Surprise! It's October and that means Halloween, so I have been preparing a Halloween treat for the list. Just something to fill in the time and the space until All Hallow's Eve. This is a new series ghost-story and hope you all enjoy it. I will be posting every other day (which means by midnight) until all parts are posted; the posting schedule may change considering the fact that I want to save the concluding post for Halloween, so we'll just see how it goes.

If this post doesn't end with the words "End" and my signature, then you didn't receive all of it and please email me.

Disclaimer: As usual, the Tomorrow People, Adam, Ami, Megabyte, Jade and General Damon do not belong to me. They are the property of Roger Price, Thames Television, etc. I am only borrowing them and using them here for fun and pleasure. I promise to put them back when I am through!

End of Notes & Disclaimer

Michele R Mason

As usual, comments and questions are welcome! chelesedai@hotmail.com Visit me: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Cavern/9012

Exoneration

"Dad, I think you were cheated."

Megabyte's bright blue eyes surveyed the old manor house before them, leaning against his father's car. He still didn't know what possessed his parents to buy a new house, and a "fixer-upper" in the middle of nowhere at that, but one look at the old place told him that "fixer-upper" didn't begin to describe what the house had in store for them. No wonder his father had been more than happy to have the Tomorrow People help with repairs.

All the windows in the front of the house were either broken or boarded up, and paint peeled from the weathered wood siding in long, rigid strips. The front porch was missing two steps, and both railings were rotted through completely, making the entire structure look like it would require the skills of an acrobat to not fall through and injure one's self. Whatever lawn had once surrounded the ample grounds had long since shriveled up and turned brown and wild vines with minds of their own wound their way up the trellis and around the structure. It was a sight right out of one of Megabyte's bad horror movies.

General Damon laughed good naturedly. He slapped his son affectionately on the shoulder. "I got a great deal on it. Sure, it's a little run down, but imagine all the fun we'll have fixing her up."

Megabyte rolled his eyes in disdain. "Yeah, and we might even finish in fifteen or twenty years." And once again, his mother and sister escape the toil and horror by vacationing in the States. Of course, that was part of his father's plan --- to have this place fixed up by the time they returned from their trip abroad.

Adam chuckled. "I don't know, Megabyte. Looks like a challenge to me. General Damon, I can't wait to get started."

"Good, let's go have a look at the inside."

Jade followed quick on the heels of the General and the oldest Tomorrow Person, her voice giddy. "This should be fun. I bet there's a lot of old stuff hidden in there. Maybe even some old journals."

Megabyte's eyes followed his two friends and father as they proceeded cautiously up the rickety porch. Only Ami didn't follow, her eyes staring upward at the second story windows. "I guess you're not too excited about this, either, huh, Ami?"

"There's someone upstairs, Megabyte."

"Huh?" Megabyte followed the girl's gaze to a large window on the second story. One of the few that was not completely shattered or completely bordered. All he saw was darkness and the reflection of the bright summer sky. "Ami, I don't see any thing."

Ami shook her head. "They're gone now. But I swear there was someone up there." Then with sudden determination, she grabbed Megabyte by the arm and began leading him toward his family's newest acquisition --- Sullivan House. "Maybe a caretaker?"

Megabyte opened his mouth to tease her and her over active imagination, but the earnestness in her eyes stopped him dead. It probably *was* just her overactive imagination, but something told him that now wouldn't be a good time to tease her about it. His father, Adam and Jade had already disappeared into the dark maw of the structure, and they were expected to follow. Besides, it couldn't do any harm to just have a look around.

They navigated the porch carefully, entering into the large, dusty and dark wood foyer, lit only by the bright sunlight filtering in through the front door. The interior of the house had been better maintained, and except for a desperate need of a few coats of paint, and several hours of dusting and vacuuming, Megabyte figured the place might actually be livable. Megabyte could hear the voices of the others off to the left up ahead, but Ami's eyes were already focused on the polished wood staircase. Or what would have been a polished wood staircase if it hadn't been unused and unkempt for so many years. A few short strides carried her to the staircase, and she was halfway up them before Megabyte could stop her. He was left with the choice to follow or wait.

"You know, those stairs could have been in the same shape as the porch," Megabyte scolded when they reached the landing.

"You're beginning to sound like Adam," Ami teased.

Unsure of whether to take that as a compliment or an insult, Megabyte kept his mouth shut.

[Megabyte? Ami? Where are you?]

[Having a look around upstairs] Megabyte responded instantly to Adam's light telepathic touch. [Ami thinks that she saw someone up here.]

Adam's response surprised them both. [Jade said the same thing. Your Dad says that there are some neighborhood kids around here, and the old caretaker, Mr. Dorsey. That's probably who you saw Ami.]

That was good enough for Megabyte, but evidently, it wasn't enough for Ami.

[We're upstairs now, Adam.] Ami sighed as she continued her movement down the long, dusty corridor. [We may as well look around.]

[Just be careful then. We don't know what sort of shape this place is in.]

"Mr. Dorsey doesn't do too good of a job keeping this place clean," Megabyte remarked as Ami swung open the door to one of the bedrooms.

Stirred up by the sweeping movement of the door, dust floated languidly in the rays of sunlight that streamed in through the cracked window. A blanket of the stuff covered everything in the room, from the antique oak dresser in the corner to the sheet-covered nightstand and four-poster bed. However, only dust covered the room, and it layered the hardwood floor thickly enough to tell that no one had crossed the threshold in a while.

"See, empty." An inexplicable chill crept up Megabyte's spine making his hair stand on end. It was irrational and child-like, but a blinding fear worked its way into his consciousness and he suddenly did not have any desire to stand on the outside of that bedroom anymore. "No one's up here, Ami. Let's go back downstairs."

If Ami was prepared to argue, the door swinging closed changed her mind.

"It was the wind," Ami breathed quickly.

"Right, the wind." Megabyte decided not to remind her that there had been no wind in that room.

A quick exchange of glances and the two Tomorrow People teleported to the downstairs landing.

Chapter Two - Conservatory

[Just be careful, then. We don't know what sort of shape this place is in.]

Jade shook her head as she listened to Adam break off contact with Ami and Megabyte. She wondered how much of his advice they were actually going to take. She knew how much she would take if there Adam wasn't there looking over her shoulder while they explored the house.

"I still can't believe this place is furnished." Jade surveyed the conservatory, once again taking in the dust and sheet-covered furniture.

"Makes up for the place being in such poor condition." General Damon pulled one of the sheet covers off of a large piano. "Now, isn't that a beauty?"

Adam ran his hands over the piano. "Why would someone leave this behind?"

General Damon shrugged. "Goes with the rest of the house. Most of the furniture is original, from the late 1800's. Of course, a few pieces have had to be replaced, but on the whole, everything is original. Right down to the décor."

"Are you going to redecorate?" Jade asked the question, and fervently hoped the answer was "no." Sullivan House had a mystical, Renaissance charm to it and she didn't want to see that destroyed.

"Wouldn't think of it, Jade." General Damon assuaged her fears with a smile. "You don't buy historical homes to destroy them."

Jade shivered as a chill worked its way into the deep core of her bones. She hugged herself, goose pimples rising on her arms, the hairs standing on end. "Did it just get cold in here?"

Distracted by the dusty leather tomes on the built-in book shelves, General Damon shook his head. "Probably a draft. I'm fine."

"Adam?"

The other Tomorrow Person didn't answer.

Jade looked at her friend, her voice a bit stronger. "Adam?"

Adam sat at the piano, an oddly detached look on his face. He plunked out a few notes on the keys, causing Jade and the General to wince.

"I think that thing's out of tune, Adam." General Damon returned his attention to the Tomorrow People. "I didn't know you played."

"I don't." Adam's voice was vague, distracted. His dark eyes stared down at the keys, fingers dancing lightly over them, but not playing a note. Then, a very simple, albeit out of tune, melody.

The chill in her bones deepened. The cold was so thick that Jade was almost shivering. How could the General and Adam not feel it?

"Is it cold in here?" Adam looked up abruptly, rubbing his hands together.

The General nodded. "There does seem to be a draft. Let's see if we can track down the source."

Jade was happy enough to leave the conservatory behind. Something about the look on Adam's face when he sat down at the piano scared her; and then there was the inexplicable cold. Even standing outside of the conservatory, she couldn't seem to get warm.

Meeting up with Megabyte and Ami, she never noticed Adam's wistful glance back toward the conservatory.

Chapter Three - Whispers & Rumors

If Megabyte was unimpressed by Sullivan House, the town of Stonebridge impressed him even less. Composed of a postal office, a grocers, a hardware shop, one outdated movie house, and several small, private businesses, he wasn't even really certain that he could call Stonebridge a town at all. This was the type of town where everyone knew what you did two hours before you did it, and it wasn't at all the sort of place for a Tomorrow Person to be for very long. Then again, Sullivan house was almost a good hour's drive from Stonebridge, so in the long run, it probably wouldn't matter. And it was his family's "holiday house" although he was pretty sure that Stonebridge wasn't where he would have chosen to spend his vacation.

All the Tomorrow People had piled into General Damon's car for the drive to town to retrieve a few basic supplies, mostly food stuffs and cleaning materials. For some reason, no one had been willing to remain at Sullivan house alone, and it hadn't seemed wise to teleport into this unknown town. It was a good thing that they hadn't.

"Why don't you girls see what you can buy for dinner, and we'll pick up some supplies from the hardware store," General Damon said as he passed some money to Ami. "We'll meet you back at the car."

"Not like they could get lost here," Megabyte grumbled.

"Don't you like Stonebridge, Megabyte? Your mother called it 'quaint.' "

His mother would think it was quaint. And Millicent would probably be in one hundred percent agreement. "It's a little too quaint for me."

A heavy set bearded man greeted the three on their entry into the hardware store. "What can I do for you? Tourists?"

General Damon shook his head. "No, actually, I'm Bill Damon. I just bought the old Sullivan place."

