Ghosts of Perigord

by Marc Lindsay

  Ulysses knew he was being goaded, despite this knowledge he could feel his anger and rage building up within him.

  ‘Your fight shouldn’t be with me. We are much alike. Men of vision, action. It’s a shame really. You think that I’m your problem. But you align yourself with a charlatan, their three heads will be your undoing. Magic is going to be your downfall. I wish you could see that dear boy,’ Heinrich said with a shake of his head. Ulysses could feel himself being manipulated by his words, yet there was a trace of sincerity in them. Damn him and his false accusations, I won’t let him drive a wedge between me and the others, Ulysses thought, and with that he took flight in his avian form back home. Heinrich watched the large bird of prey disappear in the distance, a large grin spread wide on his face.

  Chapter 32

  Jason and Selene sat quietly in History, along with the rest of the class waiting patiently for Mr Apollon to arrive.

  ‘Where do you think he is?’ Jason asked casually.

  Probably deciphering the De Vinci code in his spare time,’ Selene said pulling her text books from her bag.

  ‘I can’t get Hector out of my mind, something is seriously not right with him,’ Jason said.

  ‘As much as I agree with you, we have way too much on our plate without concerning ourselves with him. Besides, we may be looking too much into this morning. It may be completely innocent,’ Selene said. Jason did a double take.

  ‘You really believe his Indiana Jones expedition earlier could be explained as nothing more than, running an errand for a teacher,’ Jason said sceptically. Selene had put her books aside and was about to reply when the door to the classroom flew open with a crash and Mr Apollon strode in, his arms full of papers and books. Mr Apollon’s expression was one of extreme satisfaction as he made his way to the front of the class dropping everything messily onto his table. His dramatic entrance had everyone’s undivided attention.

  ‘My apologies class, my tardiness couldn’t be helped,’ Mr Apollon said as he wiped his brow with a handkerchief. Despite the chill in the air Mr Apollon was dressed in a short sleeved shirt with rings of sweat showing near his armpits. Jason noted the teachers tie, a replica of a doctor’s eye chart which under closer inspection read ‘I WOULD RATHER BE FISHING’.

  ‘I have unearthed some interesting facts about one of the lessons we went over the other day. It concerns Walter Remus,’ Mr Apollon said. The class looked back with blank looks, this however didn’t curb the teacher’s enthusiasm.

  ‘Walter Remus was the gentleman who was executed for murdering children,’ Mr Apollon said. The class did a collective nodding of their heads. ‘Or so we thought?’ He added with a glint in his eye.

  ‘Why the turnaround?’ A young girls voice asked from the front row.

  ‘I’m glad you asked. It was something one of you said to me the other day,’ Mr Apollon said his gaze on Jason and Selene. ‘And it got me thinking about something I had read earlier, something that didn’t seem quite right.’

  The teacher’s mannerisms had the entire class enthralled and he began to detail his line of thought.

  ‘As we know, Walter Remus was a pay clerk for the mining company, but what a lot of people weren’t aware of was that he was a budding writer. Well one book anyway, a children’s book, The Midnight Garden.’

  It was as if a small jolt of electricity had hit both Selene and Jason at the same time, they both gave each other a narrowed look.

  ‘Copies of this book are all but impossible to get a hold of. From what I’ve been able to glean, Mr Remus wrote the book after the disappearance of his children, which he was also later charged with. Walter was up at Potter’s Bluff at the time of two of the murders, something which was omitted during his trial,’ Mr Apollon said.

  ‘How do you know for sure?’ Selene asked. Mr Apollon smiled.

  ‘Walter was up at Potter’s Bluff trying to get a meeting with a Mr Reginald T. Johnson, an acclaimed hunter and tracker, something of a legend back in the day, Mr Johnson was famous for having tracked and killed a rogue grizzly responsible for slaughtering an entire congregation of parishioners during a Sunday mass. The bear was supposedly fifteen feet in height and weighing close to a ton in weight. After stalking the bear for nearly a week Old Reginald tracked the beast to its lair, a large cave and without waiting for backup he ventured in and after a lengthy battle killed the bear with nothing more than his bowie knife.’

