Guarding the Treasure (19 page)

The moon shone brightly through the side window of the car as they traveled along, Kian steering his way down the road. Sophie studied the moon's shape, deciding it was in its waning gibbous phase, just past the third quarter. It was beautifully vivid and showy tonight, but then it usually was, she thought. But this time it seemed different. Most of the time, she admired the moon while sitting on her back patio, curled up in a chair. She'd sit for hours, with or without the company of—Trey. Why was he jumping back into her mind now? She closed her eyes. Trey had never seen the beauty of the night sky from the ground. He continually told her that he only loved the heavens from about thirty-two thousand feet. She tried to erase his words from of her mind as she focused her eyes back on the moon. Kevin loved the night sky just as she did.

“I think I'm falling in love with someone else, Trey,” Sophie whispered under her breath. She shifted slightly in her seat, hoping Kian hadn't heard her confession. The radio was playing soft concert music, and he gave no indication he'd heard her.

Tonight she was on her way to Goregoo castle, the place where Anya had once lived, the backdrop of the diary that had beckoned her to Ireland. The pull to visit the castle had been strong before she left the states, but tonight? Tonight, it was unsettling. She glanced toward Kian then away. The tour they were about to embark on was his doing. Sophie sighed quietly, leaving a small opaque circle of breath on the window. It disappeared. Her host had not been exactly what she had expected. At times, she wondered if Kian's inconsistent personality could possibly be dangerous. But she had to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he had secured their entrance to the castle, which was now a private residence, and— She stopped. Questions bubbled to the surface. Their tour was about to take place—in the evening. Uncertainty welled in her chest, making it a bit uncomfortable to breathe. Why had she not used better judgment, asked more questions before they left Dool? She turned, fixed her eyes on the moon once again. Wouldn't most tours be held during the day while the family was not at home? Or perhaps they would there to answer questions. It was a reassuring thought, but still, Sophie had doubts.

Sophie looked again at her silent chauffeur. His forehead was shiny with tiny beads of sweat. It certainly wasn't from the heat maybe from nerves? She knew all about that, recalling several uncomfortable situations she'd been in. But what did the professor have to be uncomfortable about?

“Kian?” she asked softly. “You said the castle was thirty minutes north of Dool. We should be getting close according to the time on my phone.” The trip to Goregoo a few days earlier had been timed perfectly, right down to the second.

Kian remained silent for several minutes, eyes fixed on the road. Had he heard her? Something was wrong. She felt it. He abruptly steered the car onto a narrow blacktop. Sophie had noticed many such roads, and she guessed they weren't unusual for the area, but she had no recollection of driving on this particular blacktop on their last visit. Kian slowed the car and stopped.

“Sophie, I decided to take you around the estate before entering the main gate, and then I have a surprise for you a little later.” His eyes flashed mischievously.

She smiled politely. “A Surprise? Can you tell me what it is?”

He didn't look directly at her, but she could see his facial expression change and his body tighten. Sophie watched his knuckles whiten from his tight grip on the steering wheel.

“You'll know after the tour, and don't ask again,” he reprimanded sharply as they continued along the road.

Sophie was seeing and hearing something, something—

“Darkness,”
rang softly in her ears.

“Three, is that you?” she whispered, turning to the window again. Sophie had come to expect the unusual as of late, although she wasn't comfortable with it one bit. First there was the diary. It offered nothing that could be considered normal. And then, there were the professor's mood swings—

“What did you say?” Kian asked, bringing the car to a rolling stop.

Sophie said nothing, her eyes following a grayish-yellow light which shined from an ornately decorated light pole, introducing the entrance to Goregoo castle.

She turned to face Kian. The expression on his lips matched the darkness in his eyes.

“Nothing, Kian, just talking to myself,” she said, desperate to get away from him. “Is that where we enter?” She pointed in the direction of a faint set of weathered brown doors in the distance.

“Yes. You can get out but leave your purse in the car,” he demanded.

