Soulmates
32
Assault on the Castle
Kenton and Trayce
“THAT’S A GOOD GIRL. Now just relax. You’re getting better every day,” Kenton said as he waved a medallion in front of Trayce’s blank eyes.
“I don’t want to,” she struggled. “Let me go. I want to see my friends. Help!” she said weakly.
“Just let yourself drift. Those imaginary friends will all go away soon.”
“They’ll come for me.”
“They have no idea how to find you. And while you are here, you can’t send them any messages. 3-2-1 and sleep.”
Trayce struggled to stay awake, but the hypnotic was too powerful. Kenton had laced her food with just enough cannabis to make her susceptible to his hypnotic suggestion. It had been working for three days. Now she fell into his trance quickly, no matter how she struggled.
“Now let’s talk about how you send messages to your friends. Jaime and Keira, is that right?”
“We have sex.”
“Can you send mental messages to anyone you have sex with?” Kenton asked, intrigued. He’d certainly participate in that. Trayce was a delectable bit of temptation. He could just imagine himself stretched out on her naked body.
“Only with Keira and Jaime. We do it in our heads.”
“Not when you are physically making love?”
“I’m a virgin. I’ve never seen Jaime and Keira physically,” Trayce said. In the back of her consciousness—what was left of it—she could see Dr. Schwartz’s lust. She wanted nothing to do with it.
Kenton sat back to consider his options. He didn’t think he’d learn any more about the command voice. He’d already decided Trayce was just an accelerator, not the real power. But she was still useful.
“What you really want,” he said softly, “is to make Jaime listen to me. Make Keira listen to me—like you can hear me now. When I give you an instruction, you will pass it on to Jaime and Keira. They will do what you say. It’s really all that easy. When you have accepted this instruction, you can see your friends for real. I’ll bring them to you.”
“I will give them your instructions,” Trayce said mechanically. She still wondered if she could stop it. Not all of Trayce was under the spell. In fact, she could hear more of what Dr. Schwartz was thinking than what he was saying. That was how she knew he was thinking about sex with her. Now he was thinking he might have to have sex with all three of them together. It was a gross and disturbing image.
Kenton spent more time reinforcing his implanted suggestions, but within half an hour, Trayce began to twitch, indicating the effectiveness of the trance was failing. Better he should wake her up and let her believe he was helping her write than let her drag the suggestions into consciousness with her.
“Now, dear Trayce, when I count back from three, you’ll wake up and be refreshed and ready to start the day. You have some new ideas to write about and you’ll find a notebook and pen ready for you. 3-2-1.” Kenton snapped his fingers and Trayce’s eyes came into focus.
“Dr. Schwartz.”
“Trayce, I brought you a new notebook and a new pen—the kind you like so much. You’ve almost filled the last notebook with your stories. You’re doing so well!”
“Thank you, Dr. Schwartz. Will I need to stay here much longer?”
“Oh, no. You’ll be able to leave soon. You’ve almost unlocked all your writing potential. I see a New York Times bestseller on your horizon. I’ll stop back later to check in on you. ’Bye now.”
Schwartz left her room and Trayce immediately opened the notebook and began to write all she could remember about her dreams. She’d had spooky dreams about Dr. Schwartz possessing Jaime. And she could almost hear Jaime and Keira as she slept.
Rose and Angus and Kate and Thursday
“They just went to the grocery store,” Kate announced.
Less than a block away from the Olde Whale Guesthouse, was another small bed and breakfast. The owners were a couple of old salts like Angus and were happy to have the unusual quartet in their house. As it happened, the room they were given—actually all the second floor—looked out diagonally across the block at the back of the Olde Whale.
One person was always awake and looking out the window during the night, while the others slept. When two people had left by the back door of the inn, Kate had run to the car to follow them. It was nearly ten and she’d just gotten back.
“Since that’s the only activity we’ve seen there, we should go around to the front to watch,” Rose suggested.
“You go. It’s cold out there,” Kate said. “This is a nice place, Angus. Rent it for the rest of the weekend for us.”
“You have the money, honey,” Angus said. “You rent it.”
“I’ll rent it,” Rose said. “Geez. Can we just pay attention to the situation?”
“You know, you’re not too old to become a stripper,” Thursday said. “You could be the new Gypsy Rose. I’ll show you some moves.”
