Spirit of the Revolution (10 page)

“I’m sorry, really I am. You know, if I could, I would just as soon stay home. Unfortunately, it just isn’t possible.” Then, as she turned and made her way toward the stairs, Sam said the strangest thing.

“Well, if nothing else, the timing of her trip works to our advantage,” he said.

“That it does,” said William.

The timing of her trip works to their advantage? What did he mean by that remark? She puzzled over the odd comment all the while she traveled up the stairs and packed for the tour.

Chapter 7

With his hands clasped behind his back, Mathias stood gazing out of his library window and toward the road just visible on the hill. As the minutes passed, a variety of cars and trucks crested that hill. Each time, disappointment washed over him anew as Jolena’s car remained elusive. How he missed her. He missed her beautiful smile—he missed their conversations—he missed her very presence.

“I assumed I’d find you up here, pining away,” said Sam the moment he popped into the room.

“What makes you think I’m pining away?” Mathias growled without turning around.

“Oh, come on, Mathias.” Sam took a seat atop the desk. “How often since Jolena’s departure have we found you up here all by yourself, doing naught but staring out the window? I would blame it on our recent pilgrimage knowing how badly you hate the obligatory trek, but—”

“Perhaps I simply like the view,” he muttered.

Sam merely nodded as he glanced down at the desk and pointed toward the closed volume laying on top it. “I take it the book is no longer holding your interest?”

Mathias shrugged his indifference over the remark. “I take it the movie is no longer holding yours?” he countered, as at last he turned around to face him.

Sam scoffed and shook his head. “The film is just another one of those awful late night offerings that poorly depict medieval wars between rivaling kingdoms. I mean, you would surely think someone would’ve taught the actors how to hold a sword a little more realistically. After all, they’re engaged in a battle for their lives. The way they portray them wielding the thing, my mother could disarm them without too much effort.”

“And what’s with all the conversation on the battlefield anyway?” asked Alex as he and the other boys plowed through the walls of the room. “Probably the best way to get killed yourself is to stop fighting your enemy and then tell him, in minute detail, how you’re going to kill him before the battle ends. What kind of fool would really do something like that?”

“If an enemy of mine ever blabbered on the battlefield, I’d shut him up in a hurry by using the pointed end of my blade,” William added. “I can assure you of that.”

“Do you also notice in these movies, while the conversation is taking place, no one else on the entire field of battle attempts to take advantage of two moronic men that are just standing there, making themselves easy targets?” asked Sam. “No one I know would lose such an opportunity to rid themselves of the enemy. In fact, I would dispatch them both for their stupidity. No one needs a soldier like that, be he on your side or not.”

“You forget,” Jedediah murmured as he leaned down and picked up the ball Dakota placed at his feet. He sent the rubber ball flying down the short hallway, where it bounced off the wall and then bumped down the stairs. “Jolena said the movies are not noted for their accuracy, but only for the entertainment they provide.”

“Well, it doesn’t entertain if it annoys,” Sam retorted as he followed Dakota’s determined path.

Mathias chuckled over all the dour comments. Jolena’s absence had impacted all of them in different ways, or so it seemed. “Judging from the present mood and tone, lads, I believe we could all use a change of pace. So, how about we all go outside and brush up on some of our skills? Dark clouds are gathering over the horizon and heading this way. With all that heavy moisture in the air, the day looks promising enough for such sport.” He cocked his head toward the window.

Sam wiped the corners of his mouth. “That’s the best idea we’ve had in weeks, Mathias.”

“You bet it is,” Alexander chimed in. “We haven’t engaged in any training exercises since Jolena moved into the house. We’re probably getting rusty.”

“Yes, but that’s only because we didn’t know how she’d view such activities,” Jed reminded them. “We wanted her to get used to
us
, first, remember?”

A mischievous gleam entered William’s eyes. “Yes, but Jolena isn’t here, now is she?”

“No, she isn’t and if you recall, she did say if we needed to indulge in any of our ‘ghostly activities,’ to do them in her absence,” Samuel added.

