• “Look at this!” the little girl exclaimed from the attic.

    “Come down here, Cindy!” her brother shouted from the foot of the ladder.

    Her small blonde head appeared at the top. “No, you come up here!”

    “Mom said we weren’t supposed to go anywhere unless they had checked it out first,” the boy said uneasily.

    She stuck her tongue out at him and disappeared from sight.

    “Cindy!” he protested.

    “Come see, Davy!” her voice called.

    With a sigh, he began to climb the ladder. If the only way to get her to come down was if he went up first, he’d have to do so.

    As soon as Davy touched down on the dusty attic floorboards, he looked around for his sister, but all he saw was forgotten furniture. “Where’d you go?”

    “Over here!” she shouted from behind an old armchair.

    He made his way over there and looked over the top of the chair. Cindy sat in a pile of pillows at a little wooden table, where she seemed to be having a sudden tea party with a stuffed rabbit.

    “Cindy, what are you doing?” he asked tiredly.

    “It’s like it was made for me!” she responded happily. “Look, see, everything was already set up.” She waved a tiny hand at the table.

    Davy looked at the collapsed fort of pillows and at the scattered plastic teacups, and he shook his head. “Set up? For what, a tea party in a war zone?”

    She made a face. “You’re so mean!” She picked up the stuffed rabbit and hugged it, saying quietly, “Don’t worry, I won’t let him ruin our fun.”

    “What is that?” he asked.

    Cindy smiled and held up the toy. “He was waiting for me here, too.” She suddenly looked sad. “He had just been thrown on top of the pillows.”

    Davy reached down and pulled the rabbit out of his sister’s hands. She cried out, but he held it out of her reach while he looked at it. It was black, with patches of blue, and one of the eyes had been replaced entirely by an x-shaped patch.

    He laughed and tossed it back at his sister. “I hardly blame them for abandoning it.”

    “You’re so mean!” Cindy accused for the second time.

    He rolled his eyes. “Come on, let’s get out of here before someone finds us. We’re not supposed to be exploring, remember.”

    “You go,” she said coolly. “I’m staying here with Charles.”

    “Charles?” he demanded.

    She held up the rabbit and smiled.

    “What kind of a name is that for a stuffed rabbit?”

    She shrugged, playing with its ears. “Don’t ask me. That’s just what his name is.”

    “Oh, come on,” Davy groaned. He grabbed her arm, and pulled her across the attic to the ladder. “Now, go,” he instructed.

    Grumbling, Cindy climbed down, holding the rabbit firmly in her arms.

    He followed, nearly knocking her down when he reached the floor. “What’s the idea—” he began, stopping when he realized why she hadn’t moved.

    “Oh, err, hi, Mom. Hi, Dad,” he said weakly.

    Their parents looked from them to the ladder, and then their father finally spoke. “I thought we told you not to go anywhere we hadn’t already been! This is an old house; it could be dangerous!”

    “It wasn’t me!” Davy protested. “Cindy wouldn’t come down!”

    “Cindy?” Their mother looked at her. “Is that true?”

    She blinked, wide-eyed at them. “I was only following him.”

    “What?” Davy demanded.

    Cindy continued as though she hadn’t heard him, “In fact, now that I’m down here again, I’m going to my new room so he can’t get me into any more trouble!”

    The little girl ran passed them down the hall.

    “Well, David?”

    “She’s lying!” he cried, furious with his sister.

    “Whatever the case may be,” his father said, “I think you had better go to your room as well."

    Annoyed, Davy stomped off.

    On the way, he looked around the new house with dismay. There were so many rooms that their parents had already looked in—that he himself had wanted to explore next—and now he was confined to his room.

    Once he reached his destination, he slammed the door, and soon he heard his parents’ footsteps on the stairs, coming, no doubt, to make sure their children were where they were supposed to be.

    His room in this house was much nicer than his old room, and Davy had no doubt that he would enjoy himself here on many occasions. Nevertheless, as soon as he heard his parents return downstairs, he flung open the door and raced down to his sister’s room.

    “All right, what was that about?” he demanded, bursting in.

    Cindy was curled up on her bed, cuddling the black rabbit. “What do you mean?”

    “You lied!”

