Cascade (51 page)

“
I don’t know,” Sandy
said. “I was so excited that the baby was healthy. Did you see its
little fingers?”

“
The baby was sucking his
thumb,” Nash said.

“
Her thumb, Nash,” Noelle
said.

“
I’m kind of glad we don’t
know,” Sandy said. “Will you be terribly disappointed if she’s a
girl, Nash? Will you be terribly disappointed if he’s a boy,
Noelle?”

“
No, but…” Nash said at
the same time Noelle said, “I’m still right.”

“
You are not!” Nash
said.

“
What if you’re both
right?” Sandy asked. Laughing, she added, “What if it’s a girl AND
a boy?”

“
Ewwwww!” Nash said while
Noelle screamed in horror.

Sandy laughed. The elevator came to a stop
in the lobby.

“
Can we get ice cream?”
Noelle asked as they left the elevator.

“
Of course,” Sandy said.
“But not a lot. Just a single scoop. Ok. Remember we have a big
dinner tonight?”

“
Mrs. Valerie’s coming
home and Mike too!” Noelle said.

“
Mr. Mike?” Sandy
asked.

“
He just likes to be
called Mike,” Nash said.

“
Ok,” Sandy said. “Ice
cream, then we get ready for our dinner party.”

The children burst from the building and ran
to the car. Sandy trotted after them. Smiling, she drove to Liks
for ice cream.

~~~~~~~~

Friday evening — 5:25 P.M.

The Castle

Valerie stopped walking when she reached the
side door of the Castle. Tipping her head to the side, she puzzled.
Mike came up behind her carrying their bags and his hockey
gear.

“
Would you like me to
carry you over the threshold, my bride?” he asked. Setting their
bags down, he moved to lift her into his arms.

“
No,” Valerie said. Her
hand touched the glass of the security door. “Something’s
wrong.”

“
What do you mean?” Mike
asked.

“
Delphie always meets me
at the door. I’ve never come home and had her not open the door
when I’m standing right here,” Valerie said. “Something’s very
wrong. I can almost smell it.”

“
She probably burned
dinner,” Mike said. “Come on.”

Mike used his key to unlock the security
door, then the original solid oak door underneath. He held the door
for Valerie. Still unsure, Valerie hesitated. He gave her a little
shove and she stepped inside. He set their bags next to the living
room closet.

He followed Valerie as she meandered through
the silent living room and into the kitchen. By the time he reached
the kitchen door, Valerie had turned. She was shaking her head.

“
No cheesecake? No
dinner?” Valerie asked. “My heart is pounding. I’m terrified
something awful has happened to Delphie.”

Mike spun in place. He took the stairs two
at a time. Running down the hall, he burst into Delphie’s
apartment.

Only settling dust and silence.

He was almost to the stairwell when he heard
Valerie scream. He pounded down the stairwell to find Valerie
slumped against the kitchen counter.

“
Babies,” she gasped.
“Contractions.”

Sensing movement, he turned to see a tall
thin man dragging Delphie by her hair. He was ready to jump the
scrawny man when Valerie screamed again.

“
No, Mike! Don’t do it,
Mike!” Delphie screamed. “Stay with Valerie! He will kill us
all!”

Mike dropped to Valerie’s side. Valerie
screamed again.

“
NO Marlowe will survive
this day,” the man said.

~~~~~~~~

Friday evening — 5:40 P.M.

Jacob helped Jill out of the back of MJ’s
SUV. When Jill turned to get Katy and Paddie from their car seats,
Jacob went to the driver’s window to talk to MJ.

“
We’ll see you Sunday?”
Jacob asked.

“
SUNDAY!?” Honey leaned
over to ask Jacob.

“
I have a little
surprise,” MJ said. “Jake helped me find a little place in the
mountains. I thought maybe a weekend away.”

When she didn’t respond, MJ got nervous.

“
J-j-j- just us. I
th-th-thought i-i-it would b-b-be nice.”

Honey gave a little cheer. She kissed his
cheek and MJ looked relieved.

Feeling movement, Jacob leaned down to pick
up a tired Katy. He looked over at Jill as she lifted a sleeping
Paddie into her arms. Their eyes held for a moment. They were a
little loose, happy and looking forward to spending naptime in each
other’s arms.

