McCann's Manor

by Charlotte Holley

  He grinned at her wickedly, “I've seen lots of women wearing less than a nightgown."

  She glared at him, “Not me, you haven't."

  He leaned forward in his seat, rubbed his chin. “You don't have to be coy with me. I thought we were friends. I'm not here to ogle you in your nightgown, honey; there's plenty of time for that when you haven't been at death's door twice in the same day,” he said.

  "I was not at death's door,” she objected.

  "Well, that isn't how it looked to the rest of us,” he said hotly. “You were blue in the face the first time and I never want to see you that way again. Now be a good girl and go slip into your nightie."

  She sighed, remained where she was and stared at the ceiling.

  "What is it? You want me to go into the hall and come back after you're in bed? For God's sake, you were married and you had kids; how can you still be so prim?” he asked.

  "It's not that; it's—well, I'm not even sleepy. I slept for hours this afternoon and I could stay awake for hours now. I'm positively wired! I see no reason to put on my nightgown when I'm bound to be pacing the floor half the night because I'm not sleepy,” she said. “It really bothers me for you to have to be here when I know you must be tired; certainly of all of us, I'm the most rested. It borders on the ridiculous."

  "Well, yes, I am tired, but even if I went home I wouldn't sleep for worrying something might happen to you. I'm here because I care about you and what happens to you. And, yes, I might get more rest if I went home, but I wanted to be with you tonight. Don't be upset because I wanted to stay,” he coaxed.

  "You make me feel selfish; you don't even like to be in this house and here you are in the night, which is when you hate to be here the most,” she said.

  He moved onto the bed beside her, took her hand. “Why are you so nervous about this?” he asked.

  "It's because of Tarrh; he was with me in my body this morning. When Joel crossed me with holy water that second time, it walloped Tarrh so hard that we both were thrown out. To be honest, I just didn't want to jump back in; I was out and there was no pain; I wasn't dizzy or having to contend with that awful headache that I had been having for days,” she explained.

  "You saw him coming out of your body?"

  "Yes; he is desperate not to go back, John. And I—I feel sorry for him; I find myself wanting to help him instead of dispatching him back to that cold dark hell where he was suspended all those years,” she said.

  "Only you would feel compassion for a demon like Tarrh. I guess that is part of what draws me to you so strongly. You're unfathomable,” he said, running his fingers through her auburn locks, “so different from every other woman I've known."

  "John—"

  "You're going to try to talk me out of kissing you, aren't you?” he asked.

  "I—no, I'm not. I'm not sure it is wise, but I'm not going to try to talk you out of it,” she said.

  "Then what were you going to say?"

  She looked deep into his eyes, traced his cheekbone with her finger. John was so special to her, yet how could she rationalize getting lost in his arms right now? Surely this was the wrong time, the wrong place; unquestionably she should keep things simple, or at least as close to simple as anything could be right now. She could never hope to explain to him the hopes she was forming about helping Tarrh, let alone expect him to understand.

  Tarrh's soul had indelibly left its mark on hers. Somehow, she felt the whole problem with this house was the end result of what some unnamed person centuries before had done to Tarrh. By bringing Tarrh's writings with him, Ben had unwittingly brought all of his ancestor's troubles forward in time to this house and, consequently, to the present. But in order to help Tarrh, they would have to know his secrets; Liz would have to get him to trust her and her intentions; but how? Moreover, how was she ever going to be able to enlist the help of John, Kim and Joel? How could she even entertain thoughts of accomplishing all that?

  "Where did you go?” John asked.

  "I'm sorry, John,” she said. “I guess I'm just still too rattled about all that's happening here. I mean, I want you to kiss me, but; it just feels awkward right now."

  John pursed his lips, stood and moved slightly away from her. “You're still worried about Missy and me, aren't you?” he asked.

  In truth, she hadn't even thought about Missy in days, and Missy hadn't so much as put in an appearance since Liz had channeled her for John. In the past few days, none of the other spirits had been on her mind half as much as Tarrh. She wanted to tell John all about the dream last night and the conversation she had with him while she was out of her body. Would he understand if she tried to explain it to him?

