Chapter 51: Haunted room

Chapter 51: Haunted room Abrielle felt something was wrong with this room. Her eyes darted behind her but there was nothing there. What was that? She wondered. It felt like something was touching her. A very cold hand. She shrugged off the feeling and drew her attention to the empty chest in front of her. There was something weird about it. She reached out to knock at the bottom to check if it was hollow but doubt that was the case. Cedric’s men had most likely checked it out and they didn’t find anything. Abrielle knocked at the bottom and it was rock solid. A groan of frustration left her lips. There was nothing here but she kept on having this feeling something was wrong about the chest. She straightened up her back and then glanced out through the small window. "Where is it?" She mumbled. She snapped her head towards the chest again when she felt that same cold feeling close to her face, this time in the direction of the chest. "Death is the beginning of life " it whispered with an eerie voice that gave her goosebumps. The room temperature plummeted, now she was sure something was there and it was trying to communicate with her. Was it a ghoul? She wondered remembering those horrible monsters that hunt the living and the dead to devour their souls. She shook her head, it could not be a ghoul, they were only found at the Netherlands borderline which were forests close to the other world. Ghouls were wandering or evil spirits that refused to go to the other world. After staying in this world for so long they slowly lose their memories and previous selves and are reborn as ghouls. Was it a vengeful wandering spirit that was here? She wondered. Abrielle hesitantly called out a name. "Lily," that was the name of Sarah’s roommate she killed. The room temperature reduced further and it felt like someone very cold was in front of her. Lily’s ghost has refused to transcend and is now a vengeful spirit. It felt like a pair of cold hands touched her face but there was nothing in front of her. "Death is the beginning of life." It repeated in the same eerie voice that gave her goosebumps. She used to think Cedric was the scariest thing she might come across but a ghost was worse. "Is that a clue?" She asked while trying her best not to tremble but there was no way a ghost could reply to her. Abrielle then glanced back at the empty chest she had left open. "Death is the beginning of life." She said but nothing happened. Frustrated, she got back on her feet and then angrily kicked the chest, it moved away from its spot jamming against the stone war. "Are you alright, Princess Abrielle?" She heard Evelyn’s voice from against the door; she was probably attracted to the sound of the chest slamming against the wall. "I am fine, no need to worry." Abrielle nervously laughed, "I will be done soon." She added. "Alright but please don’t fail to inform me if you need my help. It is my duty to serve you." The maid readily said. "I understand, Evelyn. There isn’t a need to worry yourself." Abrielle quickly refused the offer that was out of consideration. She had to find a witch spell book which Cedric’s men failed to find in a haunted room. Her eyes went back to the spot where the chest was, there was nothing abnormal about it. "Death is the beginning of life." She mumbled wondering what Lily was trying to tell her. After she finished saying those words, there was a snapping sound from the spot the chest was before and right before her she saw a sentence engraved on the floorboards crudely carved on it and covered with blood. ’ Death was the beginning of life.’ her eyes went wide due to surprise. That was a spell incantation that was hiding the book. On the board with the strange writing, Abrielle realised a fragment was broken. She used her shoe to tap on it. There was a hollow space underneath. She quickly got on her feet and tried to pry the board open but it seemed to be stuck. Unfortunately, she was not with any knives so all she had in her arsenal was just her fingers. The more she tried to dig up the board the more it felt like wood particles were pricking her skin but she didn’t give up. She pressed her eyes together as she gathered all her strength. "You can do this." She said through her gritted teeth then it snapped. The board cracked and it was finally pulled off but due to the force she used to pull it. She fell on her butt, the pain she felt didn’t matter to her because of the joy she felt. She had found the reward. There was a hole that was dug into the ground. Sarah was determined to hide her spell book because of how hard the ground was. Inside the hole was a small rectangular object wrapped with white clothes which Abrielle guessed was the book. She reached out to pick up and then unwrapped the dusty white clothes. Inside was a small note with an old leather cover, the aged cover showed how old the book was. It was probably passed on to Sarah. After picking the book she covered the hole with the floorboard and gently pulled the chest to cover the spot. She didn’t want to cause much noise and hoped no one found out about this anytime soon. Abrielle rose on her feet and then dusted off her dress. Her eyes were curiously staring at the book. She opened the first page, the paper was brown indicating how old the book was but it was empty. She turned to the second page which had only one sentence. ’ Death was the beginning of Life.’ is the same strange sentence. Abrielle went ahead to check the other pages but the entire book was empty. What did it mean? She wondered, frustrated , remembering everything she went through to get it. Was it that Sarah cast another spell on the book or the spells are unique to witches? She wondered, but there was no answer to these questions. She didn’t have the time to think much about it before she overstayed her welcome in this haunted room. She headed for the door but before she could open it the same cool presence was at her back. "Death is the beginning of life but once you choose death there is no return." It whispered. Abrielle felt sorry for the spirit. "It’s better you leave this world before you get devoured or worse become a ghoul." She advised the ghost. A faded partition then passed through the walls leaving the room.