Talin had never seemed to fit the typical definition of a boy his age even before he'd started school. His parents frequently shook their heads, sometimes in amazement, sometimes in irritation as he came up with questions or statements that seemed far beyond his years. When he was placed in a preschool class he seemed to treat the other children with almost adult patience and not just a little pity as he watched them play, rarely joining himself. He seemed more amused to watch them almost like a parent watches its child.
As he grew into adolescence he showed enormous curiosity in all things until he was comfortable that he'd mastered it or learned all that he could and then usually dismissed the subject entirely after that, bored with it. There were exceptions of course, the most prevalent of which was the paranormal. At the age of seven he'd started asking about ghosts and showed none of the normal fear a child his age had towards them or monsters in the closet. He never had the slightest discomfort that there was something under his bed. He knew better.
By twelve Talin was devouring any information he could find on spirits, ghosts, the supernatural, and for a brief time even UFOs, although he ultimately decided that even if they did exist they didn't concern him over much. The only time Talin was not reading was when he was swimming. His father was a successful attorney and had installed a pool in their backyard, and Talin loved the water, the sun, and being out in the air. His favorite place to read was on a lounge next to the pool.
Talin had few friends, a fact that concerned his mother almost daily. There were one or two that came by and swam occasionally, but Talin got tired of them quickly. He was polite to them, laughed at their jokes, but it was obvious that he was only tolerating them for their own sakes and for his mother.
On his seventeenth birthday Talin stood at only 5'8" tall, and had a slender muscular build from his time swimming. It wasn't unusual for him to do forty laps in the pool a day and then lie in the sun to read one of his beloved books. He was deeply tanned by the San Diego sun, and had somewhat shaggy sun bleached hair that hung past his shoulders. He looked almost elfin to most that knew him, and his most startling feature was his eyes, inherited from his mother. They appeared to be ice gray and smoldered with intensity and curiosity
During the summer Talin took part in one of his few favorite passions. He went to stay with his grandmother in Colorado. She not only didn't think of him as a strange child with an even stranger obsession, she encouraged his curiosity about the spirit realm. Naturally this drove his parents crazy, which added to Talin and his grandmother's enjoyment of each others company.
On June the sixth classes let out on the last day of his junior year at the private school he attended. On June the ninth he stepped of the plane at the Denver Airport and into the arms of him grandmother, his favorite person on Earth. Reba Glenn stood only an inch shorter than Talin, and she wore her sixty four years extremely well. She appeared ten years younger than her actual age, and her short neatly styled hair had little gray in it. Her gray blue eyes held the same intensity as her grandson's did. She made her slacks and blouse appear elegant, almost regal, and wore her trademark pearls.
"Oh, my lovely boy!" She hugged him hard and kissed his cheek. "I can't believe it's been six months since I saw you." She stepped back to take him in, holding his hands.
"Reba, did you get lipstick on me?" Talin grinned lopsidedly and made a show of wiping his cheek with his hand. He had always called her Reba, even when he was small. In his memory he couldn't ever remember calling her grandma. He shouldered his back pack and followed her through the concourse.
"If I did you had it coming." She chuckled and hooked her arm through his. "Did you get my last letter?"
"You mean about buying that old mansion?" He asked. She nodded. "What was wrong with the house you had?"
"Nothing." She exclaimed. "I made a small fortune from it. You have to admit that it had little or no redeeming qualities, though. It was more or less a great block." She stopped near the baggage carousel with him. "It took three people to clean it, and still looked tiny like a shoebox."
"So how big is the new one?" Talin rolled his eyes. "Not that one person needs a thousand bathrooms."
"Oh." She feigned disgust. "You sound like your father when you do that." She watched as the luggage began to arrive. "I bought this house because it has some character. You'll love it. I was even told by a neighbor that it's haunted."
"Really?" His eyebrows went up. "Is it documented?" As the various cases came by he grabbed his two suitcases.
"Not that I can find." Reba held his pack as he stacked the two and pulled out a handle to pull them with and then used an elastic cord to attach the pack. "You'll love it, Talin, really. It's a beautiful Victorian with ten bedrooms. It's a work of art. The family sold it after the owner, a widower, passed away." She led him towards the door to hail a cab. "I've already started the restoration. Several of the rooms had been modernized. I'm putting them back the way they should be."
