Chương 63: Arc II, Chapter 54: The Séance Part Four

"Tell us the truth," Antoine said.

"It is weird that every Geist was surgically removed from this town except for you." Jedediah began to get angry, but perhaps not at us. He relented.

"You wouldn't understand," he said.

"Even with the certainty I had that I was right, the years took their toll on my resolve. I would have left this place and rejoined the world below. I would have, except when I had a small health scare in the early eighties, my brothers sent the supposed family doctor to tend to me. I had seen him before. It was Dr. Howard Halle. The same man I had seen with Silas Dyrkon. He hadn't aged a day, as far as I could tell. It was possible that I was even older than him." The flashback showed Halle knocking at Jed's door.

Jed's look was first surprise, then resignation. Somehow, he remembered the man from all those years ago.

"The hope that I had been wrong was ripped from me. It was no victory. The man tended to me as a friend and doctor for years. Of course, he, too, would get the cold, knowing stare sometimes. He would try to lure me to his trap in the Carousel Hills, but I was too old to give a rise over it." After that, Jedediah began to weep. Ghostly tears ran down his face.

"The night the manor burned, you could see the fire glowing in the clouds over Carousel, you know. I turned on the radio, looking for some explanation. Somehow, in my heart, I knew what was happening. I could feel it. I had known something was going to happen for some time. I had received an invitation to a party at the estate. A plot was brewing. I had just lost my brother Carlyle. The party was in his honor. Something was going to happen.

When I heard the manor was ablaze with my whole family inside, I could stay here no longer." I lost track of what Jedediah was saying as I watched the flashback of him running around the side of the hill and screaming, "I'm going, I'm going," to an NPC sitting in the hotel's shuttle van. Jed held out his hand. The NPC handed him the keys as his script likely instructed him to. Jedediah didn't go directly to the manor; that road was closed off by emergency services and news crews.

Instead, he went to the Geist Cemetery, to a large stone mausoleum in the paupers graveyard. He pressed on a hidden stone trigger inside the building, and a passage opened for him. A faint puff of black smoke came out when he opened it. He rushed in, flicking on a light that was strung along the path as he ran underground. The smoke was getting thicker but still not too thick to breathe. After what must have been a few hundred yards, Jedediah started to see bodies.

The dead were numerous, fallen as they had tried to escape the blaze through the secret tunnel. Jed tried to stir each body to life as he passed. He called out their names if he knew them. People had tried to get through the passage with such force that their bodies had become pinned together in the tight hallway. He tried in vain to find one that had lived. That's when he heard a cough from somewhere underneath two dead bodies in tuxes. He bent down and saw the body of a woman in a beautiful gown.

Her face was burned and blackened, as was much of the rest of her. She struggled to breathe as her mouth was pressed into a puddle of water that had formed from the firefighter's attempts to put out the blaze. Jed picked up the bodies with all his might and pulled the broken body of the woman into his embrace.

"Lillian," he said brokenheartedly. He turned toward the door that led to the main manor and screamed, "In here!" He was about to scream it a second time, but then he heard the muffled voice of an NPC on the other side of the door, a firefighter perhaps. I could see the wheels turning in his mind. He didn't trust NPCs. NPCs led you into traps. He lifted Lillian and did his best to pull her back through the tunnel and to the shuttle van waiting in the cemetery parking lot.

He managed to get her inside without anyone seeing them. He got in the driver's seat and started to drive.

"I didn't know where to go," Jedediah said.

"The hospital was rife with traps. I couldn't be sure that she would be safe there. The Geists were being targeted. I couldn't trust anyone. I did the only thing I could think of." He drove back to his home. There was a path to his house; it was just overgrown. Still, he powered through and rushed Lillian inside, where he immediately picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Howard," Jed said.

"I need you to come to my house immediately and bring emergency supplies for burns."

"You burned yourself?" Dr. Halle replied on the other side.

"Get here fast… And tell Silas Dyrkon I need to see him." Halle sounded surprised to hear that. It took him a few seconds to respond.

