Ryan stared at his phone. “He just hung up on me.”
“Why?”
“He told me to delete his number from my phone and never to call him again. Ever. Whatever the reason. He said he would never set foot in this house again no matter how much I paid him.”
Yvonne and Ryan stared at each other for a moment. Ryan thrust his phone back in his pocket. “We’ll call another locksmith. That’s all we need to do. No need to panic. The guy has his reasons but we’ve got to get this sorted. I’ll go online and find some others to call. Surely one of them wants some work.”
Yvonne swallowed her mounting panic. “I’ll see how Heidi is.”
All the way up the stairs, she feared what she might find in her daughter’s bedroom.
Ryan’s phone rang and she heard him answer as she reached the top. She found Heidi cuddling the cat and whispering to her. She stopped when Yvonne entered. Sekhmet slunk away, past Yvonne.
“What are you up to?”
“I was talking to Sekhmet. She said it won’t be long now.”
“What won’t?”
Heidi looked away, at the doll swathed in black, lying flat on the shelf. A single tiny rosebud lay on her chest. Hot tears pricked Yvonne’s eyelids. All she wanted was to wrap her child in a warm blanket and protect her. To make it all go away.
Damn you to hell, Quintillus!
Heidi’s eyes flashed. Yvonne hadn’t said anything aloud, but she could swear her daughter had sensed what she was thinking. A look—somewhere between fear and apprehension—flashed across her face.
A scraping noise. The doll rolled off the shelf and landed on the bed. Heidi grabbed her and held her tight. “Don’t, Mum. He’ll hear you.”
“Don’t what?”
“Think. He knows when you’re thinking bad thoughts. He takes it out on Paula and it hurts.”
Yvonne wrapped her daughter in her arms. “We’re going to make it better, Heidi. We’re going to make him go away.”
“No. Don’t say that!”
Heidi wrenched herself out of Yvonne’s embrace, dropped the doll, and clapped her hands to her ears. Screaming.
Ryan raced into the room as Yvonne tried to calm her daughter. Every time she tried to hold her, Heidi pulled away—her screams increasingly piercing. Tears coursed down her reddened face.
“He’s hurting her. It’s hurting me. Make it stop!”
Ryan made a grab for her and pulled away as if he had been burned. “My God. What the hell’s happening? I just got an electric shock off her. No, don’t touch me.” He veered away from Yvonne, who had reached out to him.
Heidi’s hair crackled and blue sparks flew from her fingers. Her screams and cries grew louder. Sekhmet appeared, though Yvonne hadn’t seen her come in. The cat sat calmly, ears pricked. She stood on her hind legs with her right paw raised, eyes firmly fixed on the hysterical Heidi.
“What the hell do we do now?” Ryan yelled.
Yvonne shook her head, desperate for her daughter, feeling helpless.
The sparks stopped. Heidi stopped screaming and dropped her hands from her ears. Her eyes closed and she fell onto the bed, already asleep. Sekhmet dropped down on all fours and stood like a sentinel next to the bed.
“Did the cat do that?” Ryan asked.
“I think so. She’s protecting her.”
“Thank God someone is. I feel so useless. I can’t even protect my own daughter from… I don’t even know what to call it.”
“Evil, Ryan. Pure evil.”
Yvonne pulled the duvet over their sleeping daughter and left the cat guarding her. She found it strangely comforting to see the animal so attentive, apparently capable of doing what they were unable to.
Downstairs, Yvonne followed her husband into the kitchen.
“As if what we’ve just seen isn’t enough, Yasmin called,” Ryan said. “She’s listened to the tape and the language is ancient Egyptian, with a little Greek thrown in for good measure.”
“Cleopatra’s family was Greek. I think when they were in power they spoke Greek rather than Egyptian. Has she been able to translate it?”
“Some of it, at least. Some was more difficult to make out. When Heidi is speaking, she talks quite slowly but the other voice is more hurried.” Ryan took a deep breath. “The gist of it is that the other voice—”
“Sekhmet. You might as well face it. The cat talks to her.”
