Disclaimers: The characters from the Queen of Swords are copyright to Fireworks Productions. No infringement of copyright is intended or revenue expected from their use. The story plot and other original characters are copyright to the authors, JoLayne and Margie.

ALMAS MALDITA
(Cursed Soul)
By JoLayne and Margie

Part Two of Five

Act 1, SCENE TWO
THE RIDE

As the carriage moved further way from the hacienda, the clouds ahead suddenly blotted out the late afternoon sun, and there was a pronounced low roll of thunder. The sky became dark and gloomy. Helm concentrated on directing the frightened horses towards the trail back to Santa Elena, but Tessa broke their silence. "My hacienda is closer, Doctor. Head there."

Trotting at a steady pace, the carriage was only half way there before the downpour of heavy droplets. Helm spotted some trees at a distance and had the idea of stopping for some cover, but when he got closer, he realized that the branches would not provide enough shelter for them or the horses. Helm saw that Tessa looked like a drowned rat with her long hair plastered on her head and chest. They each lowered their heads from the sting of pelting rain.

Helm was getting drenched also, but he felt sorry for her. Tessa soaked to the bone in her beautiful dress. Luckily it was only water and it wouldn't get ruined. He knew that they needed to find shelter somewhere else and encouraged the team of horses to move on. Driving the wagon in the rain caused the wheels to sink into the wet earth. Helm made the horses go a little faster so the wagon would not get stuck in the mud. Then he saw a light shining in the distance. His first instincts were a hacienda for shelter.

Helm steered the horses towards it with thoughts of a roof over their heads. As they drew closer, a bright flash of lightening lit up the sky followed quickly by a loud crash of thunder. Tessa stiffened when she saw in which direction Helm was heading and said, "No, Doctor! We cannot go there!"

"Why not?" Helm ignored her uneasiness and kept the horses moving towards the light trying to escape the bad weather. As they drew near, more lightening offered momentary flashes of brightness revealing a two-story dilapidated estate. He had no idea who owned the property, but he was sure that the dueños would indeed offer them shelter from the storm.

The hacienda was surrounded by a tall fence which barely stood its ground after years of torment from the elements, leaving the yard unprotected. As the wagon entered the small yard, Helm eased the horses to a stop in front of the hacienda. The rain continued to pound on them. Even though it was nearly sunset, lightening crackled across the sky lighting up the entire yard as if it were the middle of the day. He descended off the carriage and made sure that the horses were secured under a crop of trees. Tessa was watching his every move from her perch on the wagon. He offered her his hand to escort her down off of the carriage. At first it seemed like she was reluctant with only her upper body moving in motion. Helm couldn't understand why Tessa stayed rooted on the seat. She suddenly wrenched back her hand and grabbed the reins.

"What are you doing?" Helm yelled to make sure she heard him over the roar of the wind.

"I am not going in that house!" Tessa proclaimed.

Another boom of thunder made Helm jump. He turned towards the hacienda and noticed that there was still a light emanating from inside, but no one had come to the door or window to greet them. Frustrated with the rain and Tessa's stubbornness, he reached up to grab her arm and yelled, "Let us go inside!"

"NO!" she defiantly replied, snapping the reins.

