Soul Inheritance

by Honey A. Hutson

  ‘Perfect.’ Nigel thought to himself as he gave her an indulgent grin. The night moved smoothly as he plied her with alcohol. She got more unsteady as the evening progressed and more open to suggestions of further entertainment back at the hotel.

  As two A.M. approached Nigel guided her, giggling and flirty, to his car. He drove back to the hotel.

  “Well, here we are,” he smiled over at Fran in the passenger seat of the rented Ford Taurus. Her face seemed to glow in the light from the dashboard.

  “Wow,” she giggled, looking up at the swanky hotel. “I’ve never been in there before.”

  “I have a suite at the top. You can see the city.”

  “Uh, well. I don’t know. I really shouldn’t.” She looked serious for a moment, as if sobering a little. “I really don’t know you very well.”

  “Oh, now. I told you all about myself. I know all about you. I’m not a serial killer or anything.” He laughed, got out of the car and came around her side, opened the door. “Mademoiselle, would a rogue treat such a tender young thing so kindly?” He took her hand, bent low and kissed it, looking up into her eyes.

  Fran giggled again. Leaned forward to get out, fell backward into the seat, laughed some more. Nigel smiled his most charming smile and helped her out of the car and to his room.

  ‡

  Katherine woke early the next morning rested and restless. She sat in front of the mirror at the dressing table and brushed her hair. Thoughts of the lake came easily and without the anxiety that usually accompanied them. The blue luggage sat neatly in one corner, waiting for her to pack the last few things left strewn around the room.

  Looking into the mirror she noticed her hair had slight streaks of silver laced in with the dark. It seemed longer somehow. The eyes that looked back at her were brown, not green. It put her at ease. The feelings of loneliness were dissipating. Katherine could feel Miranda within, just below the surface. The two were beginning to merge and meld, becoming less than two, but more than one. Each was patient and ready to accept the other. Katherine was willing to let Miranda take hold. She knew what she was up against and how to fight it, how to make things happen. That part of her had waited all this time to see this thing through, to end it once and for all. Miranda was everything Katherine ever wanted to be, so she receded, letting her take the lead until their union was complete.

  The last bag had been loaded into the Jeep at a quarter past six. Dora came out onto the porch and down the walk, her housecoat billowing behind her, concern wrinkling her face.

  “Katherine, what’re you doing?”

  She reached up and put her sunglasses on before turning to Dora.

  “Getting on with it. I’m going to find out what my Aunt knows, then on to the lake.”

  “But…”

  “I’m well rested. I’ve got the knowledge of my prior experiences. I have Miranda.” She reached up and placed a hand on Dora’s shoulder. “Her memories filled in a lot of gaps last night. I know what I have to do. It’s time to go.”

  Dora looked closely, then leaned forward and hugged her.

  “You come back when it’s over and let me know what happened.” Dora was uneasy, shifted and clasped her hands helplessly in front of her.

  “I won’t leave it a mystery. I’ll be in touch.” Katherine smiled warmly, reached up and shut the back of the Jeep. “Thank you, Dora. For all you’ve done. I couldn’t have gotten this far without you.” She turned and got into the Jeep, started the engine and drove toward the interstate. Katherine took her glasses off when she was out of sight. Looking up into the mirror she smiled broadly at the brown eyes looking back. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  The drive to the Maine border went by swiftly. Katherine took I-95 all the way to Augusta, stopping only for gas, a meal and a stretch in Kittery. Stopping in Augusta for the night she checked into a small, but comfortable hotel.

  Standing out on the balcony of the top floor room she looked out over the city. Heaviness stirred within, like hot molten lava in a volcano. The power warmed and stretched, seeped from where it had lain dormant for so long.

  “Just two more days and I’ll be home.” She returned to the room, dropped her robe to the floor and stood before the mirror admiring the naked form. “Not bad, Katherine. Better than in my day.” She ran her hands over her smooth, soft body, took one last look and smiled contently. She turned, switched off the light and climbed into bed without dressing.

