Chapter 5

Although I was fairly certain that Jason wouldn’t return right away, Killian refused to leave my side.  While I was in the shower, he’d cleaned up the mess from when I’d pushed things off of my nightstand to gain his attention and then changed the sheets on my bed so that I was able to snuggle into fresh ones. 

I offered to have him lay beside me, but he insisted on holding vigil in the club chair that was located in the sitting area of the room.  He was of the opinion that Jason might very well return to untie me and remove my gag.  He was certain that, if he did, he wouldn’t think to look to the far side of the room for someone sitting in the chair.

My very brave and intuitive detective was right.

It was about an hour after he’d left me tied and gagged that Jason stepped out of the cheval mirror and approached my bed.  It was still quite dark, but if you were awake and alert like Killian and I were, it was easy to see his form creeping toward my bed.  He was almost at my bedside when Killian snapped on the light switch. 

The brilliance of the overhead lighting practically blinded Jason, who hadn’t expected such an occurrence.  Killian and I, on the other hand, had only just turned the lights off minutes earlier.  Therefore, our eyes were well prepared for the brilliance to reoccur.

“Son-of-a-bitch,” Killian bellowed.

“Why, Killian Epps,” Jason drawled as he quickly reclaimed his bearings. “It has been a long time.” Then, looking at me, he calmly added, “I came to untie my love, but I see that you beat me to it.”

“You know each other?” I gasped, incredulously.

“I had the privilege of arresting his ass on a few occasions,” Killian grumbled.  “He went by a different name, though.”

Jason gave a smug smile. “Ah, yes.  Those were good times.  Were they not?  Dangerous times too.  You see, I was hiding from my brother who had it in his head that I needed to die.  I assumed a different identity until he came to his senses and realized that, if he killed me, history might be altered to the extent that he would not find his Esmerelda.  It was during that time that you arrested me for a crime that I was hoping I could pin on him.  He can be a sly one when it comes to escaping my schemes.”  Sighing dramatically, he added, “It is a real shame that you have no jurisdiction over me, Epps.”  He looked at me and gave me a devilish grin. “His jails are not equipped to hold a time traveler who is adept at the use of magic as well and the society cannot touch someone of my stature.”

“I beg to differ,” Killian said as he produced a piece of paper that he’d fetched from his coat pocket in preparation for this moment.  “It just so happens that I have a writ for your arrest that was signed and sealed by the society head.  Not only do you have to answer to repeatedly raping this poor woman and stealing from her shine, but you have a murder charge hanging over your head.  You know… the one that you tried to pin on your brother?”

Jason looked at me long and  hard. “You let him believe that I have been raping you?  You know that is not true, my love.”  His voice was filled with anger and jealousy as he added, “He is the one who resupplied your shine.  Is he not?”

Killian didn’t give me a chance to answer before he barked, “Never mind who she is or isn’t replenishing her shine from.  You have bigger concerns to focus on.”

“Your council has no power over me,” he bragged as he inched his way toward the cheval mirror. “I am immune.”

Seeing what he was up to, I urgently bellowed, “Killian! He’s trying to get back to that mirror!  It’s his portal!”

Killian was one step ahead of me.  My warning wasn’t needed for him to know Jason’s intent, but it did come in handy by briefly drawing Jason’s attention away from him and to me.  He used this split second to get the jump on my horrid brother-in-law.  Before Jason knew what hit him, he was on the floor with his hands bound behind his back.

“I’m going to close all of the portals,” I hissed as Killian shoved him out of my bedroom and downstairs to his car. 

To my dismay, before he was ripped from the room, he managed to give me the warning that, if I closed the portals, I’d be preventing Lance from reuniting with me.

I went to the window and watched Killian’s car pull out of my long, snow laden driveway.  He was taking Jason to a special place that belonged to the secret society.  Unlike a normal jail, they understood and were prepared for humans with magical skills and time travel abilities.  The writ for Jason’s arrest was a legitimate one.  He would rob me of my magic and dignity no more and would pay for the murder that he’d hoped Lance would be arrested for.

