Sarah groaned as she heard the grinding noise coming from the engine of her rented car. She wasn’t a mechanic but even she instinctively knew that the car didn’t sound right. Glancing down at the dash she passed her eyes over the dials, noticing all the needles pointing in the right directions, but as the ominous noise continued she knew it would be detrimental to the old machine.

Peering out the windscreen into the dense blackness, which her inadequate headlights barely lit, she hit the brakes as she noticed a dark shadowy figure lunge across the road in front of the car.

‘Damn!’

Wrenching on the steering wheel she cursed as she barely missed the creature, the action causing her car to careen off the road into a ditch where the old engine made one last grinding noise before conking out completely. She turned the key in the ignition again, only to have the vehicle mock her efforts with its silence.

Looking out all the gloomy windows Sarah couldn’t see anything nearby in the darkness; no houses, people or even any streetlights. She had somehow ended up on this road in the middle of nowhere after leaving her sister’s wedding earlier that night and was supposed to be back at her hotel to rest before her early flight the next day. Instead, she had no idea where she was.

She had travelled this road a few days ago to meet her sister. The area had looked very different then and she knew it wasn’t just because the sun had been shining. The car wasn’t equipped with a GPS so somewhere she must have made a wrong turn. Now she had no way of knowing where the hotel was or even how she was going to get the car to start again.

Picking up her mobile phone off the passenger seat Sarah shook it in a foolish attempt to make it work, after noticing that there was still no reception. This wasn’t the first time she had cursed her mobile provider during the lonely journey as she hadn’t been able to use her brand new phone since she had first realised she was lost, even though the salesperson had assured her it was the best and not a complete waste of money. Throwing the useless phone back beside her she wondered who she would even call. Her sister had already left for her honeymoon and she didn’t know anyone else to rescue her.

Sarah realised that if she was going to get out of this mess she would have to work out how to fix the car herself. Swallowing inane humour at the thought she carefully checked through all the car's windows, making sure that the large creature she had almost hit was gone. Deep down she knew she had never seen anything like that creature before. Still, in the inky darkness, she wasn’t about to trust her limited vision and overactive imagination with the brief glimpse she had caught of the animal before she’d crashed.

Holding her breath and gripping tightly to the flashlight she had removed from the glove box of the car Sarah scanned the darkness carefully before opening the driver’s door, wincing at the squeak from the old hinges in the still night. Stepping out awkwardly in her high-heeled boots onto the uneven road surface she made sure to leave the door open wide in case she needed a quick hiding place. Looking both ways down the road the thin beam from the flashlight confirmed that there were no signs of life nearby to break up the darkness. Sighing she leant back into the car to pop the lever for the bonnet.

Ignoring the cool breeze that was threading through her bridesmaid dress, she shone the beam of light over the engine knowing with a single look that she was stuck there. She knew nothing about the hoses and wires coming off the deformed hunk of metal in front of her and realised that she was probably going to have to spend the night in the car. Straightening and reaching to close the bonnet suddenly Sarah stood still, the fine hairs on the back of her neck rising in the cool air as some sixth sense told her that she was no longer on her own in the gloom. There was something out there in the darkness watching her. Her skin tingled with the feeling while she listened for any sound which might alert her to the danger.

Turning slowly she swung the torch beam, illuminating a small area around herself, but it did nothing to the depths of the night. She couldn’t see anything ominous nearby but she knew something was out there. Her heart was beating so hard she could feel it in every nerve in her body, every one of her muscles reacted by both tensing and trembling at the same time. She wanted to turn and get back into the car, and willed her unresponsive limbs to help her save herself, but the ancient fear held her tightly to the spot.

Just then she heard a welcome sound break through the silence of the night. She had never felt so relieved to hear a car before and her legs buckled, slamming her knee against the front bumper of her car as a dark shiny vehicle pulled up next to hers on the road. Worried about who the driver might be, but knowing it would have to be better than being left there with whatever wild animal was in the darkness, Sarah forced her wobbly legs to move. She leant towards the passenger window as it was being lowered. Peering into the dim interior to see the driver she was pleased that he at least looked normal by the little she could make out by the lights of the dash.

‘Are you alright?’ his voice sounded oddly calm and composed in the night. It was so different to how Sarah felt at that moment.

