Olney Springs

by Claudia Hall Christian

  “I’d love that,” Bestat said. She put her arm on Samantha’s, and Samantha felt better. “Why don’t you join us? My security was just telling me about a fantastic restaurant in something called ‘LoDo..”

  “Lower Downtown,” Samantha said.

  “You must speak with them,” Bestat said with a smile.

  Bestat’s security surrounded them, and they left for lunch.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Tuesday afternoon — 1:11 p.m.

  New York City, New York

  MJ had wheeled Honey into the elevator of the medical building and then stepped forward to press the button to the floor. Looking at his back, Honey panicked. Her heart pounded with terror. When the love of her life turned around, she pushed the panic away.

  MJ was a soldier. He’d been in all kinds of serious situations. He knew real terror.

  Her situation paled in comparison. She had no right to be afraid.

  “What?” MJ said under his breath when he returned to the back of the elevator.

  “Nothing,” Honey said with a smile.

  “You’re so full of it,” MJ said.

  She refused to respond. She was fine. This was merely a medical meeting. Her fear wasn’t real, especially compared to all the horrifying experiences MJ had had in Iraq and Afghanistan.

  “Knock it off,” MJ said, as if he could read her thoughts. “Just stop. You have every right to feel whatever you feel.”

  “But this isn’t a terrorist situation or a battlefield or an IED or. . .” Honey clamped her mouth closed. “I’m being dumb.”

  MJ rolled his eyes, and they continued in silence. The elevator door popped open without a ding and Honey looked up.

  “The dinger is broken,” Honey said.

  MJ followed her eyes and then looked at her.

  “Should we trust this building?” Honey asked.

  MJ laughed out loud.

  “Come on, Wonder Woman,” MJ said. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Despite the fact that she hated being pushed, he got behind her wheelchair and negotiated her into the doctor’s office. At the door, he looked down at her.

  “I didn’t want to spend the day on the elevator,” MJ said.

  He winked at Honey and she laughed.

  “Sergeant Scully,” the receptionist said. “You must be Honey.”

  The receptionist came around to shake Honey’s hand.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Scully,” the receptionist said.

  When the receptionist turned, Honey scowled. She hadn’t taken MJ’s name because they were locked in a battle of wills about last names. MJ chuckled at her response.

  “Mrs. Scully,” MJ said under his breath.

  He pushed Honey in her wheelchair toward what looked like a conference room. There were doctors around the table already. Honey lit up when she saw that Nadia was there. At least she’d have someone other than MJ there. She looked at the other men and women. They were deep in conversation. Honey flushed.

  They were talking about her!

  Feeling incredibly small, she let MJ push her to the end of the table. She blushed her way through the introductions. Under the table, MJ grabbed her hand. Feeling his tight grip, she felt a well of gratitude for Jill, who had asked the fairies to give her back movement in her hands.

  She felt someone looking at her. When she looked up, she saw her lead doctor from Craig Hospital sitting across from her at the table. Honey’s mouth dropped open. Never one for formality, the doctor gave Honey a little wave.

  “Here is the last one,” the receptionist said as she came in carrying a tablet. She set the tablet on the table. “This is Mrs. Scully’s caregiver.”

  Honey gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Her Denver nurse, Steve Roper, came in to view on the screen.

  “Hi, Honey,” Steve said. “Everyone.”

  “We can now get started,” the lead doctor said.

  Honey sniffed back a tear and settled in to listen.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Tuesday afternoon — 12:11 p.m.

  Denver, Colorado

  Jill was driving to a client meeting when her cellphone rang.

  “Call from the Marlowe School,” the electronic voice reported through the enormous SUVs console.

  Jill clicked “Connect.”

  “Hello?” Jill asked into the air.

  She grimaced. She always felt a little stupid talking into the dashboard of her vehicle.

  “Jill?” a woman’s voice asked. “Mrs. Marlowe?”

  “This is Jill Roper-Marlowe,” Jill said.

  “This is Estelle,” the woman said. “From the Marlowe School. I’m the Vice Principal of Attendance.”

  “Hi, Estelle,” Jill said.

