Chapter Four: Of Darkness and Death
Thunder rumbled overhead, as afternoon segued into evening. Yet, as the hours passed, Judas began to feel uneasy.
"What Lord Cromwell had said earlier doesn't make sense...The pieces don't quite fit. He didn't send the letter that Cain had received, nor does the other possible sender, Madame Sophie, want to speak with us. Just what exactly is going on?" Judas wondered, as they were shown into one of the guest rooms; smiling slightly when Mary-Weather's childish enthusiasm returned to the forefront.
"Cain, Judas! Look! I can see the fountain from here!" Mary-Weather chirped, as she pointed out the landmark to them.
"So I see, Mary. It's a good view." Judas murmured, a bit distractedly, as he listened to the manservant tell Cain that he was leaving their baggage there, and that their rooms were connected...then closed and locked the door behind him.
"Cain...I think they locked us in...Why?" Mary-Weather asked, as she gave the two teens a quizzical look. Cain allowed himself almost a snort of contempt at the action on the Cromwell family's part, and shook his head.
"Who knows?" Cain muttered, finally; exchanging an almost mischievous glance with Judas as he said that. He received a grin from the American as an answer; Judas shared his enthusiasm for sneaking out, completely.
"It doesn't seem to bother you two very much." Mary-Weather said, watching with some surprise as Cain started expertly picking the door's lock.
"Okay, now be a good girl and go to sleep." Cain ordered, his devilish cheerfulness getting an exasperated 'Cain!' from the ten-year-old girl.
"Otherwise, Miss Mary, he won't tell you the mystery of this mansion you're dying to know about." Judas added, with his usual easygoing smile, before they both ducked out of the room, and started sneaking down the hall. Neither of them heard it when Mary-Weather muttered a disappointed-sounding 'Fine', and something about Cain 'hitting his stride'.
"It's almost as quiet as death in this house...no pun intended, of course." Judas whispered, as they traversed the silent halls.
"Indeed it is." Cain agreed; stopping in his tracks when he heard voices, and motioning for Judas to duck out of sight before they could be seen.
"I've longed to see you. You never come around anymore. Look! I finally got it! And with this, tonight we can finally get rid of that annoying woman's possessed daughter, Lukia!" a cold, feminine voice purred, as Abigail Cromwell and the mysterious 'Crehador' paused in the hallway. Cain's eyes widened when he saw what Abigail had in her hand (while Judas did his best not to gag at the sight of the sinister pair kissing).
"Poison?.!" Cain mentally yelped, as he watched them break contact, then smile at one another.
"So, shall we go? Everything has been prepared, Abigail." Crehador murmured, as he led her away.
"I wonder what's going to happen here tonight?" Judas whispered, voicing Cain's unspoken question exactly.
"Just what I would like to know. Come on. We need to follow them." Cain replied, as he started leading the way.
"You sure Mary will be all right? I thought you'd brought me along to protect her?" Judas asked, suddenly remembering the one little detail Cain had made him forget.
"Your wounds are still healing, Judas. It would be too much of a strain to ask that of you right now...And it would be presumptuous of me to do so. As it is, London was too dangerous a locale to leave you and Mary alone there...even with Riff still being there." Cain stated, his honest words (and the concern behind them) reaching the American's heart with no difficulty.
"I understand...and I thank you. It's good to know that Mary has such an honorable brother...I only wish I could have been as lucky." Judas murmured, sadly; before they both lapsed into silence.
"I know only too well what you mean." Cain thought, knowing that he could relate to the other young man's previous situation exactly. It was when they'd reached the doors of the high-domed sitting room, and peered into it, that some questions were answered.
"Are they holding...a seance?" Judas murmured, uneasily, as he and Cain beheld those gathering within.
"It certainly looks that way..." Cain mused, listening when Crehador began to speak.
"Thank you all for waiting. Let us begin the seance." Crehador began, then added, as he turned to the unconscious, seated figure of Lukia, "Lukia, I, Dominic Crehador...Will drive out the evil spirits that possess your soul." As Cain and Judas watched, the Cromwells gathered around a small, round table, as Crehador explained the rules.
"I've heard the name 'Crehador' before, somewhere..." Cain whispered, as he tried to remember where he'd heard it.
"It sounded familiar to me too...for some reason..." Judas agreed, jumping slightly when the loud crash of thunder echoed throughout the house.
"Judas, take a good look out the window...Tell me I'm not seeing things..." Cain muttered, as he pointed out one of the windows to the American.
"Butterflies?" Judas asked, confusedly.
"But they're not like the ones we saw when we arrived here earlier...These are red!" Cain stated, sounding as surprised as Judas now looked.
"Creepy..." Judas mumbled.
