The Return of the Order - Act 6

Louisa checked around the house, the storm raged outside, and the wind rattled the windows of their home. It was on nights like these that she wished they had brought one of the demon hounds back with them. Even one of the cat-like creatures that Malphas so adored would be preferable to the deafening silence and loneliness that surrounded her in the late hours.

She was more unsettled than usual; the dreams were getting worse, and she feared to close her eyes for the sounds and smells that surrounded her when she did. The arrival of the new Lord and his unearthly butler at the manor only added to her sense of foreboding and the luncheon they had attended had done nothing to quiet her fears.

The luncheon had been uneventful, boarding on dull. Lord Dax had been polite and apologetic for his previous behaviour, the household was unremarkable, except Peter, and Dax's reasons for buying the estate were plausible. However, under the surface, something was definitely wrong. Dax showed a deference to the butler that was uncharacteristic. Whenever Peter was in the room, Dax stiffened, he was frightened, but Louisa could not determine the cause of his fear. She had no opportunity to speak to him without raising suspicion.

Dax had personally invited the family to the upcoming ball and Louisa had accepted with some trepidation. She needed to understand what was happening and the threat it posed to her family, yet, the attention that Peter paid to her daughter and Lilith's revulsion at his mere presence made her want to forgo the niceties of investigation and move straight to ripping out his throat and that of Dax, solely for bringing him into their sphere of existence. Only her steadfast belief in the rules her father, and later Malphas, had instilled in her stopped her from taking action without proof that they were a threat.

Louisa was returning to her room when a shiver passed through her, it intensified, leaving her unable to move. Pain coursed through her, every nerve in her body screamed and burned. Tightness gripped her chest, her heart beat with an intensity she had never felt before. Unable to catch her breath or call out, her vision blurred, her mind reached out to Malphas, unable to reach or sense him, she slumped to the floor, and darkness descended upon her.

The darkness surrounded her, silence, deafening silence invaded her mind. A single sound on the edge of her hearing punctured the quiet, it grew louder until it was recognisable; screaming, it grew louder and closer until it surrounded her, vibrating through her very being. The image in front of her changed, redness seeped and oozed from the edges of her vision covering everything that it touched, outlining shapes that had been hidden by the darkness. The air grew thick, it hit the back of her throat; blood, she could taste blood. She clawed at her throat as the cloying taste choked her.

Around her, the shapes were becoming more apparent, Fingers, hands, torsos laid strewn in front of her. She turned away from the sight, bile rising in her throat. But wherever she looked the view was the same, decapitated heads with their eyes wide and staring, swollen tongues poking out, mocking her. Her eyes wouldn’t close, she couldn’t block out the screaming, and her own voice added to the cacophony.

A new sound whispered under the scream, it was the same voice as before, the same two words, over and over, 'help us.' She wanted to ask how, but the words would not come. Despair overtook her as the voices grew louder and more desperate in their pleas. A familiar voice entered the fray, Louisa tried to focus on that voice alone, blocking out the appeals, cries, and screams that surrounded her. The voice grew stronger, and she felt its presence, a hand gripped her shoulder as the voice called her name, willing her away from the vision in front of her.

A second voice, a second hand reached out, pulling her from the nightmare. She screamed in frustration that she could do nothing and woke to find her children on either side of her. Sweat poured from her face and blood congealed under her nails. Pain swept across her face as she came back to herself, and raising her hand to her skin she realised the blood had come from her; claw marks crossed her eyes where she had tried to stop the visions.

The children held her as she sobbed, and Margaret cleaned the blood from her face and hands. The twins exchanged worried looks, they could think of very few things that would leave her collapsed in the hallway, screaming and clawing at herself; and none of them boded well for anyone.

“The visions, they are getting worse?” asked Margaret.

“Yes, but there was something else, something before the vision started.” Louisa was reluctant to continue, but she knew there was little choice, she could not hide the gravity of all of this from the children.

“I can no longer feel Malphas, it is as if he has been plucked from the world. There was pain, so much pain, I reached out to him, but there was silence. A void where his presence should have been; and then the vision returned.”

Lilith and Raven looked at each other with tears in their eyes. I hadn’t mattered how far apart their parents had been over the years, each could always feel the presence of the other. The bond between them had never faltered or changed.

“Could he have gone to the demon realm before returning home?” asked Raven, almost knowing the answer but holding onto any shred of hope.

“No, my darling, I would still feel him. He would have heard my call.” She hugged them both, “I’m afraid my loves that we may have to prepare for the worst, and if these visions are what I believe them to be, then we may all be at risk. It is time to inform your grandfather.”

She tried to stand, only to find that she had no control over her legs, slumped to the floor it was all she could do to hold back her tears. Raven lifted her from the floor and carried her to her room.

“I think perhaps you should rest first mother.”

Louisa smiled weakly and allowed the children to put her to bed, she hadn't felt this helpless since she first woke at the Phantomhive estate and saw their father for the first time. The memory overwhelmed her, and her tears flowed freely then. The children laid either side of her, vigilant in case the visions should return as she slept. Margaret dosed in the chair, watching over her and turning the events over in her mind, desperately looking for an explanation that did not end with Malphas’ death.