The Haunted Pages

Chapter 4

The taxi wound its way slowly up the road to the house. From where he sat, Daniel had a good view of the surrounding countryside as the car turned the final corner and the vista opened up before them.

He gasped.

Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine anything like the sight that now greeted him. He gaped at his dad, who appeared dumbstruck.

A large imposing castle stood solid and strong, its gleaming walls, massive buttresses and grand entrance steps a testament to the skill of the builders who had laboured to create it hundreds of years before. A magnificent tower punctuated by four rectangular windows dominated the building, its conical roof a gleaming, deep blue. A small oak door at its base was the smaller brother of the much larger and grander double door that stood in the middle of the castle residence proper. Above this, on the top floor, was a wide flat window, out of which anyone could survey the entire property. There was much for someone to see. As the taxi crawled across the sweeping driveway, its tyres crunching on the pebbled ground, Daniel saw, beyond the trees, the edge of an enormous lake, distant mountains forming an almost fairytale-like backdrop. Everything spoke of grandeur and solidity, the summits spiraling towards a cloudless, crystal clear sky. A living snapshot of a bygone world, which Daniel could not believe possible in modern times. Yet here it was, to be experienced and enjoyed. He had stepped into the pages of myth and wonder.

The taxi came to a halt, and almost at once people emerged from the house. At the lead, a thin, wiry man in dapper, rustic green suit, making his way sprightly down the steps while a florid, friendly looking woman in traditional Bavarian costume of red skirt and tight, exquisitely detailed black bodice remained at the door. It might have been a scene created for a tourist postcard, or perhaps especially for them. And as the man reached the door of the taxi and opened it with a flamboyant flourish, Dad and Daniel stepped out into the sunshine and breathed in the clean mountain air. Daniel grinned, more excited than at any other time since the reading of the will. “Wow, Dad. Is this for real?”

Before Dad could answer, the man in the green suit bowed his head and greeted them in perfect English, albeit with a heavy accent. “Welcome, to Schloss Fichtner. I hope you will be very happy here.”

Dad smiled his thanks and looked around, mouth open, Daniel joining him to take in the breath-taking views. Mesmerized, they must have seemed like two little children who had found the secret to an eternal supply of chocolate.

They exchanged looks, Daniel"s smile so wide his jaw ached. “Dad,” he whispered, “this is Gran"s house? Her castle?”

Dad turned his gaze to the distant mountains once more, shaking his head in wonder. “I never knew,” he managed before he looked at the servant. “I never knew.”

The man returned the smile, turned and went to the taxi. He lifted the heavy suitcases from the boot with nonchalant ease, his slim frame disguising impressive strength. Dad raised an eyebrow in appreciation and glanced across to Daniel, who watched the servant lifting the cases as if they contained nothing but fresh air.

“If you"ll follow me, sir, I"ll show you to your room.”

But before he stepped inside, Daniel wanted to take a look across the lake, so he left the two men and went through the trees to the edge of the vast expanse of water. He"d caught glimpses of it during the drive up to the castle, but here, so close, it was breath-taking in its stark beauty. The massive stretch of water disappeared into the far distance, as still as ice, as calm and as magical as a Christmas morning. Alone, so quiet, Daniel sensed its aura, an almost mystical air of tranquillity and serenity, one which he had never before experienced. For a backdrop, the Bavarian Alps stretched so high they seemed to touch the heavens and dripped from a perfectly unblemished azure sky. The sight of the high peaks, topped with snow, brought a thrill to Daniel"s heart. He had always yearned to learn to ski, and perhaps now he would have the chance. Closing his eyes, he breathed in the fresh, sweet fragrance of pine, the only sound the gentle lapping of water on the shoreline. This was a place to explore, live, and never leave, as far away from the world he knew as anything he could possibly imagine. Here the sadness, the pain, would slip away and he could learn to know happiness once again.

He opened his eyes and moved across the carpet of fallen pine needles towards the water"s edge. Off to the left stood a little boathouse and a rickety jetty that jutted out into the water. He thought he saw something in the far distance, a smudge upon the shimmering water, gliding easily over the surface. A clump of low clouds perhaps, a long, long way off, too far away to make out any details. He tilted his head. Definitely. A shape, at once graceful and strong. And it was coming closer.

“That is a swan, Master Daniel.”

Daniel span round in alarm and gave a little gasp to find the woman from the house standing there, beaming broadly. “I"m sorry,” she said, her English as perfect as the manservant"s, “I didn"t mean to startle you.” She came down to the water"s edge and stood next to him, looking out across the water at the magnificent bird slowly making its way towards them.