Megabyte didn't miss the startled look that crossed the man's face. "Sullivan place? You actually bought that place?"

"We just came into town to get some supplies to clean her up," General Damon explained.

"You're going to need to do a lot more than clean her up, Mr. Damon. Good luck to you."

General Damon leaned against the counter. "I get the strange feeling that this whole town believes in those ghost stories."

Megabyte felt the blood drain from his face. He almost dropped the mop he had been holding. "Ghost stories? What ghost stories?"

His father's eyes glittered in laughter, but he kept his voice level. "When your mother and I came up to look at the place, we were told by several people that it's haunted."

"Haunted?" Megabyte thought about the door closing when there was no wind. He thought about Ami's insistence that she had seen someone in the upstairs window. And now he learns the place is supposed to be haunted. . .he didn't like the road his mind was travelling down.

The man behind the counter scratched his beard. "I wouldn't be so quick to laugh about it, if I were you, Mr. Damon. Nasty murders took place there about one hundred years ago. And the dead don't always rest in peace. Strange things happen up at Sullivan House."

Megabyte's throat was dry. He kept seeing the upstairs bedroom door swinging closed. "What sort of strange things?"

"People say they hear crying. Or they hear piano music---"

General Damon interrupted. "Excuse me, mister---?"

"Bixby. John Bixby. I own this place."

"Mr. Bixby, have you ever seen or heard anything strange up there?" General Damon raised an eyebrow speculatively. "I've heard a lot of rumors, but nothing solid. Everyone I've talked to has heard their story from someone else."

"Something's you don't have to see to believe, Mr. Damon." Bixby crossed his arms across his chest. "I tend to stay away from Sullivan House. Most people do."

Adam leaned against the counter. Megabyte could hear the curiosity in his voice. "So, what happened up there?"

Bixby blinked, apparently caught off guard by the decidedly Australian accent. Two Americans were one thing, but two Americans with an Australian in tow wasn't quite to be expected. "Minister killed a servant girl; then his brother killed him and himself."

Megabyte blinked, suddenly curious to hear the story. "Why? What happened?"

"No one knows for certain, except for the dead. The story says that Edward Sullivan had one of his servants hanged. He was a minister and extremely fanatical, and for whatever reason, he believed the girl was a witch. Apparently, when his brother Charles came home, he was pretty upset about this servants death. Went into a rampage. Killed his brother and then hanged himself.

"The Sullivan servants were a pretty superstitious lot, so they didn't have much to say about what happened, or how or why. I suppose the only people who really know are Edward and Charles Sullivan and that servant. And the dead are pretty good at keeping their secrets.

"Mock my words, you be careful up there. Real careful."

Chapter Four - Kid Fears

"I can't believe you're taking this seriously, Megabyte." General Damon placed the last of the cleaning supplies in the trunk and slammed it closed.

"It could be true."

General Damon leaned against the Damon car, and cocked his head sideways. "Why? Because a door closed? It's an old house, Megabyte. Those things happen. And all old houses have ghost stories to go along with them. That's part of their charm."

Megabyte glanced at Adam. The older Tomorrow Person, while intrigued by Mr. Bixby's story of the Sullivan brothers, had been mostly silent regarding whether or not the house was truly haunted. "What do you think, Adam?"

"There could be someone at Sullivan House. I felt something earlier today," Adam raised his hand to stop Megabyte's interjection. "But I don't think that it's harmful or even dangerous. If it's a ghost, it isn't there to hurt anybody."

General Damon flicked his eyes back and forth between the two boys. "You're not telling me that the Tomorrow People can sense ghosts, too, are you, Adam?"

Adam smiled, his voice teasing. "Didn't you know that we're all mediums, General? We just need the proper training." Seeing the pale cast that came immediately to the General and Megabyte's faces, however, he straightened up and turned serious. "It runs in my family. My grandmother was actually a medium, and my mother and uncle could sometimes see and talk to ghosts. My uncle always said that I had 'the gift'." Adam shrugged noncommittally, "It doesn't mean that I do."

Megabyte was not about to let the subject drop that quickly. "But you said you sensed something."

"I think I did, but I don't know for certain, Megabyte. It could have been my imagination."

"What could have been your imagination?" The three of them had been so engrossed in their conversation, they hadn't heard the girls approach.

"We've just been hearing some interesting stories about the haunting of Sullivan House." General Damon quickly recapped what Mr. Bixby had told them, and then, keeping his voice light and obviously noticing the discomfort on the girl's faces, he smiled. "And I just reminded Megabyte that old houses tend to have that affect on the imagination."

The girls were no more convinced than Megabyte. The entire drive back to Sullivan House was spent in speculation of closing doors and ghostly figures looking out of windows. Surprisingly enough, only Jade remained quiet and out of the conversation.

Arriving back at Sullivan House, the Tomorrow People unloaded the trunk and headed inside to begin the task of making the kitchen tidy enough to both cook and eat in.

Only Megabyte hung behind, grabbing Jade's wrist to prevent her from following. For once, his voice was without its usual teasing and banter. "You don't think that its just ghost stories do you?"

Jade sighed deeply, watching Megabyte's face. After a few moments she must have decided that he wasn't baiting her, and she shook her head. "I did see someone in the upstairs window. But that's not it, not really.

"Megabyte, Adam was acting really strangely today."

That wasn't what Megabyte wanted to hear. Particularly not after Adam's revelation of mediumship talents in his family. "Strange how?"

"We were in the conservatory, and then it got really cold all of sudden. Then Adam was playing the piano, and he," Jade stopped and paused. "Promise you won't tease me, Megabyte?"

The older boy nodded. He didn't like the thought of living in a haunted house, or his friends seeing ghostly images in upstairs windows, or doors closing of their own accord. Maybe his father didn't believe the stories, but he wasn't about to discount them as easily. "I'm not in the mood to tease anybody about anything right now."

Jade nodded, satisfied. "Adam didn't seem like himself. He said he couldn't play the piano, but he did. And it was so cold---" She stopped again, rubbing her arms and shuddering. "It was strange. I can't really explain it."

"Are you two going to help us, or just stand around the yard all day?" Ami appeared in the doorway to the foyer, hands on her hips.

"We'll talk later," Megabyte promised and gave Jade's hand a squeeze.

He swore he felt one million eyes on him as he crossed the threshold into the house. For some reason, spending the night here didn't seem as appealing as it had earlier.

Chapter Five - On the Garden Path

The soft shuffling of motion beside her slowly pulled Jade from the serenity of deep slumber and comforting dreams. For a moment she stared into the darkness, the sounds of deep breathing around her, her mind grasping to remember where she was and why.

It came back to her, as reality and memory often do upon waking, in bits and fragments until quite sharply, the entire day came into complete focus, her confusion expelled.

They had spent the better part of the afternoon and early evening cleaning the kitchen and great dining room amidst inconsequential discussion and heated debates about ghosts and the possible haunting of Sullivan House. General Damon was decidedly against the notion of ghosts, Megabyte overwhelmingly suspicious of every creak the house made, and Adam somewhere in between the two. She and Ami stayed out of it; both confirmed with the other the apparition at the upstairs and window, and no matter what General Damon might profess, they believed what they had seen with their eyes.

As night wore on, Megabyte's father informed them that if they didn't wish to spend the night at Sullivan House, they didn't have to. He added, however, that sleeping there would probably prove the people of Stonebridge were superstitious and all victims of their overworked and overwrought imaginations.

They all knew the words were a hidden challenge. A challenge that all the Tomorrow People took.

With sleeping bags spread across the great dining hall, one of the few semi-livable rooms in the house, they settled in for the night.

Rolling over, she hoped to find Ami awake and was surprised to see the girl's sleeping bag empty.

"Ami?" Sitting up, she whispered her friend's name into the darkness. "Ami?"

When no answer was forthcoming, she debated calling for her telepathically. Jade quickly dismissed that idea, realizing she might wake Megabyte and Adam as well. Besides, there was probably nothing to worry about: Ami was more than likely in the restroom.

Jade stared at the ceiling, her eyes slowly growing accustomed to the darkness of the room. She could make out the outlines of the dining room table and chairs, and the shadow of the hanging chandelier.

Ami did not return.

Jade grew increasingly more worried. She remembered the vague outline of the woman in the upstairs window; she remembered the coldness that seeped into the marrow of her bones when she was in the conservatory. Lying there in the darkness she could see Adam sitting by the piano, strangely distracted. Jade could almost hear the notes he tapped out, the drumming of the untuned keys. . .

She sat up quickly, tossing back the sleeping bag and banishing the unwelcome thoughts. She wouldn't be able to rest until she located Ami, who had probably curled up in some quiet corner with a torch and a book. That would be just like Ami.

Maneuvering her way carefully around the sleeping forms of Adam, Megabyte and the General, she slipped into the foyer and clicked on the torch. The electricity would not be turned on until tomorrow, so for the tonight they relied on candles and torches.

Under the artificial brightness of the torch, Sullivan House was more than a little eerie. The furniture draped in sheets and the layers of dust in the great room were reminiscent of one of Megabyte's horror movies. The silence lurked oppressively, reminding her of a morgue, a feeling of waiting and yearning wrapped itself around her and she could almost imagine thousands of unseen eyes watching her every step-

Stop it, Jade, she scolded herself. It's all your imagination. There is nothing in here except for old books and furniture.

Nevertheless, she moved quickly through the shadowed great room to the conservatory beyond. A small bathroom had been added in the hallway behind the conservatory and a quick check revealed that Ami was not there.

Jade hurried on to the kitchen, the feeling of unseen eyes growing stronger. The slightly ajar rear door caught her attention and she peered into the darkness beyond.

Movement and a flash of light down the distant garden path caught her eye.

It had to be Ami. It had to be.

Taking a deep breath and steeling her nerves, Jade headed in that direction.

There had not been much time to explore the path earlier. They knew two things about it: that it wound through what had once been a meticulously maintained garden and that it ended at a gazebo.

The question that nagged at Jade was what Ami was doing on the path this time of night.