"Sounds really cool, Reba." Talin put his fingers to his lips and let loose with a shrill whistle just like she'd taught him and watched as a red and white taxi moved from the waiting area towards them. "Did you bring Mrs. Parsons and that butler guy? The one with the huge mole?"
She sighed in consternation and watched him put the cases in the trunk of the taxi. "Yes, Jonathan and Lydia still work for me." She got into the backseat after he opened the door for her. "Why would I let them go? They're nearly family."
"I was just curious, Reba." Talin got in and leaned over to kiss her cheek. "I really missed you."
"Oh, and I missed you." She grinned and hugged him. "Kellerman's in the Federal Distrtict, please." She told the driver. "I planned to have lunch there and then go out to the house. Jonathan will pick us up after we eat." The car moved out from under the protection of the building and the mid day sun hit the windows full force. She watched Talin put on his sunglasses. "So, how goes life with Michael and Krista?" She asked, knowing how strained his relationships with his parents were.
"No change." Talin looked out the side window and fought the urge to sigh. "Mother thinks I'm insane, and dad thinks I'm just bizarre." Talin smiled at her slightly. "We don't talk much."
"So Michael said." She offered quietly. "I don't understand what happened to your father. He was such an outgoing inquisitive person. Even I have trouble speaking to him now." She folded her graceful hands in her lap. "It's almost as if it's a chore to take my calls."
Talin understood exactly how she felt. There was always a sense around Michael Glenn that you were taking up his time or that he was pretending not to be inconvenienced. He reached out and took his grandmother's hand and squeezed it gently, still looking out the window. "We aren't earth shattering lawsuits and stuff. We aren't that important."
"Well its different here, my love." She caught his hand and raised it up to kiss it. "We have several weeks of nothing better to do than drive one another crazy." She smiled reassuringly at him. "I was hoping you might take an interest in the house and help me decide what to do with the rooms." He smiled and nodded. "Good. You may chose the one you like and have it done exactly how you want it, and the rest we'll restore."
"Deal." He grinned and kissed her again. "Thanks."
Remy Drake stood in the foyer of his father's house, his face unreadable, and watched the paramedics carefully bringing the stretcher down the stairs. Strapped to it in a dark blue nylon bag marked in yellow letters that said "CORONER" was the body of his mother, Anne Marie Glenn Drake. At some point during the night she'd either purposely or accidentally taken a huge amount of prescription sleeping pills, and had been found by the maid this morning.
Remy's father Jacob watched woodenly from the door to the library. His face alternated between genuine loss and outright disgust. Once he accidentally made eye contact with Remy. It had not been repeated. They stood only a few feet apart as the medics made their way out the front door, but it was obvious to everyone present that they were miles apart.
"I'm going to Reba's." Remy said, tearing himself away from the scene. He glanced at his father and for the briefest moment there was murder in his normally placid green eyes. "I won't be available for any service or whatever." He started for the stairs.
"Remy, god dammit, you can't just take off. There's a lot to be done. People will want to speak to you." Jacob tried to look at his son but couldn't hold it. He looked back towards the doorway. "You should be here."
"You finally have the house to yourself, dad. I don't want to spoil that for you." Remy spat acidly and took the stairs two at a time. His suite was at the end of the hall, and closed the door hard enough for the solid oak to be heard downstairs and then leaned against it, suddenly overwhelmed with grief. "Dammit." He muttered and swiped at the tears that started down his cheeks. He wanted to lash out, to throw something, to punch someone, but he couldn't. He slid down to the floor and wrapped his arms around his legs, sobbing quietly.
In all truth his mother's suicide hadn't surprised him much. He'd actually been waiting for it for a long time. The air of resignation from her had been an almost tangible thing. His useless father had totally ignored it and Remy's attempts to get him to help her. It was par for the course, he thought. They hadn't ever been close. Not that he remembered.
It was mid afternoon before Remy was able to come down the stairs. The police had left, and the house was nearly silent except for the sounds of CNN coming from the study. Remy slipped the shoulder bag to the floor and set the other large suitcase down, tentatively making his way towards the study. For the briefest moment he felt a strong need to be with his dad, to hug him or hold him, but when he got to the door he stopped, feeling the resentment slide back into place like an iron shield. He could see the back of his father's head over the back of the chair, and he shook his head and turned away, unwilling to be hurt again. He took his bags out to his car and drove away.
