Authors: Honey A. Hutson
Soul Inheritance (3 page)
Concern flashed over his features, then relaxed into a grin. “Its okay, it’s true.” He turned and led her toward the gallery.
Time passed easily with games of goldfish toss, which no one really wanted to win, except perhaps the littlest children who really wanted the fish; dart throwing, Ferris Wheels, cotton candy and all the funnel cake they could stand. As the evening ebbed toward dusk the rides, games and tents became outlined in strings of orange lights. They had made their way through most of the carnival without ever spotting Nigel. That kind of luck just couldn’t last. Sure enough, he appeared out of the darkening evening like the unwelcome insects.
“
Hey, there you guys are, having fun?”
“
Yea, a great time, but I think we’re about licked. How ‘bout you?” Mitch smiled brightly at Nigel, but got a frown in return.
“
Actually, I’m not ready to go. I’ve run into some friends.”
“
That’s okay; you’re supposed to go to Ricky’s anyway. We’ll just go on,” she spoke too quickly, but it no longer mattered. His time was up.
“
Well, I guess. We should do something together before you go.” Directing the statement to Mitch was so obviously intentional that it made Katherine steam inside, but she remained smooth and calm on the surface. After all he only wanted to get at her.
“
What do you want to do?” Mitch directed the question to Katherine.
“
There’s this tent,” Nigel interrupted, “down near the exit, an exhibition tent. Let’s do that.” He had all the energy and enthusiasm of a child. Katherine nodded her agreement and followed, too tired to care.
The ornately decorated tent was reminiscent of a gothic style. Royal Blue fabric was edged in black embroidered Celtic designs and flowed loosely to the ground. The entire structure was lined in tiny white lights. Just as she realized where they were a tall, middle-aged woman stepped from between the parted flaps. He knew how these kinds of things gave her the creeps, it was a cheep shot. Worst of all her father would be pissed. He’d always warned her against these sort of people.
As her eyes came to rest on the woman, however, she was awe struck. An incredibly lovely creature with sharp features and dark olive skin stood before her. The gypsy’s golden amber eyes seemed to see straight into Katherine’s essence. Her honeyed voice reached out and pulled her toward the opening. The layers of purple and rose silk she wore rustled and her dangling bracelets and jewelry jingled as she glided into the depths of the tent.
“
I’ve been expecting you, Katherine. Please, sit.” Her long black hair swayed as she turned, showing shimmering strands of silver mixed into its glossy folds. In the back of her mind Katherine knew this should be unsettling, but there was an assurance in the woman. Just as a spider seemed assured of its next meal. Like the insect caught in the web, she was unable to resist.
Mitch and Nigel exchanged surprised and uncertain glances, followed the women into the candle lit room. The gypsy sat at her table draped with green velvet, laid her hands one on top the other and observed Katherine. Completely disregarding the men she began to speak in her deep, soft voice.
“
I’ve awaited this meeting for a long time. It’s a mixed blessing. A relief to say what I must, but I know it also sets off a series of frightening things for you. I’m truly sorry. If I don’t do as he wishes I’ll continue to suffer and he’ll find another. If I deliver his message I go free.” Katherine sat listening as if entranced. Mitch started to fidget, growing more uneasy by the second. He scooted closer to her as if he might be preparing for a quick exit. Nigel seemed to be enjoying their discomfort.
The gypsy reached out and took her hands; spreading them palms up.
“
Your life line is long, your love line inconsistent and ever changing. There are many paths to choose from, but be careful, chose wisely, think each through. What seems to be isn’t always what is, and what is isn’t always what it seems.”
“
Ah, here we go with the riddles,” Nigel interrupted, leaning forward on the table. “How’d you know her name?”
The woman did not acknowledge him, but continued.
“
In our travels we passed through your homeland. Not where you grew up, but where you are truly from. I was drawn out and given the burden of seeking you. You must find the truth about yourself, your family, your heritage. That heritage is the key to the rest. Your soul was cleansed at the end of the last cycle, you start anew, the power they want is intact, but you’re not theirs. They want you for the potential you hold. If you die it starts over, you must fight it here, in this life.”
Mitch now grew agitated. “No, don’t do this.” He took Katherine’s arm. “Come on, let’s go. She’s nuts, we’ve gotta go. Now!”
For the first time in her life Katherine was unable to obey, staring at the teller.
“
You know. You’ve seen the lake, the house, the forest in the north. In your dreams. Just as I’ve seen you in the dreams that we have shared every night.”
The drive to get up and leave was strong. She wanted to run, not to know. But she had to stay, to listen, to try and understand. Mitch’s reaction gave it away. What was it he said about never lying to him? Now she looked at him, saw it in his aging eyes as he pleaded.
“
Please, Kathy, let’s just go.” He tugged at her arm again.
Ignoring his plea’s she turned back to the gypsy. “What is it I need to know?”
“
That there’re terrible, terrible secrets in your past, in his past. You must return to fix it. The place you have been visiting is real. You must face its guardians, your family’s keepers.” She grimaced as if in pain. “It wants the only heir, to start over and rebuild. You must know the past; therein lies your strength. In you lies a purified power that it’ll do anything to get at. Prepare for the worst. Expect it to try everything to get what it wants.”
The woman grimaced again, clutching her head. Katherine knew she was skirting as close to the truth as she could without upsetting ‘it’ or ‘him’.
“
You must go, but be careful of those closest to you. They’re the pawns.” She looked directly at Nigel. “They’ll lead in the wrong direction and distract you.” She shifted to Mitch with ever-growing anguish. “You must help her while you can.”
