The Quarter Moon (Afterlife saga) (39 page)

The closer they came to the bars the more my panicked mind told me to do something.      

“NO! SIGURD HELP US!” I was the only one shouting the plea of hope as only I seemed to know this vision for what it was…an after effect from Sigurd’s dark bond with my soul. I had to believe that! There could be no other logical reason for what we were seeing. At my desperate cry for help the walls started to vibrate, but I knew not a single stone moved under the helpless hold I had on the wall. It was just like when your vision blurs when you shake your head violently. It started to knock my equilibrium off course as the room continued its visual assault on my senses, but one important thing managed to penetrate through the fog.

A figure started to step though as the minions parted and the other me growled out her obvious hatred. I couldn’t see the man
clearly but what I could see was my reaction to him. My mirror image shot from the floor. I stood back and watched as she faced the man who came closer. At this point the room moved in such a rapid way, that my head pounded trying to keep up with their movements. I could feel that Sigurd was desperately trying to get me out of here and the only thing hanging onto this madness was me. It was a crazy need that kept me rooted to the spot, but somewhere in my subconscious I knew what it was doing and I was about to find out why.

“Ah
, my disgusting parasite, how nice to see you again.” I could just make out my fists clench at my sides at the sound of his voice and I looked down momentarily to see my own doing the same. It was clear my captured self was in one mind about what she would like to be doing to the man stood in front of her. I couldn’t recognise him thanks to the blurred edges Sigurd’s efforts were creating, but even the sound of his voice was sending revulsion to pebble my skin. The future’s Keira took a step forward and the room stepped it up a few notches on vibrations, making it next to impossible to see anything other than us two. But it was one name spoken that finally brought down the walls to this nightmare,

“Gastian!”

As soon as the name passed her lips the room cracked and light poured through the walls. It was blinding bright and I raised my arm across my eyes to protect myself. It was only when I felt a soft touch from a big hand trying to pry my arm away that I felt comforted for the first time.

“It’s alright now Keira, you
’re back with me.” Sigurd’s warm breath travelled my neck and I quickly felt a strong presence at my back. He pulled my arm down and I braved opening my eyes. He was holding me from behind with his arms crossed over my torso. It took me a moment to gather my bearings and when I did I realised that Sigurd must have carried me to somewhere more private for me to finish my blood bound freak out. We were in a less busy part of the courtyard, hidden either side by the many floors of Somerset house.

“I’m back
.” I whispered as though waking from a deep sleep.

“I
’ve got you, sweet øjesten.” Sigurd rumbled softly behind me and pulled me in tighter. I don’t think I was mistaken when hearing the relief in his voice and I relaxed further into him as a result. We both needed it, plain and simple.

We stayed this way for the silent minutes it took for both our heart rates to slow. Then I ruined the peace when a thought took precedence over what I had just been through.

“The book?” I both felt and heard the deep sigh he released before he let me go. He took a step back and then turned me to face him slowly. His actions had me bracing for the worst.

“What is it…no answer…or maybe she was just engaged?” I said hoping in
jecting a bit of humour would dull the disappointment I was almost sure was coming. So much so, I was surprised when he grinned and then said,

“She left you a message…Tricks?” I couldn’t help my reaction when I launched up into his arms giving him no choice than to catch me. He laughed at me and I turned my head to kiss his cheek.

“Thank you my friend.” I whispered through the material of his hood where his ear would be. His hold tightened for a second then he lowered me until my feet found the cobbled floor again.

“Are you alright?” He asked me and I nodded
, knowing he was referring to the darkness his powers took me to. I turned to move, giving space to our intimate moment but his hand struck out and pulled me back to him. He lowered his hidden forehead to mine and declared severely,

“He will not take you
, Keira…I will not let him take you from me.” I shuddered under the strength of his vow and found I could only nod slightly. The grip he had on the whole side of my neck loosened after he had reined in his strong emotions and I was able to keep the space between us to a few steps.

The more time we spent with each other meant the more
dangerous the territory we trod on. I decided to clear my throat as a way of bringing us back to the task at hand.

“Please tell me the message she left wasn’t level impossible on the Oracle’s version of puzzle cracking?” Sigurd grunted before saying,

“Take a look for yourself.” This was said in a way that held no doubt, that yes, it was going to give me a headache. Sigurd pulled the book from behind his jacket as though he had kept it tucked in the waistline of his dark, belted jeans. I was about to take it and then hesitated a moment as I remembered what had happened not long ago, thanks to that book.

