The Madness of Mercury (24 page)

Zora turned to me. “There are strong energies close by. I feel sure we’ll have some communication tonight. Julia, will you ask everyone to come in, please?”

I nodded and left the room. I found Reggie chatting happily to Alba in the front parlor. She nodded occasionally but seemed distracted. She looked frightened, and I was sure she was only here under duress.

Richard led Evandra slowly down the stairs and into the library and helped her sit. Her face was flushed with excitement. Richard sat next to her and Dorothy took the seat on the other side of her aunt across from Reggie. Alba hesitated in the doorway but finally took a seat at the round table next to Reggie. I sat on Reggie’s other side. When we were all seated, Nikolai and Zora sat down across the table from each other. Outside, the rain pelted furiously against the library windows. I caught a flash of lightning and the lights in the chandelier flickered for a moment. It happened so quickly I wasn’t sure I hadn’t imagined it.

Nikolai had turned off the lights in the front parlor and dining room. A small lamp was still lit in the front hallway. No light could reach us in the library. Candlelight cast eerie shadows against the bookshelves and ceiling. No one spoke a word. We waited for Nikolai’s instructions. He stood and raised his arms. In a booming voice, he spoke. “
As I pass through the vays, I feel the presence of the gods. They are vith me and I vith them forever.
” He glanced around the table at each of us, and finally, with a nod from Zora, said, “
May vee in this circle be protected from any and all harm.
”

He sat down. “Please. Take hand of the person next to you.” He reached over and took Richard’s hand on one side and Alba’s on the other. He nodded once to Zora. “Be patient, everyone, and vhatever you do, this is most important, do not break circle.”

Zora closed her eyes, breathing slowly and deeply for several minutes. We watched her intently. No one spoke a word or appeared to breathe. Nikolai studied Zora’s face. After several interminable minutes, Zora’s head dropped to her chest. Her breathing was faster.

Nikolai spoke. “Is someone here? Do you haf message for us?”

We waited. Zora continued to breathe rapidly. Nikolai asked again, “Is anyone vith us tonight?”

Zora raised her head slowly, and her expression had shifted. She rose higher in her chair, her head slowly turning from side to side with a coquettish air. Her neck appeared to lengthen. “
I’m here. I’ve been trying …
”

I stared, not sure if what I was seeing was a trick of the light. Dorothy gasped. Nikolai shot her a warning look.

“…
to reach you
.”

“It’s Lily!” Evandra cried.

I glanced at Reggie and Alba. Reggie’s mouth hung open in disbelief. Alba looked frightened, as if she were about to flee the room.

Nikolai spoke. “You haf message for us?”

“
Yes.
” The voice was not Zora’s normally rough tone. It was several octaves higher. The skin on my arms prickled. What was happening? I struggled to stay in this reality. Could Zora really be channeling Lily’s spirit?

“
Danger.
” Zora’s head dropped to her chest.

“What nonsense,” Dorothy muttered under her breath. Richard shushed her.

“Danger for whom, spirit?” Nikolai asked.

Zora raised her head, her eyes blazing. “
For all.
”

“Lily!” Evandra cried.

Nikolai asked again, “Vhat danger?”

Still in that girlish voice, Zora said, “
Danger … death is planned.
”

A tremendous thunderclap struck, shaking the entire house. A bolt of lightning lit up the sky beyond the library windows and threw the stone statuary in the garden into high relief. A cold draft swept through the room. The candles flickered in the sudden rush of air and were extinguished. Evandra cried out and collapsed in her chair.

T
WENTY-
N
INE

D
OROTHY PUT HER ARMS
around Evandra. Nikolai shouted at her, “Do not break circle. Vee must close portal properly.”

Dorothy glared at him but said nothing as she gently lifted Evandra’s head. Nikolai stood and, holding out his hands, murmured unintelligible words.

Richard pulled a lighter out of his pocket and stood to re-light the candles. He hit the light switch but nothing happened. “Maybe a fuse blew. I’ll check the box.”

Zora sat quietly in her chair, her eyes closed, her chin resting on her ample bosom. Nikolai circled the table and knelt next to her. Taking her hands in his, he checked her pulse. She seemed to be sleeping. He cradled her face and called her name. Her eyes flickered open.

“What happened?” she asked. “Did anything happen?”

“Yes, dear. Are you all right?”

“I think so.”

He turned to the rest of us. “This could haf been very dangerous, breaking the circle. I varned you.” He glared at Dorothy, who ignored him. Evandra’s eyes opened.

“It was Lily, wasn’t it?” she asked plaintively. “What happened?”

“You fainted, dear, that’s all,” Dorothy responded. Richard returned and hit the electrical switch again. The room was flooded with light from the chandelier.

“It was Lily. I know it was.” Evandra’s voice rose in pitch, her breathing fast. She looked at me pleadingly. “Julia? It was Lily. Wasn’t it! Please tell me!”