“Movement,” Angus said shortly.
“Stripper moves,” Thursday corrected him.
“Movement behind the Whale,” he growled. “Hmm. I wonder if he’s got information we don’t have. He’s going in the back of the annex building.”
“Who?” Rose demanded, trying to see past the trio that crowded the window.
“The boy. Jaime,” Angus said.
“Just him? Where’s Keira?” Rose asked.
“Smart kids,” Angus said. “We can’t see the front of the building. Bet they split up and she’s got a distracting front while he does a rear entry.” Rose groaned at the puns.
“Well, it looks to me like we need to be closer,” she said.
“I agree. Lock and load, ladies,” Angus said.
Thursday and Kate went to their overnight bags, pulled out small handguns and slid magazines into them. They advanced a shell into the chamber and hid the guns inside their coats. The short heavy fur seemed an incongruous contrast with the tight yoga pants Kate and Thursday wore. Rose wore heavy wool slacks and a sweater under a three-quarter length overcoat. Her earmuffs weren’t stylish, but they covered her ears and that was all she cared about.
Of course, if incongruous outer wear was in question, Angus wore over-the-knee socks with his utility kilt and a leather coat and gloves. With this he carried his dragon-head cane. The temperature was in the mid-40s and none of them was enthused about standing outside.
“Kate and Thursday, take the front. Rose and I will be on the ass end.”
“Somehow that was predictable,” Kate snorted.
Kate and Thursday left by the front door of the B&B to circle around the block and find a place to stake out the Whale. Angus and Rose left by the back and found a place in the trees between the two properties.
Jaime and Keira and Emerson
Emerson found a place to park in a bank parking lot just up the hill from the Olde Whale Guesthouse.
“Wow! That looks rustic,” Keira said.
“Old,” Jaime’s computer chirped as he typed. “Built in the late 1800s. It doesn’t look like the front desk is always occupied. Might be able to just walk in and look around.”
“It’s too late for breakfast, so there might be someone in the kitchen doing cleanup,” Emerson said.
“Or cleaning rooms,” Keira added. “From what Ms. McCormick said, it seems likely we’d need to get to the annex just down the hill. There’s a separate exterior entrance, but she said there was a tunnel passage between the two.”
“It must be deep. The main floor of the annex is more than a full level below the entry floor of the main building,” Jaime’s computer said.
“Okay. Here’s a plan,” Keira said. “I’ll go up to the main entrance and see if I can attract any attention. If not, I’ll just start exploring and looking for the staircase down to the other building. Jaime, go to the back of the annex and see if you can get in there. We’ll keep in touch, you know, mentally. Emerson, stay up here and watch. We’ll call if we need anything, like police or something.”
“Right,” Emerson said. “I’ll have 9-1-1 entered and waiting to send. You know, those two old places could look kind of romantic and inviting if we were here on a fun weekend. Thinking someone is being held underground makes them look really spooky. Gives me the willies. You guys be careful.”
“Cell phones and head talk only,” Jaime said through the TTS. Then he closed and stowed his computer. He reached forward and touched Emerson on the neck. She shuddered and gasped. «You’re a really great friend, Em. Thank you for being part of this.»
«Yeah. Please be careful.»
«We will.»
The psychic contact was broken when Jaime withdrew his touch, leaving Emerson panting a little. Jaime got out of the car and circled the block to the back of the guesthouse. After giving him a couple of minutes to get ahead, Keira reached over and touched Emerson’s hand. The touch was as electric as Jaime’s had been.
«I’ll text you as soon as I know anything,» Keira spoke to her. «Can you hear me?»
«Yeah. God, Keira. I’m never going to be able to let you two go.»
«We’ll see how it works out, babe. Thanks for being here.»
Emerson watched Keira move directly toward the old inn. Keira paused at the steps to the entrance and waited a minute before going inside.
Jaime
«Give me a minute to get inside and catch anyone’s attention if they’re there,» Keira said when they were in position.
«I’m ready when you are,» Jaime said.
«Okay. Here goes.» Keira entered the building. Jaime couldn’t hear her as well through the walls of the building, but he waited till a count of thirty before he tried the door of the annex and pushed it open.
Everything was silent. Completely silent. Jaime shook his head.
