Chapter 2
Ghosts from the Past
After having dropped Rae’s things in her chosen room, they made a mad dash to the Oratory to find Carter. The formidable ancient building always took her breath away, not only because she enjoyed the tatù classes held there, but also the structure itself retained the aura of its former glory. However, today, the tall silhouette of the Tudor-built hall failed to brighten her mood. Rae never even bothered to look, concentrating on the cobblestones rushing beneath her feet leading up the steps to the main entrance.
Devon held open the large wooden door for her, and as she entered, a stale, musty scent filled her nostrils, leaving an acrid taste in her throat. She doubled over, fighting to catch her breath. Devon didn’t even appear winded. His fennec fox tatù gave him speed and agility. Why didn’t I think of mimicking his tatù when we bolted out of Aumbry House?
Heart rate back to a semi-normal speed, she walked with Devon into the grand room, and the temperature dropped several degrees, The black and white marble floor and incredibly high ceiling helped keep the room cool. Worried about the vision, she led the way towards the back of the Oratory, where the headmaster’s office nestled between the education classrooms. It had been Lanford’s office. I wonder if Carter’s changed it. “What do you think’s wrong?” Rae whispered, grabbing hold of Devon’s arm. What if it’s some trick? She had not trusted him for most of the previous year and it was hard not to be wary.
“Hopefully nothing.” He cleared his throat and knocked, shouting. “Carter! Headmaster, are you here?”
“Devon? I’ll be out in a minute.” Carter’s deep muffled voice came from behind the large oak door of his office.
Suddenly nervous, Rae shifted gears. “Let’s go back to the grand hall.” Rae pulled Devon back the way they’d come.
They waited. Both of them leaned against the oak walls. Rae stared at the intricate woodcarvings on them. She felt strange being here when the room wasn’t full of students. She loved this room, but the quiet emptiness was unnerving. She straightened when Carter entered.
“Good. You made it back safely. Nice to see you both.” Carter wore his usual expensive-looking three-piece suit, but something about him had changed since she had seen him last. He was still tall and thin, but the suit fit him tighter. Or maybe he had just hidden it last year and she had never noticed his strength. He had definitely cut his hair. Well, that means the vision didn’t happen in the past. That just leaves the present and future. His large, dark eyes stared intently at her. “How was your summer, Rae?”
“No major catastrophes, but a lot of boredom.” She couldn’t read his face, and didn’t really know him well enough to be able to read his body language. He seems fine. She paused, catching a muscle twitch near his jawline. Or maybe not.
“Enjoy the tediousness while you can. Life will soon become busy, leaving little time for monotony.”
“Yes, sir.” She had no idea why someone would wish for a boring life.
Carter glanced around, tapping his thumb against his leg to some internal rhythm. “Rae, can you get us some chairs?”
Are you trying to see what I can do or still prejudice against females? Carter had been a total prick to women in general the previous year. It didn’t matter. He had something to tell them, and she intended to find out what it was. Using a levitation tatù and her fingers to direct them, she brought three chairs forward from against the back wall. The finger tapping paused while Carter waited for Devon and Rae to sit. He continued to stand.
“Has something happened?” Devon sat on the edge of his seat, his upper body pin straight. His tension wasn’t lost on Rae, though she didn’t know what to make of it.
“Nothing–yet.” Carter rested fists against his hips.
“Then, what’s going on?” Devon crossed his arms over his chest.
His biceps bulged. He’s definitely put on muscle this summer. Seems like there have been quite a few changes while I was gone. I like this one… She blinked and forced her attention back to Carter, scolding herself. Focus, Rae…Probably just jet lag.
“I’ve been on the phone with a colleague in Scotland. It seems…It seems…” he appeared to be grasping for the right words, “Rae’s father is reaching out from the grave.”
“What?” Rae froze, the blood pounding in her ears deafening. It took a moment for the words to sink in. She didn’t want to comprehend what Carter meant. She was there when they had buried her parents. Her mother had died protecting her from her father, and her time at Guilder was supposed to be the time when she grew up to be the woman her mother had hoped she would be, without her father’s evil influence. She wanted to scream. Had it all been in vain? She bit hard on the inside of her cheek, the physical pain, and coppery taste of blood pulling her away from the emotional torture.