  She reached out to him once more, pulled him close to her. “It isn't Missy—or you,” she said.

  He closed the distance between them, pulled her to her feet, his arms around her. “What is it, then?” he asked.

  "I have some things I want to tell you, but I'm not sure where to start or how to say it. Maybe you should kiss me first,” she said with a smile, “because after I tell you all I have to say, you may not want to kiss me anymore."

  "Don't be silly! I want to kiss you a lot and I don't think anything you can say could possibly change that,” he said. “If it isn't Missy that has you worried, what is it?"

  Congratulations, she told herself. He wants to kiss you, but not enough to go ahead and kiss you now! “Okay,” she said, “Sit down and let me just go ahead and blurt it all out. You already know some of it; maybe talking it over with you will help me to make some sense of it in my own mind."

  John took a seat on the edge of her bed and listened patiently while she told him all about the dream, the conversations she had with Tarrh and her wanting to help him even if it damaged her own soul. When she finished her tale, he sat staring at the floor in silence.

  "Well?” she asked.

  "Well, that's quite a tale,” he said. “How can you be sure all the things he told you are true?"

  She shrugged and replied, “I can't be sure any of the things he said are true, any more than I can be certain any of the things Missy told me are true. But I can be sure of the torment I felt in him when our souls touched. He is a tortured being. Maybe he deserved what he got, maybe he didn't."

  "And you want to find out whether he deserved it?” John asked. “Don't you think that could be just a tad dangerous?"

  Liz studied the design on the area rug at her feet, sighed. “You mean more dangerous than what I've already been through with him? I don't know. All I know is that my inner being needs to try to help him."

  "Well, maybe you should reconsider that! Did you know your friend Tarrh actually tried to take up residence in Joel while you were out this afternoon?” he asked flatly.

  "He what?"

  "Yeah, Kim was quick enough to recognize what was going on and sent him packing,” John said. “He pretended to call Mark and then told Kim to wait another hour before she tried to wake you. Mark said had they waited, you just might have slipped into a coma because you were way too far under from the medication he gave you, almost as though he had given you an overdose of a sedative."

  "I can't believe it!” Liz said breathlessly.

  "You should believe it, Liz,” Kim said as she walked into the room. “I didn't mean to eavesdrop; thought I would check on you before I went to my room and I know I listened too long before letting you know of my presence. But since you were filling John in on all the details of your dream and all, I thought I would listen, too. That way you don't have to tell the story over and over."

  "I didn't mean I didn't believe you, John; only that I didn't believe Tarrh would actually make another assault so soon, and on Joel, of all people!” Liz said.

  "Well, he did,” Kim asserted. “We are just lucky Ghost noticed something and alerted me, because it might have all gone right past me."

  Liz sank onto the bed, a far away look in her eyes. She shook her head sadly, “God, I'm such a dope. I h
onestly believed his little act!"

  "It might not be an act. If he is as desperate as you believe him to be, though, it is probably hard for him to trust anyone,” Kim said.

  "That's true,” John added. “If he told you what really happened, he obviously trusted unwisely at least twice. He trusted the one who ‘took his soul', then he trusted Ben. He probably thinks the only way he can be sure of the outcome is to control us and bring it about the way he wants this time."

  "Thanks for trying to make me feel better,” Liz said. “I appreciate it, but—"

  "We're not just trying to make you feel better,” Kim said. “I, for one, am trying to piece all the facts together. What you and John don't know is that Joel told me he thinks there must be at least one more manuscript that we haven't found. The ones he has translated don't really have any information about how we might be able to control Tarrh."

  "Was this before, during or after Joel's little possession ordeal?” Liz asked sarcastically.