Ryan hesitated. “Sekhmet told Heidi that in three days’ time Quintillus would summon the god Set, who will release Paula’s spirit to bring Cleopatra back from the realm of the dead.”
For the first time, Yvonne allowed herself to feel a glimmer of hope. “So Heidi will be free.”
But that was not what she read in Ryan’s expression. “Releasing Paula’s spirit from Heidi will allow Set to draw the queen’s spirit into her body and there she will remain. Paula’s function, it appears, was merely to prepare Heidi to receive Cleopatra.”
Yvonne blinked. “No. This isn’t happening. None of it.”
“God, I wish you were right. Yasmin has offered to help. She wants to know all about what’s been happening and she’s offered to come over and talk to Heidi. It turns out she’s deeply into mysticism, the ancient world, and so on. I said she could come tonight if that’s okay?”
“Of course. Anything. You didn’t tell her who the other voice belonged to, did you?”
“I certainly didn’t tell her it was the cat, if that’s what you mean. I was vague. Maybe she’ll see for herself.”
Ryan picked up his phone. “I’m going to find us a locksmith.” He left her alone with her thoughts. All of them dark and forbidding. She poured herself a glass of water and drank it. The steel of the basement door gleamed dully. Yvonne turned the handle, hoping for a miracle. But she was out of luck, as she expected.
She kicked it, almost welcoming the pain of a stubbed toe. At least it provided an instant’s distraction from her fears for her daughter. Her fears for them all.
Ryan’s footsteps echoed in the hall. “I’ve found us another locksmith. He’s coming in the morning. Will you be okay with him on your own? He speaks quite good English so communication shouldn’t be a problem.”
“I’m sure I’ll be fine but I’m not going down there alone.”
“No, you’re not. I have to go in to work in the morning but I can be back around lunchtime.”
“Ryan, I’m scared.”
He came to her and held her close. “So am I, love. So am I.”
* * * *
The rotund, middle-aged woman on the doorstep reminded Yvonne of a slightly younger version of the actress Miriam Margolyes. She smiled broadly and held out her hand. “I am Yasmin Al Mounir.”
Yvonne shook her hand. “Yvonne. Please come in.”
Yasmin followed her into the library, where Ryan had opened a bottle of Merlot.
“My favorite,” Yasmin said, accepting a glass. “Thank you.”
Yasmin sat across from Yvonne and Ryan and sipped her wine. “Delicious. Now, what’s been happening here? I gather your daughter has developed an amazing ability to acquire new languages.”
“Yes,” Ryan said. “Somehow she has developed an excellent grasp of German and now she’s apparently embarked on ancient Egyptian.”
“The tape shows an extraordinary facility. Not just with Egyptian but also with classical Greek. Who is the person she’s talking to?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Ryan said.
Yasmin looked quizzical but neither he nor Yvonne enlightened her further.
A slight noise from the door and Sekhmet wandered in. On seeing the stranger, she stopped and blinked at her.
“What a beautiful cat. Is she your daughter’s?”
“She sort of adopted us,” Yvonne said. “And she and Heidi are pretty
much inseparable.”
Yasmin put out her hand but Sekhmet refrained from approaching any closer. She sat, regarded the woman, then slunk off.
“She’s probably gone back to keep an eye on Heidi,” Yvonne said.
“Is your daughter in bed?”
“Yes,” Ryan said. “She was exceptionally tired tonight.”
“Oh, that’s a shame. I was hoping to meet her. I thought we could have a little chat. You know, it took me years to develop the range of vocabulary your daughter seems to have simply picked up in a matter of days. I would love to know who taught her.”
“She hasn’t had any formal teaching in either classical or modern languages,” Yvonne said. “It’s a complete mystery to us.”
A noise at the door startled her.
“Mum.” Heidi sidled in, followed by the cat. “Sekhmet told me you wanted to see me.”
“Sekhmet?” Yasmin exclaimed.
Yvonne tied Heidi’s robe tighter around her. “Heidi, this is Miss Al Mounir.”
“Hello, Miss Al Mounir,” Heidi said, stifling a yawn.