Jade came to an abrupt stop about five feet from Ami who had stopped to tend a rose bush. It wasn't very neat; many years had gone by without someone giving it the proper attention that it needed. Ami had noticed it on their first sojourn, and had even commented that someone should do something about those roses.

Jade didn't think that the middle of the night was the time to worry about it, however.

"Ami, what are you doing?"

"The roses need tending."

The sound of Ami's voice sent a chill rippling down Jade's spine. Her voice was eerily calm and hallow - almost as though it wasn't Ami speaking to her at all.

Don't be stupid, Jade. Who else would it be?

Despite the admonishment to herself, Jade approached cautiously. She placed her hand timidly on the older girl's shoulder. "Ami, are you all right?"

Ami tilted her head to the side, her dark eyes meeting Jade's but seeming to look right through the other girl. "Listen. Do you hear it?"

Jade inner voice cried out to her that something was very wrong here.

It was her rational mind that kept her remarkably calm, her voice level. "I don't hear anything, Ami."

"The piano. He's playing for me."

"Piano? I don't - " Jade's words froze in her throat.

At that moment, faintly carried on the wind, a sound drifted to her ears.

It was the sound of an out of tune piano.

Chapter Six -- Piano By Moonlight

Megabyte hadn't been too keen on staying all night at Sullivan house, but he didn't plan to turn tail to his father's unspoken challenge.

The haunting piano music that wrenched him from a deep sleep made him wish that he had decided otherwise.

His father was awake as well, eyes riveted to the door which led to the conservatory.

"Dad -"

"Don't say it, Megabyte. I'm certain there is a perfectly logical explanation." General Damon's face, illuminated by the candle he had lit, said otherwise. "I think that Adam and the girls are already investigating. They were gone when I woke up."

[Adam? Ami? Jade?] Megabyte reached for the minds of his friends.

[Megabyte!] Jade's immediate response was a bit too relieved.

[Where are you guys?]

[Ami and I are on the garden path --]

[The what? Jade, why -- ]

[Please, Megabyte. I think that Ami is sleep walking.]

Jade's abrupt cut off sentenced the end of the conversation. Megabyte debated calling to her again, but then made sense of her silence and more than likely Adam's as well. If Ami was sleeping walking, there was no way to determine precisely how telepathic contact would affect her mind.

Leaving Adam and Jade to tend to Ami, Megabyte followed his father to the conservatory.

He was pretty certain that he didn't want to know what was playing that piano.

What he saw frightened him more than if there had been a ghostly apparition, or worse, gracing them with the music.

Seated at the piano, eyes closed, playing as though the piano was his second was Adam. He looked almost ethereal, bathed by many lit candles that sat a top the piano, a serene almost enraptured look on his face. His fingers danced across the keys, his body swaying in rhythm to the classical strains emanating from the piano.

The room was freezing. Megabyte had the feeling that if he exhaled he would see a vapor cloud form in the air. Goose pimples rose on his arms, and he hugged himself, rubbing his upper arms for warmth.

"Adam?" Even the General's voice was hesitant, tight.

The young man did not answer. He continued to stroke the keys as though the General hadn't spoken.

"Adam, this isn't funny." Megabyte's voice wavered unsteadily, his teeth chattering.

Adam's head rose slowly, the eyes fluttering open like one waking from a dream. The dark orbs met Megabyte's, the pupils wide and dark, looking at him, looking through him, and looking beyond him.

"You have no appreciation for music," Adam spoke in a voice that was not his own. The voice flowed with a melodical laziness that was not like Adam, the accent strongly hinting of this area of England and nothing of Australia.

"Adam?"

"You can lose yourself in the music. The music has a soul, a purpose and a meaning all its own. It lures you and seduces you like a skilled lover. When there is nothing left, there is always the music." Adam paused in his playing, a slightly sardonic smile turning up the corners of his mouth. "Oh, and God, of course. Let me not forget your God, Edward."

Chapter Seven - Visitation

Megabyte opened his mouth and closed it again. Whoever, or whatever was seated at that piano, it was not Adam Newman. Certainly, it was Adam's body, but it wasn't Adam.

The word possession came unbidden to mind and once there, Megabyte could not vanquish it.

"Megabyte, I don't think that Adam is with us right now," General Damon spoke in a low voice, as if whoever, or whatever had taken control of Adam's body might hear them and come after them.

[Adam?] Megabyte's touch was tentative, light. He felt Adam, his Adam; felt his mind, but it felt to him as though Adam was sleeping. "Adam?"

The pianist, Megabyte couldn't consider it Adam at this time, spoke again, releasing a bitter chuckle. "Nonsense. I have no desire to mock God. I seek to mock you."

[Adam!]

The pianist flinched, the eyes coming to focus on Megabyte. Experienced fingers danced a light fugue across the keys. "I have frightened you. I cannot help it, you understand. The past has a strong hold. There are only temporary moments of freedom from the past; my brother's God is not even here in this hell."

"Who are you?" General Damon stepped forward, placing himself between Adam and his son. "What did you do to Adam?"

The bitter smile returned. "I am a man condemned."

A look of confusion crossed Adam's face, and he swayed forward, clutching the edge of the piano. Megabyte breathed a sigh of relief as he was flooded with awareness of his friend's mind and thoughts.

"What -" Adam stopped, shaking his head. He put a hand to his temple and rubbed gently. The confusion on the elder Tomorrow Person's face deepened as he surveyed the conservatory, the many lit candles and the fearful and concerned looks on the faces of the General and Megabyte. "Something happened."

The words were not a question, but a statement.

"That's one way of putting it," Megabyte remarked dryly.

*****************

"And you still don't remember anything?" Megabyte dropped next to his friend on the sandy beach. Ami's sleepwalking experience, and Megabyte had his doubts as to whether it had truly been sleepwalking or something much more mystical, and Adam's channeling of the unknown spirit had been enough for the entire entourage to head back to the Ship for the remainder of the night.

Even the General had allowed the Tomorrow People to teleport him home to the warmth and security of his own bed.

"I remember waking up because I heard music," Adam sighed, his brow wrinkling in confusion again, "And then I woke up in the conservatory."

Ami pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She shivered although the air was warm. "Do you think that maybe, well you mentioned your grandmother was a medium-"

Adam shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose that could be the reason that he chose me and no one else." Megabyte didn't miss the guarded glance that Adam threw at Ami.

So, I'm not the only one that thinks there was more than sleepwalking involved.

"It's funny," Ami stared out across the waves. "I haven't walked in my sleep since I was twelve. Then today-" She paused with a shrug, and forced a smile, changing the subject. "I suppose, we don't have to convince your father that Sullivan House is haunted, do we?"

Megabyte glared at her. He didn't find the idea very amusing.

"Your father said that Mr. Dorsey would be by the house today," Adam spoke up, pretending not to notice the tension between his friends. "Maybe he'll have some answers."

"You mean, you're going back?" Megabyte was incredulous. If he had experienced what Adam had experienced, wild horse wouldn't have been able to drag him back to Sullivan House.

Adam chuckled, the first real laugh from him since his ordeal. "Yes, I'm going back. I'm more curious now than I was before. It can't hurt to talk to Mr. Dorsey. I just won't plan on spending the night there."

Megabyte didn't know why he had expected anything differently. Adam had never backed down from a challenge or danger, so why should this be any different?

And why did he have a nagging feeling that this wasn't the last they had seen of the Sullivan spirit?

Chapter Eight - What the Captain Won

The conservatory did not look nearly as eerie and weird with sunlight filtering in through the windows as it had with Adam seated at the piano. Simply remembering it brought made his heart race and his stomach clench tightly in a knot of fear. If he never experienced anything so eerie again in all his life, it would be far too soon. Mad scientists and vicious aliens were at least explicable.

Turning, Megabyte hurried beyond the conservatory into the kitchen where his father and Adam sat at the kitchen table with a stooped and graying man. He had pale blue eyes which were deep and kind. He sipped at a cup of tea, as he and Megabyte's father engaged in idle conversation.

[Decided to join us, Megabyte?] Megabyte couldn't miss the light and teasing tones to Adam's telepathic voice.

It completely amazed Megabyte that after his experience last night, Adam was in high spirits and a good mood. The older Tomorrow Person didn't seem to be the least bit disturbed by returning to Sullivan House; if anything Adam was even more interested in the old manor house.

"Ah, young Master Damon," Mr. Dorsey greeted Megabyte's entrance. "Your father and friends have been telling me that you are curious about the ghosts who live here."

Not really. Megabyte kept the thought to himself.

"We've been waiting for you," Ami remarked as she slipped into a chair beside Adam. Even she had no ill effects from her sleep walking experience. Maybe he was the only one with a lingering fear and distrust of Sullivan House.

Even Jade hadn't been severely unsettled by the story of Adam's "possession," only a prior promise to her mother kept her from meeting with Mr. Dorsey today.

"So, Mr. Dorsey, now that my tardy son has made his appearance, what do you know of the history of Sullivan House?" General Damon settled comfortably back in the upright hardwood chair.

"Well, now, General, you have to understand that even I don't know everything about Sullivan's restless souls. I know only what my mother told me and what my grandmother told her and what her mother told her." The old caretaker paused, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Well, you know how stories go.

"Where do I begin? The story is not so simple, but stories never are, I suppose." Mr. Dorsey fingered the teaspoon for a moment. "This manor house was originally built by John Sullivan, Captain John Sullivan. He served on Her Majesty's Navy. He didn't have any of his own money; his rank and reputation allowed him to marry well.

"Captain Sullivan married the only daughter of a very wealthy merchant. Laws being were they were at the time, when the marriage contract was signed and agreed to, all of her wealth and lands went to him.

"I suppose that's not really important to the story, but it tells you how the Sullivans got this land and their money. And their land and money was always very important to them."

Mr. Dorsey smiled at the three rapt sets of eyes upon him. "Let's see, here. The story gets interesting with Sullivan's grandsons, Edward and Charles, fraternal twins.