Carter seemed to sense her distress. “Your father’s dead. That’s for certain.” He reached out, as if to pat Rae’s shoulder, but must have realized he stood too far away because he awkwardly dropped his hand back to his side.
Rae let go of the breath she had not realized she held, and swallowed hard. She dropped back against the chair, mentally running through the anti-anxiety exercises her therapist had taught her as a child, after the terrible tragedy of her parents’ deaths. Breathe, relax, focus. Deep breath…
“The video Lanford played last term when he had you in the tower… do you remember any of it?” Carter’s lips set in a grim line as Rae nodded. “This may sound strange, but did you watch and listen to it at the same time?”
Rae shrugged, not sure where this was going. “Yes. Wait… maybe… when I heard,” she swallowed, “when I recognized my dad’s voice.”
Carter rubbed the back of his neck “There’s more to that video than we first thought. A colleague in Scotland found a similar tape, which he referred to as H.O.C. or the HOC file. His guys have been unable to get an audio feed from it.” He turned his attention to Devon. “Well done on retrieving the video last week. The Privy Council is extremely grateful.”
Devon nodded but remained silent. Rae glanced at him, but his face revealed nothing. What kind of job does the Privy Council have you doing? When Carter began speaking, she turned back to him.
“They thought all might be lost without the audio, but when I sent a copy of what Rae wrote down about her father’s speech, we were able to put it all together.” He interlaced his fingers and moved his hands up and down in emphasis as he spoke. “Your father’s speech is the key, the video the lock. The only recording we have of Simon Kerrigan is an old narrated taping from a class here in the Oratory—some reading of a book. Almost a full Chapter, actually. Back when he was a pupil here. Back when they held classes along with tatù sessions here in the Oratory.”
Rae leaned forward and tensed. Whatever Carter was about to say, it made him uncomfortable. He was babbling. He never babbled.
Devon stood, clenching and unclenching his hands.
Carter cleared his throat and pulled at his tie. He stared at the wall behind them. “Using the old tape and computer technology, we made a digital reading of the speech you wrote for us, in your father’s voice.” He looked straight at her. “I’ll ask you again. When you were in the tower, did you directly watch the video and listen?”
Rae stared at the carved ornate scenes along the walls as she thought about that terrible evening at the spring dance -being kidnapped and the shock of hearing her dead father’s voice. She thought back to the video. She had been trying to figure out how not to get killed and then she had discovered something new about her tatù. “No, I don’t think I ever did both. I never watched it. I was too busy trying to figure out how to escape. At the time, I thought I could only mimic a tatù from the last tatùed person I touched. That’s when I figured out I could use any I’d ever mimicked.” Her tongue ran over the rough spot on the inside of her cheek. The tension in the room suddenly ratcheted up. “I still hear his stupid speech all the time. Why?”
“When do you hear it? At night? During the day?” Carter stared intently at her, leaning closer to her. “What happens when you hear it?”
Rae opened and closed her mouth but could not get any words out. What am I supposed to say? I know the speech, it haunts me like there’s a hidden play button inside my brain?
“We emailed a couple of times this summer. She mentioned she would hear it at odd times.” Devon sat down and patted her knee, letting his hand remain.
Encouraged by his strength, she found her voice. “I might’ve dreamt about it this summer a few times but didn’t really pay attention. Sometimes it starts repeating out of the blue. I know it by heart, so I just ignore it.” Rae shrugged, not understanding why Carter acted so oddly. “Why’s it so important?”
Carter straightened. “The technician – our tech -- who watched and listened to the video tried to kill two members of the Privy Council.” His words dropped into the conversation like a bomb. Rae was blasted by waves of disbelief.
“What?” she whispered, wincing when Devon’s fingers painfully squeezed her knee.
“That’s the guy?” Devon choked out.
“Yeah, the skinny computer whiz.” Carter nodded.
“That wasn’t a nerdy computer geek. The guy was lethal.” Devon’s confusion was plainly written on his face.
She looked back and forth between the two of them. What are they talking about? How did Devon know so much?
“We believe the video and audio is a brainwashing device. When you--” Carter pulled his eyes away from Devon and looked at her. “When we captured the man, he told us nothing. We knew he wasn’t a snitch, I’d personally used my tatù on him. He hanged himself before we could question him further.”
