Eximere
By Michael Richan
By the author:
The River series:
The Bank of the River
Residual
A Haunting in Oregon
Ghosts of Our Fathers
Eximere
The Suicide Forest
Devil’s Throat
The Diablo Horror
The Haunting at Grays Harbor
It Walks At Night
The Downwinders series:
Blood Oath, Blood River
The Impossible Coin
The Graves of Plague Canyon
The Dark River series:
A
All three series are part of The River Universe, and there is crossover of some characters and plots. For a suggested reading order, see the Author’s Website.
Copyright 2014 by Michael Richan
All Rights Reserved.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious.
Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
www.michaelrichan.com
This book is available in print at most online retailers.
ASIN: B00I13MWS6
Published by Dantull (148215127A)
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter One
“This is bullshit!”
As Steven was unpacking things, his father Roy was complaining. He’d complained most of the drive from Seattle, and he wasn’t letting up.
“And why do we have to share a room? This dump can’t cost more than twenty bucks a night. Eliza’s friends must be cheap. I’d advise against taking your shoes off, they’ve carpeted the place with tar paper.”
Steven ignored him and kept unpacking. It would do little good to argue with Roy or to try and get him to see the bright side of things. Roy was in a mood, and Steven had seen the mood before. Best to just let it play out. He wished Eliza would come over to their room; at least when she was around, Roy kept the bitching under control. During the two hour drive from Seattle, Roy had let a handful of negative comments slip, but Steven could tell he was censoring himself for Eliza’s sake. Now that Eliza was off unpacking in her own room, Roy was letting all the pent-up complaining out like a balloon releasing its air.
“Of course there’s no coffee maker, the roaches have carried it off,” Roy said.
“Dad, enough,” Steven said. “This is the only motel in town. I don’t think it was a deliberate choice just to upset you.”
“Why couldn’t we stay in Olympia?” he asked. “Or Aberdeen? At least I wouldn’t feel like I need an immunization.”
“They’re an hour away. I’m guessing our hosts would have thought it impolite to put us that far out and make us drive it every day when there was a place right here in town.”
“You’re calling that shit hole we just drove through a town?” Roy asked. “I’ve had bigger pimples on my ass.”
“Dad, please,” Steven said, setting a shirt down on his bed in frustration. “It’s been non-stop bitching since we left Seattle.”
“Well, I don’t like it.”
“That much is obvious,” Steven said, picking the shirt back up and putting it in a small dresser in the corner of the motel room. A knock came at the door.
“Now what?!” Roy said, exasperated, as though any little thing was likely to piss him off even more.
Steven walked to the door and opened it. There was Eliza smiling at him, her chaotic hair swirling around her head. Immediately Steven felt better. Something about Eliza calmed him; he hoped she would calm Roy back down, too.
“Come in,” Steven said.
“Everyone decent?” she asked, stepping in.
“I thought you’d still be unpacking,” Roy growled. “Don’t women take longer to unpack than us guys?”
“I never unpack in motels or hotels,” Eliza said. “Everything stays in the suitcase, ready to go in a moment’s notice. Can’t see the sense in repacking it all a few days later.” She walked into their room and sat in the single padded chair in the corner. “Cozy!” she said.
“Yes, tiny,” Roy said, grumbling under his breath.
“Roy, what’s wrong?” Eliza asked. “You’ve seemed unhappy the entire trip.”
Steven winced, hoping Eliza hadn’t just stirred things back up. She didn’t know Roy well enough to realize how moody he could get sometimes, and Roy was currently on a whopper. They’d met Eliza the previous year, and had only been around each other a few times since then. They both enjoyed her company. She was an imposing presence in any room, very put-together and in-charge. She had a son who was ten, staying with friends back at her home in California. She had flown up to Seattle and the three of them had taken Steven’s car out to Montessa.
“He’s just grumpy,” Steven said. “It’ll pass.”
“Tell me again why we’re out here?” Roy asked. “The guy’s name again?”
“Jonathan Winstead,” she answered. “I’ve known him for years. He called and asked for my help. He was looking for a team of people. I volunteered you two, thinking you’d enjoy it. He said he needed good people for this, and that made me immediately think of you.” She shot Roy a big smile. He turned away when he saw it.
“And if I recall correctly,” Steven said, “we both agreed to go.”
“That was before I smelled the odor in this room,” Roy said. “It’s like someone puked and they couldn’t get it cleaned up.”
“Funny,” Eliza said, “I’m normally very sensitive to bad smells, but I don’t notice anything in here. The accommodations are pretty low end, that’s for sure. But my room seems fine enough.”
Roy uttered a muffled “humphf!” and Steven was grateful Eliza’s presence was modulating Roy. He’d always had a turbulent relationship with his father, and had found it easier to keep his distance from him, until last year when he needed his father’s help. Steven found himself living in a haunted house, and it was Roy who convinced him that he wasn’t crazy – there really were ghosts in the world, and Roy knew how to deal with them. Roy had “the gift” and he turned Steven on to the fact that he had the gift too. For the past year, Steven had been learning how to use it, with Roy’s help.