“Hello, Heidi. Who’s Sekhmet?”
“My cat,” Heidi said and Yasmin’s eyes opened wider.
“How appropriate. Sekhmet was an Egyptian cat goddess. Did you know that?”
Heidi nodded.
Yasmin addressed Heidi with a smooth flow of a foreign language. When she had finished, Yvonne held her breath. Sekhmet wandered over to Yasmin and sat directly in front of her, staring unblinking at her.
Yasmin looked perturbed. “That’s a most unusual cat, Heidi.”
“Yes, she is.”
Yasmin flinched and Yvonne saw why. Heidi’s pupils had contracted so that they emulated Sekhmet’s.
“Heidi had meningitis,” Yvonne said. “Ever since she recovered she has had unusually powerful eyesight. Her pupils contract and dilate more like a cat’s than most people’s.” But never so obviously as that.
Yasmin seemed reassured by her explanation and pressed on.
“You seem very interested in ancient Egypt, Heidi. What else do you know? How about Cleopatra?”
Heidi nodded. “I named my doll after her daughter. She’s called Selena.”
“Is that right, Yasmin?” Ryan asked. “Did Cleopatra have a daughter called Selena?”
“It’s close enough. Her daughter by Mark Antony was called Cleopatra Selene.”
“And what happened to her?”
“She went on to become ruler of Libya and Mauretania. Her mother would have been proud of her, I’m sure.” Yasmin reverted to the ancient Egyptian language that Heidi had so far not responded to.
This time she did, replying to Yasmin in what sounded to Yvonne’s ear the same language. Sekhmet switched her gaze to the girl and Heidi’s voice trailed away.
Yasmin’s face had drained of all color. “I’m sorry, Ryan, I don’t understand this at all.”
“She’s not speaking Egyptian? Or Greek?”
“Oh, she’s speaking ancient Egyptian all right. Perfectly. It’s what she’s saying. I really think you need to seek help for her. Psychiatric help. Urgently. She insists she speaks to the cat and that the cat replies. She told me the cat taught her. And there’s more than that. She says her special eyesight means the cat can communicate images to her. Images of ancient Egypt where she walks with the gods and stands by Sekhmet’s side. Not just that animal.” She pointed at the sleek Sekhmet, who adopted the usual feline stance of feigned innocence. “She is a kind of spirit guardian for Heidi while the two of them stand beside the warrior cat goddess. The real Sekhmet, if you like. Legend tells us she was cruel. Evil and ruthless. If Heidi said she stood next to Bast, the motherly cat goddess, I could understand… Oh, what am I saying? It isn’t possible. That cat can’t be…” Yasmin shook herself and stood up. “If she were my daughter, I would be very concerned indeed.”
“Trust me, we are,” Ryan said.
“Although perhaps not for the reasons you may think,” Yvonne concluded.
Yasmin’s face fell. Her lip trembled. She looked from one to the other. “I’m really sorry, but I can’t stay here. Please get help. Get it quickly. Get it for Heidi’s sake. There’s something in this house, and it’s more powerful than I have ever experienced. It knows I’m here and it will do whatever it has to do to keep me away because your daughter has now revealed… Look, no child should be able to see what she can. This eyesight of hers. I have never heard of meningitis doing that. It is the thief that takes, not the giver who gifts.”
“I know,” Yvonne said. “She is a unique case.”
“And we must all be thankful for that. God alone knows what would happen if there were more like her.”
Yvonne could barely believe what Yasmin had said. A wave of righteous anger swelled inside her. How dare this stranger come into their home and say such things about their daughter?
Ryan must have sensed her fury. He placed a restraining, comforting hand on her arm and shook his head. “I’m sure Yasmin didn’t mean anything bad about Heidi.”
Yasmin clapped her hand to her mouth. “Oh, my goodness, no. I’m so sorry. It’s not Heidi’s fault. She’s been targeted by evil dressed in a friendly guise. There is nothing she could have done to prevent it. Nothing you could have done. I’m so sorry.”
