bathroom floor which had begun to vibrate on the tiles. ‘Watch out!’ She grabbed Phillip’s hand and made a break for the door. Splinters of glass shot forth and shattered against the laundry appliances, barely missing Phillip as he was dragged out the door, which Rhea slammed closed behind them.
The couple leant against the door, catching their breath after the close call, then Phillip turned to Rhea to inquire, ‘You saw the priest today?’
Rhea only nodded, her expression grave.
‘We’re haunted?’ He would have felt silly suggesting this, had he not been knocked unconscious by some unknown force and had he not seen glass take flight of its own accord.
‘No,’ she stated, cringing. ‘What we’ve got is much, much worse.’
No longer feeling comfortable in the house, Rhea led Phillip back out to his shed to convey what she had learnt — needless to say, Phillip was infuriated by the news.
‘Those fucking bastards!’ He looked around at his yet-to-be-realised project and kicked one of the huge tyres on the semi-trailer. ‘No wonder they were prepared to sell this place so cheap! What the hell are we going to do now?’
‘I don’t know,’ Rhea kept a civil tone, ‘but hopefully the Father’s friend, Max, will come up with a solution.’
‘And what if he doesn’t?’ Phillip shot back at her, realising his anger was misdirected, but unable to help himself. He was furious!
‘Hon —’ Rhea was about to try and reason with him, when the sound of a car arriving drew their attention. They headed outside to see the car screech to a halt, and the priest and Max climb out of the vehicle.
Rhea ran to greet them. ‘Am I ever glad to see you guys. Please tell me you have a solution.’
‘We may well do.’ Max smiled reassuringly. ‘But we’ll have a bit of a hunt ahead of us first.’
‘A hunt?’ Rhea frowned.
‘We need to brainstorm,’ Max advised. ‘Any chance of a cuppa?’
‘Sure,’ Rhea directed them toward the shed. ‘The house is a little angry this evening.’ She explained her choice of venue.
‘I thought you said you wouldn’t do anything to upset the entity,’ Chuck teased.
‘My husband beat me to it.’ Rhea motioned to Phillip and introduced the men on the way to the shed.
When Max heard about the latest occurrence, he was very pleased. ‘Well, perhaps our search won’t be as difficult as expected.’
‘How do you mean?’ Rhea sipped on her coffee, struggling to keep a steady hand. Just speaking about this afternoon’s misadventure had her nerves on edge.
‘Well, I discovered that this thought form could not have attached its “self” to this house, unless there was something left here by the instigator to draw it hither.’
‘The original curse,’ Rhea guessed.
‘Exactly,’ Max confirmed. ‘Even though the curse did not take effect when it was cast, the thought form arose during Natalie’s tragic death experience and it was drawn here by whatever voodoo charm had been first used to hex the house. All we have to do is discover this charm and remove it.’
‘And, as this entity draws its energy from a water and earth based source, Natalie must have left something pertaining to these elements inside the house somewhere.’
‘Could that have had something to do with the dripping I heard?’ Phillip wondered.
‘Well, the entity sure didn’t like you snooping around in the laundry this afternoon,’ Max confirmed Phillip’s suspicion, ‘so I’d say that’s a damn fine place to start looking.’
‘We might want to clear up the shattered glass,’ Rhea suggested, trying to make light of the horror.
‘If it means we get to keep the property, our lives and our sanity,’ Phillip reasoned, ‘it will be well worth a few scratches.’
‘I suggest we wait until morning before starting our search,’ said Max, ‘as the light will be better.’
‘Well,’ Rhea sighed in relief, not too keen on sleeping in the house anyway,
The couple leant against the door, catching their breath after the close call, then Phillip turned to Rhea to inquire, ‘You saw the priest today?’
Rhea only nodded, her expression grave.
‘We’re haunted?’ He would have felt silly suggesting this, had he not been knocked unconscious by some unknown force and had he not seen glass take flight of its own accord.
‘No,’ she stated, cringing. ‘What we’ve got is much, much worse.’
No longer feeling comfortable in the house, Rhea led Phillip back out to his shed to convey what she had learnt — needless to say, Phillip was infuriated by the news.
‘Those fucking bastards!’ He looked around at his yet-to-be-realised project and kicked one of the huge tyres on the semi-trailer. ‘No wonder they were prepared to sell this place so cheap! What the hell are we going to do now?’
‘I don’t know,’ Rhea kept a civil tone, ‘but hopefully the Father’s friend, Max, will come up with a solution.’
‘And what if he doesn’t?’ Phillip shot back at her, realising his anger was misdirected, but unable to help himself. He was furious!
‘Hon —’ Rhea was about to try and reason with him, when the sound of a car arriving drew their attention. They headed outside to see the car screech to a halt, and the priest and Max climb out of the vehicle.
Rhea ran to greet them. ‘Am I ever glad to see you guys. Please tell me you have a solution.’
‘We may well do.’ Max smiled reassuringly. ‘But we’ll have a bit of a hunt ahead of us first.’
‘A hunt?’ Rhea frowned.
‘We need to brainstorm,’ Max advised. ‘Any chance of a cuppa?’
‘Sure,’ Rhea directed them toward the shed. ‘The house is a little angry this evening.’ She explained her choice of venue.
‘I thought you said you wouldn’t do anything to upset the entity,’ Chuck teased.
‘My husband beat me to it.’ Rhea motioned to Phillip and introduced the men on the way to the shed.
When Max heard about the latest occurrence, he was very pleased. ‘Well, perhaps our search won’t be as difficult as expected.’
‘How do you mean?’ Rhea sipped on her coffee, struggling to keep a steady hand. Just speaking about this afternoon’s misadventure had her nerves on edge.
‘Well, I discovered that this thought form could not have attached its “self” to this house, unless there was something left here by the instigator to draw it hither.’
‘The original curse,’ Rhea guessed.
‘Exactly,’ Max confirmed. ‘Even though the curse did not take effect when it was cast, the thought form arose during Natalie’s tragic death experience and it was drawn here by whatever voodoo charm had been first used to hex the house. All we have to do is discover this charm and remove it.’
‘And, as this entity draws its energy from a water and earth based source, Natalie must have left something pertaining to these elements inside the house somewhere.’
‘Could that have had something to do with the dripping I heard?’ Phillip wondered.
‘Well, the entity sure didn’t like you snooping around in the laundry this afternoon,’ Max confirmed Phillip’s suspicion, ‘so I’d say that’s a damn fine place to start looking.’
‘We might want to clear up the shattered glass,’ Rhea suggested, trying to make light of the horror.
‘If it means we get to keep the property, our lives and our sanity,’ Phillip reasoned, ‘it will be well worth a few scratches.’
‘I suggest we wait until morning before starting our search,’ said Max, ‘as the light will be better.’
‘Well,’ Rhea sighed in relief, not too keen on sleeping in the house anyway,
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