In The Dead of Night

“Are we almost there yet?” Gabriella asked sullenly, stuffing another fry from the last service station. She continued on the motorway, heading to Queensferry where the address told us. I looked from the map on my phone to the signs around us. We had decided to make the few hours drive in mid afternoon hoping to miss the traffic but still find a hotel. Yet two toilet breaks and food stop at three services and we were finally reaching the town limits. We didn’t really know too much about the place, other than it was split into a north and south with a couple of huge bridges connecting them. Gabriella had begun tapping her fingers on the wheel and I realised I had only nodded slightly. “Oh, yeah, should be just up here. Maybe another couple of miles. Then we can find our hotel and rest for a night.”

“Sounds good. Think before or after the investigation things will be normal enough to do some sightseeing, maybe head into Edinburgh? Or Glasgow? Or up to Loch Ness.” She sounded so hopeful. I guess if things had been different, we’d have ended up here for those reasons. I shrugged my shoulders and thought back to the last couple weeks when normalcy went berserk and we were threw into complete insanity in a split second.

Let me give you the quick rundown, if case you’ve decided to start here and not read my last entry. I am Riley Blackborne. I was born as a Death, which is hard to explain. Basically, I can see the dead, being a Death is somehow involved in spirits or transporting the dead and normally we ‘split’ after possessing a mortal body upon death, creating a second Death and inhabiting the newly deceased. Or at least this is what I had gathered. Anyway, this started when something decided to hunt me down for some reason. They possessed a woman named Elsie Grace, killed my parents and threatened to kill my best friend, Gabriella Diaz. Ultimately, due to unlocking some of my mystical powers through dying, I tricked and overpowered the possessed Elsie and managed to expel the person possessing them. Unfortunately, they escaped but now Gabriella and I need answers and our search started with an address in Scotland. And that’s about it for now, back to the events at hand.

Gabriella had parked up near our hotel. It was a small building on the edge of town. It was a quaint house like building with white painted walls and yellow flowers brimming against the entrance. “Hotel Redstone,” I said out loud. Gabriella locked the car before we approached the door. There was a sign that read ‘please knock for entrance.’ It was old fashioned style hotel. I knocked on lightly and heard a hustling come to the door. There stood an angry looking woman in a nightgown and rollers in her hair. “What time do you call this?” She shouted, ironically as she complained about the late hour. Gabriella and I looked to each other and then to our phones. It was 21:34, and I swore that when we left the car it was almost two hours earlier. Gabriella seemed to believe the same thing. “Well, out with it! What do you want?” The angry woman shouted again.

“Oh, we’re very sorry. We made a reservation for this hotel and have come to check in.”

“Tough luck! Our check-in end at 8pm sharp and then we let walk ins use the room. You’re too late, and apart from the deposit you have been refunded, considering I managed to give the room to someone else. I guess you do have some luck!”

“I mean, we’ve come a long way and I swear we was on time. I mean maybe we lost a couple of hours on the motorway. Please you must have a room, or even just somewhere we can sit down and rest for the night.”

“Harumph! Ridiculous! Facilities are for paying guests only and that includes parking. So on ya way!” She slammed the door in Gabriella’s face as I turned and mopped back to the car. Then I saw a dark figure, a man watching from the street. He waved and I turned to Gabriella to see if she was getting to the car. I was admittedly a bit freaked out when I turned back to open the door. “Problem, darlings?” He appeared at the side of me in a flash. I jumped back and Gabriella basically caught me as I almost fell to the ground. “No, no problem…” I muttered bewildered.

“What do you mean no problem? We reserved a room at this hotel and now we have no where to stay. This is a problem. Oh and we lost like two hours. I hope there’s a place around that we can get a room…” Gabriella began as if she didn’t seem to see the man, “are you okay?” She looked up towards the car and saw the man striding towards us. “Ah, a place to stay you’re after? Well let me introduce myself. I am Glas Cade,” he bowed and took off a hat which I swore wasn’t there originally, “I am the owner of the Dolver Deluxe Dumping Ground. A haunted ghost tour extravaganza.” He flashed a card and Gabriella started to Google it. “Now we call it a dumping ground because most people don’t sleep, and not for the usual reasons. As my ghost tours start late evening and ends at the break of dawn, so I have a few rooms spare in case people want to put their luggage somewhere or they have oldlings who can’t handle the fright and will just spend the night. I have no reservations for the night, not a one, early in the season for a good ghost haunt you see but you’re more than welcome to stay. Free of charge, I mean technically I charge for the tours not the rooms so don’t have a price.” I looked over to Gabriella and hoped she couldn’t find him. “Erm, well we’re not interested in any ghost tours so we will have to…”

