Blood in the Marsh

by Ciana Stone

  Lyra nodded and got up to go in the den and get a pad and pen. She opened the top drawer of the desk and reached for the pad of paper she knew was inside. As she looked down, her eyes widened. Lying on top of the paper was a golden pendant on a thin gold chain. She hesitantly picked it up and looked at it.

  It was circular with the carved image of a man in its center and all along its edge there were symbols, what appeared to be a mixture of hieroglyphs and runes. Lyra frowned, puzzled by the markings. She couldn’t make sense of it but something about it seemed familiar. She’d seen this pendant before. But where?

  What was more, she knew the necklace had not been there before and that unnerved her. How had it gotten there? Her nervousness vanished as she looked at the back of the pendant. Woven in a filigree pattern of gold inlaid on gold was a representation of the Celtic pentagram, the ‘endless knot’ And within the very heart of the knot was a smooth circle of gold inscribed with one letter—L.

  She knew the pendant was intended for her and she believed that it was a gift from Lucius. Just a few short weeks ago, she would have laughed if someone had told her she would soon believe she was having lucid dreams in which she communicated with a dead man and even received presents from him. But several weeks ago, she had been far younger and more innocent. While she may not have changed outwardly, inside she was much older because of what she had been through.

  She put the necklace on; the pendant lay against her chest just below the hollow of her throat. Absently she reached up and rubbed it between her thumb and index finger. An energy seemed to emanate from it, one that made her feel slightly warm and a bit drowsy.

  But that wasn’t possible. She discounted the idea. It was just the stress. It had to be. She didn’t have the strength for another mystery.

  Sunday

  Michael and Nick were watching a ball game on television and Lyra was in Lucius’ study, going over the pictures Michael had taken and comparing the symbols to those she had found in her research. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she was beginning to see a pattern, and it seemed to be connected in an obscure way to Lucius’ diary. But she hadn’t said anything to anyone about it. They had all made a point of not discussing anything about what had been happening all weekend, after mutually agreeing that they all needed some time to try to relax and get their heads together.

  Lyra was glad that no one wanted to talk. She wasn’t ready to tell anyone about her theory or about the pendant she’d found. She had worn high-necked T-shirts so that it wouldn’t show. She also did not want to let Nick know that she’d had several more dreams about Lucius.

  Putting the letter she was reading from one of Lucius’ old friends aside, she leaned back and closed her eyes, remembering the dream she had last night.

  She was in a room she had never seen before, one that seemed to belong in another time. The floors were of stone that had been polished to a smooth almost mirrored finish, as were the walls. Enormous pillars of the same type of stone supported the high, vaulted ceiling. There was a row of three windows along two intersecting walls, but there was no glass in the windows or shutters. The window openings were large, starting just a few feet off the floor and rising farther up than she could reach.

  She walked around the room, looking at the low chaise lounge chairs and benches that were covered in gold embroidered cloth. Each piece of furniture was in itself a work of art. The wood appeared to have been leafed in gold with elaborate carvings.

  A noise drew her attention and she turned, seeing a door appear in the wall. A tall handsome man dressed in a loose white robe walked into the room and smiled at her. “My darling, how delightful to see you.” He walked across the room and took her hand, lifting it to his lips.

  A wave of intense feelings crashed over her that made her weak. The man’s touch both excited and frightened her and she didn’t understand why. She had never seen him before yet he seemed to know her.

  He helped her to a bench to sit then sat beside her, idly stroking her arm and hand. “Soon the waiting will be over, my love, and we will be joined as one—for all time.”

  His words made fear rise like a sickness inside her and she wanted to flee. But there was nowhere to run. The door had vanished, leaving only a blank wall. She pulled her hand away and scooted back on the bench to put distance between them. The man smiled and reached over to run his hand down her long hair. “Come, my love, there is no need to fear.”

  “Oh but there is.” A voice sounded from one of the windows.

  Lyra turned and gasped. Lucius floated outside the window, seated on a simple wooden chair. The man beside her jumped up and ran to the window. “You can’t stop me, you pathetic fool! How many lifetimes will it take to convince you? You’ll never beat me! You haven’t the strength. I am invincible. No one can stand against me—not them and certainly not you. I have the power and soon I will have her. Then nothing will ever stand against me. I’ll be eternal and you’ll be nothing more than a rotting corpse in a shallow grave.”

  Lucius looked past the man to Lyra. “Pay very close attention now, dear. This is very important. Remember the words spoken here and what occurs, for soon it will begin.”

  His shape began to vanish and the man laughed until Lucius was no longer there. He turned to Lyra with a smile, but it was a smile that made her flesh crawl. Now his beauty seemed to be deteriorating, the corruption and foulness bleeding through the facade. She stood up and backed away as the demonic form moved toward her.

  “You will be mine,” it hissed. “I have waited far too long to let you go now, my dear. Soon you will be mine for all time and there is nothing that can stop me. I will have you, then I will crush all those who seek to supplant me. In the end I will be the only one.”

  “No!” she whispered, completely horrified.