It had been “the gift” that caused them to meet Eliza. They’d been helping friends in Oregon sort out a haunting in their bed and breakfast, and the task was bigger than either of them expected. They wound up meeting Eliza and the three became friends. Eliza was also gifted, and she was active in protecting buried artifacts in northern California. With Eliza’s help they managed to eradicate the problem at the bed and breakfast. Now Eliza had wrapped them up in a task to help her friend Jonathan. Last week she called them both to see if they’d be willing to invest a few days to help her friend deal with a situation on the peninsula. They both agreed to do it, and had driven out from Seattle that morning.
“Jonathan said a van would pick us up at three,” Eliza said, checking her watch. “That’s ten minutes from now.”
“And take us where?” Roy asked.
“He said he’d fill us in once we’re there,” she replied.
“Seems a little mysterious,” Steven said. “Don’t you want to know more about this before you get involved?”
“We all help each other in times of crisis,” Eliza said. “I’ve helped him bef
ore, and he’s done a few things for me. All I know at this point is that it involves a group of us.”
“Do you know who is in the group?” Steven asked.
“Besides you two, myself, and Jonathan, no. I believe there are three or four others, all gifted.”
“But you don’t know who they are?” Steven asked. He’d never been comfortable meeting new people.
Eliza rose from the chair and walked over to Steven. She placed her hand on his arm. “Think of it as networking,” she said. “You’ll meet more friends with the gift, and that’s more people that can help you when you need it.”
Steven smiled at her. Eliza’s calming influence had worked again.
They heard a car horn honking outside the room. “He’s a little early,” Roy said. They grabbed coats and their room keys, and left the room.
The motel consisted of fifteen rooms and an office, all ground level, all running in a straight line. Parking was immediately in front of each room. A few doors down, a brown van was parked. There were two men in the front seats. The man in the passenger seat waved at them.
“That’s Jonathan,” Eliza said, walking towards the van. Steven noticed a couple of doors opening to the motel rooms, and people emerging. They were all slowly convening at the van.
Jonathan hopped out of the passenger’s side and slid the door of the van open. He was tall and thin, wearing a suit and tie, a matching handkerchief emerging from his suit pocket. He had dark hair that was perfectly cut, and a wide smile exposing brilliant white teeth. That’s one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen, Steven thought. Eliza probably considers him handsome.
Eliza gave Jonathan a hug and then introduced Roy and Steven. They all shook hands. Steven felt Jonathan held the handshake a second too long. “Please, get in,” Jonathan said, motioning with his hand. They piled into the van, the three of them taking the seat in the back, Eliza in the middle.
One by one the others appeared at the van’s entrance and they greeted Jonathan, then situated themselves in the remaining seats. Jonathan introduced each person as they arrived. First was Marilyn Mackinerny, who was short and thin, and a little high strung. Steven noticed that every movement she made seemed to involve more movement than necessary. She wore a small hat that was pinned to her head, and she carried a small dog that looked no bigger than a pot roast. The dog’s eyes bulged from the sides of its head, as though there wasn’t enough room in the animal’s body to contain them.
“Are you sure you want to bring the dog?” Jonathan asked after greeting her.
She turned to enter the van. “Wherever I go, Mister S. goes!” She slid into the seat in front of Steven, Eliza and Roy, saying a cheery “Hello!” as she did so, then turned to face forward. Roy leaned forward to look around Eliza at Steven. He looked ready to pop. Steven looked back at him, shaking his head with a warning to Roy to not say anything. Eliza stifled a snicker.
Next to arrive at the van was a man at least a foot shorter than Jonathan. He was dressed in a bright suit with a vest. He had blond, wavy hair and a goatee that was manicured to perfection. As he stuck his hand out to shake Jonathan’s, Steven could see three rings on it that glistened in the sun. He turned to enter the van.
“Everyone, this is Russell Powers, you probably already know him from television,” Jonathan said.
“Oh!” Steven heard Eliza say under her breath. Steven didn’t know who this man was, but Eliza clearly did. He noticed her sitting up a little more in the seat as Russell entered the van.
“Pleased to meet you all,” Russell said, sitting on the seat next to Marilyn. Steven could see Marilyn’s dog turn to eye Russell. Its small lips were rising up over its small white teeth, exposing its pink gums.
“We have one more coming,” Jonathan said, “so I’m afraid it will be a little tight.”
“We’ll make it work,” Russell said, but didn’t slide over.
After a few moments, the final passenger arrived at the van door and greeted Jonathan. She was a solid, stocky woman who appeared to be rapidly marching to the van as opposed to walking. She wore a tightly fitting skirt and jacket that gave the impression of a moving refrigerator. Her hair was firmly formed into two large curls on the sides of her head. She didn’t smile as she shook Jonathan’s hand, and she didn’t stop as she entered the van and pushed her way into the seat next to Russell. He had no choice but to slide over next to Marilyn. Jonathan was introducing the woman by name to the rest of the van, but the dog yapped and snapped at Russell, stealing Steven’s attention.