“Allow this nice man to let us stay in the rooms, free of charge. At least only for the night.” She turned to me with puppy dog eyes, letting me see the five star reviews and the place it is located. Dundas Castle. I shook my head and she turned to the man. “Give us one moment.” She grabbed my arm and moved back to the hotel door. “Come on. We get to stay the night in a legitimate castle. For Free! Plus we got our money back from the major B.”

“I don’t trust this guy. Every horror movie has taught us we will end up dead.”

“Well you can’t die… I think… so I’ll be the one risking my life. I say yes. Plus if we don’t move on I think we will have some trouble.” She pointed to the window. I could see the angry woman peeking out of her blinds, a snarl on her face and a phone in her hand. I dipped my head in defeat and nodded. “Fine. But if you die then that’s on you.” She squealed with glee and headed to the car. “Mr Cade, do you need a ride?”

“Oh no, deary, not at all. You head into town find some food, I’m sure there’s a couple of fast food places still open nearby. I will meet you at the castle in an hour. Just enter the address on the back and you will find it.” She nodded happily and opened the car door sitting in the drivers seat.

“Oh and you my dear, you’re in for a hell of a night. Trust me! It’s practically fit for a royal!” He laughed and walked to the road. I got in the car and stayed silent. I was scared.

After getting some food and following the direction we found ourselves at a bunker like entrance near the castle. Mr Cade was stood waiting and pointed to a small run down parking lot. After parking up we met him at the entrance of the bunker which appeared locked by a chain link fence. I looked to Gabriella wide eyed, every inch of me attempting to run before the fence was open and Gabriella walked through. “Wait wasn’t that locked a moment ago? Like not just easy open with a key but huge chain keeping the doors together? And I thought we was going to the castle?” I asked bewildered. Gabriella looked at me confused. “Ah yes well. I’ll answer the third question first. This is an escape trail that was built and long forgotten about. This is where the tour starts and we gain access to the hidden rooms. Now, it’s still early but I must warn you we are still expected to see a few visitors along the way.” He then began to walk forward without even speaking about the locked fence that miraculous opened in a literally second.

As we travelled through the tunnel, Mr Cade waffled on about the history of the place and the spooky happenings. I pulled Gabriella back a bit and whispered, “did you notice the lock?” She nodded and turned back to the man. She continued forward and began to speak. “Mr Cade…”

“Please call me Glas.”

“Glas… can you tell us how you unlocked the gate? When we arrived the gate was locked with this huge chain and then you appeared and it was gone. No sound or anything just poof.”

“Well, darling, a magician never reveals his secrets regardless of whether it is a hobby or not.” His voice rose as he spoke, and he seemed to be talking to someone who wasn’t here. “See Riley, a magic trick. Let’s continue.”

“Yes let’s,” Glas said popping behind me and pushing me forward. “Not long until we arrive at our first stop.”

Glas went silent as soon as we turned the corner and entered into the first room at the end of the hall. It was a small bedroom. There was an old run down bed and the room was filled with dust. In the corner was a small set of stairs that didn’t appear to lead to anywhere but darkness. “Here we are, the first room of the night.” This belongs to one of our spirits. She was a servant of the castle itself. She died protecting the royal family whom was escaping the castle from the enemy. She doesn’t speak much so other than that I don’t know much about her. Deary, why don’t you show yourself.” I could see Gabriella on edge and anticipating something to pop out yet nothing happened. “She’s usually not this shy.” After a few moments more of waiting the torn sheet flew off the bed and a moan could be heard but we couldn’t hear anything. “Now there’s no need to be rude,” Glas exclaimed, “these are our latest guests. My apologise. It looks like she doesn’t want to be disturbed.” He ushered Gabriella up the stairs and stared at me for a second before beckoning me after them. I hesitated a second and as I put my foot on the step I heard a female voice muttering behind me. “Uses tricks to scare poor people, pulling my blanket off my bed, has the nerve to say I don’t want to be disturbed when I just would like to be seen. And to top it off he doesn’t even care to ask me my name. What a load of…” The woman’s voice trailed off as she appeared at the bottom of the steps and I stared at her. My eyes were wide and we just watched each other. “You can see me?” I nodded before I felt a cold stern arm drag me upstairs.

