Evil Unearthed: Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Kathleen was almost in tears as she pressed the 'End Call' button on her cell phone. It was a day of golden sunshine and sparkling seas, but her spirits were anything but bright as she contemplated the ramifications of what she had just heard. The pilot of the sea-plane whom she had hired to carry herself and Julia back and forth between Maljardin and the main island had just told her that his plane, which had served her needs for six months and more since her arrival, was now in a state of extreme disrepair, and there was no way that he could make the trip they had scheduled for today. When she had asked how the breakdown had occurred, he had been cagey in his response, and she suspected that if she could find him, she would find the plane in perfect working order. Her suspicions were confirmed, when in answer to her probing questions, he had suddenly blurted out:

"Look, Miss O'Dell! I just can't have any more to do with the doings over there. Alright? I'm sorry, but you'll have to find some other way."

Now, as she stood on the Desmond dock still hopelessly waiting for the sea-plane that was not coming, she cursed her bad luck using some of her grandmother's best saintly invocations, and then, pulling herself together, she did the only thing she could. She called Stephen, whom she knew must also be standing and waiting on a dock, and told him the bad news.

"Don't worry, Kat," he said. "We'll find a way. We're coming today, no matter what. Just a moment. Vangie wants to ask you something."

Kathleen waited while Stephen handed the phone to Vangie, and she found herself wondering if the Conjure Woman had even used a phone like this before.

"Kathleen," said Vangie's voice in her ear, "listen to me for a moment. I know you're upset and frightened, but I'm telling you that you're not alone in this. All three of us are coming, and we will be there today. Now, I need you to do something for me."

"Yes?"

"I need you to do exactly what you're doing now, and wait on the dock."

"How did you--?"

"I can hear the sounds around you through the phone. Don't worry. I'm not gazing into your mind or anything. Now, what I want you to do is to sit down, clear your mind, and be calm. We need to get a boat across the channel, and we can only do it if you are open to me and if I can use your presence as a kind of beacon. Do you understand?"

"Yes," said Kathleen, "but what about--what about the spirit, the evil?"

"We will do our utmost to keep you safe," said Vangie. "Will you trust that?"

"I guess I have no choice," said Kathleen. "Alright."

"Good," said Vangie. "The tide will be ebbing soon. We'll make the crossing when the whirlpool is at its lowest intensity. That should be in about fifteen minutes or so. Now, just stay still and be calm. Alright?"

"Alright," said Kathleen. "I will," and they ended the call.

Kathleen sat on the upturned hull of an ancient-looking dinghy and looked out into the sun-washed waves. Julia, she knew, was locked in her office. Ever since the day Kathleen had confronted her about the strange happenings here, Julia had seemed even more moody than usual, and now, she was positively distrustful of herself and thought that to isolate herself from the outside world was the only way to cope. Kathleen respected this, but at the same time, she wondered what Julia sat and thought about during those hours alone, and she felt deep in her heart that this was merely the calm before the storm. Something was brooding and waiting its chance to pounce; that much she could sense, but then, she thought, anyone who had spent any time in this house would have been able to sense that. Still, she hoped desperately that the others would come soon, because if she had to spend another day alone here with Julia and the ever-present construction crews, she thought she would go mad.

She looked at the clock on her cell phone and realized that ten minutes had gone by since she had spoken with Vangie. Taking the cross in her hand, she tried to still her mind, and all at once, she felt a familiar impulse or vibration stirring deep with in it, and Vangie's voice seemed to echo off the walls of her skull.

"Good girl," the Conjure Woman said in a tone of genuine approbation. Kathleen smiled to hear herself described as a girl, but she took the comment without offense. "Now, just stay like that," Vangie's voice continued, "and we'll be across to you in no time."

Kathleen sat as still as she could, trying to focus on Vangie. She brought her image before her mind's eye, and that seemed to help her. At any rate, with Vangie's image on which to focus, it was less easy for her thoughts to go drifting away. However, she hoped that the crossing could be made quickly, because even while Vangie's presence seemed strong and sure in her mind, another thing was there as well, something cold and watchful, waiting just outside the mental perimeter that she had just erected and searching for a chink or crack through which to slither and invade. If that happened, Kathleen knew, then Vangie would be vulnerable. She didn't care what happened to her, but she would not let the Conjure Woman be hurt because of her own carelessness. So, she sat and waited, keeping her mind firmly fixed and watching the moving of the water along the rocky shore.

