"What is it with doors locking and unlocking in this place?" Kris threw her hands up, exasperated. Her eyes lit up. "Wait! I think I saw a back door buried in the hedgerow when I was checking out the back garden earlier. Maybe that's our way out!"
"That sounds like a plan." Max smiled with relief. "Let's just find the back door, and if that doesn't work, we'll just have to climb out the basement window."
They scanned the main hall. There were closed doors all around them that begged to have the unknown explored beyond. Max approached the door to the right of the fireplace and was thankful that it clicked open. He gently pushed it open and entered with Kris following carefully behind. They were in a rectangular room, almost as large as the main hall. Rows and rows of dusty mahogany bookcases lined the walls and greying linen sheets were thrown carelessly over old furniture, so they resembled misshapen ghosts.
"This must have been a library." Max gasped, looking around. They investigated the room and checked under the sheets to make sure nothing alive was hiding underneath them and ready to strike them unaware.
"There's a desk over there!" Kris pointed, and she dashed over to the far corner. She pulled open the drawers and rummaged through them.
"They're all empty." She frowned and tugged on the large centre drawer directly underneath the table. "That's strange. It's locked, but there's no keyhole."
"There must be a secret switch somewhere." Max suggested. He crawled underneath the desk and felt around blindly along the desk's edges. "It has to be around here somewh-"
A loud click echoed throughout the room, signaling his success. The drawer shot open, startling Kris. Max clambered to his feet and dusted off his trousers. Kris had picked up an oversized and heavy leather-bound book from inside the drawer.
"What is it?" Max asked curiously. The decorative metal corners and spine glinted with a hint of malice.
"I don't know," Kris mumbled, her eyes scouring every inch of the dark green leather. "But there's a lock on the side of it. The book won't open without a key."
"Whatever's inside it must be pretty important if it's kept within a locked book and hidden in a secret drawer."
Max checked in the drawer in case she had missed anything, but other than the book, it was empty.
"The key has to be around here somewhere. Let's look around the room."
They split up and started examining the bookcases. The shelves and alcoves were mostly empty except for thick layers of dust and spider's webs.
"Hey, Max. There are a couple of weird books here." Kris called. "The History of Black Magic... An Introduction to the
Occult.... All of these books are seriously freaky." Max heard a sharp cough behind him.
"Did you get some dust in your face, Kris?" He asked.
"Me?" Kris answered puzzled. "I didn't cough. It was you!" The blood drained from Max's face. "Kris... it wasn't me." They froze, and the room fell silent. Now that they had stopped talking, all that could be heard was the laboured, unhuman breathing of the unseen assailant. They turned slowly, terrified to face who or whatever its owner was.
Nothing. There was no one there.
"You can hear it too, right?" Kris strained to whisper.
"Shh!" Max put his finger to his lips and motioned towards the bay window. Directly in the middle was a sheet draped over something tall and thin, gently moving in time with the inhuman breaths.
Was that there when we came in here?
"Whatever's breathing... is under there."
YOU ARE READING
The Curse of Dreadgrave Manor
Horror"Oh, go on..." it growled, its twisted smile growing wider. "What is it you mortals say? Oh, yes... I dare you..." * * * When Lewis, the strange, new kid arrives at Fading Hope School, Max and Kris can't wait to invite him to join the Dar...