“You’ll keep that thing muzzled, will you?” Russell said.
“That’s his natural reaction to fraud,” Marilyn said.
“He’ll get my natural reaction if you don’t clamp his mouth shut,” Russell replied.
Roy laughed out loud. Marilyn glanced behind to Roy, giving him a disapproving look. Then she pursed her lips and returned her gaze forward.
Jonathan hopped into the passenger seat and turned to address the group as the van began to back up and leave the parking area. Steven noticed that a toothpick had appeared in Jonathan’s mouth, which hung from the side of his mouth as he talked. The van’s muffler was making a lot of noise, and Jonathan had to raise his voice in order to be heard. “Thank you all for coming. We have only a couple minutes’ ride to the estate. Driving the van is Kent Percival. He’s the owner of Percival Realty in town, and he’s our host. Once we get there, we’ll have an early dinner and I’ll be able to answer all your questions – it’ll be a lot easier than trying to shout the answers here in the van. Then after dinner, we’ll start our first session.”
Steven leaned over to Eliza. “Feels like we have to jump in with both feet first, before we find out what we’re jumping into.”
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I know Jonathan. He’s a good guy. Whatever is up, it’ll be on the level.”
Steven sat back and wondered how well she knew Jonathan. He looked at the back of Jonathan’s head, admiring how perfect the hair was from this angle. Then he turned and watched the scenery drift by. It took only a minute to leave the tiny town and enter a two lane road that snaked north through dense forest. The conifers grew right up to the side of the road here, making it appear as though the road was a slot track. Occasionally a break in the trees would whiz by, exposing a small dirt side road that twisted deeper into the trees. This was the kind of forest that really unnerved Steven. It was so dense that if you found yourself in it, it was difficult to move around because tree branches meshed with other tree branches, all the way down to the ground. It made him claustrophobic to look into it as it slid by.
It wasn’t long before the van slowed and turned onto a nicely paved road. An elegant and tasteful sign at the side of the road said “Unser Estate – Tours Daily” but a hand-painted sign had been nailed over the “Tours Daily” part that read “Closed.”
They drove a hundred feet down the road where they came to a chain stretched across the roadway. On the chain was another sign, warning people away. Percival stopped the van and hopped out of the driver’s seat to remove the chain, then got back in and drove ten feet. He hopped back out to replace the chain behind them.
As he walked past the van’s windows, Steven got a good look at him. He was wearing a plaid beret and under it he had mousy brown hair that was cut short. His eyes looked a little panicked, and Steven thought he walked a little too fast, in a way that suggested his moves weren’t just to be quick. He didn’t glance into the van as he passed. In fact, Steven realized he’d yet to make eye contact with him. Perhaps at dinner, he thought.
Another fifty feet and a left turn in the road later, they came to the main gates of the estate. The ironwork stood ten feet tall with impressive brick structures to hold the gate’s hinges. The iron fence extended to the right and left of them, the top edge of the fence curved outward with sharp ornamental points on the end.
Once again Percival left the van. He unlocked the gates and pushed the large iron doors back wide en
ough for the van to get through. Then he drove the van through and into a large round parking area. He hopped out of the van and walked back to the iron gates to shut and lock them.
Jonathan opened the van’s side door for the occupants to disgorge. They spilled out one by one onto the gravel, looking around to orient themselves.
As Percival returned from the gate he said to the group, “Harold Unser, who built this estate, had a great dislike of automobiles. Visitors were required to park down here, surrounded by these trees, so he couldn’t see them from any of the windows in the main house. Why he just didn’t build a garage in the back I don’t know. There’s a path over here where we’ll make our way up.” Percival went to the back of the van and retrieved two brown paper bags that were filled with boxes, then led them to the path.
The path was bricked and about six feet wide. After they walked another fifty feet the trees opened up and the lawn of the estate spread out in front of them. The effect was dramatic. The lawn was regularly interrupted by large trees, bushes, and rock outcroppings. As they continued to walk the path, they rose in elevation and the house came into view.
It was a grand craftsman house, with some gothic elements. There were two oversized stories, with large windows covering most of the side facing them, some made of stained glass. The roof overhangs extended dramatically from the sides and front, casting huge shadows into the yard. Steven stopped for a moment to try and take in the façade. It just goes on and on, he thought.
The path lead up to the main entryway of the house, and branched off to side doors. Percival led them to one of the side doors, producing a key ring. “The main doors have been locked for years ever since the tours stopped,” he said. “We only go in and out through this side entrance. It’s a little less dramatic, but it’s less to take care of.” He pushed the door open, grabbed his brown paper bags, and proceeded into the house. The rest followed.
Percival led them through an entryway, an adjacent anteroom, and into a small kitchen, where he placed the bags on a table covered with a butcher block.
Eximere (The River Book 4) Page 1