The Haunted Pages

Chapter 8-1

Daniel lay shivering in his bed, buried beneath the cover. The scream had sent fear racing through his veins. A warm night. Cold in his heart. Every nerve was alert, every muscle tensed. He waited, sure another growl or roar or yell would pierce the night, but nothing came. No repeat. Only the pounding of his heart in his ears.

He turned onto his back. Nothing. So, he clambered out of bed, a mad thought seizing him. Perhaps some milk would settle him, a few biscuits. He crossed to his bedroom door, eased it open. The house sat deathly still as he stood and listened in the hallway. Satisfied no one walked about, he tiptoed to the stairs and paused, trying to calming himself. Adrenalin pumped through his body, making him light-headed, but he managed, after a few moments, to find the self-control from somewhere. Gripping the banister rail, he crept down the steps, testing each one for any creaks before putting his whole weight down. With each advance, the memory of those awful, nightmarish sounds gnawed away at him. Real sounds, real dread. He no longer doubted his senses, so how could they have lied to him, especially Maria? And why.

He reached the foot of the stairs. The clock continued its relentless movement and beyond it, the faint hum of voices. He turned and stood, looking down the next flight leading to the kitchen. Müller might be there, with more sharp words, but Daniel no longer cared. He wanted answers.

Down he went, one step at a time, and with every one the voices became more distinct. Although he couldn"t understand the words, urgency and alarm saturated each. Taking a few deep breaths, he continued, and went straight through the open doorway. When he stepped over the threshold, the two women at the table both gave startled gasps.

The scene appeared almost as it had the first time he had come into the kitchen, but not so the atmosphere, which seemed somber and oppressive, reflected in the long, drawn faces of the women. Still irked by their lies, and gaining courage from it, he folded his arms and gave them a flat, hard stare before speaking. “What was that noise?”

For a moment, neither spoke, but Daniel"s sharp tone galvanized them, Martha reacting first, rushing around the table to yell at him in German, red faced, eyes simmering with fury. Daniel recoiled, alarmed at her viciousness. As she loomed closer, he felt sure she would strike him and he instinctively flinched, putting up his arm to protect himself. But nothing happened. He peered out from over his raised forearm and saw her, breathing hard, the terrible look slowly subsiding. Maria came beside her, arm around her shoulder, and gently steered Martha back to the table. She looked at Daniel with an apologetic smile.

“Come in, Master Daniel,” Maria said quietly. She squeezed Martha"s shoulder before crossing to the huge, double-doored fridge. She reached inside and pulled out a carton of milk, which she opened, pouring some into a glass. She handed it to Daniel, who sipped it, all the time watchful, worried that Martha might launch another attack at any moment. “Sit, please,” said Maria, her smile diffusing the tension and as soon as Daniel lowered himself into a chair, Martha broke down in to tears. Daniel, no stranger to tragedy, wondered if some bad news had reached them, the death of a relative perhaps, and a wave of guilt washed over him for disturbing a private moment of grief.

“Forgive me, Master Daniel,” Martha said through her hands, almost as if aware of Daniel"s discomfort. “I am not myself this evening.” She pulled her hands away and looked at him, a friendly smile on her face, but tears still in her eyes. “I mean morning, for it must be very late.”

Daniel shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, but her sudden change disturbed him. He took another sip of milk before drumming up the courage to ask, “What"s happened?” He waited, not relishing the reply.

Martha glanced at Maria, who had now rejoined them at the table. She gave a little nod. Martha took a deep breath. “There has been a …what is the word…”

“Incident,” said Maria.

Martha looked relieved. “Yes, incident. We were talking about what we can do to make it better when you came in, surprising us. I over-reacted, and I am sorry. That is all.”

Daniel wasn"t convinced, but he kept his voice flat, rolling the glass between his palms, nonchalant, steady. “What sort of incident?”

“Oh,” she smiled again, a little stiffly, and wiped her eyes with the back of one hand, “nothing too serious.” She glanced at Maria, but the young girl sat in silence. “Nothing that will affect you … or your father. Please, do not worry.”

“But we were a little bit worried,” interjected Maria quickly, “and we are trying to think of a way to deal with it without causing too much trouble for everyone.”

we“Sounds mysterious,” said Daniel, draining his glass.

“No. No, it is nothing serious, as Martha says. No, it is more …inconvenient. I think this is the right word. An accident. So,” Maria stood up and came round to take Daniel"s glass. “Why are you up so late? Did you have a nightmare?”

inconvenientMartha took in a sharp breath at the mention of that word and her eyes widened with shock. Daniel saw the glare, wondering why Martha seemed so nervous. It perplexed him. What were these two women up to? He leaned back, stretching his arms behind him and feeling more in control. He needed to get to the bottom of the mystery. “I guess you could say that, in a way. I heard those noises again.”

“Noises?” Martha"s voice sounded sharp, growing angry again. “What kind of noises, Master Daniel?”

“Same as last time. Like a dog, growling. I heard someone"s voice, too. Couldn"t understand all what they were saying, but one of the words means "sit", I think.”

“Sitzen?”

