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and I followed in her wake. She admired the dining room. ‘Could, of course, be a third bedroom.’ She was growing more confident as she walked. Her step became a stride. She came to my bedroom and pushed open the door. ‘Green,’ she said, ‘such a relaxing colour.’
    If only she knew, I thought. Relaxing was the last thing I would call this room. But I couldn’t help but notice how she shivered as we left the room.
    From there we moved to Aunt Belle’s room. I almost tripped over Aunt Belle’s book lying again on the floor. But Susan didn’t notice that. She was too busy gushing about the view from the window. Did she too sense the warmth in here? Feel the difference between the two bedrooms?
    ‘And of course, having the en suite in this room is a big plus,’ she said.
    We ended up in the kitchen. ‘Put the kettle on, Tyler. Let’s have a cup of tea,’ Aunt Belle said.
    Susan gushed about the kitchen too, as I suspected she would. It was bright and modern and with doors leading out to a little patio.
     
    It was as we sat having tea that Susan, checking her housing schedule, realised something she had almost missed. ‘Oh, wait a minute . . . there’s a cellar in this house.’
    ‘Do you know, I forgot all about that,’ Aunt Belle said. She stood up. ‘It’s in the hall, Tyler. Almost below your room. No wonder it’s cold. The draught is probably coming up from there. Fancy me forgetting we had a cellar.’
    We all went into the hall. ‘It’s supposed to be just here,’ Susan said. ‘May I?’ She moved aside a rug on the floor just outside my room.
    No one would have known there was a hatch there. The handle folded in flush against the floor. It took a few pulls to lift it free.
    A gust of cold air hit us. I stepped back.
    There were steps that descended into darkness. Susan went down first. ‘Have you got a flashlight?’
    ‘Oh, there’s electricity. There’s a switch somewhere.’ And, with that, Aunt Belle was off down the stairs. I stood at the top, didn’t fancy going down into that dark place.
    ‘I remember we were so excited when we found this,’ Aunt Belle went on. ‘Thought it could be a wine cellar, or we could store food in it.’
    Aunt Belle found the switch and the cellar lit up. I had expected the cellar to be damp and dirty, but it wasn’t. It was a bright, white square room.
    ‘It is a good size,’ Susan said. ‘Yes, a great feature. It could be used as a games room or a den.’
    She continued talking but her voice began to fade. And it seemed then that I was in another place, another time. Aunt Belle and Susan seemed to be moving in slow motion. It was as if there was a veil between them and me. The cellar was no longer bright and white and clean. It was the way it once must have been – dark and damp and full of shadows. Moving shadows.
    My heart pounded at my chest. I had to get out of here. I took a step back and turned.
    And I was looking right into watery blue eyes and an old wrinkled face, skin like a withered apple, close to my own. Too close. It was the old lady, it was Eleanor’s face, but changed so much I hardly recognised her. Her white hair was wild and loose about her shoulders and her eyes looked terrified. She was so close. Her hand touched my shoulder, turned it to ice. Her breath was grave cold against my ear.
    ‘Help me, Tyler,’ she whispered.
    And I screamed.

Chapter 14
     
    ‘Tyler, Tyler,’ said a voice. It sounded as if it was coming towards me down a long tunnel. ‘Tyler.’
    I was afraid to open my eyes. Afraid of what I might see.
    ‘Tyler! Tyler, honey!’ I opened my eyes at last. Aunt Belle’s worried face broke into a relieved smile. ‘Oh, honey, you gave me such a scare.’
    I was still in the cellar, but now it was light and bright again. ‘If I hadn’t caught you, you would have gone down the whole flight of stairs,’ she said. Now that I seemed to be fine, Aunt Belle could even see the funny side. ‘Lucky I’ve got a bit