"Their father, John Sullivan II gave Charles this house because, the story says, Charles was always his favorite. Edward moved in with Charles to serve the church in Stonebridge.

"Now you have to know, there were never two sons more different than Edward and Charles. From boyhood, Edward devoted his life energy and love to God. He always yearned to be a minister and attended seminary school. He took the Bible quite literally at times, almost to the point of fanaticism. He was studious and serious.

"Charles was the dreamer. He was the musician, the pianist, and it is said that he played quite brilliantly. He was a free spirit. The two young men never really agreed upon anything, but they loved each other in their own way. And that's why it is believed that Charles allowed Edward to take up residence here at Sullivan House.

"The one fault of Captain Sullivan, the one that started all the trouble was his passionate love of drink and gambling. It constantly amazed everyone that he did not squander away all of his wife's inheritance on liquor and dicing and cards. And it's one of those card games that won him three servants."

Adam's eyes widened in curiosity. "How do you win a servant?"

Mr. Dorsey nodded in response to the question. "Do you know, Adam, that is the same question that I asked my mum when she told me the story. Let me see if I can remember the date to give you more of perspective. This was in the year 1840 or so, before the Americans abolished slavery. A wealthy plantation owner came to visit, bringing five of his finest and favorite slaves with him---he lost three in that card game to Captain Sullivan.

"Sullivan, naturally, 'freed' them and offered them the option of living in his house as his servants. When Captain Sullivan died, he willed the house to his son, and with it the servants. Charles gave them the option of staying on or leaving, and having no where else to go, they all remained on."

Mr. Dorsey stared down at his empty teacup, then nodded politely to the General. "If it's not too much of a problem, sir, could I get more tea?"

Ami stood more quickly than the General could. "I'll get it."

[Playing domestic?] Adam teased.

[Just for that, you can serve yourself,] was the girl's immediate response.

"Yeah, but what does all this have to do with ghosts?" Megabyte took advantage of the silence to ask his question. Knowing the history of Sullivan House was dandy, if one was into history--which Megabyte wasn't. He wanted to know why Adam was playing the piano in the middle of the night, what caused Ami to sleep walk, and who the girls saw in the upstairs window.

"Why, young man, if Captain Sullivan had never won that card game, none of it would have ever happened." Mr. Dorsey leaned across the table, lowering his voice. "You see, one of the servants was a witch."

Chapter Nine --- Witchcraft

"Mr. Dorsey, you can't be serious!" General Damon's incredulous shout broke the silence in the kitchen. "A witch?"

"Well, no, not exactly." Mr. Dorsey chuckled, obviously impressed with himself. "She was a West Indian girl, not much older than Miss Ami, I'm certain, and according to the other two servants from the States, her mother was a voodoo priestess."

"What was her name?" Ami placed a cup of steaming tea in front of Mr. Dorsey before returning to her seat.

"Who cares?" Megabyte grumbled under his breath. This story seemed to be going nowhere fast, although it was clear that Adam, Ami and his father were intrigued.

"Kali."

Ami's words were wistful. "What a pretty name."

Mr. Dorsey stirred the tea. "It is said that she was quite beautiful, almost ethereal. And she had a very unusual characteristic, her eyes were a brilliant, piercing green."

Adam folded his arms across his chest thoughtfully. "And a voodoo priestess. Interesting combination."

"Oh, no," Mr. Dorsey objected quickly. "Kali had nothing to do with the voodoo, or so she professed time and again. She was merely a victim of circumstance. The other servants were afraid of her, because of her association with the 'evil magic' of voodoo. The story goes that Edward spent more time lecturing her on the wrongs of heathen magic than he did preparing his sermons. He was a minister; it was his duty to save her soul."

"But he hanged her instead." There was a sharp bitterness to Adam's tone that seemed out of place.

If anyone besides Megabyte noticed it, they gave no sign.

"You certainly are getting ahead of the story, Master Adam." Mr. Dorsey smiled with good humor and gave the young man a light pat on the arm. "Yes, Edward did hang Kali, but that came later. Once he believed her soul was beyond repentance. But aside from Edward's daily lectures to Kali, there was nothing amiss at Sullivan House.

"Then, one day, Charles became aware of how Kali was ostracized by the other servants, and he happened to walk in on one of Edward's sermons. Now, Charles being a free spirit, had inherited his grandfather's addiction to drink. When he didn't spend his time in front of the piano or taunting Edward about the nature of God and religion, he spent it on drink and less than reputable women.

"However, on this day, Charles wasn't drunk. He was incensed by Edward's treatment of the girl and the two brothers had their first of many arguments over Kali. The story says that Charles befriended Kali that day to spite his brother, but who knows the true reason for his defense of her? Whatever the case, Charles took to spending time with Kali; they walked in the garden together, and she could frequently be seen hovering in the conservatory when he played.

"Nothing amiss until the news arrived."

Mr. Dorsey paused for effect, his eyes raking over his captive audience. "Charles and Edward had one elder brother, John III, who was taking over the family business. John took ill with consumption and died, leaving no one to assume control of the family fortune. Except Edward or Charles.

"Now, Edward could not do it. He had the church; he was a minister right proper. That left Charles. Faced with family obligation, Charles had to turn aside his music and his passion and assume his proper place as heir of the family business. To add insult to injury, his parents had arranged for his marriage to a woman he neither knew nor cared for. For Charles, this was almost the end of his world."

"You must remember now, that Charles spent many long hours complaining of his fate and that everyone remained convinced of Kali's evil. On one summer day, it is said that Edward caught Kali amidst 'heathen ministrations' on the garden path. He locked her in the root cellar for three days until she confessed. 'Course, no one can say what she was doing, she may have simply been praying to God.

"Whatever the case, life at Sullivan House was about to become a nightmare."

A silence hung in the room when the caretaker paused and sipped his tea.

Megabyte's impatience got the better of him. He simply wanted to get the story moving again. "Mr. Dorsey, why? What happened?"

"Tragedy after tragedy; Mrs. Sullivan, the mother of Charles and Edward, died; Edward's church burned to the ground; one of the servants died mysteriously; the family dog turned up poisoned, and the last blow--Charles fiancée died of a mysterious illness after spending a week at Sullivan House.

"Guess whom everyone pointed the finger at?"

"Kali," Ami breathed the girl's name with compassion.

Mr. Dorsey nodded. "Kali, the wicked voodoo priestess.

"Charles, respectfully went to London to pay his regards to the family of his late fiancée. While he was away, Edward began the cycle that haunts Sullivan House to this day."

"Hey, what did I miss?" Jade's voice startled them all. Each had been so focused on the old caretaker that they hadn't noticed the girl walk into the kitchen.

[Jade, don't do that!] Megabyte snapped.

[Do what? Didn't anyone hear me? I told you that I was coming.]

Adam smiled sheepishly. "We weren't expecting you, Jade. When did you get here?"

[I guess we were a little caught up in Mr. Dorsey's story,] Ami added.

"I just walked in. Did I miss anything?"

General Damon shook his head. "Pull up a chair, Jade. You're just in time. Mr. Dorsey's story is about to get interesting."

Chapter Ten -- Tragedy

Once introductions were made all around and Mr. Dorsey given his third cup of tea, the man leaned forward and launched into the final chapter of his story.

"Edward was convinced that Kali was a witch and that she was responsible for all the tragedies that had befallen the Sullivan family and household. In the middle of the night, he hauled her out of bed, and dragging her into the conservatory, he preached to her about the peril of her soul for hours on end. When she did not confess to her sins, he dragged her out into the yard, and lashed her to a tree and proceeded to whip her soundly.

"It's said that while he whipped her, she cried out only once, and that what she cried was a Biblical quote: 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do'. Naturally, this sort of blasphemy from the witch only enraged Edward more.

"The story gets a bit vague here. Apparently Edward spent the next three days in prayer and fasting and meditation, seeking advice from God while Kali was locked in the attic. On the third day, he announced to the household that God had advised him in all matters. He knew how to deal with the witch. He led them out to the garden where Kali's lifeless body hanged from a tree.

"Edward had condemned her to death."

Ami clutched her teacup, her eyes cast downward. "That poor girl."

"That's horrible," Jade breathed at the same moment.

Megabyte swallowed. He was beginning to think that he didn't want to hear more of the story about Sullivan House. Maybe some secrets were best left untold. But then he remembered Adam sitting at the piano, speaking in a voice that wasn't his . . .

"What happened next, Mr. Dorsey?" Adam's voice lacked some of its earlier enthusiasm and pep. He stared at the caretaker, his eyes shadowed.

"Kali's body disappeared. None of the servants would confess to it, but it was no secret that they were all a superstitious lot. It is believed that they buried Kali in unconsecrated ground. That would be the reason that her ghosts walks these grounds."

"Is she the one who sits in the front bedroom window?" Ami asked.

A look of surprise flashed across Mr. Dorsey's face. "You've seen the Watching Lady?"

"The Watching Lady?" Ami repeated the name.

"That's what she's called. But that's not Kali. That is Captain Sullivan's wife. No one knows her story, or what she's doing there. She simply sits and watches out of that window.

"No, Kali's spirit is a different matter entirely. She roams the gazebo and the garden path. The story goes that she had a great talent for growing things, and that she tended the rose bush that grows along the path. Mostly, you can hear her crying, upstairs in the attic."

"Have you seen her?" Jade leaned forward on her elbows.

Mr. Dorsey nodded. "I've seen her walking that garden path. And once, on the anniversary of the murder, I saw her body hanging---" Mr. Dorsey shifted in seat suddenly. "No need for morbid details, now is there?

"Where was I? Oh, yes, Kali's death.

"When Charles returned home from the funeral, he was naturally incensed to learn about the death of the young servant girl at his brother's hands. He drank himself into a stupor, and sat in front of that piano, banging on the keys until the wee hours of the morning when Edward finally returned from prayer.