I should have been walking on air after seeing Jason getting dragged away by Killian.  To my surprise, I felt only sadness and exhaustion.  My body was in genuine discomfort from the abuse that I’d endured when Jason syphoned the last bit of magic from it and I felt emotionally beaten down.  To top it off, Jason’s warning bounced around in my head.  Closing the portals could -and probably would- end all hopes of Lance and I being together. 

I crawled into bed and willed myself to sleep as best as I could.  Whether I liked it or not, I was to begin my first case as an independent private investigator within a few hours.  Since I still wasn’t convinced that there was anything paranormal about the case, I intended to look upon it as a simple investigation until otherwise noted.

My sleep was fitful.  When Nora came in to wake me from what she thought was oversleeping from a long and restful night of which I’d slept through my alarm, she was surprised to see the dark circles beneath my eyes.  The raw flesh and bruises on my wrists were downright shocking.

“Did Killian spend the night?” she hesitantly asked.

“If you’re asking if he did this to me, the answer is ‘no’,” I said as I sat up. “Jason was back.”

“No,” she gasped.  “Killian and I thought that we had another week.  He’s been keeping a pattern.  It’s too early.”

“Tell that to my body,” I moaned as I got out of bed and walked, stiffly, to the bathroom.

“Is that because of sex?” she asked with disbelief.

I moaned and gave a sarcastic chuckle.  “He showed me a new way of syphoning my magic.”

“Don’t make light of this, Essa,” she snapped.  “He needs to be stopped.”

“He has been,” I said as I carefully lowered myself onto the toilet seat.  “Killian was here and arrested him.”

“Oh, thank the saints and everyone else,” she said with a smile of relief as she leaned against the doorframe. 

“You’d think,” I mumbled as I willed my bound up body  to release the pee that was built up in my bladder to the point that I thought I’d explode.  “Call me crazy, but instead of jumping for joy, I was overcome by this acute heaviness. It plagued me for the rest of the night.”

She thought for a moment.  “Could it be because, in his own perverted way, Jason was a link to Lance and now that link is no more?”

My eyes went wide with surprise at her insight. “I never thought of that, but you might be right.”  Then, after a moment of silence, I added, “How sick is that?”

“It’s not sick at all,” she said. “It’s simply a process of association.  Jason may be an evil, sick son-of-a-bitch, but he is also Lance’s brother.  To add to it all, he looks just like the guy. Of course you’d attach some type of association to him.  It’s normal.”

“I wonder if Lance would think it normal,” I mused.

“I think he would,” she said. “In fact, I’ll wager that Lance associates me with you since he met us both at the same time and I acted as an anchor when you went back in time.  It’s natural, honey.”

“I guess,” I said with a sigh as my body finally relaxed and cooperated.

“Will you be able to go to Cecil’s today?” she asked with concern as she went into the  bedroom to give me a bit of privacy. “Do you want me to call him and make your excuses?”

“I’d rather not wallow in self-pity.  It will do me good to keep busy,” I replied.

“I was thinking more about the condition of your body,” she said with concern.  “You move like you are hurting.”

“Oh,” I said. “I suppose I’ll have to think up some sort of a story to tell them if they notice.”

“Maybe you should give it another day,” she offered.

Even though there was a partially closed door between us and she couldn’t see me, I vigorously shook my head.  “I’ll be okay.  I’m just going to check out the attic and set up some of the equipment for tonight.”

“Then, at least let me go with you and help,” she insisted.

“What if we see a ghost?”  I asked as I went to the sink to wash my hands.

“I’ll try not to scare it,” she replied with attitude.

I threw my head back in laughter as I reentered the bedroom.  “Who can resist an offer like that?”

She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side.  “Good.  That’s settled.  Now, get yourself dressed for the day while I go down to the kitchen and find something for breakfast. I need to go shopping, but I think there are eggs in the refrigerator.”

“I thought that we decided to order food to be delivered?” I said.

“We did,” she nodded.  “I just haven’t gotten around to it.”

“Then, take a few minutes after breakfast to arrange for a delivery tomorrow,” I said. “Today we’ll eat out. Unless it’s too cold.  If it’s too cold, we’ll order in.”

