McCann's Manor (31 page)

She glared at him, “Not
me
, you haven't."

He leaned forward in his seat, rubbed his chin. “You don't have to be coy with me. I thought we were friends. I'm not here to ogle you in your nightgown, honey; there's plenty of time for that when you haven't been at death's door twice in the same day,” he said.

"I was
not
at death's door,” she objected.

"Well, that isn't how it looked to the rest of us,” he said hotly. “You were blue in the face the first time and I never want to see you that way again. Now be a good girl and go slip into your nightie."

She sighed, remained where she was and stared at the ceiling.

"What is it? You want me to go into the hall and come back after you're in bed? For God's sake, you were married and you had kids; how can you still be so prim?” he asked.

"It's not that; it's—well, I'm not even
sleepy
. I slept for hours this afternoon and I could stay awake for hours now. I'm positively wired! I see no reason to put on my nightgown when I'm bound to be pacing the floor half the night because I'm not sleepy,” she said. “It really bothers me for you to have to be here when I know you must be tired; certainly of all of us, I'm the most
rested
. It borders on the ridiculous."

"Well, yes, I
am
tired, but even if I went home I wouldn't sleep for worrying something might happen to you. I'm here because I care about you and what happens to you. And, yes, I
might
get more rest if I went home, but I wanted to be
with you
tonight. Don't be upset because I wanted to stay,” he coaxed.

"You make me feel selfish; you don't even
like
to be in this house and here you are in the night, which is when you
hate
to be here the most,” she said.

He moved onto the bed beside her, took her hand. “Why are you so nervous about this?” he asked.

"It's because of Tarrh; he was with me in my body this morning. When Joel crossed me with holy water that second time, it walloped Tarrh so hard that we
both
were thrown out. To be honest, I just didn't want to jump back in; I was out and there was no pain; I wasn't dizzy or having to contend with that awful headache that I had been having for days,” she explained.

"You
saw
him coming out of your body?"

"Yes; he is desperate not to go back, John. And I—I feel sorry for him; I find myself wanting to
help
him instead of dispatching him back to that cold dark hell where he was suspended all those years,” she said.

"Only you would feel compassion for a demon like Tarrh. I guess that is part of what draws me to you so strongly. You're unfathomable,” he said, running his fingers through her auburn locks, “so different from every other woman I've known."

"John—"

"You're going to try to talk me out of kissing you, aren't you?” he asked.

"I—no, I'm not. I'm not sure it is wise, but I'm not going to try to talk you out of it,” she said.

"Then what were you going to say?"

She looked deep into his eyes, traced his cheekbone with her finger. John was so special to her, yet how could she rationalize getting lost in his arms right now? Surely this was the wrong time, the wrong place; unquestionably she should keep things simple, or at least as close to simple as anything
could
be right now. She could never hope to explain to him the hopes she was forming about helping Tarrh, let alone expect him to understand.

Tarrh's soul had indelibly left its mark on hers. Somehow, she felt the whole problem with this house was the end result of what some unnamed person centuries before had done to Tarrh. By bringing Tarrh's writings with him, Ben had unwittingly brought all of his ancestor's troubles forward in time to this house and, consequently, to the present. But in order to help Tarrh, they would have to know his secrets; Liz would have to get him to trust her and her intentions; but how? Moreover, how was she ever going to be able to enlist the help of John, Kim and Joel? How could she even entertain thoughts of accomplishing all that?

"Where did you go?” John asked.

"I'm sorry, John,” she said. “I guess I'm just still too rattled about all that's happening here. I mean, I
want
you to kiss me, but; it just feels awkward right now."

John pursed his lips, stood and moved slightly away from her. “You're still worried about Missy and me, aren't you?” he asked.

In truth, she hadn't even
thought
about Missy in days, and Missy hadn't so much as put in an appearance since Liz had channeled her for John. In the past few days, none of the other spirits had been on her mind half as much as Tarrh. She wanted to tell John all about the dream last night and the conversation she had with him while she was out of her body. Would he understand if she tried to explain it to him?

