Dead Souls Volume Three (Parts 27 to 39)

by Amy Cross

  Home.

  “I hate you,” she whispered, spotting a light burning in one of the mansion's windows. She knew Edgar was in there, looking out at the island, probably watching her at that very moment. “I hate you and I swear to God, I won't let you push me around.”

  Pausing for a moment, she felt a plan starting to form in the back of her mind. It was something she'd thought about for a while, ever since her parents' death, but now she began to see that she really could make her move.

  “If you died, dear brother,” she continued, “the people of this island would thank me, they'd see me as their savior. They'd accept me and I could be with Benjamin, but... You would have to die first.”

  VI

  As the sun's early morning rays continued to spread across the island, Kate finally reached the stone circle.

  “Suzanne!” she shouted, starting once again to search for the tunnel that led down into the chamber. “Lazare! It's me, I'm back! Let me know if you can hear me!”

  She fumbled through the long grass, convinced that at any moment she'd stumble upon the entrance. Working her way meticulously around the entire circle, she checked every square foot, refusing to leave any part of the area unsearched. After almost an hour, however, she found herself back where she'd started, and there was still no sign of the entrance. It was as if the tunnel had simply disappeared.

  “I'm here,” she continued, dropping to her knees as tears welled in her eyes. “I'm right here, but where are you?” She paused, staring at the grass that rustled gently in the wind. “Or when are you?” she whispered, still trying to get her mind around the idea that she might somehow have ended up back in the island's past. Every rational bone in her body told her that such a thing was impossible, but at the same time she'd already experienced plenty of impossible things since her arrival on Thaxos.

  Closing her eyes for a moment, she thought back to the moment when Lazare had rushed back into the chamber to rescue Suzanne.

  “Right now,” she remembered Lazare saying, “there's a girl in there who needs my help, and she's going to get it.”

  She remembered him rushing back into the tunnel, calling out for Suzanne, and then...

  They were still there, she knew that much. Lazare was still fighting his way into the chamber and Suzanne was still trapped down there, maybe with Estella, maybe drowning, except... The whole thing was happening one hundred years in the future, and Kate had no way to get to them.

  “Please be okay,” she whispered. “Please, please...”

  Hearing a noise nearby, she opened her eyes and turned to look over her shoulder. She couldn't see anything, but a few seconds later she spotted a patch of grass moving against the wind, as if something was trying to creep forward unseen. Getting to her feet, she watched as the movement continued, and finally a wolf emerged from the undergrowth. To her surprise, Kate realized that she recognized the wolf, having seen the exact same creature several times since her first day on the island. There was even something familiar about its eyes, as if a great intelligence was staring at her.

  “Down, boy,” she muttered, taking a step back.

  The wolf, undaunted, continued to approach, sniffing the air.

  “I don't want any trouble,” Kate continued, holding her hands up as she took a couple more steps back. “See?” The wolf didn't seem aggressive, but she knew more than to take any risks. Glancing around, she looked for any sign that other animals were nearby.

  The wolf continued to approach, keeping its eyes fixed firmly on Kate's face.

  “It's okay,” she said, taking a few more steps back. “I'm going. I'm sorry if this is your territory or something, I didn't mean to disturb you, I just came to look for my friends and...”

  She paused for a moment.

  “And now I'm trying to talk to a wolf. Great.”

  Turning, she started to walk away. As she made her way past the stones and over toward the path, however, the wolf bolted past her and then stopped ahead, turning to stare her down and block her way.

  “Great,” Kate muttered, stopping for a moment and looking around. She still felt the wolf wasn't likely to attack, but she didn't like the sensation that she was being used as a toy.

  With a faint snarl, the wolf took a step toward her.

  “Okay,” she said, stepping back again, “I get it, this is your place, I'm sorry.” She looked around for anything she could use to defend herself, but there wasn't so much as a stick nearby. The wolf had never seemed aggressive when she'd seen it on Thaxos before, although she couldn't help thinking back to the night – shortly after her second arrival – when she'd been attacked in the maintenance shed. The attack had been blamed on a wolf, but Kate had never really bought into that idea... until now. Turning back to face the wolf, she felt a shiver pass through her body as the animal lowered its body and took a pace toward her.

  She, in turn, took a step back.

  “Just calm down,” she continued, holding her hands up in the hope that the wolf would see she was harmless. “I'm not a threat, see? I'm just here looking for some friends.”

  The wolf took another step forward before stopping, seemingly studying her.

  Turning, Kate began to walk away. She picked up her speed, hoping the wolf would let her keep going, but after a moment she heard something running up behind her. Just as she turned to face the creature again, she felt a heavy weight slamming into her back and she was knocked down to the ground, with the wolf landing on top of her. One of the animal's paws pressed against her breastbone, as if it was trying to hold her down.

  “No sudden moves,” she said, trying not to panic. “I'm harmless, see? I'm -”

  Before she could finish, she saw that the wolf's neck was strained, as if it was in pain. Still holding her down, the animal turned its head as a faint ripping sound came from somewhere inside its body, almost as if its muscles were starting to tear. At the same time, the wolf placed one of its paws against Kate's throat and pushed down, while it raised its torso a little and let out a gasp of pain.

