Wings of Deception (34 page)

Their conversation was light
during the drive
for they both were thinking more than talking but Jacks kept her hand in his the entire time.
He was excited to see
Asa
again and even more excited that Honey was going with him. He knew she was harboring doubts
,
but he was sure
when
she
met
Asa
,
she
would understand
how much it meant to him to
have family
.

Honey was beginning to think they were never going to arrive
,
when the car pulled up in front of the huge black iron gates that stood defiant in the middle of a stone wall. It reminded her of a fortress and as the car crept through the
gates that opened mysteriously
,
she felt a shiver go down her back.

“Wow, this is….something else!
Where are the lights?”
She whispered to Jacks as if anyone could hear as they wound down the curvy drive
with which
Jacks
was now familiar
.
“There are none, not outside the house anyway and not much inside.
Asa
does
not
like a lot of lights. He says it hurts his eyes.”

“Oh.” Honey was thinking
how much
she liked lots of light and had a fe
e
ling she was not going to like the
stone house
or the man Jacks called his grandfather.

The car pulled up and she could
barely
see the
yellow looking
stone
with which
the house was made of. It looked huge and when they climbed out of the car
,
she clung to Jacks in the darkness as the driver opened the great wood door to let them in. As Jacks had the first time he was there, she
felt
an eerie feeling of anticipation
.

Honey nearly jumped out of her skin when the door slammed behind them and
then again as a woman appeared in front of them. As Jacks said
,
the lighting was dim at best inside the house and as Honey’s eyes adjusted she took in the large hall they were being led down. The furnishings were sparse and she noticed they passed doors that were closed and she drew a gasp of breath when they came to the wide stairs that seemed to go into nothing but darkness
,
until a light switched on suddenly.

“This is all underground, that is why it is cold in here.” Jacks explained as he felt Honey shiver but it was not the cold that had caused her body to react and she said so. He laughed at her
fright
and reproached her. “
You do
not
seem the
fearful
type to me
,
though I have to admit the first time I came down here
,
it spooked me too. It is better when we get to where we are going.
Lighter
, not much more but you can see
much
better. The whole place is self sufficient and runs on natural sources.
Asa
has no use for outside utilities and he is very conservative in his living
,
though he has wealth he chooses to put it to better use.”

“Okay, I can understand that, but Jacks do you
not
find all this odd? The seclusion and I have no idea where we are even
. D
o you?”

“I have never been her
e
in the daylight
but I am pretty sure we are due north of the city, maybe even
across the state line into Vermont.
Asa
has not chosen to share that with me
,
for my own protection he says.”

This alarmed Honey even more.
“Your protection
.
Jacks this is sounding worse all the time. I am thinking that I do
not
want to be here.”

“Hey, quit worrying
. H
ere we are anyway. The stairs had led to another great hall which led to the great room where they found the aging old man sitting comfortably in a deep leather chair. It was rare that he was not already settled in bed whenever Jacks would arrive
.
Jacks walked across the vast floor to stand beside him.

“Ah, I see you brought company. Please sit.” He waved at the variety of seating choices and Jacks pulled Honey to a settee which would hold the both of them for he did not think Honey was going to let go of him
but before he did that he leaned over
Asa
,
kissing his cheek.

“Honey and I decided at the last minute that she would come with me, I hope you do
not
mind.”

In reality,
Asa
did mind for with her came entities that were not welcome but he was too wise to show his anger.

“Of course not
,
for who could mind such a lovely woman called Honey, was it not?”

Honey braced herself and leaned forward to take the hand he offered, hoping he could not feel the shudder of dislike that ran through her entire body. When he brought it to his lips and kissed it
,
she thought she would die but managing a smile she gently pulled her hand away.

“Jacks told me much about you
Asa
, I am happy to meet you.” She was lying and he knew she was but again his age old wisdom was at work. He would work on her with his wiles a bit later.
Women were the easiest to seduce, i
t
was that way from the beginning.
First
,
he must bring Jacks back into the web he had already woven for him and causing him to look into his eyes the spell
began
to work and Jacks was seeing through
Asa’s
eyes and feeling thoughts that was put into his head
. When this happened he wondered why in the world he had brought Honey with him and wished he had not. Honey knew something had changed but was not sure what
. S
he saw Jacks transform into a different person right in front of her and was astounded. She was sure the power was not coming from a good source and she silently prayed as to keep any from affecting her.

