Superstar: Horn OK Please (11 page)

Hound continued to ponder as Jeremy went on, “And then one fine day, after the birth of Wilma, he left everything and went to Tibet. He said he wanted peace of mind. His last wish was to die in the mountains…..He never came back. He must have died there. May his soul rest in peace”, said Jeremy, staring at his empty glass, wondering if he should go for a refill. By then, the whisky had embraced his soul in its warmth.

“What happened to all the men in the family? Jenny’s father and her grandfather?” asked Hound, wondering why Jeremy never made a mention of them so far.

“Wolves! Don’t ask me how, but they all suffered before they died. Just like all the others, they were mauled by a wolf as well. There are no wolves in the region, yet their mutilated bodies were found in the plantations, horribly chewed and scattered all over the place. I’ve seen death, Hound, I have witnessed the gory sights. Now all of them rest in the cemetery. We had to collect the scattered remains before giving them a decent burial”, said Jeremy, as tears welled up in his eyes, “Even my father died that way….”

“But you said there are no wolves in the plantations, I mean, wolves don’t drink coffee or tea?” said Hound, shrugging his shoulders. And suddenly Hound realized that he had made a foolish statement. Jeremy’s glare said it all. But he chose to ignore it.

“Believe if you must. I know you have seen it here, so I rest my case. Some say that Winston had a pet wolf, a very large, dangerous beast, but we have never heard about it nor has anyone seen it. My uncle told me that he used to unleash the beast when he had to have people killed and mauled. Nobody knew what the secret was, but it had made Winston very powerful. They say he called it the ‘Devil’s Breath’…” Jeremy was on the verge of breaking down as he spoke the dreary words.

“Maybe, it has was Winston’s way of revering the Wolfman?” asked Hound, wondering why was it such a big deal. He knew people who owned boa constrictors and cats for fun.

“The legend goes on to say that the merchant whom Winston had killed never told him about the price he had to pay for his greed, the same fate that would also become Winston’s. And it is us who are still paying his price. That’s been the fate of Winston’s daughter, her daughter and it is now Jenny’s turn. Each one had a Doppelganger and they died…..Jenny is the last surviving member in direct lineage of Winston. No more D’Silvas after that!” said Jeremy, emptying his glass. A tear drop trickled down the corner of his left eye as he suddenly looked away trying to hide his emotions. A man was supposed to be strong, after all.

“Why? Aren’t you there, Jeremy? The obvious benefactor from it all?” quizzed Hound, trying to find out if the whisky had gone to his head.

“Stop cross-questioning me, Hound! Do not doubt my integrity or love for the D’Silva clan! I’ve said this before. I’m just a caretaker. My grand-father was just a servant who did Winston’s bidding. My father was too scared to leave and so am I. But the family has been kind to us. Just so you are aware, neither Cathy, my wife nor I have anything to gain from Jenny’s death. The will is clear about the inheritance. If she dies, everything goes to charity. You can have a copy of the will if you wish…” suddenly Jeremy’s voice became shrill as he felt insulted by Hound’s remark.

“Calm down, Jeremy, I just want to be sure. I’m doing this for all of us. My friends and I are trying to figure it out. If there is anything we can do to save Jenny’s life, we shall. The questions I am asking are all a part and parcel of it. I am not here out of pleasure.  But thank you, you have been very helpful”, said Hound, as he got up, turned and walked away without looking back. He didn’t like drunkards.

As Hound walked towards the Lobby, he wondered if others had been so lucky. He had learned much from Jeremy today. Maybe the Wolfman had taken away Winston’s soul. Maybe he wanted the blood of all future generations till there was no trace of anybody from the family. The gift belonged to Winston and Winston alone and he hadn’t bargained for that. Each female member in the family was killed by her Doppelganger. Jenny was the last one in the line. This was the price Winston had to pay for his own, evil doing.

Jeremy had given him a good deal of information. A loser, a drunkard, he didn’t have it in him to handle the estate. He concluded that Jeremy wasn’t trying to kill Jenny. They were dealing with the supernatural. The Wolfman seemed to puzzle him. If there existed a fighting chance for Jenny, only the Wolfman would know, that is – if he really existed. They would need to go to Siem Reap, immediately, before Jenny turned 23 in a couple of days. But where exactly must she go to in Siem Reap, Cambodia? There were hundreds of temple ruins in Angkor.

His mind was racing and it was close to sundown. It was time for the freak show to begin and Jenny would be soon howling in pain. The poor, innocent girl would be roasted by her Doppelganger again soon. There was something about her that seemed to touch his heart. Hell! He didn’t even know if it was true love. Not that it mattered, though, for the foolish woman had fallen for the wrong guy. That wrong guy was his buddy, Derek. But that wouldn’t stop Hound from loving Jenny.

