Seven Sisters Collection

by M. L. Bullock

  I walked toward the house. It looked so different at night and felt different too, now that I was alone. The pots were the same, each filled with various flowers like hydrangeas and hibiscus. I stood on the porch, pushing my key in the door, and I immediately went into wariness mode. I had no intention of being surprised by Mia with a weapon.

  I wasted no time getting inside; at least I didn’t have to look at the ugly satyr this time. I tapped in the alarm code, disarming the building, and then re-entered the code to arm it again. I checked the lights; all were lit and shining red. That meant locked down, right? I hoped so. Chip or Ashland normally handled the alarm system, but I thought I had done everything right. I didn’t dare use a flashlight. Instead, I used my cell phone as a light as I walked across the foyer toward the spiral staircase. Calpurnia’s room was upstairs, the first door on the right.

  I climbed the creaking stairs, hoping I could avoid the usual squeaky spots with a little light footwork, but to no avail. That meant that any mice who might be lurking about would know I was coming, I thought in an attempt to amuse myself. There was nothing hiding in the darkness here, right? Bienville would be mightily ashamed.

  Without pausing to think or worry, or look for unusual shadows, I pushed open the door. I had just been here the night before in my dreams, watching Calpurnia bathe in her gown. What a ridiculous custom that was! How happy was I to have a shower and the cultural permission to shower nude!

  Still using my cell phone, I walked around the room and closed the blinds. I had pine- and cedar-scented candles in my bag, wanting to shed some needed light in the room. I had even brought a thrift store plate to put under them to catch the melting wax. I wanted to sleep, not wake up screaming in a dark room, but I didn’t want to attract any attention. The heavy velvet curtains were drawn now, so it would be impossible for anyone to see candlelight. I hoped.

  The bedroom was still arranged the way it had been after the supernatural activity there. I tried not to think about the sounds of scraping furniture and the sighing. I so wanted to believe it was Calpurnia who had moved her furniture around. When I closed the door, the sight of the lock made me sick to my stomach. It wasn’t the original lock to this door, but it reminded me of all the times Mr. Cottonwood had locked his daughter in the room as punishment for one thing or another.

  I set the candles on the nightstand. I lit the candles, and it immediately made the room look and smell happier. I stared at the door and knew I had to put something against it. I grabbed the desk chair and leaned it against the doorknob to prevent human intruders. What would I do if a spirit intruder arrived? I wouldn’t think about that.

  I left my clothes on, removing only my shoes and socks and tucking them in my bag. I pulled back the covers on Calpurnia’s bed and lay down. It felt wrong being there, like I was an intruder in the girl’s room, but maybe that was just me being me. I opened the last journal and began to read the next page.

  Dear Diary,

  Last night, as I waited to hear word from CG, I re-read the poetry book Uncle Louis last bought me. This poem, “The Will and the Wing” by Paul Hamilton Hayne speaks such stirrings to my soul! Listen to this, Dearest Diary…

  To have the will to soar, but not the wings,

  Eyes fixed forever on a starry height,

  Whence stately shapes of grand imaginings

  Flash down the splendors of imperial light;

  And yet to lack the charm that makes them ours,

  The obedient vassals of that conquering spell,

  Whose omnipresent and ethereal powers

  Encircle Heaven, nor fear to enter Hell;

  This is the doom of Tantalus – the thirst

  For beauty’s balmy fount to quench the fires

  Of the wild passion that our souls have nurst

  In hopeless promptings – unfulfilled desires.

  Yet would I rather in the outward state

  Of Song’s immortal temple lay me down,

  A beggar basking by that radiant gate,

  Than bend beneath the haughtiest empire’s crown!

  For sometimes, through the bars, my ravished eyes

  Have caught brief glimpses of a life divine,

  And seen afar, mysterious rapture rise

  Beyond the veil that guards the inmost shrine.

  Oh yes, to have the will to soar but not the wings! What sheer agony that would have been! Not I! I have both the Will and the Wind! My Will is my own, but my Wind, that will toss the sails and push us together toward our destiny.