  ‡

  Fran proved to be far too submissive for Nigel’s taste. She was satisfying enough, but not a challenge or nearly as enjoyable as Gretchen had been. After sleeping for only a few hours he got up early and took a shower.

  Nigel stood under the hot water feeling weary and worn. He thought of Katherine driving all the way to Maine.

  “Cowardly bitch,” he muttered to himself through the steam. “First you don’t have the guts to tell me in person that you’re running off. Then you have to drive, taking all that extra time and making it so much harder to follow. Ah, but the joke’s on you. I’ll be right behind you. You should be at your precious lake by now,” he spit the words into the damp air. Felt the darkness rising, filling him. “I’ll have you back and tangled in your own little web before you know it. This time you won’t get away.”

  Something seemed wrong. Nigel leaned against the wall, took a deep breath. He suddenly felt like he was having trouble getting enough air, all of the energy sapped away.

  “Damn. What’s the matter with me? She wasn’t even that good.”

  Turning off the water he stepped from the shower, glancing into the bedroom at the sleeping form of Fran lying with one leg sticking from under the sheets, her mane of blond hair spread out over the white pillow. With a sigh he turned to the mirror and wiped the steam from the glass.

  A woman bearing a startling resemblance to Katherine stared from the foggy surface. Her eyes burned with a malevolent darkness and deep foreboding, with a heat like he’d never known. So hot they nearly glowed, despite their blackness. It couldn’t be helped; he couldn’t resist her beauty, but reached out to touch the face as it formed forward from the glass into the reality of the room. The features morphed and changed. As he tried to withdraw his hand - the woman reached out. A hand with long, lean fingers and clawed tips grabbed him by the wrist as the face changed. The skin grayed, the ears stretched and the features sharpened. The eyes were bottomless. Those captivating dark grey pools held his gaze as tightly as a hermit holds to solitude.

  The claws cut into his wrist, causing him to pull back harder, falling to the floor in his efforts. Nigel got up, looked again at the now fogged over mirror.

  “What the hell…” anger and confusion drove him back to the glass. He took a towel and cleared the surface. Only his reflection looked back, with the same captivating smoky granite that the creature of a few moments ago held. In the deep marbled surface of the eyes a blue flame burned .

  Nigel left the bathroom, threw on his clothes, grabbed his keys and bags and left. The morning was a foggy one. He settled into the car and headed for I-95 and the little town of Shin Pond. The last town for twenty miles before McKlannen Lake. He would catch up to Katherine there. Shin Pond Village, halfway to the lake, was the closest place to stay unless she chose to camp out. He laughed, imagining Katherine trying to camp, swatting at bugs, starting a fire, pitching a tent that wouldn’t stay up. Not to mention her apprehension of new things. The noises of nature alone would drive her out of the woods.

  No one had occupied the property for over fourty years, so the structures would not be suitable. He’d done his homework. The little village of cottages would be her only option. That’s where she would be. In fact she was probably sitting on the screened in porch of one of the little cabins now sipping tea and not suspecting that he would arrive within the day. He relished the thought of reining her back in where she belonge
d, under his control. He rubbed absently at his throbbing wrist.

  “Damn, I must have scratched it in the bathroom.” He had no idea what he left behind. The incident in the hotel had vanished with the sunrise.

  ‡

  Sergeant Tolbert was not a morning person and even the two cups of black coffee he’d already drank had not helped. Why were they calling him in anyway? This wasn’t his beat. He pulled into the parking lot of the swanky hotel in downtown Bangor. There was an ambulance and several squad cars already in the front drive by the entrance. A forensics van was unloading cases as he crossed the lot and strode into the lobby.

  A young detective approached him, nodded solemnly.

  “Thanks for coming so quick. I know this isn’t your area, but I need you to take a look at this.”

  “Why me? I’m not a homicide detective.”

  “You’ll see.”

