circle for anything.’

  She looked round the table to make sure contact had been made, and then lowered her head and breathed slowly and deeply. We all watched her closely. I’ve attended a few seances down the years (in my line of work enthusiastic amateurs trying to help are an occupational hazard) and I was interested to see what kind of response Valerie would get. How do you follow unseen footsteps?

  ‘Is there anybody here who would like to speak to us?’ said Valerie, in a loud and carrying tone.

  ‘Is this where the Voices come in?’ I said.

  ‘Hush!’ said Valerie, and Penny kicked my ankle under the table. Valerie frowned, concentrating. ‘Is anyone there? One knock for yes, two for no.’

  But that was too much for Jimmy. ‘Oh, come on! They’re hardly going to knock twice, are they? No, I’m not here, leave a message and I’ll get back to you! I’m going off this idea, Val.’

  ‘Jimmy!’ said Eileen.

  ‘What?’ said Jimmy. ‘Don’t tell me you believe in all this?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Eileen. ‘At this point I think I’m ready to try anything. At least this feels like we’re doing something.’

  ‘You have to keep an open mind …’ said Albert.

  ‘That has never struck me as a good idea,’ I said. ‘You never know what might walk in.’

  ‘Hold it!’ said Eileen. ‘Can you hear something?’

  ‘Probably just rats in the walls,’ said Albert. ‘Always a few rats around.’

  There was a loud banging noise. Everyone jumped and sat up straight. Penny and Valerie’s hands clamped down hard on mine. I looked around quickly, trying to work out where the noise had come from. Nothing had moved or fallen over. There was another loud bang. And another. And then a whole series … like a long roll of thunder right there in the room with us. The sounds seemed to be coming from all around, from everywhere and nowhere. And, like the footsteps, there was an odd distance to the sounds, as if they were coming to us from some unimaginable distance … I could feel the hackles on the back of my neck rising, like the caress of a ghostly hand. And then the noises stopped, quite abruptly.

  We were all breathing hard, and trying to look in every direction at once. Nobody moved in their seats, perhaps because afraid of attracting something’s attention. I strained my eyes against the bright lights, and my ears against the quiet. But there was nothing there.

  ‘Is that you, Elliot?’ said Valerie. We waited, but there was no response. Valerie tried again. ‘Talk to us, Elliot Tyrone. We’re ready to listen to whatever you need to tell us. What happened to you all those years ago? What did the Voices say to you to make you murder all those people? They were your friends, your neighbours … What happened to your wife and children?’

  She broke off as a new noise filled the air. Long, slow dragging sounds, like something heavy being hauled along the dining-room floor. Perhaps it was only my imagination that made it sound like a body being dragged …

  And then that sound stopped, too.

  There was a long pause. ‘All very impressive, I’m sure,’ said Jimmy. ‘But if the lights start going out, I’m leaving. Possibly through a window.’

  ‘It’s all just sounds,’ I said. ‘There’s no threat, no real danger. Don’t let it get to you. And no, I’m still not feeling any presence.’

  ‘Elliot!’ Valerie said loudly. ‘Can you hear me? Olivia? Thomas?’

  There was a loud clattering, as the coat stand I’d wedged against the door suddenly collapsed. We all jerked round in our seats to look at it, but the coat stand didn’t move again and the door didn’t open.

  ‘I probably didn’t seat it properly after I came back in again,’ I said.

  We all waited, but there was nothing else. The coat stand had broken the atmosphere, and the moment had passed. We could all feel it. We let go of each other’s hands and sat back in our chairs.

  ‘I was sort of hoping the table would tilt back and forth, or rise up in the air,’ said Jimmy. ‘Or someone would get possessed and turn their head all the way round.’

  ‘You’d have wet yourself,’ said Eileen.

  ‘Probably,’ said Jimmy.

  Valerie glared at him sullenly. ‘I thought you believed in me.’

  ‘I believe in you,’ said Jimmy. ‘Not hocus-pocus.’

  Valerie turned her glare on me. ‘That was your fault! You undermined everything with your stubborn disbelief. You sabotaged our best chance of getting some answers.’

  ‘At least we’re all still here,’ Jimmy said diplomatically. ‘I could use a drink. Would anyone else like one? Feel free to join me at the bar.’

  He looked hopefully at Valerie, but she avoided his gaze. He sighed, rose to his feet, and headed for the far end of the room. One by one, we all went after him. Even Valerie. If only because she didn’t want to be left on her own. Jimmy went behind the bar to serve as bartender. He poured himself a large whisky, drank a lot of it and sighed happily. Albert looked at him reproachfully. It was his inn, after all. Jimmy smiled inquiringly at Albert, Elliot and Valerie, to see what they would like to drink. I nodded to Penny to hang back, and we stood close together talking quietly.