  Kim eyed her. “Why, it was before; at least it was before Ghost noticed anything,” she said. “We were going to try to distinguish whether the diagrams of Tarrh's floor plan had any notes about the secret passages, then see if we could apply them to this house. But Joel was worried about leaving you alone. That is when he checked your breathing and pulse. After that, he went to call Mark and that was when the change occurred."

  "The passages are a riddle; nothing more,” Liz quoted.

  "What?” John asked.

  "That is what Tarrh told me.” Liz explained. “He said if we learned the answer to the riddle of the passages we would know everything we need to know about him.” She blinked her eyes in astonishment.

  "That is it!” Kim said. “There must be at least one more manuscript hidden somewhere in the house and that manuscript tells us what we need to know. That has to be a confirmation, doesn't it?"

  Liz shook her head. “Sounds like it,” she replied, “but suppose it's just a trick? Maybe he told me that because the manuscript gives him more power over us if we find it. He said Missy and Leonard summoned him by attempting to read his manuscripts. Suppose they're the ones who hid it, not Ben? We could hurt ourselves a lot by opening that can of worms."

  "Well, that is a possibility, especially since it was hidden in the first place. If Ben hid it, we have to wonder why, don't we?” Kim agreed.

  "Sounds to me as if it is a two-sided coin,” John said thoughtfully. “I mean, maybe it gives Tarrh more of a hold in this realm; but if it tells us what we need to know about him, I would venture to say we need the knowledge, if we're to help him or put him away for good."

  "Either way, we're still taking a chance, aren't we?” Liz asked.

  Kim nodded, “Yes, we are. Who all wants to go look at that floor plan and see what we can find?"

  "What? You mean now?” John asked. “Count me in!"

  Liz peered at John out of the corner of her eye, smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

  "Race you to the library!” Kim said as she headed out the door.

  Chapter 23

  "What was that?” Liz asked with a start.

  "What was what?” Kim asked.

  "Didn't you hear that click? You pushed the wall and there was a click somewhere just beyond the partition. Don't tell me you didn't hear it,” Liz said as she moved into the darkness of the passage.

  "Wait! Liz, did you hear something you don't usually hear when we open a passage?” Kim asked anxiously.

  There was no reply.

  "Liz! Liz, stop fooling around and come back here! Turn your light back on,” Kim demanded.

  Still no answer.

  Kim turned around to look at John in alarm. “Don't just stand there! Shine that flashlight in here!"

  He pointed the bright beam into the dark passage in front of him, but it was empty. “Oh, God!” he exclaimed, “Where did she go?"

  Kim blinked into the stale chamber, but saw nothing except but dust and an empty room. They were standing in a small triangular room off the hall on the secret second level beside one of the library walls in a chamber directly above the Crescent Room on the first floor. Clearly, Liz couldn't have simply disappeared in the small room, and yet she was gone. If she had passed through the wall into the library, surely she would have answered Kim's call.

  John and Kim stared at each other, dumbfounded. Kim rubbed her forehead trying to think of a possible explanation; then it hit her. She gasped, covered her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes. “Oh, Dear God!” she whispered.

  "What is it?” John demanded.

  "Joel said the house—at least Tarrh's house—was designed to be a portal through time and space,” she said softly.

  "You're not telling me you believe that, are you?” he asked.

  She looked at him hard. “You have some other explanation, maybe; something more logical? How do you imagine it might have happened that she came in here and just vanished?” she quizzed angrily.

  John shrugged helplessly, sighed, but held his tongue.

  "The click she heard, or opening the door to this room, must have triggered some kind of transport device. Since she was the first one into the room, it sent her—somewhere,” she said.

  John narrowed his eyes, peered around the room for some lever, but found nothing. “Where could it have taken her?” he asked.

  Kim shook her head sadly, heaved a sigh. “Could be anywhere,” she said. “Another problem is when—there is a lot of time out there."

  "How are we going to get her back?"

  "I don't have any answers yet, John. I wasn't prepared for this; it never occurred to me one of us would be transported someplace else. Liz is a smart girl, though. She'll work on getting back, and we have to do all we can from this end to make sure she can get here,” Kim said.

