Colton Manor by Francene Carroll

said reluctantly, “but I’m warning you, I don’t have much of an appetite this morning.”
    Damien was right, the breakfast was delicious, and within ten minutes Ursula had cleaned up her plate.
    “If that’s you without an appetite, I’d hate to see what you can do when you’re really hungry.” Ursula gave him a playful swat and stood up to make another pot of coffee. As she refilled their mugs she told him about the events of the previous day.
    “I remember you and Bonnie and Doctor Matthews looking down on me in bed, but the entire day before that is a blank. That’s some bug, I’ve never had anything like it before.” Ursula decided not to tell him about her own strange experiences during the night because there was no point worrying him, and he’d probably just tell her she was imagining things anyway. By the time she’d finished her third cup of coffee she was feeling alive again and she decided to tackle some work in her studio.  At her insistence Damien retired to his room to get some rest before the doctor arrived to check on him.
    Ursula was idly flipping through the drawings and half-finished paintings in her sketchbook when she came across a picture that caused her to stop suddenly. There were three hands painted in yellow on the page surrounded by red splashes of paint that looked a little like blood. Inside each hand was the number six. She recognised her own style of painting instantly but she had absolutely no memory of doing it.
    As she continued to stare at it, it suddenly occurred to her that six written three times was 666, the number of the beast. It was the number used in occult rituals to invoke Satan. She struggled to keep a lid on her growing panic as she came up with possible reasons why she couldn’t remember doing the painting. Had she been walking in her sleep and painted the strange images as a result of what she’d dug up at the library concerning Edward Stanton and the occult? If she was also walking in her sleep maybe she really was coming down with a fever like Damien.
    After she’d recovered a little from her shock Ursula decided that it would be a good idea for her to have a lie down too, and when the doctor arrived to check on Damien she’d ask him to have a look at her. Still in a daze she walked into her bedroom, but then recoiled when she saw what was on the bed. It was a board with the letters of the alphabet carved into two lines. On the left and right were the words Yes and No, while on the bottom were numbers from one to ten, and underneath this line was the word goodbye. There was no doubt it was an Ouija board.
    Damien heard her scream and he came into the room. To her amazement he began to laugh.
    ‘I’m sorry, Ursula. When I found that this morning I just couldn’t resist playing a joke on you. I didn’t expect you to get such a scare.”
    “How could you do that, Damien? It was really mean, especially after the fright you’ve given me over the last couple of days.” She sat down on the bed and pushed the board onto the floor.
    “Hey, are you okay?” He sat down next to her on the bed, his laughter turning into concern . “I really didn’t think you would care, but you’re right, it was stupid of me.”
    “Where did you find it?”
    “It was in the old fireplace in the kitchen. I found it when I was making breakfast. I’ve heard stories about kids breaking in here to conduct séances and other nonsense. People really are stupid about these things.” Ursula had been on the verge of telling him about her painting and what she’d discovered at the library, but his last words turned her off. She didn’t need any more ridicule from him right now when she was still trying to come to make sense of it all. She decided to wait till Bonnie arrived because she would take her concerns seriously.
    “I’m not feeling that well myself right now, so I think I’ll have a lie d own too,” she said, hoping Damien would leave her alone for a while. He put