Daniel followed her gaze and stood, transfixed, as the majestic bird came closer. The truly beautiful creature, with pristine white plumage and a long, elegant neck looked right at him as if it knew, impossibly, that a stranger had come into its domain. It circled around, always watching him, as if waiting for something. Then it found it. A shower of bread hit the water and it began to feed, at once happy and relieved.

The woman was laughing, “I always come down here and feed him.” She plunged her hand into the brown paper bag she held, and threw out another shower of crumbs. “His name is Ludwig.”

“Ludwig?” Daniel snorted. What sort of a stupid name was that to give to a big, white bird?

What sort of a stupid name was that to give to a big, white bird?“Ja,” she replied, “That was the name of one our most famous kings of Bayern. I"ll tell you all about him one day. Come, I will help you unpack your bags.”

Ja,

After a large and splendid meal, Daniel had some time to himself, although the sheer size of the house meant that it would probably take him weeks to explore all of it. He settled on allowing the manservant – who had introduced himself as Herr Müller – to guide him through the ground floor, paying particular attention to the large games-room and library. In this room, Daniel found himself lost for words. The room was huge, lined from floor to ceiling with books. He stepped inside in silence, letting his eyes move across the serried ranks of literature all around him. They spoke to him in a way that he never knew possible. So much learning, so much knowledge, so much to be discovered. And, he mused with almost crushing disappointment, all of it in German. “Is there nothing in English,” he asked as he ran his fingers over the spines of the countless leather bound volumes.

“One or two perhaps,” said Müller, “but I am not sure where they are.”

Daniel craned his neck, “It"ll take forever to find them.”

“Yes, but think of the fun.”

Daniel laughed and followed the manservant out into the hallway.

On their way out, Daniel noticed another door at the bottom of the corridor. He motioned towards it, “What"s through there?”

Müller paused, a dark look falling over his face, reluctant to enter into any form of explanation other than a thin smile. Ignoring him, Daniel took a step forward but the manservant laid a hand on his shoulder, to gently steer him away. “Another time,” Müller said.

Daniel frowned, gazing at the door, wondering what lay within. “But what"s in there?”

“Oh, nothing really. An empty room, no longer used. The rest of the house is far more interesting, trust me.”

But something about Müller"s manner caused Daniel to think the opposite. There was no disguising the man"s agitation and as he fell in behind the manservant, Daniel was already considering when he might be able to sneak a peek inside.

Later Daniel sat with his dad in the large study, staring at the massive, unlit fireplace. He wondered what else to expect, what other secrets the old castle held. “Dad,” he said, his voice shattering the peace of the moment, “do you think we"ll be happy here?”

Dad didn"t answer straight away. He stretched out his legs, lacing his fingers together as he settled his hands over his stomach. “I hope so,” he said in a distant sort of voice. “Do you?”

“Dunno.” Daniel closed his eyes. “This place is really old. I asked Müller and he said it was first built way back, in medieval times.”

“It"s changed a lot since then, I reckon. But it"s not just about the castle, is it. We should take a stroll round the lake.”

“Yeah, but not for a while. I"m tired. This has been a very long day.”

“It"s been a very long few weeks, organizing everything, packing boxes. I thought we"d never do it.” He shook his head, thoughtful. “ I hope the removal company knows what they"re doing.”

Daniel grunted. Dad had gone the full whack with the removers, hiring them to do everything. It was an awesome job, packing away their belongings and shipping them all the way from Cornwall to Bavaria. Three weeks they"d said. Daniel wasn"t sure he could survive three weeks without his computer and arsenal of games. Then again, there was quite a lot to keep him occupied here – like Dad said, there was the lake. That alone would take weeks to explore properly. And then there was always school. He groaned at the thought and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He had four days before lessons began, nowhere near enough time.

“What do you make of that Müller fella?” asked Dad, breaking into Daniel"s depressing thoughts.

“Dunno.” Something irked him about the manservant, his manner, as if he were trying too hard to be friendly. He could see the truth behind his eyes though, the way he assessed, almost judged him. There was unspoken dislike, mistrust, but over what, Daniel had no idea.

“Well, thanks for the insight, Dan,” said Dad, impatience creeping into his voice, “as always you"ve really enlightened me.”

“Sorry, but what do you want me to say? He"s … creepy.”

creepy.“Creepy? How can he be creepy?”

“Dunno, just something. There"s a room, at the end of the corridor, and when I wanted to go inside, he became all … Kind of panicky. As if he didn"t want me to go inside.”

“What did he say was in there?”

“He didn"t. An old, empty room was all he said.”