“You really are a wimp when it comes to cold,” she chuckled.

“I left New York for that reason,” I admitted.

“Me too,” she said.  “I hate the cold just as much as you do.”

The sound of someone walking in the hallway caught my attention. “Is Roger still here?”

A worried look came over her face as she shook her head. “He left for work a half-hour ago.”

“Someone is out there,” I whispered.

“I heard,” she replied in an equally low voice.

I was getting tired of being caught in the nude, so I was grateful that I was wearing my pajamas when I went to the door to look out. I peered up and down the hall, but could see no one.

“That’s creepy,” I said as I closed the door and leaned against it.  “I didn’t see anyone.  Was it footsteps we heard or was it just the shifting of an old house in abnormally cold weather?”

She vigorously rubbed her arms.  “I’ve got chills.  Hurry and get dressed.  I’m not going downstairs without you.”

I couldn’t blame her.  After witnessing all that happened to me over the last month or so, I could sympathize with her for being leery about venturing out into our enormous house alone.  Especially since I’d also heard what sounded like footsteps in the halls.

When I went to my dresser to get a pair of jeans and a sweater, I spotted Lance’s magic box sitting next to my supply of colognes.  “Jason warned me that if I closed all the portals, Lance won’t be able to get through.”

“Do you need to close them all?” she asked.

“I was going to, but now I don’t know,” I replied.  “I haven’t sent him a message yet.  I’ve been worried about wasting what’s left of the magic in the box.  What if I used it up and, then, had an emergency?   This isn’t an emergency, but I think I should ask him what to do.”

She came up beside me and placed her hand on my shoulder. “I agree.”

Walking to my nightstand, I pulled a piece of paper from the pad that I left next to it to write my thoughts about a case on when they came to me in the night.  With a trembling hand, I scribbled:

My darling husband,

I miss you and wish to say so much, but I know that I must be brief and conserve what’s left of the magic in the box.  Jason has been coming to me.  The society here has arrested him, but I am concerned about the portals being open in case he escapes them.  If I close the portals, will we be  separated forever? 

All my love,

E

I folded my note and placed it in the box.  Just as I closed the lid, I remembered that Tillman had spoken words that I didn’t understand over it before the transfer occurred.  I had no idea how to repeat them.  I was about to be overcome with disappointment when the swooshing sound occurred on its own. It was then that I remembered that the box was programmed to work for me and for Lance.  Tillman probably needed to add a little magic spell to get it to function for him.

Nora’s eyes went wide as she listened to the almost deafening sound as it echoed off the walls. 

When it ended and I made move to open the box, she said with an awestruck voice, “He’s already responded?”

I smiled.  “Sometimes magic can be so cool.”

“It’s cool all of the time,” she said.

I lifted the lid and pulled out a note that was written by him.  The note that I sent to him was no longer in the box.

My love,

It pains me to think that I am not there to defend you against evil such as Jason.  I am pleased to hear that you received aid from the society.  Feel free to close all of the portals, but one.  Leave the one near your headstone in the cemetery open.  It is one that I do not believe Jason knows about.

My heart is yours forever,

L

Nora read the note over my shoulder.  When I put it down, she cleared her throat. “That was short and sweet.”

“As was mine,” I grumbled.

She shuddered.  “I forgot that they faked your death.  It’s a bit creepy to think that there’s a headstone out there with your name on it.”

“I wonder if it says Esmerelda Sleuth or Esmerelda Northrup,” I mused.

“We’ll have to check,” she said.  “Unless  you want to ask him really quickly.”

I shook my head.  “I can’t waste the magic.  I  just hate the fact that so much of it was used up by that creep Tillman.  This may very well be my last communication with Lance.  It sucks.”

“Yes, it does,” she sighed.  “As does the fact that we have to work today.”  When I looked at her with surprise, she said, “Don’t look at me like that.  I can be overwhelmed by circumstances too you know.”

I pulled her close.  We cuddled until her stomach announced its need for food and reminded me that I needed to get dressed.