The Library of Time, page 8
The woman who opened the door stared at him curiously. “Yes?”
“I’m here for the séance,” he stated.
Her eyes widened slightly as she took in his odd clothing, and wild hair. “You are not on my list. Have we met?”
“No, but I am a friend of Elizabeth’s.”
“Ah,” she smiled, and opened the door. Inside the room was in near darkness, the gas lights set on low.
He followed her inside and sat in the one chair left, hoping that in the darkness Elizabeth wouldn’t notice him. Six people were already seated, Elizabeth two seats away from him to his right. Jack was not there.
“We are gathered today to summon our lost relatives, to say our last goodbyes so that we can know that they understand how much we miss them. Any messages they have to give us are always welcome.” She closed her eyes and began to hum.
Sam stared at the spot in the middle of the table that seemed to be glowing. He was sure it was a trick of the light, but when a figure began to emerge, he squinted even more, trying to make out the features. The woman leading the séance spoke in soothing tones. “Please identify yourself,” she intoned.
The figure was a woman dressed in a loose top and jeans, a distraught expression on her face, apparently surprised by being there. “I’m looking for Sam,” she whispered.
“Is there a Sam here?” the woman at the head of the table asked.
Sam glanced at Elizabeth who was peering around wildly. A second later Annie was looking right at him. “Please come back to me!” she shouted, before bursting into tears. “If you don’t, I will find my way to you.”
Sam was about to answer when she faded away and disappeared. But by now Elizabeth had spotted him, rising from her chair to point an accusing finger at him. “You! What are you doing here?”
Sam rose and pushed his chair back, making a terrible scraping noise. “I’m looking for Jack,” he answered.
Elizabeth laughed. “You will never find Jack—he’s too smart for that. I suggest you go back where you came from and leave us alone.”
There was no point in arguing with her. But if he didn’t find Jack soon there would be repercussions in the future. The entire room was silent as he pushed away from the table and rushed to the door. A second later he was out and running.
Behind him he heard shouting, turning for one second to see Jack meeting Elizabeth by the open door. There was a pistol in his hand. A shot rang out, pinging against the brick building on his right. He kept going.
Sam found a low-cost room to rent in a nondescript wooden building in a rather seedy alleyway. He’d managed to elude his followers by rounding many corners and heading into an area that smelled of garbage and cooked cabbage. Everyone around him seemed on the same kind of mission—running from authorities or just down and out, their furtive glances making him aware of where in the city he was. The woman with a patch over one eye behind the counter looked him over him suspiciously, but when he smiled, she lost her reticence, allowing him to pay with some cash he’d managed to pickpocket on the streets. He climbed the rickety stairs, and entered the shabby attic room, glad to see a bed. He realized too late that this timeline had little to no indoor plumbing, his need impossible to put off. Grabbing the chamber pot from under the bed, he loosened his trousers and let go, allowing the piss to fill the ceramic pot. After that he dropped face down on the moth-eaten coverlet and fell into an exhausted sleep.
His dream took him to Annie, her naked body warm next to his. Her scent entered his consciousness, the press of her breasts arousing him. He wanted her, but there was something in the back of his mind. Something that he needed to do before he could allow himself this pleasure. He moaned his anguish and with the sound, he woke up.
The room was pitch black; the gas lampposts that lit up the wealthier areas were absent from this part of the city. His mind went to the future and Annie. Was she awake? Was she dreaming of him? They had this uncanny connection that he’d never figured out. Would he ever admit to her what he really was? And how in hell did she think she could get to him? She wasn’t capable of it.
He shook himself to disperse the thoughts. It was time to find Jack. His nose would do the tracking, especially if he allowed the beast to rise. He’d kept it at bay for so long, thinking it was bad, but he needed the feral part of him if he were to take down the man who was poised to change the future. But getting back to the future with Jack in tow would take some doing. Unless he killed him. But that would have its own repercussions.
Sam ran through the dark streets, following the scent. He’d begun his tracking at the last place where he’d seen Jack and followed his senses after that. He was drawing close to a wealthier area of town, larger houses and wider streets, gas lamps lighting the way. A single carriage made its way by him, the horse snorting as it caught a whiff of the beast who inhabited Sam. He clung to the shadows until the clack of the wheels disappeared into the fog rising from the river.
The streets disappeared around him as the fog swirled, the lamps barely discernible. He raised his head, sniffing--the row house on the street corner tugged him that way. It wasn’t fancy, but the garden in front was neat and the inset door had a large brass knocker in the shape of a butterfly. He checked the windows to see if one might be open and slunk around the side to check the back. Oddly, the back door was unlocked. It led into a pantry and from there a door led into the kitchen. Sam moved quietly, his heart pounding so loud he was sure it could be heard a mile away. Once he left the kitchen and entered a small parlor he heard raised voices, the sound of an argument reaching him from somewhere upstairs.
“I thought you loved me.”
There was a rough laugh before the woman said, “Why are you doing this? I thought we were together.” It was Elizabeth who was now weeping. “What about our wedding?”
