The Crystal's Curse (14 page)

“I can make you a general sketch, but I can’t remember any specifics on the characters. I’m sure Mom has been working on translating the glyphs. They expect to be here sometime the end of next week,” he replied.

When Joshua reached up to the mantel to retrieve the stone, Sara said, “Could you leave it here? I’m thinking of asking Gran if she knows anyone who can analyze it for us.”

He took Sara by the shoulders. “You can’t tell your grandmother that I believe I was transported here with that. She’ll never let me in the house again. I haven’t told my grandfather any of this. He thinks I flew here on the spur of the moment. If we’re going to get your grandmother and my grandfather together to talk, I don’t want him hearing this from her. He has been too kind and generous to me. We have to leave them out of this for the time being. When my parents get here, Dad will know someone who can analyze this.” Letting her go, he picked up the crystal and put it in his pocket. “Please, let’s just keep this between us.”

“Okay, just research for now,” she conceded. “Speaking of getting them together, when should we do that?”

“I’ll see if my grandfather is free tomorrow night. We’ll plan on drinks at our house to start. I found some pictures of Harry your grandmother might like to see. If everything goes well, we can plan on going out to dinner together later.”

“Sounds perfect. I’ll check with Gran.”

They spent several minutes locked in each other’s arms. Neither one of them wanted the evening to end. Finally, with one last kiss, Sara pushed Joshua out the door.

They met at ten the next morning. Both grandparents had agreed to meet. Joshua arranged to pick up Sara and her grandmother at six. They spent four hours in the library but could find no reference to anything that looked like the recess.

With a sigh, Sara slammed the book she been reading closed. “There’s nothing in any of these books that refers to a niche like the one you drew. You were right. Without pictures of the actual glyphs, it’s impossible to make any comparisons. I guess we have no choice but to wait until your parents come.

Joshua closed the book he’d been scanning. He stood and drew her to her feet. “Let’s go get something to eat. I’m starving.”

They stopped to eat at a café close to campus. Since it was a popular place for students, they weren’t surprised to see several people they knew. Nathan and Rachel, just sitting down at a table, waved for Joshua and Sara to join them.

Sliding into the booth, Sara noticed that Nathan was holding Rachel’s hand. She leaned into Rachel and whispered, “How long has this been going on? I didn’t realize that you two were dating.”

Rachel blushed. “About a week. You’ve been pretty busy yourself,” she said glancing at Joshua.

Joshua slid in next to Nathan. As he studied the menu, he noticed Frank and Clay, and two girls enter the café. It was the first time he’d seen him since the altercation. He nudged Nathan.

Nathan looked up. “Crap.”

Rachel asked, “What?”

“Nothing.”

The waitress came and they placed their orders. Joshua continued to watch as Frank waited at the podium for a table. When the hostess started to seat them in another section, Frank shook his head and pointed at a table directly in front of Joshua.

Joshua sighed.

Nathan looked up. “So much for a nice quiet meal.”

Sara frowned, but before she could ask, the server came to deliver their food.

Frank continued standing as his party scooted in to the booth. As Joshua’s server walked past, carrying a heavy tray of plates and glasses, he leaned in to the aisle and bumped her, making her lose control of the tray. Joshua jumped up. He managed to save the plates. Only a coke tipped over and spilled on Joshua.

Without an apology, Frank took his seat, facing Joshua.

The waitress said, “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

Joshua mopped up the spill. “Don’t worry about it. It wasn’t your fault. See good as new. No harm done.” He looked up to see Frank smirking at him.

Sara and Rachel, having no idea who caused the accident, began eating and talking.

Nathan leaned in to Joshua and said quietly, “I told you. He’s never going to let this go.”

“Good. I’d love another go at him,” Joshua said under his breath, giving Sara his best innocent look in case she heard him.

“What are you two whispering about?” She asked.

