“Every word? About the falling, or the seeing something?”
Edward rolled his eyes as he moved towards the door. “Both.”
William leaned up as Edward briefly left the room. Around the doorframe, William heard rustling, and then Edward returned with something in his hands. It was the board William noticed before they entered the room – the one with the strange markings.
“What’s that?” William asked as Edward unfolded the board. “Hopefully not Monopoly, I’m really not in the mood.”
“Oh, it’s certainly not that game.”
Edward held it up so William could see what was on it. The alphabet was painted on the board in two lines. In the top left corner, the word ‘yes’ was painted in bold lettering; on the right, ‘no’ was the same. At the bottom of the tea-stained board was the word ‘goodbye’, larger than the rest. Moons, stars and the sun decorated the corners of the board, each with ominous smiling faces – the imagery someone would find on a tarot card.
William began to shake. His jaw clenched, stopping the torrent of words building in his throat. Edward didn’t need to explain what he held – William recognised it for what it was the moment it was unfolded. But the shock of seeing such a thing made his blood turn to ice.
“I got it from some new-age shop down in Glastonbury back in my university days. Me and my flatmates thought it would be a fun game, something stupid to do when we were drunk and, I admit, pretty high. The pendulum is missing, but–”
Edward didn’t get to finish. William got off the sofa in a blink, the adrenaline burying the discomfort as he put weight on his ankle. With the sweep of a hand, he knocked the board from Edward’s hands, sending it crashing to the floor.
Hanbury Manor echoed the sound, soaking it in for a beat and then spitting it out as the walls moaned unnaturally.
“Wow, steady there, Mike Tyson,” Edward stammered, rocking back a step as if a clenched fist was coming next. “What the hell was that for?”
Between heavy breaths, William locked his furious eyes upon Edward, feeling like a talon pierced his chest, sinking deep into his lungs. “You just brought a fucking Ouija board into my house!”
William had been warned off messing with the dead, whether he believed in them or not. He’d seen horror films and heard stories back in secondary school of kids playing around with makeshift boards. What stuck in his mind was those realistic TV shows of ghost hunters sitting in abandoned castles, pretending to be possessed after conversing with the dead through a Ouija board.
And here one was, inhishouse.
“I had a feeling it would come in handy,” Edward said, kneeling to pick the board up. But before his fingers grazed it, William kicked out. The moment his toe connected with the edge, a pain jolted up his leg. The force was enough to get it out of Edward’s reach, closer towards the licking flames of the fire.
A plan formed, hot and sharp, in William’s mind. Edward must’ve noticed it, too, because both men fumbled for the board – William to pick it up and throw it in the fire, Edward to stop him.
After some light tussling, Edward won. He held the board behind his back, putting himself in the corner of the room so William couldn’t reach it.
“Would you calm down, Will.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down!” William hissed like the spitting logs burning the fire beside him. “And don’t call me Will. Ever. You don’t deserve it.”
Edward jutted his chin upwards, broadening already large shoulders to protect his precious Ouija board. “It would seem I’ve struck another cord again. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Upset me? I’m far,farbeyond upset.” William stopped fighting, limping back and folding his arms across his chest. In the tussle his glasses had slipped down his nose. He quickly pushed them back up, struggling as his fingers trembled like leaves caught in a storm. If he didn’t incapacitate himself, he was sure he’d crack a fist into Edward’s jaw. “Either you take that board out of this house right now, or you go with it. I don’t care which. Butthatisn’t staying here.”
“Why?”
The question was simple yet powerful. It cracked into William’s chest, making his heart skip a beat.
“Because – because…” William couldn’t get his words out.
“Becauseyoufinally recognise the potential existence of spirits. Once a sceptic, now a believer.”
“Don’t speak for me.”
“Hanbury is haunted,” Edward continued, ignoring William entirely. “That’s why. You’re scared, understandably. Rightfully so, because I’m also shitting myself. But if something, or someone, is here this will help us understand what has angered it enough to stick around.”
Before he replied, William knew that his next words would only confirm what he was still trying to force himself to disbelieve. Deep down, he knew it didn’t matter, not anymore. “I’ve seen the movies, Edward. Playing with the dead will only anger them more. I’ve heard the stories, I’ve read the books. I don’t need to mess about with this… ghost. I need to get it out of my home. So, do me a favour, and get it out of my house. Now.”
“I beg you. Just give me a minute to explain.”
The sting of Edward’s choice of words cracked like a whip upon William. He clamped his eyes shut, blocking Edward from view, as another scene played out in his mind.