  The room was silent for a moment as the details of the story sunk in.

  ‘What a bad ass,’ someone yelled out. This was followed by a brief burst of laughter then silence again as the students wanted to hear more.

  ‘I would agree. But I’m getting off the story here. As I mentioned earlier, Mr Remus was up at the Bluff to see Mr Johnson. This is backed up by the guest register at the Winston hotel showing that Walter Remus stayed there for a period of three nights, the same three nights when two of the murders occurred,’ Mr Apollon said.

  ‘Why was he up there to see the hunter fellow?’ a student asked.

  ‘From what I’ve learnt from a newspaper article, Walter wanted to hire Reginald to hunt demons. He was of course declined. Later during the trial Walter made further claims about the demons, saying they had stolen his children. The interesting part was the fact that Walter pleaded with one of the members of the jury to help him, that member was Mr Vert.’

  ‘What did he want from Mr Vert?’ Jason asked.

  ‘In the court transcripts he wanted to know how to get to the secret garden. No one knew what he was talking about, the least of all Mr Vert. His pleas were put down to the babblings of a lunatic. He was given a verdict of guilty and three days later hanged for his crimes,’ Mr Apollon said.

  ‘But he wasn’t guilty, was he?’ Selene asked.

  ‘No, no he wasn’t. What I found in Potter’s Bluff is evidence that he wasn’t there for two of the murders, murders that the town believed were committed by the one person, so if Mr Remus didn’t do it, then who?’ Mr Apollon said. The silence in the air was deafening then broken by the bell ringing signifying the end of the class. As everyone scurried to leave, Jason leaned close to Selene and whispered in her ear.

  ‘Grab Wendy and meet me in the library for lunch.’

  They found Jason nestled up the back near the encyclopaedias, the room was completely empty except for the librarians who were taking their lunch in their office.

  ‘I’ve filled her in on Mr Apollon’s class earlier,’ Selene said, Jason nodded.

  ‘I wanted to do this now, with you present, okay,’ Jason said, Wendy nodded but remained silent. Jason opened up his back pack and pulled out two books from within. One was a book on origami and the other a children’s book titled The Midnight Garden.

  ‘I grabbed some books on Persian mythology and these two books appeared with them. It’s not a coincidence,’ Jason said sternly. ‘There is a reason why the library wants us to see these books, I want, no, we need to know why?’

  Jason opened the book on origami and began to flick through the pages, nothing of interest, just diagrams of origami designs. Then stuffed into the last page a folded origami lion, its folds neat and precise.

  ‘Nothing but this,’ Jason said holding the lion up to Selene who inspected it with a smile.

  ‘This is pretty good. Do you mind if I keep it?’ Selene asked.

  ‘Be my guest,’ Jason said. Selene tucked it into her jacket pocket. Jason placed the first book away and pulled out the next one, written by the late Walter Remus.

  ‘The Midnight Garden,’ Wendy said. Jason ran his fingers across the raised letters on the front cover. Then turned it over. The writing was big and bold with an old world feel to it. Jason read it so they could all hear.

  ‘Once upon a time there was a pretty little cottage,’ Jason read. The illustrations were simple but dark and gothic.

  ‘In the pretty little cottage, lived a family of three.’

  Jason turned the page.

  ‘Lif
e in the cottage was meagre but happy. The father worked hard and long but loved his children fiercely. Their laughter and kind ways filling him with peace.’

  ‘Jeez this book feels like a downer already.’ Selene commented

  ‘Sssshhhhh,’ Wendy said.

  ‘One day the children went into the forest to retrieve water from the well and there they discovered the entrance to the midnight garden. The children tried to tell their father about this magical place, but alas their father believed their tales to be that of over imaginative children. Every day when the children would go into the forest to retrieve water they would tell their father of the wonders they would see in the midnight garden. Creatures of wonder and mystery. The father loved to hear the stories they would tell, proud as he was of his imaginative children. One day the children told their father that there was a witch who lived in the garden. A witch who was beautiful and fair. The witch would give treats and tell stories, always asking them to stay longer each time,’ Jason paused. ‘What do you think, so far?’

