Chapter 1 - A Curse, A Ghost and Real Estate

Amelia Woodheart made her way to the greenish brown door marked 3C, sweaty from climbing all those stairs and freaked out on how sticky the floor had been along the corridor. Still, she tried to calm herself, this was only one Friday afternoon that she had to sacrifice. Heck she made plans with her besties for next Friday night to make up for it. If things go well today, that is. She hesitated to knock on those doors, she couldn't see a doorbell and judging by the condition of the rest of the building, she wasn't sure she wanted to touch anything with her bare hands. How can a third floor corridor smell so strongly of piss!

But above all, she wasn't sure what she would meet when those doors opened. Her contact cautioned her to expect a mixed bag. Her stalking online only showed her the vampire and she looked almost normal!

Her left hand clutched her purse tighter and raised it to make the noise, however the object barely touched the door when it was flung open and she was greeted by...

A pale young woman with curly black hair partially covered by an oversized polka dotted hat. Her rosy cheeks were such a contrast to the rest of her colourless face, that it looked unnatural. Amelia admitted that it was a beautiful shade of blush, just the application needed some finesse. Her eyes darted down to look at the rest of this stranger, already intrigued. Her black and white dress matched the aesthetic of the hat, if not its size and was oh so frilly at the bottom. All in all she looked like a life size doll instead of a real life person.

Yet the strangest thing about this otherworldly stranger must have been the cookie tray she was holding.

"Hi you must be Ms.Woodheart! Care for a cookie? It's real chocolate chip! None of that raisin bullshit!"

In her awe, her hand automatically reached for the top cookie of that pile as she was let in by the woman who simply introduced herself as Charlotte. If she hadn't done her research, she would never have guessed that this strange woman was a vampire! However, Amelia thought she would have been confused by her appearance none the less.

"Call me Amelia," She replied.

"Did you bring the goods?" another voice called out. Amelia turned to look at the second woman who was wiping her hands on a kitchen towel as she walked towards them. This woman was taller than Charlotte and tan. Her shoulder length hair was still black but straight compared to the mess of curls under Charlotte's hat.

Amelia nodded and raised her arm holding the box slightly. She jerked as something snatched the box from her hand and ran away. Amelia cried out in surprise and looked down and saw a child run upto a rocking chair and sit down with the box in their lap. She couldn't figure out what the child looked like because they were wearing a coat reaching below their knee, and a thick woolly scarf of baby blue wrapped around half their face. The matching blue beanie covered the top half of their face. The little thing settled on the rocking chair and opened the lid and took out the round orange object from the inside. And lowered the scarf as they got ready to enjoy the pure deliciousness that was the carrot cake from Little Haven, the best bakery in Central Newsport. The wooden chair creaked as it began to rock gently. It was when Amelia caught a glimpse of the green skin on it's skin, that she realised that it wasn't a child!

She was seated on the beige couch surrounded by a mountain of pillows in a variety of pastel colours. And on the chairs in front of her sat the two ladies. The second short haired woman was introduced as Eden by the vampire.

"Not everyone wants a ghost when they buy a house!" Amelia continued as she reached out to grab another cookie from the tray that now laid on top of the coffee table between them. She wasn't hungry, she just needed a distraction.

"I would! If it's a chill ghost." Charlotte quipped.

"The buyers are trying to convert it to a hotel. And an exclusive upscale hotel, not a haunted tour hotel."

"Ohhh…." The two women echoed. "Let me guess, Black Stone group?"

Amelia hesitated before nodding. Black Stone hotels were exclusive and upscale. Heck the clientele was invite only and was mostly non human. So there were a lot of rumours about what they did in those hotels. Amelia was from old world money, she wasn't thrilled about being associated with the group but, the money was sooo good!