“Just sharing beauty secrets,” he quipped. “Nathan’s been telling me about this great new shaving cream he found.” She threw a French fry at him. He caught it, dipped it in ketchup, and offered it back to her. They all laughed. When Joshua looked up again, Frank had the scowl back in place. They finished their meal and left.

Joshua took Sara back to her house and he went home to change. His grandfather was in his study. They hadn’t had much time to talk this morning before Joshua left other than to agree that Joshua could extend the invitation to Sara and Helen to come over for drinks. Joshua stopped in the study and after getting his grandfather‘s attention, said, “Grandfather, I think I should prepare you for this evening.”

Joseph smiled. “Why, are you afraid I’ll embarrass you in front of your girlfriend?” 

“Of course not, it’s just that I wanted you to know that Dr. Whiting knew Uncle Harry. She actually fainted when she saw me, thinking I was him. Sara believes she was in love with him. She may be coming to ask you questions about him.”

“Oh . . . I’m glad you told me. I haven’t talked about Harry in a long time.” He sat with his head down for a moment. “Don’t worry, Josh. I don’t really mind talking about Harry. It’s just been a long time since I met anyone who knew him.”

Joshua used his grandfather’s car to pick up Sara and Dr. Whiting. Once the introductions were over, Mrs. Stewart brought in drinks for everyone. Helen and Joseph talked about their work and various people that they knew in common.

Finally, Helen could contain her curiosity no longer. Seated in one of the chairs, she looked up at Joseph standing by the fireplace. “Joshua tells me that you had a brother named Harry.”

Joseph set his drink on the mantle. “Yes, he was a couple of years younger than me.”

“I think I may have known your brother. I can’t be sure because he never told me anything about his family. Joshua tells me you said he looks like your brother. I have to admit the resemblance to the man I knew startled me.”

“How well did you know him?”

“We dated for about six months in 1968 and then I never saw him again. He refused to talk about himself. The only thing I can really tell you is that he played the piano beautifully,” she said looking down at the drink in her hands.

Joseph nodded. “That sounds like Harry. My brother was a gifted pianist. He studied at Julliard for two years. Everyone was sure that he would go on to become a premier concert pianist. During his second year, our parents were killed in a car accident. At the beginning of his third year, he simply dropped out. He refused to talk about it to anyone. Naturally, I assumed he was just grieving. I figured that after a period of time, he would get over it and go back to school, but he never did.”

Sara, sitting next to Helen on the couch, asked, “Were you close?”

Joseph sighed, walked over to one of the chairs, and sat down. “I thought we were up until that point. There were only the two of us. My parents married late and I was born nine months later. After several years, Harry was something of a surprise.
Of course, we all spoiled him. My parents discovered he had a talent for the piano at a very early age. He spent most of his childhood in lessons or practicing. That didn’t leave much time for friends or socializing. In spite of that, he seemed happy. He could be charming and he had a wonderful sense of humor. I spent as much time with him as I could. However, when he came back from Julliard, he changed.” Joseph stared at the fire crackling in the fireplace.

After a few minutes of silence, Joshua said, “I noticed we had some pictures of Harry in the Music Room.”

Joseph blinked. “I’d forgotten about those.” Turning to Helen he said, “Would you like to see some pictures?”

“Yes, I would,” said Helen eagerly.

He led them into the music room and showed her the portrait of the family that Joshua had first seen hanging there. Joshua went to the side table and pulled out the album with the later pictures including Harry’s graduation picture.

Sitting down on the velvet loveseat, Helen studied the pictures. “I’m sure this is the man I knew,” she said finally. Looking at Joseph who had taken a seat opposite, she asked, “You said he changed when he dropped out, when was that?”

“That would have been in 1967. At first, he was withdrawn and moody, refusing to talk to anyone. The next year when he turned 21, he came into a trust fund set aside by my parents. He said he thought it was time he had some fun. From then on, he played. He was out most days and every night, determined to experience anything and everything he felt he had missed as a child. I am afraid we drifted apart. I was just beginning a career. I wasn‘t home much. I’m afraid I didn‘t have much patience with his new carefree attitude. I thought he was wasting his time and his talent.”