There was something in his tone that made her think he didn’t care about the answer. It was almost like he was bored but the intensity in his expression, what little she could see by the pale lights, showed otherwise. The man had briefly turned and looked at her before peering out through the front windscreen of his car much as Sarah had done earlier in her own. She wondered fearfully if he too had seen something in the darkness.

‘I’m fine thanks,’ Sarah spoke, hoping her voice, which felt like it was forcing its way up her throat with shards of glass attached, sounded normal to him at least. He was her only hope of avoiding the creature out there in the dark and she didn’t want to scare him off by acting crazy. Maybe he would put her shaking voice down to the cold breeze which was quite successfully freezing her through her clothing, rather than to her fear. ‘But my car broke down and I can’t get any reception on my phone.’

She watched as he nodded as if this didn’t surprise him and she wondered if he lived in the area. Her first impression of the man and the few words he had spoken was that he was a tourist like herself. There was something about him that seemed different to the locals she had met on her trip and his accent was hard to place.

‘I can give you a lift if you’d like.’

‘Oh no it’s fine,’ she replied quickly, carefully looking at his face which was still turned towards the road in front of him. It was awkward having a conversation with someone that wouldn’t even look at you and she wondered if she was getting herself into more trouble. She backed up slightly, not liking the idea of getting into the car with a strange person. There was something in his manner that made her uncomfortable. ‘If I could just use your phone I could ring for some help.’

‘My phone doesn’t work here either.’ He finally turned to look at her and his face wore an open expression at odds with his disjointed sentences.

Strangely, she felt a small amount of trust developing towards him at the look. It was a disconcerting feeling, as the trust felt out of sync and almost foreign to her. She had never been the type of person to trust another instantly, especially one she had met under such strange circumstances. Rubbing her arms she wasn’t sure if the shiver she had felt was from the cold or the bewildering events of the night.

He continued talking slowly as if picking his words carefully, his gaze compelling. ‘Look, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m just offering you a lift.’

Still, she hesitated, looking out at the world-consuming darkness before turning her attention back to the driver.

He sighed before speaking again, ‘There are worse things out there than me and if you don’t get into my car quickly you probably won’t survive the night.’

Sarah took a step away from the dark car thinking he was threatening her. He didn’t move in his seat, hands on the steering wheel as if ready to drive off hurriedly, while he continued to look at her with that odd mixture of expressions that both encouraged her to trust him and urged her to run in the opposite direction. His tone hadn’t sounded threatening, it was his actions and words that seemed at odds with each other. It was almost as if he wanted to reassure her while trying to avoid the whole situation.

Looking back over her shoulder into the darkness she remembered the feeling of being watched and the fear that had gripped her. Without another thought she opened the passenger side door to his car and slid into the seat, hoping she had made the right choice.

The driver of the sleek-looking car didn’t say a word as he smoothly drove away from her beaten-up, old, rental. If he’d sped away from her car a bit too quickly and was driving a little too fast Sarah wasn’t about to complain, as she fumbled to clasp her seatbelt. Calming herself with the breathing exercises she had read to help with anxiety she closed her eyes to help settle her racing pulse. The crazy events of the night flashed across the inside of her closed lids and she realised she wouldn’t be able to calm down completely until she was safely back at her hotel. As the driver revved through the gears of the expensive car she remembered that her crazy night wasn’t over yet, and she wondered if she was safe now.

Hearing a rattle coming from somewhere near the back of the car she quickly looked around and was surprised to see the back seat was full of unusual items. In the darkness, her gaze took in an odd-looking box and some wooden crates of various sizes before she made out a birdcage and a large bag. Curiously she peered into a large box filled with what looked like black material, chains and locks, metal blades as well as other items that she didn’t want to look at too closely.

‘Are you moving?’ the words were out of her mouth in a rush as she turned back to face the man sitting next to her.

He looked surprised by the question like she had pulled him out of his reverie, before he followed her glance into the back seat and laughed before answering. ‘No, those are my tools of the trade, so to speak.’

Sarah knew the confusion she felt showed on her face as she continued to look at him, hoping to see some glimmer of a joke in his words. His expression gave her no reason to doubt that he was serious. She turned back to look again at the strange items - she was sure she had noticed handcuffs - wondering what sort of job would require those “tools”.