Sitzen“Yes, that"s it. Sitzen. It does mean "sit", doesn"t it?”

Sitzen.Martha and Maria both nodded at once.

“So, it"s a dog, yeah?” He looked from one to the other, but neither made any movement or affirmation that this suggestion might be correct. He shrugged his shoulders. “What"s the big secret?” He grinned openly. “Is it a wild animal or something? A wolf?” This sudden idea made him sit up with excitement. “It"s a wolf, isn"t it? You"ve captured a wolf!” He paused, letting the idea hang in the air. “Wow!” He thought for a moment, his head full of images of playing with a live, wild wolf. Could it even be possible? He remembered when Mum found an abandoned dog, how they"d fed it, cared for it before taking it to the local rescue centre. He could still see it"s face, those eyes imploring him not to go. But Dad would never have allowed a dog to come home, so they"d left the dog there, in its cage, frightened and alone. The prospect of spending time with something so real again filled him with joy. “Can I see him?”

realMartha leaned forward, her face serious. “Master Daniel, please, listen to me, you have understand something. None of this is how it seems. Before you came here, we–”

pleaseThey all stopped as the door creaked open. The silent gardener, Manfred, drifted in. He smiled briefly, moved to the sink, turned the tap and washed his hands. Everyone waited, watching. Daniel looked from one woman to the next. He saw Martha"s lips trembling. She was about to give him an explanation, but what kind?.

“Yes!” shouted Maria, a little too loudly, more for Manfred"s benefit, perhaps. Daniel couldn"t be sure. She grew excited as she continued, “Yes, it is a wolf, the noises you heard, Master Daniel. We found it up near the woods, which border the lake. He was hurt – shot.”

“Shot?” Daniel"s eyes grew wide with anticipation, and he rubbed his hands together, savoring the thought that at last something had happened that would make his time here even more special. “What, you mean by a hunter or something?”

Shot“Yes, that"s right! A hunter. Wolves, they are rare, especially now. But this one must have come across from the Czech Republic, or somewhere. They still have them there, I think.”

“So you rescued it,” Daniel said in awe. “Wow, that is so cool! But why didn"t you just tell me? I wouldn"t have said anything.”

soHe glanced up as Manfred turned, leaning back against the sink, arms folded. His eyes bored into him. “Well, we weren"t to know that,” Maria said quickly, a half-smile playing at the corners of her mouth, beguiling. Daniel, drawn to her mouth, leaned forward in expectation, relieved to find a reason to ignore Manfred"s stare. “You see,” she continued, looking at Martha closely, “it is illegal to keep such an animal. The authorities …” She laughed a little then. “Well, now you know. And we are sorry he woke you.”

Martha"s face looked grim, and for the smallest of moments, she glanced anxiously at Manfred. The gardener stood in silence. “But you cannot see it,” Martha said briskly, her attention on Daniel, “so you mustn"t think of trying to find it, Master Daniel. It is a wild animal, very dangerous. Do you understand?”

itBut Daniel was in no mood to accept her advice. If the animal existed, he wanted to see it. Why did she emphasize the word "it" the way she had? As if it resembled something … something other than a wolf perhaps. He caught Manfred"s unwavering stare, those eyes, heavy-lidded, black, gauging him, waiting for him to speak. Daniel coughed, “Well…” he struggled to find a way to begin, his stomach turning over and over as they waited. “Actually no, I don"t understand, not fully. What"s so wrong with me wanting to see a wolf?”

“Because it is dangerous!” Martha"s fist slammed down on the table, causing Daniel to jump. Maria moved quickly, placing a hand on Martha"s shoulder to calm her. Maria looked pleadingly towards Daniel. “Please, Master Daniel,” her voice almost begging, “you must promise me that you won"t go looking for it.”

dangerous!Daniel"s eyes were wide. He knew wolves were dangerous, but something more than the finding of a wild animal caused these women to become truly afraid. This was about much more than a wolf, no matter how wild and dangerous it might be. He stood up slowly, a little alarm bell telling him he should go. He said, “Yes. I promise,” but he wasn"t sure for how long he could keep his promise.

Almost at once, Manfred left the room without a single word. Daniel watched him, then turned to see Martha"s warm, caring smile returning to her face. “Thank you, Master Daniel.”

Daniel stood, pulling together his dressing gown and went to move towards the entrance when he stopped. Müller stood in the doorway, a look of venom in his eyes. Daniel tried to hold himself together, sure another assault was due, but instead the manservant stepped aside, allowing Daniel to pass, but all the time watching him with narrow, disapproving eyes.

Daniel averted his gaze and went out into the corridor. He didn"t know what to make of it all. The women were afraid, Manfred indifferent, and Müller totally unfriendly. If a wolf was locked away somewhere, then what about the other scream? Whose was it, and why didn"t they want him to see the animal? The authorities, Martha had said, would disapprove. But how would they know, all the way out here on the estate? The questions kept swirling around in his head, but the hour was late and his eyes were full of grit. He needed his bed. Everyone"s reactions, their words, their fear … all of it would have to wait until morning.