When Tis Done – Part 29

Brian and Jordan arrive at the archives building and catch Chase and Marissa in a personal moment – just kissing, but surely more than they had shared the day before. Jordan is glad to see then are making progress, but knows they still have a long way to go.

Chase jabbed his ribs. “What do you want to look at today?”

“Do we have any records from the last local Dreamer?”

“Yeah. We have recordings out the ass. Dad read through all the hand written stuff and recorded it. It took him years. He has the papers here and he also made copies, because the originals were getting too brittle to handle. Why?”

“I’ve got something I need to look for. Is it indexed where I can search it, or do I have to search each file?”

“I don’t know. Let’s look. Tell me what you’re looking for and I’ll see what I can find.”

Brian told him about the Shakespeare quote. To his surprise, his friend’s face lit up.

“Holy wow, I was just listening to something about that yesterday. Or the day before. Edgar Cayce wasn’t the only Dreamer, as you know. You’re kin to him, but there have been others. Dad found records of someone else. Apparently, they aren’t quite as uncommon and isolated as we thought. The really talented, prophetic Dreamers, like Edgar Cayce, and you, those are extremely rare. But there are some who also got Dreams, theirs were just more open to interpretation. However, one lady was really accurate. And Dad had just finished recording her papers right before….”

Brian sensed his friend’s mood and interrupted to save him embarrassment. “Really? Who?”

Chase pulled a CD case from a shelf, handing it to his friend.

“Evangeline Cayce? Luminous’ daughter? She was a Dreamer?”

“A damn good one, too. I’ve listened to some of this stuff while I’ve been working in here. Dad was listening to this CD before he was killed. I found it when we cleaned up.”

“And you think that’s significant.”

Chase nodded. “Because, on this CD, she talks about that quote. She had a similar dream.”

“What happened afterward?”

“The battle with Opal and Luminous and the infamous Mr. D.”

“She foretold that?”

“Not exactly. She wasn’t able to interpret the dream, she was only a kid about our age. But she knew something bad was on the horizon. Listen to this one.”

“Let’s put it in while we clean up and put things away.”

His friend hesitated a moment. “It’s just—the only time I listen to these, I’m alone. Hearing his voice….”

“I know, Chase. But if you can’t get weepy in front of the three of us, who can you? Besides, if I know Jordan, she’ll be right there with you.”

Chase forced a laugh. Turning on the CD player that was hooked into half a dozen speakers, he started the player.

“Diary of Evangeline Cayce. Twenty-fifth September, 1713,” Cliff’s calm baritone filled the building. “Last night, I had a dream. It was most vivid and perplexing. I told Father about it and he was quite vexed, though not with me. Words floated before my eyes, a voice speaking them in a low tone. I heard it as distinctly as if it were in the room with me. If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well It were done quickly. Father says it was written by a man called William Shakespeare nearly a century ago. I don’t know what it means, but it has played in my dreams for seven nights running. I wake with disquietude deep within my soul. I know something bad is coming.

“Father tells me I mustn’t worry and Mama tells me I mustn’t speak to anyone about it, most especially Father. But he seems to understand more of what is happening to me than she. Mama has a bitter spirit at the best of times, but as she increases, her temper flares like fire and oil. Father says we must excuse her behavior. She isn’t feeling well in this unseasonable heat. But I think it’s simply that Mama is a wretched person. She doesn’t like me, she’s made that abundant clear. I think this is because she knows she has no real control over me, as she is not the one who gave me birth.”

“What?” Jordan screeched. “Hold up. Go back!”

Chase pressed the pause button.

“What?”

“Didn’t you catch that? Opal Cayce wasn’t Evangeline’s mother. Curiouser and curiouser….”

“Do we have any pictures of Luminous and his family?”

“We do. It’s back here.” Chase led the way to the back room.

It was somewhat spooky back there and the girls didn’t really want to go. Chase wasn’t crazy about it either, but Brian walked in without a care. His attitude made the rest of them a bit more bold—or it might have been that they didn’t want to appear cowardly in face of his bravery. The portrait hung high on the far wall. It showed Luminous, Opal and eleven of their twelve children. Though the artist hadn’t shown it, given the apparent ages of the others, Opal may have been pregnant with Olivander when it was painted.

© 2017 Dellani Oakes

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