‘What, are you a magician or something?’ she asked with a snort as she settled the right way in her seat and looked at him again. ‘Oh, you are a magician! I remember seeing you on TV,’ she couldn’t hide the edge of contempt in her voice towards his profession. ‘What was your name again “Incredico” or “Geronimo” or something?’

‘I prefer Tom,’ he answered with a smile, clearly unfazed by her comments. ‘I take it you aren’t a fan of magic.’

‘Tricks you mean,’ she clarified before continuing, ‘There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s entertaining and gives people an escape from everyday life.’

‘But what about real magic?’ Tom asked without expression.

‘There’s no such thing as real magic,’ she laughed.

Leaning her head back on the headrest Sarah relaxed, feeling pleased for quickly solving the mystery of the imposing man next to her. Tom had seemed odd to her at first but knowing what he did for a living she would expect him to be a bit different. Not that she had met a professional magician before, but she surmised that the way he spoke and his mannerisms must be a clever cover and all part of his performance. Remembering his comment about magic Sarah realised it would be part of his job to try to convince people magic was real so his act would seem more genuine. She wasn’t about to fall for his tricks.

As he drove Tom wondered what he was going to do with her. He should have left her on the side of the road but he knew the dangers out there for someone like her. Still, he couldn’t take her with him, if he did she would be in more danger than he was sure she would have faced before in her life. He glanced over at her briefly, seeing the small smile playing across her features as she talked about the incident with her car, and nodded as if he were listening. She believed the worst of the dangers were behind her now, left on the side of the road with her car, but he knew better.

He wished he could drive on with her, take her to a hotel, find something more suitable for her or take her back to wherever she had come from. Sighing he knew that there was no way for him to avoid continuing his journey. He had resisted too long while waiting for her to make up her mind to join him and he had felt the effects. It had drained him. He was confused and weary and every moment spent away from his enforced path was a torture he didn’t have the strength left to bear. He had no choice but to bring her along.

Tom chewed on the problem uselessly, knowing there wasn’t an alternative. He had considered and dismissed all other options the moment he had seen her innocently standing next to the broken-down car, yet he still worked it around in his mind. Making a noncommittal reply to her question when he heard her pause he realised he had no idea what he was answering. He might have just agreed to give her a million dollars. Thinking he probably would too if it could get them both out of this situation he continued to let himself be compelled forward, knowing that things were not going to be pleasant for the woman who had innocently placed her faith in him.

Having no choice was little comfort. Hating himself for what he had to do, Tom started turning into the partially concealed driveway of the place he had been travelling to before rescuing the woman.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

‘Oh, is there a hotel here?’

He heard her naïve comment as the large imposing building came into view.

‘This is where I’m staying. You might as well stay the night too and we can work out something with your car in the morning.’

He wondered if his voice sounded as hollow to her as it did to him.

Pulling up the car near the door of the building Tom felt the impulse calm inside him, he was now where he was supposed to be. He gritted his teeth against the sensation and took a deep breath before moving to open his door.

‘You know you haven’t even asked my name. It’s Sarah.’

Tom looked back at her and nodded briefly. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know her name as it would probably just make the guilt worse. Looking up at the old, sprawling, dark mansion while exiting his car he knew that even one night in the place could be the worst experience of her life; if she even survived it.

Tom removed his overnight bag from the back of the car, slinging it over his shoulder before walking around and opening the passenger side door for Sarah. He hoped the small act of gallantry would gain her trust, the trust could help. Moving towards the building he couldn’t stop feeling that he was walking her toward the gallows. He watched her inconspicuously as he followed her towards the front door, her long strides and confident posture making him wonder if she was capable of handling the night. Maybe if he was a good enough performer she wouldn’t even notice.

Sarah walked towards the hotel thinking that in the darkness of the night it looked like something out of a horror movie. The dark façade of the building looked eerie against the night and only a small light above the door illuminated their path. As she opened the front door and moved into the building she felt her first assessment of the place was still appropriate. The dim lighting and the old-world décor of the place made it feel that upon entering she had travelled back in time, and maybe even to another world entirely.

