Chapter 1
Windward House – Cornish
Coast of England
Present Day
Here are more intruders come to invade my
home. Why must they continue to torment
me? I will easily frighten them away as I have all of the others. My work
begins.
“What was
that?” Sierra turned back to the crew,
startled by the thunderous crash.
“Relax,
it’s just Benny being clumsy, not the Windward Demon.” Dave flipped his Texas Rangers cap around
backward and bent to retrieve the fallen folding table.
“Is
any of the equipment damaged?”
“No,
it’s all still packed in the cases. We
just started the set-up.”
With
a grimace she said, “Okay, but be careful.
We’re a long way from home. We
can’t run back to Austin
and pick up another camera.”
“Just
chill, Sierra. The way you act you’d think
we’re amateurs. We’re the top rated
paranormal show on the air. We’ve been
doing this for a couple of years, ya know.”
“We’ve never done
a case with a documented demon. This
could be dangerous. I need for you to
act professionally on this one, no fooling around.”
“Aye, aye,
Captain!” said Dave with a mock salute.
“I’m going to explore
the place while we still have the daylight.”
Her crew paid no
attention to her. She walked partway up
the once grand staircase, avoiding the discarded tools left by frightened
workmen in their hurry to escape.
A breathy sigh floated on the breeze from the
broken windows.
Sierra cocked her
head to one side, as if to listen.
At least this one is female and pleasant to
watch with her long legs in tight pantaloons.
With that pale hair she resembles Mariana. Turn around, sweeting, so that I may see your
face. Ah, how obliging of her, she
turned just for me. I cannot tell if her
dark eyes are brown or black. Her bosom
is most fair, but why does she wear a garment with writing upon her chest? What words are those, Spirit Stalkers?
The sound of his
own joyful laughter surprised him. He
had not laughed like that in many years. Tis
a pity she cannot stay. I would enjoy her company.
Sierra leaned over
the scarred banister. “Hey, did one of
you laugh just now?”
“No, ma’am,”
called Dave. “We’re at work. We’re not allowed to laugh.”
Soft chuckling
sounded from below. “Yeah, right.” She continued up the stairs, her lips twisted
into grin.
If I can drive them away as easily as the
workmen, I will be at peace this evening.
With great effort he hurled a large stone from the highest
riser. He watched as it crashed down
several steps below the woman.
She shrieked and
stared down at the melon sized rock that came from above her.
“Sierra, are you
all right? What happened?” Dave ran to the staircase with Benny behind
him.
‘Looks like we got
the customary welcome to Windward.” She
bent to scan the stone electronically.
“No energy
readings, that’s odd. Something threw that thing from the top of the
stairs.” Sierra looked up at the top of
the staircase. “Nothing up there, no
shadow, no movement. Okay, here I come, ready or not.” She continued up the stairs.
Windward House – 1661
Dawn filled the chamber with a roseate glow. Devon looked
at his wife, peacefully asleep beside him.
Her fair hair fanned over the pillows.
He could not resist the urge to touch the silken strands.
So much had happened to them in their short
time together. They had spent most of
their married life apart. He had been away fighting the roundheads. Only when King Charles, newly restored to the
throne, bestowed Windward House upon him, had he been able to give his wife a
proper home.
Mariana stirred and opened her dark
eyes. She smiled at the sight of
him. “Devon,”
she murmured, pulling him to her for a long and satisfying kiss.
“Good morning, my love.” He moved over her to gently suckle her ample
breasts. “Motherhood agrees with you.”
She laughed deep in her throat. “I am not a mother yet. The babe won’t be born for five more months at
least, according to the midwife.” She
arched her back to enjoy his attentions.
Devon ran his hands over her velvet skin careful of the growing mound of her
belly. His lips followed his hands as he
tasted her rich warm flesh. “I will miss
you so much.”
She pouted.
“We are just settled into our home.
Why must you go to court now?”
He raised his head from his delightful
task. “I serve at the king’s
pleasure. When I am summoned I must go.”
She gripped his shoulders, stopping him, her
expression serious. “I have heard tales
of the life at the king’s court. Promise
me, Devon, you will not succumb to their wild
ways. I don’t want to lose you. I love
you.”
“You will never lose me, my love. On my honor never will I love another in my
lifetime.”
Mariana smiled at him. “I will hold you to that pledge.” She pulled
him down for another kiss.
When the kiss ended, Devon
looked at her for a moment. “How could I
turn from the perfection of my only love?
Do not worry so.”
“Yes, but there will be beautiful women at
court, well versed in the ways of seduction.