  "Looks like we need that missing manuscript now more than ever. Maybe I should call Joel and see if he can come back over and help us,” John said.

  "I think we should let him have his rest, John. He had a scare today and if we pull him back over here right now, he may not be able to handle it. We can call him first thing in the morning,” she said.

  John grabbed her arm, pulled her to face him. “What are you saying—we should wait until morning?” he demanded.

  "You know, I care about her, too. We have been best friends for a long, long time. If anything happens to her, I would never forgive myself; but we can't do her any good if we exhaust ourselves or panic,” she said.

  He took a deep breath, dropped his hands to his sides. “I'm sorry,” he said, “but this entire thing is so unexpected. I never would have dreamed—"

  "Yeah, I know,” she said as she gave his hand a squeeze. “We have to learn to expect the unexpected, I guess. We could explore the other passages and see if we find anything, for a couple of hours; and then we should try to get some rest."

  "Yes, you're right. What do you want me to do?” he asked.

  "Let's go make some coffee and look at this manuscript; maybe see if we can develop some kind of strategy,” Kim suggested. She wanted to tell him not to worry, but the fact was she was tied in knots from the disquieting events that had already transpired. How much stress could her friend be expected to bear? This was not good, and every minute Liz was gone made it more likely to Kim she might never make it back. She couldn't help thinking Ben would know where Liz was and how to get her back, but would he be willing to help them?

  John looked devastated. He would blame himself for letting Liz be the first through the door into the triangular room, Kim knew. He had stayed to help protect her and now she was beyond their help. What would happen now?

  * * * *

  Liz stood motionless in the dark chamber. The air was different somehow and she couldn't quite make out what the difference was at first. Then the reality of her situation began to sink in. She had seen this place before, in the dream when Tarrh had choked her—only this scene was different from the vision she had the night before in that it was warm and
almost welcoming. She was in Tarrh's house.

  She was puzzled by her presence in the ancient house for a moment, but then she remembered the ominous click she had heard just before entering the room in Ben's house. John and Kim would be beside themselves with worry over her and she had no idea how to go back to her own time, back to Ben's house. She would have to enlist the aid of Tarrh to return to her friends. That should be an interesting trick, she told herself.

  She peered around the hall in which she was standing, just inches from the edge of the octagonal precipice that seemed to have no bottom in Tarrh's house. She shined her flashlight into the hole that extended beneath her, saw only darkness more vast than the sphere of illumination she held in her hand. She slowly backed away from the octagonal pit and farther into the hallway, tried to keep her wits about her. How would she ever be able to deal with Tarrh McCann in the flesh?

  "Who are you?” A female voice behind her demanded.

  Liz whirled around to see a dark woman wearing a long black flowing robe staring back at her. At least she speaks English, Liz thought.

  "I am waiting for an answer. You are in intruder in my house and I am within my rights to have the dogs feast upon you,” the woman threatened in the deep, beautiful accent of the Highlands.

  Liz slowly stepped closer to the woman, noticed two large ferocious-looking dogs flanking her sides. The woman appeared ageless. She had long black hair and dark eyes and would have been beautiful, had it not been for the wide red scar which ran along her left jawbone before dipping down her face by her mouth and continuing on down her neck where it disappeared into the high black neck of her robe. She had an aristocratic air about her and Liz thought she must look strange indeed to her hostess, dressed as she was in her jeans and tee shirt.

  She cleared her throat and finally managed to reply in a taut voice that sounded foreign to her. “My name is Elizabeth Carr and I seem to have been transported through time and space to your house. I am from the future, a place called the United States in the year two-thousand, seven. You may have heard of it as the New World,” she said. Her mind was racing. What was it about that scar? She was certain she had seen this woman before, but where? In her mind's eye, she could see flashes of that face and that scar, and then she knew—this was the female whose image had supplanted Tarrh's in the dream when Tarrh choked her. Or was it really this woman, disguised as Tarrh, who had choked her?