True love? Did he just say that he experienced true love with Jenny? Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. What mattered more was Jenny’s wellbeing. He wanted to her to live, he couldn’t bear to watch her die. When he’d seen her tied to the bed-posts; writhing in pain and agony that night, with Lobsang and Cathy desperately trying to help her, he had felt her pain. Not physical, but it was something else. He couldn’t explain it, yet he had experienced it. The same was the case with the supernatural - he couldn’t comprehend the fact that Doppelgangers existed, but he had experienced that as well.

His mind was floating amidst the ruins of Cambodia. Maybe there was a slim chance that was in Jenny’s favour. Maybe with the help of his other friends, he would be able to beat down the evil.

He wondered if they could save Jenny…

***
 

CHAPTER SEVEN

***

***

Roses are red and violets are blue,

She was appalled to learn about the evil that men do;

Greed, they say, is the root of all evil;

So true, for she knew someone who’d sold his soul to the Devil;

She cringed in disgust, it was all so scary,

Then she wrote it all down in her neat little diary;

Why do people become evil, it’s so hard to say,

But why did it have to be her, the one who must pay;

Though love filled her heart, the pain refused to go away,

It would cling on to her along with fear, be it night or day;

And then she knew the truth, pain had become her friend,

She felt hopeless, the angst drove her round the bend;

She was happy one moment, sad the other,

She cried out for her father, her heart yearned for her mother;

She had love in her life, much more than she could handle,

But she rode the evil steed of her pas bound to the saddle;

She now knew why, she now knew how; evil had to be defeated,

Then she lost it all when she felt betrayed and cheated;

But if smiles and Imagination makes you say ‘Cheese’

Drive on, that’s the spirit of Horn OK Please…

***

Six guests and seven rooms:

“Hola! What on earth were the two of you doing out there? I was with Jeremy in his office when he saw you folks studying the mansion. I tell you, it freaked Jeremy out. But I’ve got loads to tell you, truckloads! How was your day? And where’s Derek?” said Hound, as he sashayed into the lobby and sunk into a couch. The others could make out clearly that Hound was sitting on some kind of a jackpot as his excitement and impatience revealed it all.

“Loads out here too. Ah! There are Derek and Jenny”, said Goose, pointing at the reception, “Why don’t we all go and sit somewhere and fill each other in before it turns dark?”

“Hey there, people! I’ve got much to tell you. I’ll quickly deposit Jenny with Lobsang and Cathy and be right back. Wait for me, don’t start anything”, said Derek as Jenny waved out to us and headed towards the swimming pool where Jeremy was waiting for her.

“Good, Derek had sense enough not to discuss this in front of Jenny”, said Hound, as he got up to go upstairs, “Come, let’s all go to my room. Jeremy told me that they have fixed our rooms”.

We were in Hound’s room waiting for Derek when there was a knock on the door. I went and opened the door to see Derek standing there, grinning like an idiot. Lobsang and Cathy were there too. Thank God the fool didn’t bring Jenny, Jeremy or that toothpick Nanny with him.

“Come in, let’s sit down and discuss. I have told them everything”, said Derek as he looked at me, pointing towards the two new guests. I was too shocked to respond and looked at Hound and Goose. Hound suppressed a smile. It had to happen one day or the other. We couldn’t have betrayed the master while living in his palace.

The stage was set and we began to talk. It was close to evening when we exchanged notes. From what Hound told us, it was evident that neither Lobsang nor Cathy knew so much about Winston or the dark family history in detail. When Goose explained how we found the key, the mood in the room went dark. Cathy and Lobsang felt depressed. They felt stupid on trying so hard without even knowing the complete truth. May be this was the way it was supposed to be. Anything for their darling Jenny.

Maybe, it had been a good idea to discuss with Cathy and Lobsang as well, it made them trust us after this meet up.  So I guess it was cool if they were around. Jeremy had taken Jenny out for a walk just so we could sit and talk before sundown. Anyway, we were running out of time as the beautiful, round, orange ball of a sun seemed to be hastily setting behind the hills.

We all sat in silence for some time in the dusk. The sky changed colour from blue to pink and orange before finally settling for the black. The birds flew back into their nests getting themselves prepared for the long eventful night to come. It was a ferocious world out there. The law of nature supported Darwin’s theory of ‘the survival of the fittest’. Whoever would live through the night would see the day. Whoever wouldn’t, would die a horrible death and this applied to all living beings including humans. 

The stars began to twinkle as they showered their affection on the earthlings. The moon shone bright as it showered its milky light down on earth as a source of some warmth for the ones who would fight to live through the dark forces of nature. And somewhere deep in the jungle, a wolf howled. It snapped us out of trance and dropped us on the hard grounds of reality.

“It’s getting dark. But knowing what we know from all the pieces of investigation today, I suggest we look for the secret room tomorrow morning. The key proves that Winston was using a secret room as his personal study and that is right here in this mansion. Otherwise, how could he just disappear and return when the doors were locked?” said Goose, flashing the thick, iron key to all. The bird had a point. 

