Vivienne's parents found the perfect house. A stunning Nineteenth Century Victorian at Rue Renaud, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
One of those houses with personality and vibe; good enough to charm even a reluctant teen into moving to what she dubbed th...
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"That's the legend of this house. Or rather, reality for all of us tied to these walls," Victor said. "The Mother of Shadows remained, even after she deceived Claudette Renaud into sacrificing her son. It should have ended with Pierre Petit, after Claudette, in her grief, hid the box away. But darkness followed, and unable to get over what had happened, the woman took her life shortly after the death of her son.
"She hung herself from the rafters of her new residence in Washington, D.C. Renaud disappeared into political anonymity, never to return to Louisiana. But the soul of his wife, unable to find peace, returned to these halls, looking for her son. She struck a bargain once more, six souls for the six days of freedom promised to the Mother of Shadows, in exchange for her son."
"A picture for each soul. The people in the box were offered to an entity that lives in this house." Viv declared.
"Now you understand. This is not an ordinary haunting, sensitive as you are and all. You've bitten more than you can chew."
"Hold it there, boomer!" Viv never ceased to amaze Victor in her blatant disrespect, even if he had no idea what she was talking about. "What happened to the other ghosts?"
"I think it's part of the curse. Salt in the wound, so to speak. As a new ghost is added to the box, the previous one disappears. I don't want to guess where they end up because..." Victor pointed to himself. "Right now it is just Pierre Petit and yours truly, the resident haunt. And of course, there's Claudette, always on the lookout."
"Have you tried to talk to the mother and the child? Maybe they know something you don't."
The ghost sighed. "Claudette won't listen. And for Pierre, if any of us tries to talk to the little boy, to let him know he is dead, the entity swallows him up for a while. Upon his return, he does not remember what he has been told. He will never be able to cross to the other side because of that, and something tells me it's part of the plan. When the six souls are done for, another six will be claimed, and it will never end."
"I gotta say it's a clever move. Claudette will be forever doing her bidding, forcing the house to choose, until that evil spirit is strong enough to free itself. The shadow woman is holding the kid as bait. Now, there's something that doesn't make much sense. Why would the house allow you to tell me?" Vivienne considered how awful things could get, now that she knew the truth.
"I don't know. One day I was alone, hanging in the corners, as always, and then you showed up. If someone told me this morning that I'll be speaking to the living like it was a social event, I would have laughed. There are few things I remember since I got here, but one is certain. When the house picks, you know. Before I died, I saw the old man in the library, just like you can see me now. He didn't say a word of warning to me, though. Thing is, you being able to see me has nothing to do with your powers, and a lot to do with being the next."
Victor's hand brushed Vivienne's face. As brave as she was pretending to be, her eyes were shiny, on the brink of tears. She was surprised to feel him, like the flutter of butterfly wings touched with frost.