  Reaching up, Kate tried to push the creature away, but a moment later she saw that its chest seemed to be changing shape, as if the bones beneath its fur were reorganizing themselves. The animal's legs, meanwhile, seemed to be getting longer and larger, while its back was starting to arch. Kate watched in horror as the wolf looked up at the sky and then looked back down at her, at which point its face had begun to change, with the snout becoming shorter and the eyes shifting until they had a more human quality. Finally, the mouth – with had sunk back into the face – opened to reveal a set of sharp, blood-stained fangs, and the fur seemed to retract slowly into the creature's skin.

  She watched in horror as large muscles bulged through the wolf's fur.

  “Nixon,” she whispered as she realized she recognized the face that was emerging from the transformation.

  Letting out a cry of pain, Nixon seemed to be straining every muscle and sinew. His paw, which had been pressed against Kate's neck, was now becoming a human hand, and he quickly wrapped his growing fingers around her throat with enough force to keep her pressed against the ground. His bones could be heard clicking and grinding, but finally the transformation was over. One final, stray rib-bone was poking out through the flesh on his chest, before this too seemed to retract inside his body and snap into place, while the wound healed within a matter of seconds. Completely naked and breathless, Nixon stared down at her for a moment, his eyes studying her face.

  “Oh God,” Kate said, feeling a sense of relief flood through her body, “you have no idea how glad I am to see you!”

  She waited for a reply, but he merely watched her.

  “Can you let go of my neck?” she asked, reaching up and trying in vain to prize his fingers from her throat. “Nixon, can you get off? Seriously, you're hurting me!”

  “Who are you?” he asked, his voice sounding drier than usual.

  “I -” She paused, realizing that if she truly had gone back into the isl
and's past, there was no way James Nixon would recognize her. “It's me,” she continued cautiously, hoping against hope that somehow he'd know her. “Kate Langley. We worked together, remember?”

  He turned his head slightly but kept his eyes fixed on her.

  “Of course you don't,” she sighed. “Maybe this hasn't happened for you yet, but when I first met you -”

  “Quiet,” he said, putting a hand over her mouth. “I don't want to know.”

  She struggled to get free, until finally he moved his hand away. Getting to his feet, he reached down toward her, as if he wanted to help her up.

  “You're naked,” she pointed out, struggling to keep from looking at his crotch.

  “What do you expect me to do?” he asked wryly. “Leave clothes under various strategically-located trees? Tie a shirt and some trousers to my hind leg?”

  “You don't have a clue who I am, do you?”

  “Sure,” he replied, with his hand still held out, waiting for her to accept his help. “You're the crazy woman who burst into my friend's house and started jabbering on, making no sense whatsoever. Trust me, you made quite an impression.”

  “You have to believe me,” she continued, “I know you. I mean, not now, but...” She paused, trying to find a way to explain the situation without sounding like a lunatic.

  “You've come from the future,” he said suddenly.

  “When you put it like that -”

  “It's the only explanation,” he continued. “When you eliminate the impossible, whatever's left must be the truth. That's a quote from one of my favorite contemporary authors, an English guy by the name of Conan Doyle.” He paused for a moment. “I overheard you talking to Edgar earlier. The stuff you were saying, it sounded like gibberish, but I could tell that you truly believed it. Plus, your clothes look different, like they're made from fabrics I've never seen before, and your smell... If you recently arrived on Thaxos, you'd smell of the ocean, and you don't. And if you'd been here a long time, I'd know about you by now. So you must have arrived some other way.”

  “I'm not lying,” she replied. “I swear...”

  “The year right now is 1918,” he told her. “Where are you from?”

  “About a hundred years further on.”

  “Fascinating. The things you could tell me. Jesus Christ, if I just picked your brains for a few minutes...” He paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. “That would be dangerous, though. I can't do it. You mustn't let on anything about the future, not even the smallest detail.”

  “I still don't quite see how I ended up here,” she replied.

  “Me neither, and I'm a man of science.”

  Getting to her feet, Kate looked over at the stone circle.

  “My friends were down there,” she said after a moment. “They were trapped in the chamber under the stones, or... That's what was happening the last time I saw them. I have no idea what happened next, but they're there, a hundred or so years in the future, and I'm the only one who knows.” She stared at the grass, watching as it rustled gently in the breeze. “Almost one hundred years from now they're dying down there, and there's no-one to save them.”

  “So how did you end up back here?” he asked.

  “I don't know,” she replied, turning to him. “There was a storm, then there was a flash and... I woke up here.”

  “A storm, huh? I guess that might be something to do with it. I've never researched time travel, I never even thought it was possible, but...”

  “Can you get me back?” she asked.

  “Are you kidding?”

  “You're a genius,” she continued. “I mean, in the future, you're the kind of guy who can make anything work. You have to find a way to send me back.”

  “You're already traveling back,” he replied.

