Dark Spell by Gill Arbuthnott

towards them, closely followed by David. “What happened?”
    David looked around. “It’s the chimney. The chimney’s come down. You could have been killed!”
    Josh and Callie looked around them in silent bewilderment as David and Julia pulled them to their feet.
    “Let’s get out of here in case anything else goes.”
    As she was helped from the room, Callie stopped. “The cat! Where is she?”
    “It’s all right, love. She shot out as soon as we opened the bedroom door.”
    As they made their way downstairs, Callie felt her legs begin to quiver. They only carried her as far as the sofa before they gave way.
    Josh was next to her, still silent, but she could see that his hands had begun to shake. They looked at each other, faces white with plaster dust as well as fear, hair clogged with grit and wood and paint, each thinking how awful the other looked.
    “Your face is bleeding,” said Callie, and reached out to touch Josh’s cheek, her fingers coming away red.
    “It’s all right, Josh, it’s nothing much, we’ll get it cleaned up in a minute.” Both Julia and David had switched automatically to doctor mode. “Here.” David handed them each a bowl of hot water and a towel. “Wash that muck off your faces before it gets into your eyes.”
    Julia brought blankets through; both Callie and Josh were shivering with shock now.
    “Right, Josh, let’s see that cut.” David peered at the wound as he cleaned it. “It should heal okay. I don’t think it’ll leave a scar.” He put a couple of Steri-Strips on to close it. “Should be good as new in a few days. Keep these on and try not to get them wet. I’ll check it in 48 hours.” He stopped. “I sound like a doctor, don’t I? Not your friend’s dad. Sorry.”
    “That’s all right,” said Josh. It was the first time he’d spoken since the events upstairs. “It’s quite reassuring.”
    “Right. You two stay there and take it easy. You’ve had quite some fright. Julia, let’s go and have a proper look at the damage.”
    “Dad, no! It might be dangerous.”
    “Don’t worry, we’ll be careful.”
    Callie and Josh were left alone to contemplate what had just happened.
This is it
, thought Callie.
This is where Josh tells me he doesn’t want anything to do with me any more. I don’t really blame him
. She searched in vain for something to say. At her side, Josh was equally silent.
    He’s trying to think of a way to tell me he never wants to see me again. I should say something, make it easy for him. I don’t know why I ever told him anyway. It’s not as if there’s anything someone like him could do to help. It’s just made things more complicated.
    She still couldn’t think of anything to say, so they sat on in silence until Julia and David reappeared a few minutes later.
    “There’s nothing we can do until morning,” said David. “Then we’ll have to get a builder – or maybe a roofer – to look at the damage.”
    “Josh, I’ll take you back to East Neuk Cottages in a few minutes. Do you want to phone your mum first?” asked Julia.
    “Do I have to go? I mean, I will of course, if I’m in the way, but it doesn’t seem worth waking Mum in the middle of the night when I’m okay.”
    Callie stared at him in astonishment. He’d just turned down a chance to escape. Why?
    “You should go,” she heard herself say.
    “Do you want me to?” Josh looked puzzled.
    “No, but after what happened…”
    “You can stay if you want, Josh. Let us know oneway or another in the next ten minutes,” said Julia, and followed David out of the room.
    As soon as they were alone, Josh turned to Callie.
    “What was that… thing… that came out of the floor? Did you see the state it was in?”
    She shook her head. “I’ve got no idea. Could you hear it when it spoke?”
    Josh nodded. “No air, no light, trapped for centuries… You know what this is about, don’t you? That noise beforehand… I knew I’d heard it somewhere else, but I