The Room of Arches was one of my favourite novellas to write. The thing was mapped out in my head from the image of the room in the basement and went from there. Christine was struggling with her home and the secrets it held and Laura, her best friend (not unlike Olivia in some ways!)
was protective. There was a whole mystery element to this one too and Peyton just knew that she couldn’t walk away after hearing so many voices. She was learning to hone her skills and during this time, she used a lot of self-reflection to think about how far she’d come and where she’d like to go.
It was a cornerstone in her life.
Today, we’re going back to the house that Peyton visited in The Room of Arches as well as Christine and Laura.
If you haven’t had time to pick up a copy, you can get it now here.
“I have to be honest, Chris, this place still gives me the shivers sometimes.” Laura glanced around
the room. It was lit by a couple of lamps, their halo of light extending only a short distance from the
base. The curtains were drawn to ward out the night. She ran her finger around the rim of the wine
glass distractedly until her eyes were finally drawn to her friend.
Christine smiled. “You’re being silly. You know there’s nothing left here.”
“That’s what she said. Peyton, I mean. She said they were gone, but how can you be sure?” Laura
worried her lip.
Christine’s smile faded and her eyes glazed as her mind took her back. “I know because I can’t feel
them anymore.”
Silence spanned the room. Christine took a drink and continued. “You know, I think about them a lot,
those women, and what Tom did to them. I mean, I keep searching for answers, you know. Hoping
to figure out a reason for his behaviour.”
“You need to stop torturing yourself.” Laura shook her head. “You’ll exhaust yourself trying to figure
out why a madman acted the way he did. At least he’s locked up behind bars now. For a long time.
He’ll never be able to hurt you.”
“Oh I’m not worried about that. I don’t think he ever had intentions of hurting me. I just think about
the women, you know, trapped down there. They were walled in for god sake. The whole thing had
been planned to a T and it was only because I had an odd feeling about the place.”
“That and the fact that Peyton was eavesdropping.” Laura rolled her eyes.
Christine grinned. “You hated her.”
“Hate is a strong word. I didn’t hate her. I was just protecting you. You’d already been through so
much. I didn’t want some fraud walking into your life and upsetting the balance.”
“I know. But thankfully Peyton wasn’t a fraud, was she? She figured it all out and got rid of the
spirits. So now they’re at peace and so am I.”
“Yeah, but the place still gives me the creeps.”
Christine laughed.
“Come on. Let’s go out. There’s a new bar opened and you’ve been single way too long.” Laura stood
up, setting the wine glass down.
“You just don’t want to sit in my house, do you?”
“I’ve got chills racing down my spine.” Laura grinned, grabbing Christine’s hand and heading for the
door.