ANGRY SPIRIT PART 3 Chapter 4

As the night drew in, so too did the sounds often associated with such an old house. Doors banged, floor boards creaked, servants bells rang, Nathan and Miranda sat silently, each contemplating the impact their arrival at Lepton Hall had had on them.
Since walking through the oversized main door one mysterious episode had followed the next. Every part of the house appeared to be steeped in some form of horror, terror or mystery, just waiting to manifest itself on any unsuspecting victim who dared to trespass upon the area.

Sitting there in the eerie silence might have been a much welcome interlude to the continuous onslaught from the untold horrors, However, Nathan found himself locked in painful recollections of previous events, torturing images flashed through his mind with a speed and regularity that only added to the devastation that had once been his tentative grasp on reality.

One realization, more than any other seemed to persist with unfathomable persistence. Since his first contact with Miranda things had begun a constant decline from bad to worse. A clear contradiction of his assumption that seeking the help of a reputable medium who’s C.V. clearly indicated that she was well accustomed to dealing with such matters could only be a good thing. However, it soon became painfully obvious that she had yet to show even the slightest indication that she possessed any mediumistic abilities. Not once had she shown any calmness when confronted by whatever entity had besieged them. Nor had she offered the slightest warning of danger manifesting from whatever unworldly source that lurked among the shadows.

What possible use was a medium that couldn’t sense the presence of angry spirits on the rampage? The more he thought, the more he became immersed in doubt and suspicion. All this internal conflict could only be compounded by the sad fact that the night was drawing deeper, and the thought of whatever source of evilness that lurked within Lepton Hall would undoubtedly unleash itself upon them before day break once again robbed the old pile of its menacing shadows.
The longer he sat there; silently mulling over this nagging doubt concerning his companions’ credentials the more intense became his need for some kind of demonstration to prove that she was a capable medium. Only his sense of over riding guilt prevented him from voicing his doubts and challenging Miranda there and then.

"Why don’t you try and get some sleep?" he finally suggested, hoping that by breaking the silence the atmosphere might become less fraught, and hopefully he could divert his thoughts away from the annoying cloud of suspicion that clouded his mind.
"How can you think of sleeping?" she said.
For the first time since they had entered the room, Nathan looked at Miranda and instantly became aware of the tearful glaze in her eyes. He had been so immersed in analyzing his own fears and concerns he had failed to notice the inner torment that she had been enduring.

"It was a mistake coming here, Nathan. A big mistake!" she sobbed.
"We had to come here. You know that better than I do. How else can we find the portal and close it once and for all?"
"I can’t do it, Nathan!"
"Yes you can. You’re tired; it’s understandable after what you’ve been through. Once you get some sleep, you’ll feel better."
"It’s all so simple for you isn’t it?" she wiped the tears away, her anger quickly surfaced, taking Nathan by surprise as she rose to her feet, suddenly motivated in sudden rage. "Have you any idea what it feels like to have a thousand voices screaming threats at you, every minute? I’m not strong enough to hold them back any longer. We are about to be invaded by an evilness you can’t begin to imagine, and you’re telling me that by getting some sleep, it will all go away!"

"No! I’m not saying that at all … but you need to gain as much strength as you can, just look at the state of us, we’re nervous wrecks."
"With good reason, Nathan, believe me. We need help!"
"Help from who? Help from where?" Nathan retorted, in near desperate anger. "The only help we have is from your precious Max Deacon and he’s locked away somewhere on the other side of the damn portal. Who else can help us, Miranda?"
"I DON’T KNOW!"

Fortunately with their emotions voiced and shared, a gradual calmness eventually returned and they were able to submit to the inevitable sleep that eased them away into albeit, a temporary state of merciful oblivion.
When the early morning sun began to fill the room, gradually eating away the shadows that persisted in the dingy corners from the previous night, the two occupants stirred reluctantly from their thankfully uneventful slumber.

Even in the subdued light of post dawn, Nathan was able to appreciate the welcome change of atmosphere. Gone were the eeriness and the stifling sense of pending horror that the darkness had harboured.
Nathan rose to his feet slowly and awkwardly from the chair that had served as his ill-fitting bed. He stretched, attempting to rid himself of the painful stiffness in his cramped arms and legs.
Miranda sighed, fidgeted slightly, before drifting back into the sleep that had embraced her for the previous blissful three hours. She showed no inclination to wake, and Nathan had no wish to arouse her when he carefully crossed the room with meticulous care to the modest en-suite to shower and wash away the last vestiges of tiredness.

