The Suicide Forest (The River Book 5) (6 page)

“Ah,” Roy said, “that’s a better approach! We need something
that will make her like us.” He began looking through the book again, with a
different goal.

As Roy searched, Steven’s mind returned to the markings.
I
wonder if Jason is marked
, he thought.
If he is, maybe I shouldn’t wait
to tell him about the gift. I need some way of seeing these markings, something
like Judith’s planchette glass.

Eximere. All those objects, just sitting. One of them might
have the properties I need. Another reason to go.

“I’m driving to Eximere tonight,” Steven said. “Want to come
with me?”

“Tonight?” Roy said.

“I’ll come back tomorrow, but I want the night to explore the
library and the objects out there. You’re welcome to come with me if you want –
or not, stay here with the book if you’d rather.”

“No, I’ll go with you,” Roy said. “I can read in the car on
the way. Are you looking for ways to deal with Evie? Or are you looking for
ways to deal with your markings?”

“Both,” Steven said.

“I got a call from Jason,” Roy said, sitting in the passenger
seat of Steven’s car as they drove to the peninsula. “He wants to come see me
tomorrow.”

“Don’t,” Steven said instinctually.

Roy looked at him. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t meet with him.”

“I figured something was up with you two,” Roy said. “He’s
never been one to meet with me out of the blue.”

“He wants to talk to you about a dream he’s been having,”
Steven said. “He talked to me about it the other day.”

“Why does he want to talk to me about it?” Roy asked.

“Because the dream is about the gift, and he knows there’s
something I’m not telling him. He thinks it’s some deep, dark family secret,
and he’ll try to pry it out of you.”

“He won’t have to pry,” Roy said. “I’ll tell him all about it
if he asks.”

“No, you won’t,” Steven said. “I’m his father, it’s my
prerogative.”

“Well then, you tell him,” Roy said.

“I’m not ready to,” Steven said. “I want to wait a year, let
him graduate first. I know him. This thing will be a huge distraction to him. If
he learns of it before he finishes college, he’ll drop out. And I won’t have
that on my conscience. Sheryl would come unglued.”

“Who cares what Sheryl thinks?” Roy said. “I’m not sure you
can control it the way you want. If he’s dreaming about it, then it’s emerging
in him, and he’ll want to figure it out. You can’t stop that.”

“Not for long,” Steven said. “I told him one year. He
completes his education, and I get better at tutoring. Hell, I can’t even trance
yet! How am I going to teach him anything? One year gives us both a chance to
get on better footing.”

“If he’s dreaming about it,” Roy said, “you’d better address
it.”

“He’s been dreaming about it for ten years,” Steven said. “I
don’t think another year will really matter.”

“Ten years?” Roy said. “Then why’s he calling me now?”

“This time his dream was different. Something in the dream
made him think he needed to talk to me about it,” Steven said. “So that’s why
he wanted to meet… and that’s why he’s calling you, since I stalled him. In the
dream, something or someone told him to tell me that ‘he knew’.”

“Knew what?” Roy asked.

“That there’s something we’re not telling him,” Steven said.
“And the book is in the dream, too.”

“I say tell him,” Roy said. “We could use the help.”

“And I say, as his father, no. His education comes first.
They’ll be plenty of time for it after he has his degree.”

“Fine. But I’m on record as thinking it’s a mistake.”

“Like I said, one more year won’t hurt.”

“It might,” Roy said. “You can’t bottle it up, you know.”

“What about me? I wasn’t interested until now, and I’m nearly
fifty.”

“You bottled it up yourself,” Roy said, “with your
rationality. It’s different with Jason. He’s open to it. He’s seeking it.”

“If he comes to see you,” Steven said, “I forbid you to talk
to him about it.”

“Forbid?!” Roy scoffed. “Hilarious!”

“I mean it,” Steven said. “He’s my son, and you will respect
my wishes on this, understand?”

“Jesus Christ, the drama!” Roy said.

“I want to hear you say you understand,” Steven said.

