Daniel sucked in his breath at the sight of the man. He was no longer a child and the servant an adult—they were both grown men of approximately the same size—but the balance of power had not shifted in all these years, and Daniel instinctively stepped back. Billingsly was still a frighteningly intimidating figure, alien and unknowable in his proper attire, the blankness in his eyes impossible to read. He bowed, smiling enigmatically. “You are the last.”

“What?” Daniel said.

“I trust you had a pleasant trip?” The servant stepped aside, motioning him in.

Daniel stepped over the threshold, acutely aware of the symbolism of that simple act.

The door shut immediately behind him.

PART II

INSIDE

ONE

Mark

He was scared shitless, but he tried not to let it show.

It was not merely the circumstances of his arrival or the air of menace that overhung the house which left him feeling so terrified, but the fact that he wasn’t exactly a guest, wasn’t exactly a prisoner, but seemed to be somewhere in-between—and he had no idea what to do about it.

Mark glanced nervously around the sitting room. It was strange being back, seeing the high-vaulted ceilings and the patterned hardwood floors, all of the familiar furniture in all of the familiar places, mileposts of his childhood that were indelibly ingrained in his memory. It was the smell of the house that affected him most strongly, though, the familiar odors of old flowers and fireplace smoke and dust; scents of his past that lingered in the room and remained behind, present but invisible, like ghosts.

Mark stared at Billings. What was he? Ghost? Demon? Monster? None of them seemed to hit the mark, but they were all close, they were all within the ballpark.

Feigning a bravery he did not feel, he turned his back on the assistant and walked across the sitting room, pulling open the drapes covering the window. He tried peering out, but it was night outside and he could see nothing.

“I should be able to see the lights of Dry River,” he said.

“Curious, isn’t it?”

Mark dropped the drapes. “What’s going on here?” he demanded.

Billings chuckled.

“Who are you?”

“You know who I am, Marky boy.”

Mark felt cold. “All right, then. What are you?”

“I’m the assistant.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Me? Nothing. It’s the House that called you back.”

“Called me back?”

“You are to live here again.”

Mark shook his head. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about, but I came back here because Kristen died and I wanted to find out what happened to her. And for your information, I came back for a visit, not to stay.”

“But stay you shall. The House needs occupants.”

“For what?”

“Why, to maintain the border, of course.”

Mark didn’t like the sound of that, and he tried not to let his fear show.