The Moonshawl: A Wraeththu Mythos Novel Read Free Page B

the stairwell might
otherwise have held.
    I’d been expecting rather austere
accommodation, but was pleasantly surprised when Rinawne opened the heavy
wooden door upon the first room. A breath of warm air came out, scented with
honeysuckle, which must emanate from a shallow brass bowl of dried flowers on
the dresser. The rather dank, chill atmosphere of the stairway disappeared
entirely. The floor was of tawny polished wood, as were the table and chairs,
and the shelves of the large dresser were stacked with crockery. An immense
cooking range dominated one part of the room, and three of the long, arched
windows looked out upon the landscape. I could see a farm we had not passed,
since we’d followed a path through the forest. ‘There you will get your milk,
cheese and eggs,’ Rinawne said, following my gaze. ‘And meat if you want it.
Choose yourself a chicken and it will be delivered, plucked and gutted, to your
door in time for dinner. Have it charged to Wyva’s account.’ He grinned. ‘Let’s
not unpack your stuff yet. Have a look at the rest of the place, then I’ll
leave you to settle in.’
    He left the room and bounded up
the stairs two at time. I followed. The next room was the living room, although
Rinawne told me that in his experience people who’d stayed here usually chose
the kitchen as the room in which they spent most time. However, this room was
beautiful to me. The walls were a dark, muted mulberry colour, and the
furniture and ornaments were Oriental in style, also of dark reds and golds.
The floor was a mass of thick patterned rugs, and heavy indigo-coloured drapes
hung at the long windows. ‘This is amazing,’ I said, ‘more than I expected.’
    ‘Some hara find it a bit much,’
Rinawne said, ‘a bit heavy. It’s not to my taste really.’
    ‘Well, it’s entirely to mine,’ I
said. ‘I think I’ll be very comfortable here.’
    ‘Let’s show you the rest, then.’
    The next storey housed the
bathroom. This had a floor of black and white tiles and an immense snowy bath
that stood upon gilded, elegantly-clawed feet. The washbasin was similarly huge
and along the walls brass lion heads held in their jaws an array of thick
golden yellow towels. The toilet was more like a throne, as it was surrounded
by a wooden alcove. There were carved arms where I might rest my own. ‘Whoever
built and furnished this place liked luxury,’ I said, running my hand over the
carvings above the toilet; two gargoyles and a griffon posed to gaze down upon
whoever sat there.
    ‘Luxury or excess,’ Rinawne
said. ‘Most of the place is the same as it’s been for a very long time. Wyva
keeps it cared for.’
    ‘It must have meant something to
his... family, then.’
    Rinawne nodded. ‘Heritage hasn’t
gone away in this part of the world. You don’t find it often, but Wyva’s family
don’t see themselves as that far apart from their earlier human ancestors. They
merely underwent a change , then everything carried on as before. Well,
nearly everything. Come, let’s look at the main bedroom.’
    As I turned to leave, a shiver
went through me and I looked back quickly. An image went through my head of
clocks, immense clocks. I saw a brief flash before my mind’s eye of this room
and it was not a bathroom. The floor was still of black and white tiles, but it
was mostly empty. I was aware of presences I could not see, or rather could not
focus upon. ‘This wasn’t always just a bathroom,’ I blurted out.
    Rinawne came back to me as he’d
already gone partway up the stairs to the next floor. ‘What do you mean?’
    I laughed, somewhat shakily.
‘Forgive me, I just had an impression, that’s all. I have a feeling this room
was used... in some way... for ritual.’
    ‘Really?’ Rinawne didn’t sound
convinced. ‘Well, I suppose you must pick things like that up, although I’d
always believed this place to be only a folly, in every sense. But then it is
very old.’
    ‘It was probably nothing,’