"The two brothers argued, and then, Charles strangled Edward to death. They say it was an accident, that he was bitter and distraught and not thinking clearly. But no one knows. What is known is that once Charles realized what he had done, he raced upstairs to his bedroom, and after writing a letter of explanation, hanged himself from the four poster bed.

"And that, my young friends, is the end of the sad tale of the Sullivan brothers and Kali."

Adam sat back in his chair. "No wonder this place is haunted. All that sadness and anger."

"It's such a sad story," Ami remarked. "Poor Charles, he probably felt that he had lost everything. His mother, his music, his friend, his fiancée and then his brother."

Megabyte raised up to look at his friend. Had they all heard the same story? "He killed his brother, Ami."

"But he had to feel horribly guilty about it," Ami argued. "That's what drove him to kill himself."

"What I don't get," Megabyte ignored the argument. It made sense after all, and he didn't want to admit that he could have been out of line with his earlier remark. "What I don't get is why would Charles kill his brother over a servant? Shouldn't he have just handed him over the magistrate or whatever?"

Adam fingered his teaspoon idly. "Maybe she was more than a servant."

"What?"

"Megabyte," Adam shook his head, saying his friend's name with amused affection. "Do I have to spell it out for you? Maybe Charles was in love with Kali."

"But someone would have known that. The other servants would have talked."

"Would they?" Mr. Dorsey edged back into the conversation. "Charles Sullivan was living in a time when people were separated by race and social class. A simple servant girl would never had made a proper match for the grandson of Captain Sullivan; a servant girl who had once been a slave, these things just weren't done, young sir."

"That's so romantic. It's like Romeo and Juliet," Jade sighed, her eyes misting.

"Yes, it's just like Romeo and Juliet. Charles and Kali died senselessly too." Again there was an unfamiliar edge to Adam's voice.

"There are some old journals and boxes in the attic that belonged to the Sullivans," Mr. Dorsey added by way of information. "I never had the chance to look through them, simply wasn't curious enough. And now, my eyes aren't what they used to be. But you young ones, you might want to have a look."

The four Tomorrow People remained seated around the kitchen table while General Damon walked Mr. Dorsey out and made arrangements for the man's caretaking duties to resume on a full-time basis.

Adam smiled at his friends. "So, does anyone want to have a look in those boxes?"

Chapter Eleven - A Familiar Face

Ami's hand on his arm prevented Adam from following Jade and Megabyte up the staircase. Her dark eyes darted after the retreating forms of their friends, waiting until they had disappeared into the darkness and were beyond earshot. "Adam are you all right?"

Adam heard the question behind the question. He had hoped that no one had sensed his irrational bitterness. For some reason that he couldn't quite explain, he empathized with Charles; he could feel the man's bitterness and anger toward his religious brother; and he just couldn't shake the feeling that Charles was there, with him, watching and listening.

He raked his hands through his hair. "I'm perfectly fine. Why?"

His friend regarded him thoughtfully. "You just seem a bit --- moody."

Adam flashed her what he hoped was a soothing smile. "I'm still a bit rattled from last night, but that's all." It was a good enough reason, and it was even partially true. Although not wholly.

Ami's hesitance was so brief that he wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't been anticipating it. "I guess we all are. But at least now we have some answers, and maybe there are more in the attic."

[Are you two afraid of the attic?] Jade's teasing broke into their conversation.

"If you want to talk, Adam." Ami let the rest of the sentence remain unspoken as she turned and headed up the stairs to meet Jade and Megabyte.

"And there is music when she speaks."

Adam spun around, hearing the voice whispered in his ear. There was no one behind him, only Ami ascending the staircase.

She stopped, giving him a curious glance. "Did you say something Adam?"

"No." Adam whispered the words, glancing at each of the corners of the room. "Did you hear something?"

"I thought I heard ---" The lilting melody of piano music cut her words off. But this was not the sound of music being created by human hands; this sound was fleeting, fading seeming to drift on the air.

Two pairs of eyes drifted to the conservatory entrance.

Without another word, Adam made his decision. He took the stairs two at a time, pausing only long enough at Ami's side to take her hand. "Charles can play the piano. Let's see what's in that attic."

Ami didn't have a chance to object as Adam took a shortcut and teleported them both to the attic.

****

"You two look like you've seen a ghost," Megabyte greeted his friends the moment they appeared.

"Heard one is more accurate." Adam glanced around the dusty attic. There were boxes and chests everywhere. He quickly understood why no one had ever gone through the items left in the attic. It would probably take them days to find anything significant and of value.

Noticing the puzzled looks given to him by Jade and Megabyte, Adam explained. "We heard piano music. And this time, I wasn't the one playing."

That was obviously explanation enough. Jade and Megabyte returned their attention to their respective corners of the attic.

"We don't even know where to start," Jade groaned. "There are so many boxes."

"Yeah, it looks like everyone who ever lived at Sullivan House used this place to store things," Megabyte added.

Jade rolled her eyes, "Megabyte, that is what an attic is used for."

"How about this one?" Ami pushed a dust covered sheet off the top of a rather large cedar chest. A cloud of dust floated into the air and she sneezed several times, as did Megabyte who happened to have the distinct pleasure of standing in the middle of the dust cloud.

"Thank you, Ami," Megabyte muttered.

Adam tried not to laugh. "Maybe we should open a window in here. I'm sure that's not the first batch of dust that we're going to stir up."

Jade agreed, and in a moment, was helping Adam pry one of the attic windows open. It obviously hadn't been moved in years, and it squeaked noisily once they managed to lift it. However, the improvement was immediate, a wave of fresh air washed into the attic, and while it stirred additional dust, it also washed away some of the mustiness of the room.

Adam leaned against the windowsill, staring off across the grounds. He imagined that the place had been quite beautiful once. From up here, he could see the garden path, winding its way to the gazebo; he could see the rose bush and ---

Adam blinked and leaned out of the window.

There was a woman tending the rose bushes. Her back was to him, her hair tied up in a kerchief, a woven basket by her feet. The rose bush was absolutely beautiful, in full bloom with brilliant red buds. The woman stopped, placed several cuttings in the basket and wiped her forehead.

Standing, she turned and looked toward the house, her head rising slowly until her eyes came to rest on the window he stood in. Then, her head dipped suddenly, and gathering up the basket, she hurried toward the house.

[Adam? Are you with us?] Megabyte's voice startled him.

Adam pulled his eyes from the window. "I'm fine."

"Adam, we've been calling you for the last five minutes," Ami's voice held a note of concern and worry.

"Yeah, we thought--" Megabyte stopped in mid-sentence with a shrug. "You were kind of zoned out there for a minute."

"You thought I was possessed again." Adam finished the thought that Megabyte had been unwilling to voice. He gave a last glance out of the window, knowing that he would find no traces of the apparition he had seen. "Maybe I was."

"Adam?" He didn't miss the fear that gripped Ami's voice or the choked concern that flooded Megabyte's.

Glancing from one to the other, and then to Jade who was staring at him with the same worry and concern that he felt radiating from Ami and Megabyte like heat from a fire, he shrugged and told them. "I saw Kali in the garden."

Megabyte immediately dipped his head out of the window, his curiosity getting the better of him. Ami continued to stare at him with a look of mixed fear and concern.

"I guess it runs in the family." He attempted to make light of the situation in the same manner that Megabyte would have, but for some reason, his words only intensified the fear in his friend's eyes.

"There's something that you have to see, Adam." Ami grabbed his elbow and ushered him to the cedar chest that she had opened. "We found some journals and--" She paused then, stopping him a few paces from the chest. Jade's body hid whatever it was that Ami obviously didn't want him to see just yet. "Is your family originally from England, Adam?"

The question surprised him. The others always respected his distance and his silence where his past and his family was concerned. He almost instinctively put his shields up, blocking them out, but the look in Ami's eyes was so pleading and confused that he stopped himself.

Slowly, he nodded. "My grandmother was born and raised in England."

"Do you know anything about her family?"

"No," he shook his head, an uncharacteristic impatience growing inside of him. "What is it? What is Jade hiding?"

Adam didn't miss the quick glance that Ami exchanged with Megabyte. "We found a portrait of Charles Sullivan."

At Ami's words, Jade stepped aside and Adam's breath caught in his throat.

Staring at the portrait of Charles Sullivan was like looking into a mirror.

Chapter Twelve - Ghostly Voices

"The resemblance is amazing." General Damon stood in front of Charles Sullivan's portrait, arms folded across his chest. The portrait, along with a multitude of journals and old letters, had been moved to the dining hall and now rested against the wall.

'The resemblance is creepy', Megabyte thought, but didn't say the words aloud.

"Adam, you don't know anything about your family being related to the Sullivans?"

Adam shook his head, his eyes never leaving the picture. "I don't know a lot about my family's genealogy, but I know that the name of Sullivan doesn't appear anywhere. My mother's family came from England, but they were Halifax."

"Maybe it's a distant relation," Jade suggested helpfully.

Megabyte rolled his eyes. " A distant relation wouldn't look that much like Adam."

Adam cleared his throat, pulling his eyes from the portrait. "I think that the answers are probably in one of those journals, or those letters we found in the attic."

"You want to read all of them?"

"No, Megabyte," Adam shook his head, a tired smile on his lips. "I'm not going to read all of them. We're going to read all of them."

"Huh?"

"We'll split them up. Each of us will take a bundle and see what we can learn." Adam paused, turning to the General. "That's if it's all right with you, General. They are your property now."

General Damon finally tore his eyes from the likeness of Adam painted on canvas. "If it helps us get to the bottom of this thing, you kids can read anything and everything that you want."

******

Laying the battered journal aside, Adam sighed deeply. Behind them, the sun was setting over Sullivan House, painting the building in muted pinks and oranges.

"Nothing new?" Ami looked up from her seat on the porch steps, where one of the many household ledgers was perched on her knees.

"Nothing we didn't already know." Adam fingered the journal absently. "Charles' journal confirms that he was in love with Kali, but . . ." Adam paused thoughtfully. "The last entry recorded has him returning to Stonebridge. There's nothing after that."