When you come home, you will find me an unattractive lump so round I
will hardly be able to move.”
“In that case, I’ll hold you on my lap and
kiss you senseless,” he said, with a quiet laugh. “You will always be the most beautiful woman
I have ever beheld, especially when you carry my son.”
“Oh, you are sure it is a son, are you? We
haven’t even selected any names yet. And
what if I carry a daughter?”
“She will be as lovely as her mother and I
will worship her.” He hugged her to him and held her fast. “I must go to court, but I will return before
our babe is born.”
“You will be well cared for here. We are near enough for your lady mother to
visit as she wishes. When I return, you will tell me what name you have chosen
for our child. ”
Mariana sighed as she nestled against her
husband.
“Yes, Mama will be here to help if I need
her. I won’t lack companionship. But it
is you I want and you I will miss.” She
looked up at him. “Do hurry back to
me. Do not stay one moment longer there
than you must.”
“I will return to you as soon as I am
released from court.” He kissed her
again and smelled the lavender scent of her hair. “I vow we will be together for eternity.”
* * * * * * * *
“Wait a minute, Sierra,” said Dave, “you want
us to come with you? How about a walkie
in case you need help?”
“No. Keep on with the prep work. I just want to check things out before it
gets dark.”
“Why are you so
nervous? I’ve never seen you like
this. What’s different about this case,
besides the demon aspect?”
“I don’t
know. There’s just such sadness here, so
much pain. Can’t you feel it?”
“Oh so now you’re
a psychic?”
She nudged his
shoulder. “Of course not, this is a significant
case for us. I’m anxious for it to go
well.”
Dave shook his
head and went back to his assigned task.
“Okay, just be careful!”
“I will.” She reached the top and stood to look at the
surroundings. Light from mullioned
windows with broken panes flowed to illuminate the hallway.
The stone walls
were black with mold. She could smell
the salty tang of the sea in the chilled air, mixed with the heavy layer of
dust that covered every surface.
She heard movement
behind her and turned. There was nothing
there. “It must be my imagination,” she
muttered.
“GET OUT, SIEEERRRRAAAA!”
The hoarse
guttural voice was so loud it came from everywhere.
Surprised that she
trembled, she took a couple of deep breaths.
“It’s just because I wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.” She glanced in each direction. There was nothing to be seen. Yet someone or
something was there. She heard the voice
with her ears, without benefit of a recorder.
“Is that the best
you can do?” she asked. “I’ve heard all
the stories. Where’s the apparition, the
blood running down the walls? So far,
I’m not impressed.”
“Wait until
tonight.” The sibilant whisper sounded
right behind her ear.
She spun expecting
to see him. Again there was no one
within view. “Is that a promise? I will
hold you to it. Go on, hit me with your
best shot…”
After a moment of
silence, she heard Dave and Benny coming up the stairs.
“We put the
cameras up in the designated areas. You
want any changes to our original plan?”
“No, stick to what
we decided. I’ll check out the rest of
the rooms up here. The pictures we
studied and the room plans were very clear.
But I’d like to see everything for myself. There could be some priest holes in a house
this old.” She charged forward and
inspected each of the rooms on the corridor until darkness loomed.
The demon watched
her from his vantage point. Curious lass, this one is a challenge. Which of my tricks will send her screaming
into the night? She cannot stay. This is
my home, mine! No one else may occupy
this house. She may look like my Mariana, but she is no different than any other
trespasser. She must go.
Sierra walked into
the room that would serve as headquarters for their stay.
“Have fun?” asked
Dave as he peered at the monitor.
“You heard that
voice, huh?”
“Honey, they
probably heard it in London.”
She grabbed a
water bottle and drank deeply. “Whew
that’s good.” Moving behind Dave she
looked at his monitor. The individual
cameras were set to display on it.
She watched for a
moment and then moved to one of the chairs.
“Looks fine,” she said. “We’ll
start out in a bit. Just let me rest and
get my bearings.”
“You want hand
held recorders and mini-dvds?”
“Yeah, sounds
good. If he manifests, we’ll catch him
on camera. Dave, you and I will take the
first shift. Benny, you can watch the
monitor. Note anything unusual and mark
the time.”
In the darkness,
Windward became even more sinister. Rain
blew in from the sea on winds that shrieked their fury. Sierra and Dave moved through the house,
camera and recorders in full operation.
“You
know my name. You called out to me
earlier,” said Sierra. “What’s your
name?” She waited for an answer. “What’s the matter? Don’t want to talk to me?”
“NO!”
