Born of Deception

Eleven

I enter Harry Price’s office with reluctance.

The room is small, about eight by ten feet, and one wall has a long metal table against it, covered with different types of gadgets and machinery. A comfortable-looking leather chair and a small black desk sit in the middle of the room.

Mr. Price indicates that I should take a seat, but I’m too keyed up. Instead, I go to a bookshelf and scan the titles. I’ve read some of them and found the content to be dubious. But some excite my curiosity, such as an ancient French grimoire and Corpus Alchemicum Arabicum, a book on Arab alchemy. Of course, the reason I’ve always been interested in magic and the occult is because I was looking for answers to my own strange abilities.

Mr. Price has taken a seat at the desk and is watching me, his eyes alert. I know he is eager to grill me concerning my experience but I have questions of my own. Unfortunately, the people with the answers don’t want to share them. They only want to poke and prod and ask more questions.

I run my fingers along the spines of many leather-bound books on alchemy, witch-hunting, and demonology. I hide a shiver and turn toward Mr. Price. “For a scientist, you have a lot of books on the occult.”

“I research the occult, Miss Van Housen. Why wouldn’t I have books on my subject of study? I have one of the foremost libraries on the topic, with many rare first editions. It is my hope to put together a research library someday.”

His words are measured, exact. His eyes are almost as dark as Cole’s.

Mr. Price pulls out a worn leather book and a heavy looking pen. “Shall we get started?”

Reluctantly, I sit on the chair in front of him. It’s as uncomfortable as a park bench.

He stares at me, pen in hand. “You’re very young. When did you first realize you could channel the dead?”

“Several months ago. And can we please limit the questions to this evening’s experience? I’m exhausted and only wish to go home.” I also know that Cole and I are going to the Wrights’ after this and I’m already reeling.

Mr. Price’s eyebrows rise. “I’m just trying to establish a bit of background.”

“I understand, but considering everything, I think we can go over my background at a later date.”

“Very well. Please describe to me exactly what you saw.”

I hesitate. Being forthright isn’t one of my strong suits, especially when it comes to my abilities and even more so with someone I don’t trust. But then again, Cole told me that Harry Price has one of the best minds in the Society. That doesn’t make me trust him any more, but it does make me curious. I tell him what I saw and felt, and he frowns.

“You have met this young man twice before?” I nod and he continues. “And last time he warned you of some danger you and your mother were in?”

I shift in my seat. I hadn’t really meant to tell him that, but finally I nod again.

“It sounds as if you have a spirit stalker, Miss Van Housen.”

I frown. “I don’t understand.”

“You haven’t had experiences with any other spirits except this young man. Yet somehow he has managed to communicate with you, whereas other spirits have either tried and failed or did not recognize you as a medium. Until today, that is.”

My stomach clenches. “What do you mean?”

He rises and browses through the extensive books on his shelves. Finally, he pulls a russet-colored volume with a tattered cover. “This is an old book on spiritual possession I found in Constantinople. It describes a scene very much like the one you described. Let me see if I can find it.”

He puts on a pair of glasses and thumbs through the pages. In spite of the fact that I don’t really trust this man, I am curious.

“Here it is.” He looks at me over his glasses. “Now, I am translating, so it will be slow.”

“‘When two of the ruh, or spirits, wish to tutmak, or possess, a single human, the spirits may fight outside or within the human.’” He glances up from the book. “It describes them as foglike beings. Does that sound familiar?”

This time I don’t bother hiding my revulsion at being possessed. I nod, shivering.

“Now, considering your history with this young man, it is entirely possible he was trying to protect you from a spirit with menacing intentions.”

I think back, remembering how urgently Walter was trying to talk to me. “That’s possible. He was trying to call my name, but I couldn’t hear him.”

Mr. Price taps his fingers on the desk. “Hmm. The question is who, or what, was the other spirit? Did your spirit stalker feel the other spirit was a threat, or was it just jealousy, his way of keeping you as his own mouthpiece? It’s difficult to tell without knowing more.”

I digest that. “He was trying to talk to me, but something was stopping him. Just like something was stopping Cole from connecting with me to stop the spirits.”

“Has Cole been able to do that before?”

I hesitate. I don’t know why I am being so open with this man, but I’ve never met anyone as knowledgeable as Mr. Price and for the first time in a long time, someone seems open to my questions. Finally I nod. “Yes, he’s forced Walter out of me before through touching my hand.”

“Walter?” His voice is amused and I smile in spite of myself.

“I channeled him for his mother the first time. He died of dysentery in the war. Cole was with me. We think it’s because of his presence that my abilities are changing.”

Mr. Price leans forward, excited. “Cole has had that effect on other Sensitives. We believe he is some kind of conductor. His brain gives off a higher charge of electricity than other people’s do.”

I consider that before he asks, “What other abilities do you have, Miss Van Housen?”

“I have visions of the future.” I keep my ability to sense emotions to myself. I’m not formally a member of the Society and owe them nothing. “Now may I ask you a question?”