She reached out to him once more, pulled him close to her. “It isn't Missy—or you,” she said.

He closed the distance between them, pulled her to her feet, his arms around her. “What is it, then?” he asked.

"I have some things I want to tell you, but I'm not sure where to start or how to say it. Maybe you should kiss me first,” she said with a smile, “because after I tell you all I have to say, you may not want to kiss me anymore."

"Don't be silly! I want to kiss you a lot and I don't think anything you can say could possibly change that,” he said. “If it isn't Missy that has you worried, what is it?"

Congratulations,
she told herself.
He wants to kiss you, but not enough to go ahead and kiss you now!
“Okay,” she said, “Sit down and let me just go ahead and blurt it all out. You already know some of it; maybe talking it over with you will help me to make some sense of it in my own mind."

John took a seat on the edge of her bed and listened patiently while she told him all about the dream, the conversations she had with Tarrh and her wanting to help him even if it damaged her own soul. When she finished her tale, he sat staring at the floor in silence.

"Well?” she asked.

"Well, that's quite a tale,” he said. “How can you be sure all the things he told you are true?"

She shrugged and replied, “I can't be sure
any
of the things he said are true, any more than I can be certain any of the things Missy told me are true. But I
can
be sure of the torment I felt in him when our souls touched. He is a tortured being. Maybe he deserved what he got, maybe he didn't."

"And you want to find out whether he deserved it?” John asked. “Don't you think that could be just a
tad
dangerous?"

Liz studied the design on the area rug at her feet, sighed. “You mean more dangerous than what I've already been through with him? I don't know. All I know is that my inner being
needs
to try to help him."

"Well, maybe you should reconsider that! Did you know your friend Tarrh actually tried to take up residence in Joel while you were
out
this afternoon?” he asked flatly.

"He
what
?"

"Yeah, Kim was quick enough to recognize what was going on and sent him packing,” John said. “He pretended to call Mark and then told Kim to wait another hour before she tried to wake you. Mark said had they waited, you just might
have
slipped into a coma because you were way too far under from the medication he gave you, almost as though he had given you an overdose of a sedative."

"I can't believe it!” Liz said breathlessly.

"You
should
believe it, Liz,” Kim said as she walked into the room. “I didn't mean to eavesdrop; thought I would check on you before I went to my room and I know I listened too long before letting you know of my presence. But since you were filling John in on all the details of your dream and all, I thought I would listen, too. That way you don't have to tell the story over and over."

"I didn't mean I didn't
believe you
, John; only that I didn't believe Tarrh would actually make another assault so soon, and on Joel, of all people!” Liz said.

"Well, he
did
,” Kim asserted. “We are just lucky Ghost noticed something and alerted me, because it might have all gone right past me."

Liz sank onto the bed, a far away look in her eyes. She shook her head sadly, “God, I'm such a dope. I honestly believed his little act!"

"It might not be an
act
. If he is as desperate as you believe him to be, though, it is probably hard for him to trust anyone,” Kim said.

"That's true,” John added. “If he told you what really happened, he obviously trusted unwisely at least twice. He trusted the one who ‘took his soul', then he trusted Ben. He probably thinks the only way he can be sure of the outcome is to control us and bring it about the way
he
wants this time."

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better,” Liz said. “I appreciate it, but—"

"We're not just trying to make you feel better,” Kim said. “I, for one, am trying to piece all the facts together. What you and John don't know is that Joel told me he thinks there must be at least one more manuscript that we haven't found. The ones he has translated don't really have any information about how we might be able to control Tarrh."

"Was this before, during or
after
Joel's little possession ordeal?” Liz asked sarcastically.

Kim eyed her. “Why, it was
before
; at least it was before Ghost noticed anything,” she said. “We were going to try to distinguish whether the diagrams of Tarrh's floor plan had any notes about the secret passages, then see if we could apply them to this house. But Joel was worried about leaving you alone. That is when he checked your breathing and pulse. After that, he went to call Mark and
that
was when the change occurred."

