“Oh, I’ll be silent, you won’t even know I’m here,” Percival said, smiling and moving out of the way and into the shadows at the far end of the room.
Steven saw Jonathan remove the toothpick from his mouth and slip it into his jacket pocket. Then Jonathan looked at them all, one by one, receiving a nod from each person in the circle. Steven took this to mean they were acknowledging that they were ready. When Jonathan looked at him, Steven gave the same nod, even though he had no idea what was about to happen. Wing it, he thought. If this had been a big deal that I needed some instruction on, Roy would have told me as we were walking up the stairs.
Or maybe, he thought, it is a big deal and he just didn’t want to embarrass me in front of everyone. Why would you bring a newbie like me to something like this?
Jonathan lowered his head, and the others in the circle did the same. Steven followed suit and let his mind slip into the River.
The familiar sensation of going into water enveloped him. It wasn’t real water, of course, but it marked the place where he was able to see what others could not. As he looked around the circle, he saw each of the others wrapped inside their own bubble, the result of the trance that each of them was inducing. He focused his mind and tried to slip into a trance himself, but he wasn’t exactly sure how to initiate it. When he’d done it before, Roy had helped him, but now Roy was concentrating on his own trance. He didn’t want to be embarrassed and have one of the others look up and see him unable to do it.
He let his mind wander. How would he know when he was in a trance? Would it feel different? He tried to force it, and realized it would never happen that way.
Now, focus on the house, he heard Jonathan think. The focal point is the house. In the center of the circle is the house. Who is in the house? What has happened in the house? Is the house evil? On the count of three, send all thought to the center of the circle.
Steven felt as though he was not ready. He looked at himself, and he didn’t see the bubble that had formed around the others. He was still just in the River, not yet in a trance. These experts could drop into a trance in minutes, but for him it wasn’t something he was able to do so quickly. As he watched, he saw motion; matter beginning to move from one person to the next. The bubble around each of them began to merge until they were all connected. Steven saw the bubble pass in front of him, connecting Eliza on one side to Roy on the other, but it was not going through him. He hadn’t made it into a trance in time.
The swirling motion increased, and Steven saw a light emerge from each of the others, moving slowly towards the center of the circle. There was no light emerging from him. The swirling increased in intensity. Steven could feel the movement inside him, exciting him and intensifying everything. He tried to focus on the center of the circle, to make something happen, but nothing came out. The light emerging from the others slowly approached the center. He was too late; he was not going to be part of it.
After a few more seconds he saw the lights converge, where they became much more intense, forming a small ball of light in the center. Then slowly, a single point of darkness formed in the center of the circle, inside the convergent point. It rapidly shot from the center of the circle, racing back up the ray of light that had emerged from each participant. Steven saw the others rock back in their chairs, as though they had been hit by something. He saw the front legs of Marilyn’s chair lift up off the ground as though she would be knocked over, but then they settled back on the floor. The light from their trances was gone. Steven watched as the bubble dissolved, and he saw them one by one leave the flow, exit the River. He followed and opened his eyes, looking around the circle. He felt the familiar stab of pain in the back of his neck that always accompanied an exit from the flow.
“What the fuck?” Roy said.
“What was that?” Myrna said, standing up, but reaching out to the chair to steady herself.
They heard a clapping from the other end of the room. Steven stood and turned. In the dark of the room by the pool table, Percival was clapping his hands together as though he’d just witnessed a theatrical performance.
“Well done!” he said. “Bravo!”
Jonathan stood up, and glanced at each of the participants. Roy stood and turned to Percival. “No, it didn’t work.”
Percival kept clapping, and now began walking forward towards the others. “No, it was stellar. Better than I expected.”
“No, Kent,” Eliza said, “I don’t think you understand. Something went wrong.”
“Nothing went wrong,” Percival said. “It was perfect.”
“How would you know?” Russell asked. “You don’t have the gift. I can tell.”
“I can tell by the looks on your faces!” Percival said, approaching them. “You all know it worked.”
“What worked?” Myrna said. “What are you talking about? The focus was a failure. Something disrupted it.”
“No, it worked perfectly!” Percival said.
“I think what Kent is trying to say,” Jonathan said, “is that the purpose of the focus was achieved.”
“And how is that?” Russell said.
“Because what happened is what Percival wanted to happen,” Roy said.
“Ah, you must be the brightest one of the bunch!” Percival said enthusiastically, stepping over to Roy.
“Take another step and I’ll deck you,” Roy said, raising his fist. Steven was thoroughly confused and was about to intervene when Jonathan stepped between them.
“Roy is right,” Jonathan said. “This was by design, wasn’t it, Kent?”
“Absolutely!” Percival said, leaving a space around Roy and walking to the other end of the room. He retrieved a small video camera that had been placed on a bookshelf and began looking at the camera’s footage on its screen. “Priceless!” he said, laughing as he watched.
“Would someone please tell me what is going on here?” Steven asked.
“You’ve been tagged,” Percival said, looking at the camera. “All of you. The power of your little display there kicked off the wheels and marked you.” He looked up at them. “You’ve all been saved.”