  “Um, I’m calling because. . . um. . .”

  “What’s wrong?” Jill asked.

  “You wouldn’t have any idea where Katy might be, would you?” Estelle asked.

  “Katy?” Jill asked.

  Her heart began to beat a hundred miles a minute.

  “You know we have all of this security at the new school,” Estelle said. “And I can assure you that no children have left the school.”

  “Children?” Jill asked.

  Jill pulled over so as not to drive while panicked.

  “Paddie — you know, Patrick Hargreaves?” Estelle asked. “He’s gone, too.”

  “Katy and Paddie are missing?” Jill asked.

  “Yes.”

  Chapter Three Hundred and Eighty-Nine

  Ghosts

  Tuesday morning — 10:10 a.m.

  Denver, Colorado

  “What do you mean?” Katy asked Paddie in a low voice.

  Rather than respond, Paddie simply nodded his head.

  “But there’s only one ghost, a lady ghost,” Katy said.

  Paddie raised his eyebrow and nodded in the same serious way.

  “Wow,” Katy said.

  She looked out across the playground. For the first time in what she felt like was forever, Katy and Paddie had the same recess. In fact, now that they were at the new school, all of the kids shared a recess. Well, all of the kindergarten through sixth grade kids. Katy saw Noelle playing hopscotch with a group of her friends on the other end of the playground.

  “What do you want to do?” Katy asked.

  Noelle finished her game of hopscotch and stood beside the game to watch.

  “I think we should find the ghosts,” Paddie said. His bottom lip quivered for a moment before he nodded. “We need to know if they are on our side or the dark side.”

  Katy gave Paddie a grave nod. When she looked up, Noelle was running toward them. Noticing Katy’s look, Paddie turned to see Noelle. Katy and Paddie looked at each other for a moment. Paddie shrugged, and Katy nodded.

  “What are you guys doing?” Noelle yelled as she ran toward them. “I know that look. You’re up to something. I don’t want you to get in trouble or disappear or have to see the white-eyed guy or. . .”

  Noelle skidded to a stop.

  “That fairy queen might steal you!” Noelle said. Noelle leaned back and crossed her arms. “I won’t let her take you.”

  Noelle looked at Paddie and Katy.

  “You need me,” Noelle said. “She can’t take humans. She won’t be able to take me.”

  “We’re going to skip class,” Katy said.

  “Okay,” Noelle said. “Where do we start?”

  Katy looked at Paddie, and he nodded.

  “This way,” Paddie said.

  Katy glanced at Noelle before following Paddie into the school. The teacher monitoring recess stopped him by grabbing his arm.

  “Where are you going?” the recess monitor asked.

  “We have to go inside,” Katy said with a mild look on her face. “We won’t cause any trouble. Don’t think another thing about it.”

  The teacher looked at Katy and smiled. She gave the children a quick nod. Katy and Paddie continued on into the school. Noelle gawked at the t
eacher for a moment before jogging to catch up.

  “How’d you do that?” Noelle said in a whisper as they rushed toward the school.

  “I don’t know,” Katy said. “It just happens sometimes.”

  “Do you use it on your parents?” Noelle asked. “It would be great to use on my dad.”

  “It doesn’t work on her parents,” Paddie said. “We’ve tried.”

  Katy nodded. Paddie glanced at Noelle before they went into the school.

  “It’s this way,” Paddie said.

  He took off running toward his classroom. He stopped at the door.

  “Do you hear that?” Paddie asked.

  The sound of children talking came through the door. Katy nodded, and Noelle scowled.

  “What’s that?” Noelle asked.

  “Ghosts,” Katy said.

  Paddie nodded to Katy and they went into the classroom. The moment the door opened, the classroom became silent.

  “Where did they go?” Noelle asked in a whisper. But even her soft voice sounded too loud in the empty room.

  “Ghosts are like that,” Paddie said.

  Katy looked around the room for a moment before looking at Paddie.

  “Was it there?” Katy asked.

  She pointed to a square of marble paneling along the wall below the chalkboard. Paddie nodded. Katy walked to the panel.