"
The passages are a riddle; nothing more
,” Liz quoted.

"What?” John asked.

"That is what Tarrh told me.” Liz explained. “He said if we learned the answer to the riddle of the passages we would know everything we need to know about him.” She blinked her eyes in astonishment.

"That is it!” Kim said. “There
must be
at least one more manuscript hidden somewhere in the house and that manuscript tells us what we need to know. That
has
to be a confirmation, doesn't it?"

Liz shook her head. “
Sounds
like it,” she replied, “but suppose it's just a trick? Maybe he told me that because the manuscript gives him
more
power over us if we find it. He said Missy and Leonard summoned him by
attempting to read
his manuscripts. Suppose they're the ones who hid it, not Ben? We could hurt ourselves a lot by opening
that
can of worms."

"Well, that is a possibility, especially since it was hidden in the first place. If Ben hid it, we have to wonder why, don't we?” Kim agreed.

"Sounds to me as if it is a two-sided coin,” John said thoughtfully. “I mean, maybe it gives Tarrh more of a hold in this realm; but
if
it tells us what we need to know about him, I would venture to say we need the knowledge, if we're to help him
or
put him away for good."

"Either way, we're still taking a chance, aren't we?” Liz asked.

Kim nodded, “Yes, we are. Who all wants to go look at that floor plan and see what we can find?"

"What? You mean
now
?” John asked. “Count me in!"

Liz peered at John out of the corner of her eye, smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

"Race you to the library!” Kim said as she headed out the door.

"What was that?” Liz asked with a start.

"What was
what
?” Kim asked.

"Didn't you hear that click? You pushed the wall and there was a click somewhere just beyond the partition. Don't tell me you didn't hear it,” Liz said as she moved into the darkness of the passage.

"Wait! Liz, did you hear something you don't
usually
hear when we open a passage?” Kim asked anxiously.

There was no reply.

"Liz! Liz, stop fooling around and come back here! Turn your light back on,” Kim demanded.

Still no answer.

Kim turned around to look at John in alarm. “Don't just stand there! Shine that flashlight in here!"

He pointed the bright beam into the dark passage in front of him, but it was empty. “Oh, God!” he exclaimed, “Where did she go?"

Kim blinked into the stale chamber, but saw nothing except but dust and an empty room. They were standing in a small triangular room off the hall on the secret second level beside one of the library walls in a chamber directly above the Crescent Room on the first floor. Clearly, Liz couldn't have simply disappeared in the small room, and yet she was gone. If she had passed through the wall into the library, surely she would have answered Kim's call.

John and Kim stared at each other, dumbfounded. Kim rubbed her forehead trying to think of a possible explanation; then it hit her. She gasped, covered her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes. “Oh, Dear God!” she whispered.

"What is it?” John demanded.

"Joel said the house—at least Tarrh's house—was designed to be a portal through time and space,” she said softly.

"You're not telling me you
believe that
, are you?” he asked.

She looked at him hard. “You have some other explanation, maybe; something more
logical
? How do you imagine it might have happened that she came in here and just vanished?” she quizzed angrily.

John shrugged helplessly, sighed, but held his tongue.

"The click she heard, or opening the door to this room, must have triggered some kind of transport device. Since she was the first one into the room, it sent her—
somewhere
,” she said.

John narrowed his eyes, peered around the room for some lever, but found nothing. “Where could it have taken her?” he asked.

Kim shook her head sadly, heaved a sigh. “Could be
anywhere
,” she said. “Another problem is
when
—there is a lot of time out there."

"How are we going to get her back?"

"I don't have any answers yet, John. I wasn't prepared for this; it never occurred to me one of us would be transported someplace else. Liz is a smart girl, though. She'll work on getting back, and we have to do all we can from this end to make sure she can get here,” Kim said.