Like unbelievably good! So good that she didn't mind coming to the middle of nowhere for help on a Friday night! And they weren't even asking for repairs. Just the rickety old house and all the land that practically was worth nothing to the Woodhearts ever since people left the old oil town. Their only condition was that it should be free of squatters, supernatural or otherwise. And Amelia wanted to act fast because her's wasn't the only old abandoned mansion surrounded by considerable grounds (perfect for a golf course or whatever) in the area! So who cares about little mud on gossip blogs until the next big celebrity mistake happens. She'll look at the zeros in her check to make herself feel better.

"So you have any idea whose ghost it is? Have you ever seen the ghost yourself?" Eden asked.

"No. this might sound stupid but I have always felt her presence. And people swear they hear sounds on the top floor. Not like doors opening but the plumber said he heard someone crying upstairs. I even heard the recording." Amelia expected her audience to roll their eyes and explain how those noises are probably the wind or mice or something perfectly natural. Even though the world is what it is today and so many other creatures are out there people are still sceptical about ghosts!

Ghosts were still dubious recordings on late night channels and blurry images in someone's selfies. And notoriously shy of large crowds (with good quality recording equipment!)

Even some supernaturals didn't believe in ghosts. Well too bad none of those supernaturals were the Black Stone Group, or willing to offer her large amounts of cash for a potentially haunted old house.

Eden however only smiled and nodded for her to continue "Can you tell us what you know of the ghost, then?"

"Well! There were stories that my grandfather and parents said about the old house and my great grandfather. They said she used to be my grandfather's mistress."

"But you have to understand. He wasn't that sort of man. He only took her in because she was poor. It was a different time!" Amelia spoke quickly, raising her palms as if to defend herself from their judgement.

"Grandpa said he left her alone for the most part. Great grandfather loved my great grandmother a lot. Great grandma even wrote that in her diary."

The two women briefly looked at each other and Amelia swore she saw Eden nodding at Charlotte, who stood up from her chair and walked over to sit beside her on the couch. Charlotte grasped Amelia's hands with cookies and all. Amelia found her hand to be cold, as if she was standing directly under the AC for the past three hours but not dead for a hundred years as she expected. Her eyes darted from Charlotte's hand to her face passing the lips curled into a soft smile and settled on her brown eyes. "It's okay! We understand. Your great grandfather was probably doing something good for the poor people! It was a different time back then."

Amelia continued to stare into those eyes but she felt the weight lifting off her shoulders. Her hands relaxed and the cookie fell out crumbling on the mat but neither she or Charlotte seemed to mind.

"Exactly. Well the woman was evil! Great grandmother said she was jealous of her and angry because she miscarried. She began to plot against the family. She poisoned her son and they drove her out of the house when they found out. That woman cursed the family before she left but nothing happened for a long time so everyone sort of forgot it. Until ….." Amelia shuddered.

"My great uncle went mad and killed himself thirty years later, and they found out that the woman had died. Nothing good has happened to us, in that house ever since. Our grandfather's oil rigs dried up and his other businesses started failing. We were cursed because that bitch haunted our house. So we left and nobody's been back for at least sixty years.

"Well that explains why the Black Stones don't want a ghost. I wouldn't touch a ghost capable of toppling a profitable business, with a six foot pole!!" exclaimed Eden.

"So will you take the job! They'll send people to examine the property in two weeks and I want the ghost gone before then! I don't care what you'll do or how much you'll charge me. I want that thing out of my house!"

"Don't worry about the fee. Our charges are standard and we won't increase after we sign the contract. However …." Eden paused as she got up and walked over to the corner of the room. She pushed a pile of papers to the side of a table and picked up something. She held it up.

"If we find one of these. It's ours!" Amelia looked at what she was holding. It was a wooden cube, and the side facing her was carved with a mix of numbers and shapes. Every single symbol was in a separate square. Amelia guessed it was a puzzle.

"What is it? Is it worth something?" Would the Black Stone be interested in it? Amelia thought quietly.

Eden shook her head. "Absolutely nothing. You can have it evaluated if you want though. I keep them for decoration." She pointed to the floor where a number of similar boxes were stacked against the wall in the shape of a pyramid. Amelia thought for a moment.

