Paradox House

By Melody Leigh

In the wooded outskirts of Laelia Bay lies a mansion the town knows only as cursed. For hundreds of years, stories passed of people who went in, but never came out. One year after the disappearance of a reporter who came to investigate the mansion, twenty-year-old Emilie Shostrom and her two best friends decide to follow in her footsteps and find out what happened to her.

Their adventure quickly turns sour when they end up trapped inside, left to wander its monster-infested halls in the hopes of piecing together the mystery of Sera Porter's disappearance and the story behind the man who started it all.

It's not as easy as they might hope, especially when they realize the mansion can move through time, changing back and forth through the years without a moment's notice. Now it's not just a matter of finding out where Sera is inside the mansion, but when.

Emilie always wanted to go on an adventure. But this adventure might be more than she bargained for.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Melody Leigh
• Release date: Apr 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311468468

Melody Leigh

Melody Leigh is a freelance writer who loves stories about magic and fantasy or mystery and horror, and most of all, anything that combines them into one. Murders in the Enchanted Forest? Crimes that reek of the paranormal? Sign her up.When not writing, she enjoys playing video games and hanging out with her cats.

Book preview

Paradox House

By Melody Leigh

Copyright 2016 Melody Leigh

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please direct them to their favorite retailer where they can buy their own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

Special Thanks

As always, to my friend Caty, who created the beautiful cover and for whom without I would be left struggling in Photoshop until I threw my computer out the window.

Table of Contents

Copyright

Chapter One: The Mansion on the Hill

Chapter Two: When a Door Closes...

Chapter Three: The First of Many

Chapter Four: What Prowls the Halls

Chapter Five: Reunion

Chapter Six: Clues

Chapter Seven: Fear

Chapter Eight: When the Dead Walk

Chapter Nine: Osias

Chapter Ten: Guilt

Chapter Eleven: Confessions

Chapter Twelve: Stories and Lullabies

Chapter Thirteen: The Truth in Rumors

Chapter Fourteen: Bonds

Chapter Fifteen: Going Home

Epilogue: Paradox Resolved

About the Author

Chapter One

The Mansion on the Hill

Laelia Bay was, for the most part, a fairly quiet town. Surrounded by a thick layer of forested mountains on one end and the welcoming waves of the ocean on the other, the people of Laelia tended to keep to themselves as a small but loving community. The last major crime they had was a hit and run four years ago, and since then the most they had to deal with was petty theft.

Emilie Shostrom was one of those people.

Twenty years old, Emilie spent her days working in her father's Auto Repair shop, helping the customers who came in find parts on slow days or rolling up her sleeves and giving cars a tune-up on more heavily trafficked ones. She always offered her help with a smile, and because of this, was well loved around town.

Still, Emilie couldn't help but want something more. She enjoyed fixing the problems in her friends and neighbor's lives, but day-to-day life had never suited her. She itched to do something bigger.

She contemplated this thought as she left the house that morning, shutting the door with the back of her foot as she fiddled with the scarf around her neck.

Her father always insisted she take the weekends off. Go out and have an adventure, he would say. Don't grow up and regret not living the life you wanted.

His words echoed in her head while she pushed the front gate open, only to be stopped by a BOO! that sent her jumping fifteen feet into the air. Emilie spun around, face to face with a tall, dark-haired boy that towered over her and wore the goofiest of grins.

Elliot! she scolded, glaring at and shoving him. She might as well have been kicking her feet in a tantrum, the way she looked at him. I told you I hate it when you do that.

Sorry, Em, Elliot laughed. I've never seen you jump that high before! Pretty sneaky, right? I'm getting good at stealthing around. He spoke with wild gestures, his green eyes lit up in excitement, wiggling his hands at stealthing.

How did you even get behind me? I'm literally two feet away from the front door. Emilie gave her own show of hand movements at that, pointing her arms back and forth from the door to her. See? I don't!

Elliot grinned again and lifted a finger up to his lips. A ninja never tells.

Emilie rolled her eyes, glancing down at his feet, where she found a trail of footsteps in the mud. She followed them for a short walk to the side of the house, where there was a final, deeper set that implied he'd been standing there for a good while.

Okay, fine. I waited here and when I heard the door open I snuck around the corner.

You are ridiculous.

Elliot took a mock bow. And yet, you love me still.

Whatever you say, Emilie snorted. She spun back around to the gate and took the lead, walking out into town. Elliot jogged up to walk beside her, their paces evening out to match the other's.

To Luke?

To Luke.

In the silence that fell, Emilie took a moment to glance at her friend. Elliot had left home for college a year ago, leaving her and their other best friend Luke behind. The three had kept in close contact, but Emilie and Luke would both agree that life in Laelia just wasn't the same without Elliot getting them into trouble.

Then, just a month ago, Elliot unexpectedly came back. He said he'd dropped out and left the subject at that. Luke had tried to press him for more, but with little success they let it be and simply relished in having their friend again.

Emilie smiled to herself at the sight of Elliot standing tall beside her. She nudged him and they shared a series of goofy looks, laughing all the way.

Go out and have an adventure, her father would say. She always thought if she were to find an adventure, it'd be with Elliot. He had been her best friend since she was four years old, and she intended to keep it that way.

The two made it to the center of town, walking around the fountain that sat in the middle of all the family-run stores that littered Laelia. Emilie took a peak over the edge at the coins glittering below the surface. She'd thrown one in once years ago, asking only that if she were to ever lose Elliot or Luke, she'd be able to find them again.

The smell of fresh bread interrupted her thoughts (an all too common experience for her—getting lost in her head only to be jerked back to reality), and she took a look at Elliot, who nodded and headed over to the bakery.

