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“Well, no wonder,” Dreda mused as she waved a hand at the thick fog. “It’s as thick as Great-Uncle Seldcub’s armpit hair.” Her attention fell back on Ben and me. “And what in the world are you two doing out here at this hour, anyway? You’ll catch your death of cold, or frighten your bride-to-be out of her wits.”
“We thought we saw someone prowling the gardens,” Ben told her.
Her eyebrows crashed down. “Did you catch them?”
Ben shook his head. “Unfortunately, no, but there was most definitely someone out here. They crashed through the trees too loudly to be a ghost.”
Dreda wrinkled her nose. “Yes, well, let’s get inside and get you warmed up.” She strode up to Ben and me, pushed her way between us, and looped an arm through both of ours. “Werd, would you mind looking about the grounds?”
Werd bowed his head. “Not at all.”
“Good.” Dreda marched up past her gardener and into the warm confines of the shadowy manor.
The doors shut behind us of their own accord and with such a loud bang that I jumped. Ben drew me closer to himself and squeezed my arm. A single whispered word escaped him. “Courage.”
I glared up at him. “I could be more courageous if this place and everyone in it wasn’t trying to give me a heart attack every five minutes.”
My words caused a troubled expression to appear on his face and he turned his attention to his aunt who guided us down the long hall. “Werd mentioned he’d been sick. What did he have?”
“And why did it make his hands so cold?” I added as I recalled his bone-chilling touch.
Dreda stopped in the middle of the hall and bowed her head. A heavy sigh made her shoulders sag. “I suppose you are owed an explanation, and it would be better that you know the danger you’re in.”
Ben pursed his lips. “What danger, Aunt Dreda?”
Dreda turned to us and gestured to a door on her right. “Let’s go into the library where I can tell you all in more comfortable surroundings.”
I scoffed at the idea that the dreary house situated within the haunted forest could be at all comfortable. Dreda led us through the thick wooden door and into a large library. The room resembled Ben’s own book room, but even more grand and dreary. The walls were covered in dark wood panels, most of which were hidden by aged bookcases.
There were two main differences between Ben’s library and the one at Rookwood. The books that graced the shelves were all of an ancient lineage. Not a single one appeared to be younger than a century. There was also no second floor like Ben’s majestic. There was a third.
I tilted my head back to gaze up at the ascending floors that towered above our heads like regal judges. “Wow.”
The bottom floor not only had bookcases, but a set of heavy chairs and a short couch were crowded around a large hearth. Aunt Dreda strode over to the cold hearth and slammed one fisted hand against the mantel. A fire roared to life and munched on the pile of logs at the ready.
She stared at the flames with her back to us as Ben led me over to the couch and we both took a seat. Another heavy sigh escaped his aunt. “I had hoped to save this for the light of day, but I see the situation is too dire to hide from you for even that short a time.” She turned to us and clasped her hands together in front of her. “A darkness descended upon the forest some three months ago.”
“Why didn’t you notify me of this before?” Ben asked her.
She paced the floor in front of the fire. “I thought perhaps the darkness would move on, or maybe the culprit would be discovered.” She paused and hung her head. “I see now that it was more a hope than an expectation, and what’s come to pass is a worsening of the problem.”
“But what exactlyisthe problem?” I spoke up.
“There is an evil hidden with the fog that has brought various troubles to anyone who comes into contact with its white deception,” Dreda revealed as she turned to face us. “Their illnesses have been too varied to list, but the general symptoms have been severe fatigue and horrible headaches. Those who had the gift of magic were even more affected, however, and some have reported being so weakened that they’ve been unable to use their magic at all.”
“Meaning what?” I wondered.
She folded her arms over her chest. “Those who were able to fly brooms barely have the strength to sweep with them. Others who could conjure fire as I can can only puff out a small bit of smoke.”
Ben lifted an eyebrow. “Is this the same illness that affected Werd?”
She nodded. “It is, but his case was one of the rarest. I don’t know why he was so affected, being without magic, but he was struck for two weeks with a horrible exhaustion. When he could finally rise from the bed we discovered that he could no longer bear the light of the sun.”
My mouth dropped open and my eyes bulged out of my head. “Like a vampire?”
Aunt Dreda bowed her head and furrowed her brow. “Not quite. He doesn’t have the thirst, but in all appearances, he is a perfect copy.”
“And no one has any inkling as to the source of this strange disease?” Ben asked her.