    “I’m sorry, Davy,” she said, looking unhappy. “I didn’t want to get you in trouble, but Charles didn’t want them to notice him just yet.”

    “Yeah, I’m sure he told you just what to say,” Davy muttered sarcastically.

    “Davy’s not all bad,” she whispered to the rabbit, kissing it on the top of its head. She looked up suddenly. “Do you hate me, Davy?”

    “What?” he blinked in confusion. “Of course I don’t hate you!”

    She looked concerned. “Charles thought you might.”

    “Well, ‘Charles’ is wrong,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “Look, I’ll just go back to my room now…”

    As he turned to go, she called after him, “Davy?”

    “Yes?” he asked, turning to face her again.

    “I need to go back to the attic.”

    “What?” he cried. “After what just happened, you want to go back?”

    Her eyes were wide. “No, Charles does! He says that there’s stuff up there…and that if anyone sees it, it could go very badly for him.”

    Davy gritted his teeth in exasperation. “Cindy,” he said very slowly and carefully, “I am not going back up there, and neither are you. Mom and Dad are mad enough as it is. I’m not getting in trouble because of a stuffed rabbit!”

    “You don’t understand!” she said, starting to cry.

    “I’m going back to my room, Cindy. You stay here, and forget this idea. Why don’t you imagine a happy past for your rabbit…not one that involves secrets hidden in an attic, okay?”

    He left the room, glancing back only as he closed her door. His sister was whispering intently to the toy, looking very serious. He sighed and returned to his own room.

    * * *


    His mother knocked softly on his door before opening it. “Davy?”

    He sighed. “Yes?”

    “You don’t have to stay here tomorrow. But stay away from that attic, all right? We haven’t gotten a chance to go up there yet.”

    “Okay.”

    She stood there until she realized he wasn’t going to say anything else, and then she left, closing the door behind her.

    Davy lay back in his bed, feeling miserable. The stress of the move was getting to him, he knew. There was no reason why the events of that day alone should be making him upset.

    He sighed and closed his eyes. He assumed he eventually fell asleep, because the next thing he was aware of was a thundering noise, such as something very large being dropped, and the sound of splintering wood.

    “What was that?” he cried, sitting up in bed. He heard the sound of his parents running down the stairs.

    Davy swung himself out of bed and opened his door. He walked out into the hallway and saw Cindy standing at the door to her room.

    “Cindy, do you know what’s happening?”

    “The tree fell,” she said.

    “What?”

    She smiled down at the black rabbit clutched in her arms and looked up at him. “I told you. The tree fell.”

    Before he could question her further, their mother came upstairs.

    “Mom, what happened?” he asked.

    She sighed. “There was a storm, and lightning must have struck that big tree in the yard outside. It fell and hit the house. We’re determining the extent of the damage now. Things don’t look too bad, but it looks like part of the attic has been completely destroyed.”

    He stared at her in shock.

    “Go to bed, children,” she advised. “Your father and I are taking care of it.”

    “I told you the tree fell,” Cindy said once she had left.

    “Don’t be so smug,” Davy said. “You heard what she said. Part of the attic was destroyed. I guess you won’t be going up there again after all.”

    She giggled and smiled down at the rabbit. “Oh. That doesn’t matter anymore.”

    Before he could ask what she meant, she had disappeared back into her room.

    Davy returned to his own room, unable to explain his feeling of unease.

    * * *


    At breakfast the next morning, there came a knock at the door.

    Their father answered it, and a small, dark man came in. He had wiry glasses, and he looked around at them all as though stunned to see people.

    “Are you the Professor?” their father asked uncertainly.

    The man blinked at him. “Why, yes. I am Professor Hodgens.”

    “Well, it’s good to meet you at last,” their father said, extending his hand. “I am Jim—” He cut off as he realized that the Professor wasn’t listening, but was instead looking around the room.

    “Professor Hodgens is interested in the legends that surround this area,” their mother explained. “When he heard this house had been sold, he wanted to come right away.”

    “He seems a little nutty,” Davy chuckled, watching as the man examined their fireplace and peered up the chimney.

    “He’s a very learned man,” she said strictly. “Show him respect, children.”

