Standing outside like they were a tiny army were seven people. The first was a lean Hispanic man wearing a butler's uniform. He looked smart and his eyes alert. He would look happy to see. He flashed a toothy grin. It resembled those found in cadavers freshly dug after being buried for some time. To his right was an old lady dressed in funeral clothes and a corpse bride hairstyle and her face was covered with a veil. She extended a gnarled hand as greetings. It was cold and clammy. The next were two men dressed in all black suits. They were identical twins who had a gaunt expression. Their expressions were polar opposites. One was smiling and the other expressed despair. Both looked eerie and became more haunted the longer I looked. The next was a man in plain clothes wielding a shotgun. He grunted that he was the foreman. The last two wore clothes resembling the medieval era. The one next to the twins were in her thirties and was African American. She wore a cook's uniform and the other looked like she was Eastern European and wore a washer woman's clothes. Everyone of them looked like they would fit right in a festival of death. The butler introduced himself as Tiberius and the veiled one was his wife Zelmira. The twins were Obadiah and Atticus. The foreman's name was Blackwell. The cook was Mrs. Erebus and the washer woman was named Mrs. Kol.
We were about to go inside when we heard a wail. Zelmira explained that someone was outside the wall and wanted to say something. We reached the gate and the man asked me if the house was on sale. I told him that it will never be on sale. He explained that he is trying to buy property in this town but unfortunately none are selling. This property was huge so selling a few acres won't matter much. I grinned as Tiberius answered, "This owner of this estate is old money and not interested in selling. We have no interest so don't come back." He pulled out a paycheck and said he can pay me a million bucks. Zelmira laughed as she explained, "The phoenix family has amassed wealth by having shares in higher stakes than that. Young miss here has a few multi billion dollars stored in banks all over this country and in Europe so your offer money is just a stipend for her." He stared for a second and walked away. She pulled a scorpion who had crawled up my legs and was proceeding towards my face. She chastised the creature, "Rhaevor, you shouldn't have jumped like that on little miss. She isn't familiar with you." Obadiah said that it was Rhaevor it was Cleopatra. The distinct markings prove it is her. She flipped him over and saw a gash. She tutted, "Cleo this isn't how we welcome family. There are formalities." We walked back to the house and I saw the walls around the cemetery were just skulls. The air smelled like decay but was not overpowering. Stone steps were enveloped by weeds. As we walked up the porch I saw a spider the size of a dinner plate. The sight was delightful. Then we walked in. The corridor was dimly lit with candles. Flanking on either side of the door was shriveled hand holding a black candles. Green flames of varying shades dancing on a wick.
The corridor had portraits and tapestry depicted decapitation and the other ways of killing. Some depicted scenes from myth while others depicted scenes from actual wars from all over the world. At the end of the corridor was a Samurai armor. He was armed to the teeth. Two samurai swords on his waist. He was holding a saber in one hand and a folded ornate fan in the other. He was flanked by two mannequins wearing Bowman outfits and all the essentials. Behind them was four ninjas with kunai knives, swords and other implements. They all appear ready to fight. They only wait for someone to send a signal. The tapestry behind them was a japanese drawing depicting the demon army flying to war. The corridor is divided into two sections. One leads to the stairs and storage area. The other leads to the living room. It was a large room with a huge fire place. The flames were blood red. There was a coffee table and a bench on one side. The other housed several armchairs by the fireplace. The wall had several full length portraits and a section devoted to stuffed animal heading. There was one portrait of someone being disemboweled. The floor had a lion skin rug near the fireplace while a polar bear skin rug was near the bench. The high windows were all painted over as though sunlight was an unwelcome guest.
I asked to see my bedroom. I was the owner so I was escorted to the third floor. There was a torch lighting the way every few feet. The light illuminates the area to avoid collision with artifacts and staff. The stairs creaked with each step but it felt like a welcome gesture then a disapproving sound. The bedroom door was painted in a shade of black that it seemed to drink all light and reflect none back. The handle was shaped like a snake. The walls were painted green and black. It looked almost like fish scales. The floorboards didn't creak. My room had a large four poster bed made from blackwood. The curtains were made of black lace. There was a dressing table with a mirror that was enchanted. It showed me as I was. Unfiltered and unapologetically honest. To my right was an armoire. There were words from unknown origin that were carved into the dark wood. The side of the armoire were carvings of snakes in varying angles and poses. Inside were clothes which would fit me perfectly. All in black. Some of the clothes were Victorian era style but some were modern style as well. The door handle was a silver dragon. A dresser was on the other side but this was made from wood made out of gold. Dragons were carved on them like they were the dresser's personal guard. Shrunken heads were dangling by the painted window like a macabre wind chime. They started speaking in a squeaky voice in different pitches. One was rude and the other was eloquent and the last one had a stammer. There was a grizzly bear rug on the floor and I had my own fireplace as well but the flames were lapis lazuli.
I took a tour of the cemetery. I was shown the catacombs and also the many mausoleums. One of them was the hall of bones. It was a building made entirely of bones of our family enemies. A few had holes on their forehead. So they were killed during duels or perhaps during wars. Some had cuts like a sword or machete may have done quick work. Others looked like they were doused in acid. Lastly I was taken to a place called the ash tray. It was a circular room with a columbarium wall made from a translucent onyx with many rectangular decorative frames with a marble skull in the middle. It was a capsule hotel for the dead. A small gold plaque on each one depicting names with year of birth and death mentioned. The inside was barely visible. With urns made from wood to marble and metal. Each emitting a faint glow. As I walked back I was told that some rooms were nailed shut for protective reasons. Unless it was a life threatening situation. I should leave the room in peace. The dead were going back to their tombs or flickering on and off. Mom looked grossed out and my step family looked like they wanted to wake up from the nightmare. They saw bats with a six foot wing span and mom fainted. I woke her up using smelling salt. She wanted to leave but she had nowhere else to call home. Dad had left her with a fist full debts and Grandma didn't like that mom wanted to get married after dad passed away so she was disowned. Aunt Cassandra was the only one who cared. So after much consideration they moved their things in. It was better than the alternative. We were formally welcomed to Tenebrae mansion. As wind passed through the door and into the house it sounded like the entire building was actually breathing.