“Why would I do that?” she asked, opening the door, bag in hand.

Kian met her at the front of the car, pulling the bag forcefully from her arm. “I said leave it. You won't need it in the castle. It'll just be in your way.”

She allowed him to put it back on the front seat, feeling naked without it. “Oh, I have the diary in my bag. Would you mind if I take that in with me?” she asked, reaching back for it.

He let out a deep sigh and pulled the door open. She wrapped her hand around the diary and slipped her phone under the back cover.

Thanks,” she said, giving him a smile, hoping to pacify his erratic behavior.

He was unmoved. “Follow me, Sophie,” he motioned. “We have the castle to ourselves for a couple of hours.” He led her down a narrow rock path. She looked up, the moonlight now filtered through heavily leafed trees that seemed to stand as sentries to the entrance of the castle. The surroundings were eerie, and a cold chill gripped her. Suddenly the barren pathway gave way to instant beauty. A statue of a man holding a book stood before them. It was surrounded by hundreds of flowers, all nestled around the stairs leading to the front door.

Kian turned and stared into her eyes. “Did the beauty surprise you, Sophie?” he asked almost in a whisper.

She couldn't get free of his stare. “As a matter of fact, yes, it did. I wasn't expecting—”

He cut her off, moving close enough that she could see his pulse beating hard in his neck. “There are many things history professors don't expect, Sophie,” he said, as his eyebrows narrowed and his voice grew louder. “Like how it feels to work your brain into a frozen frenzy for a degree, only to be denied by a self-centered, egotistical female professor. But you wouldn't know anything about that would you, Ms. Hanes?” he asked, edging closer to her.

His sudden outburst startled her. “Kian, you're right. I don't know at all what you're talking about.”

He threw his hands up into the air in front of her. “Of course you don't, but you will,” he said, his voice shattering the quietude around them. He bent over, grabbing the sides of his face and digging his fingers into his temples, pushing hard in an attempt to reduce the sudden pain. He closed his eyes as he rubbed the sides of his face.

 

“Are you all right?” Sophie asked, trying to read him.

He straightened. His face was red and wet with sweat. Sophie was taken aback by the unnatural smile on his lips, but he seemed to have regained his composure. “You will experience some unexpected things tonight.” He put his arm around her waist, ushering her forward. “Go ahead, open the door,” he said in a calm voice.

Sophie froze. Her hand on the door. No, she didn't want to go in. She wanted to run, but to where? She was in the middle of nowhere. The castle that she had so looked forward to spending time in now seemed almost horrifying. She wanted to call someone for help, but who? She was trapped, at least for the time being.

Sophie reluctantly squeezed the handle, and the heavy door eased open. There before her was the atrium, just as Anya had described it in the diary. She scanned the room. Fine paintings of children and country scenes hung on the walls. High-backed chairs upholstered in brown fabric and trimmed in green matched the wallpaper that hung on the far wall. The room was beautifully serene.

Something else was there—a presence. Sophie turned. Kian was watching her, a sickening smile pasted on his face. Could he sense the strong presence, too?

“I'd like to look around the castle alone if that's okay,” she said, looking up the staircase.

“As I said, you have a couple of hours to explore. I'll be out in the garden if you need me, Sophie,” he said, turning to leave, watching her as he passed.

Her intuition told her to run, to get to the road and wait for someone to stop and help her, but she couldn't. The castle was compelling her to stay.

Sophie stood riveted at the bottom of the stairs, her focus upward. She felt an immediate pull to put her foot on the first step. She followed the steps up to the landing and stopped at the first door, her heart racing. This room had once been Anya's. The diary fell from her hand and lay open on the hardwood. She looked railing to the main floor. Kian was gone. She quickly slipped her phone into her pocket and picked up the diary.

“Three, you said you have seen violence done to those who are helpless, and you have heard their cries for help, but you continue to allow the dreadfulness to occur. Am I not patient with you? Why do I feel as if I am in a tomb with life still in my chest?”