It was almost an hour later when a sharp knock at the door reverberated through the room and Godfrey announced the unexpected news that Lady Alice had returned early from her trip to London and requested their company at the breakfast table.
With polite hast the two guests prepared to go downstairs and meet their hostess. Miranda dressed in a more formal way than was her norm. Nathan on the other hand dressed in accordance with the less formal contents of his wardrobe, his over riding consideration that his chosen selection of jeans and casual shirt were selected from the more carefully folded end of hastily packed suite case and as a consequence were less scared by unsightly creases.

"Ah… Miranda, Nathan. Good morning. I trust you both had a pleasant nights sleep?" Lady Alice greeted, as they entered the dinning room.
Fortunately it was Miranda who replied the quickest, airing on the side of respect and politeness rather than honesty. "Yes thank you, Lady Alice."
"Good… Excellent. Allow me to introduce a very old friend of mine," her ladyship began, indicating towards her male guest, who had sat quite still and silent thus far. This is dear Aleister, Aleister Howard Dewhurst."
The rather sinister looking guest craned his head slowly in their direction and offered the slightest acknowledgment of their presence with a less than courteous nod.

Nathan took an instant dislike to Dewhurst. He had already showed indications of possessing the two character traits that would guarantee arousing his usual senses of suspicion and mistrust, those being, arrogance and rudeness.
"Please do come and enjoy breakfast," Lady Alice invited. "Then we shall retire to the study and I’ll fill you in on why I have brought dear Aleister back from London with me."
Throughout breakfast Nathan listened in silence to Lady Alice making polite and pointless conversation. Miranda offered polite responses as and when she deemed appropriate. As the meal drew to an end, Nathan’s nagging suspicions began to seem justified.

Lady Alice began speaking, her words seemed slower and guarded, more and more she cast a concerned glance in Dewhurst’s direction, giving the impression that she was constantly seeking his approval to continue.
"I fear I must confess to you both." She began. "It is not by coincidence that I have returned here early this morning."
Nathan took the last sip of coffee from the cup he was holding tentatively and waited with nervous anticipation of what her Ladyship was finding so difficult to confess to. The mood had suddenly descended to one of great tension. Miranda showed clear signs of fear, too much fear for Nathan not to notice and ignore. ‘Could she at last be employing her unique skills and detecting more than he was from the sudden change in atmosphere’, he thought.

Their hostess and her mysterious guest were about to lay their cards on the table and Nathan couldn’t help feeling that the outcome was not going to be good.
Still maintain his rude silence; Dewhurst pushed his chair back from the table, with a sudden unannounced action, which clearly took the other occupants by surprise. Miranda, in particular, emitted a muffled screech, when the chair’s heavy wooden legs scraped loudly against the polished floor.

"I believe the time for discussion is over. We need to motivate our actions now! Don’t you?" The big man’s words were loud, although strangely void of emotion for such a profound and unexpected statement. "We need to enter the portal tonight; it could be our last chance." On that Dewhurst turned and left the room, on course for the study, leaving Nathan and Miranda both dumbfounded.
It was left to Lady Alice to awkwardly explain the gravity of the situation which had just been announced with all the effect of a sudden lightening strike.

The two astonished guests looked on with desperate confusion at their hostess. Before Lady Alice could compound the situation any further by issuing what Nathan instantly realized would be false and meaningless words to defuse the sudden shock, he took the lead and challenged her obvious deception with a furious outburst.
"What the hell is going off here?" he yelled, his face burning crimson red with a rage he had no hope of containing. "You’ve known about the portal all along, yet you make out you know nothing. This whole bloody nightmare was planned from the beginning, wasn’t it?"

"Yes it was," Lady Alice replied, with unexpected ease. "There are forces at play here that you couldn’t begin to imagine."
"Try me!"
"There is no time. We must act tonight Mr. Harrison, or believe me… this nightmare as you so aptly call it will be nothing compared to the unworldly chaos that will follow!"
"Not good enough!" Nathan spat, defiantly in reply. "You have to do better than that if you expect me to go anywhere."

"To be quite honest Mr. Harrison I don’t care if you join us or not. You alone don’t determine the outcome of this venture. Maybe our chances of success will be greater with you on board but believe me … If you decline through fear, now, you will live an eternity tortured by regret."
"She’s right Nathan!" Miranda added in a faint voice.
"You mean you believe this crap too?"
"Of course I do. Why else would I have brought you here?"