Scant moments later, they gathered at the southernmost portion of the back property. They made use of this area while conducting their training, both during and after their mortality. This portion of land possessed the perfect blend of open space, hilly terrain, and seclusion. Mathias looked them over. Sam leaned forward on his musket, his pistol, and knife tucked inside his belt where he could grab them at will. Jedediah held a tomahawk in each hand. The other boys seemed equally ready for any command he might issue. He didn’t choose to keep them waiting.

“Jed,” Mathias called out as he pointed due east of the shrouded sun. “I see a broken branch on that white pine tree. The wind has yet to sever it completely. Take down the last cone pointing north, while leaving the branch intact. The rest of us will keep the thing moving in a northerly direction. Our goal is to keep it in the air. Is everyone ready?”

At his signal, Jedediah sent one of his tomahawks flying. Four shots then sounded off in rapid succession. Mathias called out more targets as the sound of more shots rang out. Each shot coming right atop the one before it. The rich sounds of the booming thunder, mixed with musket and flintlock pistol fire, rumbled throughout the area.

Then as often happened when they put themselves through their paces, they soon garnered the attention of other soldiers, who fought in wars long past. The ghostly army assembled and joined the games. In short order, the sounds, sights, and smells of a full-scale battle echoed in all corners of the valley. While the storm raged, so did the battle. Mathias didn’t care a whit that the ominous sounds struck fear into the hearts of the neighbors.

****

Despite the intensity of the summer storm, Jo rolled down the window of her car and inhaled a deep breath of the heady scent. The rain smelled so good, and it only added to the joy of her homecoming. She hoped to arrive within the hour, and the anticipation of seeing Mathias and her boys again filled her heart near to bursting. Just as she envisioned the sweetness of their reunion, the ring of her cell phone intruded. Curiosity took hold as she glanced down at the name on the screen. Ellen? Why would she call her? She turned the volume down on her stereo, touched the call button on her phone, and said, “Hello?”

“Jolena,” Ellen whispered. “Are…are you all right, dear?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” Ellen sounded terrified and in the background, she could hear persistent knocking on her door. She couldn’t imagine the cause of the trouble. “But, are
you
all right?”

“Yes, just a minute.” Ellen’s footsteps clicked against ceramic tile. A door creaked opened. More footsteps followed a rustling of some kind and then Gloria moaned in the background.

“Have you been listening? Do you hear all of that?” she cried out.

“You’d have to be deaf not to hear it,” Ellen snapped. “Those frightful sounds have put me on edge all day.”

“But, it’s been so long since the last time anything like this has happened. I hoped that maybe because of the restoration of the house—” Gloria’s voice quivered as she spoke. “What do you think they’re up to? I—I don’t ever remember a time when the goings on over there lasted from sunup until almost sundown, and the sounds are driving me insane. What if it doesn’t stop this time, what if it just keeps going?”

“No, they always stop,” Ellen replied.

“Do you think Jo is there? Should we call to see if she’s all right or needs help? What if—what if she can’t get out?” asked Gloria. “Only—only Douglas and Richard are still in the city, we would have to go over there by ourselves—and I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Shush,” Ellen commanded. “I have Jo on the phone right now. She’s—”

“Ellen,” Jo cut in. “What’s going on? What are you guys talking about?”

“The sounds—coming off your property.” Ellen gulped several times before she continued. “They sound just awful and I can only imagine the carnage taking place at this very moment. I—I worried that you might be in some kind of trouble or needed help.”

“Oh.” Jo blew out a relieved sigh. All types of disasters had raced through her mind. Like, maybe her house caught fire, a gas line exploded, or the wicked witch of the west plummeted through her roof. “No, I’m fine. In fact, I’m on my way home now. I just got off the plane a while ago. I am returning from the tour, so—”

“Of course you are. I should’ve remembered that,” Ellen interrupted. “I read all about the tour in the newsletter. But Jolena, dear, I don’t think you should go home right now. Stay in the city. Your property just isn’t safe right now.”