Remembering the creature outside in the dark and the prospect of spending the night in her car, she pushed aside any misgivings and told herself that the hotel would do for one night. Looking around she surveyed the imposing old furniture and thick curtains. The large room she had found herself in looked impressive, but it wasn’t her style of decorating. The heavy red and black décor was depressing under the dim lighting of the large chandelier that was unable to reach into the far corners.

Noticing the fireplace against one wall Sarah thought that it could have helped to make the place seem a bit more inviting but the dark ashes in the hearth contributed to the gloomy feel. Seeing the dust on the furniture she hoped her room would be clean. Still, as a favourite pastime of hers was going through boxes of old books to see what treasures might be hiding inside she was sure she could handle a bit of dust.

She sensed Tom’s hand behind her, close to her back but not touching, and allowed him to guide her towards the large wooden desk sitting inconspicuously near one wall and the elderly woman sitting behind it. They were the only three people in the otherwise deserted room. As she approached she noticed the look of angry surprise the frail woman gave her.

The woman looked like an old-world bookkeeper with her glasses perched on the end of her nose and her hair scraped back into a tight bun on top of her head. She sat behind a large desk scattered with papers and Sarah looked around for a check-in counter. Not seeing any she realised that the woman was the receptionist and she wondered how many stars the hotel had.

Once they were standing in front of the desk, as if they were naughty children called to the principal, suddenly the old woman stood up quickly and held herself motionless. Sarah thought the action was odd in its unconscious movement but then the woman began a restless head bobbing and an almost unnoticeable waving of her body. The dated crushed-velvet dress she wore was almost mesmerising as her movements caused the material to alter between various shades of violet.

The woman turned her attention to Tom with effort, before speaking to him as if he were the only person standing in front of her. Sarah noticed he had dropped his overnight bag and instead a deck of cards had “magically” appeared in Tom’s hand. He began spinning, shuffling and cutting the deck as if unaware of his actions.

‘You made good time then,’ the old woman said gruffly. Her false teeth looked too large for her small face and made her words sound like they were rolling around her mouth like marbles.

‘Not a good night to be out late,’ Tom replied conversationally, the cards still spinning absentmindedly in his hand.

Sarah was surprised by his response. The weather outside was fine, if a bit cool, there were no clouds or rain and she didn’t think he would be one to be scared of the dark. Remembering the feeling of being watched and the beast she had nearly hit Sarah refrained from saying anything, silently agreeing that it was better to be indoors.

‘He’s not here yet,’ the woman continued, her voice dripping with concealed meaning.

The “he” in question was evidently known to both of them and there was some significance in his absence. Sarah didn’t expect to get enlightened as she saw Tom nod.

‘Do you have a spare room for my … eh … friend?’ Tom asked the lady, the look on his face intense as if conveying a message of deeper importance.

The woman returned Tom’s look with one of stone and didn’t seem inclined to answer for a moment. She had appeared restless during the short exchange and couldn’t seem to stay still, her body’s waving motion becoming more agitated and stilted as they continued to stand there. Eventually, she turned and gave Sarah one quick sweeping glance before nodding slowly.

‘Rooms aren’t full yet, they will be in a few days though. She can have the room across from yours. Might want to lock the door well.’

On that cryptic note, she passed two keys to Tom and turned away without giving Sarah another glance. Not liking her manner Sarah was about to say something but wondered if the woman was alright, her behaviour had seemed odd and she wondered if it was something medical. Tom was headed towards the sweeping stairway that led towards the upper floors, the curve of the stairs hinted at mysteries around the bend and she hoped that those mysteries would be more pleasant than the ones she had already experienced as she scurried after him, her heels and long dress making scurrying even harder.

As they climbed the ornate staircase Sarah glanced at the elaborately framed pictures they passed, wondering if they were people that had belonged to the place at some time or just something picked up to fit in with the theme of the hotel. The stairs were much like the room downstairs, with faded wallpaper and worn carpet and she wondered if the rest of the building was as old-fashioned. Approaching the top she realised that the stairs only led to the first floor, but she knew by the size of the building that there had to be more staircases to the other floors.

Surveying the first floor she was surprised by the depth of the corridor in front of her. Eventually, Tom stopped at one of the doors that looked exactly like every other door she had seen and put the old-fashioned key in the matching old lock. Sarah looked back down the hallway they had walked trying to get some bearings of where she was, looking for a landmark to signify her room as she had noticed there were no numbers on the doors. She wondered how she would ever find her room again if she left it.