Leaning on the table for support she rose. Nigel leaned forward with money in his hand, but she waived him away.
“
I don’t want your money.” She made her way through a curtain at the back of the tent and was gone.
Katherine turned to her father. “Have you ever lied to me, dad?”
“
No,” his reply was immediate, hurried. He looked down at his hands, swallowed hard, hesitated, “You never asked.”
Chapter two
The scent of a coming storm hung heavy in the air as Mitch and Katherine walked in silence through the rutted field.
“
I guess we have a lot to talk about,” Mitch took her by the arm, turned her to face him. “I was only trying to protect you. You’re right what you said before, about not knowing when time would run out. You need to know.” He smiled, stroked her face as he had when she was a child. “It’ll be okay, I’ll make it okay.”
“
I know.” She felt like that child, cowering in the dark. Saved over and over by daddy from imaginary monsters. Now the question was: Were they really imaginary?
“
I have to run by the house before dinner. I’ve got some things for you. Things I’ve waited a long time to show you.”
Mitch held the door for her, then circled around the other side and climbed in. Katherine didn’t know what to say, what to ask, where to begin. They rode in strained silence until they turned onto Sycamore Street.
“
I didn’t expect to be doing this today. I don’t know where to begin.”
“
I don’t know what to ask. I assumed a lot over the years.” The bitterness was apparent in her voice, in the stillness that lingered between them. “Do we have any family?”
“
You have an aunt in Maine. She’s all that’s left of us.”
“
Us, Who?”
“
The family
.” The way he said it sent chills through Katherine. “The McKlannens. That was our original name. I changed mine to McKalister the nigh…” Mitch fell silent, stared out the window at the rows of neat townhouses, their tiny lawns carefully mowed, trees neatly trimmed.
“
Why would you change our name? The night that what?”
Mitch only continued to stare out the window as she pulled the car into a spot directly in front of the townhouse.
She glanced at her father; saw the uneasy way he sat crouched in his seat, the unfinished sentence still hanging. They stared out at the two story brick townhouse they had shared until she graduated college. The ornamental trees in front swayed and bent with the ever increasing winds. The pansies in the flower boxes under the downstairs windows bobbed their heads violently as little pellets of rain began to peck against the windshield.
“
I’ll explain when I get back, you wait here.” Mitch opened the car door, then paused, looked at Katherine. He leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek. “I love you. Don’t ever forget.” He was out of the car and headed for the steps before she could respond.
‡
Mitch reached into his pocket, withdrew his keys and opened the dark green door with the gold knocker. All he ever wanted for his daughter was a normal life. He’d hoped the cleansing of the soul he knew her to be would have ended it. She had been the most powerful among the clan. A gypsy soul before a McKlannen. As things stood it had only made the situation worse. For so long it seemed she wasn’t affected. For years he’d watched for the first signs, for the dreams to begin. They hadn’t emerged and he’d breathed a sigh of relief, hoped that it had finally ended, after four centuries. Still, she had a chance none before her could claim. They didn’t own her like the others. At least not yet.
The house was still as he crossed the light blue tiles of the foyer and climbed the carpeted stairs, his hand gently sliding across the smooth mahogany of the spindled rails. At the top he paused, considered what he was about to do, then reluctantly entered the bedroom. On one wall was a row of cabinets along the floor, drawers above that and a mirror along the top. His eyes came to rest on the center drawer. The only one with a keyhole.
The deep blue comforter was plush and thick, the bed made up as it was every morning. There he knelt, withdrew two old, musty photo albums and tossed them on the bed. Scrambling to his feet he went to the drawer at the end and began to dig through its contents.
“
I know it’s here somewhere.” After digging nearly to the bottom he came up with a small bronze key. “Ah, there it is.”
A rattle came from inside one of the cabinets. Hesitantly Mitch tapped the cabinet door with his foot.
“
Damn rats.”
The noise came again. He leaned down, opened the door, and peered inside. Luminescent red eyes stared back from deep within the darkness.
“
Shooo.” Moving to the side he stomped his foot. A door on the other end of the row flopped open, the tip of a tail protruding out. His hair tingled at the roots. There was a sick humor in the eyes that stared back from the gloom when he looked again. It rose from floor level and slowly toward the light.
Mitch backed away, tried to slam the cabinet but the creature within slithered out like an eel, wrapped itself around his body before he could react, restrained him in its tight embrace.
“
Oh God, no! Not now, not yet!”
A deep chuckle rose from within its coils followed by a hissing, wispy sound. A deep voice replied, “God has nothing to do with it. But you already knew that.”
Its form was serpentine with a thin, starved human torso. One bony hand reached out to stroke Mitch’s face with an icy finger.
“
It’s been a long time my friend. Soooo very looooonnngg.” The forked tongue rolled over the words as if they were a delicacy. The nearly toothless grin emitted a horrible stench causing Mitch to recoil. “What? Aren’t you glad to seee yoouurr old friend?”
“
You’re no friend. I got out, a long time ago.”
It only laughed, drew its coils tighter.
“
Family is family. You never get out or didn’t you learn that from your dear wife? You sold yourselves long ago.”
The harder Mitch struggled to free himself, the tighter its embrace became, the glistening dark green coils glimmering with each movement, until everything went black.
‡
Katherine waited in the car with the radio on low, watching the dark storm clouds grow thicker and lower. They hung over the buildings and the rain came swiftly in a torrential down pour as she fiddled with her keys, changed the stations, straightened her CD case. Finally she sat, drumming her thumb on the steering wheel.