“That must have been about the time I met him. That’s what our relationship was like. We were always going somewhere, doing something new and exciting. He seemed happy, but it was as if he had a secret that he couldn’t share. There was always a part of him held back. Every once in a while I would see something in his eyes, sadness, melancholy . . . I don’t know, something,” she said shaking her head.

“Now that you mention it, he went through a period of what I thought of as grieving. Then for a while it seemed like he’d come out of, like he was happy. I hoped he’d gotten it out of his system and would finally settle down and go back to school. He started playing the piano again and he was composing.” Joseph walked over to the piano and picked up one of the yellowed sheets of music. “He wrote this.”

Joshua went to where his grandfather was standing. “That’s the music I was playing for you the other night, Sara.” He took it from his grandfather, sat down at the piano and began to play.

Sara sat beside him on the piano bench.

When he finished the piece, there were tears in Helen’s eyes. “I heard him play that. I didn’t realize he composed it. What happened to him?”

Leaning back in the chair, Joseph shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve often wondered if he was sick. He started getting headaches.”

Joshua and Sara exchanged a glance.

“He became irrational and paranoid. He thought people were after him. The last time I saw him was in October of 1968. He warned me to be careful, said that he had to go away so I would be safe. I tried talking to him, but he wouldn’t listen. Just said he couldn’t explain. I never saw him again. I thought eventually he’d come back, but he never did. I didn’t know any of his friends. I didn’t even know where to start looking for him. Did you see him after that?”

“No, that’s about the time he stopped coming to see me too. I assumed he dumped me. Eventually I moved on. The last time I saw him, he seemed worried about me too, but I was angry so I didn’t listen. I knew about the headaches, but I’d never seen him irrational or paranoid. I guess we’ll never know what happened,” she sighed.

Chapter Fifteen

Sam found himself still holding on to Maria. They had materialized in the park. He recognized it. Like Joshua, The niche had transported them to Boston, just a block from the house where Sam had grown up. He hadn’t blacked out but he felt extremely dizzy. When Maria blinked and wobbled in his arms, he lowered her to the ground and sat next to her.

Within a minute, the man who had rescued them appeared out of nowhere next to
them. Tall and fit, he had dishwater blond hair with a touch of gray at the sides. He looked to be around forty, casually dressed in jeans, tennis shoes, and a sweater.

“Surging takes some getting used to, so you’re probably still a little dizzy. If you can walk, I need to get you out of here now,” he said with some urgency. “You better give me the crystal. The less exposure you have to it the better.”

“Who are you?” Sam asked helping Maria up before handing him the crystal.

“My name is Lrence. I’m sorry all explanations will have to wait. I need to get you somewhere safe first. I’m hoping I destroyed the portal, but if not, they’ll be right behind us. Follow me,” he ordered striding quickly away.

Sam held on to Maria as they struggled to keep up. When they reached the street, he said, “I think we’re fine now. My father lives just down the street. I’m sure we’ll be safe there,”

Lrence put his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “I’m afraid not. It won’t take them long to find out where your relatives live. They’ll be checking everywhere you’ve lived, and anyone who knows you. I know it’s asking a lot for you to trust me. If you’ll just follow me to my house, I promised to explain everything.” He walked to a nearby car and motioned for them to get in.

Maria stopped. Steady on her feet now, Sam let her go. “We have to get Joshua and bring him with us. He’s the one they’re after. He’s here living with his grandfather.” Maria started down the street pulling Sam with her.

Lrence moved quickly to stand in front of them. “If they find you here, you’ll lead them right to him. For the moment, your son is safer without you. It’ll take a couple of days before they can locate your father. He should be safe until then. Please, let‘s get out of here.” He was begging now.