"Well, we know what happened when he got back to Stonebridge," Megabyte remarked.

Adam shook his head. "But there should be more. After reading Charles' journals, I feel like I know him. He would have written something, anything. But there's nothing. The rest of the book is empty."

"Maybe he was so heartbroken that he didn't have the heart to write," Jade suggested.

Megabyte rolled his eyes. "Grow up."

Adam ignored the exchange, focusing his attention on Ami. He wasn't particularly in the mood to be caught in the midst of one of Jade and Megabyte's battles. He was still distracted by the portrait that waited for them in the dining hall. "I think that we're missing something."

"Like what?" Ami closed the household ledger, and set it aside. "There's nothing here except for the basics…how much it cost to run the house, that sort of thing."

"Like the obvious."

Megabyte's voice was questioning, "Uh, Adam?"

"No, it makes sense," Adam rose to his feet, brushing grass from his jeans. "We're trying to find the source of the haunting by looking at Charles. Maybe it all started with Kali. Maybe we're looking in the wrong place, or we're looking for the wrong thing."

"So, what should we be looking for?"

"A way to help us." The disembodied voice floated on the wind, brushing past them like a whisper.

Megabyte paled considerably. "Did anyone just hear---"

Adam and the girls nodded slowly, their eyes darting in different directions.

Jade gathered up the bundle of letters by her feet. "Maybe it's time to go for the night."

Ami was on her feet in a heartbeat, the household ledgers forgotten. There was a predatory glint in her eyes that was almost frightening. "Or maybe, it's time we talked to them."

With those words, the Tomorrow Person disappeared into the darkened doorway of Sullivan House, oblivious of the faint white mist that followed or of the door closing soundlessly behind her.

Chapter Thirteen -- Mist

Adam was the first Tomorrow Person through the door, nearly yanking it from its hinges in an effort to follow Ami. Though somehow, he knew where he would find her, and he knew that she was safe. He couldn't explain the knowledge, but it was there and it calmed him somewhat.

[This is getting weird,] Jade sent, her fear and reluctance obvious.

'Getting?' Adam repeated the word to himself, but not aloud. 'Getting weird' had been when Charles possessed him; this had gone beyond weird when they found the painting of Charles Sullivan. And that mist following Ami . . .

Adam rounded the corner of the conservatory and came up short. Megabyte and Jade, following so closely behind him, nearly tumbled into the older boy before they brought themselves to a stop.

Ami sat on one of the sofas; her legs were folded in the lotus position, her hands resting firmly on her thighs. A faint mist coalesced around her, but didn't appear to touch her. Instead, it circled her, an occasional tentacle reaching out and then withdrawing.

"What the--" Megabyte began.

"Ami--" Jade started in the same breath.

Adam held them both back with a restraining arm. "Don't go near her."

Jade's voice bordered on tears. "But Adam, she's --"

"I think she's all right."

"You think?" Megabyte whirled on his friend, blue eyes flashing indignantly. "You think? That doesn't do us a whole lot of good!"

[Megabyte, relax. I'm perfectly fine.] Ami's mental touch on their minds was a welcome relief.

[Then what are you --]

[Talking.]

[Talking?]

[Please, Megabyte. You're distracting me.] Abruptly the telepathic contact cut off, leaving a blank wall where Ami's mind had been.

"I don't like it --"

As Megabyte started forward, Adam again restrained him with a firm hand. "I don't think that's a good idea." At his friend's dark and questioning glare, Adam sighed. "I wish I could explain it, but I think that we just have to wait."

Jade stepped forward, her face wrinkled in concern. "Wait for what?"

'I don't know' didn't seem to be an appropriate answer, so Adam kept his comments to himself. He was struggling with himself to not simply run forward and teleport Ami out of the room and away from that floating mist. But she had responded to them . . .she knew they were there, and she knew what she was doing.

Adam wasn't left long to ponder the situation. While they watched, the mist rose up over Ami's head and floated there for a moment, becoming a glowing orb of light. It hovered there for a moment, and Adam could almost feel a set of intelligent eyes on them, watching them, and weighing them.

Then with the swiftness of light, the glowing orb arched upwards and spiraled downward, appearing to dive into Ami. The young woman gasped, throwing her head backwards, waves of shock washing over them.

There was no questioning their next move: the three remaining Tomorrow People sprinted to their friend's side. Adam arrived there first, catching Ami before she tumbled from the sofa onto the floor. The girl was unconscious, her body hanging limply in his arms.

"Ami?" Adam shook her gently. [Ami?]

"Is she all right?" Jade peered anxiously at her friend.

The young woman stirred, shifting slightly against Adam.

"She's waking up," Adam stated the obvious. "Ami, are you all right?"

Her hands came up slowly, rubbing her temples. "I'm --" She paused, sitting up quickly. Her head swung around to meet Adam's concerned gaze, and his breath caught in his throat.

Ami was staring at him through brilliant green eyes.

Fourteen -- Kali

"Kali," Adam whispered the spirit's name, his eyes never leaving the piercing emerald ones that held his gaze.

The young woman nodded, a sad smile turning up her lips. "Yes. I am."

"Where's Ami? What have you done to her?"

Fingers came to rest lightly on his lips. Ami spoke, but the accent was not hers. "She fares well. I will not harm her. You must believe me in this."

"What happened to Ami?" Megabyte shoved his way forward, but remained safely out of reach. He stared at Ami, or at least her body, with apprehension and confusion.

The green eyes swung to him, measuring him for a moment before the melodical and accented voice spoke again. "Your friend fares well, Meg-a-byte." She stumbled over the name, slowly wrapping her tongue around the unusual syllables. "I could not be here if she did not permit me to come."

"Charles was here once, and I didn't exactly invite him." Adam spoke slowly and clearly, burying his fear and worry beneath a façade of control.

Again, the sad half-smile formed on Ami's lips. "Did you not? His blood called yours and you gave him answer. That is the way of these things." She stood, slowly, inexpertly, almost as if testing her legs, and looked around the conservatory. "It is so dead. So still. It looks different through her eyes."

Her eyes. Ami's eyes. Adam bit back a wave of fear and repulsion to grip Ami's wrist and spin her around to face him. The green eyes stared back, expectant, and questioning. "I want to talk to Ami."

Ami/Kali shook her head, wrenching her wrist free. "You cannot. As long as I am here, you cannot."

"Then maybe we'd like Ami back now." Megabyte spoke up, his voice quivering just a bit. "Right now."

"Soon. When we have talked. When you understand how you must help us --"

"What if we don't want to help you? How do we know you haven't hurt Ami?" The quivering of tears still lurked in Jade's voice, but she stepped boldly forward, forcing herself to stare eye to eye with the spirit inhabiting Ami's body.

"Ami wants to help me, Jade. This is the why that I am here."

"I don't believe you."

Ami/Kali did not answer. She stared past the youngest Tomorrow Person, her eyes fixed to the piano. "It still stands." Then with a grace that did not match her earlier inexpertness with the body, she swept past Jade and glided up to the piano. Settling onto the bench, she played out the scale.

[Adam, what are we going to do?]

Adam ignored Jade's plea. He marched over to the piano, and placing his hands atop Ami's immediately ceased the music. "What do you want?"

"You have to help me. Then I may help Charles." She peered at him a moment, then sighed, folding her hands in her lap. "Charles suffers in darkness and guilt. He blames himself for all that happened. Each and every anniversary we repeat the nightmare again and again . . .If I could be given freedom then I could help Charles see that he is not to blame."

"How do we know you're telling us the truth? Maybe you really are a witch." Megabyte's words were bitter.

Ami/Kali laughed. "That is what Edward always believed. If only it had been true, then perhaps," she paused and shook her head sharply. Her green-eyed stare held Adam's and she took his hand, placing one hand against his cheek. "His blood is strong in you. You have his face."

Adam's body split in indecision. One part of him was repulsed and frightened by the familiarity of the touch, frightened by the spirit that had taken up residence in Ami's body and claimed it as if it were its own. The other part of him felt a deep sympathy and pity for her, for the poor servant girl who had been so wrongly and unjustly accused and murdered. Those eyes, those brilliant green orbs held him transfixed, unable to move or to break away.

"You have a noble heart, Adam." Kali whispered the words from Ami's lips, so softly that Adam knew that they were meant for his ears only. "Ami thinks you will help me."

"How?" The words tumbled from Adam's lips instead of a demand to speak to Ami, instead of a million other protests he had been prepared to make.

"My body . . .it was not buried . . ." Kali paused, closing her eyes a moment, her voice a strained whisper. "Find it. Bury it in consecrated . . ." Her grip on his hand tightened, her other hand going to grip the piano bench.

"Kali?"

"Adam?" The voice was Ami's as were the dark brown eyes that opened to meet his. Awareness of her mind washed over him, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ami, are you all right?" Adam eased onto the piano bench beside her, supporting her by slipping an arm around her shoulder.

She nodded, leaning into his warmth and comfort. "Did you talk to her?"

Adam couldn't suppress the ripple of surprise that ran through his body. "You knew?"

Ami nodded, taking a deep breath. "She wanted to talk. She's so sad, Adam. So sad and so alone. We have to help her."

"Wait a minute!" Megabyte stopped by the piano, his concern for his friend flickering in his blue eyes, although his words were harsh. "You mean you let this ghost take over your body? What do you think you are? A medium?"

Ami smiled weakly, responding to the unspoken words. "I'm sorry to have worried you, Megabyte."

Megabyte opened his mouth, and then immediately closed it again, his retort forgotten. He rapped his knuckles against the piano. "So, what exactly do we do now? How do we help her?"

"Simple. We find her body and bury it on consecrated ground." Ami yawned and closed her eyes, her head on Adam's shoulder.

It took only a moment for the others to realize that Ami was sound asleep and that there would be no more answers forthcoming from her this night.

"So," Megabyte directed his words to Adam. "How exactly do we find her body?"

