The words in the diary were chilling. It said: "I know what witchcraft is now. My aunt tried to heal me with herbs, but she could only fix my body. Inside, I am broken. I loved a man who fooled me, and now I will not let the Nightfall family live in peace. They touched the wrong woman. Now, it is my turn to play."
The next pages were blank. I looked at my friend Ruby; she looked very scared. Jax was angry. He kicked the floor and said, "We have the diary, but we forgot the journal upstairs! We can't solve the mystery without it."
Ruby shook her head. "It's too dangerous to go back now, Jax. The house feels strange tonight."
Suddenly, Uncle Charlie woke up. He looked tired but okay. He stood up and said, "Jax and I will go get the journal. Ruby, you stay here and protect Theo." They left the room and walked into the dark hallway.
A few minutes later, we heard a loud scream. It was Jax! My heart raced. "I'm okay!" he shouted from upstairs. I felt a little better, but I was still nervous. Finally, they came back down with the journal. But as soon as they entered the room, the air turned ice-cold.
Something was moving in the shadows. We looked up and saw something crawling on the ceiling. Then—BOOM! The lights went out. In the dim moonlight, a cold hand grabbed my feet. I was dragged across the floor. I saw Jax, Charlie, and Ruby being dragged away too. Everything went black.
The Vision of the Past
I woke up in a dark, smelly room. When I stood up, I saw a woman standing right in front of me. She had a scary, wide smile and was staring at nothing. I jumped back and bumped into another woman. She had the same creepy smile. Soon, I was surrounded by many women. They moved closer and closer until I couldn't breathe. I fainted.
When I woke up again, I was in a familiar room in the manor. Jax and Uncle Charlie were standing in front of me, but they weren't moving. They were frozen like statues. In the middle of the room, a book was floating in the air, glowing with a strange light.
"Ruby?" I called out. She wasn't there. I tried to grab the glowing book, but an invisible force threw me across the room.
I ran to the window and saw Ruby outside. I rushed out to meet her. When I touched her shoulder, she shushed me and pulled me into the shadows. We looked toward the yard. A woman was tied to a wooden pole. People were putting logs of wood at her feet. They were going to burn her.
"We have to help her!" I cried. I ran toward the crowd, but when I tried to touch someone, my hand went right through them.
"Theo, stop," Ruby said. "We are out of our bodies. We are like ghosts. We are only watching the past. We cannot change anything."
I looked at the woman on the pole. "It's Carla," I whispered. Ruby nodded.
We walked closer. We saw a man named Silas standing nearby. He looked like he was standing, but his eyes were closed. He was unconscious, and a guard was holding him up. Then I saw Victor. He was shaking with fear. He was looking at a man on a platform: Arthur Nightfall.
Arthur had a mean grin on his face. He looked happy to see Carla suffering. Victor whispered, "Please, sir, don't do this." But Arthur ignored him. He ordered the guards to light the fire.
Suddenly, a storm started. Strong wind blew and heavy rain fell. The rain began to put out the fire. Arthur was angry. He went inside the house with his guards. They dragged Victor away and carried Silas inside.
Ruby and I followed them into the house. We saw the guards tie Silas to a bed and lock Victor in a room. We found Arthur in his office. He was screaming and throwing chairs. He was furious that the rain stopped the execution.
He told his assistant, "Leave her outside in the rain! Do not let her back in. As soon as the rain stops, burn her until she is ash." Then he stormed off to his bedroom.
A little while later, I saw the head maid sneaking around. She went outside and met a girl named Angelin. The maid told the guards to leave. While the guards were gone, Angelin ran to Carla and cut the ropes. She was saving her!
Ruby and I watched as they disappeared into the dark woods.