Yvonne’s anger abated and she felt almost sorry for the flustered woman who had been so self-assured when she arrived. “It’s all right, Yasmin. We’re all on edge. I know you are only trying to help.”
“And I’m so sorry I can no longer do so, but believe me when I say that if I were to stay it would only make matters worse. Don’t ask me how I know this, but I have a strong instinct for the supernatural. Especially when it’s so strongly linked to my own heritage.” She stuck out her hand. “I wish you all the very best of luck. I’m afraid you’re going to need it.”
Yasmin bolted out of the door leaving Yvonne looking after her. Ryan locked up behind her.
“Is there really any point in locking that door?” Yvonne asked. “When we already know that the evil is inside. With us.”
Heidi tugged at Yvonne’s sleeve. “Can I go back to bed now, Mum?”
Somehow the events of the last few minutes had bypassed her daughter altogether. “Of course, darling.” Yvonne kissed the top of her head and Heidi wandered back out of the library. Once again the cat followed closely behind. “We’re in this alone, you know, Ryan. No one will believe us unless they experience what this house can do. And when they do experience it, look what happens.”
“The trouble is, it’s latched onto Heidi. We have no choice. We have to find a way of defeating it.”
“Or leave.”
“And that’s going to help how? You saw Quintillus in Madame Tussauds. The house doesn’t confine him anymore. He’s free to follow us wherever he chooses.”
Yvonne’s spirits found a new depth. Maybe tomorrow. When they could get into the basement. Yet more fear invaded her, but she knew there was no going back. They had to confront the evil on its own territory and for Heidi’s sake, failure was not an option.
* * * *
The locksmith worked quickly and well. He arrived shortly after eleven and soon got the lock open.
“There’s another door down in the basement,” Yvonne said. “I think it’s also locked. I wondered if you could go down there and open it for us?”
“Certainly, Frau Mortimer. There is light down there?”
“I have flashlights.”
“Perhaps you come down with me and hold the light while I work?”
That was the last thing Yvonne wanted to do, but the man only had two hands and he needed both of them to do his job. Besides, Ryan would be back shortly.
“I’ll leave my husband a note so he knows where to find us.”
The locksmith nodded and waited patie
ntly while Yvonne scribbled her note. Her handwriting had never been the neatest and now, with nerves taking hold of her, it looked more indecipherable than usual.
“That’ll have to do,” she muttered and picked up the flashlights. It was now or never.
Their footsteps echoed on the stairs. At least it didn’t smell too bad today. Just a general air of mustiness inherent in a long-disused part of a building.
“It is quite…I don’t know the word. Geistlich?”
“Ghostly? You don’t know the half of it. Yes, it is.”
Yvonne half ran through the old kitchen and down the corridor. She opened the first door. The locksmith’s flashlight picked out the hieroglyphics. “Mein Gott.”
Yvonne wanted only to get this over with but the locksmith seemed intent on examining the wall. He shone his flashlight around and finally alighted on the small portrait.
How did it get back here?
“Klimt. But why here?” He touched the portrait and sprang back, holding his hand. “It burns me.”
Yvonne’s flashlight illuminated his shocked face. To the side of him, the shadows moved.
“I go now. I am sorry. I cannot do as you ask.” The locksmith took off out of the room, barreling into Ryan.
“Wait. Please. Don’t go.” But Yvonne’s pleas went unheard by the locksmith, already upstairs in the kitchen. She heard the kitchen door slam.
“I haven’t paid him,” Yvonne said as Ryan came up to her.
“I wouldn’t worry about it. What are you doing down here anyway?”
“He needed me to hold the flashlight.”
“I thought you were going to wait until I got back.”
Yvonne shrugged. “I thought…a few minutes…at least I wasn’t going to be alone. We’ve got to get that door open, Ryan.”
Ryan lifted his left foot. “Why do you think I’ve got these boots on again? They worked last time I needed to break down a door.”
“I guess it’s now or never.”
Ryan nodded and they made their cautious way through the room with the hieroglyphics. Yvonne pointed out the portrait.
“Let’s hope it bloody stays there this time,” Ryan said.
Damned by the Ancients Page 17