Remy was tall, like his dad, and muscular from playing soccer and swimming. His wavy brown hair was pulled back by the wind as he drove his car, a BMW Z3 towards the interstate. I wasn't a long drive from Salt Lake City to Denver, about nine hours, and he'd been making the trip by himself for two years now, since he'd gotten his license. He had graduated high school only a week before, and his eighteenth birthday last April. He'd given only the slightest thought to where he was going to school in the fall, assuming he wanted to. On one of her better days his mother had suggested he do some traveling. Right about now, after stopping at his grandmother's house, that sounded absolutely brilliant.
He cranked the stereo almost as loud as it would go and pushed the little sports car to its limits, feeling a sense of freedom in the almost reckless speeds. He had one of the best radar detectors available, and each time it squawked he mentally tossed a coin to decide if he was going to slow down or not. So far he'd slowed down once and kept going once. Equal odds. It went off again and he smiled, imagining the silver coin spinning in the air. Heads. Damn. He chuckled and slowed down.
He stopped at the Little America in Sinclair, Wyoming, to get something to eat and top off the car. The complex offered a decent diner, a hotel, and a gas station. Every time he'd ever seen it it was busy and he impatiently waited for his turn at the pump, annoyed with the nearly constant wind that blew across the flat terrain.
The cheeseburger he ordered was left at the counter half eaten, and he left a five dollar bill as a tip. Since it was Jacob's money it was easy to be generous. He pulled back on to I-84 and headed east towards Cheyenne and eventually Denver, the back of his mind constantly chewing over the ashes of the day.
Talin stood in the study of the enormous house distractedly looking up at the shelves of books and talking to his dad on the cordless phone. He sighed, listening, and leaned against the armrest or a long leather couch. "Yeah, dad, she seems okay. When Jonathan told her at the restaurant it was bad, but you know Reba. She's pretty much herself again." He listened again and picked up a tiny blown glass horse and looked at it before carefully replacing it. "Anyway, I booked her first class on Delta. She'll get to Salt Lake about eleven am. I put you both in the Windham Hotel. I'll stay here. She has a lot of people working on the house. I can watch them for her."
"You're cousin's car is driving up." Jonathan, a tall thin man in his late fifties leaned in through the doorway. His face showed the strain of having to tell his friend and employer that her daughter had killed herself. He looked drawn. He'd been Reba's driver and handyman for most of Talin's life.
Talin nodded and smiled reassuringly at him. "Listen, dad, Remy is here. I don't know what the deal is, but when Uncle Jacob called Reba he said that Remy wasn't planning on being at the funeral. I guess he's going to stay here." He glanced out the window into the darkness and saw headlights pulling up in front of the house. He listened for several seconds and shrugged. "I'll do what I can. I haven't seen him since I was nine." He went to the window and brushed the curtains aside, watching as Jonathan and Reba walked out to the car. He couldn't see them clearly, but he saw Remy holding their grandmother. "I gotta go, dad. Let me know how it goes." He didn't wait for a response as he hit the off button and put the phone in its cradle on his way to the door. He walked out into the large open foyer and stood at the foot of the curved oak staircase and watched as they came in.
His initial feeling was that he'd never seen Reba look as old as she did right now. He was made uncomfortable by the feelings he had for her, noticing that her usually regal face and bearing seemed to sag now, and that she looked tired and drawn. The second thing he noticed made him feel a little foolish. Remy was not the gangly ten year old he remembered, but was now tall and muscular, and he dwarfed Reba as they walked in with their arms around each other, which meant that he was also much taller than Talin.
"Talin, dear, you remember Remy, don't you?" Even Reba's voice was different, tired. Her eyes were not the usual hot sparks that he expected. She smiled at him, an effort, and gestured towards him. "Remy, this is your cousin Talin. You two once played together at my house before your families moved away."
"I remember." Remy's voice was deep and also sounded tired. He smiled at Talin and stuck out his hand. "We went up in the attic to find a ghost and scared the shit out of ourselves."