  A shrieking wind blasted through the room. Within the howl was the sound of many voices. Lyra froze in fear as forms began to take shape all around her. Pale faces with glowing eyes looked out from the folds of the cloaks that covered the beings, and hissing whispers emerged from their blood red lips. Like a pack of wolves circling their prey, they moved in closer. Their robes whispered like the hissing of serpents as they glided forward.

  The demon screamed in rage and challenge, lashing out with bolts of red flame that shot from his fingertips. “You miserable fools! You cannot defeat me. I will destroy you one by one, draining the eternal life from you as I have done with all the others. The woman is mine!”

  The hissing grew louder and Lyra could hear words within the sound. “There will be only one,” the voices chanted.

  The demon laughed. “Yes, only one and that one will be me. Flee while you can—hide yourselves away and cringe for soon I will come for you.”

  The figures stopped their movement as if intimidated by the demon’s words. Lyra was seized by the fear and rage that emanated from them. Somehow, their fear became her own.

  The demon walked up to her and smiled down at her. “See how they tremble before me, my darling. They know it is only a matter of time. Their existence hinges on my benevolence. But there will come a time when their lives will end. It was decreed in the beginning and so it shall be. In the end there will be only one.”

  Lyra screamed as he reached for her and awoke, trembling and terrified.

  She shook her head to dispel the images of the dream. Somehow, she knew the dream was important and she wanted to remember it so that she could find the hidden message, but it really scared her.

  The door to the study opened and Chelsey walked in. Lyra looked up at her in surprise. “Chels! Are you okay? What are you doing up?”

  “I had the strangest dream,” Chelsey said as she walked over and sat down on the floor beside Lyra. “I dreamed we were little again, about seven or eight, and we were riding our bikes. We rode by this house and saw Lucius sitting out front on one of the benches—you know that one beside that huge old oak? Anyway, the gate was open and we just rode in like we’d been invited an
d he waved and invited us to have lemonade with him. We sat down, he looked at us, and then he said, “Chelsey, it’s important that you listen to what I have to tell you. One day you’re going to have to play a very important role in Lyra’s life, far more important than just being her best friend. One day you’re going to have to walk away from her in order to help her. When that day comes, I want you to be very strong. When the time comes, you must turn your back on her, as if you have no feelings at all for her. As far as anyone else knows you will no longer care for her, in fact everyone will believe that you hate her.”

  Chelsey paused and looked at Lyra. “I told him he was just a crazy old man and I’d never do anything like that and then he said something even stranger.”

  She stopped and Lyra waited for a moment for her to continue. When she didn’t, Lyra prodded her gently. “Come on, Chels. What did he say?”

  Chelsey frowned and stared at the floor. “He said, ‘If you are her friend, if you want to save her, you must. It’s your destiny.’“

  She looked up at Lyra with a troubled expression. “Isn’t that weird? I mean, I hardly even remember Lucius. You were the one who always wanted to visit him and I never understood what you saw in him. He was just an old man. And now I’m having dreams about him. Lyra, what’s really happening to us? Are we trapped in some weird parallel universe or have we just stepped over into the Twilight Zone or what?”

  Lyra took Chelsey’s hand and tried to smile. “No, I don’t think so. I think we’ve just gotten caught up in something that’s out of the ordinary. Chelsey, I really think it’s time you knew everything, but I’m not sure you’re ready to hear it.”

  “I have to!” Chelsey whispered urgently. “Lyra, I really have to.”

  “Okay.” Lyra nodded and leaned closer, talking in a soft, fast whisper. “This is what I know…”

  Michael walked into the study and saw Lyra and Chelsey sitting on the floor with their heads close together. They both looked up as he walked in and Lyra fell silent. Chelsey looked from him to Lyra then squeezed Lyra’s hand.

  “Thanks. I think I’ll go get something to drink.”

  “I can get it for you.”

  “No, I sort of need a few minutes alone. You can keep Michael company.”

  “You sure you’re okay?” Michael asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  Lyra watched Chelsey leave then looked at Michael. “What were you two talking about?” he asked.

  “About everything.”

  “I thought we weren’t going to tell Chelsey everything.”

  Lyra stood up, picked up her notes, and put them in the desk. “We were wrong. She’s in just as much danger as the rest of us and she deserves to know what’s really going on.”

  She turned and faced him with a solemn expression. “Chelsey had a dream about Lucius.”

  Michael crossed the room to her and took her hands. “You sound worried.”

  “Not worried, just resigned.” She pulled in the direction of the couch.

  “Want to tell me about it?”

  She waited until he was seated beside her then told him about Chelsey’s dream. “Lucius is trying to tell us something. Only we’re not paying close enough attention.”

  “And what is it you think he’s trying to tell us?”

  “How to win.”

  “Win?”

  “Yes! How to beat Adoul!. It couldn’t be much clearer. Her role’s defined so all she has to do is remember what he told her to do and do it when the time comes.”

  Michael studied her for a moment. Suddenly he noticed the top of the gold pendant peaking out of the top of her shirt. “What’s that?”

  She pulled it free from her shirt and Michael studied it for a moment. “It’s very unusual. Where did you get it?”

