“Oh, give me that,” Fanny said. She took the box and with one mighty pull it came open for her. As she held it open, I shined the flashlight into the box.
There it was. The torc.
It didn’t move on its own or crawl its way onto me. It just lay there, a beautiful arm bracelet made of many strands of twisted gold all coming together and ending in a finial on each end. On one end, a bird – maybe a hawk or eagle. On the other end, the head of a woman with her hair going back from her face and becoming flame. A chick with her hair on fire! What’s with all the fire I thought? The torc didn’t glow or anything, just a regular looking old piece of jewelry.
“I can't believe it. That’s it,” Fanny said.
“Yeah, I hoped we’d find it but really, I was beginning to have doubts,” Jake said.
I couldn’t say anything. It was great that we’d found it of course. And yeah, it made me believe again in Hindergog, that weird little guy. But the truth is, I was kind of disappointed. I guess I expected it to glow like in my visions and for something magical to happen.
“What’s the matter Em?” asked Fanny.
“Oh, nothing,” I said. “It just, in a way, it looks sort of – you know – ordinary.”
All three of us just stared at it for a few minutes. Then Jake said, “Put it on Em.”
“Oh, no, I don’t think I should,” I said. “Look, the sun is starting to come up. We need to cover this hole up and get the heck out of here.”
Jake could see that I was right, but he still eyed me cautiously. I think he could see that I was scared of this thing, but he didn’t push me. At least not then.
21. On the Run
We got to the inn and put the shovel back inside the shed. As we walked inside the inn, there were already a few people gathered round the dining table having breakfast. When we walked by the front desk, Paddy looked at us with raised eyebrows.
“Bit early, huh,” he said.
“We wanted to see the sunrise,” I answered back as we walked up the stairs to our room.
When we got to our room Fanny and Jake both flopped down on their beds to get some well-deserved sleep. “I think Paddy was a little suspicious of us, don’t you think?” I asked.
“Ugh-huh,” was all Fanny said in reply. I think Jake was already asleep.
“I gotta go hit the head guys,” I said. As I tiptoed out into the hall and closed the door behind me, I heard Paddy talking to another man down the stairs in the reception area.
“Imagine that, some German tourist lady falling into a hole out there in that old graveyard,” the man said.
I heard Paddy chuckle loudly. “I’d have liked to have seen that then mate! Old bird was she? Falling right in a hole.”
“It ‘taint funny Paddy, that there’s some serious stuff now,” said the man.
“Well the ladies out there at Monasterboice, they said the German tourist gal wasn’t harmed. So what ‘taint funny about that then Officer Kelly?” Paddy asked.
“Oh the old bird going down, that’s funny mate. But the hole being there – now that’s another story. The volunteer ladies who run the place, they said that half to nine a German tourist came to them complaining that his wife just twisted her ankle in that hole back there. They ran to where the old bird was down and when she got up, they got to lookin’ at it, and it was a right proper hole someone dug up. Fresh too. Wasn’t there yesterday when they locked up. Someone just dug a hole at one of those old grave markers.”
“Can you believe it, some heathen defiling an ancient grave that way!” said Paddy. “Do you think they’re after some treasure or something?” he asked.
“Probably some teenagers, you know, pulling some kind of prank or just random vandalism like kids do these days,” said the other man.
“Did they take anything – you knows, out of it?” asked Paddy.
“They don’t rightly know seeing as how it’s so old, no one knows if there was anything in there still. But the hole was pretty small, so who’s t’ say.”
There was a pause for a minute then Paddy said, “Hey wait a minute. There are some youngsters staying here. American kids, teenagers.”
“Yeah, so?” queried the other man.
“Well, my groundskeeper was out early this morning, and he couldn’t find his shovel in the shed,” said the innkeeper.
“Oh yeah,” said the other man. “Tell me more.”
“Well, those kids, they came in early this morning. They said they was out for sunrise, but I reckon they was out all night,” said the innkeeper.