“I understand!” Roy said. “Christ!”

“And promise me you won’t discuss this with him?” Steven
said.

“Fine, I promise,” Roy said. “But it’s a mistake.”

Always with the last word,
Steven thought.
Let him have it. Not worth
fighting over. Never is.

◊

An hour later, they pulled onto the forest road off County
Road 15 and drove up to a locked chain link fence. Roy hopped out of the car
and opened the fence while Steven drove through, then he locked the fence
behind them and joined Steven in the car. They drove a few more hundred feet on
the old forest road that they recently had graded for easier access. After a
few bends in the road, they came upon the large metal doors that covered the
old prohibition tunnel. Once again Roy left the car to open the doors for
Steven, then locked them behind him once the car was safely in the tunnel.

They’d driven this route many times in the past six months
since they liberated Eximere from James Unser, its creator. The underground
house contained hundreds of books and objects belonging to gifteds who had been
murdered by Unser, and in the course of liberating the place they decided to
take on the task of returning as many of the books and objects as they could.
It would take years, since returning a book meant figuring out who it initially
belonged to, finding their living heirs, and contacting them, as they’d done
with June Williamson. The objects were even harder to return since there was no
record of ownership, and they didn’t know how most of the objects functioned.
Eliza was convinced that many of the objects were very powerful, but without
knowing what they did or how to use them, they were like inert museum pieces,
quietly sitting in display cases.

Steven drove the car through the tunnel to the end and parked
the car where another metal door awaited. Roy used his keys to open it, and
they began their descent. Long stairways and two doors later, they emerged into
the large open cave that contained the house and yard. In addition to having
built the house, Unser had arranged for a permanent day/night cycle in the
cave, and evening had set. Lights from the house streamed out, and small lights
at ground level lit the path they followed from the stairwell to the house,
passing through the dark front yard.

As he stepped through the open archway that acted as the
front door to the house, Steven stopped and took a long, deep breath, as he
always did upon arrival at Eximere.

God, that feels good
, he thought.
It’s nice to be back.

He felt a warm breeze pass through the house, and he walked
through the entryway to the back archway, looking out into the back yard. He
could see the shape of the large banyan tree, and the reflection of the house
lights in the pond beyond. Roy joined him, enjoying the view.

“I never get tired of it,” Roy said. “Sometimes I can’t
believe it’s ours.”

“On loan,” Steven said.

“Percival will never come down here,” Roy said. “And we own
the property with the access to it. It’s ours. And you’ll need to figure out
how to pass it to Jason someday.” Roy turned and walked back into the house.

He might be right,
Steven thought.
I wonder if we’ll live long enough to
return all these books and objects. And even if we did, what then? The place
would still be here, available. We’ve agreed to not tell others about it, but
Jason is family. He will have to know. He’ll be able to use this place for
another fifty years at least. Not exactly the family cabin I imagined.

◊

On the opposite side of the house from the library was the
room Steven thought of as “the object room.” It was filled with cases and
tables, and each glass case contained dozens of objects.  Some looked unusual;
others looked ordinary. In the River, the objects took on their true form,
though their purpose was still not revealed. An old, half-burnt wax candle
looked innocuous, but within the River it appeared as a knife with no handle,
sharp edges all around. Steven saw it glowing with a faint blue edge.
The
color must mean something
, Steven thought.
Someone must know the meaning
of these colors, there must be people who are experts on these things.
Steven, Roy, and Eliza had agreed they would not reveal the existence of
Eximere to anyone without a group vote, so if an expert were to be brought in
to examine the objects, they’d all need to agree. The problem with bringing
someone in was not knowing their intentions. Steven had learned there were as
many unethical gifteds as ethical ones. They might want to sell the items, or
steal them. Eliza had said the value of the objects in this room was
inestimable; bring in the wrong person, and the whole room might be plundered
before they could return a single item. It was probably wiser to take the items
out for assessment, rather than bring someone it.

“Any luck?” Roy asked as he entered the room.

