Chapter 6: Revelations

Jeff could hear a voice before he opened the door. It was a woman's voice—an unearthly, echoing voice—but a voice all the same. A wave of relief went through Jeff and he immediately opened the door. Upon opening the door, he noticed a muted greenish light but ignored it. All that mattered was that there was another person nearby.

"Thank God I heard your voice!" Jeff called out, walking towards the woman. "I lost my way. I don't know how to get out of here. I'm sorry if I sound a little frazzled. I just had myself a little freakshow back there. I was supposed to meet Mr. Lander, but I got stuck in the wall of the library."

As he got closer, he could hear what the woman was saying. "Goblins and ghoulies from last Halloween, awaken the spirits with your tambourine."

Ignoring how odd the little rhyme sounded, Jeff continued walking into a little room and noticed that it looked like the inside of an Eastern European gypsy wagon. There were sheer drapes that decorated the walls. Around the room there were unlit candles and neatly-stacked tarot cards. The most eye-catching one was a large green crystal ball that was perched on an elaborate golden base, which was placed on a small table. Oddly enough, there was no person in the room with Jeff. He could hear a voice but couldn't find anyone.

"Okay," said Jeff, coming to a stop at the table. "I hear you, but I don't see you. Where are you?"

Jeff couldn't believe his eyes when he saw a face in the green crystal ball. It was a pale face with green eyes and dark braided hair. Since he had seen so many weird things tonight, he wasn't even shocked when he saw someone in the ball. Honestly, he'd be more surprised if there wasn't a person in the ball.

"I am Madame Aerith," said the woman in the crystal ball. "Seer of all; voice of the spirits. Whom do you seek?"

As Jeff bent down to investigate her, he was knocked for a loop when a chair suddenly slid up behind him and forced him to sit at the small table. His breath was knocked out of his lungs when his stomach hit the edge of the table. He tried to push away from the table, but the chair wouldn't move. It was like he was chained to the table.

"Let me out of here!" Jeff shouted, struggling to get free.

"Silence!" exclaimed Madame Aerith, the pitch of her voice making shivers go down his spine. "Whom do you seek?"

"I am seeking a way out of here," replied Jeff in a terrified voice.

"Then you must look from within," said Madame Aerith in a softer tone.

That didn't sound like a good thing to him. "I don't wanna look within," retorted Jeff, gripping the edge of the table. "I wanna look without. Are you deaf?"

Madame Aerith ignored his question and continued speaking. "There is a great evil in this house. A devil's curse. It seeks to destroy you."

Jeff's heart started skipping. A chill went down his spine. None of that sounded good. "Why would something seek to destroy me?" he demanded, his worry coming out as anger. "I'm just here to renovate and sell the house."

Once again, his question went unanswered. The lady continued speaking in riddle. "Dark spirits from the grave, come forth," she said in an ominous tone, staring directly into Jeff's eyes. "Lift us from the black and show us. Show us the way back."

Jeff could feel the hairs on his body standing up. "Dark spirits?" he repeated furiously, glaring at the ball. "Hey, no dark spirits! Don't you make any spirits come out!"

Madame Aerith ignored him and closed her eyes in concentration. "Lift us!" she commanded whatever force was in the room. "Lift us up to the light and lead us through this stormy night!"

As she said that, the table lifted off the ground and began floating. Before Jeff could fully comprehend what was happening, he found himself being levitated off the floor. He gripped onto the arms of the chair and his mouth fell open. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears and prayed that this was all a bad dream.

"Hey!" he called out to the ball in a shaky voice. "I'd really like to stay on the ground! I'd rather stay on the ground! Can I stay on the ground please!?" His last words didn't really sound masculine, but he was too scared to think about it.

To his horror, the chair started spinning him around the table, like it was stuck in orbit. He wasn't the type to feel motion sickness, but he couldn't help the nauseous feeling that welled up in his gut. He didn't know if it was from the spinning or if his fear was manifesting in nausea. Right now, it didn't matter. He just wanted to get back on the ground before he got sick. To make matters worse, instruments levitated in the air and started playing a discordant harmony. The stacked tarot cards came apart and started flying around the room. Jeff had to duck his head, so he wouldn't get hit by them.

"Evil and darkness have fallen this night," continued Madame Aerith, locking her eyes on his, despite the chaos in the room. "Now to survive, you must first gain new sight."

Even though he was terrified, he managed to make a quip. "I must first gain new underwear," he retorted loudly over the music.

"Only the light will lead the way!" shouted the gypsy woman over the madness. "Follow it and find your way home!"

In desperation, Jeff closed his eyes and began praying under his breath. "There's no place like home," he whispered, clasping his hands together. "There's no place like home."

Madame Aerith's voice resounded once more. "Go, Mr. Carr!" she shouted, getting the man's attention gain. "Your family is at stake! Your very life is at stake! Break the curse! There is no escape for you unless you lift this spell! Go! Save yourself! Save your family! Release her! Release us all!"