Helm reached up and pulled her arm, then her whole body over his shoulder. He made his way to the door of the house. Even though Tessa kicked her legs against his chest and slapped his back with her fists, he kept walking. Approaching the front entrance he started to rap on the door, but it mysteriously opened by itself, as if inviting them inside.

~~~~~

ACT TWO, SCENE ONE
KITCHEN

Helm carried Tessa through the side door of the hacienda and bent over to set her down on her feet. Helm shut the door behind them and stomped his feet to remove any excess water. Then he saw a scared, and angry, Tessa starring back at him with determined eyes. Standing in the entrance of the foyer, Helm saw the light which guided him to the hacienda. Candles in a holder were burning on the dust covered table in the center of the kitchen. The candles burned enough light to brighten the entire area near the door.

Tessa whispered to Helm, "We have to get out of here!", and rushed for the door.

Helm blocked her escape by encasing her in his arms and yelled out, "Hello?" His voice echoed throughout the hacienda while they stood very still listening for any noises to respond.

She whispered. "Do not rile them, Doctor. We must leave."

"Rile who? Someone opened the door for us. Where are they? Hello?"

From the brightness offered by the candles, Helm noticed that they had entered the kitchen from the side door. As he made his way further into the room, he surveyed the surroundings and listening for any sounds that would indicate they were not alone. There were many items visible, untouched over the years. Some old chairs were overturned. The center table stood on three legs. Cabinets were full of plates, cups and glasses, while drawers were filled with utensils, perfect silverware of all types suitable for a formal dining party.

Helm reached the kitchen window to peer outside. The storm was getting worse and he could hear the rain and wind crashing against the glass pane. He turned to look at the discolored, torn trimmings that once resembled drapes, which hung over the window. Near the hearth were several pots and pans ready to use. He began to investigate the kitchen area a little more, amazed that all of the furnishing were still intact.

Tessa stood planted in the same spot near the door entrance. They were still wet, uncomfortable and getting cold. Before they could do anything about it, a soft rattling was heard, which grew in volume. They watched motionless as the drawers of the kitchen opened and the rattling grew loud, filling the room. Knives in a chopping block lifted in and out of their slits and vibrated. Pots and pans banged against the wall in tune with the noise. Helm and Tessa had to cover their ears from the resonance. "We are not welcome here," Tessa shouted above the din.

Helm and Tessa watched in disbelief as all the utensils rose from drawers and chopping block and drifted towards the center of the room. Suspending in timeless space, the different shapes of silver utensils gathered together and formed into a great mass that hovered above the table. Helm and Tessa backed up and flattened against the wall, watching the frightening surprise. The knives, forks and spoons patterned themselves into a ball and then suddenly as if being thrown, smashed into the wall in between them. Helm and Tessa fell to the floor as metal pieces crashed atop them and scattered around the room. The incident had been too close for comfort.

Tessa's face displayed alarm as she stared up at the wall and then looked down at the floor. Some of the silverware had formed a word spelled out in knives, spoons and forks. The silverware had formed a message. "SOCORRO", the Spanish word for help.

Helm whispered, "What was it about this house that you were trying to tell me outside?"

"This hacienda is haunted," Tessa responded.

Five minutes ago, he would have laughed, as the notion was ridiculous. But, he stood and yanked the cleaver out of the wall in the position that would have been his head if he hadn't gotten out of the way and said, "Tell me about it."

"I was a young child when I began to hear the children in town talk about a haunted house. I asked my father about it one night as he was tucking me in to sleep. He did not say it was nonsense. He told me about Don Julio and Doña Benita Arnez, who were supposedly very happy and very wealthy." Tessa rubbed her arms. Whether it was from the chill in the air or the memory of the story, Helm couldn't gauge, but was feeling slightly chilled himself. "On the last night of October...," Tessa said, then stopped. Her face filled with fright as she intoned, "It is now the last night of October!"

She stood, terrified, but Helm calmed her. "What happened?" he asked.

"The Don and Doña were found dead in their bed and no one knows of the circumstances surrounding their deaths. After the horrible incident, the residents of Santa Elena started gossiping and saying that the house was haunted and the spirits of the owners inhabited the dwelling. No one has dared to go near here for fear of running into the ghosts." She indicated the silverware. "I remember my father telling me, "Don't be afraid mí Angelita, as long as you never go near the Arnez's home you will always be safe"

She jumped up from her position and accidentally shoved Helm onto his haunches on her way up. He sat there waiting for an apology, but didn't think he would receive one, and wasn't disappointed. Tessa walked towards the entranceway and followed her. Reaching the door, she turned the doorknob, but it was stuck. Helm stepped in front of her to assist and loosened it then stepped out the way offering Tessa the privilege of opening the door. Tessa pulled the door open and stood there in dismay. The doorway revealed another door exactly the same as the first. Thinking it rather odd, Helm opened the second door and discovered that another door was waiting. Looking at each other is puzzlement, Tessa and Helm both grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open once more, to reveal another behind it.

Trickery or deceit didn't help their situation. While Tessa examined the doorframes for some explanation, Helm decided it was time to find out what was going on. He scrutinized the candles that burned brightly on the table, but wondered how he had been able to see them from a distance in the middle of a storm. Focusing on the dancing flame and entranced by the flickering, he was quickly reminded that there was still a storm brewing outside. He looked towards the window and saw the sky light up with streams of lightening and the noticed the panes continued getting hammered by the heavy sheets of rain.

Hearing a clang and then another, Helm turned around and saw that the utensils which had formed into the message were slowly slipping off the wall onto the floor. Before any of those knives could come back to life again, Helm knew they had to get out of there. He grabbed one of the chairs from the table and threw it against the window. Making a complete stop in midair, the chair was flung back towards him. Helm covered his head and turned sideways as the chair hit him. It crashed into pieces and dispersed upon the tile floor looking like pick up sticks.

"Are you all right Doctor, what happened?" Tessa asked, walking to him.

