The After House by Michael Phillip Cash

Author:Michael Phillip Cash
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Horror, Paranormal, Romance, Teen & Young Adult, Ghosts, Genre Fiction, Literature & Fiction
Publisher: Red Feather Publishing
Published: 2014-10-11T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

The small church was just a little larger than her own studio. The ceiling arched upward toward a vaulted roof. Hugh explained that it was built in the Greek Revival style, which meant nothing to Remy. All she noticed was that the walls were whitewashed a shabby chic, and the interior was rather plain. Each wall was taken up with rows of locally made furniture.

Six or eight display cases took the place of the pews. They were staggered, placed in a chevron style, so that you saw a little bit of each artifact across the room. Folk art pictures of locals, their faces frozen in time, stared back from the top portion of the tall walls. Remy blew on her hands while Hugh checked his thermostat.

“It’s an old building, but I promise you’ll be warm in a minute,” he said. “I don’t know why it’s so cold.”

“Why?” Remy looked up at him.

“Why is it so cold, or why am I mayor?” Hugh shrugged. “I’m a trust fund baby. Do you know what that means? Ah, I see that you don’t. There are generations of money, seven in fact, put away for my use. I refused to go into banking like my father and his father before that.”

He pulled out a folding chair for her. “I love history. Any history. So I bought this church. They were going to turn it into a clothing store, so I purchased all these artifacts, and voila.” He snapped his long fingers. “I turned it into a museum. I’m a major contributor. The town was having an election and asked me to run.” Hugh had the grace to blush. “I never expected to win,” he said, sounding faintly embarrassed.

“Mayor Matthews.” Remy curtsied.

“Just Hugh, ma’am.” He leaned against a display case. “Can’t I get you something to drink?”

“Please.” Remy placed her palms on her flat stomach. “Any more, and I’ll float away.” She turned to the door as if to leave. “What’s taking them so long?” She bit her lower lip. She walked down the aisle, rubbing her hands against her arms. “Is this where the pulpit was?” she called back to him.

Hugh nodded with a smile. “The left side.”

Remy strolled closer, and a chill danced up her spine. Cool air eddied in a tiny whirlpool, making her shiver. She looked back at Hugh. “You have a draft here.”

He strolled toward her, feeling the temperature drop significantly. “That’s strange. I never noticed it before.” He looked up for a hole in the vaulted roof, then walked over to the radiator, placing his hand on the return. “Come closer to the heat.”

“Said the spider to the fly,” she thought. Then she wondered where that had come from. Something buzzed around her, and her vision blurred for a moment. She brushed it away. When she placed her foot down, a feeling of lassitude enveloped her. Hugh motioned for her to come closer, holding out another chair, but she couldn’t move. Her feet felt glued to the floor.

* * *

Eli watched the younger man, his face grim.

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