“I don’t like this,” May-Jewel whispered. “This is an awful long flight of stairs, and we don’t know where we’ll end up.”
Katherine agreed. “Well, there can’t be anything of interest to us anyhow. Let’s go back.”
There was a long silent pause before there was a reply. “No. We’ll go on. Lift the light higher.”
Raising the lantern above her head, Katherine asked, “Can you see anything down there?”
“I can see what looks like a platform or floor five more steps down.”
The skin on the back of Katherine’s neck began to crawl as an icy coldness came over her. The air in the unventilated stairwell was suffocating. “How much further? I feel as if something is about to ensnare us.” Her voice quivered. “Don’t you sense the evil?”
“Oh, you’re still under the spell of your experience from last night. I can see the bottom step. We can’t stop now.”
Their distorted shadows bounced about the stairwell like cavorting trolls. At last they stepped upon the level planking. Before them was a door. The light glistened on its damp wood. But as they reached for the handle, there suddenly came a flurry of movement on the planks between the door and the step. A huge rodent volleyed for escape amid the women’s slippers and their rustling skirts. Finally, it disappeared into a cavity in the wall.
Shuddering, May-Jewel jumped back onto the step with her skirt gathered above her ankles. “Aagh!” she shrieked, “I hate rats!”
In spite of the rodent and the remark, Katherine grasped the bottom portion of her skirt, wiped the viscous matter adhering on the door latch, and pushed the wooden barrier open. A belch of putrid air tore from the chamber, and its stench, like a repellent, drove her back against May-Jewel, who struggled to maintain her balance. The odor brought tears to their eyes.
“Smells like something’s dead in there,” Katherine whispered, turning to leave.
But instead of retreating, May-Jewel suddenly grabbed the lantern and pushed passed her, disappearing through the portal.
“May-Jewel, what are you doing? Don’t go in there!” Fear impaled Katherine’s feet to the damp step. She couldn’t move. Suddenly a scream tore the silence.
Katherine almost stopped breathing. “May-Jewel!” Gathering her courage and her skirt, she entered the room.
The lantern created dingy mushrooms of light that rolled over the low ceiling and spread down the walls. May-Jewel was sitting on the damp dirt floor.
“Don’t you ever do that again!” Katherine scolded, helping her to her feet.
“Oh, Katherine,” May-Jewel chided, “the floor suddenly ended. Nothing happened other than I got a little dirty, that’s all.” She dusted a clump of dirt from her dress.
“I’m not amused!”
“You’re still skittish after last night, and I knew that if we stopped to discuss it, we’d never get in here. But here we are. Let’s look around.”
The light flickered throughout the vault as May-Jewel held the lantern up over her head. Their eyes fell first on a few empty wine racks along one wall and then on the dirt flooring, which was pocked with dozens of shallow holes.
“It looks as if someone has been digging,” May-Jewel remarked, stepping over a small crater. “Or a large animal was trying to get out of here.”
The room was nothing more than a large chamber, an old wine cellar. Moldy earth lined the floor which had grown sour from centuries of leaking wine and decaying wood. Empty casks and crates were chaotically stacked on one side of the room as if they were thrown there to clear the center of the floor. Cracked and broken bottles lay cradled in sagging racks that were arched against the rear wall. In one corner, the light exposed a rocking chair, half hidden in the shadows.
“Who would want to sit down here?” Katherine asked, as she stepped over and pulled the rocking chair into full view. As she did so, her blood turned cold, and she shuddered as if someone had walked over her grave. “I feel as if we’ve just opened a tomb. The very air seems charged with horrid secrets of long ago and I-.” But Katherine’s words were interrupted as from the shadowy far corner came a sudden thud.
“What was that?” May-Jewel gasped, almost dropping the lantern.
“Someone else… or something else must be down here. Come on!” Katherine whispered. Grabbing her sister’s arm, she quickly pulled her toward the door.
Not looking behind them, they flew back up the stairs.
Chapter Eight
As the heiresses reached the great hall and neared the stairs, Alex suddenly strode from the library to answer the front door. The caller stood hidden from the women’s view.
“I wouldn’t have bothered to knock,” a deep voice said, “but there seems to be a new lock installed since I was here last.” He pocketed a key as he entered. The man walked past Alex, dropping his baggage as he entered, and looked around the hall. “There have been changes! It’s emptier than I remember it being. Where’s Charles?”
“Look here,” Alex said moving to halt the intruder’s advance. “You can’t just walk into another man’s home! State your business or I’ll have you forcibly thrown out.”
The stranger settled his gaze on Alex as if debating whether to answer. The longer the man took to answer, the more annoyed Alex became. Alex stood, his arms folded across his chest in defiance. Then he saw a smirk on the stranger’s face and knew that he was being toyed with. He grew livid. “Answer me or I have you thrown out!”