Chapter Two
“Saved from what?” Myrna asked, taking several steps towards Percival but stopping when Jonathan held his hand out to stop her.
“Yes, would you explain yourself Kent?” Jonathan asked.
“Don’t you feel it?” Percival asked. “Inside? Right now?”
Steven didn’t feel anything. He turned to look at Eliza, who looked confused.
“Spill it,” Roy said, “or I’ll shove that camera up your ass.”
“I was never able to get it to work with just one or two of you,” Percival said. “But with seven of you doing this focus thing, that’s the ticket! Tell me what you saw.”
“The focus had started,” Eliza said, “but the light was darkened by something. Then it ended.”
Percival held his hands over his head, the camera in one hand and the other clenched into a fist. “Yes!” he shouted, shaking his arms in a victory pose. As he lowered his arms he spun once in a circle, almost delirious.
“I’m warning you,” Roy said.
“Calm down, old man, you’ll give yourself a heart attack,” Percival said, his excitement and energy causing him to pace rapidly around the room. The group turned their heads, following him.
“So,” Percival continued, “as I said, you triggered a process. It’s something my grandfather, James Unser, created. Brilliant man with a brilliant goal, now executing upon you. You’ve got a few days, then it will be over.”
“What will be over?” Marilyn asked.
“The disease inside you,” Percival said, smiling. “Your perversion. It’ll be gone, and you’ll be normal. I’ve saved you! Can you imagine how wonderful that will be?”
Steven could see the wheels spinning in Eliza’s mind. “You mean, our gift?” she asked. “You think our gift is a disease?”
“And you’re going to cure it?” Roy said.
“Actually,” Percival replied, “you’re the ones who are going to cure it. You started the process. That was enough energy to trip it, the device James built. It’s running now, slowly draining you of your abomination. Tell me, does it feel different yet? Inside?”
“There’s a device in this house that can drain our gifts from us?” Russell said. “And it’s running right now?”
“Yes!” Percival said. “You just started it! It’s running. Do you feel it?”
“Excuse me everyone, but I think I’ve had enough,” Russell said, walking towards the door. “I’ll make my own way back to town, Mr. Percival.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t go out there if I were you,” Percival said.
“Why not?” Russell asked, turning.
“The marchers,” Percival said. “It’s dusk. They’ll be out.”
Steven had no idea what Percival was talking about, but he guessed Russell might, as he saw the blood drain from Russell’s face.
“Now listen here,” Myrna said, approaching Percival and shoving her face right next to his. “You invited us here to help you. Now you tell us we’re being drained, and there are monsters outside?” As she spoke the blood was slowly rising from her neck to her forehead, like a rapidly rising thermometer. “You’re going to tell me what this device is and what these monsters are, right now!”
Myrna’s anger didn’t change Percival’s mood. He seemed cavalier. “As I said, the device was constructed by my grandfather.”
“Wait,” Eliza interjected, “you’re related to this family? The Unsers?”
“Yes,” Percival said. “Different last name. That was my mother’s doing. My father shared my grandfather’s writings with me ten years ago, and since then I’ve been trying to restart the work he had begun here. Today proves that he was right!”
“Your grandfather was who, exactly?” Myrna asked. “I thought you said the original owner’s son died in the war.”
“That’s the story, but it wasn’t true. He lived here for years afterward, pursuing his dream.”
“And what exactly was your grandfather’s dream?” Roy asked.
“My grandfather had the gift too, like all of you. Inherited it from his mother, Anita. But he came to realize that it was a curse, something that human beings weren’t meant to have. He dedicated his life to removing it from himself and from others. He was successful, too. He removed it from hundreds of you poor souls before he passed on. Really, you’ll thank me when it’s over.”
Steven could see that Eliza was beginning to panic. He knew how important her work was to her.
“Now see here,” Russell said. “You’ve no right to interfere with my gift. It’s my livelihood, how I support myself.”
“And how you became famous,” Percival said. “There’s plenty of decent careers out there Mr. Powers. You’ll just have to go get one like the rest of us.”
“It’s not about a career,” Eliza said, stepping in. “My gift is a huge part of me, of who I am. There’s things I do with it that are important, not from a money making perspective, but in keeping a certain balance. Things your grandfather might not have known about. They are things that have to be kept in balance, or there could be real chaos in the world.”
“That’s one of the many things my grandfather recorded in his writings as typical objections,” Percival said. “I believe his response to that was: you’re out of balance. Correct you, and balance will be restored.”
“You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about,” Eliza said. “You’re just spouting someone’s misguided philosophy. If you knew what I knew you wouldn’t dream of doing this.”
“Yes, but I don’t, so I am,” Percival said, and smiled at her.
“Jonathan, Russell,” Roy said, “hold him down. I’m gonna beat it out of him.”
“Hold on, Roy,” Jonathan said. “Beat what out of him?”
“Where the device is and how to stop it,” Roy answered, moving towards Percival.