"It's not safe to walk around by yourselves at night, sirs." a voice stated, getting surprised yells from both teens.
"What the bleedin' hell are you tryin' to do? Give the both of us heart attacks or somethin'?.!" Judas shouted, panting heavily and gripping his chest as he did so.
"My apologies." the butler muttered, half-heartedly, then added, "But you really shouldn't have been wandering around here."
"Well, I suppose there is no helping it, now. Let's go in." Cain stated, as he led the way into the sitting room. Reluctantly, Judas and the butler followed.
"Hello Uncle Leonard...I knew there was something strange going on." Cain said, as he approached Lord Cromwell with his usual casual grace.
"Cain!" Lord Cromwell yelped, surprised to see the two teens.
"I know I really have no right to say something in this matter, sir, but did you try to keep this a secret from Cain because seances are forbidden among Christians?" Judas asked, having calmed down considerably in those few moments it took to enter the room.
"It seems so. And now I know where I've heard the name 'Crehador' before, too." Cain murmured, then turned and addressed Crehador himself, "You're the famous medium who calls upon spirits and who has taken European aristocracy by storm. Who'd have guessed you would come to England?" With a slight, almost defeated smirk, Crehador sighed and nodded.
"It seems useless to hide anything from him! Yes, this is a forbidden seance." Crehador conceded, as a look of alarm crossed Lord Cromwell's face.
"Well...I guess it's too late now. Please keep this a secret Cain, Mr. Hargers." Lord Cromwell said, shakily.
"We'll do what we can, sir." Judas replied; falling silent when Lord Cromwell began explaining what it was that had prompted him to call a medium like Crehador to the house. He told them of Abigail's uneasiness with the ghosts, and the botched seance that had changed Lukia's personality.
"Sometimes people dabble in things that are well enough left alone..." Judas thought, sourly, as he gave the senseless Lukia a sympathetic look; suppressing the urge to scowl at Abigail for her foolishness, and her evil heart.
"A powerful spirit in this house has possessed this girl. So we must conduct another seance to drive it out...and tonight is the perfect time to do it." Crehador stated, calmly.
"You two mustn't try to stop it, since I'm going to catch that spirit for sure tonight." Emile said, as he looked eagerly up at Judas and Cain. For the briefest of moments, Judas felt the corners of his mouth rise in a slight smirk.
"Whatever you say. Just don't get yourself staked in the process, okay?" Judas asked, as he gave the boy a conspiratorial look and a wink. If it were possible, Emile's grin (even with the fake fangs) got even wider. Finally there was an adult that understood him!
"Well then, let's begin the seance. Otherwise, we'll have to wait till the next opportunity arises." Crehador said, as he called the Cromwells to the center of the room.
"Very well..." Lord Cromwell murmured in agreement.
"Please allow Judas and me to participate as well." Cain said, getting yelps from Lord Cromwell and Judas for that.
"I'd like to see just how good this guy really is." Cain continued; ignoring Judas when he gave him an unreadable look.
"If I get possessed by some nutcase ghost, I'm going to have you undo it yourself, Cain." Judas muttered, moodily. Cain only snickered.
"Don't worry. I'm sure there's nothing to it." Cain replied; getting only a deadpan look for his efforts.
"Crehador...you will save Lukia tonight!" Lord Cromwell commanded, getting a nod from the medium in answer to the order.
"Of course. After all, I'm responsible for her condition." Crehador answered, smoothly, before turning to the sheet-draped table that stood in the middle of the room and saying, "A magically warded three-legged table and...this time I brought the real thing, instead of a crystal ball." Judas could almost sense the revulsion in the group, and especially in Abigail, when the thing beneath the sheet was revealed. There, on the table, sat a human skull.
"This is the skull of a priest who had committed suicide. Judging from the crack on the forehead, he must have jumped off of a tall building...Let us begin. Whatever you do, don't make any loud noises or let go of each other's hands...Otherwise, I can't be responsible for what might happen..." Crehador warned, cryptically. Cain felt it when Emile tried to pull away from his hand when he reached for it, and gave the boy a discerning look.
"What? You don't want to hold my hand?" Cain asked; knowing that something seemed odd about the boy.
"Better do it, kiddo. Otherwise, you'll be possessed next!" Judas whispered, from Cain's right-hand side; the grin he now showed Emile proving that he didn't quite believe what was about to happen, and making light of it while he was at it. Emile smirked back, giving Cain almost a snort of contempt before reaching for his hand.
"Whatever!" Emile muttered, as Cain gave Judas a curious look. How had he known how to handle the ornery younger boy?
"Another part of his past, I suppose...For now, though, I must wonder...Is this guy the real thing? Or is he a charlatan?" Cain wondered, as he returned his attention to the here and now.