He nods.

“This thing with Cole.” I hesitate, unsure if I even want to know the answer. “His ability to increase the talents of Sensitives, does it stop? I mean, I know his presence in my life makes my own abilities grow and become different, but when does it stop?”

Mr. Price closes his book. “As far as we know, it doesn’t. This is one of the reasons Cole leaves the Society every few months.”

My stomach drops. “He what?”

“Leaves the Society. Too many of the Sensitives we study are high-strung or vulnerable. It’s difficult enough for them to control their abilities. Cole’s presence makes it harder, even for those like Leandra who have had years of experience at control.”

A knock sounds at the door.

Mr. Price puts his book and pen away and opens the door. Cole is standing just outside. “Are you finished?”

I stand. I’m tired and achy and I have had just one too many shocks tonight. I want to hash things over with Cole and the Wrights and then go back to the hotel to sleep for a week. I don’t know how much more I can take.

“Thank you for your insights, Miss Van Housen. I’ve exposed many celebrated mediums for fraud and I’ve seen many things in different parts of the world that I can’t explain, but tonight was a revelation.”

I’m not sure what to say to that, so I just nod. “Thank you for your honesty and for answering my questions.”

As if sensing my distress, Cole hustles me down the stairs without going back to the conference room. Within minutes we are in his car on our way to meet up with Leandra and Harrison at their house. My mind is so full of things to tell him that I can’t decide which one to bring up first. So I start with the one that affects us most personally.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you have to leave the Society every few months because of the effect you have on Sensitives’ abilities?”

He’s quiet for a few minutes before he answers me, his voice tight. “It just never came up.”

I stare at him hard in the darkness but can’t see his eyes. “I knew you had an effect on other Sensitives, but I didn’t know how drastic that effect would be. You should have told me.”

“I didn’t think it would be an issue, not with you running off on your tours. We were separated for quite some time when I came home to England and then again for several weeks. I didn’t know my effect on your abilities would be so very drastic.”

He sounds defensive, and as much as I want to backpedal, I can’t help but feel he should have given me more warning. “You still should have told me,” I repeat.

He pulls in front of the Wrights’ house and cuts the engine. “What would you have done differently, Anna?” he asks quietly, and I want to bite my tongue off because the only thing I could have done differently was refuse to see him again.

“Nothing.” I yank open the door of the motorcar and climb out without waiting for an answer. With everything that is going on, why is it that Cole and I can’t seem to spend time together without having some kind of argument?

Leandra is busy giving orders when we enter the drawing room. Within moments there’s a fire in the small white marble fireplace, the men have drinks in their hands, and the iron-haired housekeeper is bringing in a pot of tea and a plate full of hearty sandwiches.

We keep the conversation light until the food is gone. Then Leandra fixes her sparkling green eyes at me over her teacup. “What did you learn?”

I shake my head. “More than I thought I would and less than we’d hoped. Mr. Price is a man of many secrets, but I don’t know if they have anything to do with Pratik or Jonathon. I feel nothing particularly menacing from him.” I pause to take a breath. How could I explain the depth of dark knowledge that Mr. Price contains that leads to him feeling like no one else? I move on. “Did any of you know that Mr. Casperson is a Sensitive?”

Cole’s forehead wrinkles. “He can’t be. If he were a Sensitive, I would have known.”

That stops me in my tracks. Of course. Why hadn’t I thought of that? I shake my head slowly. “I’m almost positive that he is. He feels like a Sensitive.” I turn to Cole. “You know how we felt a spark when you and I first touched?”

Harrison turns a laugh into a cough and Cole’s cheeks redden, but he nods.

“It turns out I feel that with all Sensitives, not just you. I felt it with Pratik and Leandra the first time we met and have felt it with every Sensitive since. When I shook his hand today, I felt the same thing.”

Cole shakes his head. “I’ve never been wrong. It’s one of the reasons Dr. Boyle and the others feel I’m so valuable. I have never felt anything even close to that around him.”

“Then what could it be? And did you see how bad he looked?”

Leandra nods. “I noticed. I thought he was getting sick.”

“Maybe he was,” Harrison says.

Leandra refills my teacup. “So what happened during the séance? It looked like you were going to faint.”

I shiver. “Walter made a reappearance.” At the blank look on their faces, I realize they don’t know who Walter is. “Walter is the ghost of a soldier who died in the Great War. He’s the only ghost I have ever been in contact with.” I turn to Cole. “Mr. Price thinks he’s a spirit stalker.”

Cole frowns. “So the mist we saw was Walter? Is he haunting you?”

“Sort of. Let’s just say he’s attracted to me. Maybe I’m the only person he can speak to. At any rate, he warned me once when I was in danger and Mr. Price thinks he may have been doing so again. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only spirit there, and what you saw was two spirits fighting for possession of me.”

“Do you know who the other spirit was?”