Then there was another silence. I didn’t wait to hear what they’d say next. I ran back to the room and opened the door.
“Guys, wake up. Get up man, we gotta’ go,” I said as I began gathering up all our stuff.
“What are you doin’?” said Fanny. “I wanna sleep for a few hours.”
“No time Fan, we gotta’ leave now. A local cop is down there and getting real curious. They’ve already found the grave that we dug up, and he doesn’t sound too thrilled about it.”
Jake and Fanny were up like a shot. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen Jake move that fast!
In a few minutes, we heard the loud steps of the portly Paddy and Officer Kelly coming up the stairs.
“What do we do?” asked Jake. “We can’t go out the door; they’ll see us.”
I looked around and saw the small window. It would be a squeeze, but it was our only way out. “There,” I pointed. “Let’s get going.”
Fanny was the first out. She jumped to the gable roof below us then walked along the roof over to the small shed at the back of the inn. Jake watched her do this then turned to me and said, “I can’t do that Em! I’ll fall.”
“You’ve got to Jake. Come on, Fanny will help you.”
Just then Paddy started knocking on the door. “You kids, open up now. Officer Kelly here wants to talk to you.”
Jake took one look at me, swallowed hard, and then jumped to the gable just as Fanny had done. He stumbled a little and looked like he might fall off but somehow he righted himself, got up and ran to the shed roof.
Now my turn. I’m quite a bit bigger than both Fanny and Jake so I had to squeeze to get through that small window, but somehow I did it. I jumped and ran without thinking, all the while hearing the innkeeper and Officer Kelly yelling for us to let them in.
Before long we were running down side alleys and across neatly mowed yards and out of sight of the inn. As tired as we were, the danger made us find the juice in our legs to run like we’ve never run before. We ran south and west for a long time. Before long we were on a small country two-lane road with nothing but fields of grass and sheep on either side.
I was too tired to keep count of time or distance. I only knew we had to keep moving.
After what seemed like an eternity we came to a woods just off the side of the road. It was thick and primeval looking. Finally, a place to get out of the open and into hiding.
We walked until we were far into the dense wood. Without saying a word to each other, we threw off our packs and fell down. I don’t think we were awake for more than a minute. Sleep while we can. This was only the beginning.
22. Zombie Man Wakes
The day that his wife died, a large part of Liam Adams died too. Bridget was the fire burning in the hearth, Liam the stone foundation of their house. Without her passion for life fueling his will, Liam reverted to the only other comfort he had ever known – science.
Liam asked his sister Muriel, fifteen years his senior, to stay with them and help out in the wake of their loss. While Muriel chipped away at the beauty of both their house and Liam’s daughter, he threw himself into his work in theoretical physics at the University of Chicago. He became a zombie of a man in their home.
But on that day that everything changed, Liam was jolted out of his zombie state when he found his sister sitting in their parlor, an ice pack on her head, her bags packed and sitting by the front door. Muriel didn’t even look
up at him as she handed him a note.
“I told you, she's trouble,” Muriel snarled. “Probably on drugs or something. You should have seen her when she attacked me! She looked totally hyped up on something.”
Liam said nothing and scanned the note quickly. He then sat down and read it again, searching each line for clues and hidden meaning.
“Was she with anyone?” he asked.
“Those two no-good friends of hers,” Muriel replied.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Okay? Okay? That brat attacked me! No, I’m not okay. You need to call the police, Liam. She needs to learn a lesson. If you don’t nip this in the bud, she’ll be running wild all over you.”
“Did she hit you?”
“Hit? Well no, not exactly hit.”
“Well then how did you get that knot on your head? Did she push you?”
“No, she didn’t exactly push me.”
“Dammit Muriel, what happened here?”
“I always knew she was strange. Just like her mother.”
“Muriel, unless you want another lump on your head, you best leave off bad mouthing my wife and daughter.”
Muriel sat there stunned and speechless. Her ‘baby’ brother had never raised his voice at her or back talked her in any way.