"Spirit within, come out of this girl's body and show yourself!" Crehador commanded, no sooner saying that when the unbelievable began to happen. The table beneath their hands began to shake violently, and one of the windows high above them suddenly cracked.
"Just like last time! The table shook and the furniture in the room started moving...!" Lord Cromwell whispered, as Abigail tried to quiet him.
"We are in over our heads, this time..." Judas mused, as he nervously glanced at the ghostly phenomena that were happening around him. All attention turned to Lukia, then, as she began to moan softly.
"Here it comes...Who are you? Why did you possess this girl?" Crehador asked, as he approached her.
"Bird...The bird...Please...silence the bird that torments me...That voice in the night that tortures me! Telling me...that it hates me...and to leave this world..." Lukia whispered, despondently.
"Answer me. Are you Lord Cromwell's dead wife, Tohko?" Crehador again asked, fully aware of the shocked looks he was getting from the Cromwells, Cain, and Judas.
"I...was in such agony...I did what that voice told me to do and disappeared...Yes...I became a butterfly. I became a butterfly and flew out the window...and as a butterfly, I returned to this house..." Lukia said, her voice slowly changing into that of another woman...a voice that Abigail Cromwell appeared to know only too well.
"Cain...there's more of those red butterflies flying around out there!" Judas whispered, urgently.
"I know...I see them..." Cain replied; listening as Lady Tohko's voice continued to speak through her daughter.
"This is my house..." Tohko's voice said, firmly and angrily, as Abigail began to tremble as violently as the table had been, just moments before.
"Why is that woman with the bird's voice here? The woman who turned me into a bright red butterfly...That was...you..." Lukia hissed, as she pointed an accusing finger at Abigail.
"N-no! This is ridiculous! I'm not doing this anymore!" Abigail shouted, as she struggled to break free from the circle.
"Abigail?.! Don't let go of my hand! The moment you let go, the evil spirit will be set free!" Lord Cromwell cried, before a dazzling flash of lightning struck, and they were all knocked to the ground by an incredible unseen force...
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"...ain! Cain! Are you all right?" Judas' voice asked, when Cain found himself rousing up on the floor.
"...I will be...as soon as the room stops spinning...Ow..." Cain muttered, as Judas released a sigh of relief and helped him get to his feet.
"What just happened?" Cain asked, as he leaned on Judas' shoulder; shaking his head to clear it of the fog that had taken up residence there.
"Apparently the house has been struck by lightning." Judas replied, turning when one door flew open, and Mary-Weather rushed in.
"Cain! Judas! Are you okay?" Mary-Weather asked, worriedly, as she hugged each in turn.
"We're fine, Mary. No need to worry." Judas said, gently, as Cain held her close to comfort her.
"Good. I'm glad." Mary-Weather murmured, relieved that her brother and the American were both safe.
"But what happened to the spirit?" Judas wondered, as he watched Cain then go to Lukia's side and try to wake her.
"Lukia! Wake up, Lukia." Cain gently called, as the girl before him slowly roused up, opened her eyes, and looked confusedly at him.
"Y-you're..." Lukia began to say, before Cain spoke again.
"Lukia! You've regained your senses!" Cain said, as honest relief colored his features.
"Hai...Are you the son of the Earl who I met when I was little?" Lukia asked, getting a nod as an affirmation from Cain for that. Then she turned her attention to Judas.
"Cain, did you find a twin brother? He looks just like you!" Lukia said, voicing her surprise at this turn of events.
"A few people have already thought that much, Miss Cromwell." Judas stated, with an easygoing smile; not insulted in the slightest.
"Emile! Are you all right?.!" Mary-Weather asked, as she ran over to him, next. The boy was just beginning to get back up; wobbling slightly as he reached for the table to brace himself.
"Don't touch me! I told you to leave, didn't I?.!" Emile snapped, when the girl had knelt down to try and help him up, and jerked his arm away from her as he did so.
"What's your problem? Who cares about you, anyway?.!" Mary-Weather shouted, angrily, before Lord Cromwell's voice brought all of them back to silence.
"Abigail!" Lord Cromwell cried, as he looked down upon the crumpled form of his wife. She lay curled on her side on the floor; her mouth agape in a silent scream, and her fingers clawing at an unseen assailant. Across from her, and nestled in the soft folds of her petticoats, was the priest's skull. As the full gravity of this settled over them, Judas could only think of the one thought he'd had before the seance...
"This was one thing that should have been left alone!" Judas thought, grimly, as he stood at Cain's side; gripping his throwing knives nervously as he did so.
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Author's Note!
So sorry about the long wait between chapters, but this one was particularly difficult to write! Hope it was worth it!
Gemini14