“It’s alright Keira, that won’t happen this time
.” I looked up at him with wide eyes and the guilt I found in his own gaze made me feel bad for him. I didn’t say anything but as I took the book from him I gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. I opened it up, finding the right page straight away as it was the only one with any words written.

To my dear Tricks,

I hope you enjoyed your fun faired Trip,

Cause now it’s time for hearts to be found,

And for you to bite your Lip.

The beats maybe long gone,

For life in the
Deadhouse,

Now is the time to grab a King,

And play the happy Spouse.

Number 26 is facing you Ahead,

And a door with no number is not a coal Shed,

So take a deep breath and greet the Dead,

To find the still heart of one Paul Whitehead.

To your left is a name you know well,

But the date 33 won’t get you into Hell,

So move away and look for another,

One that speaks fondly of the Queen Mother.

Skull and cross bones isn’t down to a wooden leg,

For he was a doctor, so no need to beg,

For he doesn’t hold the organ that you seek,

It’s not
even on this side, so go take a peek.

So leave the doctor alone

And look around the space,

For once you find the ½ topped cross,

You need to look under the pace.

Look to a number 7 set in pale stone,

The one you seek will rightfully sit upon the 7th throne,

Your lovely name you will no doubt find,

And an old withered heart lays waiting behind.

After reading the cr
yptic message aloud, it was as though I could feel the hope draining away with every word spoken. How on earth were we going to find anything that referred to these clues in a place this big?! I was just about to ask this out loud when I saw a group of people all following someone with a clipboard, across the courtyard coming closer towards us near the big bronze statue. That’s when it hit me and I looked up to Sigurd to say,

“Honey, we are going on a tour!”

Chapter 36

Geek Man Walking

After walking into the main building and bursting into a fit of childish giggles thanks to the name above the door, we received our tickets for the last tour of the day. We had some time to kill and after seeing the last guy I watched Sigurd take care of, I was glad that wasn’t meant in the literal sense! We decided to grab a coffee (tea for me of course) and sit down to wait. This I thought was the perfect opportunity to ask Sigurd about my dark dream.

“Ok, so I
gotta ask…what is it with this dude Gastian and what exactly is his beef with me?”

“I don’t kn
ow.” He stated simply, after devouring the last bites of my cake slice he bought me….this, I had to add, was after finishing two slices bought for himself!

“Jesus
, what is it with you and food…?” I leant forward and whispered,

“Ok pick
one, you are A, going to be spending the next ten years in a remote colony in Antarctica, B, all the food you eat is going out of fashion tomorrow, with all bakers, butchers and chefs deciding to a career change or C, there is going to be a world Famine that I don’t yet know about?” He growled with his mouth full and then I could hear the angry swallow that followed. I couldn’t help but smirk.

“Your turn, A, I can use your bones as a toothpick, B, I could wash down my cake with a pint of your blood or C, I can bend you over my knee, render your ass a rosy red and use your back as a place to rest my plate…pick one
.” It was my turn to growl and it was his turn to smirk.

“Time to go
, buttercup.” He said mockingly, whilst grabbing my upper arm and hauling me up from the seat.

“But wait, you never told me about Gastian
.”

“Can’t tell you
what I don’t know, sweetheart…now come on or we will miss all the excitement.” The word excitement was most definitely a sarcastic overstatement for him as I knew he was dreading it…this was because in the last 45 minutes he had told me so at least 45 times!

I let him lead me over into the main entrance and only when I saw his reflection in the door
’s window did I pull back, gasping at what I saw.

“What the
Hell!?” I shouted making an older couple stare at me disapprovingly.

“What?” Sigurd hissed
, allowing me to pull him back before we walked inside. Having a firm hold of his jacket, I pulled him further out of the way of people passing us to get inside and tried to drag his head down by the hood so that he could hear my panicked whisper.

“Why do you look like that?!” I asked through gritted teeth.

“Keira, please try making sense…I don’t know…” I didn’t let him finish as I pointed over the sheer drop from the floors below and over the balcony that spanned the area either side of the main entrance. He started to look down when I shook his hood and said,

“Not there….there
.” I pointed across to the window that was directly ahead of us, at the reflection standing next to me…one that definitely wasn’t Sigurd!