After Ellen made her promise not to do anything stupid, the woman finally hung up. As she released a deep breath, curiosity set in, and she stepped a little harder on the gas pedal. With any luck, she would get home before sunset.

The storm didn’t abate during her journey, and the thick, dark clouds made it feel far later than the time indicated on her clock. Jo expected to see some lights emanating from the inside of her house as she arrived. Yet, as she crested the hill the only light she saw, rose up sporadically from the back portion of her property.

After she turned into the drive and parked her car, she hurried into the house. All seemed normal, except she didn’t see the boys anywhere. Perhaps they had gathered in the library. She raced up the stairs. Then, just as she stepped onto the landing, the sound of—gunfire?—entered her ears. She opened the door of the first bedroom and made her way to the back veranda searching for the source. Jo gasped as she absorbed the unbelievable sight at the back of her property. Mathias and her boys, along with many Revolutionary and Civil War soldiers, covered the field. They were engaged in some kind of—battle.

She leaned out against the railing just as far as she possibly could. The army of men aimed their guns and a variety of cannons at each other, but they did so in friendly rivalry. Almost like a modern day football game, but with weapons. Dak made himself the referee, yet no one minded the interference as he raced back and forth across the field, barking his fool head off. Some of the men loaded the cannons, while others loaded their pistols and muskets. Thunderous blasts boomed forth from their weapons, and she wondered how they could accomplish such a feat with nothing but ghostly images. The scene fascinated her no end.

Then all at once, the men rushed the field and engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Some of them used bayonets, while others used knives, tomahawks, or both. One phantom soldier charged toward Mathias with his bayonet thrust forward, intent on skewering his victim. Mathias sidestepped at the last possible moment, took hold of the man’s weapon, and while the ghost clung to it, he threw him to the ground. He yanked a wicked-looking knife out of his belt and pointed it at the specter’s throat. Just then, Jedediah raced past him, with a tomahawk in each hand. He chased his opponent, threw one tomahawk toward the soldier’s chest, pivoted, and tossed the other at the spirit running up behind him, with pistol aimed and ready.

Her Rangers prevailed over each opponent as they continued this portion of the games, giving credence to their reputation. In all likelihood, the people reporting ghostly re-enactments of various battles actually witnessed this type of
sport
. She wondered what Carolyn would think if she could see it for herself. So much for the residual haunting theory. She could toss that one right out the window along with the other rubbish she’d read.

As the storm ebbed and the clouds moved on, so did many of the soldiers. They disappeared a few at a time until just her boys and a handful of men remained on the field. A spirit, wearing the uniform of a Revolutionary War officer, approached Mathias with one hand extended toward him, and the other tucked behind his back. They shook hands and as the officer spoke, Mathias nodded and said something in return. She would give just about anything to hear what they said to each other at this moment.

After another round of hearty laughter and backslapping, the remaining visitors shook the hands of her boys yet again, and in an instant, disappeared. Mathias finally turned in the direction of the house. With a grin on his face, he bowed, acknowledging her presence. In response to his mere presence, her heart took flight. She returned his smile and rushed down the stairs. By the time she hit the bottom floor, all her ghostly companions had congregated inside the family room. At once, they crowded around her.

“Jolena, my love.” Sam nudged past the others and approached her first. In customary fashion, he dropped to one knee, clutched at his heart, and said, “Since the moment of your departure, my heart grieved your loss, and I’ve found no respite from the pain during your lengthy absence.”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, get up, Sam.” Quiet laughter accompanied the shake of her head. “I haven’t been gone
that
long.”

“Yet, it seems otherwise.” He tossed her a devilish grin as he rose to his feet. “In truth, lass, it’s good to have you home. I know I couldn’t have lasted much longer without seeing your lovely face.”

“Well, then, I’m glad I made it home in time.”

“That you did. But, just barely.” He winked, ignoring the barbs from his buddies.

Alex elbowed past Sam and rolled his eyes heavenward. “Sam is not the only one who missed you, Jolena. We all did.”

“And I missed all of you.” Jo cast her gaze over each of them in turn. “You can’t believe how much. The layovers tested the limits of my patience.”