BloodLust

Ch. 2 🩸The Manor🩸

"So you live alone?" I asked, trying to sound casual as I followed the other woman up the narrowly winding path of the cliff side to her home. It was a bit sketchy, not going to lie, the path barely wide enough for one person and any misstep could have sent me careening into the churning sea below. I was beginning to realize why no one else ever came up here.

"Yes." The response was short and curt, a bite in Ms. Black's tone that told me not to press and I didn't. I sealed my lips shut and followed her in silence for a few minuets, listening to the waves crash against the jagged rocks down below and focusing on my steps so as not to slip on any loose gravel.

"Here we are." Ms. Black finally spoke as we stepped onto more even ground, the other woman offering me a painted smile as she watched my facial expression and how I reacted to her home.

"Wow." I stated simply, blinking in mild surprise as I stared up at the grandiose mansion.

I had heard from the townspeople that the ancient abode was quite astonishing, the house having been in the Black family for generations on end, but I hadn't quite expected this. The castle like manor was set atop the mountain, cliff walls in every direction sheerly dropping off a hundred feet to the water below. There was also a wrought iron gate, rusty and red from the salty sea air and time itself, that lead into the front gardens that would lead into the manor itself.

Gardens wasn't really the term I would use though as every living thing in the area had been dead a long time now, plants shriveled and crunchy in various weather beaten pots and all along the overgrown stone paths. It reminded me of a long abandoned greenhouse, overrun with thick, brown vines, weeds licking their way up through the cracks in the pathway, and in the center of it all a fountain with a fat little cherub sat on top, his rain stained eyes peering down at the murky brown water in the basin below, mosquito larvae wriggling throughout the sludge.

I swallowed the saliva building in my throat as my steps slowed, suddenly a bit more fearful of following a strange woman into this nightmarish house. It reminded me a little too much of Stephen King's Rose Red right now rather than the decadent gothic mansion I was expecting this wealthy single woman to keep.

"Um.." I started, my voice cracking as my steps slowed even further and fight or flight kicked in, my mind whirling as I tried to think of a way out. There was something very off about this situation and I did not particularly want to die today.

"I know it's gotten a bit rundown." Ms. Black turned to face me, also halting but keeping some distance between the two of us so as not to scare me further as she took notice of my hesitation. "After my husband's.. unfortunate.. passing I just did not have the time or energy to keep up with his precious garden. I would eventually like to get this place back to the grandeur it once was but I have just been in such a slump since I lost him. I never had many friends before anyways and with him gone.. it's just been hard."

The other woman lightly dabbed at her eyes and looked away, reminiscing about her late husband and sniffling into a tissue. My expression softened, shoulders slumping as I released a sigh. I couldn't very well ditch her now could I? She was just sad and missing her husband. It wasn't like I was in a position to judge someone going through a rough patch right now.

"I'm terribly sorry about your husband Ms. Black. I'm sure he was a wonderful man." I stepped closer with a sad smile on my lips, showing her I wasn't leaving.

"Thank you. He was. I understand if you'd like to leave but if by some chance you're still willing to give an old maid some much needed company.." she trailed off, her eyes falling as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.

"You don't look a day over 25 Ms. Black and I would still love to chat with you over lunch." If only I knew I had just signed a contract with the devil herself I would have fled down that mountainside and never returned. Curse my big heart and naivety.