Talin shook his hand, nodding. "You spilled Kool-Aid on the stairs." He chuckled. "Remy, I'm real sorry about your mom." He said uncomfortably. The truth was he could barely remember his aunt Anne, but he felt compelled to say something.
"Thanks." Remy's face hardened. "Like I told Reba I'm sure she's happier than she was."
Reba sighed and squeezed Remy's hand. "Talin, would you help Remy take his things up to his room? I'll see about getting some proper snacks together, and then maybe we should all turn in. It's been a long day."
"Sure." Talin went to Jonathan and took the larger of the two cases from him and headed for the stairs. Remy kissed Reba's cheek and followed, getting the other bag. The house was three stories and a basement, and at the top of the large curved staircase was another set of stairs. They went up that set and down the hall to the last two rooms, one on either side of the hallway. Talin set the bag on the bed and turned to wait, awkwardly stuffing his hands in his pockets. He had no idea what to say.
Remy tossed the other bag on the bed and looked around, taking in the room. It was large, like every other room in the house, had a walk in closet and a bathroom, and in the corner a fireplace. The bed was a four poster bed, high off the floor, and there were a couple of overstuffed chairs and a small table near the windows. His nose wrinkled and he glanced at Talin. "I think I liked the old house better."
Talin grinned and nodded. "This place is cool but it feels old. I liked the rooms we used to stay in." He leaned against the door jam. "Remember using the butler's lift as an elevator?"
Remy smiled and sat on the end of the bed. "I haven't thought about that forever." He met Talin's eyes. "It's good to see you again."
"You too." Talin pushed away from the door. "Look, if you don't want to go back down I can bring you up something. You know, if you want to unpack." Or be alone, Talin thought to himself.
"I don't really want anything. Tell Reba I'm planning on heading for bed." Remy smiled slightly again and ran his hands through his hair. "Thanks for the help, though." Talin nodded and pulled the door shut behind him. Remy sighed and stood up, pulling his suitcase over. He pulled out a pair of boxers and headed for the bathroom to shower. Unpacking could wait.
Talin went down the back stairs to the kitchen where he found Mrs. Parsons in the process of making sandwiches with Reba's help. Lydia Parsons stood the same height as Reba, but was a pleasant heavyset woman in her early seventies. Her roll in the household had changed over the years, and now instead of just being the cook she more or less supervised the part time cleaning and gardening staff, as well as the girl that did the shopping and helped occasionally with meals. She still wore the same gray uniform dress and white apron that Talin could remember her in when he was a child. She looked up at him and winked, her smile a little forced tonight. "Talin, come and sit down. I'll have this ready in a moment."
"Where's Remy?" Reba asked, handing him a glass of soda. He sat down at the round wooden table with it.
"I don't think he's hungry right now. He was going to unpack and head for bed." Talin shrugged and smiled at her. "If I was him I think I'd be tired too."
"I suppose so." Reba sat down next to him. "I can't believe she's gone. How horrible for him to've seen her like that." Lydia set a plate in front of each of them, and Reba looked at it with disgust. "I don't understand why she couldn't have told me she was in such pain." She swallowed hard and held a handkerchief up to the corner of her eye.
"I'm really sorry." Talin said quietly, reaching out to take her hand. "I talked to dad. I put you guys in the same hotel. He's going to pick you up at the airport."
Reba smiled fondly at him and gave his hand a pat. "You are a tower of strength. I don't know what I would've done with out you." She'd been held by him while she cried after getting the news. "Thank you, Talin."
He was uncomfortable with her feelings but didn't say anything. One of the reasons he came to her every summer was to get away from the emotional void that was his parents. He listened to the others talking as he ate his sandwich and wished that he could be moved by the same grief that they were experiencing.
He took a plate from Mrs. Parsons and a can of soda with him when he headed up to bed, intending to drop them off for Remy incase he'd changed his mind. He knocked on the door quietly, not wanting to wake his cousin if he'd gone to bed. The door opened and he looked up into Remy's reddened eyes. For just a second he felt sorry that those green eyes should be so pained. "Uh, I thought you might be hungry." Talin said quietly, embarrassed by the fact that Remy was dressed only in boxers, and that he'd noticed.
"Thanks." Remy opened the door wider and took the plate, moving so Talin could come in. "How's Reba?" He went to the table and put the plate down, sitting in one of the wing backed chairs.