  Tonight, my Own Dear, tonight I confess my heart to you, for I know you have long waited to hear me say these words. I shall surprise you! I shall surprise you indeed, and you will welcome me into your strong arms and promise me that all will be well, yes, all shall be well.

  The house is quiet tonight. Isla has left for a night of fun and foolishness with Ocie. I bid her good riddance. May she be as happy here as I was! Muncie waits for my instructions. My dark blue cloak and hood are already stowed in the barn in my horse’s stall. I have shoved several coins into my change purse. I liberated twenty such coins from my father’s purse easily enough. He was stone drunk on corn whiskey. Now the coins are in my purse, tied to my wrist. This small fortune would take care of us for an entire year at least, surely. I have no head for figures. I have given up on finding Mother’s Treasure, but at least I will have her name, for that will be the name I travel with. I am no longer Calpurnia Cottonwood but Christine Beaumont. Once I marry, I will be Christine Garrett, wife of Captain David Garrett.

  I have everything planned out. I have been sending Muncie on false runs into town. Actually, he has been racing the horse down to the river to the Delta Queen. He’s gotten the time perfect now, and we are almost ready to run. Tonight will be the night! The steamboat will leave the dock at 8, and we don’t want to arrive too early. It would be best if we were puffing up the Mobile River before my father discovered I was missing. As much corn whiskey as I fed him tonight, he may never wake up again. Forgive me for hoping so!

  Here I am now, tapping my foot nervously. I’ve paced the floor. I’ve taken great pains to hide my journals in the floorboards, in case things don’t go as I have planned. My book of notes from my Captain I have tucked inside my purse. And you, my Dear Diary, I shall truly miss. I write to you hastily now because you too must be hidden from prying eyes.

  Au Revoir, Dearest Diary! When next you hear from me, I shall certainly be Mrs. David Garrett, world explorer and woman of the world!

  I closed the book and closed my eyes and soon drifted off to sleep. I imagined Calpurnia kissing the book and hiding it. She no doubt wore her coral-colored gown because as Garrett had written in one of his notes, that was his favorite dress of hers. Then I felt myself sinking, sinking into the world of the past…I whispered to myself, “Captain David Garrett,” over and over again. I had to get this right.

  I lay there for what seemed like hours, but sleep didn’t come. I swore under my breath and eventually just got up. This had been a stupid idea, anyway, hadn’t it? Might as well go home and get some real sleep.

  Before I blew out the candles, I walked to the mirror. My face wasn’t staring back at me—it was Calpurnia’s. She didn’t seem to notice that I was there at all. I said something to her, and I saw her shiver and look about her. She ignored it, dabbed perfume on her wrists and neck and poked a few more pearl-tipped pins into her hair. I breathed slowly, reminding myself to watch only, not interfere. My job was to watch and learn.

  It couldn’t hurt, could it?

  I slid my feet into the satin shoes with the low heels and walked out of the room. Hooney caught me outside. “You going somewhere, Miss?”

  “Why yes, Hooney. I’m going to visit with Ocie. I won’t be gone too long. Oh dear, is it that late? Well, then I won’t be back until morning, I’m afraid.”

  “What about your Father? Mr. Cottonwood will be fit to be tied if he finds out that you…”

  “Now, no worrying.
You let me worry about him. It’s only for a late supper and some quilting. I am sure Father wouldn’t mind that. I am going to be an old married lady soon. I hope he understands that ladies like to spend time with other ladies before they marry.”

  “Oh yes,” she said with a chuckle, “you should do that. You need that now that your Momma is gone, God rest that Angel’s soul! You go on and have a time with those ladies. I’ll send Stokes for the horse.”

  “No, Muncie will take care of it all. He knows which my favorite is, and I would like him to serve me.” I didn’t make eye contact but pretended to smooth my dress and hair as Hooney called for Muncie.

  “Now, boy!” Muncie arrived just as we planned and I climbed up on the horse to ride sidesaddle supposedly to Ocie’s.

  “Here, let us get the carriage, ma’am. How will you ride home?” Hooney called up, looking worried and suspicious.

  “Ocie’s father will allow me to use his carriage, I’m sure. Now I must go. Time is wasting. Goodnight.” I whispered into Muncie’s ear, “Get me out of here.”