"Excuse me," he said.

"Who?"

"Tell him I need to see him now," Jedediah said. A few more seconds of silence later.

"Okay," Halle said. Then he hung up. Jedediah shook as he put the phone down. A tear rolled down his cheek. His breaths were quick and shallow. He turned his attention to Lillian, who lay unconscious on the couch. She was in bad shape, and her breathing was heavily labored.

"It will be okay," he said softly to her.

"It will all be okay." Jedediah's account of the story continued.

"It was morning hours when Halle arrived. Silas had not ridden with him but still appeared at the door right after Halle entered." The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Jedediah didn't look surprised or afraid to see Silas. He looked resigned to his fate.

"So this is all it took to get you to act," Dyrkon said as he entered. Though he joked, his expression was serious, almost concerned.

"What can I do for you, Jedediah?"

"Save her," Jed said.

"Heal her or… I need you to save her somehow." Silas looked at Lillian on the couch. Halle was fast at work attempting to treat her. I saw something in Silas' eyes that didn't make sense. Sadness?

"I can't do something like that," Silas said.

"I'm a simple banker… or however the legend goes." Jedediah shook his head.

"You aren't at all what you pretend. I know that. I saw you. I saw you when I was young." Silas smiled with restraint.

"Yes," he said.

"You weren't supposed to be there. You were such a curious child it was hard for us to keep up. That was a wonderful accident, actually. Life finds a way. Or so I believed." Jedediah stared at Silas. He was building his courage.

"You made a deal with my father."

"That was a private meeting you observed," Silas said.

"Still," Jed said, "You can make deals. Like in the stories."

"Everyone can make deals," Silas said.

"I just have more to offer than most, along with a great penchant for keeping my word." Jedediah looked at Lillian.

"I don't want her mixed up in anything. I just want her better." Silas laughed.

"You've come to bargain?"

"I'll do anything. Anything," Jedediah said. Silas shook his head.

"Now you want to go all-in when you are out of chips."

"I'll give you my soul," Jedediah said.

"That's what people like you want, right?" Silas smiled.

"You really are a Geist, after all," he said.

"But it's a little late to sell your soul, wouldn't you say, Howard?" Halle looked up from his work on Lillian and said, "Quite." He laughed, but I got the sense it was only to humor Dyrkon. Jedediah dropped to his knees. I couldn't imagine what was going through his mind.

"Anything," he said. Silas knelt down and said softly, "I do have some services that you might be well-suited to provide." Jedediah looked him in the eye and said, "What? What do you need?" Halle interrupted.

"I need to get her back to the Hospital," he said.

"Go," Silas said. Halle lifted Lillian off the couch and carried her outside.

"No," Jedediah said, "Not without a deal. I know what he is… I know what he's done in the Carousel Hills. I've done my research." Silas smiled.

"As I said earlier, you have no chips to wager here. No cards left to play. If you want a deal, then now is the time to make one." Jedediah knew he was up against a wall.

"Lillian's life," Jedediah said.

"I need her to be healthy."

"I can arrange that," Silas said.

"Halle is extraordinarily qualified."

"And he won't take her back to his trap?" Jedediah said.

"No," Silas said.

"I'll ask again. What do you need?"

"I want you to answer questions," Silas said. Jed looked confused.

"Okay," he said.

"Ask me anything."

"Not just my questions," he said.

"I want you to answer any questions that anyone I send your way might think to ask." Silas then looked directly at the camera again.

"I will," Jed said, unsure of why he was being asked this.

"And I don't want this to be a trap. Or for you to send another trap after me. I want peace."

"You drive a hard bargain. In exchange for your services," Silas said, "I will guarantee that you do not fall into any 'traps' and that Lillian receives care from Dr. Halle without the trip up north to the Carousel Hills." Jed nodded.

