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Amelia's smirk faded, replaced by a more serious expression. "Yes," she admitted. "I had a feeling he might know something, or maybe even have seen something. I thought I'd try my luck."
"Why didn't you wake me up? We could have gone together," Finn questioned.
Amelia hesitated for a moment before answering, "You're already under scrutiny back in the States. If something went awry here, I didn't want you caught up in more trouble. Especially not in the UK."
Finn looked at her, touched by her concern. "Thanks for looking out for me," he murmured.
She offered him a small smile. "Someone has to, especially with a shriek like that."
They stood there for a brief moment, looking at each other in the darkness. Then, Amelia broke the silence. "We should stick together now. Let's go see what Nathaniel knows."
The two detectives began to navigate through the dark, winding corridors of Huldra House once more, the storm outside lighting their way.
“I'd turn on a light, but I have no idea where Lady Ferguson sleeps,” Finn whispered. “And the last thing we need is for her to wake up and find us. That would be a call straight to the Home Office.”
Amelia's brow furrowed as she clearly tried to recall the layout of the house from earlier that day. "I think the entrance to the attic is down this corridor and to the left," she said, glancing at Finn.
As they moved quietly through the hallway, a mournful sound echoed through the walls. The distant wailing grew louder as they approached an old wooden door that stood slightly ajar. It sounded otherworldly, sending chills down both their spines.
“What the hell is that?” Amelia whispered.
Amelia's fingers instinctively wrapped around Finn's hand. Her grip was so tight that Finn could feel her pulse racing.
"I'd crack a joke about our current predicament," Finn whispered, trying to lighten the mood, "but that noise again... It's drained the humor from me."
“You have humor?” Amelia said, her voice wavering. “I could do with some of that.”
The wailing noise in the room before them sounded again, a higher pitched howl. It barely sounded human to Finn.
A cry went up somewhere else in the house further off as if in response. Finn knew it had to be Nathaniel. Amelia looked up to the ceiling as if tracing the origin of the noise with her eyes. It had come from the attic.
“If that was Nathaniel,” Finn whispered. “What the hell is in this room and making that other noise?
The thought of someone or something else wandering around the house in the dark did not sit well with him. It was times like that he wished he was allowed to carry his gun.
The wailing sound erupted again from beyond the door. Finn squeezed Amelia's hand and then let go, making sure he had both hands ready for whatever was there in the darkness.
They exchanged a look, nodding slightly to each other. Amelia drew a deep breath, and Finn squared his shoulders. Together, they pushed the door open.
The room was dimly lit by the occasional flash of lightning outside, and in that fleeting illumination, they saw curtains billowing in and out from a window left on its latch. The terrible wailing sound intensified, the wind from the storm outside whistling sharply through the small gap.
Finn moved quickly to the window, securing it and silencing the eerie howl. The room plunged into a quiet calm, save for the muted rumbling of thunder in the distance.
Amelia let out a shaky laugh. "We're really letting this place get to us. I don't think you can arrest a wailing sound," she mused, trying to bring some levity back into the atmosphere.
Finn chuckled, looking down and realizing Amelia was holding his hand again. He thought of Demi and a guilt built up inside of him. He stared at their intertwined fingers before releasing her hand. "Between shrieks and phantom wails, this night is turning out to be quite the party," he said with a smirk.
Amelia grinned, nudging him playfully with her shoulder. "Let's just hope the attic doesn't have any more surprises in store for us."
With a renewed sense of purpose and the previous tension dissipated, the duo continued their journey to uncover the mysteries of Huldra House.
Amelia's heels clicked softly on a wooden floor, the sound amplified in the haunting quiet of the house. "The house is like a maze," she murmured. "But this hallway... it seems familiar."
The faded wallpaper, darkened with age and embossed with intricate patterns of leaves and vines, seemed to guide them as they continued onward. A red carpet runner led to the foot of a staircase, the polished banister reflecting the ambient light from occasional lightning flashes.
They began to ascend, and as they climbed higher, an all too familiar sound wafted down to them. The heart-wrenching sobs they'd heard before filled the air once again, echoing throughout the corridors. Both detectives exchanged concerned glances, now certain of the source.
"It's Nathaniel," Amelia whispered, gripping the railing tightly.