I watched as a stone wall closed behind me as I reached the top. “Erm, yes, now I think you look tired. Why not cut it short and head to bed. I’m sure it’s been a long day.” Glas practically dragged us to a pair of rooms. “These are yours for the night. Now if you hear anything it could be the castle or it could be something else. If you’d like to stay another night then maybe I could show you but for now night, night.” His voice echoed as his feet seemed to rush him away. The doors were open and there were two modern looking single bedded rooms. “What happened there?” Gabriella exclaimed, looking at me.

“Erm, I think I saw his trick. I’m not sure but there was a lady in the room as we left. Probably someone who helps with his magic and the ghostly things that go on.”

“Or it could be a real ghost. When he noticed you weren’t behind us and were still at the bottom of the stairs, he seemed spooked. He practically rushed down the steps to get you. I don’t think he expected, a woman did you say?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t explain what she looked like but I know it was a woman.”

“I mean I didn’t see anything, I just saw you nod and him drag you up. I think we should go investigate.”

“Not tonight. I mean it sounded like he was offering us the place for another night so maybe tomorrow.” I yawned and went to head inside. I thought Gabriella would stop me but when I looked over the door was closed and I could hear her inside. ‘I guess she agrees,’ I thought as I went to the perfectly made bed and lay on it. ‘I want to know more about the woman myself. But that’s not what we’re here for. One mystery at a time and we could come back here again when we think we’re safe,’ my thoughts continued as my eyes began to drift and I felt myself going to sleep. As my eyes closed I heard a voice in the distance yet somewhere nearby. It was singing, a song full of longing and I felt an urge to follow and find it.

Gabriella here, so I thought I’d add what happened to me from this point. So I went in the room, I was upset. I was looking forward to some ghost hunting and ghost tour crap and honestly I kind of forgot the real reason we came to this town, the thrill of the castle overtook me. As I lay on my bed, it came flooding back to me. I heard Riley outside my door and I got up to go apologise. I opened the door and when I looked out Riley wasn’t there, it was Glas. “Have you seen your friend?” He asked, his voice filled with concern. “The next room,” I answered.

“Nope, it’s empty.” I rushed out and saw the door was open. Riley’s bag was at the side of the bed but Riley wasn’t there. I went inside in a panic and looked around. “Are there any secret passages in here?”

“No, not in any guest rooms. I made sure.”

“Riley!” My voice seemed to echo all around the castle. “What did you come here for?”

“Well, you see, it’s a bit peculiar and I’m not sure you’d understand. But it is only something your friend could possibly know about.” I looked at the man in front of me. He seemed to have the similar glower he started with, but his face seemed dull and defeated. “You know Riley is something different don’t you?” I asked. I knew it wasn’t time for playing games. “You know that your friend is a Death? Even more peculiar.” His voice seemed to fade. “Yes. I know. You will help me find Riley. Then we will be going and you can’t harm…”

“Harm? I don’t want to harm anyone. I wanted some help.” His voice cut through my sentence with a flare of energy that froze me in my tracks. “I can sense it. It’s this way.” He began before grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the room.

**************************************

After hearing a loud rumble, Glas lead me to the stone staircase. He didn’t hesitate when he saw it open and just rushed down. I followed, of course, and we entered the room from before. The bed was made and the room seemed different. Before I had chance to think, Glas walked out the room and seemed to stop in the hall. He was looking around scared. “Where did you go?” I didn’t fully understand how we had been following Riley but until now Glas had known. Now he seemed stumped. He didn’t seem to move from the hallway next to the door when he seemed to jump. “In here? Where’s here? Oi, ghost woman! Tell me.”

I rushed to the stop and stared at Glas. “You don’t know the ghost’s name do you? Maybe try asking and she’ll be more helpful. We don’t have time for you not to be.” Glas sighed, “fine. Ms Ghost, may I know your name and can you help us find the lost guest?” I couldn’t see anything but I heard a whisper. “Finally, thank you. It’s Willow and it’s this way. Press the third brick on the left.” Glas pushed it in and seemed in awe as another door opened. I could tell he didn’t know about this one. “Riley? Where are you?” I felt my voice call out. The panic urged me forward pushing past Glas and I whispered to the ghost I couldn’t see, “thank you Willow.”