  “I am?”

  “You're traveling in time right now,” he explained. “The only problem is, you're going forward at the same pace as everyone else. One second, two seconds, three seconds... Everyone's always traveling in time to some degree.”

  “You know what I mean,” she continued, trying not to sound too panicked. “I need you to get me back to the moment where I vanished.”

  “How?”

  “Don't you have any ideas?”

  He stared at her for a moment, as if he was deep in thought.

  “Until I met you,” he said finally, “I'd have said that any kind of accelerated time travel was impossible, I'd have told you that it broke all the laws of physics. Now, though...” He stepped toward her and reached out a hand, touching her shoulder. “You're definitely here, and I believe your story.”

  “Edgar doesn't believe me,” she replied. “This has to be something to do with him.”

  “It does?”

  “Who else could do it?”

  “So you know Edgar in the future,” Nixon continued. “Fascinating. Is he still a little full of himself? Don't go into details, but... Does he still think he's the boss?”

  “Kind of,” she replied.

  “But I'm still his best friend, right? No, wait! Don't tell me!” He paused. “Okay, tell me, but don't be specific.”

  “It's complicated,” she said cautiously.

  Watching her for a moment, Nixon seemed lost in thought.

  “Where are you staying?” he asked finally.

  “Staying? I don't want to stay, I want to get back!”

  “You're human,” he continued, “and, what, thirty years old?” He paused for a moment. “You could get back by simply waiting around, but you'd be way over a hundred years old by the time you arrived. I'm guessing you want a faster route. You know, I live in a world of werewolves and vampires and witches and other creatures you wouldn't even believe could exist, but time travel is the one thing I've never believed is possible. You, Kate Langley, are a walking eye-opener.”

  “I need to talk to Edgar again.”

  He shook his head.

  “Why not?”

  “Because Edgar won't help you,” Nixon continued. “He'll help himself, the same as always. If that happens to mean helping you too, then so be it, but he might just as easily decide to kill you. Trust me, he doesn't like things he can't understand. He tends to... eliminate them. Besides, with his wedding coming up, he's likely to be more unpredictable than ever.”

  “He can't get married,” Kate replied, still struggling to get used to the idea. “It doesn't make sense.”

  “Baron Edgar Le Compte of Thaxos is to marry a commoner, a human by the name of Estella Graves. And yes, their impending union has caused a great deal of chatter. Many people are opposed to the idea. He's something of a hypocrite, too, since he'd never allow his sister to do the same thing.”

  “Edgar didn't marry Estella,” Kate whispered, frantically trying to remember everything she'd learned about the so-called Witch of Thaxos. “He didn't, I'd have heard.”

  “Careful,” Nixon said after a moment. “You don't want to start giving out spoilers. You might change the course of history.”

  Kate turned to him.

  “Face it,” he continued, “you're trapped here and you don't have a clue how to get back to your own time. Seeing as I'm pretty much the only genius on the island, I think you're going to have to let me help you. The question is, what do I get in return?”

  VII

  “You're up early, my darling,” Estella said as she watched Edgar from the bed. “Is something on your mind?”

  Standing naked by the window, Edgar looked out at the island. His eyes were focused on the town in the distance, watching as he saw small figures emerging from the houses. From high up in the mansion, the people of Thaxos looked like ants, and Edgar often wondered why he allowed them to take up space on and island that he considered to be his personal property. His father had told him many times that it was important to let the community prosper, but now that the old man was dead, Edgar found himself considering a change. Humans, he felt, were at best an annoyance and at worst a liability.


  Except for the human in his bed, obviously.

  “It's that woman, isn't it?” Estella continued, sitting up. “The one who arrived last night and burst into the house? Who is she?”

  “I don't know,” he replied calmly, not turning to her.

  “Then why didn't you...” She paused. “I mean, usually when someone from the town comes up and disturbs you, it doesn't end well for them.”

  “She's not from the town.”

  “So she's a foreigner?”

  Waiting for a reply, Estella began to realize that something had changed. Edgar seemed more thoughtful than ever, as if his attention was elsewhere.

  “I hope I don't have to worry about any of this,” she continued after a moment. “With the wedding so soon, I need to focus all my attention on more important matters. The dress is almost finished, but the catering is proving to be a terrible distraction and I end every day with a terrible headache. Edgar, please, one more thing to worry about and I fear I might just collapse.”

  “Don't think of it, then,” he replied. “I'll deal with Ms. Langley.”

  “But what is there to deal with?” Estella asked. “She's not important, is she?”

  She waited again, but no reply came.

  “Is she?”

  Silence.

  Climbing from the bed, Estella made her way over to Edgar and stopped behind him. After a moment, she put her arms around his waist and stepped closer, pressing her naked body against his back.

  “Come back to bed,” she whispered, kissing his bare shoulder. “You once told me that I could make you forget all your worries.”

  “Not now.”

  “Look at me.”

  “Estella -”

  “Look at me,” she said again, more firmly this time. Stepping around him, she placed her hands on his bare chest. “Who am I, Edgar?”