"Fine. You can have them. Just get rid of that ghost. So we have a deal?" Amelia got up. Her mood is significantly getting better already and she was sure it wasn't just the cookies.

The woman however raised a hand. "Slow down. First we need his judgement" she pointed at the creature in the rocking chair. Amelia's eyes widened when she saw that it had finished the entire cake during the one hour they spent talking about the job. The rocking chair stopped abruptly and a thumb was raised.

"Well. Congratulations Ms.Woodheart. By this time next week your house will be ghost free! Text us the location we'll get there first thing tomorrow morning. And can I also take a look at your great grandmother's diary. Don't worry we guarantee your privacy. It'll be on the contract"

...........................................

"Boy she was in a hurry to leave" Charlotte remarked as she gathered the plate of cookies and walked to the counter.

"George has that effect on people. At least she wasn't rude to his face" Eden replied, she was busy looking online for legends about the Woodheart family and their mansion. So far she came up empty. She tried a combination of "woodheart ghost spooky!", "creepy ghost curse family", "vengeful mistress out for Woodheart blood" and the search engine came up empty. There were plenty of related, "you'll never guess what we found on the woods" and "spooky sounds that'll make your heart stop (don't watch if you have a weak heart #real #storytime #not_sponsored) but nothing regarding the Woodheart ghost.

"Not that he'd notice. George! You were pigging out on that cake. You didn't say a word"

"Less talk more cake!" the creature rasped. He had abandoned the coat, the scarf and the beanie. The pointy ears and teeth and his green skin was out on the display.

"George? You want the chicken now or are you full?"

The little goblin stroked his belly burping in the process. "Too full. Ask in thirty minutes"

Charlotte rolled her eyes as she closed the lid of the cookie jar and wiped the plate of crumbs.

"Eddie. Are we really going to do an exorcism? You know what happened the last time we tried."

Eden picked up the forms Amelia signed before she left. The top clause acknowledged that the job did not involve an active case being investigated by the police. The second page summarised the nature of the job, the expected duration and their rate per hour spent on the job.

"There might not even be a ghost. We just have to go there and put on a show and be there when Black Stone sends their experts. We'll balance out the energy and be done. Three hours max."

"How can you be so sure? What about her crazy uncle and suicide?"

"Most families have one crazy uncle and at least one suicide! Mental health wasn't a big deal back then. It's normal"

"What about the business failures?"

"They ran out of oil. Come on, do you think a pissed off ghost clogged the pipes of all their oil rigs? They run out of oil all the time. And look.." she turned the screen on her computer towards Charlotte. "Amelia's great grandpa didn't have just one charity mistress." she said pointing at an article. "He must have spent some money on his philanthropy"

Charlotte leaned against the counter and looked up at the string of light behind the couch. Her latest attempt to modernize the apartment and bring it some characteristic. It made for a cute background for her photos, especially against the dress she was wearing right now.

"You must be right. I would hate being a ghost for centuries, stuck in the same place. Haunting the same people and wearing the same clothes. Never in season." Charlotte shuddered

"Of course you'd think that. You change your name every five years."

"Hey! When you have all eternity you need variety."

"Shut up and eat your soup!" Eden said, getting up from her chair. Charlotte eyed the red coloured liquid in the bowl. "It's beetroot soup with oats." Eden replied.

"Swear on my dead mother Eddie?"

Eden rolled her eyes, "I have to get out George's chicken to thaw. He hates half frozen chicken."

"I hate half frozen chicken." echoed the voice from the rocking chair.

On her way she passed by a locked door. "Pack up. We are going ghost hunting tomorrow!" Eden got a growl in reply. George jumped off the rocking chair and ran to the couch, burying himself beneath the pillows. The pillows began shaking as the poor goblin shivered in fear.

"You should really come. Black Stones will be there in a week and you should know it's the fifth property they are buying in a twenty mile radius."

"Fuck off!"