"I think that we'll know that soon enough, Megabyte." Adam smiled reassuringly at the young man. "I don't think that we've seen the last of Kali."

Chapter Fifteen

"That was so weird," Jade sank to the couch folding her hands in front of her. "Why do you think Ami did it?"

Megabyte stared around the conservatory. Adam had teleported the sleeping Ami back to the Ship, leaving Megabyte and Jade at Sullivan House. "I don't know. I just hope she never does it again."

"Do you really think that we can help Kali?"

"I don't know! And I don't care!" Megabyte shook his head in annoyance. "I'm getting out of here, if you want to stay, that's fine, but I'm gone."

With that, her friend disappeared in a flash of light.

Jade sighed into the darkness, and glancing anxiously around, rose to her feet. She wasn't too keen on the idea of staying here by herself. 'At least I'm not as scared as Megabyte. I didn't 'port out at the first opportunity.'

[I'm not scared. I just didn't see any reason to hang out there all night.]

[Scared.] Jade teased.

[I am not scared.]

[Hey, you two, argue about it to yourselves,] Adam broke in. [You're going to disturb Ami.]

They broke off contact, Jade taking a last look around Sullivan House. The place actually didn't look so frightening when she looked at it rationally. It was merely an old conservatory with candles burning.

With a final sigh, Jade begin to extinguish the candles, chastising Megabyte for leaving her to do the job alone. 'If he wasn't so scared of this place-- '

She felt a prickling, a soft brushing against her neck that made her hair rise on end. Looking around, she caught a movement outside of the window. Only a flash, the shadow of something passing out of sight.

Leaving the last candle lit, Jade hurried to the window and peered out. She wasn't seeing things. There was someone walking along the garden path.

[Megabyte, very funny,] Jade automatically accused.

[What?] Her friend inquired.

Jade started, watching the figure disappear down the path. [You're not? Never mind-- ]

Jade cut off contact, and hurried into the yard behind the figure.

The night was dark, and the path unlit, so following was difficult. At times, Jade even thought that the shape she was following vanished into non-existence.

'Be reasonable, Jade.' She chastised herself. But she couldn't help wondering who was out in the yard this late at night.

The figure led her beyond the gazebo, staying far enough out of sight, and ignoring her calls for attention. Several times Jade stumbled across branches and brambles, and debated calling to Adam or Megabyte. But she knew Adam was keeping a watchful vigil over Ami, and Megabyte would only be a nuisance at this time anyway.

'Besides,' she insisted, 'If it gets dangerous, I'll just teleport away.'

Lost in her thoughts, Jade ground to a halt, almost stumbling into the figure who stopped and stared at her.

An eerie glow surrounded the translucent form who smiled sadly at Jade. Her hair tied back in a kerchief, wearing the long skirts of the late nineteenth century, she seemed to be speaking, but Jade could not make out the words.

"Kali?" Jade whispered the name in awe.

"Here, Jade," the words were carried on the wind, brushing her ears like a soft whisper. Then the specter was gone.

It took a moment for Jade to release the breath she was holding. [Adam, Megabyte?]

Megabyte's voice was annoyed and impatient. [What is it now Jade?]

[I think that I know where Kali's body is buried.]

Chapter Sixteen -- Interlude

"What I find so hard to believe is that in all these years no one ever found Kali's body. If she could make herself appear so plainly to your group, why not others?" General Damon sighed thoughtfully.

The Tomorrow People and General Damon stood in the Sullivan family plot. Here, the bodies of Edward and Charles, as well as Captain Sullivan and his wife had been buried one hundred years ago. They gathered around a freshly dug plot which Ami and Jade were arranging flowers on.

"I don't think that anyone ever listened to her before," Adam answered. "We saw and heard the people in Stonebridge. Everyone was always so afraid of her ghost that they never gave her the chance to speak."

"There's always another possibility, too, Adam."

Adam gave the General a questioning glance.

Taking the young man's silence as a cue to continue, the General did. "Your powers. Your abilities. Psychic ability is often associated with mediumship and the Tomorrow People certainly have an abundance of psychic ability. Maybe it was simply easier for each of you to see and be aware of the spirit world. "

Ami stood, dusting her hands. "It certainly wasn't hard to feel Kali or speak to her. It was almost-- well, natural." She shrugged under the watchful gaze of her friends; sometimes she got the feeling that even three days after the event, they expected for her to suddenly speak in Kali's voice and look at them with Kali's eyes. "I don't think it will happen again."

"Good," Megabyte remarked. "That was just creepy. And Dad, your theory doesn't explain why Ami's eyes turned green."

"Maybe they didn't," General Damon said. "Perhaps it was some sort of hallucination or mental projection from the spirit herself."

"Well, whatever it was, I'm just glad it's over." Megabyte affectionately nudged his friend, "And don't even think about doing it again."

Ami smiled. "I told you, Megabyte. I don't think that it will happen again. Kali's at peace now."

"Yeah, but what about Charles?"

"Kali told us that she could help Charles, so we have to hope that she does."

"And how is a ghost going to help another ghost-- " Megabyte's words were cut off by a sound being carried on the wind: the sound of piano music.

The red head shook his head, "I don't want to know. I don't want to know."

Nonetheless, he followed on the heels of his friends and father to the source of the music.

Chapter Seventeen -- History Repeats

Crossing the threshold to the conservatory, Adam felt a chill envelop his entire body. Goose pimples formed on his arms, and every hair on his body stood on end as if an electrical shock had ripped through his body. The room swam before his eyes, the bright sunlight outside fading to the deep of night, flickering candles illuminating only the growing shadows.

The music drew him closer.

Charles leaned over the piano, eyes closed, his fingers dancing across the keys as they pounded out passionate melody after melody. Tears streaked the man's cheeks, and Adam saw a servant move quickly into the shadows, escaping the melancholy of the music and the room.

'This can't be happening,' Adam's mind protested. He whirled, expecting to see the others behind him, but turning only revealed the neatly decorated conservatory and the empty doorway.

[Megabyte?] Adam reached out tentatively, only vaguely surprised by the awareness that he could no longer sense the minds of his friends.

His first concern was worry for them; they would be worried about him, and unless he found a way out of this--

Edward's arrival interrupted his train of thought.

For a moment, Adam's mind reeled. He was uncertain of how he knew that the man who had just entered the conservatory was Edward Sullivan. Yet, he did know. He could almost recognize the smug, arrogant gait to the man's steps. He knew Edward just as he knew this was the very night that Edward and Charles would both come to a horrible end.

"I told you to leave me alone, Edward." The coldness of Charles's voice chilled Adam's blood. Watching the darkness crease the face which was a mirror of his own, made his stomach clench.

"The Lord has sent me to save your soul, brother."

"You killed my soul, brother." The music came to a sudden stop, the musician staring malevolently at the man crossing the room. "Your God is a lie and I spit in the name of your Christian religion."

Edward flinched. "She was a witch, Charles! The marks of her witchcraft are everywhere. She has bewitched you from beyond the grave.

"You must turn to God and repent. God will forgive-- "

"I'd rather follow Lucifer into the fires of hell than stand before your God."

"Blasphemy!"

Charles stood, his eyes glazed and bloodshot. He leered at his brother, lurking closer. "And will you hang me as well? Damn your God, Edward-- "

"The power of the witch blinded you! The Bible says, 'Let no man seek--"

Edward's words were cut off by his brother's hands fastening abruptly around his neck. "How will you preach when you have no air to speak with brother? I tire of your lectures and your religion! You have taken everything from me. You destroyed my world. You killed the woman I love, all in the name of your God!

"I will not hear anymore of it! I will not listen! I want you out of my house, I want you gone as far from here as possible, Edward."

"Charles! You're killing him!" Adam's shout sounded hallow to his own ears. He raced forward, hoping to pry the musician away from his brother, but instead he moved through the vision, a deep penetrating chill descending to the depths of his bones.

[Help me! I'm here!] Adam called for the others again, knowing the futility of it.

He was alone here; and he was powerless to prevent what was happening.

He heard a sickening crack, the sound of bone breaking, and upon seeing Edward's lifeless body dangling from Charles's hands, he turned and lost his lunch.

*****

[Adam, answer us, please,] Megabyte pleaded with his friend while Ami pressed a cold compress to Adam's forehead.

The elder Tomorrow Person had collapsed upon entering the conservatory, but he had not fallen unconscious as they initially thought. Adam's eyes remained open, but focused on some distant point that the others could not see. His mind was closed to them, and no matter how hard they tried, he simply did not answer them.

"It's no use, Megabyte. He can't hear us," Ami spoke softly, her concern evident. "He's not with us."

Megabyte flashed her a dark glare. "What's that supposed to mean? How do you know?"

Ami did not look up from her ministrations. "I think that he's communicating with Charles. He's seeing and hearing things that we can't see or hear."

"If you know so much, how do we stop it?"

Ami shook her head. "We don't."

Chapter Eighteen -- In Between

When he regained control of his heaving stomach, Adam's first awareness was of the sound of sobbing behind him. Not short, soft sobs but violent, body racking sobs. His second awareness was of feeling-- he could feel the heart wrenching pain and sorrow of the person. No, not the person. Adam knew who it was. He knew that the guilt, shame and horror that he felt at the moment originated not from within himself, but from within Charles.

Adam turned slowly, his eyes sweeping the conservatory. Edward's body lay near Charles, lifeless gaze focused upwards, his neck at an odd angle. Charles rested on his knees, face buried in his hands as he sobbed and cursed himself.

Adam steeled himself against the repulsion that the grotesque scene filled him with. It was difficult; it was even more difficult to approach the self-condemned man without staring into Edward's lifeless gaze.

"Charles," Adam spoke to the man, wondering if perhaps now that the murder had taken its course if whatever powers had brought him here would allow him to speak with the man.

Charles made no move. The man did not even act as though he had heard Adam speak.

Buffering himself against the waves of guilt and terror rippling through Charles's body, Adam moved closer, reaching out to place a hand on the hysterical man's shoulder. He failed, of course, his hand moving through Charles like a mist. Here, Adam was the specter; here, he was the spirit out of time and place removed.