Dorothy shook her head to warn me not to say anything, then helped Evandra from her chair. “Help me get her up to bed, Julia. This has been too much for her.”

I wondered if her request indicated a truce between us. Together, our arms around Evandra’s slight frame, we walked her slowly up the stairs. Dorothy undressed her aunt and helped her into a nightgown while I pulled down the bedcovers.

“Stay here for a moment, Julia. I just want to look in on Eunice and make sure she and Gudrun are set for the night. It’ll just take me a moment.”

Evandra looked up at me beseechingly from her bed. “I know it was her, Julia. I know we’re in danger. Make sure Richard stays here, Julia. I’ll be safe as long as he and Reggie are in the house. Now I know our family didn’t die out. Reggie really is the image of my brother as a young man.”

I heard Dorothy call my name from the hallway. There was an urgency to her tone. I hurried out to the hallway and saw her, pale-faced, standing outside the door to Eunice’s room, holding a slip of paper in her hand.

“They’re gone!”

“Gone?”

“Eunice and Gudrun. They’ve gone to the Prophet.”

T
HIRTY

D
OROTHY WORDLESSLY HANDED ME
the note, written in Eunice’s spidery hand. “Should I call the police?”

“Yes.” I quickly scanned the paper. I think you should.”

My dear Dorothy,

I have decided to take up residence at the Prophet’s Paradise. Thank you for all you have done for us and please forgive my leaving in this fashion.

Your loving aunt,
Eunice

Still, I wasn’t sure what the police might be able to do about bringing Eunice back. Dorothy could accuse Gudrun of abduction, although the note would shed a completely different light on the situation.

“I’ll do that right now.” Dorothy hurried down the stairs to the telephone.

“What’s happening? What’s going on?” Evandra called out from her bedroom.

I returned to her room and sat down next to her on the bed. “Eunice and Gudrun have gone to the Prophet’s Paradise. Eunice left a note.”

“That silly woman. Never did have the sense God gave a billy goat. I suppose she thinks she’ll be raising bees, no doubt.”

“If that’s the worst that happens, I’ll be happy,” I replied. “Stay here, Evandra. I’ll come back and let you know what’s going on.”

I returned to my room, debating what I should do. I couldn’t very well pack up and go, leaving Dorothy to deal with Eunice’s decampment. Perhaps she had recovered from her earlier outburst, but I no longer wanted to stay where I might not be welcome. Her rebuke still stung deeply.

Wizard was sitting on the floor, at attention, staring at me, well aware that something was wrong. I picked him up and sat on the bed, holding him on my lap while I thought about the best course of action. I was torn between staying at the Gamble house tonight to see what came to pass and moving back to Castle Alley tomorrow morning, or sneaking away now like a gypsy in the night. I weighed both options and finally decided to stay long enough to make sure Dorothy didn’t need any help, but remain ready to leave as soon as possible.

Several minutes later, I heard Dorothy’s voice downstairs. She was talking to the police. I wondered what she’d said to cause them to arrive so quickly. I hesitated but finally decided to join them.

Downstairs, every light in the house was blazing. Nikolai and Zora stood in the archway of the parlor. Nikolai still wore his robes. Two police officers, an older man and a young woman, were questioning Dorothy.

“Do you know if your aunt left of her own free will?”

Dorothy hesitated. “Well, she left a note, but I still consider it an abduction. She’s eighty-seven years old and she gets addled easily. Her companion is an employee, not a relative. She had no right to take her anywhere, particularly at this time of night.”

“Has anything happened that might have upset her?”

“No more than usual,” Dorothy replied. The young female police officer had turned and was staring at Nikolai and Zora. Nikolai smiled his most charming smile as he scanned her trim figure.

“Ma’am, I don’t know that there’s much we can do. If your aunt left a note, she’s a free agent. Unless you think she might have been coerced.”

“Not coerced in the way you mean. Just led astray. There must be something you can do to find her.”

“If you have any suggestions as to where she might have gone, we’d be happy to talk to her in the morning, just to make sure she’s operating with all her faculties.”

“That’s just it. I don’t. If I knew where she was, I’d go there myself,” Dorothy shouted. “They go to that church up on Mason. Maybe she took her there.”

“Well, we can check that location tonight and see if anyone’s around, but it’s more than likely closed. We’ll have someone go there first thing tomorrow. Do you have a home address for this … companion?”

“She lives here. The agency I hired her from will have her other information.”

“Give us the name of the agency, and we’ll check with them as soon as they open in the morning. There’s not much we can do tonight. We’ll have someone contact you first thing. If you don’t hear from her in twenty-four hours, we can report her as a missing person. That might help you locate her.”

The officers took down the agency information and departed, and Dorothy’s shoulders slumped. Holding on to the banister, she sank down on the stairs and started to sob. Nikolai shook his head sadly. Zora looked on silently, along with Richard and Reggie, who’d joined the group in the hallway while Dorothy pled with the police.