“You ask again of me Anya, but I do not grow tired of your questions. I have promised you safety. And my promises are pure like silver refined more than seven times. Remember that though the wicked strut and perform their evil deeds, it does not go unseen by me. The time will be soon, and you will be delivered. And when your deliverance comes, it will be sweet. But most of all, it will be justly executed.”

“I will remain resolved in your promises, Three, and not ask accusingly of you again. I will remain strong even when I do not understand.”

Sophie sensed pain in the words of the diary. She turned the knob and entered Anya's room. Standing quietly, she could see Anya near the window, pleading with Three at that moment, in her room. Or was it all in her mind?

“Why did I need to hear that conversation?” she asked, looking again at the open book in her hand. Raising her eyes, she peered into the dim light that engulfed the room, her voice echoing back.

“You struggle as Anya did.”

Shocked, Sophie reached for something to steady herself. Somehow, her hand found the top of a chair, and she gripped it while listening to the sounds that swirled around her.

“Three, is it you?” she asked, speaking once again into the air.

“You struggle with anguish in your heart every day, allowing your enemies to gain the upper hand.”

Her legs wobbled as she touched a small sitting table. “I don't understand. I have no enemies.”

“Your greatest enemy is within you. Your heart has glazed over as Anya's did because of the hurt done to you at the hands of another—Trey.”

“
What?” She turned, seeing her reflection in a mirror across the room. It reflected what was going on inside of her, yet she continued to speak. “He never hurt me,” she said, struggling with the fear building within her. Sophie's mind began to race. She was having a conversation with a spirit. She covered her eyes with her hands for a moment. How did Three know about Trey? What had possessed her to allowed Professor Smith to bring her here? And who was speaking to her? “There's no one in this room,” she shouted, her breathing arduous. She walked hurriedly to the open window, allowing the breeze to sweep her face. Sophie closed her eyes, trying to relax. Her heart slowed, and her mind was able to reason again.

“
Oh, but he did.”

She turned quickly, straining to see who or what was speaking in the dimly lit room, convinced she was losing her mind. There was no one there. “Why are you saying these things to me? You're only in Anya's mind, only in the diary. You're not real. You're only a—”

“
He left you for someone greater than himself. He longed for you to experience what he had found, but then, as now, you wanted only to do things your way. You, too, will learn as Anya did. You must trust me. Listen to the words that have gone before you. Allow others who have your best interest at heart to help you. They have been sent by Three.”

The room grew quiet. Sophie's chest rose and fell rapidly. She turned again to the open window, looking out into the garden. It was draped with a thick, gray mist and smelled of musty, dying vegetation, just as Anya had described.

“Three, Trey, the diary? All these random thoughts marching through my mind like a parade. I've got to leave this place.” Sophie started to turn from the window when she caught a glimpse of a man. It was Kian. He was near a fountain, and he wasn't alone. The water reflected another image. He was talking with someone, but she couldn't make out if it was a man or a woman. Perhaps someone who lived at the castle? Right now, it didn't matter. She just wanted to get back to the cottage and talk to Kevin. Her mind reeled. She needed him. She needed to go home. And the diary? The diary would stay in Dool. She wanted nothing more to do with it.

Sophie hurried quickly down the staircase, hearing every protest of the wood under her feet. The uneasy feeling she'd had in the bedroom continued to grow as she descended the stairs. Her senses were heightened by the castle, by just being inside of the old structure. Her eyes scanned shut doors, mirrors, and antique furniture as she hurried to the main floor. The entire castle seemed to be gasping for breath, or maybe it was just in her head.

Kian was waiting at the foot of the stairs. “You look spent, Sophie.”

Her eyes assessed him. His eyes were cold, reminding her of an icy sea. She tried to look away but couldn't, and this was all too familiar. She recognized it from the diary, Anya's descriptions of Sean. Kian's finely chiseled jaw was set hard like a block of slate. He looked at her with a perverse smile. Was this the real Professor Smith?