  “Wait!” Paddie said.

  Katy turned to look at him. Paddie’s face was white, and he was shivering. His clothing looked too big for him. Katy ran over to him and gave him a hug.

  “I will never, ever let anything happen to you,” Katy said. “Ever. Never. Ever.”

  Bigger, Noelle put her arms around both of the children. They stood together for a moment.

  “We should hurry,” Katy said.

  She smiled at Noelle, who let go. Katy stepped away from Paddie and patted him on the shoulders.

  “I learned a new trick,” Katy said. “From my classes with Fin.”

  “What did you learn?” Paddie asked. He sniffed back a tear that he knew he shouldn’t shed.

  “To make a safe bubble around you,” Katy said. “And me.”

  She turned to Noelle and smiled.

  “And you!” Katy said. “Before we go. . .”

  Katy waved her hands over Paddie and then over Noelle. Finally, as if she was holding a wand, she held her right hand over her head. She nodded. As they watched, a thin iridescent layer crept over her body. A moment later, it was clear.

  “Did that happen to me?” Paddie asked with a grin.

  “Try it,” Katy said as her head bounced up and down in “yes.” “Ask for your sword.”

  “Sword of Truth!” Paddie said and held his hand up. The sword appeared in his hand. “Look! Katy!”

  He held up the sword and giggled.

  “I wish I was wearing better shoes,” Noelle said.

  She gestured to the sandals on her feet.

  “Go ahead!” Katy said. “Just point at your feet and wish.”

  Noelle pointed to her feet, and her high-top tennis shoes appeared. She smiled.

  “Let’s go figure this out,” Noelle said.

  Noelle smiled at Katy and then at Paddie. She frowned.

  “Where are we going?” Noelle asked.

  “Into the wall,” Katy said.

  “No,” Paddie said. “I told you. It’s a passageway.”

  “How come my daddy didn’t find it, then?” Katy asked.

  Paddie’s rolled eyes indicated that she’d asked this question at least once before.

  “But there can’t be ghosts just seen by kids,” Katy said.

  “Why not?” Paddie asked.

  Paddie stuck his chin out in stubborn defiance.

  “Why don’t we. . .?” Noelle started saying.

  Katy gave Paddie a quick hug for reassurance and ran to the wall. The piece of marble paneling opened to her touch.

  “Look, it’s hinged,” Katy said. “There is a passageway there.”

  Paddie grinned.

  “I’m sorry for doubting, Paddie,” Katy said.

  “It’s okay,” Paddie said. “Are we ready?”

  Katy nodded. Thrilled to be on a Katy and Paddie adventure, Noelle didn’t respond so they couldn’t tell her not to come.

  “Wait,” Katy said and turned to look at Noelle. Sure that Katy would say she couldn’t go, Noelle’s face fell with sadness. “Did you bring a pencil? We may need you to draw us a way out of there.”

  “I don’t have a pencil,” Noelle said. “But I have the piece of pastel I always have.”

  Noelle took a worn blue piece of oil pastel out of her pocket.

  “Nice,” Katy said with a smile. “Here we go.”

  Noelle beamed with delight. Paddie dropped to his knees and crawled into the passageway.

  “You should go next,” Katy said. “I’ll keep the rear.”

  “Are we going to war?” Noelle asked as a joke.

  “Maybe,” Katy said with a nod. “Is that okay?”

  “I’m here,” Noelle said. “I must be here for a reason.”

  Katy nodded. Noelle got on her knees and crawled into the passageway.

  “It’s hard to see,” Noelle said.

  Katy leaned down and touched the top of the passageway. Small white lights appeared on the top of the passageway. Katy looked around the classroom before following Noelle and Paddie into the passageway. When she was into the passageway, she pulled the marble paneling closed behind her.

  The children crawled along the narrow passageway for a hundred feet before they arrived at a small open area. The space was too small to be considered a closet and too big to be a cupboard. The area was open all the way to the roof, two stories above them. There were ladders attached to the wall of the space so that people could climb down to the floor. Paddie stood up and held out the Sword of Truth. Noelle got up to explore the space. When Noelle turned around, she saw Paddie and Katy staring at the sword.