    The Professor jumped so suddenly that he hit his head on the bricks of the fireplace. As soon as he had regained balance, however, he had crossed the room to them in an instant.

    “Children?” he demanded. “You brought children here?”

    “Hello,” Davy said self-consciously, echoed quietly by Cindy.

    Professor Hodgens looked at them and then back at their mother. “Don’t you know the legend?”

    “What legend?” Davy asked.

    “It is said,” he whispered, “that a demon made its home here. Young man, you and your sister are in grave danger. This demon is said to act through children in its quest to get what it wants.”

    Davy felt a shiver run through him in spite of himself.

    “That’s enough!” their mother said sharply. “Professor Hodgens, you said you wanted to investigate the house. I will not let you frighten my children.”

    “I’m not scared, Mom!” Davy spoke up.

    “I’m afraid I may have frightened the little girl,” the Professor said apologetically.

    Davy looked at his sister. Cindy’s face was very drawn and pale, and she was hugging the rabbit tightly to herself.

    “It’s okay, Cindy,” he said, walking over to her while Professor Hodgens joined their father in another area of the house. “I’m sure he didn’t mean any harm.”

    “I want him to leave,” she whispered.

    “I want to hear the legend,” Davy replied. “Once he’s alone, I’m going to go see if he’ll tell me.”

    “No, don’t,” she protested.

    “You don’t have to come if you’re scared,” he teased. “Are you scared of the demon, Cindy? Just like a girl.”

    He expected an indignant response on her part, but instead, her eyes narrowed, and she hissed, “Stay away from him, Davy!” She turned and raced away.

    “Cindy!” he called after her, but there was no response.

    “She gets weirder by the day,” he muttered.

    Davy stood there for a minute, and then he went off in search of Professor Hodgens.

    He found him standing at the foot of the ladder, studying the wreckage left behind by the fallen tree. “This bode very badly,” he said softly.

    “Professor?”

    The man turned around, and for a moment, he looked afraid. “What do you want?”

    “Will you tell me the rest of the legend about the demon?”

    “Why do you want to know?”

    Davy shrugged. “I just thought it sounded like a cool story.”

    “Some believe it is more than just a story.”

    “Like…there’s an actual demon around here, possessing children?”

    The Professor looked at him closely. “You are skeptical of such a thing, then?”

    “Well…” Davy laughed uncertainly. “If it were true, I’d think the demon would have gotten what it wants by now.”

    “Not so,” he disagreed, “for what the demon wants is permanent residence in a body, and the legends state that the vessel has always been removed from the child in time.”

    “The vessel?” Davy asked.

    “The object that the demon embodies.”

    “Does this demon have a name?”

    The Professor looked suddenly grave. “Young man, your questions trouble me. Are you merely curious, or have you encountered something unusual in this house?”
    He said the last with such intensity that Davy took a step back. “N-no,” he said finally. “I mean, the only strange thing that’s happened is the tree falling.”

    “If you knew the legend, you would not look upon that incident so lightly.”

    “The legend mentions the tree?”

    “The legend mentions the attic! It, in fact, deals with the very part of the attic that was destroyed by the falling tree!”

    Davy’s curiosity was growing. “What happened in the attic?”

    The Professor sighed heavily. “It is a dark story. The demon at that time called itself Miranda, if reports are to be believed—for, you see,” he explained, seeing Davy’s confusion, “this demon, longing for a body, takes on the name of the last child whose body it tried to take.

    “Miranda almost completed its task that last time. The boy it was working through was almost entirely under its control. Only one thing was needed before they were one—a sacrifice.”

    Davy felt chilled.

    “The demon and the boy found his sister in the attic, playing a game. There, he began to set up the rites for the ceremony. The legend is vague after that, but it is known that although he set everything up, there in that attic, he never completed the sacrifice. Someone had learned what was happening, and went to stop him.

    “He was separated from the demon’s vessel, and the entire family fled. The house has remained empty—and the scene in the attic, supposedly undisturbed—until your family moved in.”

    Terrible thoughts had come into Davy’s mind during the story, and so he asked carefully, “The boy…what was his name?”

    “Ah, Professor Hodgens, there you are!”