“I heard that.”
Dave chortled behind her.
“Come on. Tell me who you are. Why are you still here?”
Only silence
followed her question.
Dave mumbled
something. “Damn,” he said. “The camera battery has gone dead. I put in a fresh one just before we started. I’ll run get a new one. Stay here.”
“Okay.” She squinted in the weak glow of her
flashlight to watch him leave the room.
Thunder rumbled as
lightning lit up the sky outside the broken windows. Something light as cobwebs brushed her
back. She turned quickly and scanned the
area with the meager flashlight as the lightning waned.
“Is that you? Did you just touch me?”
The flashlight
flew from her hand and crashed against the wall, its light extinguished. Sierra tensed in the darkness.
She felt something
caress her face gently. Startled, Sierra
stepped back. “Stop it,” she said. “If you won’t talk, you don’t get to
touch.”
Low laughter,
decidedly male, sounded near her, barely discernable over the sound of the
wind.
She stepped back
again, only to bump into something. As
she spun to confront her assailant, arms went around her waist and pulled her
to a hard body.
“You’re no ghost,”
she said as she pushed against him in an attempt to break free.
“I am known by
many names.” The rich baritone teased
her ear.
“Who are
you?” Sierra stood in total darkness
riveted in his arms.
“I am the one you
seek.”
The body melted
away from Sierra. She could not hear his
movement. He simply was gone.
Footsteps sounded
from the corridor. Dave walked into the
room. The light from his camera illuminated the area. “I put in a fresh battery. We’re ready to go.”
“Did you see
anybody else in the hall?”
“No, didn’t see
anybody or hear anything except the thunder and the wind.” He turned the camera on her, lighting her
face with its lamp. “Are you okay?”
“I had a personal
experience,” she said. “Let’s film an
interview about it. You ready?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
Briefly she
detailed the loss of her flashlight and how she had been held by phantom
arms.
“I couldn’t see or
hear him except when he spoke. But he
felt solid, like he was real. I asked
his name, but he wouldn’t say.”
“CALL ME DEMON!”
the voice reverberated throughout the room, echoing off the walls, followed by
mocking laughter.
“That’s it,” said
Dave. He shut off the camera and grabbed
her arm. “Let’s go.”
They didn’t stop
until they reached the main entry hall where the monitors were set.
Sierra sank into a folding chair
and tried to slow her breath.
“Are
you sure you’re okay?” Dave looked at her with a concerned frown.
She
nodded. “I’m fine, just give me a
minute.”
Dave sat and reviewed
the footage. “Look at this. You can see the flashlight fly across the
room. How cool is that? ”
Benny watched over
his shoulder. “That’s good stuff. I bet we get lots of footage here.”
Sierra started to
rise. “I need to get back up there.”
“Oh no, you
don’t.” Dave put his hand on her
shoulder. “Stay here and regroup for
awhile. We haven’t filmed the interview
about the history of this place. We can
do that now.”
“You may be my
older brother, but I run this team. I don’t
want to lose contact with the entity.”
“You’re not going
to lose contact. People have been
dealing with this thing for years. He’s
not going anywhere.”
She sat there for
a minute.
“You’re
right. I need to be professional and not
get too excited.” Pulling her ponytail
tight, she smoothed down its length. “Do
I look okay?”
He gave her the
thumbs up sign. “Whenever you’re ready.”
She nodded and
stood, moving to stand before the windows.
Lightning flashed outside, creating the perfect atmosphere to record in
a haunted house.
“We’re here at
Windward House on the Cornish coast of England. Built in 1643, the local people have long
said it is haunted. It was last occupied
during World War II when the military camped on its grounds. Since then, no one has been able to stay
within its walls more than a night.” She
walked to the table containing the equipment, using the monitors as a backdrop.
“Last year, the
current owner, British film star Conal Winston, decided to restore Windward
House. He worked with architects and
arranged for workmen to begin renovation.
The workmen did not stay for a single day. Something frightened them so badly they fled
and left their tools. The men refused to
come back.” She gestured to the array of
dusty tools still there against the walls.
Dave focused the
camera back on Sierra’s face.
“Two different
teams of paranormal researchers were called in to investigate. They decided it was a demon haunting the
property. The Church agreed and performed
an exorcism.” Sierra paused. “The entity
is still here within the walls of this old house in spite of all efforts to
drive him out. We learned that today, as
you will see in subsequent footage.”
“And cut,” said
Dave. “Nice job.”
She sat down once
more and grabbed her water bottle. “Now
all we have to do is find him and get him to leave.”