“Well, there you are then. I wouldn"t call that creepy.”

creepy.“No, it wasn"t what he said, Dad! It was more the way he was. He was … like I said, he was worried, in case I tried to go in.”

“Maybe it"s full of junk. These places often have a room to store old furniture and what have you. Maybe it"s that.” Dad slapped his own knees and beamed, “Anyway, enough of this detective lark, Sherlock, you"d better get yourself off to bed. We"re going down to your new school tomorrow, show you around.”

Daniel slumped in his chair and made a face. “Great. I won"t be able to sleep a wink.”

Dad gave a lop-sided smile in response, and settled himself back in his chair, “You know what, Dan? I"m going to like this place … and I don"t even feel like a drink.”

Alone in his room, Daniel lay down on his bed, peering at the ceiling, thinking and a little worried; he didn"t agree with his dad. The grounds were beautiful, as were the mountains and the lake. But the castle … At first it had seemed like a fairytale, but now, in the night, the atmosphere changed. Too many rooms, especially that "secret" one, and way too many corridors. Somewhere in the far-off distance, a clock ticked away the time, its steady rhythm echoing softly throughout the building. His dad slept two doors away but Daniel still felt uneasy. Perhaps it was just because of the newness, the unfamiliarity. Whatever it was, the place made him uncomfortable, and he snuggled down beneath his covers, tried to clear his mind of thoughts and fears and gradually all faded away into nothingness as he drifted off into sleep.

He laid there, eyes closed, suddenly wide-awake but still not daring to move. A noise, distant, menacing had brought him out of his confused and restless sleep. In the silence, he waited, hardly daring to breathe. There, it came again, a low rumbling sound, the sound an animal might make – growling, deep and heavy. Very slowly, his heart pounding, Daniel turned over onto his back and opened his eyes.

Nighttime embraced the room, shrouding everything in deep shadow. He narrowed his eyes in an attempt to penetrate the blackness but failed. He knew where the furniture stood, the wardrobe, the desk, but his senses, heightened though they were by the sound, whirled in confusion. The noise, that grumbling growl, came again. Locked rigid with fear, he lay there, peering into the blackness, desperately trying to make something out, battling to regain his composure and think, think about what it could be. At last, his eyes adjusted to the gloom and he managed to make out some shapes. He turned his head, focusing his attention on the fireplace. As he stared into the black pit of its opening, he realized that the noise came, not from a distant valley in the rolling countryside beyond the castle walls, but from within the chimney. The thought almost tipped him into panic. Could the thing, creature, or animal, be so close, trapped within the stack, inside the room? He ran a hand over his face, wiping away the sweat. His hand shook. For a moment he had the crazy idea that he should run, get away, tell his dad that … He stopped. Tell his dad "what," exactly? It was only a noise, nothing to be afraid of … and yet … He set his jaw. Summoning up what little courage he had, he slowly sat up and slid out from under the bedclothes. Dropping to his knees, he crawled over to the fireplace, inch by inch, ready to jump up and run if anything leaped out from the gaping blackness. He patted the floor in front of him, groping in his blindness. The darkness, so complete, so intense and, dare he say it, unnatural. The fear, the dread, crept back through him as he put his head to one side and listened.

the roomunnatural.Almost at once, it came again. That low, rumbling sound, strangely sad and forlorn. He pulled back a little, frowning. It seemed to be coming from below his room, far below, and traveling up the chimney, which acted as a kind of natural amplifier, making the sound very clear and very close. But what could be down there? He couldn"t envision even the remotest plan of the house, for the basement – if indeed there was a basement – had not been part of his tour when Müller had shown him around. But there must be a basement, he reasoned. Wasn"t that where the servants worked? The kitchens, the stores, the—

A much louder sound reverberated up the chimney, a sort of snort, sounding unbelievably close. Daniel jumped back in panic, believing it was coming towards him, from somewhere deep within the blackness. He wanted to stand up and get out, race down the hallway to Dad, but fear locked his muscles, his legs, heavy as logs, had forgotten how to move. As his stomach turned over, he waited, silent and still, his mouth open, listening.

Nothing. No more sound.

He didn"t know for how long he waited like that, gripped by indecision and terror, but gradually the fear subsided just enough for him to find the strength to slither back to his still warm bed. He found some sense of security there, pulling the covers over his chin to lie quiet and still, hardly daring to breathe.

The silence was ominous, heavy and thick with his fear. He hadn"t imagined it, that much he knew. There was a definite animal-like noise coming from below and he promised himself that come the morning proper, he would confront Herr Müller and insist that he told him exactly what lived in the basement.