"She's okay." Talin sat in the other chair and ran his hands across the knees of his jeans nervously. "She's worried about you."
Remy snorted a laugh. "That figures, doesn't it? Her daughter's dead and she's worried about me." He sighed and laced his fingers behind his head. "Sorry we fucked up your vacation, man. You must be severely pissed off."
"Not at all.' Talin shook his head. "I feel really bad for you. I don't know what to say or do, so I just keep my mouth shut." He fought the urge to squirm under Remy's gaze. "If I can do anything tell me, okay?"
"You can take me on a ghost hunt in the attic." Remy said quietly, his eyes getting watery again. He forced a smile. "I miss those times."
"Deal." Talin stood up and went to leave. He stopped and reached to pat Remy's shoulder, hesitated because there was a glimmer of closeness between them, and being close to people was alien to him, and finally settled for just laying his hand on Remy's shoulder. "Goodnight, Remy. Holler if you need anything."
Later, after he'd stripped and climbed in bed, Talin looked up at his ceiling and reviewed what was going through his mind. He still felt uncomfortable about seeing Remy so upset, and even more uncomfortable about seeing him in his underwear. He closed his eyes and sighed, unintentionally mimicking Remy's image in his mind by putting his hands behind his head. He tried to force the images out of his head so he could sleep. It took a long time.
He dreamed about being in the attic at Reba's old house. He was nine again and was standing next to Remy, who was ten. Sunlight filtered in through the tiny windows at each end of the room, and there were dust motes in the air, filtering through the light. Remy had a large flashlight that was clearly not needed, but he brandished it like a sword, eyes wide as they crept into the attic from the stairs.
"See anything?" Talin whispered loudly, his own eyes like saucers. He stayed close enough that his arm brushed Remy's as he looked around, forgetting that he had in each hand a cup of Kool Aid, brought so that they could have a drink after they found any ghosts.
"Huh uh." Remy answered and turned on the flashlight even though it was very bright in the small room. "Maybe they don't come out during the day time."
"Well I'm not coming up here at night." Talin stated matter of factly, glancing behind them. "No way."
Remy swallowed hard. "Me either." As he shined the flashlight towards the far corner of the room his leg brushed the lace trim of a garment that had been tossed in a box. His mind was already as tightly wound as he could get it, and his pulse was drumming in his chest. The feathery touch of the lace against his skin was just enough. He screamed, knowing that they'd found a real ghost and that it had just tried to grab him. The silver body of the flashlight arced into the air and Remy collided with Talin near the stairs. Both cups of Kool-Aid exploded between them.
Talin woke up to the sound of a thump in the hallway. He blinked in the darkness of his room trying to place what exactly it was that had awakened him. The moonlight filtered in through the windows and his eyes began to adjust. He was about to lay back down when the sound came again close to his door. He knew it was nothing, even though he'd just dreamt about the ghost in the attic, but his heart rate sped up anyway. He slid out from under the sheets and pulled on his underwear, making his way to the door.
There was a muffled voice just outside as he reached for the door knob and he hesitated. "Jesus Christ!" He whispered, embarrassed, and opened the door quietly. The hallway was dark, the window at the end between his room and Remy's at an angle that didn't catch the light very well. He stepped into the hall and looked back towards the stairs.
"Mom?" Remy's voice came from the shadows near his door. It sounded almost like a wail, like the sound of a lost child.
Talin felt himself stiffen as the ice cold shiver went up his spine. He had to stop himself from running back into his room and slamming the door. He swallowed hard and felt anger surge up inside him. "God damn it, Remy!" He snarled in a harsh whisper. "That wasn't fucking funny!"
Remy stepped forward from his door, still dressed in his boxers. The feint light from the window colored his skin ice blue. His eyes didn't appear to be focused, at least not on Talin. He looked to the side towards the stairs. "I'm sorry, mom. Please don't leave me!" He wimpered and took a step into the hallway.
Talin fought off a chill as he saw the vacant look in Remy's eyes. He was sleep walking, he knew that, but how was he supposed to get Remy back in bed? Like everyone else he'd heard that you weren't supposed to wake up a sleep walker. He scrubbed his face with both hands and sighed. Remy had taken another couple of steps towards the stairs, and Talin shook his head. "Guess we'll find out." He mumbled.
