Crow Hall (3 page)

“And art,” said Mr Blood. “The statues. The painting. This is no ghost. It may be the house itself that is doing this.”

“The letter and the painting were both signed C.H.” Mary said.

“I've been a fool!” Mr Blood said. “C. H. must stand for Crow Hall! It is the house itself that is the evil here.”

Mr Blood grabbed Mary by the hand and they hurried to the stairs.

 

“We need to get to the top,” he said. “A creature with wings – it would live at the top!”

They ran up as fast as they could up the stairs, gripping their spears.

They raced from one room to the next until they came to the end of the corridor. In front of them was a huge mirror. Mr Blood ran his hand around the mirror frame. Mary looked in the mirror and saw something coming, behind them.

 

“Look out!” cried Mary. The two stone crows were flying through the air towards them. Mr Blood raised his spear and Mary threw herself to the floor. As she fell, the rope that tied her to Mr Blood pulled him over too.

The crows screeched overhead and smashed into the mirror. Glass and stone pieces tumbled to the floor and then the corridor was silent again.

In place of the broken mirror, they now saw a set of narrow stairs.

Mr Blood led the way up to a door at the top of the stairs. He opened it and they both stepped through into a large, cold room.

Edgar lay on a slab of stone in the middle of the room. He wasn't moving.

A huge crow sat on his chest. Blood dripped from its beak. There were wounds to Edgar's neck. The screech of the crow grew louder and louder.

Mr Blood and Mary dropped their spears and fell to their knees, covering their ears to block out the evil sound. The crow opened its beak wider and wider. Mary felt that the screeching sound was drilling right into her brain.

She reached down for her spear. The crow's great, black eyes seemed to grow wider. Mary hurled the spear.

It flew at the crow's open beak and went down its throat. The screech stopped at once.

The candles blew out and the sound of wings came back. Mary felt feathers on her face. She screamed until the sound of wings stopped.

Mr Blood lit his candle and Mary held her breath.

The floor was covered in black feathers and black blood. The crow was dead. And Edgar was slowly sitting up.

“Why did the house send you the letter?” asked Mary as they walked away from Crow Hall.

“I fear it had evil plans. It wanted more victims,” said Mr Blood.

“And it nearly had one,” said Edgar rubbing his neck.

“But how can a house become evil?” asked Mary.

“Sometimes, when terrible evil has taken place in a house, the house itself becomes a force for evil,” said Mr Blood.

“So the crows were just the form the evil took?” asked Mary.

“You are wise,” said Mr Blood smiling at her. “And you are brave,” he said to Edgar. Edgar gave a broad grin.

 

First published 2015 by

A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP

www.bloomsbury.com

Bloomsbury is a registered trademark of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Copyright © A & C Black 2015

Text copyright © Benjamin Hulme-Cross 2015

Illustrations © Nelson Evergreen 2015

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers

A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-4729-0816-2

ePub: 978-1-4729-0817-9

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