Suddenly, she fancied that she heard the sound of a small motor, and soon, her fancy was proven fact when, chugging slowly and purposefully into view, a little motor boat which she recognized as belonging to the hotel moved out from the shadow of the main island's marina and began to beat its way across the channel. As the boat got closer, she could see the tall form of Barrett seated in the bow, and behind him Stephen knelt, but in the stern was a figure she didn't recognize at first. It was only as the boat came closer to Maljardin that she knew it for Vangie, though to be sure, her look had changed since the last time they had been together. She now wore a flowered skirt and blouse, and there were pince-nez perched upon her nose. One hand gripped the tiller of the small, outboard motor, and she wore an expression of focused intensity. Suddenly, the boat gave a violent lurch, and at the same time, Kathleen felt that cold presence making an assault on her mind. However, as she looked at Vangie, still sitting calmly and guiding the boat with a steady hand, she seemed to gain new strength, and gripping the cross more tightly, she built her mental walls anew and this time, she sent imaginary soldiers out to repel the invader. This seemed to work, for soon, the boat came alongside the dock, and Stephen jumped out to make it fast while Vangie switched off the motor, and, none too steady on her legs, stepped out. Barrett was the last to clamber out, and when she saw him in the light of the brilliant noon sun, Kathleen was alarmed. His face was deadly pale and his eyes seemed sunken and dim. She could tell that the crossing had been taxing for him.

"Are you alright, professor?"

"I'll do, thank you," was all his answer, but Kathleen saw Vangie's evident concern for him as she leaned down into the boat to retrieve his staff.

"It looks like a steep climb to the house," said Stephen, who had been appraising the cliff-path.

"It is," said Kathleen, "but we can go slowly."

"Not yet," said Vangie suddenly and harshly. "I need to sit down for a while," she continued, softening her tone. "Thank you, Kathleen, for your help. Between what Robert knows about the seas around here and my ability to use your presence to guide me, we managed the trip. I don't know if we will be able to manage another one back, but--" Her voice trailed off, and everyone looked at her, all sharing the same thought. It was Kathleen who voiced it, however.

"You were going to say that we might not need to go back," she said. "Weren't you?"

"Yes," said Vangie, sitting down beside Kathleen. "I'm sorry to be so morbid, but it is something we have to face. Kathleen, why don't you and Stephen go on up to the house. Robert and I will join you soon."

"I really think that I should be with you, Miss Abbott," said Stephen.

"I'm not as feeble as all that yet, old boy," said Barrett. "We'll be fine. There is a path after all, even if it is steep."

"Alright," said Kathleen. "Stephen, it's this way."

As the two of them began to climb the cliffs, Kathleen noticed Stephen looking at her in a strange way.

"What is it?"

"I just hate seeing you so tense," he said. "Have things here been really awful?"

"Well, you know what I told you in my emails," she said. "Julia may be free from that spirit, but if she is, she's afraid of it coming back, and so she's hiding away and refusing to talk to me. She says she's protecting me, but I just don't know." She bit her lip to keep from crying.

"Well," said Stephen, "I hope that our presence will help things. Vangie really is something, and Barrett's no slouch either."

"What about you? Did the bishop say you could do an exorcism if it's needed?"

"No," said Stephen, "but I'm going to do one anyway."

"Well, if you need someone to say the responses," said Kathleen, "count me in. I've never seen the exorcism rite, but I know all the standard things to say."

"Good," said Stephen. "Still, there will be other things done here as well. I don't know much about what Vangie's got planned, but I'm sure it's big."

"Yeah," Kathleen said, smiling. "She doesn't seem to do anything half-way, does she?"

"No," said Stephen. "She's the real deal," and Kathleen caught something in his voice which she could not name.

"Why Stephen Dawson," she said. "Something happened between you two."

"What. Are you psychic now too? Has Vangie been teaching you behind my back?"

"No, but I am a woman. We tend to notice these things."

"Well," said Stephen, "whatever you've noticed, keep a lid on it, and note for the record that I never confirmed any of your suspicions."

"Ah," she said, "but you also never denied them," and the two of them began to laugh.

"I've missed you, Kat," said Stephen.

"I've missed you too," she said. "It's been so strange over here. I'm glad you're here now."

"Me too," he said, and they climbed the last slope and stood together in front of the massive chateau.

"So this is where it all happened," he said quietly.

"I guess so," said Kathleen, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to come here like this, Stephen."

"Well," he said, "as I've been told several times on this journey, I suppose that it is my destiny."

"That's what he--your uncle--said. Do you remember?"