“Shit!” Devon pushed himself up and knocked his chair over in the process.
An overwhelming sense of helplessness washed over Rae, making her stomach lurch. “I don’t understand what’s going on. What has Devon got to do with this?” Her eyes bounced back and forth between the two of them. Feeling like she was drowning in water she couldn’t see, she wanted them to clue her in to what was really going on. There’s a bigger picture here that I have no access to. It seemed important to learn all she could. She raised an arm, straightening Devon’s chair with levitation, mentally using the move to reassert her control over her world.
Carter huffed. “Devon’s working for the Privy Council as a tracker.” He turned to Devon. “Explain that to her later. I’m sure the Council won’t mind.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Your father invented a brainwashing technique. It works through the video feed you saw. The Privy Council believes it now has the only copy. Lanford must have planned to destroy the Council, and probably more. No one outside the Privy Council, and now us, knows; other than the computer tech, and he’s out of the picture now.” Carter flashed a wry grin. “We’ve divided the video and audio into four parts. Each has been secretly placed in one of the four corners of Britain.”
Rae froze, saying nothing. What the heck’s the “four corners of Britain?” She didn’t know and at that moment, she did not really care, either. Her father had not been much of a dad, let alone a man, and Carter’s words confirmed it to a degree she had not experienced before. “What’s this got to do with me?” And how could I hear audio when no one else did?
“I’m not completely sure. I just thought—” Carter began but Rae interrupted before he could finish.
“That I might become brainwashed and turn into my father?” She blinked, surprised at her own words. Deep down, she wondered how much more she could accomplish with her tatù than her father. Her parentage was a weighted yoke she wished she could throw off. However, she knew her parentage effected much more than just her in their world. “Sorry, I guess that was uncalled for.”
Carter nodded, as if understanding her inner thoughts or agreeing with her. “Not to worry. You appear to be completely yourself.” He gave her a small smile, which failed to reassure her in any way.
“What do we do?” Devon asked the headmaster.
“The Council wanted you to be aware. If something should arise, you’ve been informed. We hope to find a way to disable the brainwashing but, at the moment, we’re not willing to risk any of our men to find a solution.”
“Why hide the information? Why not just burn it?” Rae asked.
“There’s no proof this is the only copy. So we need to find a way to disarm the brainwashing in case another copy ever surfaces. Until we are better prepared, and have more information, we can’t destroy it.”
When he did not continue, Rae rose. She turned, grabbed the chairs and stacked them against the others, keeping her hands busy so she didn’t freak out.
“I’m sorry that this is the news I greet you with on your first day back.” The concern on Carter’s face gave her pause.
Real or part of some act? I didn’t trust you last year and I’m not about to hop on the band wagon, even if Devon already appears to be on board. “I’m glad you told me.” It was shocking, but it didn’t really change anything at the moment. In a weird way, she felt empty. “I don’t like what I’ve heard, but what am I going to do? I don’t get how I wasn’t brainwashed that night, but I’m glad it didn’t happen.” She shoved her hands in her pockets. “You want to know something else? I’m glad Lanford slipped and killed himself. If he had been successful, I would’ve been his pawn. It didn’t happen, so it doesn’t matter.” She shrugged her shoulders. She disliked herself for sounding so cold. It reminded her of her father. She almost wished he was alive. She would burn him the way her mother had. The large room suddenly felt stifling. She wanted fresh air and sunshine.
“If Devon’s available this evening, get together. I know you were only six when your father died, but anything you can remember could help the Council. Sometimes the odd memory pops up…” He sounded hopeful. He straightened his suit jacket and glanced at his watch. “I’ll let Madame Elpis know you’re starting tutoring and may be back a bit late.”
A smile flickered across Devon’s face, then was gone, hopefully before Carter could catch it. “Fine with me.”
“Keep this information between the two of you. If we learn anything else, I’ll let you know.” Carter leaned towards Rae. “Don’t go and be all girlie and tell your best friend, Molly.” He turned and walked down the corridor to his office.
Rae watched him go. “All girlie”? Looks like he may not have changed as much as I thought.
Without a word, she and Devon headed towards the exit. Rae nearly fell when Devon lurched to a sprint beside her and raced to the door. Hard to make out what he was running to, she mimicked Devon’s tatù and gasped when she saw a body lying on the floor.
Maria.