  We rode down the lane at an easy gallop but stopped once we left their sight. He handed me my cloak and hood. Where we were going, nobody needed to know that it was me—until I was ready to reveal myself. I wrapped the cloak around myself, and he lifted me back up into the saddle.

  “Thank you, my friend. When you leave me, I want you to go right to Reginald Ball’s camp. You remember the one, it’s on the other side of the river. The one the Cottonwoods use all the time. Father rarely goes there anymore, but Mr. Ball says he paints there when he wants peace and quiet. Tell him what I have done, and give him the letter I wrote for you. As a married woman, I can grant you your freedom, and I know my husband will approve. You will be a free man, but get to Reginald. He is a good man. He will help us free you. I want to protect you from my father’s whip. You will remember, Muncie?”

  “Yes, I’ll remember. Let’s ride now so we don’t miss the boat.”

  “Yes, let’s ride.” I clung to the horn of the saddle for all I was worth, the blue cloak swirling around me. We passed only one other rider, and he barely acknowledged us or looked in our direction.

  At the dock, we pulled the horse into some woods and tied him to a tree. I removed my cloak and straightened my coral gown and patted my hair. Muncie’s worried face gave me pause. I couldn’t bear it if my friend were to suffer on my account. I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a quick hug. “Thank you for everything. I will write to Reginald, so please let him know where you shall be. I want to stay in touch, Muncie.”

  He just nodded and stared at the ground, surely at a loss for words. I knew he was the kind of boy—no, man—who had deep feelings for his friends. I knew he that was worried for me and that he loved me as the true friend he was. Still, I couldn’t linger, I walked along the gangplank, pausing as I did. Here it was. The night I had been waiting for! The night where all things would become possible for me. With a sweet smile and a tiny wave of my fingers, I said “Goodbye” to him, maybe for the last time.

  The picture began to fade into the distance, and I could hear someone screaming, screaming my name. “Carrie JO-O-O-O!” I shook myself awake, angry that the dream had broken at such a crucial moment. But then my anger was quickly replaced with fear. I was more than startled to see Mia sitting on the edge of the bed with a black leather strap in her hands.

  “My, my, my. What a bit of a pickle you’ve gotten yourself into, CJ. Bit of a pickle, bit of a pickle, bit of a pickle.” She was laughing wildly, and I sat up cautiously. “Doesn’t that sound funny? So funny.”

  “Mia, what are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here. How did you escape the hospital?”

  “How do you think? I had help, of course. You are far too trusting, Carrie Jo. Far too trusting. You’ll never believe who’s been helping me. Are you ready for this? Give me a drum roll, please!” I just stared at her; I certainly wasn’t going to give her a drum roll. I was thinking about how I could get out of this room without getting smacked with that belt.

  “Well, I’ll save that for later. For now, you might be wondering how I got in here, right?” I nodded obediently. “That secret door there, dummy. You never were much of a researcher, were you?” She laughed again at my perceived stupidity.

  “Sugar is sweet and so are you. Sugar is sweet and so are you, CJ.” She swung around the pole of the four-poster, obviously under the influence of some kind of drug. And armed. “Oh so sweet. I hear you and Ashland have been kissing in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! I knew it right from the beginning that you had your eye on him, but who can blame you? That guy is hot—and loaded, don’t forget loaded!” She laughed and laughed as if she couldn’t help herself.

  “What do you want, Mia? Why are you here?”

  “Oh, why am I here? Why are you here?” She cracked the belt by her side. She didn’t hit me, but I could see where the tail of the belt had left a welt on her hand. A thin trail of blood appeared, but Mia didn’t even seem to notice. “When I came up here to play around, you had me fired. That was rich, wasn’t it? Now you know you heard Isla’s voice in here, but you just couldn’t stand that I might have more powers than you. You took Seven Sisters away from me—and Ashland too!”

  “No, I never did!” I got out of the bed, wishing there was some way I could get to my phone without her seeing me. “I didn’t ask for this, Mia. It’s not something I prayed for or did some kind of spell to get. It just happens. You know that!”