  ‘I think it sounds creepy as hell,’ Selene said.

  ‘The witch became dear to the children, who as promised stayed longer with each visit, their father who often worked late was glad the children had each other during his absences. One day after a picnic of fairy cakes and elves tea the witch asked the children if they were enjoying themselves, the children replied that they were. The witch asked would they like to do this forever. The children being children said that they would. The witch instructed the children that they must each bring something personal next time they called. That night the children told their father about the witch’s proposal. The father laughed at the children’s delight. The children asked their father if he wanted to come with them in the morning. The father said that he would love to but with work it would have to be later. In the morning the father kissed his children and told them to have fun at the midnight garden. The children readied themselves for their meeting with the witch. The young boy took a dice made of bone carved by his father and the girl took their mother’s wedding band that had been bequeathed to the girl when she had passed away. With their personal items in tow, the children made their final journey to the midnight garden where they lived happily ever after,’ Jason read this last line with a frown as he turned the last page.

  ‘That can’t be it?’ Selene asked. ‘Is this supposed to be what happened to Walter Remus’s children? I think that maybe he was a nut job,’ Selene said.

  ‘Don’t you get it?’ Wendy said. Jason and Selene looked at her and shook their heads. ‘The book is written from Walter’s perspective, if it’s true he only wrote what the kids told him, he never went there or saw what they saw. And the ending is, well I’m guessing it’s his wishful thinking.’

  ‘So you think the children met a witch and are still alive?’ Jason asked.

  ‘Have you ever heard of a fairy tale where the witch lured some kids away and they lived happily ever after? Those kids were cooked up in a giant oven or a massive cauldron,’ Selene said.

  ‘Okay, I’d have to agree with you there. But there’s still one question that needs answering?’ Jason said.

  ‘And what’s that?’ Wendy asked.

  ‘Why has the library given us this information and what does she want us to do with it?’

  Chapter 33

  When Jason arrived home later that afternoon, Kava’s presence in his living room was something the teenage boy was completely unprepared for. Kava was standing at the rear of the room and completely focused on a painting hanging over an oversized stone fireplace, which was currently roaring a pretty impressive fire. The painting was of Jason’s uncle Plato.

  After what seemed an eternity Jason interrupted Kava’s reflections.

  ‘Ahem,’ Jason coughed. Kava craned his neck in the boy’s direction, an almost annoyed look worn upon his face.

  ‘Ah, Jason, I was just studying this portrait of your late uncle. What a strong, brooding individual,’ Kava said, his gaze drawn back to the painting. ‘What the hell is this asshole doing here’ Jason thought irritatingly. Kava reached up and straightened the picture which was leaning to the left.

  ‘What brings you here?’ Jason asked through clenched teeth. Before Kava could answer, Helen entered the room and in that moment Jason’s world came crashing down around him.

  ‘Hey sweetheart, how you doing,’ Helen said. She had obviously just changed clothes as she was still in the process of adjusting her jewellery as she entered the room, she looked beautiful.

  ‘Ah, a vision of loveliness,’ Kava announced. Taking her hand and kissing its back.

  ‘Thank you,’ she sighed, there was a brief but tangible moment of silence where Jason actually felt the pair were completely oblivious to his presence.

  ‘So what’s going on here?’ Jason asked directing the question wholly and solely to his mother.

  ‘I’m sorry, I tried to call you earlier and let you know. I ran into Kava at lunch and he was nice enough to invite me out to dinner,’ Helen said.

  ‘Nice enough, she was doing me a great honour in accepting my invitation,’ Kava replied quickly, his eyes never leaving Helen.

  ‘Really,’ Jason said, no attempt in hiding the displeasure from his voice. ‘So where is this wonderful dinner taking place?’

  ‘It’s that fancy restaurant on Main Street,’ Helen said.

