Free The Haunting of Blackwood House by Darcy Coates Page A

room and quickly located a narrow door hidden behind the couch, which blended into the room so well that she had completely overlooked it during her exploration earlier that evening. She pulled the door open and coughed as disturbed dust billowed out.
    Neil followed, a pained look scrunching his face. “Hey, do you think we could maybe save going down the creepy stairs for later? Sometime when it’s not, you know, midnight?”
    “No.” Mara angled her torch’s beam at the stone steps and walls. It was a narrow stairwell—it would have to be travelled single file—but unlike the rest of the house, it was free of spiderwebs. The air that came from inside was almost arctic cold. “I’ve never lived in a house with a basement before. I want to see what it’s like.”
    Neil grimaced.
    “C’mon. We can turn it into a fun game—What’s Scarier, The Basement Or The Attic?”
    Neil’s grimace intensified.
    “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.” Mara began descending the stairs. She hadn’t taken three paces before Neil’s footsteps began following hers.
    The stairs continued deep below the house. When the floor finally levelled out, Mara was shivering and her breaths plumed in the frigid air. She turned in a circle and panned her light across the room.
    It was a disappointment. Instead of extending the length of the house as she’d hoped, the basement was no larger than the bedroom they were camping in. It was completely bare save for a thick layer of dust and stains on one of the walls.
    “A pipe must’ve burst,” Mara muttered as she ran her fingers over the dark-red blot that ran down the stones. “We’ll have to get that looked at.”
    “Is it just me, or is this room way colder than it should be?” Neil had his arms crossed over his chest and drew shallow breaths. “It’s underground, so it really should be insulated against temperature fluctuations.”
    “The stones probably trap the cold.” Mara scanned the room a final time and sighed. “Well, it’s not very exciting, but at least now I can say I have a basement. Ready to go someplace warmer?”
    “Please.”

CHAPTER TWELVE: Ghosts

    Mara lay in her sleeping bag and held her hands towards the gas heater as she listened to Neil brush his teeth. Their exploration of the house had eaten up a lot of time, and Mara’s phone said it was nearly midnight. And its battery was low. Without electricity, it would be dead by morning.
    She’d been watching her phone’s status throughout the evening. Two-thirds of the time, it displayed no signal; for the other third, either one or two bars appeared. That was better than she’d anticipated. Contact with the outside world would be limited but not quite nonexistent.
    Neil turned the tap off, and his footsteps shuffled down the hallway. He appeared in the doorway and paused there, smiling at Mara.
    “What?” she asked.
    “You look really cute.” He came into the room, closing the door behind himself. “I like seeing your hair down.”
    “Really? I’d wear it like this more except I’m innately lazy and ponytails are way less maintenance. Isn’t that a nice thought? Slight convenience is more important to me than your happiness.”
    Neil laughed as he got into the sleeping bag behind her. “Would you believe I like that? You’re an individual. You’re strong.” His hand found her neck and began stroking the hair away from it. “I do love you, Mara.”
    “It’s definitely reciprocated.” Her heart missed a beat as his fingers stroked the skin below her jaw.
    The heater’s glow warmed Mara’s exposed skin, and the sleeping bag was unexpectedly comfortable with the exercise mats underneath it. She was feeling drowsy when Neil spoke.
    “Can I ask you something personal?”
    “What level of personal are we talking about?” she mumbled. “I don’t mind discussing my periods in graphic detail, but I’m probably going to stay quiet about the jar of fingernail clippings I carry