  ‘You heard those sounds, didn’t you?’ said Penny.

  ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘They were real enough. But didn’t it seem to you as if they were coming on cue? As if someone was producing them to feed the atmosphere? None of it was in any way useful or informative. It could all have been the work o
f our elusive kidnapper or kidnappers, trying to mess with our minds.’

  ‘But why would they need to do that?’ said Penny. ‘If they can take us whenever they want. From inside rooms with closed doors … Isn’t that scary enough on its own?’

  ‘Apparently not,’ I said.

  FIVE

  Time to Go

  We all stood around the bar, but no one seemed to feel like drinking. Jimmy had poured himself another whisky, but put it down on the bar top without even wetting his lips. We all stood clustered together at the bar because none of us could work up the enthusiasm to do anything, or go anywhere else. Things really had deteriorated if even free booze didn’t offer any comfort.

  ‘We’re not safe in here, but it’s not safe to go outside either,’ Eileen said finally. She seemed to be thinking out loud, addressing the room in general rather than anyone in particular. ‘Stuck between a rock we can’t see and a hard place that’s hiding from us. So all that’s left … is to figure out how best to protect ourselves. If we’re to make it all the way through the night till morning.’

  ‘You had to say “if”, didn’t you?’ said Jimmy.

  ‘Maybe we should barricade the door and the windows?’ said Valerie. ‘To make sure nothing can get in from outside.’

  ‘You mean the face at the window?’ said Albert. ‘If that had wanted to get in, it would have done so by now.’

  ‘Whatever is after us, it clearly prefers to pick its own moment,’ I said.

  Jimmy scowled down the long room at the front door. ‘That wooden coat stand isn’t strong enough to keep out anything really determined to force its way in. I suppose we could always push something heavy against the door. Then break up some of the furniture and use the pieces to board up the windows. That’s what they always do in horror movies.’

  ‘Though it never seems to help them much in the end,’ said Penny.

  ‘No one is smashing up any of my carefully chosen and perfectly matched period furniture,’ said Albert, very firmly. ‘You have no idea how much time and money it took to get every detail just right.’

  Jimmy looked at him incredulously. ‘Isn’t your life worth more? Isn’t ours?’

  ‘But the threat isn’t from outside, is it?’ I said, cutting in quickly before things could get unpleasant. ‘All right, Valerie saw a face at the window. But both disappearances took place inside the inn. The real danger is right here. Our abductor, our enemy, whether it’s human or inhuman, has to be somewhere in the Castle with us.’

  ‘But that just isn’t possible!’ said Eileen. ‘There’s nowhere they could be.’

  ‘There’s nowhere Olivia and Thomas could be,’ said Valerie. ‘But they must be somewhere. Perhaps on the other side of a demon door …’

  ‘Are we really going with that?’ said Jimmy. ‘A door that can open and close just long enough for a demon to reach through and grab one of us? Does that even sound likely?’

  ‘Doesn’t have to be a demon,’ I said. ‘It could be an alien.’

  ‘Alien abductions,’ Penny said wisely. ‘Such things do happen. I’ve read about them in very serious magazines.’

  Everyone looked at her, but no one said anything. Jimmy shook his head slowly.

  ‘Great! Something else to worry about.’

  Valerie looked at me challengingly. ‘You really think an alien is more likely?’

  ‘More likely than a demon, yes,’ I said. ‘And an alien feels more like something we could fight.’

  ‘Your thoughts are so limited,’ said Valerie.

  Penny cut in quickly. ‘Barricading ourselves in still feels like a really bad idea to me. What if we need to escape in a hurry and then find we can’t because we’ve blocked off all the exits?’

  Nobody liked the sound of that. The others looked uneasily at the front door and the three windows, as they realized there was no other way out.

  ‘I am never going to feel safe again,’ said Jimmy. ‘Even if we do somehow get through this night alive.’

  ‘You had to say “if”,’ said Valerie.

  They shared a small smile.

  ‘We should be safe enough in here,’ I said. ‘As long as we stick together and stay in plain sight. Our enemy does seem strangely shy, in that no one ever gets taken where we can see what’s happening.’

  ‘What if the lights go out?’ said Eileen. ‘What if someone shuts down the power, like they did the landline? Anything could happen in the dark.’

  ‘Maybe we should all just stop talking for a while,’ said Jimmy, just a bit desperately. ‘Every time someone opens their mouth, things just sound worse … I don’t need more things to worry about! My nerves have run off to hide in a corner somewhere, holding hands and crying their eyes out.’

  ‘Would you rather be taken by surprise because we didn’t consider all the possibilities?’ said Eileen.

  ‘I don’t know! Maybe!’ Jimmy scowled darkly. ‘Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you.’