‘I’ll be right across the hall if you need anything.’ Tom indicated an identical door directly across from hers. ‘Lock the door and don’t come out of your room no matter what you hear during the night, and wait for me to come and collect you in the morning.’

‘But won’t I need to come out of my room if I need you?’ Sarah was confused and a little scared by the cryptic messages. She didn’t know the area very well, having travelled down the length of the country for her sister’s wedding, but she didn’t think this was a particularly bad area full of thugs and murderers.

‘If you need me just call out loudly, I’ll hear you.’

Not feeling overly confident with this information but not wanting to continue the puzzling conversation, she entered her room but only after Tom had pressed the key firmly into her hand as if making sure she would understand the importance. Shutting the door she was careful to lock it, rattling the old handle to make sure the lock had slid into place properly before placing the key on the wooden dresser beside the door.

She looked around the room quickly, noticing the lighting was much like the room below courtesy of a dim chandelier, before making her way over to the large four-poster bed complete with thin, lacy white curtains. Shaking her head she ran her hand over the burgundy quilt cover thinking that the designer of the hotel had to try to come into a more recent century if not willing to completely embrace modern times. Sarah looked down at her dress and wondered if her sister had had a psychic moment when she had picked to have a themed wedding. She was sure she matched the old-fashioned décor beautifully with the long, silvery gown she wore.

Smiling to herself she thought that Deanne should have had her honeymoon in this hotel. She had been adamant about the authenticity of her wedding and her dress had been every inch of the Victorian era. Sarah had been glad that a simpler dress had been chosen for herself, still in the same style but lacking the full skirt and elaborateness. Still, her sister had insisted on her wearing the appropriate style of boots and accessories which was helping Sarah to feel that she had indeed travelled back in time. Although looking around her at the dark colouring and heavy furnishings she would say the hotel had more of a Gothic feel about it.

Rolling her eyes at the large Persian rug in the centre of the room Sarah walked over to the window and pulled aside the heavy curtains, noticing that they were the same shade of deep red as the quilt. The darkness outside was complete. The hotel didn’t seem to believe in outdoor lighting, except for the small globe outside the front door, and the moon was so pale that any light it gave seemed to be swallowed up before it could make an impact on the world. She smoothed the curtains back into place and decided that there was no hope of going anywhere tonight. Her rental car was dead and her mobile was still on the front passenger seat where she had left it.

Sitting down on an antique leather armchair placed at an odd angle to the window and giving her a view of nothing but the bed, she pulled off her old-fashioned boots with relief before moving to unzip the bridesmaid dress she wore. Shaking her head at her foolishness for leaving her suitcase behind in her car she carefully hung the dress in the wardrobe knowing she had nothing else to wear. She hoped she wouldn’t get too many stares the next day when she would have to wear it at breakfast. Remembering the style of the downstairs room she thought fleetingly that she might fit in better in the dress than with her normal clothing.

Turning on the small bedside lamp she was hesitant to turn off the chandelier, even though the lighting was meagre it was better than being in the dark. She hadn’t been afraid of the dark since she was a child but the feeling of being lost and alone outside with wild creatures had left her with a preference for seeing into the shadows. Taking hold of her fears she flicked the surprising modern light switch on the wall, before racing back to the scant light of the bedside and the safety it represented. Hating herself for the weakness she resolved to leave the small light on for the night and started shifting the unnecessary amount of cushions from the bed.

Sarah pulled back the heavy quilt and climbed into bed in her underwear, glad that the colder weather had convinced her to wear layers under her dress. Her sister hadn’t provided a jacket or shawl saying that she was certain it would be enough that the dress had long sleeves, and now she was more covered in her long-sleeved camisole, full slip, stockings and underwear than she would normally wear to bed at home. The heavy décor and the events of the night were helping her imagination to run towards the bizarre and she could imagine her vulnerability if she had been forced to sleep naked in the strange hotel.

Sleep didn’t come quickly to Sarah, her mind was full of the unusual circumstances she had found herself in and the cryptic messages from Tom. Lying on the strange bed in a strange room wasn’t helping either, especially when the wispy curtains around her shifted slightly in a breeze she couldn’t feel. Pushing aside the mental image of the dark creature in the night she instead focused on the happier memories of the past few days and lay there trying to imprint the picture of her sister in her mind as she had seen her earlier that day; the smiling bride.