  ‘The Don I think it’s called and we better get moving if we want to make the reservation on time,’ Kava added quickly. He then proceeded to help her into her coat and walk her towards the front door. Helen’s excitement on the prospect of a night out with a handsome gentleman was clearly overruling every other thought in her head.

  ‘Sweetheart. I’ve left you some dinner in the fridge, I’m afraid it’s leftovers,’ Helen said as an after-thought. Jason was torn between hating her date with the immortal womaniser and not wanting to begrudge his poor mother a well-deserved night out, he opted for the latter.

  ‘Leftovers are fine, have a good time,’ Jason said then directed his stare towards Kava. ‘Don’t have her out too late.’

  Helen missed the heavy inflection but the line wasn’t wasted on Kava, who nodded but didn’t seem too perturbed. Moments later, Jason was alone with nothing more than silence and his overactive imagination to keep him company.

  ‘Damn that Kava he thought, what was he playing at,’ Jason said aloud, slamming his fist down onto the heavy stone mantle. He sighed and glanced up at the picture of his uncle. ‘What do you think I should do,’ he said exasperated. It was then that he noticed that the picture was still leaning to the left. Jason tried to adjust it, with no success. He then carefully pulled it away from the wall to see what was hindering his efforts. It was at that moment that something caught his gaze and everything else became inconsequential.

  Chapter 34

  When Selene arrived, she found Jason pacing up and down the living room, his expression bore only partial relief in seeing her. She led him to the sofa were they sat down.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked. Jason quickly informed her of everything, right up to the point where he looked behind the picture of his uncle.

  ‘And then,’ Jason said jumping to his feet, he strode over to the large portrait and lifted it from the wall. ‘I saw this?’ Jason said placing the picture down and revealing a sizable wall safe.

  ‘Whoa,’ Selene exclaimed, as she too moved over for a closer inspection. It was large and chunky, but with a digital face that included a finger scanner. ‘That looks pretty hard-core,’ Selene said and Jason nodded soberly, then opened the door of the safe revealing a large empty expanse. Selene looked confused.

  ‘How did you open it? What was inside?’ Selene asked.

  I didn’t unlock it and it was already empty,’ Jason said darkly.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Selene said. Jason pushed the safe closed and replaced the picture back on the wall.

  ‘It was Kava. He was in here when I first entered, hell he was
even touching the painting. Whatever was in that safe is now in his possession,’ Jason said.

  ‘What do you think it is?’ Selene asked.

  He’s been secretive about everything, only coming clean when he’s been discovered. I have no doubt it’s got to do with his precious exhibit. And now the bastard’s using my mum in his scheme,’ Jason said.

  ‘We have to find out what he’s up to. The only thing we know for sure is that he’s trying to get his hands on the mace of Rostam. That’s where we start,’ Selene said.

  ‘I agree, but seeing Mr Vert is impossible,’ Jason said frustrated.

  ‘Well, there are two options we haven’t explored thoroughly,’ Selene said., deep in thought.

  ‘And they are?’ Jason asked.

  ‘Wendy, Mr Vert’s niece and that story Mr Apollon mentioned in class. The one about the sorcerer battling the witch. I think we both know the Sorcerer was either Mr Vert or his direct descendent,’ Selene said.

  ‘So you think that Mr Apollon might have information about the Sorcerer?’ Jason asked.

  ‘Even better, information about the witch. She was obviously powerful. There might be something in the story that could help us.’

  The following morning after filling Wendy in on the latest news they arrived at school, early.

  ‘We gotta stop getting in this early,’ Jason said.

  ‘Are you worried about rep,’ Selene said with a laugh.

  ‘Very funny,’ Jason replied.

  ‘So, what do we hope to find out again?’ Wendy asked.

  We need to find out about your uncle, specifically, weaknesses,’ Selene said.

  ‘And Mr Apollon seems to know a lot about Perigord’s past, case in point a battle between a sorcerer and a witch,’ Jason added.

  ‘Have you two considered three important facts that may go against us?’ Wendy asked.

  I’m listening,’ Jason replied. Both he and Selene had stopped walking and were now listening intently.