"I do," said Stephen. "He was never so certain about his calling in his life as he was on that day when he decided to try exorcising the woman known to all as Erica Desmond, and now it may be my job to do the same to a Desmond descendant."

"Did I hear the name 'Desmond'?" Julia had appeared on a balcony over their heads. "You know what they say," she said in that breezy tone that Kathleen had come to loathe. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear!"

"Those words are a little too on the nose, I think," said Stephen, "what with all that has been going on here lately."

"Ah! Mr. Dawson! How lovely to see you here! Kathleen said you would be coming."

"The pleasure is mine, Miss Desmond," he said, but with no real feeling in his voice, and Kathleen could see, if Julia could not, the way in which he was trying to keep himself in check.

"Well, Kathleen," said Julia, "won't you bring your guest inside? Or, oh yes! There are others coming. Professor Bartlet and his scribe. Is that right?"

"His name is Barrett," said Stephen, "and yes, he is bringing an assistant with him. I too am assisting him as he and I have worked together before."

"Oh yes," said Julia. "You're interested in the lore and history of my island. Well, work away! I'm more than happy to have guests about, but just be careful. We wouldn't want any accidents to befall any of you, and parts of this house are still uninhabitable."

With that, she retreated inside, and Kathleen and Stephen stood speechless for a while. In that silence, Vangie and Barrett appeared on the scene, and at once, Vangie seemed to sense the tension, for she asked:

"What has happened? You both look uncomfortable."

"That," said Stephen, "is because we are. We believe that Julia is not Julia now, and I think she threatened us, all of us, mind you, just now."

"It was done in a very charming way, of course," put in Kathleen, "but she basically told us that an 'accident' could happen at any time if we are not careful."

"Well then," said Vangie, "we'll have to be careful. How does The Bible put it? We must be wise as serpents?"

"Yes," said Stephen. "They are the subtlest beasts in the field, after all."

"Then I'm glad that it is the Great Serpent that I serve," said Vangie, a half-smile playing across her fair face.

Kathleen looked at her more closely then. She seemed strong and resolved, but Kathleen felt that there was an undercurrent of fatigue or perhaps uncertainty lurking just beneath the surface.

"Well," she said, to cover her own fear, "I suppose you all would like to freshen up. There are some rooms ready for you, though you have only my ministrations to contend with, and I am not a professional housekeeper."

"A bed and water is what I want," said Barrett decisively.

"Alright then," said Kathleen, "then that is what you shall have. Come with me!"

She led them into the house through the front doors, and as they entered the great hall, she saw Vangie suddenly take Barrett's hand and stand motionless, her eyes slowly moving to rest on the portrait.

"There is a power here," the Conjure Woman said, "which is beyond me. I know now that what I have seen in vision and found in ancient books of Desmond lore is true. Still, I will do what I can to aid the one who can rid this house of the evil that possesses it."

"Will you now, Miss Abbott?" The portrait had spoken again. Kathleen almost fainted with surprise and shock, but Stephen caught her.

"We will not leave here, Jacques Eloi Des Mondes," said Vangie, "until you and your dark master are banished."

"Did that thing just speak?" Barrett seemed dreadfully put out by the event.

"I know, Robert," said Stephen, "but I heard it too. You're not imagining things."

"More's the pity," said the venerable professor. "I must confess that I wish this were all a dream. Let's go, Evangeline. Don't engage him. Isn't that what your books say, Stephen?"

"It's true," said Stephen, "that they tell us not to get too involved with the demons."

"Ah, Mr. Dawson," said Jacques's portrait, "but you are involved. You're personally involved, just like Miss Abbott here."

Kathleen admired Stephen at that moment, for he firmly turned his face away and refused to speak in answer. At this bold gesture, Vangie seemed to relax, and also averting her eyes, she moved slowly onward, Barrett following her.

Kathleen ushered them into a corridor just off the great hall where there were some well-furnished rooms available.

"The plumbing is only in certain parts of the house as yet," she said, "so I had to make due with something a little more old-fashioned."

Each of the three rooms was equipped with a wash-stand and a basin, and there was a jug of fresh, warm water standing near.

"How wonderfully quaint," said Barrett. "What next? Will fair young maidens in crisp uniforms bring us tea and toast in the morning?"

"If you mean me," said Vangie, with an attempt at humour, "then that is completely out of the question."

"The same goes for me," said Kathleen. "And now, boys, I'll leave you to fight over which one of you wants the view of the sea, and I'll show Vangie to her room."

"It isn't necessary," said Vangie, but Kathleen would not take no for an answer.