“Just answer the question. Tell me how you got that lump,” he said.
Muriel, still stunned, obeyed the request. “Well, you’re not going to believe me. But she threw me. . . well threw isn’t the right word. . . but without touching me, she just looked at me with that crazed look and I was thrown backward. Twice. The second time I fell against the wall, and that blasted frame fell and hit my head and knocked me out.”
It was Liam’s turn to stare off to the horizon in a dazed silence. Any other father probably would think his older sister was cracked – the bonk on the head had given her brain damage. But Liam knew something that Muriel didn’t know. Liam knew that his daughter had special. . . talents.
Emily and Bridget thought that they had a secret from Liam. They had thought it was a fun secret just between them. But Liam had known all along.
One day, when Emily was not yet one, he came into her room in the morning to get her up and change her. As he walked in, there she was, sitting up in her crib, and a small stuffed animal – a dog – was flying across the room to her. She didn’t see him there, but he could see her concentration on the dog. Before long it flew right into her hands. She grabbed it, smiled big and started playing with it, like it was the most normal thing in the world to make something come to you just by thinking about it.
Liam didn’t say anything to his wife. He assumed it was a fluke, perhaps a trick of his own mind. After all, there had to be a reasonable explanation, objects don’t just go flying around.
But as time went by, there were other flying objects and Liam could swear that his wife and daughter were communicating with each other without talking. He never said anything, and as time went on, Emily’s abilities – and Bridget’s too – became something that was ‘between them’. Liam assumed that when Emily got older, she’d tell him about it if she wanted to.
When Liam heard Muriel’s story about Emily ‘throwing’ her across the room just by thinking about it, it didn’t surprise him in the least though he hadn’t observed Emily using her remarkable gifts since Bridget had died. In truth, Muriel’s story made Liam smile inside. He supposed that Muriel deserved it. She had been nasty to Emily. Perhaps she had it coming?
Back to the note from Emily. Liam read and reread. This is what it said:
“Dear Dad,
I’m leaving. Don’t try to find me. I have important work to do. A mission. I can’t tell you where I’m going. I can’t tell you when I’ll return.
I’m not running away – at least I don’t think I am. I plan to come back. But you should know that I won’t be putting up with Muriel anymore. I’m done with her pushing me around.
Don’t worry dad. Love, E”
Not a lot of clues. Acting on an intuitive sense that Liam wasn’t aware he had, he knew as he looked at the laconic note from his daughter that he didn’t want to call the police. This was a family matter, and Liam needed to take care of his family and of the mess he’d created.
“We’re not calling the police Muriel,” he said calmly.
“What! You can’t do this Liam. That girl needs to learn her lesson. You have to use tough love with dope heads,” she said.
“She’s not a dope head Muriel. And no, she’s had enough of your tough love. If I call the police, I should be calling on you – for child abuse.”
Muriel’s face turned as white as stone. That shut her up.
“No, this is something that I need to take care of,” he said.
Just as Liam finished that sentence, the phone rang. It was Fanny’s mom, frantic and sobbing. She had received a similar note from Fanny. Her husband was out of town on business, and she didn’t know where to turn. Liam invited her over to talk and asked her not to call the police – not yet. He suggested they get together and try to sort it out first.
Within five minutes, Jake’s mom called too, crying as well. Liam told her the same thing and asked her to come over too.
Within a half hour, both mothers sat in Liam’s parlor. Jake’s mom, Carol, still in her nurse’s uniform, bags under her red-rimmed eyes, sitting on the couch with Jake’s note held tightly in her hand. Fanny’s mom, Esther, still quietly sobbing, also tightly grasping her note from Fanny. And finishing out our quartet, Muriel, lips tightly pursed and seething.
“Ladies, I know this is a shock, for all of us. But we have to keep our heads about us now. We need to look at these notes and see what clues they left so we can find our kids and get them back where they belong.”