  “You know that!” she repeated, mocking me to my face. “Stop whining, girl. I hate hearing you whine constantly about dreaming. What great irony God has—if there is a God! Someone who doesn’t want to see the past is a dream catcher, while someone who would give her soul for the ability can’t have it. But I can have it and I will! I never wanted any damn hidden treasure. That was Isla! I never wanted Ashland either! You have the treasure. It’s inside you, just waiting for someone like me to come scoop it out.” Mia dropped the belt and slid a knife out of her pocket. She flipped it open, the silver blade shimmering dangerously in the candlelight.

  “Mia, you don’t know what you’re saying. I’m your friend, remember. It was you and me and William. We’re your friends. He called me, told me about how worried he was. I am too. Please let us help you.”

  She laughed again, an ugly, low sound. “William told you what I told him to tell you. That is all. As a matter of fact, why don’t you meet our special guest tonight? Come on out, baby. She knows you’re here.” Mia snatched the chair away from the door, sending it to the ground with a crash. She turned the brass key and unlocked the door. I peered into the blackness and saw no one.

  “Come on, baby. Don’t be shy.”

  William stepped into the doorway, a devilish grin on his face. He didn’t look at me, just Mia.

  “Say hello to our guest, baby.”

  “Hello,” William whispered. The small grin remained on his lips, and his dark eyes sparkled with amusement. He’d betrayed me again, and I had believed him. If I weren’t in fear of being stabbed to death by Mia’s blade, I would have fallen to the floor.

  Chapter 12

  Mia paced the room, waving her blade as she talked. “You know, I see things too. You aren’t the only one with special blood and powers. But I can be stronger, much stronger than you, CJ. Then we can go anywhere, and I can dream about the ancient times, in faraway places. I will do it, and you will be dead. How does that sound?”

  “It doesn’t sound very good, Mia. Please, stop this.” I tried to think of something to say that would keep her busy, but nothing came to mind. My eyes searched the room. How would I get out of here? William blocked the door, and Mia stood between me and the secret passage.

  “I’m going to give you a choice, CJ. We can do this the easy way or the hard way; which way do you prefer?” Her finger touched the tip of the knife, and I could see the blood drip as she cut herself. “You can lie down like a good girl and go to sleep, or we can take out what we nee
d while you kick and scream. Which would you like?” She took a step toward me.

  “Mia, don’t do this,” I said, gasping with raw emotion. “Please!”

  “Uh, uh, uh. That’s not the right answer. Try again. Will you cooperate, or shall we have a bit of fun?” She swung her blade at me and laughed. William stood in the doorway, not moving, just watching the drama unfold.

  “William, how could you do this?” I yelled at him. “Are you just going to stand there and let her murder me? You told me you loved me, remember that? Did you ever love me?” I saw something flicker in his eyes. Regret, maybe?

  Mia growled with anger. “He never told you he loved you! He’s never been yours, CJ. He’s mine!” She took another two steps toward me.

  “No, Mia! Don’t do this!” I put my hands up above my head, waiting for the knife blade, when suddenly the air shifted and I could feel a vibration. In a split second the candles sailed through the air, pelting Mia with hot wax and flames. She screamed, and I climbed over her and then took off running with all my might toward the secret door. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw William race toward me, then a surprised look crossed his face as a ghostly hand crashed something that looked like a wooden stick down upon him. I screamed and ran pell-mell into the darkness.

  “Oh God, oh God, oh God! Help me!” I ran, wondering who or what was following me. I had no idea where I was going, and I gasped in panic as I navigated the small space.

  “CJ! Wait, I’m on your side!” It was William, and he wasn’t too far behind me. “Please wait. I love you, CJ!”

  I kept running. I turned left, then right and then left again until I came to a dead end. My hands flew over the dusty wall, looking for a lever or a brace of some kind. I couldn’t die here, not inside the walls of Seven Sisters where no one would ever find me. I didn’t cry out or scream, and the darkness hid me. I gasped to keep the scream suppressed and pounded on the wall, hoping that I might trigger something.

  All of a sudden, William stood beside me. I could see his outline in the darkness. “William, don’t hurt me. Please, don’t.”