“I can save you the trouble,” Percival said. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen it. It took me years to decipher from my grandfather’s writings what the device was and how it worked. I wasn’t even sure it was here. From what I could tell, all that was needed to trigger it was a demonstration of your ability. He’d used it hundreds of times on you people, usually one or two at a time. I tried the same thing, but never got anywhere. I would invite one of you here, you’d go into a trance, and nothing would happen. Then it occurred to me: since it had sat dormant for so long, perhaps what it needed was a huge push to get started again. When Jonathan suggested the focus I knew that would do it. Can you feel it now? Now that we’ve had a few minutes for it to start on you?”
“What about the marchers? Outside?” Myrna asked.
“That’s not my doing,” Percival said. “Or yours. They’ve been here for years. If you’re like me, you can just lie down when you see one, and they’ll pass you over. But that won’t work for you gifted types. They spot you. You don’t want one of them to catch you.”
“What do they do?” Myrna asked, her face boiling with anger. “Tell me.”
“I was out there once with a medium,” Percival said. “I’d lured her up here to help me exorcize the house. I was trying to trip my grandfather’s device, start it working again. Her powers weren’t enough to start it. We walked back to the parking area, must have been around 8 pm. When the marchers come, you hear a thumping. I knew to drop to the ground and stay still. She copied me, but when one of them got close they saw her and snatched her off the ground like a child picks up a bug. They can see your gift inside you, it gives you away to them. I rolled over to see the marcher strip her flesh from her body in long pieces, and devour it.”
“Poppycock,” said Marilyn. “I know a little bit about such things, and what you’re saying is complete rubbish.”
“Well,” Percival said, “I didn’t invite you here to see you killed, just to fix you. But be my guest if you want to explore the grounds at night. You’ve been warned. I’m going to head back to town. You have the run of the house. There’s plenty of bedrooms for you to choose from, though I’d stay out of the one next door, the corner bedroom.”
“You’re leaving us here?” Eliza said.
“Yes,” Percival answered, “You really can’t leave. I can make it out, but you wouldn’t survive the walk to the van. So settle in, there’s some food in the fridge in the kitchen downstairs. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
Percival turned to leave the room and within seconds had disappeared into the hallway that led to the staircase. Once he was gone, they all turned to look at Jonathan.
“Whoa, hey,” Jonathan said, sensing their anger. “I had no idea! What I told you is what he told me. I’m just as surprised as you.”
“Did you check into this guy?” Russell asked.
“He seemed legit,” Jonathan said. “Relator with a ghost problem. Not uncommon.”
“How do we know he’s telling us the truth now?” Myrna asked. “I don’t feel any different. Might just be a trick of his to get us to spend the night in the house.”
“I don’t really feel anything,” Eliza said. “I’m not sure how I’d feel if my abilities were being stripped away. How long did he say it would take?”
“A couple days,” Russell answered.
“So what, we just slowly lose our ability to enter the River?” Steven asked.
“If what he’s saying is true,” Myrna said. “But I don’t trust liars.”
“He might be a treasure hunter,” Roy said. The rest of the group murmured their agreement. Steven didn’t understand the connection.
“A treasure hunter?” Steven asked. “You mean he wants us to find the device for him?”
“Exactly,” Eliza said, “and the rest is just motivation. We typically won’t work on those kinds of projects. He might be thinking he’s tricked us into finding it for him.”
“There’s plenty of unethical people in this business,�
�� Marilyn said, glancing at Russell. “Why go to this extent? It wouldn’t be hard to find some who would help search for treasure for a cut of the findings.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to give up any of it,” Myrna said. “He wants it all for himself.”
“Well, I’m not staying in this house,” Marilyn said, rising from her chair, her dog clutched to her chest. “I don’t think any of it is true.”
“You’re going to leave?” Russell asked. “Now?”
“Yes, I am,” she said, walking to the room’s exit. She turned to face the others. “Anyone care to join me?”
“I wouldn’t do that,” Jonathan said. “He might not be lying. Sleeping here or back in town, what’s the difference?”
“Rooms are probably better here,” Roy said.
“I’m not going to be part of his stupid plan, whatever it is,” Marilyn said. “People like him have to learn you can’t just try to trick people like us and get away with it. Anyone coming with me?”
“I’ll go,” Steven said. Both Roy and Eliza turned to look at him, concerned. “My father takes medication every night, and it’s back in that motel room. I’ll go with you, but I’m bringing the medication back here. If we’re successful, I can let you all know.”
“And if you’re not,” Roy said, “we might never hear from you again. I’d prefer you stayed.”
“I think I’ll be OK, Dad,” Steven said. “I don’t think I was tagged.”
“Why do you say that?” Eliza asked.
“Didn’t you all see what happened during the focus?” Steven asked.
They looked at each other, unsure of what he was asking. “We were all moving our energy to the center of the circle, when it all stopped,” Eliza said. “It seemed like a normal focus until it ended.”
“You didn’t see the dark emerge from the center?” Steven asked. “And go back into you?”
Eliza let her mouth drop. She turned to look at Roy, who furrowed his brow.
“Why don’t you start from the beginning and tell us all what you saw?” Roy said.
Steven backtracked and recounted his observations of the focus, of seeing the darkness form inside the circle and travel up to each of the participants.
Eximere (The River Book 4) Page 3