Now, back to Riley.

**************************************

I felt my feet walk me to the stone passageway we left earlier. My hand moved without me thinking and pushed a brick inwards. The door slid aside and I walked down. There was the woman from before. She seemed shocked to see me but I ignored her and left the room. “Hold up, wait!” Her voice echoed around the hallway but I continued forward. I approached another wall and hit another brick opening another passageway. I felt the woman behind me. “I didn’t even know that was there.” She seemed shocked but my feet just kept going. I could feel a wet damp floor beneath me and could hear a waterfall in the distance. But mostly, I could hear the singing. I kept moving foward. Only stopping once more when I heard Gabriella from behind me. “Riley? Where are you?” Her voice was calling out and seemed to jog me awake. I froze at the entranceway to an underground lake. There was a waterfall rushing into it by the back. Next to a rock, there stood another woman. She was a slender woman with silver-white hair that covered her face. Her skin was a pale white but was covered in a mix of green and black mossy like cloth. She had four golden insect like wings sprouted from her back that looked almost fairy-like. She was holding a washboard and seemed to be washing clothes. Her singing has stopped as she noticed me. She smiled and waved me over. I didn’t move. She looked at me curiously. She smirked before starting to sing again. Her voice was nice but I didn’t feel the urge to move again. She snarled and dropped the washboard on the side of the bank. She rushed towards me and grabbed me before I could retreat back down the passageway. “You heard my voice? You have been called to death.” Her silky smooth voice seemed to wriggle its way into my ear and I felt myself nudging forward towards the lake. “You see, you want death, don’t you? It calls you, like my voice, like I predict.” As we reached the washboard I heard Gabriella gasp. “Bean-Nighe! Stop you hag, you shall not claim another!” The man’s voice seemed to command the room, “with the power I hold you shall stop.” I could see him begin to step forward and the woman held her hand up and shook her head. “Who are you? Are you a Death too?“ Gabriella seemed to take the focus from me. Both the woman and Glas turned to look to Gabriella. There was a moment of silence. Before Glas interrupted it, “you can see the woman?” She nodded before calling out herself. “Well are you a Death or not? Either way, let my friend go!” Before Gabriella could move forward Glas grabbed onto her. “Wait, she’s not a death but she’s not a Bean-Nighe either.” The woman smirked holding me tighter in her grasp. Gabriella asked, “wait, what’s a Bean-Nighe?” I expected Glas to answer but the woman twisted me round before she spoke. Her silky voice soothing the room, “Bean-Nighe. A ghostly washerwoman. A figure who would lead people to their deaths by washing clothes by lochs. Well, at least I don’t need to pretend I’m this ghastly figure anymore.” I could hear her voice strain as her body started to crack and deform. Her skin turned a deep shade of purple, the long silver-white hair burnt to a short reddish black pixie cut and I saw her fairy like wings transform into dark red bat like demonic wings. As I began to squirm in her grip and noticed she had two long extended fingernails that was clutched to my neck, digging into my vein. “That’s much better,” her voice echoed, it still retained its silkiness. “Don’t move, and that includes you little ghosty, unless you want me to rip your friend’s throat clean out.” Nobody moved, or it appeared that way. Glas seemed to shimmer as the woman continued speaking, “now if you let me feed, maybe the energy from this being will satisfy me before their life ends. I can feel an energy different from those I normally feast on.” As she rose her hand in the air, Glas appeared and grasp it holding her in place and forcing her to drop me. “I don’t think so…” he began and he looked towards Gabriella and the ghostly woman at the entryway, “may I ask your name?”

“My name? Why would you want that?”

“Well I need to know your name to be polite but isn’t that also how your kind work. The power of a name allows for a deal.”

“So you know of my kind.” I scrambled to Gabriella’s side but we were frozen in place watching this strange sight take place. “Yes, I do. I know you’re a succubi. A life feeder. I couldn’t tell in your original form but like this, it is clear. Now, let’s make a deal.”

“Rysieth, Twilight, Shadowwing. I go by many. Now tell me your deal.”