  ‘Olivia and Thomas were taken by surprise,’ said Valerie, ‘when the demon came for them.’ She looked at me. ‘Call it a demon. Because of what it does.’

  ‘Someone needs a nice sit down and a time out,’ said Eileen.

  ‘Shut up, Eileen!’ said Jimmy.

  ‘Albert,’ said Penny, cutting in once again, ‘do you have any candles? In case the lights go out.’

  ‘Of course,’ said Albert. ‘They’re in the kitchen.’

  We all turned to look at the closed kitchen door. It looked calmly back at us. No one made any move towards it. No one wanted to go into a room where someone had already vanished.

  ‘The candles would have to be in the kitchen, wouldn’t they?’ said Jimmy.

  ‘Look on the bright side …’ I said.

  Jimmy looked at me. ‘There’s a bright side?’

  ‘There are candles,’ I said.

  ‘Still not going in there,’ said Jimmy.

  ‘We can all go in together,’ I said. ‘The demon doesn’t seem to like groups. So we go in, grab the candles, and get the hell out again. Albert, lead the way.’

  ‘Why me?’ said Albert.

  ‘Because you know where the candles are,’ I said.

  ‘And because it’s your fault we’re all here tonight, anyway,’ said Eileen.

  ‘Fair enough,’ said Albert.

  He headed reluctantly towards the kitchen door. Penny and I went with him, to show solidarity, and the others followed on behind, dragging their feet the whole way.

  ‘Albert,’ said Penny. ‘What was the dessert?’

  ‘What?’ said Albert, not even glancing back, his eyes fixed on the kitchen door. ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘Olivia said she was going into the kitchen to check how the dessert was doing,’ said Penny. ‘I just wondered what it was.’

  ‘What difference does that make?’ said Jimmy, from the rear.

  ‘It could still be cooking in the oven,’ said Penny. ‘And if it has been in the oven all this time, perhaps we should do something about it. We don’t want anything to catch fire, do we?’

  ‘No, we don’t,’ said Albert, looking back just long enough to glare at Eileen. ‘You are not burning down my inn!’

  ‘It was just an idea,’ said Eileen. ‘I’ve gone off it.’

  ‘What was the dessert?’ asked Penny.

  ‘Nothing we need to worry about,’ Albert said testily. ‘It was already cooked, just needed to be put in the oven to warm up. Olivia and I had decided on a Tansy pudding – an old delicacy from the smugglers’ time.’

  ‘Hold everything!’ said Valerie. ‘I’ve read about that. Tansy pudding was made from flowers that we now know to be poisonous!’

  ‘Only in large helpings,’ said Albert.

  We were all standing before the closed kitchen door. No one seemed in any hurry to open it. Albert looked back at us, apparently glad of an excuse to put off going into the kitchen, but it only took him a moment to decide he really didn’t like the look on our
faces either. He tried for a reassuring smile, but couldn’t quite bring it off. He settled for a condescending smile, to make it clear he knew more than we did.

  ‘Olivia and I checked the ingredients for the tansy pudding very carefully. You were never going to be in any danger. As long as no one pigged out on second helpings. Olivia thought it would make for a nice joke, when we told you afterwards. Our little tribute to what happened at Tyrone’s last meal. I suppose it doesn’t seem so funny now.’

  ‘No,’ said Jimmy. ‘It doesn’t. Tell me there weren’t any more little surprises in what we did eat.’

  ‘Of course not!’ said Albert. ‘It was all good traditional fare. Come on! Olivia and I ate everything the rest of you did. Remember?’

  ‘But were you planning to eat any of the pudding?’ said Eileen.

  Albert decided this would be a good time to open the kitchen door. But although he closed his hand around the handle, he couldn’t seem to bring himself to turn it. He swallowed hard, trying to summon up his nerve, like a diver perched on the end of a really high board. I moved in beside him and he stepped back quickly, happy to leave it to me. I looked the door over carefully and listened hard; and when I was sure I couldn’t see or hear anything worrying, I opened the door and pushed it all the way back. The kitchen was completely empty. I heard Albert utter a loud sound of relief. And then everyone crowded in behind me, peering over my shoulders. I let them all have a good look to assure themselves there was nothing to be scared of, and then I led the way into the kitchen.

  Albert immediately strode past me, heading for one particular cupboard. He opened it and brought out box after box of candles. He opened them up and dispensed handfuls of slim white candles to everyone. There was no shortage of outstretched hands. The candles didn’t seem very big to me. Certainly not big enough to last all the way through the long hours of the night. But I didn’t say that out loud. Everyone seemed so much happier now their hands were full of candles.

  ‘Why have you got so many candles, Albert?’ said Penny.

  ‘This far out of town, the power supply isn’t always reliable,’ said Albert. ‘And besides, Olivia and I thought candlelight would add to the atmosphere.’