The realization was a chilling one.

[Megabyte? Ami? Jade?] He called to his friends again, knowing deep inside that the effort would achieve nothing. In fact, this time the effort produced a sharp, shooting pain in his skull.

"And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand," Charles spoke softly as he rose to his feet. Giving a last backwards glance at his brother's body, he fled the conservatory.

The last thing that Adam wanted to do was follow the man. He knew what would happen next; he remembered every detail of the story-- Charles would descend the tall staircase and hang himself. The story would be complete, the deaths complete, the haunting of Sullivan House would be set in motion. And he could not stop Charles; he could not intervene. Adam was cursed to watch, and he had no desire to watch Charles go to his death.

However, his feet seemed to have developed a mind and will of their own. He followed Charles through no volition of his own. Up the staircase and into the bedroom where Charles sobbed and pounded on the dressers, the entire time quoting one scripture passage after another.

"Charles, don't do this," Adam pleaded as he watched the man mechanically tear the sheets from the four-poster bed. He raised a hand to his head, rubbing his temples. The throbbing and shooting was growing worse by the minute. "You don't have to do this."

"I am a murderer! And the punishment for murder is death!" Charles paused in his work, his dark eyed gaze coming to rest on Adam. "An eye for an eye."

The eye contact made Adam's breath catch in his throat. With it came the double-impact of Charles's overwhelming feelings of disgust and despair and the knowledge that the man was actually seeing him-- through some void of time and space, Adam had contacted Charles.

"You don't know what will happen." Adam found his voice quickly. "If you do this, you'll never rest. You'll haunt this place forever."

"A murder deserves the fire of hell, so why should I care if I rest?" Charles returned to his work. "You are too young to understand-- "

"I am not too young, Charles." The light melodical accent drifted from over Adam's shoulder. "I understand, and I know that you are wrong."

Startled, he spun, and made contact with an all too familiar set of emerald green eyes.

"Kali," Adam croaked her name the same moment that Charles did.

Adam was beginning to think that he had gone insane.

Kali's spirit flashed him a small, tight smile before sailing past to stand before Charles. "You must not do this. It can end here, Charles. Tonight. We can be together."

"I am guilty of murder twice, do not try to trick me, demon! I could not protect her and now she lies dead and the blood of my brother is on my hands!"

"I love you, Charles. Forgive yourself-- "

"There is no forgiveness for a murderer. Thou shalt not kill."

Kali spoke loudly, with great force. "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

"Brother, walk with me. For as the Lord God has forgiven all who confess, so have I forgiven you."

Although Adam saw no one, he recognized the voice of Edward. He glanced anxiously around the room, searching for some sign of the disembodied voice, but saw nothing.

Maybe he was insane.

Before he could follow the thread of that thought, he felt the world slipping away and darkness creeping up on him.

He never realized before how dark one's vision grew before one passed out.

Adam's last thought was relief that the pounding in his head had ceased.

Chapter Nineteen -- Gifts & Good-byes

"He's waking up."

"Adam, are you all right?"

Voices drifted to his ears as Adam slowly opened his eyes. He closed them again almost immediately, the brightness of the room intensifying the throbbing in his head. The pain was fading now, but it wasn't quite gone.

[Adam?] Megabyte's tentative touch made Adam wince. To Adam, it felt like his friend was shouting inside his skull.

"Megabyte, not so loudly. It hurts." Adam groaned, allowing his eyes to open a slit.

"Telepathy hurts?"

"How do you feel, Adam? You gave us quite a scare."

Adam had to turn his head slightly to see the General's concerned face. "Tired. And I have a headache." He shifted, slowly pulling himself to a sitting position, being careful not to move his head too much. He took in the four worried faces one by one and heaved a sigh. "How long was I gone?"

Adam felt more than saw the surprise and incredulity on their faces.

"Adam, you didn't go anywhere." Ami spoke up first.

"I had to. I was there."

"Where?" Ami pressed. "Where were you?"

"I was there in the past. With Charles. I saw it all." Adam shrugged his shoulders, the combination of the lingering effects of Charles's despondency and the pounding in his head leaving him confused and worn out. "Or maybe I'm just insane."

"Adam, you never left the conservatory." Ami paused for a breath allowing the words to sink in. "But you were in an odd trance-- like you were in deep meditation. We tried to reach you, but you didn't answer."

"I couldn't answer! I tried to but-- " Adam stopped in mid-sentence, a cool breeze washing over him. Feeling the hairs of his arm standing on end, he groaned. "Not again."

The others must have sensed it as well, for at that moment, the other four pairs of eyes began darting around the conservatory, looking for the source of the coldness.

The faint chime from the piano told them where to rest their eyes.

Standing beside the piano was the spirit of Kali. She was luminous and translucent, but the feeling that Adam got from her was not the earlier melancholy and depression, but an unmeasured joy.

[Thank you, Adam. Thank you all. We will rest now.]

The slackness of General Damon's jaw told Adam that the man also heard the strange telepathic voice.

"Wait! What happened to Adam?" Ami stepped forward, eye to eye with the spirit. Adam had to admire her courage; he could sense Megabyte and Jade's fear and uncertainty.

The spirit stared at Ami for a long moment before the voice came again. [Adam has a gift to move between worlds. He was with us and yet with you. Do not abuse your gift, Adam.]

"What happened to Charles?"

[He has forgiven himself. He has found-- exoneration. Thank you.]

In an instance, the spirit disappeared, leaving only the streams of outside sunlight shining down on the piano where she had been.

The four Tomorrow People and General Damon stared transfixed at the spot from which the spirit had disappeared for several moments after her departure.

"So, what really happened to you, Adam?" Megabyte asked at long last.

"I don't know," Adam shook his head and immediately regretted it as the pounding in his skull only increased. "Maybe it's exactly what Kali said. I saw everything. I was there."

"But you never left the conservatory!" Megabyte protested.

"Mentally I wasn't here, Megabyte. I was there." Adam sighed, rubbing his temples. "Now that I think about it, my head was hurting then too."

"Well, no one ever said being a medium was easy," General Damon remarked.

Megabyte glared at his father. "Adam is not a medium!"

For some reason, Megabyte's vehement denial amused Adam. "I don't know, Megabyte. My grandmother definitely was, and Kali said I had a gift that I should be careful not to abuse-- "

General Damon nodded, smoothly interrupting the elder Tomorrow Person. "And those are words you should heed Adam. I'm pretty sure that whatever it was that happened to you was taxing on your body, which would explain why you were in a trance one minute and unconscious the next."

Sensing the discomfort of his friends, Adam forced a reassuring smile. "I don't plan on using that particular gift any time in the near future. It was a little too-- disturbing."

"I think the whole thing was disturbing," Megabyte snorted.

No one dared to argue with him.

Chapter Twenty -- Lineage

"Hey, Adam."

Adam looked up from his place in the sand, almost startled by the appearance of his young, red headed friend. "Megabyte. What are you doing here? I thought your mother was keeping you busy with repainting and wallpapering?"

It had been almost a month since the spirits of Charles Sullivan and Kali had been laid to rest, and even though the spirits no longer roamed the halls of Sullivan House, Adam found it somewhat difficult to be there for long periods of time. Ami's channeling had been one thing; but his experience, actually seeing and reliving the murder of Edward and Charles' misery had been overwhelming. He still couldn't shake the memories of it, although they seemed to be fading and dulling with time.

Many questions remained unanswered yet. The Watching Lady kept to her post, and a girlish laughter still echoed through the halls, but none of it was as disturbing as the melancholy that enshrouded Charles and Kali. And there was still no explanation as to why Adam bore such a strong resemblance to the late musician.

Megabyte gave his usual shrug. "I slipped out. Mom was so busy gawking over some old dresses in the attic, she never even noticed. Besides, there's something that I have to show you."

Plopping down in the sand, the younger Tomorrow Person handed a weathered, yellowed envelope to the elder. "Mom found this last night in the old study. There was a safe hidden behind one the paintings. Can you believe it? Just like in the old movies."

Adam looked curiously at the envelope, but didn't take it. "What is it?"

"It's a letter. You should read it."

Something about the light dancing in Megabyte's eyes and the barely contained excitement in his voice lured Adam in. Taking the envelope, he carefully exacted the crumbling letter.

Written in a delicate and fine female hand, he read the letter:

21 October 1908

Dear Mr. Amblin,

I apologize for my tardiness with this response to your inquiry regarding my claim to Sullivan House. My mother left this world for a better, and in the interim, I have been unable to compose a reasonable reply to your inquiries.

Whilst it may be difficult for you to understand, Mr. Amblin, I have no kinship nor connection to the house, nor did my mother, nor did her mother, my grandmother, Mary Sullivan. As I am certain your firm has discovered in its efforts to trace the proper ownership of Sullivan House, Mary Sullivan was disowned by her father and sent to a convent where she gave birth to her daughter and my mother. She never returned to her family, nor did she stake any claim to Sullivan House following the unfortunate and tragic deaths of her brothers, Edward and Charles Sullivan. Nor did my mother ever wish to make such a claim, nor do I.

. . . I understand that Sullivan House is rightfully mine, having passed down through the generations from my mother and her mother, and I do appreciate the great effort of which your law firm has exerted to find me and notify me of my rightful inheritance. However, I would much prefer to leave Sullivan House in the hands of your esteemed firm, and hereby sign all rights to the aforementioned home over to you . . .

If you have any further need to contact me or to arrange the proper legal documents, you may do so through my husband's brother . . .

God bless and keep you, Mrs. Jasper Halifax

Adam's hand trembled as he refolded the letter. He barely caught Megabyte's question.

"Didn't you say you were related to someone named Halifax?"

Adam nodded numbly. "Jasper Halifax was my great grandfather."

The End, Finis, Nothing Else!

Reference Notes: " And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand" (Genesis 4:11)

" For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (John 3:17)