Helm stared at the chair pieces himself, and also at the window. "An unfortunate accident. I'm fine. Okay. Right," he said, at a loss. He saw a doorway that seemed to lead into a dark hallway off the kitchen and tried to pick up the candle from the table so he could light his way around to find another exit out of the hacienda. Making an effort to lift any of the candles were a useless exercise. Try as he might, he couldn't raise even one from the table. As he looked at them again, he realized that for how long they had been burning, they had not melted down. He stepped back a moment and scratched his chin. "Interesting."

"Interesting, is that all you can say? This place still gives me the creeps, Doctor Helm. We have to find a way out of here", Tessa told him, as she shivered, emphasizing the effect it all had on her. "This the Arnezes' ranch, Doctor Helm. I know you have not been here long, but I would have thought that somehow everyone would have heard about the story of Julio and Benita Arnez."

The higher, quicker pitch of Tessa's voice made Helm think that she was starting to lose control; maybe a little humor would help the situation. Before he could do anything, Tessa said, "They were murdered in this house, twenty years ago tonight! This is the La Granja Prohibida, the Forbidden Ranch." She talked faster and faster as she said, "The stories alone were enough to make me lose sleep when I was a child. My father told me to stay away from it and I have. Even though no one has lived on the property for years, is it not odd that the house has never succumbed to the elements? No one has ever come near or stayed in this casa since. Except for us, and we obviously cannot leave."

"Sure we can. We just have to find another way."

Helm moved towards the hallway. Tessa called out to him, as she stood by the table. "Where are you going?"

"Exploring."

"Are you insane?"

Helm shuffled his feet and easily said, "Well, that is a trick question. If you are insane, you do not know that you are insane, so the answer would be no. If you are not insane and say no, you really cannot believe the answer."

"What kind of riddle is that? Did you not hear what I just said told you?" She folded her arms before herself. "If you had just taken my advice and gone in the direction of my hacienda, we would not be in this mess."

"So this is my fault?"

"Well someone has to take the blame and it was not my idea to come here in the first place. I warned you that we should not have come, but no, you had to take charge and impose your authority! One more thing," she yelled as she moved closer to him with fire in her eyes. "I certainly did not appreciate being hoisted over your shoulder like a slab of meat."

"I was trying to get you to cooperate, but you were being stubborn. You gave me such a hard time that I had no choice."

A sudden boom and a crash was heard from above them. At that moment their discussion seemed to turn pointless and unimportant. Tessa peered up at the dark ceiling. "What was that?"

"That was called thunder," Helm calmly replied. "Two clouds mix, one is angry for having its space intruded upon and yells."

"What?" Tessa asked in disbelief.

"It was what my nanny told me when I was a little boy. You looked like you could use an explanation."

"You do not need to placate me, Doctor."

"Is that right?" Now Helm chuckled. Emotions ranging from fright to indignation had flown out of her in the space of a few minutes.

"I am not a child."

He said lightly, "It might be a little dark in here, but it is dry. That is a step in the right direction. I know that you are wet and cold. I am too. Let us look for something to dry ourselves off with. There has to be something in this hacienda we can use. Over there, we could use the drapes," he said walking up and touching one that hung on a window, "or maybe not." The drapes disintegrated in his hand, as if made of paper.

Tessa sighed and joined him at the window and looked out at the night. "Do you think the storm is going to end soon?"

Lightning flashed, thunder boomed. Helm said, "Let us count."

"Count? This is not the time to hear if we know our numbers, Doctor. Unless you want to keep our minds busy and forget the storm and the fact that we are in a haunted house? Ok, how high should we count? Or, rather, let us make it more interesting and hold a seance. That would really go well with the weather outside."

"Huh, no, no" Helm said as he chuckled. "Let me explain. Wait for the end of the lightening and count until the thunder. If you can count farther each time, it means that the storm is moving away from us."

The flash of lightening lit up the windows. Helm held up his fingers counting, "One, two..."

Tessa gave in and counted along with him. "Three, four."

The thunder's boom shook the house. Not long after there was another flash of lightening and Helm started to count again. "One, two," he said.

Tessa said along with him, "Three."

Thunder boomed. Tessa yelled, "Did you get that story backwards from your nanny, or is there worst to come? Your theory is somehow not giving us the answers we need."

"Um..." Helm didn't want to show that he was disturbed by what had been concluded, or scare the Señorita further. "We will just try it again later." In a show of manly confidence, Helm again moved back towards the dark hallway. Stopping before the entrance of the doorway, he poked his head around the corner and looked both ways. The hallway was completely dark except for the lightening that flashed outside into the windows, offering a short view. He needed to adjust his eyes to the darkness so that he could find his way to another exit.

Tessa called out from where she was still rooted on the other side of the kitchen. "Are you actually leaving this room and walking around into the dark?"

He stood at the doorway looking back at her. "I am from England. You do not think we have not heard of 'haunted' castles? I have stayed overnight in one. So I know that the bumps in the night are just your imagination running wild."

Helm followed Tessa's stare to the utensils still in a pile on the floor. "My imagination still sees silverware on the floor, Doctor."

He had no explanation for that, so he just moved into the hallway. It was only at that moment that he realized his heart rate was racing and his mouth was dry. Any room without knives would make him feel a little easier. "Come on," he told Tessa with his hand out for her to take.

"I am not going farther into this house," she firmly said.

"Then stay here." Helm walked into the hallway. He grinned as he heard her say, "Bastardo."

He poked his head back in and peered at her through sarcastic eyes and asked, "What did you say?"

"I am right behind you," Tessa said, with her head held high.

"That is what I thought you said."

"Are you not in the least bit scared?"

"No. Why should I be? You and I are the only ones in the hacienda. We are all alone, in this big rancho... you are not going to take advantage of me, are you?"

"Be serious, how can you joke at a time like this and enjoy yourself?"

"It must be the rain." More thunder boomed at a distance and the sky crashed with lightening. "I love the rain…I always have. The sound of thunder and rain are the perfect weather for….. "

"Spare me. It has got to be a British thing," she muttered.

Continued in Part Three