“Agree. I never knew all this. Maybe, we failed in looking beyond Jenny’s health and ignored the obvious. Also, I would suggest that we all huddle up in the lounge tonight as a group. With barely two days to go for Jenny’s birthday, the Doppelganger’s powers are getting stronger. She may want to harm us”, said Cathy, with a worried look on her face as she looked outside the balcony door. The wind was picking up as it howled marking the beginning of a sad end.

“It’s not just the Doppelganger’s powers. Jenny’s mind is becoming stronger too. That’s the good news. Life comes in sweet packages of two. A coin always has two sides. Her ability to control fire shall rise as well. If she must find an answer, she’s got 48 hours to do it”, said Lobsang, smiling, as she spoke with pride about her little Jenny. They had played together, they had laughed together, they had been together in life all through the thick and the thin. Jenny had always been her best friend and she was always there for Lobsang whenever she needed help. Now it was time to show the power of friendship and care. Now it was Lobsang’s turn to be there for Jenny and protect her with all her might and prayers.

“By the way, where is she now?” I asked, concerned that the Doppelganger was going to torment her yet again tonight.

“She must be coming back anytime now. Before she knows it, she shall be slipping into a coma. I’ve shielded room number seven with strange magic that I’ve learnt from Tibetan monks. Not that it will help her live, but it won’t let her die…at least not tonight. Jeremy and Nanny will keep watch. We’ll be checking on her intermittently. Please don’t tell the poor girl anything about all this”, blurted Lobsang in a strained voice, pointing her forefinger at Derek.

“At least not till we find the secret room and know there’s a cure”, said Derek, covering his eyes with his palm as he let out a deep sigh, “We’ve got make this work!”

One wild night:

As darkness fell, the soft, muffled voices of Jenny’s screams began yet again. She’d collapsed out of sheer exhaustion as soon as she entered the house with Jeremy and was quickly lifted and placed on the large, four-poster bed inside room number seven. Derek had lifted her with care and softly placed her on the bed. Hound gently tucked her inside the blanket as he patted her hand and kissed her forehead. Both Hound and Derek tried to make sure that they did what they could to make her feel comfortable before the screams began. Matchstick Nanny had lit up many candles in the room.

As the soft glow of candlelight filled the spartan room, Goose folded his arms and leaned against the wall near Jenny’s feet, as he said a prayer inside his head. I looked on helplessly, hands in my pocket, as I stared at Jenny sleeping like an angel. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful in the candlelight. I felt like a fool for not having trusted her before. Derek looked at her helplessly, as he wiped away an imaginary tear from her eyes before stepping back. Hound stared angrily at Winston’s painting as the sound of the howling wind began.

Drumstick Nanny furiously counted the beads from the necklace held tightly in her shrunken palms as Lobsang cited strange chants with her arms outstretched, her palms touching an imaginary wall around Jenny as Jeremy looked on, trying hard to keep himself awake, sobbing quietly as he struggled to stand straight. He’d had a bit too much of drink today. Watching his little Jenny in pain seemed to be driving him crazy. Lobsang had called it the ‘Circle of Light’, maybe she was referring to the candles placed in a circular fashion.

Jeremy was a father to Jenny, at least he had been one till he was politely beckoned by Lobsang to help her as she went about tying thick ropes to Jenny’s soft arms and legs. Cathy then clinically went about gagging Jenny’s mouth with a large, white scarf. Deed done, they stepped back, waiting for the Devil to rise.

Jeremy sobbed uncontrollably and quietly as he watched his child helplessly, waiting for her to die painfully soon. It had been a cruel world for the innocent Jenny, he wondered, as tears streamed down his rough face. Jenny had taken him around the estate for he was tipsy. She had wanted him to sober up before others could see him in an inebriated state. He had walked around meekly, like a lamb, as Jenny had spoken chirpily about cricket that was Jeremy’s passion. As usual, she had talked about everything under the sun that made Jeremy happy. He had wanted to tell her everything, how she was about to die and how she was about to have her life eaten away by her Doppelganger yet again tonight. He had chosen not to. It drove him crazy every night.

“Now, leave”, cackled Nanny as she saw Jenny stiffen in her bed as though something was beginning to take control of Jenny, “It’s beginning….”

No one moved. We decided to stay and watch instead.

Even though the windows and doors were shut tight, an eerie, icy cold mist began to descend onto the bed from the ceiling, as the sound of a howling wolf from afar mingled with the intensifying sound of shaking windowpanes. The smell of evil and death, something dark and deep, seemed to enter the room from somewhere. The candle flames started flickering as Jenny’s head moved from side to side violently. It seemed as if something heavy sat on Jenny and wouldn’t let her move.