As he stepped towards Remy the hallway lit up slowly. He'd just reached to take Remy by the shoulders when the glow, an almost sickly green blue color, faded in behind him, casting his shadow on Remy's chest. "Mom?" Remy asked as though he could see her face, a smile coming to his lips.
Talin twisted around, irritated, and his eyes went wide. It was like time had suddenly stopped and he couldn't breath. The temperature in the hallway plummeted and he could see his own breath coming out in small puffs. Goose flesh popped out all over his legs and arms, and if he could've remembered how he would've screamed.
Standing in the center of the wide hall was an older man, wispy and undefined except for his upper body and face. He was balding, and wore clothes that had to be a century out of date. His face was lined with age and his eye brows were drawn as though he was angry. Nothing but black sockets looked back at them.
"Mom, please!" Remy pleaded, tears rolling down his cheeks. His chest hitched in quiet sobs.
"That's not your mom." Talin said quietly, pushing Remy back towards the bedrooms. He had to drag his eyes away from the image in the hall. He reached up and put his hands on Remy's cheeks. "Remy, you're sleep walking. You need to wake up." Remy's breath puffed in his face in the chill and his eyes met Talin's but didn't focus. Talin looked over his shoulder just in time to see the whatever it was fade away. He could feel the warmth coming back through the open hall. "Remy, I need you to go back to bed."
"Don't make me be alone." Remy sobbed, wrapping his arms around Talin and crying on his shoulder. "Not any more."
"Ok, I promise." Talin guided him towards his room. "You can sleep in my bed, okay?" He pushed the door open, glancing into the hall at where it had stood. Remy sniffed loudly and followed Talin to the large double bed. Talin lifted the sheets for him. "Come on, Remy. I need to go check something. I want you to stay right here until I get back." Remy slid into the bed and seemed to be instantly asleep. Talin pulled the covers up and went back into the hallway, pulling the door closed behind him.
The hair on the back of his neck rose as he crept up the hall towards the spot where it had appeared. The temperature was normal again, and he carefully went around the spot where it had stared at them. He tried the door next to Remy's room, peering into the darkness. The room was neat and orderly, another bedroom, and he pulled the door closed. Across the hall next to his room the door was ajar. He looked into the moonlight room at the Victorian furnishings and saw nothing out of place. Next was the stair well. He leaned over the railing and looked at the large chandelier and at the Persian carpet runners on the dark oak steps. Everything was quiet, nothing out of place.
He was beginning to feel ridiculous as he came to the last door on the top floor. Running around in his underwear at whatever time of the morning it was, he shook his head and sighed through his nose. He reached for the last door knob and was shocked to feel the icy coldness of the metal on his hand. The door knob felt like it had been in the freezer. He jerked his hand away and stepped back caught off guard. "What the hell?" He mumbled, hesitatingly taking the knob in his hand again. It was still icy cold, and as he tried to open it it wouldn't budge, locked. Talin stepped back from the door slowly, running his hands over his arms.
"Too many books." He mumbled as he walked back to his room. He stole glances over his shoulder at the door, trying to blow it off as imagination. The problem was he knew damned well it wasn't his imagination, and he knew he wasn't crazy. He took one last look at the door and the spot on the floor and went into his bedroom shaking his head.
Remy was sleeping quietly and Talin stopped at the end of the large four poster bed with his hands on his hips. He was beginning to think it had been a mistake to bring Remy in here. Remy was very nice looking, and he was also Talin's cousin, and that didn't sit very well, not to mention he'd never shared a bed with anyone before. He yawned and went around to the side of the bed, finally deciding that it was no big deal. He carefully climbed under the covers and willed himself to relax, laying on his side away from Remy.
It took a lot of effort to put everything out of his mind. He was just getting to that foggy area between sleep and awake, believing that he might get back to sleep, when Remy made snuffling sound, rolled over, and slid his arm around Talin's waist. He mumbled something thickly in his sleep and settled against Talin's back.
Talin didn't breathe for several seconds, his eyes wide. One side of his mind was screaming that he should get OUT OF THE BED, while another part was feeling wonder at having someone touching him like that. In the end, the excitement of the night and his being exhausted won out, and before he could move away he drifted off to sleep.