“You silly cow. I came back because this place is ripe for my talents. Your middle-class milieu doesn’t fit my purposes. The wealthier crowd is where I belong. Now get out of my way. I’m leaving.”
“Jack, no…” The pitiful crying continued, followed by a slap and a scream of pain. A moment went by and then another before Elizabeth whispered, “What if I’m carrying your child?”
There was a pause before Jack said, “Do what you want with it. I’m not interested in taking care of some sniveling brat.”
“But our wedding? It’s all arranged…”
“You still want to marry me? If you can finagle a way into high society, I might give it a whirl. Otherwise, you’re on your own.”
“I’m a member of the Hermetic Society, Jack. I own a house. Isn’t that enough for you?”
“It would be if I hadn’t found someone who has access to what I want.”
“Who? Another woman?”
Sam moved into the shadows when he heard a door open and boots on the stairs. “What a stupid bitch,” he heard Jack mutter. “Good for one thing only.” Jack gave an ugly laugh before he opened the front door and hurried away. Sam stepped into the night a second later.
Sam followed Jack for a half hour before the man stopped, pulled out a key, and entered the same building where the séance had been conducted. Sam wondered why he was there—did he know the woman who led the meeting? He slipped behind the bushes under the windows and waited. When a light went on, he stood up and peered inside. Jack and the woman were standing two feet apart. A moment later they’d bridged the distance between them, lips meeting as their arms wrapped around each other.
What the fuck? Sam’s mind whirled in confusion. This man had come here from the future. How did he know her?
“I knew I’d find my way back to you, Izzy,” Jack murmured.
“Thank goodness for Elizabeth’s idiocy. Will you go through with the wedding?”
“Only if it benefits us,” he answered. She grabbed his hand and tugged him away, only pausing to turn off the gas sconce. “From what you told me, a baby with her…”
As the voices faded Sam lowered slowly to the ground, his heart pounding like a freight train. Jack was obviously well acquainted with this woman. He was due to marry Elizabeth in two months, but would he go through with it? And what was Izzy saying about a baby?
Sam rose to his feet. He wanted to run this by Annie. Somehow she seemed to cut through to the truth of the matter. She was familiar with Jack and the way his mind worked. Should he stay here and confront the guy, take him back to the future, or should he go back to 2323 and just wait to see what turned up in the history books? He had to know if Jack was like him—a product of experiments and changes to his DNA. It seemed the only way to explain Jack’s relationship with this woman and his obvious knowledge of how the system worked in the late 1800’s.
Sam knew of no one who had gone through what he did. If Jack had experienced the same hell, he had some empathy, but if Jack was using it for evil he had to stop him. He made his way back to his boarding house and slipped inside, trying not to wake the others who had rooms. As he was climbing the stairs he heard the distinctive squeak of bedsprings, moaning and little cries coming from several places on the second floor. He should have known when he met the floozy who took his money what this place really was. He hurried up to his attic room. No squeaking bedsprings could keep him awake.
It was barely dawn when pounding on his door woke him. “We know you’re in there,” a gruff voice called out.
“Who are you?” Sam managed to choke out as he quickly pulled on his trousers.
“You are under arrest for disorderly conduct.”
Sam opened the door and peered out to see two uniformed police. “Get your shirt on. You’re coming with us,” the larger man ordered.
“On what charge?”
“We have it on good authority that it was you who caused the chaos at the Golden Dawn building yesterday afternoon. Charges were brought by a Jack Torrance, fiancé to a Miss Elizabeth Farr.”
Sam groaned. Confound the man. He turned and reached for his shirt, taking time to think while he buttoned it up. The longer he stayed here the worse it was for the future. And how in hell had Jack figured out to send these men here?
CHAPTER 12
Annie gazed frantically at her globe. Seven days had gone by since Sam had disappeared. She had now moved into his house, what was left of her belongings strewn here and there. His face came to her again, the stricken look on it when he saw her, followed by the harsh words from Elizabeth. Annie had told Sam she would come to him, but the full moon was still two weeks away—two agonizing weeks of worry. Her Rider-Waite Tarot deck had been elusive, giving her messages that made no sense. And when she asked when she might see him again she got the Tower card. It spelled chaos and upheaval. Was this about the possibility of traveling into the past?
Annie turned to see Cecily entering the library. “I just saw Sam in my globe—he was at a séance and he saw me too.”
Cecily’s eyes widened as she took off her coat and hung it on the coat rack. “Did he say anything?”
Annie shook her head. “I told him if he didn’t come back, I would come to him, but according to Serena I won’t be able to manage it until the next full moon.”
“Two weeks from now,” Cecily muttered. “I can’t believe there is such a thing as time travel,” she continued, her gaze meeting Annie’s.
“I’m in shock myself but I have it on good authority that I can do it if I choose to.”
Cecily’s eyes narrowed. “Really? Does that mean anyone can, or are are you a wizard or witch?”
Annie was taken aback. “Serena told me how.”
“Even if you can, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“As I’ve told you, every minute you are in the past it changes the future. There are already signs of Jack and Sam’s influences.”