The sound of a jingling bell alerted the baker to their presence, and she met them joyfully as they walked inside.

Emilie, my dear! And Elliot, it's good to have you back.

Rita was the town baker and one of Emilie's favorite people. Her muffins were to die for. Emilie once considered strangling a man who bought the last blueberry set, she loved them so much. She hadn't, of course, but Rita agreed to always keep one around for her should some unfortunate passerby make that mistake again.

Rita wiped her dough-covered hands on her apron, her brown eyes sparkling as she pulled up the transparent cover that held her muffin supply.

The usual? she asked.

Emilie and Elliot answered simultaneously.

Of course. Duh.

The older woman dropped three muffins into a bag, handing it to Emilie while Elliot fished out money from his back pocket.

One blueberry for Emilie, cinnamon for Elliot, and chocolate for Luke, who I'm also saying 'hi' too, by the way, so consider yourself messengers.

The duo thanked her, biting into the warm, gooey goodness of their muffins as they continued on their journey to meet their friend.

It only took a few more minutes to reach Luke's usual spot at the park, and it surprised neither of them to see him hunched over his laptop, pulling his hair out over the crowd of papers on the bench.

Someone's working too hard, Elliot said, ruffling Luke's messy brown hair.

Luke started to bite back a retort, but stopped short at the sight of Emilie holding up a muffin. He reached forward and grabbed it, hungrily taking a bite with one hand as he attempted to type with the other.

Someone's hungry too, Emilie echoed.

Shut up, guys, Luke said in between bites.

Luke was the youngest of the trio, having just turned eighteen and already four months into college. He went to an online school to stay in Laelia, but as he often said, getting a computer engineering degree online was just as much work as getting one in person. Just because it was online didn't mean he got to avoid things like homework, which Elliot often tried to claim.

At least you don't have homework anymore, he'd joke.

Elliot, everything I do is homework now.

When he wasn't with Emilie and Elliot, Luke was hunched over his laptop, and even when he was with them he was often hunched over too.

Rita says hi, by the way.

Luke tried to say something back, but his mouth was so full of bread and muffin that it came out a muffled mess. Elliot flicked him on the head with his finger and a chuckle.

You ready to go check it out? he asked.

Luke's mood deflated, and he shuffled his papers together, piling them and his computer into his backpack. And for good measure, he double-checked to make sure everything was inside. Yeah, this stupid class is driving me crazy anyway.

The three of them walked to a nearby trashcan, dropping their muffin wrappers inside. Just beside it was a notice board, holding announcements about park activities and news about lost dogs.

And there, right in the middle, was a single missing poster.

MISSING

Sera Porter

Disappeared May 2013 while investigating a story on the old mansion at the edge of town. Last seen at approx. 3:00PM wearing a brown vest and butterfly clip in her hair.

If you have any information on her whereabouts, please call 1-800-555-LOST.

Tension filled the air between the three of them, watching the edges of the poster flap around in the wind. Underneath the name, there was a photo of a woman with long blonde hair tied up in a loose bun and decorated with a clip.

Emilie shoved her hands in her jacket pockets and started the trek out. Elliot motioned for Luke to follow, the younger boy transfixed by the poster. When he got no response, Elliot reached out and tugged his arm, bringing him along.

Come on, Elliot said, just loud enough for Luke to hear and shake his head, nodding and following the two.

They walked in silence through town, heading for the outskirts that would take them up the hills and into the forest. The wind bit at their faces, but they pushed forward, hiking all the way up the steep hill until the town was so small behind them they could pinch it between their fingers.

There was a break in the trees at the top, a circle of unforrested land occupied instead by a large but old abandoned mansion. It had been there since before the people of Laelia could recall, hundreds and hundreds of years ago.

Of course, abandoned mansions in quiet towns always have a history. This one was no exception—thought to be cursed, it sparked rumors of those who entered and were never seen again. The older residents of Laelia all had their ghost stories of friends and neighbors who stepped inside and disappeared forever, doomed to roam the mansion's halls for the rest of their days.

No one had touched it for years, the last known disappearance over a decade ago. Until last year, of course, when a reporter named Sera Porter came to town to investigate the story and vanished without a trace, just like all the others had. The local police had tried to find her at first, but after a month of fruitless searching, she simply became another name on the list of the mansion's victims.

So, tomorrow, right? Elliot said, breaking the silence. He pushed the tall doors to the front gate open with a loud, drawn out squeak and held it for Emilie and Luke to pass through.

Emilie shrugged. That's what we agreed on.

She crossed her arms and leaned over in a casual stance, content to watch Elliot take a look around the front of the mansion. At first glance, it didn't look all that scary. It was a pretty expansive building, with strong wooden doors, some trees, a lot of overgrown grass and weeds—but at the end of the day, it was all pretty basic stuff. Not very appealing aesthetically, but she figured it must have looked nice at one point.

But something did feel off. Emilie thought she felt a chill as she'd entered the main gate, something that said more than just it's cold. It was like the mansion was staring at her—through her?—but that was ridiculous, and she brushed it off with a reminder to stop watching so many horror movies.

Luke remained silent a few feet back from the other two, wringing his hands together.

So, I'm thinking we should leave in the morning, Elliot said, tapping corners and peeking into windows. That way we can get out before nightfall.

Giving the mansion a final look down, Elliot seemed pleased enough and headed back to Emilie, only to spot Luke staring petrified at the mansion's dark, uninviting front doors. His honey-colored eyes were unfocused, unblinking.

Elliot walked up to him and waved his hand in Luke's face.

Luke, hey, he said. You all there, man?

Luke blinked and