The night got darker as the cold winds blew. As the air temperature inside the room dropped, the pungent smell of death gave way to the sound of heavy breathing. Along with that a strange smell of wicked flowers enveloped the room. It seemed like we were locked inside the room with the Devil. 

Jenny opened her eyes as she let out a muffled scream, staring at everyone in the room. The beautiful eyes had disappeared and what we saw that night is a sight I hope, dear reader, you never get to see. Her eyes had turned jet black and she was death personified and her fingers seemed to move frantically like claws, pointing to Derek, who stood transfixed against the wall, right beside the door of the room. Goose looked at me as though saying, “Chief, do you see what I see? Jenny’s pointing to Derek!”

Jenny writhed in pain, trying to free herself from the tight ropes that clutched her hands and feet tight. Bound and gagged, she was the ultimate figure of pain as the bed started to rattle. The candles flickered as though dancing to the macabre sounds of death – the evil, rhythmic breathing of the Devil. And then Jenny seemed to levitate herself as blood started trickling down from the walls as though there was blood rain all around the estate, seeping through the ceiling. The heavy bed began to rise, albeit shakily at first, then it rose to the ceiling and touched it. As it came down again, the screams of Jenny became louder. The bed started to rise again and danced to the breath of the Devil….
Thump! Thump! Thump!

Jenny’s bed floated like a feather as the blood all around disappeared mysteriously. The candlelight stopped flickering as the evil smell of death left the room and everything was back to normal. We watched as Jenny lay quiet and peaceful once again, bound and gagged. It seemed to tear Hound’s heart. Derek could watch no more as he reached for the doorknob, yanked it open and ran towards his room.

“Leave….I told you to leave! This is not a sight for mere mortals and morons”, thundered broomstick Nanny, as Hound was the next to leave, his head hung in shame, hopelessness and despair.

“Ignore her, wait for us in the lobby, we shall join you in a bit”, said Lobsang, as she looked up at me and used a towel to pat Jenny dry, “Nanny can handle her now. The worst is over for tonight. Take Jeremy with you please, he’s weak!”

Cathy checked her pulse as Goose escorted Jeremy out, who was now shaking like a leaf, mouthing gibberish.

“Men! Hah! I tell you….they’re weak bastards”, said matchstick Nanny, grinning from ear to ear. I stared at the ol’ witch as we left the room, closing the door behind me, leaving Lobsang and Cathy alone with Jenny, wondering how could Jenny survive this ordeal night after night.

My perception towards Jenny changed that night. I promised to myself that I’d never be a jerk again.

The Secret Chamber:

As we reached the lounge, we noticed that Derek had returned from his room. He was sitting nervously on to the big couch kept at the center lobby, right in front of the fireplace. He had run to his room to pick up a bottle of his Scotch and was now gulping down a few shots. As soon as we sat down on the couches, Hound took the bottle from Derek and gulped down greedily, straight from the bottle before passing it on to me. I took a few large gulps and passed it on to Goose as Lobsang and Cathy came out from the room and joined us. Jenny was alone with toothpick Nanny. Jeremy had passed out on one of the couches. Too much whisky; the drunkard!

“It’s over for the night. Nanny will be with Jenny while she sleeps. Jenny won’t remember a thing when she wakes up”, said Lobsang, as she made herself comfortable on a sofa close to Derek, “But I saw something strange tonight. It was like Jenny was trying to say something, Derek, she pointed towards you!”

Cathy sat down beside Lobsang and watched Derek empty his glass.

“Shut up! She wasn’t pointing at me. I was just leaning on the wall with my back towards this lobby. I didn’t do anything!” yelled Derek, his hands shaking with fear.

“Come clean, you bastard. Tell us what you know. Don’t hide anything now. We don’t have time for lies!” hissed Hound, grabbing Derek’s collar.

“OK…..It happened at the graveyard today when I was with Jenny. She said she knew everything about her grandfather. She hates him. She said that it was he who brought the curse down upon the family”, said Derek, fully aware that he had eyes around the room burning into his flesh.

“Tell us the truth, you fool! You mean, she knows everything already?” Goose said, shocked that Derek would hide something so important.

“Go on, we’re listening”, I said, trying to maintain calm in the room.

“Yes, she knows everything about her Doppelganger, the mansion, the cemetery and all about Winston. She told me everything that Hound told us about. She said she knew that there is a secret room in the mansion; she’s even seen the keyhole. It’s right behind that evil, ugly painting that dangles above the fireplace. She said she could never get in there because she doesn’t have the key. She said she knew about the Wolfman and something else…..The Devil’s breath! She said there is something very evil in that secret room of her great grandpa and she feels its presence all the time!” said Derek, reaching for the handkerchief in his pocket. Beads of sweat started to appear on his forehead and I saw something in his eyes which I had never seen ever before – fear! I was worried for Derek.