“Ah
.”

“Yeah, ‘ah’ is right buddy boy, explain…now!” I looked back at him and saw a naughty smile start to form. I scowled at his obvious amusement at my freak out.

“What? So I don’t want people seeing the real me, what’s the big deal?”

“What’s the big deal?! Are you serious? We are supposed to be acting as
a married couple, like the book’s message said!” I said all this while doing a tennis fan impression watching a game. I could barely tear my eyes from the reflection which others were clearly seeing as him.

“Yes well, I don’t know if you noticed at all
, but someone looking like me does tend to cause unwanted attention.” I rolled my eyes and said,

“So yeah alright, you
’re unbelievably handsome and rugged and have the body of a God, with your tall frame and muscles on top of muscles but that doesn’t mean you should go all big headed about it!” My outburst brought about the first time I had seen one of his kind actually bite his lip, but unlike me, it wasn’t done out of shame. He pulled me closer to him until I had to reach up on tiptoes so as not to end up dangling by my arm a foot from the ground.

“I meant that people find me scary and intimidating øjesten, not someone that people want to sign up for the cover of a magazine. You wanted to come here
and get what you’re looking for. Well, to do that we not only need human interaction, but also their help…somehow I don’t think they would have been as accommodating with someone that fits my description, do you?” Ok, so he had a point, but did he really have to rub it in? I mean my blush had already turned nuclear. He released me until my feet were once again flat on the floor and for long moments we just stared at each other like we were both fighting a greater urge. I shook those thoughts from my mind and slapped a great big warning sticker on that metaphorical case file.

“Ok, so I am getting that
, but really….I mean… come on, you had to marry me to that guy!” I said pointing for the last time to his lying reflection. I referred to the 5ft guy who wore thick rimmed square glasses that reminded me of my granddad, a cream shirt with brown dickey bow and a pale blue V neck knitted vest on top. Brown cords and sandals over white socks finished the nerdy reflection. But this wasn’t the worst part, oh no, I think the crème de la crème was the side parted comb over that was slicked down with only what can be described as car oil!

“So
, I take it you’re not into the geek look?” He asked bringing my stunned gaze back to the real him. Needless to say the sight was much more appealing!

“Umm, I don’t think that counts as just plain old geeky…I mean my friend Pip is married to a geek and he is hot! Besides, I think it is safe to say that you look like you
are trying hard to bring Granddad fashion into…well…fashion.”

“You know of Adam’s Imp?” His abrupt subject change had me pulling my head back and frowning.

“Her name is Pip and yeah, we are good mates, why?” I said not being able to rein in the attitude thanks to my protectiveness over my friend.

“It figures
.” He commented wryly as he turned from me about to make his way back to the main entrance. I reached out, grabbed his arm and snapped,

“And what is that supposed to mean?!”

“I know Pip and the trouble she gets in, so to assume you and her are friends in no stretch of the imagination considering trouble will inevitably find friendship with trouble. Now come on or we will miss this fucking tour!” He pulled me with him into the building and I made a noise in the back of my throat that was half growl and half moan. It was only when we were waiting with the rest of the tourists that I whispered,

“If you l
ook harmless then I suggest curbing the language to match, we don’t want people to think I’m married to an aggressive wife beater.” Of course this idea was a joke as one look at Sigurd’s portrayal of my husband and it was outright laughable. But instead of commenting he leaned down, or thanks to his new height not at all and gave me a kiss on the cheek, finishing it with a,

“Yes dear
.”

We waited for the people ahead of us to move aside before handing o
ver our tickets to the tour guide. She handed us a gold and white sticker each and I slapped Sigurd’s to his chest with more vigour than was needed.

“There you go
, honey boo.” I said loud enough to draw some strange looks. He took mine from the lady and returned the favour by placing it above one breast and making a show of patting it down unnecessarily. He was still doing it, only this time making it more than obvious he was using the opportunity to fondle my breast, drawing some even stranger looks. I batted his hand away and snapped through gritted teeth,

“It’s fine!” He laughed once and then winked at a guy behind me saying,

“I had to be sure, sugar plum bum.” I rolled my eyes when I heard the guy cough to hide a laugh and waited until everyone had moved so we were left at the back before elbowing Sigurd in the stomach. I got an umpf sound and smiled when everyone turned round to face us.