The spinning started getting worse. Jeff could hardly focus on what was going on in the room. He could hear Madame Aerith's laughter over his own screams. He gripped onto the arms of the chair once again and closed his eyes, trying to fight back more nausea.

"I'm getting so queasy!" he shouted, hoping his stomach wouldn't rebel. "I'm getting very queasy!"

The gypsy woman found his fear funny, and her laughter became louder and more sinister. Jeff thought the nightmare would never end. It felt like hours before the chair finally came crashing to the ground again. Jeff landed with a startled "oh!" and he blinked rapidly, trying to refocus his vision.

In the hall outside Madame Aerith's room, everything was quiet and calm. Then the door was flung open, and Jeff came running out, screaming at the top of his lungs. He ran up a staircase that was located in the hall. A ghostly combination of floating horns and tambourines were hot on his heels, forcing Jeff to go in a direction that they seemed to want him to go. He saw a door and went to it, forcing it open.

…

Marissa and Riley were sipping hot chocolate when they heard the commotion. The two kids put their mugs down and went running towards where they heard the sound. With the help of Aqua and Ven, the kids opened a heavy door and saw Jeff in a darker corridor with his back pressed against another door, trying to keep something out. Marissa felt joy in her heart when she saw her dad.

"Dad!" she shouted, running down to him to give him a hug.

Jeff wrapped his arms around Marissa and held her tight, gesturing to Riley, who also ran down to hug him. He had never been so glad to see his youngest daughter and her friend in his entire life. He leaned down to press kisses to their heads before speaking to them.

"You guys okay?" he asked in a loving voice with an edge of hysteria in it.

"Yeah," replied Marissa, nodding her head.

"We're fine," answered Riley, wiping at his eyes. It was obvious the boy was crying but wanted to be brave.

"Get your things," he said anxiously, tightening his grip on them. "We gotta get out of here!"

"We can't!" cried Marissa, tugging on her dad's jacket to get his attention.

"Because of the rain?" Jeff guessed, not paying attention to Ven and Aqua, who looked as anxious as he sounded. "It's okay. A little rain won't kill us. Let's go find Shelby and get the hell out of here."

Ven decided to speak up. "I'm afraid that's not possible," he said in an uncomfortable tone, nibbling on his bottom lip. "She can't leave."

Hot anger burned in Jeff's chest. "And why not?" he demanded, glaring up at the other man.

Suddenly, the blond man disappeared. "Because she can't!" he shouted from behind Jeff, making the shocked older man turn to face him. "If I could tell you, I would, but I can't, so I won't, okay?"

Nothing was making sense to Jeff. First, there was the business with the secret door. Then, there was the mirror from hell. Then, there was the freaky gypsy lady. Now, this. What else could go nuts right now?

"Now, I'm having hallucinations," he explained to the kids, trying to rationalize what was going on. "Let's go, kids."

"Mr. Carr, they're ghosts," protested Riley, also tugging at his jacket.

"They're not ghosts," reprimanded Jeff, giving the boy a firm look. "We're all having hallucinations from that dinner we ate. It was that chicken. It didn't taste right."

"Hey!" cried Aqua, disappearing and reappearing in front of him and the kids. "It's not the chicken!" She looked as offended as she sounded.

Jeff gave the woman a wide-eyed stare. "Okay," he replied in a calmer tone. "It's not the chicken, but we still have to get out of here."

Marissa pulled back to stand with Aqua, who wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders. "But, Daddy, we have to help them!" she protested, giving him a pleading look.

"You can't help the dead, honey," he told her in a logical voice. "They're beyond help. That's the nature of being dead."

Ven disappeared from behind Jeff and reappeared next to Aqua. He was nodding in agreement with Jeff. "The man's talking sense," he concurred. "Everyone should keep their noses in their own business."

That didn't satisfy the kids. "But we have to help them break the curse!" Riley insisted, sounding desperate.

Jeff threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "Why is everyone talking about a curse!?" he demanded in an impatient tone. "Have you all been talking to that crazy green gypsy in the giant paperweight?"

Aqua gasped and her face lit up in excitement. "Gypsy?" she repeated, sounding joyful. "He found the gypsy! We have to go back and see her!"

The mere idea made Jeff's skin crawl. "I'm not going back there," he protested, shaking his head. When Marissa began to protest, he went off. "They had me floating around the room! I was strapped to a chair, floating around the room with a marching band chasing me! I'm not going back there! Forget it, Casper!" He directed that last sentence at Ven and Aqua, who both gave him bemused looks.

"But Shelby's in trouble," said Marissa in a small voice, her brown eyes welling up with tears.

That made Jeff stop cold. "What kind of trouble?" he asked, dreading the answer.

Without saying anything, the kids grabbed him by the arms and led him up into the attic, followed by Aqua and Ven. They all came to a stop in front of a painting. As soon as Jeff's eyes landed on it, it took his breath away. The woman in the painting looked just like Shelby. The resemblance was uncanny. He felt his chest tighten in fear when he realized that this was more than he ever bargained for. This had to with his oldest daughter, but what? He had to find out.

