Life Curse: Taber Blood I

Chapter 7

Macey stepped inside the massive foyer as Daniel stood to the side to allow her passage. She couldn't tell if he was mad about her actions last night or her comment earlier by reading his face, which was expressionless. How he came to be this person was beyond Macey. It wasn't appropriate to ask the staff about their personal lives. Her father-in-law schooled her to that fact the first day she moved in ten years ago.  "We do not mingle with staff, understood," he said after she greeted Daniel. Macey would have left right then if it weren't for Paul's gentle way of handling her when upset. But Paul is dead, so is Elijah for that matter, and the future is hers to manage. 

As Macey stood staring at Daniel, contemplating her next move, Jared entered and shoved her a foot further into the foyer. She widened her stance to keep her balance. Jared snuggled up against her as she turned herself around, facing the door. 

"Jared!" Macey said, surprised he managed to push her so far. Jared stared wide-eyed at the entrance. His face was pale, and his eyes teary as he held onto her waist. " You act like you saw a ghost."

"I did, Mom."

"Sweetie, there are no ghosts. Just our imaginations." Macey said this as Daniel inched the door closed, lengthening Jared's fear. She shot him a quick glare as she kneeled to Jared. "Listen, sweetie. There are no ghosts, witches, or beasts, nor any other creature unless you're reading a novel. So, let's do something fun. You and I will explore the entire house this evening. It will be like a treasure hunt."

"What's the treasure?" 

"A journal."

"That's not a treasure."

"Maybe not to other people. This journal belonged to your father." Jared didn't look impressed, but at least color returned to his face. Macey hugged him by the shoulder and spun him around. "Let's change our clothes and get started," she said as she guided him to the stairs. "Daniel, we'll-" Macey stopped short of telling him they'd have snacks served upstairs, but he had slipped out of the room at some point. "Nice," Macey mumbled with a touch of smugness. But, on a positive note, she remembered the ground rules, and she'd add not scaring the shit out of her son to the list. By the look of things, she'd have to sit Daniel down and spell it out for him sooner rather than later. 

She took the rear position heading up the stairs glancing over her right shoulder. Underneath her calming front to Jared, her heart raced. Last night left her disoriented after waking in the library sitting in front of that freaky tree. All this craziness started with that tree. She could erase it, paint over it, scrub it to the hundred-year plaster, but it is a family heirloom—Jared's inheritance. An underlying fear came forefront, a dark heritage. Where that came from wasn't as scary as the creepy tree. The way it mimic's movement when she walks from one side of the library to the other. As if the wind carried its wicked branches that whipped its ancestral arms right at her. Well, at least in her dreams. Dreaming or not, she woke in the same room with it. Something she cannot explain. Her gut tells her there's something more happening. The slashing wound under her sleeve proves something sinister resides at the mansion, or maybe she injured her arm sleepwalking. Yea, there's that too.  

"Ok, sweetie, grab your sweatsuit. I'll be back in a minute." She knew Jared was still scared but pushing him to do things on his own would get him over his fear faster. At least that was the plan. She sprinted to her room and shredded her suit for leggings and a sweatshirt, and returned to Jared in minutes. Though anxious to get her hands on that journal, playtime was on the radar. "Ok, every time we see something interesting, we show it to each other. Deal?"

"Ok," Jared's voice had some hesitation. However, given what Macey experienced since moving back into the mansion, she related to his apprehension.