“
Have a great time,” Jill
said.

She leaned in to kiss MJ’s cheek. Honey blew
her a kiss. Standing in the driveway, they waved to Honey and MJ as
they drove off. Jacob leaned over Katy to kiss Jill’s lips. They
began to walk toward the Castle.

“
You think we…” he
said.

Jacob stopped walking. His face stiffened
from smiling to serious, almost deadly. Jill touched his arm to
make sure he was all right. When he looked up, he gave a terse
whisper:

“
Wake up Paddie. Jill! Do
it now.”

Jacob ran around the back of the Castle to
the foot high stained glass windows of Delphie’s chapel. Without
hesitation, he kicked out the antique glass from one of the
windows.

“
Jacob! No,” Jill said.
“Those are irreplaceable!”

He nodded to her then went back to work
kicking out the window. When the window was gone from the space, he
laid his coat over the ragged edges of the frame.

“
Go down there,” he said
to Katy.

“
I don wan to, Daddy,”
Katy said. “I’m really tired.”

“
Katherine Marlowe, you
will get down there this instant,” he said.

Stunned and terrified by his tone, Katy
began to cry. She squirmed out of his arms and hid behind Jill’s
legs.

“
You’re scaring her,” Jill
said. “What’s going on?”

“
Something terrible.
That’s what’s going on,” Jacob said, his voice somewhere between
despair and rage. “Katy and Paddie are in danger. Katy in
particular.”

“
Let me go with them,”
Jill said. “Get them settled.”

Jacob nodded. He hadn’t thought of Jill
going with the kids. That was a better plan. She would be safe. If
he died…

Rather than finishing the thought, he took a
groggy Paddie from her. He set Paddie on the ground. Holding her
hands, he guided her through the tight space. He dropped her to the
ground. She ran to a pew and dragged it under the broken window.
Standing on a pew, she took Paddie from him.

He picked up Katy and kissed her cheek.

“
I’m sorry, Katy,” Jacob
said. “I got scared and…”

“
You scared me when you
were like my old Daddy,” Katy said. “I thought you hated
me.”

“
Never,” Jacob kissed the
girl’s cheek. “I can only, always, love you. Even if I’m
scary.”

“
Don’t worry, Daddy,” Katy
said. “Your Mommy explained everything.”

“
Celia?”

“
I call her Naomi,” Katy
said.

The little girl threw her arms around
Jacob.

“
I love you, Daddy,” Katy
said. “Just remember, you’re stronger than him because you can
love. Love will kill him. I don’t know what that means but that’s
what your Mommy said to tell you.”

Jacob kissed Katy’s head. He helped her
through the opening to the chapel and into Jill’s arms. Jill set
Katy down then returned to the opening.

“
I love you, Jacob
Marlowe,” she said. “You come back to me.”

He leaned down to kiss her.

“
I love you,” he
whispered.

He stroked her cheek then watched Jill take
the kids toward the pillows near the back of the chapel. With one
last look, he ran toward the side entrance of the Castle. Holding
open the security door, he let out a breath.

This was it. This was the moment he’d spent
the last months preparing for. He was fit and strong. His mind was
clear. His mental and psychic capacities had grown with steady
practice. He was as ready as he would ever be.

For a moment, he wished he was somewhere
else, someone else. He wished he didn’t have to open this door and
fight to the death with a man he barely knew. He wished for a
hundred more quiet mornings and sunlit summer evenings. He wished
for the children, his children, he might never meet. He longed to
see Katy married and happy.

But Jacob was never one to waste a lot of
time on wishes. The moment passed and he was ready again.

Nodding to himself, he opened the oak door
and walked inside.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-EIGHT
The psychic battle

Friday evening — 5:45 P.M.

Jacob stepped through the doorway and
listened. He could hear Valerie screaming in the kitchen. Valerie’s
pain and terror threatened to overwhelm his little brother self. He
had to stay focused. He pushed away everything other than his
singular focus – Johansen.