I shake my head. “No, but I felt the spirit before in Budapest, only I didn’t know that’s what it was. I was going to sleep in my hotel room and felt something pressing against me. After I found the poppet, I just assumed that explained it. Apparently not. I don’t know why it didn’t possess me then. Perhaps it was toying with me. Mr. Price thinks there’s a chance Walter may have been trying to protect me tonight.”

The room is quiet for a moment as everyone digests that. “But he didn’t tell you anything?”

I shake my head. “It was as if there was a shield stopping him. The only thing I did hear was a word that sounded like Aiwass, but he may have just been trying to say my name.”

Leandra frowns. “Harrison, did you find anything out about the poppet?”

“Only that it’s commonly used to hex someone. There’s no way to trace its origins because it’s made of common candle wax.”

“So we can assume that someone familiar with black magic is trying to curse Anna,” Cole says.

My skin crawls. “Why would someone want to curse me?”

Leandra shakes her head. “Why would someone want to abduct Jonathon, murder Pratik, or try to abduct me? Have you had any other strange experiences beside headaches and your ears buzzing?”

I want to laugh—my life has been one long strange experience—but instead I nod. “From almost the moment I arrived. When my ears buzz, I feel the oddest sense of mental confusion and my abilities are blunted—not as sharp.”

Cole holds up a finger, frowning. He has on his professor face. “Didn’t you mention how your trains kept breaking down?”

My eyes widen and I nod. “Yes, they did. Do you think it could be related?”

Harrison nods. “It’s a very real possibility. I am checking into how to get rid of the poppet without hurting you. It’s too dangerous to just destroy it.”

“I don’t want you to go back to the Society,” Cole says, his voice hard. “It’s too risky. I think it’s safe for us to assume that the events of the past weeks are all connected.”

Harrison agrees. “And whoever is doing it clearly feels that Anna is a threat. I agree with Cole. Anna should make herself scarce and Leandra should join the boys in the country. It’s too dangerous.”

A sudden swell of rage emits from Leandra like a black cloud and I gasp. She shuts her eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath. The anger and the darkness dissipate as quickly as they arose.

When her eyes open, she is staring straight at me and her lips curl in a rueful smile. My heart pounds. Whatever it is, Leandra is fully aware of it and works to control it.

“We’ve already discussed this,” she says. “The children are safe. My place is with you. I can help. You know I can.”

“I’m worried about my mother and grandmother,” Cole says, his eyes darker than usual. “Do you think they’re in any danger?”

“It’s hard to tell,” Harrison says. “Probably not, but we don’t know what or who we’re dealing with. If you’re truly worried, you might suggest they take some sort of holiday.”

Cole snorts. “I can try but I can’t make either of them do anything.” He turns to Leandra. “Have you had any nightmares?”

She hesitates. “Nothing clear. I’ve stopped trying to control it, but the habit of years seems to be hard to break.”

I wonder how she controls her nightmares, but don’t ask. For once, I just wish I could have a vision or two that might give a clue as to the identity of the murderer, but I haven’t had one since Cynthia’s scavenger hunt last New Year’s Eve. Just when a good vision would come in handy, that particular ability has remained frustratingly silent.

“I think you both are forgetting something,” I tell the two men. “I’m the best person to find out who the mole is.”

Cole shakes his head. “No. I don’t want you putting yourself in danger.”

“I’m already in danger,” I counter.

His mouth flattens and I know he’s dug his heels in. He can be so intractable.

Too bad. I can be just as stubborn.

“I hardly think it’s fair that the both of you expect Leandra and me to stand passively by when we have both been attacked—me psychically and Leandra physically. Not when both of us may be able to help put a stop to it. It’s not only unfair, it’s practically criminal. What if someone else is taken or Jonathon is found dead? And we could have stopped it?”

Leandra claps her hands. “Hear, hear!”

“I’ll be careful, but I will help.” I cross my arms and dare anyone to disagree with me.

Leandra comes over and kisses me on the cheek. “I was worried that you wouldn’t be good enough for Cole. Now I’m more worried that he isn’t good enough for you.”

I give her a smile. I want to trust her, I really do. I know that Cole trusts her and Harrison implicitly. Perhaps if I knew what dark tumult it is that lies just beneath Leandra’s pretty blond exterior, I wouldn’t be so suspicious.

Cole comes to take my arm. “I should get Anna back to the hotel. She has an early morning call.”

He is silent on the way home and I can feel his disapproval, but I ignore it. Surely after all we have been through together, he knows me better than to think I would hide in a room somewhere all safe and sound while people I care about may be in danger. I don’t think so.

Instead of dropping me off, Cole parks the motorcar. “I’m going to check out your room before leaving you.”

I want to argue with him but am eager to ease some of the tension between us. “All right,” I say in a small voice.

He takes my hand as we walk to the hotel and the gesture comforts me. Maybe he is as upset about the distance coming between us as I am.

Because it’s so late, the lobby is quiet when we enter and we’re just about to go up the stairs when a voice shatters the silence.

“Just where do you two think you’re going?”

I whirl around, my eyes wide.

Mother.