  “That’s what I wanted to tell you. Lucius gave it to me.”

  He looked up with his brows drawn together. “You never said anything about him giving you anything like this.”

  “That’s because I only got it Friday. Right after Nick left and we were going to make a list of things we needed to check on. I went to the den to get a pad of paper out of the desk and this was on top of the pad in the drawer.”

  “Well, maybe it’d been there all along.”

  “You know it hasn’t. We’ve both looked through that desk and everything else in this house and it wasn’t here until Friday. I know it’s from Lucius. Look on the back.”

  He turned the pendant over. “Do you have any idea what these symbols stand for?”

  “No.” She slid it back inside her shirt. Somehow, she seemed to draw strength from the slight weight of the pendant against her skin.

  “There’s something else. A dream…”

  “About Lucius?”

  “Yes, but there was someone else in this dream. I think it was Adoul.”

  Michael’s attention was focused entirely on her as she related the dream to him. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes then he put his hand on her shoulder. “And you think the dream and the pendant are connected.”

  She nodded. “I think it’s a clue, and if we can find someone who can tell us what happened when he was here before, maybe we can figure out how to use the clues and defeat him. And we have to find a way to defeat him.”

  He nodded and pulled her over to him. “I know,” he whispered, burying his face in her long hair. “I just don’t want to take a chance on you getting hurt in the process.”

  Lyra pulled back and looked up at him with an uncertain expression. “Michael, I…”

  “What?” he asked as she looked down.

  After a few moments, she spoke so softly he could barely hear her. “I don’t want to be a virgin anymore. If I’m not then Adoul won’t want me.” She looked up at him at last. “Will you please make love to me?”

  Michael looked surprised and for a moment he didn’t answer. “Lyra, I’d like nothing better than to make love to you. But not because you’re running from Adoul. That’s not the way I want it to be between us. So, I guess the answer is no. Not now, anyway. Not until you’re ready to make love for no other reason except that you want me.”

  “But I do!”

  He smiled and touched her face. “And I want you. But I want it to be special and beautiful. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promised you that. But I also won’t make love to you because we’re afraid of Adoul. I won’t give in to that fear and I don’t think you should either.”

  Lyra looked at him for a long time then nodded and looked down. “Okay.”

  Michael turned her face up to his. “I meant what I said, Lyra. I do love you.”

  She nodded. “And I love you. But right now we have to think about other things, don’t we?”

  “Yes, I guess so.”

  She stood up and walked to stand in front of Lucius’ desk. Lucius, if you can hear me you’ve got to give me more. I don’t know what to do. How am I supposed to fight this Adoul? I’m afraid and I don’t know how. Please help me.

  “What are you thinking?” Michael asked.

  She turned around and looked at him. “Just that I’m kind of tired. I think I’ll go upstairs and try to get some sleep.”

  She walked over and leaned down to kiss him. Michael watched her leave then stared across the room with his brow furrowed in concern.

  Monday—Sea Island

  “This is going to work!” Lyra whispered excitedly as she and Nick stood waiting for Michael to answer the front door. “I just know it!”

  Nick smiled at her. He had to admit that their disguises were good. They had padded a body suit to make Lyra look heavy-set and then dressed her in a long-sleeved floral print dress that hung around her ankles. White padded hose and thick-soled shoes covered what part of her was visible.

  A grey-streaked black wig covered her long blonde hair and brown contact lenses hid her golden eyes. She wore thick-framed, tinted glasses and her makeup made her appear to be at least fifteen years older, if not more. Nick
had her put rolls of gauze in her cheeks on either side of her lower teeth, which gave her a fat-faced look.

  He was dressed in a white shirt and tie, a jacket, and a curly wig of dark brown hid his black hair. Along with heavy eyebrows and a full beard, he also wore glasses. His were wire-rimmed and had thick glass, which distorted the shape of his eyes.

  Lyra had called her friend, a professor, and told him that she needed a favor from him. He had been curious about why she was going to such lengths to keep her identity a secret and she told him that the people were very hesitant to talk about the history with anyone unless the person had some sort of big title or something. He agreed that she could use his name and suggested that she give her name as Estelle Banks, his long-time secretary and assistant. Dr. Getties told her that he was planning a trip himself so he would be out of town for a couple of weeks. He would leave word with his staff that if anyone called to check out her story that they be told he was off on a research-gathering trip for a new book.

  Lyra thanked him and promised to fill him in on what she found when he got back from his vacation. She gave Nick the names and Nick made one of his secret calls. Late Sunday night a man showed up at the house, and by the time he left, Nick and Lyra had very genuine driver’s licenses, credit cards, and even bank accounts with their new names on them.

  That morning when they had come downstairs dressed in their disguises Michael had sworn that he would not recognize them himself, but Nick wanted to test it so he and Lyra went out front. Michael went to wake Chelsey and have her see them when he answered the door.

  They waited impatiently and finally Michael opened the door. “Mr. Santera?” Lyra asked in a high-pitched nasal tone, the gauze making her words a little muddled. “I’m Estelle Banks and this is my associate Dr. Bernard Getties.”