"Are you sure you're up to this?" She and Vangie were now sitting on the bed in what was now Vangie's room.

"I appreciate your concern," said Vangie. "I truly do, but in some ways, it doesn't matter whether or not I'm up to it. The thing has simply got to be accomplished, however we go about it."

"What did you mean about the stories you had heard being true?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You were facing the portrait just now," said Kathleen, "and you said that the stories about Jacques that you had heard or read somewhere were true. You knew that now."

"I'll tell you, Kathleen, but only when we're all together. We'll try to call a council every day. Alright?"

"Right," said Kathleen. "We can meet in my room. It functions as both a bedroom and an office, and Julia never comes near it if she can help it. She really was better, you know, after you did--well--what you did for her."

"I know it," said Vangie. "Something's troubling you, Kat. May I call you Kat?"

"Yes," said Kathleen. "All my friends do." At that, she saw a serene smile light up Vangie's face.

"Thank you for using the word 'friend,'" she said. "It means a lot. But please. Tell me what's wrong! Perhaps I can help."

"I'm afraid--" said Kathleen, fighting back tears, "that I caused the--the relapse."

"I doubt that very much," said Vangie, "but what makes you think so?"

"A few days ago," said Kathleen, "I confronted her about Bill's death and about all the strange things happening here. At that time, I was reasonably certain that she was herself, but I'm afraid that I made her feel so badly about herself that she just sort of gave up."

"Oh Kat," said Vangie. "It seems to be your task to bear the burden for all of us. You're the closest person here to Julia Desmond, so that anything that happens to her seems to affect you to a greater degree than it would any of us, but I can assure you that Julia has not given up yet."

"How do you know that?"

"She's a Desmond. Their wills are of adamantine strength! She may be under the power of that spirit now, but she's not lost yet.

"I hope not," said Kathleen. "I really hope not. I just feel responsible for it!"

"That's what it wants," said Vangie. "It wants us to give into our emotions, to let them come between us. We four must be strong, and Julia too must be strong when she is able in order for us to achieve our goal."

"Well," said Kathleen, "I suppose you're right. You always seem to know the right thing to say."

"Only pray that I know the right thing to do when the time comes," said Vangie softly. "Now, I suppose I really should freshen up."

"Alright," said Kathleen. "Dinner will be at six o'clock, oh, and if Professor Barrett wants a study, the library has been finished, though there are no books in it yet."

"Thank you, Kat," said Vangie. "It's strange to be here again, but it somehow feels right too."

Kathleen walked slowly out of the room, closing the door behind her. As she moved in the direction of her own room, she found herself wondering just how they would proceed. Vangie had said that they would meet every day and discuss their plans and accomplishments, but Kathleen wondered if any of them really had a plan. She was still pondering all this when she reached her room, and there, sitting behind her makeshift desk, was Julia herself, dressed to the nines in velvets and satins, and again wearing the blood-stained locket at her throat.

"Well," she said as Kathleen came in. "Are your friends well bestowed?"

"Yes, thank you," said Kathleen.

"Good. I just thought I would see what you were up to in here."

"That is your right, of course," said Kathleen, hoping desperately that Julia had not found the letter she had written for Stephen to show to the bishop. "Is all to your satisfaction?"

"Well," said Julia, "you know how much I trust you. Everything looks wonderful, and I know the workers like you very much."

"Alright," said Kathleen, "but you waited here to see me for a reason. Hadn't we better get to it? I still have work to do before dinner."

"Of course you do," said Julia. "Well, I just wanted to say this. I am glad that your guests have come, but I do not intend to meet them myself."

"Why ever not? You spoke to them from the balcony, after all."

"I know," said Julia, "but I find that I have much to occupy my time lately, and having to entertain them would place too much of a burden on me just now. So, I leave them in your very capable hands."

Kathleen nodded her assent, and Julia got up and made to leave. Just then, however, a spasm of pain seemed to cloud her features, and Kathleen felt her wrist gripped in a viselike tightness, and then Julia was herself, tears streaming down her face and words tumbling over each other in her haste to say them.

"Don't listen, Kat! Don't listen to that--that thing! I'm getting weaker, Kat, and it's hard to focus, but I'm telling you that the spirit wants to keep me away from all of you!"

"Julia! My God!" Kat looked at her friend's face, which had turned a very sickly colour, and she saw that her eyes were far too bright as well. "You need a doctor, Julia!"

"Even if I could have one," Julia said with great effort, "I don't think he could help me," and with that, she fell unconscious to the floor.