  “What are you doing?” Noelle asked.

  “The Sword of Truth cuts through all illusion and magic,” Katy said.

  “Since we don’t know where we are. . .” Paddie said.

  “Or when,” Katy said with a nod.

  “We look around with the sword,” Paddie said. “There. Did you see that?”

  Katy nodded.

  “What did you see?” Noelle asked.

  “A boy,” Katy said at the same time Paddie said, “A ghost.”

  Noelle leaned over to look into the sword. For a moment, she saw only the reflection of the lights. Then, a young, dark-skinned face came into view. His dark eyes blinked at Noelle. Another boy with a sharp nose came into view, and then the faces of two young girls with fair skin appeared. Soon, the shiny sword was reflecting the faces of eleven children between Paddie’s age, four and a half years old, and Noelle’s age, twelve years old. The ghosts of the children crowded around them.

  “There’s lots of them,” Noelle said under her breath.

  “Can you see them?” Paddie whispered to Katy.

  Katy looked around the room and shook her head.

  “We should all be able to see them with just our eyes,” Katy whispered. She looked up. “Are you hiding?”

  The heads bobbed up and down in a nod.

  “Why are you hiding?” Katy asked.

  Rather than answer, the children began to disappear from the sword.

  “What’s going on?” Noelle asked.

  “I don’t know,” Katy said.

  Paddie looked up at the ceiling before looking at Noelle.

  “Did you find a way out?” Paddie asked.

  Noelle shook her head.

  “We can try climbing out,” Noelle suggested.

  Not one to wait, Paddie ran to the first ladder and climbed up.

  “There’s no way out here,” Paddie said.

  He climbed up to the next level.

  “Or here,” Paddie said.

  “That’s too high,”
Katy said. “Come down.”

  Not needing much encouragement, Paddie carefully climbed down.

  “Also. . .” Noelle pointed to where they’d come from.

  The passageway had disappeared. Paddie and Katy went from wall to wall looking for a way out. They checked every wall twice before giving up.

  “Shouldn’t we pound on the wall or something?” Noelle asked in a voice laced with a thread of panic.

  “Not yet,” Katy said.

  Noelle looked at Paddie and he nodded.

  “Are w-we t-trapped by magic?” Noelle asked.

  “I think it’s a trick,” Paddie said. “Something built into the building.”

  “It’s not magic,” Katy said with a more-confident-than-she-felt shake of her head.

  “W-what should w-we do?” Noelle asked.

  “We wait,” Paddie said.

  Noelle’s eyes welled with tears, and she wrapped her arms around herself in a hug.

  “Don’t worry, Noelle,” Katy said.

  “I already did,” Noelle said.

  “Do you still have the pastel?” Katy asked.

  Noelle nodded.

  “Then you can draw our way out at any time,” Katy said.

  “You want to do that now or wait until we get to the bottom of this?” Paddie said with such infectious intensity that Noelle smiled.

  “Let’s get to the bottom of this,” Noelle said.

  “Then we wait,” Katy said.

  “For what?” Noelle asked.

  “For the kids to come back,” Paddie said.

  He sat down with his back against the wall. Katy sat down next to him. Noelle stood for a moment before sitting down next to Katy.

  “Katy, did you bring. . .?”

  Katy pulled a candy bar from a pocket in her school uniform. She gave Paddie and Noelle each a third before having a third for herself.

  “This isn’t so bad,” Noelle said out loud mostly for herself.

  They settled in to wait.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Tuesday afternoon — 12:10 p.m.

  New York City, New York

  “So, who are you?” Charlie asked Giovanni when Giovanni came carrying a warm panini sandwich and a cup of lemonade.

  Giovanni set the sandwich and lemonade down on the table next to Charlie. Charlie and Dale were sitting in armchairs playing video games. Nadia had business meetings all day, and Ivan had gone with Otis to the Russian spa. Very weak, Sissy was watching the street below from a daybed set in a sunny spot next to the window. Honey and Maggie were playing on the floor. Everyone turned to look at Giovanni when Charlie asked the question.