Thank you all for the lovely feedback I've been getting. It boosts morale and confidence to say the least. Would love to hear more if you have anything to say, both good and bad.
This part will hint at some secrets. There is a lot to uncover though and we're only scratching the surface so far.
**
"Liam!"
He was shaken awake and blinked up into his sisters frightened face. "Uh. What?" The fog of sleep clouding his thoughts making his response sluggish.
"You need to hide. Take the twins to the roof garden and hide!" She whispered urgently.
A tortured piercing howl echoed down through the house and all thoughts of sleep vanished from his mind. He was up in an instant grabbing a blanket and hurrying after his sister down the hall. They woke the twins in much the same way as Liam had been awaken and rushed them through the east wing until they got to the a huge half circle balcony decorated with a garden.
Kaleigh followed the walls of the house until she reached the handrail and gestured for Liam to hurry. He ushered the two very frightened and crying twins in front of him until they reached her.
"Look Liam. Same as last time, okay? I'm going to help you down and then you catch them, okay?" Her head bobbed with every word. "You're the bravest I know Liam. You can do this. Whatever you hear and whatever happens do not leave the hiding spot until it's safe. You need to look after them." She nodded towards the twins, tears streaming down her face.
All Liam could do was nod mutely. He grabbed the hand rail and swung his leg over, climbing out on the wide ledge stretching around the top of the building. Reaching out back to her he helped Lynn his youngest sister down on the ledge then did the same with Logan, her twin. Leading them one careful step at the time further out on the ledge he looked back at Kaleigh one last time and with a shared nod he rounded the corner of the building.
Thankfully there was a full moon and they had plenty of light to navigate by. A cold wind assaulted them and Liam was grateful for the blanket he had brought. He pushed his siblings into the alcove they had usually covered in and wrapped the warming cloth around them to keep the cold at bay. Sitting on his knees on the windy ledge he hugged his siblings through the blanket to keep them shielded. Their father couldn't reach them here he would make sure of it.
Another piercing howl made the glass of the windows close by rattle. They heard an angry roar and a crash as something toppled and smashed to the floor. "I know you're here! You can't hide from me!"
Liam twitched with every crash and roar that followed until a eerie silence settled around them. He was holding his breath and hoping with every fiber of his being that it was over.
"Where are they?!" Roared the enraged beast that was Liam's father.
"Cover your ears and hum." Liam whispered to the twins while he desperately tried to hide his own tears. He wished he could do the same and not hear what would follow but he refused to let his sister suffer alone. If he wasn't brave enough to stand by her side he would at least bear witness to her pain.
"Father please! See reason!" Kaleigh pleaded. "You shouldn't be around them in this state."
"Shut up you dark haired witch! You are not mine! You! With your despicable darkness."
"Father! Stop this madness!"
The first sickening thud of something hard hitting a body and his sisters cry of pain was carried by the wind to the hidden sibling. Liam's tears ran unchecked down his face and he had to grab the ledge hard to keep from calling out or running to help. Blow after blow his sister endured, whimpering and pleading for their father to stop. Never did she give him the location of the hidden children and Liam knew she never would. Kaleigh was the strongest and bravest person he knew. She would face down any horror and take any blow to keep them safe. She was the closest to a parent any of them had.
Liam had no notion of how long they sat like that, long after the horror of the roof garden had ceased and the stillness of the night had settled over the house again. When the moon began it's slow decent and no more sound had been heard for a long time he told the twins to stay while he climbed back to the garden. Pots and plants were smashed and strewn everywhere. Mud was piled high sticking to his cold naked feet when he cautiously padded to the doors leading into the building. Inside was a deathly silence. Someone had wrecked havoc with the furniture's and the wreckage of a cupboard and two chairs was strewn across the floor.
Confident his father was not around he scanned the area for his sister. The moon had past this part of the house, casting the garden into darkness. With some difficulty he could discern what looked to be a dirty foot sticking out from behind a bench. Soundlessly he crept closer and found his sister horribly beaten and unconscious on the cold tiles.
He knelt next to her the cold wet mud saturating his pajama bottoms and carefully with a shaking hand he caressed the hair from her face. One eye was swollen to a point where she would not be able to open it at all and there was bruises all over her face. Liam kissed her forehead tenderly and thanked her for her sacrifice. He was not blind to the fact that she did it for them. That he would be the one suffering if not for her.
Quickly before the moon disappeared completely he clambered back out on the ledge to fetch the siblings he had left there. Once they were back inside and safe in their beds again he brought plenty of pillows and blankets out to the roof garden and spread them over her. She was to big for his small frame to move, all he could do was watch over her until she woke.
Wrapped in his own blanket he sat in the darkness next to her and waited. For a brief moment she stirred and reached out to clutch his hand. "Liam." She whispered. "You did good."
**
The huge hulking beast roared, throwing him to the ground with the force of his breath. Is body slammed into the mud and it clung to him, sucked him down into the floor, holding him in place. He reached out to grasp the monster with the flaming red eyes when the horrible creature swung his youngest sister out over the ledge, but the mud was holding him down, he strained against it to reach her. No matter how much he tried he could not reach. Could not help.
"I give you back to the darkness from whence you came!" The beast roared and threw Lynn into the waiting abyss.
Liam bolted upright in his bed, the wail of his sisters last seconds of life echoing in his head while sleep still clung to his mind. Clutching at his chest he tried to control his rapidly beating heart and panicked breathing. This was nothing new. Nightmares about this house and what had happened haunted his dreams most nights, it had became a part of him.
He rested his elbows on his knees and put his head in his hands. For so long he had wanted it to stop. The screams. The images. The pain.
**
The following day started much gentler for Natalie than the previous one. There was still a knock on the door but a soft one and as Natalie mumbled a tired "Enter." Eileen popped her head in, a cheery smile on her face.
"Mornin' sunshine. We close breakfast in about an hour so if you want in on that deal you better hurry. If you want more time then I can ask them to make you something but it wont be as nice as the breakfast. We do have a really good breakfast."
"Umh..." Natalie sat up in her bed rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Yeah, sure. I'll take that breakfast."
"Excellent! I'll wait in the main hall. Can you find your way down by yourself?"
"I'm sure I'll find in eventually."
"Down the corridor to the left and you'll see the balconies." With a final wink she closed the door and was gone.
Natalie was absolutely amazed. How could someone be so cheery this early? Grabbing her phone from the nightstand she unlocked the screen and it said eight am. She moaned. Mornings really were her nemesis. They had never agreed on anything and never would. There was a reason she stripped to earn her living. It had decent work hours.