“Not yet,” Steven said. “Honestly, most of them are
intimidating. Who would pick up this thing?” he said, pointing to the wax
candle.

“Maybe it’s just meant to be looked at,” Roy said, smiling.

“And what does the blue haze mean?” Steven asked. “They all have
different colors. The color must mean something – just like the red of my
markings.”

“I’ll bet it’s in a book somewhere,” Roy said, walking
through the room, observing the items. “We just have to find it. Hundreds more
to go through in that library.”

“You said you don’t like going through other family’s books,”
Steven said.

“I don’t,” Roy said. “Feels like prying. I wouldn’t like
someone going through our book. Unless it was to find out who it belonged to,
to return it.”

“Exactly,” Steven said, picking up an object that looked like
an old wooden letter opener. “So while you’re looking through them for the
owner, keep your eyes open for info on these colors.” There was a small
indentation on the side of the letter opener, a worn area of the wood. It looked
as though it had been made by thousands of thumb imprints over many years. He
pressed his thumb into the imprint, and felt immediate intense pleasure – and
the unmistakable rise of an orgasm. He set the opener back down, but the orgasm
continued. He turned away from Roy as inconspicuously as possible, trying to
hide what was happening to him.

“Well I think that’s a little unethical,” Roy said. “Why
don’t we just locate a book about colors, or consult someone who would know. We
don’t have to pry through other people’s stuff to figure it out.”

Steven hunched over slightly as the wave of the orgasm passed
through him. It seemed like it would go on forever.
If Roy wasn’t here,
Steven thought,
I’d really be enjoying this.

“You have to have some kind of moral base, and stick to it,”
Roy said, still walking round the room behind Steven, looking at objects. “An
ethical foundation is important. I want those people to get their books back
without feeling as through we’ve pawed through them. They should feel that their
family secrets are safe.”

Steven turned to leave the room. “Bathroom break – I’ll be
back in a minute,” he said as he walked to the door and down the hallway to the
bathroom located by the kitchen.

When he returned, Roy was holding a planchette similar to the
one Judith had used. “I think I’ve found it,” Roy said. “It’s not exactly the
same, but it’s close.” He handed it to Steven.

Steven examined the planchette. This one was wider than
Judith’s, and heavier. The glass inside the center circle was darker. There
were markings around the opening that were strange. Steven entered the River
and held the glass over his hand. The double diamond marking reappeared, but
this time it was more vivid. Steven felt a fear rising in his stomach, as
though he was looking at something truly horrible. He wanted to keep examining
himself with the glass, but the feeling overpowered him and he lowered it.

“What’s wrong?” Roy asked.

“Take a look,” Steven said. “Tell me what you see.”

Roy took the planchette back from Steven and placed it over
Steven’s left hand. He entered the River and looked through the glass.

“Well I’ll be,” Roy said. “No wonder you wanted to know more
about it.” Roy pulled the glass back and examined more of Steven. “Seems to be
just on the hands, but you should check yourself out and see if there’s more
under your clothes.”

Roy turned the glass on himself, looking at the tops of his
hands and the parts of his body that weren’t clothed. “Nothing,” he said. “Only
you.”

“How did you feel,” Steven asked Roy, “when you saw the
markings on my hands?”

“What do you mean?” Roy asked.

“Look at them again,” Steven said, holding up his hand. Roy
held the planchette over Steven’s hand and looked through the glass again.

“What am I looking for?” Roy asked.

“Not what you’re looking for, how you feel,” Steven said.

“I don’t feel anything,” Roy said.

“No sense of dread?” Steven asked.

“No,” Roy said. “Why? Is that what you felt?”

“Not when I looked through Judith’s glass,” Steven said.
“Only with this one.”

“Interesting,” Roy said. “This glass might be different, able
to convey a sense of the reaction evil creatures get when they see your mark.”

“But you don’t feel it,” Steven said. “Only me. Why? I’m
evil?”

“Don’t be stupid,” Roy said. “Of course you’re not evil.”