Scully made her way down the hallway with her robe flowing behind her like a long cape. Candles that were lit began to flicker, as she brushed past. Reaching her door, she slammed it behind her. She then took off her robe and laid it on the bed. She stood catching her breath. "Just who did he think he was talking to back there anyway?! Trying to tell me what I did or didn't see!" She then paused remembering how handsome he had looked sitting by the fireplace in the men's nightshirt and pants. How he had gazed into her eyes and lightly touched her chin.

"Forget him." A voice whispered in her ear.

Scully gasped as she heard the voice in her ear she had previously. "Who...who are you?"

"Someone who is far better than he." The voice answered. "Who can give you anything you want. Anything your heart secretly desires."

"How...how can you do that?"

The figure of Jonathan then appeared in front of her. "Don't be afraid of me, Dana."

Scully jumped and took a step back. "How...how do you know my name?"

Jonathan took a step toward her. "I know everything about you, Dana. I know what lies deep within your heart. What you secretly long for. You wish to be treated like the lady you are. You wish to indulge yourself in pampering and delights." He placed his hand on the side of her face. "I can make all of that come true, Dana."

Scully began to tremble. "I...I..."

"Ssssh." Jonathan replied caressing her cheek. "Look into my eyes, Dana. Can you not see the love I share for you? You are far more beautiful than any lady who graced these halls. You should be treated as the lady you are."

Scully looked into Jonathan's eyes and found herself hypnotized by them. It was almost like they could see into her very soul. All thoughts of Mulder were leaving her as she lost herself in Jonathan's eyes. Her eyes began to take on a blank stance.

Jonathan leaned into her and whispered in her ear. "Your bath awaits you, my lady." He then gestured to the bathroom. Leading Scully to the room, he showed her the large tub, which was now completely full of water and suds. Flower petals also adorned the tub. His hands took a hold of Scully's nightgown and pulled it over her head. His hand then caressed her skin starting from the top of her neck and slowly down her chest. "Indulge in the mysteries of the water, Dana. Lose yourself in its warmth and peacefulness."

Staring straight ahead as if in a trance, Scully slowly stepped out of her panties and then into the tub. An overwhelming sensation over came her as she closed her eyes and took in all the smells of the flower petals and the warmness of the water.

"That's it. Your soul will be mine." Jonathan whispered before disappearing into thin air.

Mulder had fallen asleep next to the fireplace with the book still in his hand. His legs were outstretched and his head resting on the back of the chair. He then heard a strange voice.

"Fox."

Mulder's eyes halfway opened. There was only one person who called him by that name. "Samantha?" He whispered weakly.

"You must wake up, Fox."

Mulder's eyes completely opened. As he focused he could see a young lady standing in front of him. His eyes widened as he realized it was the young lady from the portrait in Scully's room. "Ah!" Mulder cried out as he practically jumped out of the chair. He started backing toward the wall. "You're not real. You're just a figment of my imagination!"

Josephine advanced toward him. "You can't be afraid of me, Fox. I need your help. We all do." She reached out her hand toward him. "Please do not shun me."

Mulder found himself shaking as Josephine's hand came closer. "Keep....keep away from me! Scully!"

"She can't hear you. He already has her within his grasp."

"What...what are you talking about?"

"If you wish to save her then you must listen to me. Jonathan must be stopped before he is able to complete his task." Josephine moved her hand away from Mulder. "Do you know who I am?"

Mulder nodded. "Josephine, Josephine Cornwall. You were married to the owner of this house, Jonathan McBride."

"Engaged." Josephine corrected him. "I was engaged to Jonathan McBride and not happily. My father thought it a good match and Jonathan's family was very wealthy. My father obtained the resources he needed through Jonathan's ties. I was...promised to him against my wishes. Back at that time, a young girl did not question such arrangements."

"But....you loved someone else."

"Yes, a man named Anthony. He was...below my station but I didn't care. He was the only man I truly gave my heart to. He made me feel free and alive. When he found out that I was to be married to Jonathan it broke his heart. But we continued to carry on a secret love affair regardless until..."

"Until you were found out by Jonathan."

Josephine nodded. "Jonathan appeared to be everything a young girl could desire. He was handsome, had money, could get you anything you wished." She paused. "But beyond those eyes was something much more evil and sinister. He believed that once he had a woman he literally possessed her. He became this...horrible monster. And I was a victim of this. Anthony came here to try and rescue me from him." She closed her eyes tightly. "Jonathan murdered him in a fit of rage and then he...he killed me as well."

"That was the page that was missing from that book."

Josephine nodded. "That the mysteries of this house. It was no coincidence that you found it. But Jonathan tore that page from it. To prevent you from learning the truth of what happened here."

"But....why are you telling me all this? What is this house? What has all this to do with my partner?"

"This house...is pure evil, Fox. It harbors the souls of all those he has claimed long since me. Every Halloween this mansion appears in a different place. Places with fields, woods and other kinds of vacant areas. And it has just one purpose....to claim the souls of others. Those who wander into this place never return. The hapless victims are normally couples such as you and your partner who end up lost in the middle of nowhere."

"Wait a second. My partner and I are not a couple. We're only here because we got a flat tire just down the road and we couldn't call for help."