"I need to see the terms," he said. Silas pulled an unsealed envelope from his pocket and retrieved a letter from within. The camera didn't zoom in on the letter, but the contents did appear on the red wallpaper for us to see. Jed looked over the letter as the words formed on their own.

"This," he said.

"This is not enough. We need to go over everything. I need to know you aren't tricking me." Silas laughed.

"You never expressed such a desire to be an attorney before. If you had, I might have added a law school to the university. I'm sure there are plenty to choose from… You are officially out of bargaining power. Read the letter and either sign it or don't. That is your option." Jedediah knew he had no power. After much solemn meditation, looking down at the letter, he took the pen Silas was holding out and signed it.

Contract Between Jedediah Geist and Silas Dyrkon This document hereby enshrines a solemn pact between Jedediah Geist (hereinafter referred to as "The Black Sheep") and Silas Dyrkon (hereafter still referred to as "Silas Dyrkon"), forged in the town of Carousel, on this day, April 11, 1984.

The provisions herein are detailed as follows: Obligations of The Black Sheep: The Black Sheep shall, without falter, divulge answers to any queries brought forth by souls seeking knowledge of his bloodline or the obscured annals of Carousel's history. This duty encompasses all questions from any seeker, imparted with earnest truth to the limits of his wisdom.

In performing this duty, The Black Sheep pledges to unravel the threads of the past, ensuring that no seeker departs less enlightened than upon their arrival. Obligations of Silas Dyrkon: Silas Dyrkon assures that The Black Sheep will be shielded from being tricked into "traps," as he deems them, involving "partners" of Carousel or any "conspirators."

This safeguard shall persist steadfastly, encircling The Black Sheep in a cloak of protection against both corporeal and spectral threats by partners, from this moment hence for all of his life. It is herein promised that such safeguarding shall weave through The Black Sheep's existence unobtrusively, sparing him from the direct meddling of Carousel's clandestine orchestrators. Silas Dyrkon shall arrange for Dr.

Howard Halle to treat and care for Lillian Geist, The Black Sheep's beloved niece, ensuring her a recovery from her grave injuries. Silas Dyrkon agrees not to involve her in "the trap Halle has over in the Carousel Hills". Duration of Agreement: This covenant shall bind from the stroke of this pen onward.

Miscellaneous Provisions: Should contention arise from the depths of this accord, it shall be quelled under the judicious eye of Silas Dyrkon, whose edicts shall reign supreme, cloaked in the guise of fairness and impartiality. Signatures: By affixing their marks below, both entities commit to the tenets laid forth in this document, binding themselves to its fulfillment with a solemn vow, albeit under circumstances that could be described as less than voluntary but with a spirit of adventurous consent.

Jedediah Geist "The Black Sheep" Jedediah Geist Date: April 11, 1984 Silas Dyrkon _Silas Dyrkon Date: April 11, 1984 Silas turned to walk away, folding the contract back into its envelope. Jedediah did not look pleased with his newfound protections. As Silas neared the door, Jed asked, "You've tricked me, haven't you? This contract doesn't protect us like it sounds, does it?"

Silas, in a moment of shocking earnestness, said, "You know, Jedediah, if you wanted answers, you should have started looking a long time ago." Then he turned and left, but before he did, he stopped to say, "By the way, she did love you. Harriet, I mean. That part was real. The one person in the Many Worlds who was perfect for you, and I brought her here. That part wasn't a trick." It didn't sound like he was gloating. It sounded almost like a mercy, answering an old man's greatest question.

Jedediah stood there for a time and wept. None of us were sure if we should keep asking questions. The subject of Lillian was too sensitive. Digging any deeper might draw out the memory of his death and lead to ours. He was emotionally destroyed. Further questions felt dangerous, even those unrelated to Lillian. We each backed out of the room one at a time. Antoine opened the window. After a few minutes, we heard the window close again. After that, the room was empty, with no ghosts to be seen.

We continued the game into the morning hours, just in case. The blue lantern never made an appearance. If we had any more questions, we could always play again, but I suspected we might not have the luxury.