    Davy whirled around in surprise at the sound of his father’s voice.

    “Professor, there’s been an urgent telephone call for you.”

    “A call, for me?” the Professor asked, sounding amazed.

    “Yes, follow me.”

    The two men began to walk away, and Davy raced after them, determined to get his answer as soon as Professor Hodgens was done with the phone.

    “Be careful coming in here; there’s a loose floorboard!” his father called back as he walked into the kitchen.

    The Professor nodded, but as he stepped forward, his foot seemed to catch on something, and he was flung forward. He landed heavily and slid across the floor.

    Davy ran to him, and when he reached him, the blood drained from his face. Professor Hodgens was dead, his neck broken.

    “What happened?” Cindy’s voice came from behind him.

    “A freak accident…” Their father sounded as though he were in shock. "Hello?" he said shakily into the phone. "I'm afraid--" He stopped. "They already had hung up."

    Davy turned around to look at his sister. She stood looking up at him innocently, her arms clasped around Charles. The rabbit’s mismatched eyes stared up at Davy.

    He’s watching me.

    * * *


    “I’d swear there’s a curse on this house,” the police officer was saying to Davy’s father. “The last family left so quickly, some of their possessions are probably still here.”

    “What sort of possessions?” Davy asked, watching from the door to the hall.

    “Why do you ask?”

    “I just wondered—” He glanced around quickly to make sure Cindy wasn’t in earshot. “I just wondered if they might have left any toys here.”

    The officer chuckled. “Well, you might want to check out across the yard. The boy used to play there, or so I’ve heard.”

    Davy nodded, but before he could think of another way to bring up the subject of the rabbit, his father said gently, “Davy, why don’t you go look in that shed. You don’t need to be around while we’re dealing with…with what happened…”

    He left without much complaint, not wanting to look at the Professor’s body any longer.

    Once he was in the yard, he realized that going to the shed might be helpful after all—it could answer some of his remaining questions.

    The shed was in good shape, with a sturdy door, and so Davy felt no fear at going inside. It was dim inside, as there was only one dusty window to let in light, so he left the door open a crack.

    It did look as though the boy who had lived here previously had used the shed as a hideout and playhouse. Toys lay on the floor, and a few books and papers were scattered on a desk in the corner.

    Davy walked over to the desk. He didn’t see much that looked helpful, until he noticed a dusty photograph sticking out from underneath one of the books. Pulling it out, he stared at the smiling boy and girl in the picture for a moment, and then he flipped it over.

    The back read:

    Charles and Sophie, on Sophie’s 5th birthday


    “So his name was Charles,” Davy said quietly, feeling cold.

    He stared down at the photograph for a while, wondering if he was insane. But no, too many things made sense when viewed in light of the Professor’s story.

    “And he knew too much, didn’t he?” he whispered, remembering the strange way the man had fallen, not at all like someone who had just tripped.

    Although a minute ago he had been chilled, he was now starting to feel uncomfortably hot. Davy looked at the photograph again, and realized that it was much brighter in the shed than it had been at first.

    He looked up in alarm and saw flames licking the walls around him.

    With a yell, he ran for the door, thankful he hadn’t closed it entirely. He slammed against it and burst out into the yard. Davy fell and rolled across the grass, and then he scrambled to get back to the house.

    When he finally turned around, the shed was entirely on fire.

    “Fire!” he shouted. “Fire!”

    His father and the police officer came running at the sound of his voice. Just behind them was Cindy.

    “Were you in there, Davy?” she asked, walking up to him.

    “Yes, I was in there!” he responded angrily.

    Cindy looked down at Charles and smiled. “You shouldn’t go in places that haven’t been checked out yet. Bad things happen to those who poke around in things that don’t concern them.”

    He stared at her, feeling the beginnings of fear. She wasn’t even talking like his sister anymore. He looked at Cindy, but it was Charles who looked back.

    “Give me that rabbit,” he growled.

    Her eyes grew wide. “You want Charles?”

    Davy reached out to take him from her, as he had that day in the attic, but the ground seemed to shift beneath him. He lost balance and fell.

    “Be careful, Davy,” she said, her eyes widening further. “You don’t want to fall the way Professor Hodgens did.”