  They rode the elevator in silence. Officer Tolbert was not in the mood to play twenty questions and young Detective Morris was not offering any explanations. Once they reached the top they strode down the hallway.

  “Right this way.” Morris led him past several uniformed officers, some of them pale and rigid. Tolbert’s stomach began to grind with thoughts of yesterday’s scene. How he must have looked just like these guys now did. Seasoned policemen who’ve come across a thing beyond all their years of experience. Something they never imagined was possible.

  They reached the doorway to the suite. Tolbert stopped there, turned on Morris.

  “I want to know what’s going on right now.”

  “It’s just… there aren’t really words to describe it. I think you may’ve seen this before.”

  “Before when?”

  Morris paused, a lingering and telling silence.

  “Yesterday?” Tolbert asked.

  “Ya.” Morris was grim and stolid. “I’m afraid…”

  “Um,” Tolbert nodded, tried to steel himself against the scene that awaited. “Serial Killer. Here of all places. You know, I left New Jersey for just this reason. I’ve turned down promotions to homicide because this just isn’t something I could handle on a daily basis. Hell, it was all I could do to keep it together yesterday.”

  Tolbert moved forward, pushing the door open with the back of his hand. The room was nearly untouched. He stepped carefully inside, looked around, moved toward the bedroom. The door stood open. The room was in disarray just as the scene the previous day. Stuffing from the pillows everywhere, patches of the sheets and mattress shredded. Blood soaked into the bed, streaked down the floor leading to the bathroom.

  Turning to Morris Tolbert nodded his head. “The girl, small, young, single is in the Jacuzzi neatly skinned with the hide hung over the shower rod like a piece of clothing.”

  Morris swallowed hard. “Yea, something like that. Only the body’s in the Jacuzzi with the jets running. Skinned, hide over the towel rack.”

  “Yep, don’t need to see it, thanks. What do ya think I can do to help?”

  “Don’t know, but you’re now officially part of the case.”

  The forensics team came down the hall and entered the room. After only a few minutes of dusting for prints Morris received the good news.

  “Lots of prints,” the head forensics officer reported.

  “Yea, but it’s a hotel room, there’d be lots of prints.”

  “Not like this. These are fresh and clear. I’d say that we probably have the guy’s prints here.”

  “If we have him in the system. Sure he used a false name when he checked in.”

  “Dispatch says the name is an actual person, from North Carolina. We just need to see if we can find out his whereabouts and go from there.”

  “I’ll be. Who knows, maybe we just got ourselves a crazy and we can bag ‘em and tag ‘em.” Morris patted Tolbert on the shoulder. “Maybe you won’t get dragged into it after all.”

  “Maybe. Any idea if he left or is he a victim, too?”

  “Clerk says he left alright. Alone and in a hurry.”

  “Let’s hope we’re really that lucky and we catch him fast.” Tolbert turned and left.

  ‡

  Katherine woke from a dream with the strange feeling that maybe it wasn’t so much a dream as an event. Nigel was on the other side of a mirror and she was trying to get through it. Greystone was standing in a hotel bathroom behind him, ready to pounce. She shivered, feeling a tinge of the loneliness that was all too fresh. She felt the warmth of Miranda rise, felt her wrap protectively around her.

  It was comforting. She was no longer alone. In a strange way she was, but it didn’t feel the same. There were things there she’d never known. Confidence and assurance, grace and strength. Things she would’ve given anything to learn. There was something else. Deeper even than all that. Power stirring down in her core. It was strong. The demons of her heritage feared it, at the same time coveted it. A power she could not begin to fathom burned within, grew like an embryo might grow in a surrogate mother.

  Katherine knew all too well this was what they wanted and she was going to give it to them, just not the way they wanted. She thought of her father, the family line that Charles had sacrificed himself and the others to protect, the heritage he knew must not die.

  Fear was no longer part of the equation. She felt loyalty welling in her breast. Sympathy for his plight and struggle, for the ultimate price they’d all paid. Anxiety and hesitation were gone. She wanted to smell the familiar waters and forest of home.