…

Shelby smiled as Terra led her to the atrium. She enjoyed listening to his narrative about the first heir to the mansion. She was finding out more about this house than she ever would from a library or the internet. Also, she liked being with Terra. He was a great storyteller. He made her feel…different. He made her feel feelings that she had never felt before. She didn't know if it was love or something else.

"She was of unsurpassed beauty," continued Terra in a wistful tone. "More lovely than the heart could bear."

She could see the undisguised longing in his eyes but couldn't understand what that meant. Was he truly longing for something, or was he just that passionate about the story? Either way, she was blushing. "Tell me more," she requested in a soft voice.

"Her mother was once the lady's maid," continued Terra, looking a bit distracted, like he was reminiscing. "But, sadly, soon after Gaia was born, her mother passed, and the child and her father had nowhere else to go. So, as a debt to her mother, whom the family loved, they took the girl in and raised her as their own. As an equal. Her father became caretaker of the estate."

Terra paused to take Shelby's hand in his. A warm shiver went through her body and she found it hard to breathe. She gave him what she hoped was an empathetic look, and not a longing one. She placed her free hand on his arm and looked into his dark blue eyes. When he looked at her, a pang of longing went through her core. She didn't resist when he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her form into his. Their breath was mingling.

"She grew up in this house," said Terra in a husky tone, eyeing Shelby's parted lips. "It was here where she fell deeply in love with the heir to this home."

It took Shelby a few seconds to respond. "Your ancestor," she said breathlessly, longing for more closeness.

Terra nodded before continuing in a forlorn voice. "But it was a love that could not be. He had wealth, privilege, status, and she—she was not his kind. Her mother was an Irishwoman, and Irish were regarded as inferior in those days."

Shelby nodded in understanding, remembering the "No Irish Need Apply" pictures she saw in her history books. She knew that they were regarded as lesser because of their religious beliefs, but she never knew that a woman who was half-Irish was considered unsuitable for an heir to a mansion.

Then, she decided to ask the most dreadful question. "How did she die, Terra?" She almost didn't want to hear the answer, but at the same time she did.

Terra pulled away from her, withdrawing his warmth from her, and walked over to the window. "Poison," he replied in a distant tone, looking distraught for the ancestor who had lost everything. "She took her own life."

Shelby let out a shaky gasp and placed a trembling hand to her lips. "Oh, my God…" she breathed, her chest prickling with horror. "How awful."

Terra nodded once more. "It was," he remarked despondently, walking back over to her. He placed a warm hand on her slim shoulder. "His life became unbearable after her death. Without hope, without love, without Gaia, he hung himself."

The words hit her like bricks. A cold feeling entered Shelby and she started shivering. Tender tears welled up in her eyes and she shook her head in shock. "That's so terrible," she said in a tearful tone.

Terra gave her a gentle look, but he continued on with the story. "It's said that his soul wanders these halls, waiting for her to return. If you listen carefully, you can almost hear the beating of his broken heart." The last sentence sounded a bit rehearsed, like he was retelling a ghost story, but it didn't make it any less horrible to Shelby.

The young woman started crying, tears streaking her cheeks. "That's so sad," she wept, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be crying, but it's so…"

Terra broke her off by wrapping his arms around her waist. "It's okay to cry, Shelby," he whispered tenderly, stroking the tears from her cheeks. "I apologize for telling you this story. I didn't mean to make you sad. That's the last thing I wanted."

Shelby buried her face into his chest and wept quietly, mourning the poor lovers. She couldn't imagine what the poor man went through when he found out his beloved was gone. Honestly, she didn't want to. She didn't want to imagine the poor man beside himself with grief and thinking there was no way out of the pain. She wished she could go back in time and help that man.

She felt herself being pulled back, which broke her out of her musings, and found herself staring into Terra's eyes again. She could read all sorts of emotions in his eyes: love, longing, tenderness, and mingled grief and joy. Before she could even speak, she found herself being silenced by Terra pressing his lips to hers. Her knees started getting weak. If he wasn't holding onto her, she would have fallen to the floor. A gentle hand cupped her cheek, and she closed her eyes, letting herself get lost in the kiss.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, reveling in the feel of his warm full lips on hers. She ran a hand through his brown spiky hair and unconsciously pressed herself into his strong form. The hand that was cupping her face withdrew from its spot and his arm wrapped around her neck, supporting her head. The other hand that supported her back made little shocks of desire go through her. This was her first kiss, and she was enjoying every minute of it. She wished it could last forever. However, her lungs wouldn't last that long. Just as they were starting to burn, Terra, delightfully flushed, pulled back and stared at her, almost expectantly.

"Well?" he asked in a breathless tone, stroking her hair back from her face.

"That was wonderful," she whispered, pressing her forehead to his.

"I concur," he remarked, before claiming her lips once more.

She wasn't sure if this was love, but it damned well felt like it. She could worry about it later. Right now, she wanted to just feel instead of think. Even if it was just for tonight, it would be just fine. All she wanted was to feel a little bit of tenderness and love, even if it was temporary. Yes, she could worry about the rest later.