“I am Glas Cade. I shall call you Rysieth. If it is satisfying your endlasting need to feed, then I make a deal for Riley’s life. I will satisfy your hunger and you spare Riley. They’re a Death, you’d die alongside them anyway, so I say you let me try.” Rysieth seemed to hesitate, she looked at me with wide curious eyes, and looked at Glas before nodding. “It is made, now let me…” Before she could finish her sentence, Glas used her fingernail to pierce his finger and a single drop of blood hit her lips. She licked it hungrily before freezing. “How?! How after all this time was that enough?”

“Because I too am not human and I cannot be lured by your siren song. Now if you promise not to continue this Bean-Nighe ghost story and maybe even work with me, I will satisfy that hunger every time you feel it.”

“Deal!” Her voice shrieked out, she clung to his arm and adjusted herself. The couple looked to us and things seemed to become awkward.

The night seemed to calm down and for some reason both Gabriella and myself felt safe, at least safe enough to sleep in a single room together and to let the night turn to day. The next morning Glas had arrived at our room and lead us into a large hall where breakfast was to be served. As we sat down, the room was lively with many transparent spirits tottering about and going about their own business. Gabriella claimed she could see everyone but after almost sitting on the spirit of a young girl, I knew it wasn’t true. During breakfast, the questions began to burst out of me. “What exactly are you?”

“I am a wizard. Or at least that’s as close as a title you could give me. I am also nigh-immortal.”

“So you use magic?”

“Yes, actually to make a confession, I used magic to force you to come to the Castle. I made you two sleep when your car parked up. I then used a suggestion spell to force any and all hotels free to close for the night. I also used it to make the woman angry and believe she had already booked the room. I am truly sorry for that.”

“But why?”

“As soon as your car entered the town boarder, I sensed you. I sensed a Death. I hoped that you’d be able to help me with a foreteller of death, a Bean-Nighe who seems to be targeting people and luring them. It was Ryseith here, who is actually a Succubus.”

“So why did you think I could help you?”

“Well Deaths, like yourself are physical embodiments of Death, beings who have control over death and everything to do it with it, including spirited and those who foretell it.”

“And what is a Death?”

“What is…? You don’t know. Oh. I’m sorry. I can’t actually tell you more than that, I don’t know anything else.”

“Ah, I see. So why did you need me specifically? Isn’t there another death here in town?”

“Unfortunately not.”

“Dammit it!”

“Is that why you came to Queensferry?”

“Yeah. It’s a long story but we thought there’d be another Death here.” He shook his head and looked down, he seemed upset and not being able to help before a familiar woman’s voice spoke. “Technically, there is another Death nearby, but not in town. I guess that’s why you wouldn’t be able to sense it.” He seemed shocked and quite offended by that. Before he could speak I turned to the ghostly woman whom I came to understand is named Willow. “Where are they?”

“Well, he won’t tell you as it isn’t part of his ghostly fantasies but I moved here from The Four Bridges, a Tavern a few miles out of the town boarder. I was actually evicted because the Death told me to go. As a Caoineag, I survived the travel. I was able to manage the trip to the castle, the nearest Loch around.”

“Erm, what’s a Caoineag?”

“A foreteller of death. Similar to the Bean-Nighe that Glas has explained. The difference is I am only seen by those who are supernatural like yourself or by those who are unfortunate enough to have death coming for them.” I then realised that I’d have to explain this all to Gabriella before I noticed her nodding along with a look of understanding. “Ah, not to worry Riley, I’ve gifted Gabriella a bracelet that will allow her to embrace the supernatural world much more easily. She cannot fully see the spirits here, at least not yet, but she can hear them and soon this ability will grow. I noticed that she had a latent talent last night but this will help develop it a little faster. Anyway, breakfast is over, why don’t we restart the tour from last night?”

“Erm, actually, I think we should go. I want to investigate this pub and try to find out why a Death is after me. Thanks though.” Gabriella stood up, her face seemed disappointed but determined and we left the room and eventually the castle.

The trio made up of Glas, Rysieth and Willow came to wave us off. I fixed the rearview mirror and thought I saw a pair of white feathered wings outstretch from Glas’s back but as I took a second look there was none. I sighed. ‘Must just be my imagination,’ I thought, as I started the car and we moved onwards to the next destination.