    He stared up at her, breathing heavily, and he didn’t know how to respond.

    * * *


    Davy did not sleep well that night. He knew that just down the hall, his sister slept with that stuffed rabbit, the vessel of the demon who was working to destroy all evidence against him.

    He woke up shortly before midnight, just in time to see the dresser in the corner toppling, falling straight towards his bed.

    He yelled and rolled out of bed. He thrust his hands out as he hit the floor, crying out as his hand was smashed against a chair arm which otherwise would have struck his head.

    “Davy! Davy, are you all right!”

    The lights came on, and he saw his parents standing in the doorway.

    “No, I am not all right!” he gasped, trying to find the words to explain what was happening. Cindy appeared behind them, and he narrowed his eyes. “I was almost killed.”

    Their mother looked worried. “Jim, I don’t like it here. First the attic, then Professor Hodgens, then the shed, and now this!”

    “We’re not spending another night in this house,” he said firmly. “We’re leaving tomorrow.”

    “Terrible things might happen before then,” Cindy said suddenly.

    He turned towards her. “Have you been listening to us talk? Don’t worry, darling, everything will be fine.”

    Davy watched Cindy hug their father. She saw him watching, and a cold smile appeared on her face.

    Foreboding filled him.

    He pretended that everything was fine while they set up a place for him to sleep on the couch downstairs, and he wished them all a good night and lay down. Once they were gone, however, Davy abandoned all pretense of sleep.

    The demon would be coming for him tonight, and he would be ready.

    He waited for over two hours, but fear kept him awake and alert. Finally, he heard the quiet sound of tiny feet on the stairs.

    Davy got up and walked over to the edge of the stairs. When Cindy stepped off the last step, he grabbed her. She squeaked, but he put his hand over her mouth.

    “You thought you were going to catch me unawares,” he whispered, “but I’ve turned the tables.”

    Holding her firmly with one hand, he removed his hand from her mouth and grabbed the black rabbit.

    “No!” she wailed as he tore it away from her.

    Davy released Cindy and raced away from her, holding the rabbit tightly against him despite his hatred of the thing.

    She chased after him, but as he pulled further away, she gave up.

    He reached the front door, and there he was faced with the problem of what to do with the rabbit. He couldn’t leave it anywhere where Cindy could find it again, but if someone caught him trying to destroy it, he’d never be able to explain.

    And then they’d just give it back to Cindy.

    Finally, Davy opened the door and crept outside. Tying stones to the rabbit’s ears to weight it down, he lifted his arm and threw it as far as he could.

    “Davy…”

    He turned around at the sound of Cindy’s voice. She looked very small all of a sudden, and she was crying.

    “I had to do it,” he said.

    Cindy flung her arms around him. “Thank you, Davy,” she whispered, sobbing against him. “I’m so sorry.”

    * * *


    “Another family moving away from this house?” the driver of the moving van asked, scratching his head. “What is it about this place?”

    “You wouldn’t believe it if we told you,” Davy offered with a weak smile.

    He joined Cindy as she watched their parents load up the van.

    “Are you our new neighbors?” a boy asked, walking up to them.

    “Not anymore, I’m afraid,” Davy replied.

    “Oh.” The boy rejoined his friends, who were waiting on the sidewalk, saying as he did so, “We’re never going to get neighbors who stay.”

    “Davy,” Cindy said suddenly, “do you see—”

    “Are you coming, children?” their mother called from the car.

    “Come on,” Davy urged, grabbing her hand and running to join their parents.

    As she climbed into the car, he asked, “Now, what was it you were saying?”

    Cindy frowned, and shook her head. “No, it doesn’t matter. I must have imagined it.”

    Shrugging, Davy walked around to the other side of the car, offering an apologetic wave to the group of boys on the sidewalk.

    He opened the car door and started to get inside, and as he did so, he thought he heard one of the boys say, “What is that, and why are you carrying it around?”

    “I found her lying on the ground,” the response came. “Her name’s Cindy.”

    Davy froze, and started to turn back towards the group.

    “Davy!” his mother called impatiently.

    Numbly, he got into his seat and closed the car door. He must have imagined it.

    Still, as the car started down the road, a terrible chill ran through him.