“That’s it love, cough it up
.” I said making a show of patting his back. After some more funny looks everyone turned back to the front to hear what the guide was saying. She introduced herself as Rachael and before starting the tour asked us all to refrain from using our mobile phones. Then, after explaining the details of our tour, we followed her outside to our first point of interest.

After all of the group had gathered round I couldn’t help but notice people kept their distance from us. I put this down to some deeper human instinct of survival considering Sigurd’s true nature. It was like no matter how convincing his geeky disguise was
, the truth was in the shadows lurking in wait. You could see it in his stance, as though ready to pounce and strike down any threat that might arise. People were smart to be wary and as a result we were given a wide berth in the circle.

The
guide had taken us outside near the fountains and started the tour with the building’s history. I soon found myself engrossed in hearing how Somerset house started life as a Tudor palace built by Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset and virtual ruler at the time. This was because as Lord Protector of England, in the minority of his nephew, Edward VI, who was the son of the lady obsessed Henry VIII who seemed to collect wives the way others do tea sets! I don’t think by the growly noise that came from Sigurd that he was a big fan either! Of course, it was a no brainer the reason why everyone took a step back and gave us an even greater space.

I hooked Sigurd’s arm with my own and pulled him closer to the back of the group.

“Ok, down boy and less of scaring the human population if you can help it because see that meathead there…” I nodded to the guy who looked like he bench pressed his girlfriend every morning before breakfast.

“Even that guy is
wary of you right now and given the way you look, that is doing nothing for his street cred.”

“And why should I give a shit?” Sigurd rumbled and I looked into the opposite window to check his disguise was still in place. I had to squash down my surprise when I saw his fingers rise to push up a pair of thick rimmed glasses that weren’t actually there. I shook my head trying to dislodge the weirdness this day kept throwing at me and tried a different tactic.

“Because we are trying to fit in, hubby dearest and I would like to end this day with a scabby, old heart of some asshole in my hand not you getting your geeky ass thrown out of here for being an asshole… capiche?” I whispered making him burst out laughing.

“Seriously…did you just say Capiche?”

“What? I can say Capiche.” I frowned up at him when I saw his humour grow at my expense. Then his lips rose further up one side and he placated me with a head pat, saying, 

“Alright Don, how
about I whack the meathead with my heavy before my shakedown with our tour guide for ten large whilst you go on the lam?” I rolled my eyes at his chuckle as we took our place back with the group.

“Funny
, but you forgot swimming with the fishes in that sentence.”

“Ok
, now we really need to work on your mobster ‘cause they don’t actually say that outside of a movie set and whilst we’re at it, do me a favour and never say Capiche again.” I scoffed at that and said a lame,

“Whatever
.”

“Too damn cute
.” I whipped my head up at his muttered comment but he ignored me and when I tried to speak he just shushed me, nodding back to what the tour guide was saying. I huffed with my arms folded.

The tour continued around the courtyard until we had heard about what part of history influenced the architecture of the buildings and their enrichments, which clearly had a strong ancient Greek feel. You could tell that Sigurd found this completely boring and to a point where I wouldn’t have been surprised if I would
soon have to drag him along like an unruly child. I tried to see it from his point of view and wondered if I too had lived through these times would I have also found it tiresome? Every now and again I would catch his reflection in the many windows, rolling his eyes at something the guide said and wondered if what we knew of history was as accurate as we presumed? Well, if Sigurd’s reactions were anything to go by then I was thinking not.

It was only at the point in the tour that got to the Navy side that we started to really take notice. According to Jared’s story
, Paul Whitehead’s heart had been stolen from an Australian Sailor and this place held it within its walls, somewhere that one possessed Admiral Sir James Stirling had hidden it. I could almost feel the cells inside my body buzzing with the excitement of the adventure that had been thrust upon me. The thrill of the chase sent my mind into overdrive and I could almost taste the lips of my lost lover coming closer to lips eagerly waiting.

Soon…I just knew it.

Standing outside the Navy Office, which was situated next to the main entrance with a name that still made me snigger when reading it, I listened with interest as our guide spoke about the Navy’s involvement with Somerset house. Then I heard a big yawn next to me and I wasn’t the only one that shot daggers at Sigurd for his obvious show of boredom.