“Liam, shouldn’t we call the police?” Esther asked. “They need to find my Fan. . .” she said as she broke down sobbing again. Carol put her arm around Esther. Liam could see tears welling up again in Carol’s eyes.
“I know it seems natural to call the police. But I’m asking you not to. The children weren’t kidnapped. And it’s clear from these notes that they intend to return. The police will classify them as runaways and these kids will be in all kinds of trouble when they get back. Carol, Jake needs scholarships for college, right?”
“Yes, of course Liam. Without scholarships, Jake will never be able to afford college.”
“Well, I don’t want him to have a criminal record. Not if we can help it. And Fanny, her chances of sports scholarships will be jeopardized too,” he said.
Esther couldn’t speak but nodded her affirmation.
“And, well, I just feel I need to take care of this. I’m not at all proud to say it – you may already know this – but I haven’t been. . . I haven’t been a very devoted father to Emily since Bridget died,” Liam said as he held back his own tears. Both mothers reached and gently touched Liam’s hand. It was the first time anyone had intentionally touched Liam in seven years.
“I understand,” Carol said at last. “You need to find your little girl, Liam. And bring our Jake and Fanny back too.” Again, Esther just nodded her agreement.
With that, they went to the dining room table to pour over the notes and try to find clues. Liam was worried, sad and mad. But he was also exhilarated. This was the first real emotion he'd had in years – the first time he had truly cared about anything in years. It was like he was pulled out of a fog. He was needed, and he was going to find his daughter and bring her home – to their home at last.
23. Liam Searches for Clues
Three notes. Three different handwriting styles. All pretty much saying the same thing. None said where the kids were going.
All three mentioned an urgent ‘mission’. What kind of mission could three fourteen-year-old kids from the Midwest be on?
Liam thought that if any of them would leave a clue it would be Jake. Liam observed the neat handwriting of Jake’s note.
‘I’m sorry mom, I know
this puts you in a bind. But I’ve got to go help Emily with her mission. I’m sorry for the trouble this is going to cause you, but it’s for the greater good. I know that when I return you’ll understand.’
So it’s Emily’s mission. What mission could Emily have (besides running away from Muriel)?
Next Liam looked at Fanny’s note. Sloppy handwriting. Poor grammar and incomplete sentences. She better hope for a sports scholarship!
‘Don’t worry mom and dad. Don’t send my brothers after me. Not running away. Em needs me for urgent mission. She’s my best friend. Know you’d do the same for a friend. Please forgive me and I know you’re going to ground me for life when I get home.’
Again with the “urgent mission.” And Emily needs her. It’s Emily’s deal, and they’re just along for the ride. But what could Emily possibly have going on?
Liam read over Emily’s note again. He hadn’t turned it over before, but for some reason, he did then. In even sloppier writing, she wrote more on the back.
‘Dad, I miss you so much.’
Miss him? She just left.
Oh, she means she had been missing me, even before she left, he thought. Tears welled in Liam’s eyes.
‘If I told you where I was going and why I was going there, you wouldn’t believe me. Something amazing has happened. I know you wouldn’t understand. The ancient blood that runs in my veins is calling me home. Please don’t come looking for me. I love you dad.’
Liam read that back side of the note over and over. There had to be a clue in there somewhere, but all he could see was a runaway note from his missing daughter. Guilt and shame threatened to blind him to seeing anything else.
Liam dragged himself to the kitchen and rifled through the high cupboard above the refrigerator that only his 6’3” frame could reach. Liam hadn’t had a drink in years, but it seemed to him the right time for a stiff one. He retrieved a bottle of scotch and poured himself a shot.
He swallowed the amber juice down in one gulp. The fire liquid set his innards ablaze but did nothing to clear his mind. He sat with his head in his hands, waiting for something to click. As he sat and contemplated how drinking shots of scotch wasn’t going to help clear the thick fog in his brain, the words from the note suddenly shouted at him. ‘The ancient blood that runs in my veins is calling me home.’
Emily's House (The Akasha Chronicles) Page 10