  Shin Pond Village was the closest town. Bangor would be the last good place to shop in preparation for the homecoming. The nearest housing would be in Shin Pond and twenty miles from her precious home was too far. She’d need camping equipment and other supplies to make it until some part of the mansion was habitable. That was after she’d taken care of its pest problem. Turned the current inhabitants, the meddling leeching family members, loose to face their fate. Released them from their contract and ended their power for good.

  Katherine felt the stir of mysteries yet to be revealed. Miranda repressed them as she stood before the mirror, her green eyes clouded by the shadows of brown. It wasn’t ready to be learned. Miranda didn’t feel she could understand. Yet she dug at the knowledge, tried to pry it loose. Something else came loose instead. Her aunt. The woman would be found in Bangor and it was time to get on with it.

  Chapter ten

  It was barely dawn when Katherine checked out and headed for the interstate. There was no traffic to speak of as she drove on toward Bangor. Somewhere near Newport she heard the catchy little tune of doom on the cell phone, laying somewhere in the floor. She ignored it. A minute after it quit chiming it began to beep, indicating a message. Finally she gave up and pulled off at the next exit. It was nearly nine and she hadn’t eaten breakfast. Her stomach growled as she fished in the floor, shifting aside a sweater, duffle bag, empty paper bags and drink containers, looking for the cell phone.

  The message was from Nigel.

  “Just wondering where you’re at. If you’re still mad. I have a really big surprise for you. You need to call me back. Love ya.”

  “Yea, I bet. Running out of money already?” she paused, thought for a moment. “A surprise.” It’d been several days since she heard from him. Just about enough time to put together a plan. “No. Oh, no… Well, I don’t guess it really matters. I won’t have any more problems out of him. They’ll suck him up like an oyster and spit out the shell.” She shivered. Where’d that come from? A family trait emerging? More likely hunger rearing its ugly head. Tossing the phone in the passenger seat she got out and stretched in the Denny’s parking lot. It was fairly busy. She went inside and requested a window seat where she settled down to order a hot breakfast.

  ‡

  Nigel was well on his way to Shin Pond, nearly two and half hours on the road when he stopped. He pick
ed up the cell phone and dialed Katherine’s number, listened to it ring incessantly, then the voice on the other end told him to leave a message after the tone. He grimaced and cussed.

  “Just wondering where you’re at. You need to call back. I love you.” He hit the end button and stuck the phone in the pocket of his shirt as he got out and stretched. The Shoney’s lot was full as he went inside, requesting a booth near the buffet bar and away from the sunlight.

  ‡

  Later that morning Katherine exited to Bangor, searching out the shopping strip that existed in every town. Sure enough Wal-Mart was right at its center. She took a shopping cart and headed for sporting goods first where she picked out a royal blue tent big enough to fit several people comfortably and stand up in. Her other lives had not been wealthy ones and she was now grateful for the initiative she’d learned in past lives to make her own way and money. All those years she’d worked so hard, but never taken the time to spend it. Nigel certainly put a dent in that, but between the flower shops and her father’s print shops – along with the life insurance she had yet to collect – she would never have to worry. Not only would she live comfortably, but the source was residual.

  Sleeping bags were widely varied and plentiful. She chose several comfortable ones, planning to layer them on top of the air mattress that was the next selection. A few pans, a sharp knife, bug repellent and other useful items. Once the camping gear was selected she made her way to the grocery isles and bought what she hoped would be good for camping. Miranda’s knowledge was helpful here, since she’d lived so many years in the gypsy camps. Standing in the middle of Wal-Mart Katherine thought for a moment, looked around to see if there was anything she’d forgotten. Deciding there wasn’t she headed for a checkout.

  Once she’d packed the cooler with ice and put the refrigerated things inside she got back on the interstate and headed north again. The day was overcast, but not rainy. She wondered absently if there was rain in the forecast at Shin Pond.