«Keira?» There was no response. Jaime couldn’t hear the thoughts of anyone in the area. He strained to hear Emerson, sitting in the car, but there was nothing.
It was so disorienting that Jaime stumbled and nearly fell in the hallway. There was always someone talking in range of his mind. The silence in his head was as absolute as if he had shut down his entire body. There was no sound coming to his ears, either. He glanced at his cell phone and saw he had no bars. Ms. McCormick had warned them that Schwartz was proud of the signal blocking in the inn. He didn’t realize it would be so complete.
He nearly panicked, backing out the door slowly. In the distance, sounds and thoughts began to seep into his head again. He could hear the hum of mental voices and honed in on Emerson.
Where are they? I wish they’d text me.
Jaime checked his cell for a signal and quickly sent her a message.
“Don’t worry. There’s no cell reception inside. Did you hear from Keira?”
“Not a word,” Emerson texted back. “Do you want me to go check on her?”
“No. We’ll meet up as soon as we’re in range of each other. Just sit tight. I’ll try to find a place where I have reception once I’m inside. Let Keira know I’m in when she comes back outside.”
“Will do.”
Jaime took a deep breath and pushed his way inside again.
Keira and Kenton
“Hi. Um… My friend and I were out sightseeing and saw this old inn. Do you have a brochure and rates? We might want to come back on another trip,” Keira said to the man who hurried to the front desk when she rang the bell.
“Oh, possible guests! We’re always looking forward to greeting new people. I’m afraid we’re booked up tonight, though.”
“We can’t stay tonight anyway,” Keira said. “My friend just went to get us a cup of coffee for our drive back down to Salem while I checked this place out.”
“Just give me a minute here. I’m not usually out here, but the hostess has gone grocery shopping. I was just vacuuming upstairs. I’m sure I have a brochure in the drawer here. Yes. Here it is,” the man said.
“Wow! I didn’t hear a thing. It’s really quiet here,” Keira said as the man opened a desk drawer and eventually pulled out a brochure and rate card to give her.
“We take pride in how quiet our buildings are. You’d hardly know anyone else is resident. We have twelve rooms in this building and another six in the annex down the hill. It’s amazing how well these old buildings were constructed to baffle noise. Of course, we did some enhancing of the insulation when we got the place years ago.”
“It’s almost like sensory deprivation,” Keira said. «Jaime, are you there? I can’t hear you!» There was no response.
“Oh, I assure you it’s not quite that quiet. Have you ever been in a sensory deprivation tank? Nothing like this at all. Nothing at all. Would you like to see a room?”
“Uh… sure, if it’s not too much trouble. Maybe I should let my friend know I’m going to see a room,” Keira said, pulling out her phone.
“I’m afraid that won’t work unless you step outside. Something about the construction of the buildings prevents cell signals from getting inside. Several of the older buildings in Astoria have that problem. When you’re a guest here, we give you our WiFi password which works from inside any room. It’s a cable system so there’s a WiFi modem in each room connected to the system. Only way we could get service inside.”
“I’ll just step outside and text her,” Keira said, backing out the front door. She looked up the street and heard Emerson clearly.
Just text me, okay? There’s no signal of any kind inside. Jaime’s in the annex. I’m out here alone and I’m afraid for you guys!
“Em, it’s okay. No cell service inside here either. I’m going to go look at a room and try to spot where the stairs down are,” Keira texted.
“Be careful! J says he’ll meet you inside when you find a place where there’s a signal—or a mental or something. He’s looking for the passage from that side.”
“Good. I’ll be back in touch in ten minutes.”
Keira went back into the inn and into silence.
“Does your friend want to come in for a tour as well?” the guy asked.
“Still in line at the coffee shop,” Keira laughed nervously. “Just said I wouldn’t be long.”
“Okay. The couple who manages the inn live here on the main floor. Out getting groceries just now, I think. All the guest rooms are upstairs. This was once the mansion of a shipping magnate who had visions of grandeur. Would you look at that dining room? We serve breakfast to all our guests. It didn’t take long after his heirs got hold of the property to convert the monstrosity into an inn.”
The guy had an easy way about him that relaxed Keira. The inn was a fascinating building, decorated in period fashion from the turn of the twentieth century. He indicated some of the rooms were occupied, but he’d just stripped a room that had been checked out of that morning. Aside from the unmade bed, the room appeared very attractive. Keira immediately went to the window and checked her cell phone. She had a weak signal through the glass and quickly sent a text reassuring Emerson.