She had been saving for months to fly to Deanne’s wedding and even then had only been able to afford the budget variety of holidays. Sarah knew she only had herself to blame for the rented old bomb of a car she had left on the side of the road that hadn’t got her back to her hotel, everyone had warned her. It had all been worth it though to see her sister so happy and excited on her wedding day. She had thought how nice it would have been if her parents had still been alive to celebrate the day with them but had tried to make up for their absence by being everything to her younger sister. Now her sister was flying off on her honeymoon and Sarah was stuck in a strange old hotel in the middle of nowhere.

As sleep slowly came to claim her turbulent mind she was sure she noticed something in the corner of her room but she was already too lethargic to focus. She thought she saw a woman, watching her silently, but her eyes were too heavy and her mind already dreaming as exhaustion overtook her heavy muscles. Sarah drifted off into a deep sleep. Any thoughts of monsters or ghosts were soon forgotten as she entered the innocence of dreams.

Sleep didn’t come quickly for Tom, but it would have helped if he was at least lying down in bed. Instead, he was pacing the room flicking through his favourite deck of cards, well-worn and comfortable in his hands, as he wondered what he was going to do with the woman across the hall. He hadn’t been exaggerating the danger when he had spoken to her, even though he knew a flimsy door lock wouldn’t protect her at least his words might make her more alert to danger. The danger he had placed her in by bringing her there.

Although he kept telling himself that he had no other choice he couldn’t help but feel responsible for her safety, there wasn’t anyone else that could help her or even would. He wondered again why she had broken down out there, or even how she had broken down out there, and couldn’t help feeling that there was something more behind the innocent scene. Tom grimaced as he continued pacing, he felt like a puppet with no clue who was pulling the strings and he hated the feeling. It frustrated him to not know why he was being played, first he had been forced to come here and now he had the safety of another to worry about.

He ran through the options, again, and once again dismissed them all immediately. Take her to a hotel, his mind screamed, but it was far too dangerous for him to travel anymore tonight and dangerous for her to be found with him. Give her his car, it went on relentlessly, but he didn’t know if she could even get back out of this realm, let alone how she got into it in the first place.

The road he had found her on and the building they were staying in was not in the human world. It was just on the edge of her world, in a hazy in-between of different realms and close enough to be found by the right people, like him, but it shouldn’t have been found by anyone like her. If he sent her out on her own he knew she could be aimlessly driving around in circles until eventually the creatures found her – and they would find her. There were too many of them travelling through the realm at the moment.

Take her back to her car and just drive away quickly, this thought was the quietest in his mind, almost the whisper of a demon sitting on his shoulder. He had to admit it had appeal. No one would know what had happened; only him. He dismissed the notion knowing it was foolish, like it or not he was stuck with her, at least for the night.

Finally, Tom stopped pacing and shook his head, he knew what he had to do but he didn’t like the idea of spying on her. Quickly pocketing his cards he closed his eyes and held out his hands, palms up as if he were holding a small ball. Whispering the words aloud he opened his eyes and focused on the space between his hands until there was a small ball between them. The ball was hazy and made up of an array of colours like a tiny rainbow or a bubble, but the colours were nameless as they weren’t found in the human world and where they were found there wasn’t anyone that could be bothered to name them. Right in the middle of the sphere surrounded by the light and fog of his making was Sarah, asleep in her bed in the other room.

Placing the ball of light down on the bedside table, Tom finally allowed himself to collapse onto his bed as well. He lay there fully clothed, exhausted from the past few days and the stress he had been under. His body ached from travelling non-stop for days, first to try to get away and then he had been caught and the compelling had begun.

He had fought it at first, tried to resist, but it had been futile and the urge hadn’t been sated until he had started moving towards this place. It had been a small victory to take his time and drive the distance, an act of rebellion that he would choose how quickly he would travel and when he would arrive. An act of rebellion that had taken its toll, his body and mind were exhausted from the constant pressure. Still, as the darkness of sleep claimed him, his last thought was of Sarah. He remembered the orb and sighed, content to know that he was at least able to keep an eye on her during the night.