Annie frowned. “What signs? I haven’t noticed anything.”
Cecily let out a long sigh. “A two-story brick building close to mine is missing, Annie. And no one seems to remember it. A friend of mine lived there. Everyone, including Stewart, is gone.”
Annie couldn’t think or speak, the idea of people and buildings disappearing blanking out any rational thought. She finally muttered, “Sam has to stop Jack, and both of them…”
“I suggest you send him a message through the ether.”
“Something bad is happening back there. I can feel it.”
“Trust your intuition. Tune in to him before you consult anyone. He…he has abilities that none of us know about.”
Annie looked up. “What do you mean?”
Cecily’s clear blue eyes met hers. “We’ve had this conversation. Sam is much more than he lets on. If you let him know about the changes he’ll find a way home.”
Annie climbed the stairs to Sam’s room. He was too far away—what if she couldn’t reach him? What they’d done together rose up in her mind. It was the first time she’d had sex since Jack. “Sam, you have to come back. Things are changing,” she whispered.
Cecily was right—going into the past would only make matters worse. She let her mind empty. And after a moment she saw him. He was handcuffed and being led somewhere by two men. “If you don’t come back soon, I’m not sure what will happen.” She could have sworn his eyes met hers before the vision faded. She raced down the stairs and reported what she’d seen.
“Arrested? Well, that complicates matters, doesn’t it?”
“What are his abilities, Cecily? Do you know?”
Cecily let out a humorless laugh. “Besides time-travel and the possibility that he’s hundreds of years old? No clue. But if he’s who I think he is, he will get away from whoever has him. He hasn’t lived this long by being a fool.”
Annie stared at her. “So, you really believe he’s hundreds of years old.”
Cecily pursed her lips. “All I know is what I’ve seen of his collection and the stories he’s told.”
“Serena knew him when she was just a little girl. That means he was grown when she was…” She turned to Cecily. “That’s over fifty years ago!” Annie stared into space. “He’s never mentioned how old he is. I always assumed a few years older than I am…like maybe late 20’s or 30.”
Cecily laughed. “Two-hundred and thirty is more like it, or maybe older.”
Adrenaline raced through her veins. This was becoming too much for her feeble mind to comprehend. She’d just made love with him—twice. “Is he human?”
“I expect he is. I’ve never noticed anything amiss when it comes to body parts or anything. But you would know about that better than I.”
Annie felt her face bloom red. “He definitely has what he needs,” she murmured. She glanced at Cecily, a terrible thought racing through her mind. “What if I’m pregnant?”
Cecily let out a sigh, her gaze going into the distance. “A baby would be nice. There aren’t many of those around these days.”
Annie thought of the women who had lost their babies, and the ones who decided to get rid of them because of the world they lived in. It had always been her intention to avoid a baby. This time she hadn’t done what was necessary to prevent it; what happened between them was too spontaneous. She thought of Bethany’s comment about the villagers’ expectations. Her hands went to her flat belly.
“First things first, Annie. Did you get a sense of where he was?”
Annie nodded. “I told him about things disappearing. I’m sure he saw me even though I wasn’t there.”
Cecily laughed. “If you connected like that, he’ll be back—mark my words.”
“What do I do in the meantime? I’m about to go crazy.”
“Go see your friends or go to the landfill—do what you always do.”
“And you?”
“I have work to do here.”
Annie glanced at Cecily’s desk where several books lay open. Under them were the papers of correspondence she dealt with. She was in charge of shipping information, the bartering process, and the timing involved with what the village needed as well as what Sam’s business required. Books and information had to be sent by ship in exchange for things they needed here. It was complicated and time consuming. She left her to it and went to gather her satchel and her cape. She pulled up the hood before she opened the door. Winter was coming and it was another blustery day.
Annie did not intend to end up at Serena’s house but there she was, pondering whether to knock or not. The roses were still blooming, and the chilly wind did not touch the area surrounding the small house.
“Come in, child,” Serena invited as she opened the door.
Annie followed her inside, not entirely sure why she was here or exactly what to say. She noticed a man’s cashmere scarf hanging on the coat rack that hadn’t been there the last time. It looked familiar but she couldn’t place where she’d seen it.
Serena gestured to a chair and sat across from her. “You have many questions.”
“I was planning to forage today.”
Serena smiled. “Who can forage on a day like this?” she asked, gesturing to the waves in the distance. “Now tell me what’s on your mind—or do we need the tea again?”
Annie shook her head remembering the woozy out of control feeling. “Sam has been gone a week now. You told me he would be back.”
Serena’s eyebrows lifted. “Did I say when?”
“No, but I thought it would be soon.”
“A week is not so long, Annie. And it is possible that time moves differently in the past.”
Annie thought about that, but it didn’t make any sense to her. “When will he be back?”
“I can’t tell you that, child. I have no ability to see him in the past or to read his mind.”
“I can see him in the past.”
“Well then, you know more than I do.”
“Did you know a building disappeared from the village?”