Cloaking his mind, he slipped off his boots
and jacket. He knew he had only a few minutes before Johansen would
be on him. He had to be ready for whatever came in his
direction.

Then, as if placed there by some friendly
god, he saw Mike’s hockey gear. With his eyes on Johansen, he
picked up Mike’s hockey stick. He crawled forward to the bag. When
Valerie screamed again, he opened the front pouch of Mike’s bag. He
breathed a sigh of relief. Three pucks. With a silent prayer of
thanks for Mike’s compulsive nature, he slipped a puck into each of
the back pockets of his jeans.

Johansen sniffed.

“
SHOW
YOURSELF!”

Jacob hopped to his feet. In one fluid
movement, he tossed the puck up and hit it hard with Mike’s stick.
The puck flew through the air and hit Johansen in the forehead.
When Johansen fell backwards, Delphie crumpled to the ground
clutching her head. Johansen’s hold on her tore at her mind.

Rooting himself into the foundation of the
Castle, Jacob used his power to push Valerie deeper into the
kitchen. As Mike scrambled after her, Jacob slammed and locked the
kitchen door. Slowly moving his right hand, he attempted to create
a shield vortex around Delphie to protect her. Johansen asserted
his hold over Delphie and she began to scream in pain. Jacob’s
vortex collapsed onto itself.

“
Mom!” Jacob called to
Celia. He pointed to Delphie. “Go!”

Celia went to comfort Delphie.

Johansen was on his feet. He sent energetic
tendrils around Jacob. Johansen’s mind searched Jacob’s body and
soul for any weakness. Sloughing him off, Jacob dropped the hockey
stick. He fought back with his mind.

Their battle began.

~~~~~~~~

Friday evening — 5:45 P.M.

“
Mommy?” Katy
asked.

“
Yes, Katy-baby,” Jill
said.

They were snuggled together in the pillows
near the back of the chapel. Paddie was curled up next to Jill.
With Katy’s head lay on Jill’s lap, they spoke in quiet, intimate
tones.

“
Do
you
have a special power?” Katy asked.

“
No, baby, I’m hopelessly
normal,” Jill said.

“
How come Naomi says you
have a special power?” Katy asked.

“
Naomi must be mistaken,”
Jill said.

“
But she says when you
were my age you could heal things,” Katy said. “She told me when I
was sick. She said you didn’t heal me when I was sick because you
forgot you could do it.”

“
Do what,
Katy-baby?”

“
Heal people. Animals.
Stuff like that,” Katy said. “That’s what you’re doing when you
help me with the dreams. You heal me. Daddy too. That’s why he’s
gotten so strong.”

“
I just love you
Katy-baby. Daddy too,” Jill said. “When you have a dream, I love
you back to me. I loved you when you were sick too.”

“
Are you sure you never
loved little animals, birds and squirrels the same way?” Katy
asked. “Even when they were dead?”

Jill didn’t respond. Instead, she caressed
Katy’s head hoping she would fall asleep.

“
Mommy? Why won’t you tell
me?”

“
Oh,” Jill sighed. “It was
a long, long time ago and I did something really bad. I promised
myself I would never do that again. Never ever.”

Katy was silent for a while. They heard a
something crash against the floor upstairs.

“
Mommy?”

“
Yes, Katy-baby,” Jill
said.

“
Why won’t you do it now?
You did it when I had the bee sting. Remember when we were at that
store and I was really sick? You did it for Auntie Honey. By her
bedside.”

“
If it happens now, it’s
just a mistake or an accident.”

“
But you would do it to
save me?”

“
I don’t think I can do it
by choice. When you grow up Katy…”

“
Naomi says you can. Would
you do it to save Daddy?”

“
Katy…”

“
Would you do it to save
Delphie? Or Auntie Valerie? Or Grand Mommy? Because Naomi says that
you’re the only one who can save all of us.”

~~~~~~~~

Friday evening — 5:55 P.M.

When the kitchen door slammed closed, Mike
jumped to his feet. Pulling and tugging, he dragged the solid maple
kitchen table to block the door. He closed and locked the door to
the apartment stairs. He pulled an armoire over to block the door.
Certain they were safe as safe as he could make them, he turned to
Valerie.