“I’ll be out soon.” She couldn’t get a clear mental contact with her friend and wasn’t sure the text message went through.
“This is a lovely place,” Keira said, turning to the man who was watching her carefully from the doorway. “How did you happen to start working here?”
He chuckled.
“It’s a long story, but the short version is, I own it.”
Keira reflexively took a step backward. The man smiled at her.
“Dr. Schwartz?” Something in the makeup of the room prevented her from reading his thoughts, even at this close range.
“Ah, so it is you! Keira, isn’t it? I suppose your little girlfriend Trayce told you all about me. I assume it is your boyfriend… Jaime?... outside getting messages from you. You can invite him in. You’ve both been such a pain to poor Trayce.”
“Where is she?!!” Keira shouted. Even her shout sounded muted.
“Just downstairs. Shall we go visit her?”
“You’re a rapist! I won’t go anywhere with you.”
“What a terrible accusation. I have not molested your friend in any way,” Schwartz said.
“You raped her mind. You drugged her and probed her secrets.”
“Hmm. I didn’t think you’d be able to contact her here. She must be stronger than I thought. I can see how you could think I was mentally assaulting her, but I assure you the treatment is all completely above board. She pled for help with her schizophrenia. The voices in her head were driving her crazy. Do you have the same experiences?”
“She’s not schizophrenic,” Keira growled. “She’s telepathic. It’s you who’s upsetting her and making her doubt her reality.”
“She came to me because she couldn’t get the voices out of her head. Thought they were characters she was writing about and couldn’t get them to shut up. They were taking over her life. I brought her here as an intervention so she could recover. Confidentially, she’s not a very good writer.”
A man and woman appeared behind him in the doorway and Keira backed all the way against the window as Schwartz approached her.
“SOS” she texted, but Schwartz grabbed the phone before she could hit send. Keira swung at him and hit him in the side.
“That’s not very nice. I was offering a nice guided tour to go see your friend, if she is indeed your friend. Now, I’ll have to insist you accompany my associates. They are not grocery shopping at the moment, it seems, but are here watching for invaders like you and your boyfriend.”
The couple reached Keira and each took an arm. Keira screamed in the sound deadened room. The assistants snorted.
“Did you notice how dead the acoustics are in this old inn?” Schwartz chuckled. “You can scream your head off and no one—even in the room next door—will hear you. Trayce was quite hoarse before that finally sank into her.”
“Jaime will find you and free us,” Keira declared as she was escorted down the hall.
“I do hope so. He’s the objective of all this research, after all. I’ll leave the front door open, shall I?”
Keira closed her mind, not sure if Schwartz was a head talker or not. She couldn’t hear a thing in the building mentally. She didn’t want to give Jaime or Emerson away.
They went down several flights of stairs and into another silent hallway. Keira estimated they were at least two floors beneath the main floor of the inn—maybe three. Even the air pressure felt different. If her calculations were right, that would put them somewhere lower than the annex. The deeper they went into the complex, the quieter it became, if that was possible. Even their footsteps seemed absorbed by the walls and floor. She could read nothing from her three companions.
They stopped in front of a door and Schwartz opened it cautiously. Inside was a nicely appointed hotel room, similar to the one she’d toured in the inn. It had a large bed, a table and two chairs, and a window with a view of the harbor. Keira shook her head and squinted at the window, realizing it was a projection against the wall in a window frame. At the table, Trayce looked up from what she was writing. Her eyes got big.
“No! No! Go away! Don’t bring her in here. I don’t want her here!”
“Trayce! Please don’t send me away. We’ve come to get you out of here. We’ll take you home.”
“Liar! You aren’t her. If you were, I’d be able to hear you in my head. You are just someone he’s testing me with.”
“Test yourself with her,” Schwartz said. “Probe her and see if any of what you thought was true. Send mental head messages to each other. I’ll just leave you here to get acquainted.”
Schwartz and his two assistants backed out of the room and the door latched behind them. Keira ran to the door and tested the handle. Schwartz hadn’t used a key from the outside, but the inside was securely locked.
She turned and faced Trayce.
Please feel free to send comments to the author at devon@devonlayne.com.