She really
wanted to get out of the house and away from the man but she waited hoping Jacks did not plan to stay very long.

Asa
was well aware of her
uneasiness
and turned his attention to her.
Her
answers to his questions we
r
e short and curt. He could not get through the thick wall of protection she had surrounding her because she was a believer. The beings that her presence allowed to enter his domain were terrorizing his troops and he was becoming agitated. His attempt to draw the woman into
a seductive
conversation was failing and his body was tiring fast. He must assure that Jacks would come alone the next time and to do that he needed to be alone with him.

“My dear, would you mind so terribly if my boy here put me to bed?
I find that I tire easily these days and fear my time is upon me. I trust you can entertain yourself for a short time and it was my
….
privilege to meet you.” His lie rolled off his tongue with practiced ease.

Honey started, “I…yes, certainly.” If it meant they could get away from him and his home she was for it.
 
She nodded at Jacks who immediately helped
Asa
into his rolling chair.

“I w
ill not
be long
.”

He rolled the chair to the door which opened up to
Asa’s
bedroom
. I
t shut behind them leaving Honey alone to contemplate on things.
She had no idea of what was happening but she was sure that it was something Jacks was aware of.

Behind the closed door
Asa
worked on his protégé with urgency for it was time to make the transfer and there
was the matter of the woman.

Jacks lifted the man onto his bed and the women servants fussed with his covers until he
shewed
them away. His colorless eyes caught and held Jack’s own and with powers unknown to Jacks he planted within him a strong desire to
please the man
before him
.

“What else can I do for you?”

Asa
slyly
prompted him, “The time has come my boy for you to take your inheritance. Tomorrow night will be the night I will hand over the reins to my vast wealth and power. You will then be in a position to do all that your heart desires. Your dreams will come into being and you will never again want for anything. The world will be yours.”

“I am ready.”

“Yes, yes you are but you must leave the woman, she will not be welcome.”

“Yes sir. Will I come here?”

“No. The ceremony
must
take place at
a
tabernacle.”

“A church?”

“Of sorts
,
but not used
as such
in many years.
The ceremony will happen on the rooftop when
the moon crosses with Saturn at exactly nine-twenty pm
. I
t is imperative that we have everything ready
by then
.”

“Will
it just be the two of us
?”

“There will be six witnesses. Now go, for I want you to be well rested for th
is
event. The car will come for you
when it is time.”

“Good night then.”

“Good night, my boy.”

Jacks left the room
and
Asa
gasped for his breath. There was no way he could last until the next crossing. It must be now.
Damn that woman, she almost ruined everything. She was the reason Jacks had become stronger since his last visit
and his control over him
,
weaker
. Well
,
he would take care of her after
everything was over
and Jacks’ body belonged to him
. He cackled
out
at the thought and
went into a coughing fit so bad that the doctor was summoned from his quarters and remained with him throughout the night.

While in the car headed back to the city
,
Honey was concern
ed
for Jacks. He was quiet and
remote
,
barely speaking. She
did not pressure him for she too had a lot to think about. Something was wrong, terribly wrong and she had no idea what to do. Her first instinct was to get the first plane back to Mississippi and away from the feeling of
dread
that she was feeling. What power did
Asa
hold over Jacks?
She was feeling inadequate to deal with the situation and wished she had someone to talk to about it. Silently she did just that, she talked to God and asked for guidance.

They had a light meal in the hotel’s restaurant
where both were too preoccupied with their thoughts to talk much
and when they got to their rooms
,
Jacks placed a kiss on her forehead and said goodnight. It was a good thing
,
for Honey was exhausted and was asleep minutes after she crawled into her bed.

The next morning Jacks knocked on her door and she reached for her robe and opened it. He was carrying a tray with coffee and bagels.

“I thought you might want some coffee about now
,
so I had them bring this up.” He sat it on the table and poured two cups, handing her one and sat
down in one of the chairs.
She was surprised at the change in him for he was more
the Jacks she had come to know,
as he helped himself to the bagels and joked around about their visit with
Asa
the night before. Honey was reluctant to treat the whole affair lightly and when he asked what she thought about his newly discovered grandparent
,
she was blatantly honest with him.

“I did
not
like him Jacks. I’m sorry, I know you do not want to hear this but I am not so sure that I believe he is truly your relative. I mean
,
how can you know he has not made this whole story up? You have jumped into this awfully fast and I think you really need to reevaluate everything.”