"Do you think it's a coincidence that you had that flat tire? That you are here now? Jonathan can hear a soul crying out for a need thousands of miles away. He feeds upon it."

"A need?" Mulder paused. "Wait, are you saying..."

"Your partner, she was seduced by this house. It all started when she looked into his eyes in the painting. He could sense her weakness, her longing and now he is preying on it. He will seduce her with gifts and promises. Anything that she secretly desires he will know and present to her. And once he seduces her...he will possess her soul. And she will be trapped here just like the others for eternity."

Scully lay in the tub with her eyes closed and head propped against the back. Her hands dipped into the suds as she rubbed them on her body. It literally felt like tiny breezes caressing her skin. She had taken many baths in the past before but never one quite like this. She felt as if she were lying in a field full of flowers wearing a white summer dress. She could feel the grasses tickling her feet. She could see a bird circling above her and coming to land on her finger. She brought the tiny bird to her lips and blew it a kiss before sending it back into the air. She then looked over to see Jonathan looming over her with his hand outstretched.

"Take my hand, Dana. "

Scully reached up her hand, taking Jonathan's and slowly rising to her feet. She looked into his eyes and felt a breeze going slowly up her body. It felt as if the breeze was composed of thousands of tiny tongues, lapping at her. She closed her eyes and moaned as Jonathan's hand caressed her face.

"Yes." Jonathan whispered. "The time is near. Give in to what your heart desires."

Mulder ran a hand through his hair. "I...I don't believe this. Scully? She has a need that's brought us here? But how? She's never come across to me that way."

"There are many things a woman can secretly harbor, Fox. Desires that are so deep that no one ever knows of their existence. Your partner has these needs and keeps them locked within her. But they are such in that they are like a beacon to someone like Jonathan. She is afraid to acknowledge these to anyone else and that is what makes them so dangerous."

Mulder gazed into the fire. "Is there anyway to save her?"

"Yes, there is. You must vanquish Jonathan from this house. Once you have achieved that you will save your partner's soul and release mine and all the other souls he has claimed here over the centuries."

"Vanquish? You mean as in exorcise?"

"There is an incantation that must be read. It is the only way to send him back to the damnation where he belongs."

"Where is this incantation?" Mulder asked turning back around.

"It is located somewhere inside this library."

Mulder glanced around at the huge room along with the books that lined the walls. "Well, that narrows it down. So, you're telling me that this house....called Scully? It caused the flat tire and for us to come in here?"

"And it compelled her to put on that nightgown and robe. Didn't you find it unusual that the rooms were perfectly intact complete with clothing? It was there because she secretly wanted it to be."

"Boy, this would share make a hell of an X-File."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing, nothing." Mulder cleared his throat. "So, I find this incantation, I read it, Scully is saved and so are the other souls?"

"I'm afraid tis not that easy, Fox. With every soul that Jonathan has acquired, he has become more powerful. The souls give him the energy he needs to sustain what he desires. There have been others to try and stop him for sure and they have all failed. Once Jonathan finds your weakness, he will use it to your advantage. And once he does that....he will destroy you and claim your soul as well."

"If you're so certain of what Jonathan will do to me, then why ask for my help?"

"You aren't like the others, Fox. You believe in everything you have seen here. You have an open mind unlike others. And...the bond between you and your partner is very strong. You have an advantage over Jonathan in that way. As long as you remain strong, you can't fail. You were sent here to free us, Fox. I believe in you."

"Can you help me defeat him?"

"I can't promise you anything, Fox. As I have said Jonathan has grown very powerful through the centuries. Once he finds out I am trying to help you, he will do whatever he can to prevent me from appearing to you again."

"Can he do that?"

Josephine nodded. "Alas he can since he owns my soul. But somehow...your presence has allowed me to stand up to his power. I only hope it will be enough as time is running out."

"What do you mean?"

"You only have until midnight in which to vanquish Jonathan. After midnight, you will both be trapped in this place forever and your souls will belong to him. And then....after acquiring your soul he will become even more powerful. And there will be no one to stop him from acquiring souls in the year to come."

"Year?"

"This house appears every Halloween because....that is the night that he committed his first murder. And it is the night..."

"That he has his most power." Mulder started toward the door. "Where is Scully?"

"There is nothing you can do for her now. She's distracting him which is precisely the chance you need."

"Distracting? What the hell is he doing to her?"

"Fox, stop! You must listen to me! He is too powerful for you now!"

"I can't just leave my partner to some maniac!" Mulder answered back heading toward the hallway.

Josephine suddenly reappeared in front of him. "Fox, listen to me. I know you are concerned for her and you have every right to be. But you must think rationally on this or you will give her to him!"

"I can't just leave her to him!"

"Fox, think about what Halloween is. Why would he be the most powerful then? It's the one time of the year when the veil between the spirit world and the physical is transparent. He has all the power he can possibly need."

Mulder raised his finger to her. "I will NOT sacrifice my partner for the needs of some evil spirit!"

"Don't you see? He is beyond being an evil spirit! That's why you can't face him this way!"

Mulder ignored her, passing right through her and into the hallway.

Josephine let out a sigh. "Impetuous man! He will use your emotions against you!" She then disappeared.

Mulder made his way to Scully's door and began pounding on it. "Scully! Scully open up!"