Keeper: Chapter 8

Sorry for the late posting, got pulled into a meeting before I could post this morning.  v

Chapter 8

Jamie stared at the boulder and splintered bed and swallowed hard. He looked up at the ceiling expecting to see broken and town roof supports. Instead there was a large black scorch mark. The white paint of the ceiling was blistered and cracked.



“Odd,” Jamie said. He started to step forward but felt a burning on his chest before he could cross the room’s threshold. He looked down in surprise to find the keeper’s medallion glowing blue and nearly hot enough to burn him. He stepped away from the door and the metal cooled, its blue light dimming. Del was staring at the medallion.



“My guess is there is another nasty surprise waiting just incase the rock missed.” Del told him. He had a grim, angry look on his face. He looked through the open door at the wreckage. “We’ll be needing to call to get someone to clear that before we can clear up.” Jamie nodded. Now that his heart had stopped racing and was returning to normal he was starting to feel a bit numb. No one had ever really wanted to kill him before. He shivered and realized he was wearing only his boxers and that the hallway was quite chilly. Del noticed the shivers as well.



“I think we’re all out of sleep tonight. I’ll go start breakfast and we’ll see about getting something warm in you.” Del turned and walked back down the stairs, heading towards the kitchen. Jamie closed Albe’s bedroom door and retreated back to his room. He closed his door, wanting a little something more between him and the other room. Del was right, there was no going back to sleep now. He looked over at the clock. 4:28 am the glowing red clock read.



“Well I’ve gotten up earlier,” Jamie said to himself as he pulled on jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt. He put on heavy socks but not shoes. Somehow moving silently sounded like a good plan for a while. Once dressed, he sat back down on the bed and stared at the wall for a moment.



“House?” He asked. “Are you awake?”



“Yes, keeper.” The house replied. It didn’t sound a bit sleepy. In fact it sounded agitated.



“Do you know anything about the giant rock in Albe’s bed?”



“No Keeper. I swear I let no one in.” The house sounded distressed.



“I’m not accusing you of anything, House.” He reassured it. “I’m just trying to figure out what is going on. Can you tell me the last time Albe slept here?”



“Five nights ago.” House told him.



“Five?” Jamie repeated. He counted back in his head. “That would be October 2nd then since this is technically the morning of the 7th?”



“That is correct Keeper.”



“They told me he was gone on the 4th, I came with the Family on the 5th,” Jamie mused aloud. The timeline fit. Can you tell me what happened between Albe waking on the morning of the third and right now?”



“Of course keeper. The previous keeper rose, ate and left. You and your family then came,” house paused. “Would you like a recounting of the visit?”



“No,” Jamie said. “I think we can all live without that. Pick up again after we left.”



“Very well. After you left several people dropped calling cards off. They were slipped under the door and I made sure they were placed in the holder.”



“Did you see who they were?”



“No but their names would presumably be on the cards,” House told him in a slightly huffy tone of voice.



“If they dropped off their own cards,” Jamie replied in his own huffy tone. The numbness was starting to fade and he was starting to get angry. Someone had tried to kill him.



“True,” House conceded.



“You can’t really see anyone outside of your confines can you?”



“Only the keeper,” House admitted. Jamie nodded. Something to think about later.



“After the cards were dropped off?”



“Nothing until you came.”



“Has there been anyone other than me or Del here since I arrived?”



“No Keeper.” Jamie nodded slowly.



“Has Del been upstairs? Or worked any magic that you could tell?”



“Del Has been upstairs twice since his arrival. Once to let you know that dinner was ready and once this morning after the bed collapsed. He has worked nothing but hearth magic since his arrival.”



Jamie tapped his finger on his knee in thought. He blinked as he remembered Albe’s book. He pulled the satchel out from under the bed where he had stashed it and tugged out what he had dubbed the fantastic field guide. Under brownie he found two drawings. One of the drawings looked remarkably like Millie the other was a male version that didn’t look exactly like Del but close enough to be a cousin. He was wearing the same sort of clothing Del had been wearing in the kitchen. Jamie quickly scanned the description.



“Tend to dress well when traveling is somewhat of an understatement,” he muttered as he read. “A brownie is also known as a house elf and unlike the rest of its more exotic kin, has no problem dealing with iron. They love to keep secrets and are fiercely protective of the families they have decided to assist. Once becoming a part of a household a brownie will consider it his or her sacred duty to keep the family safe while they are within the confines of the home. The brownie will use its magic to these ends. The precise magic a brownie holds has never been determined as the brownies only work magic when away from the eyes of others. Should a brownie ever turn on its chosen household and seek to harm the occupants it will loose its domestic skill. Milk will curdle; meat rot and bread refuse to rise.” Jamie thought of Del making breakfast downstairs.



“Well that would be one way to tell if Del is on my side or not.” Jamie stood up and turned towards his closed door, preparing to see if Del’s breakfast was edible or not. He stopped when he saw a small white card tucked into the corner of his bulletin board. The board was on the back of the door which is why he hadn’t seen it earlier. It was where Albe would leave secret clues to begin scavenger hunts or messages about where he was going.



“Apparently one person thought I would sleep in my own bed,” he thought. Jamie walked over to the board, his socked feet making no sound. He pulled the card from the corner of the board. It was wedged between the frame and the cork. The side facing him was blank. Jamie flipped it over. One word was written on the reverse.



“Luddite,” Jamie read aloud. He smiled knowing Albe wasn’t trying to insult him but rather giving him the missing pass word. He tucked the card in his back pocket. “We’ll see if the milk is spoiled before we go onto the computer.” Jamie opened his bedroom door.



For a moment he stared at Albe’s closed door. There was nothing odd about it, yet somehow it had taken on an almost sinister look. Jamie shook his head and stepped into the hall way. He pulled his bedroom door shut behind him. Jamie felt a little foolish doing so, he knew nothing was going to seep out of Albe’s room and lie in wait for him in his but he closed the door anyway. He quickly left the hallway and went down to the kitchen.



After the cool halls the kitchen seemed like a haven of warmth. Jamie took a deep breath, inhaling wonderful scents. He could detect no scent of rot. Del placed a plate of sunny side eggs and bacon on the table and motioned him to sit. Jamie slid behind the plate.



“The biscuits will be out in just a minute, Del told him. The little man poured a glass of orange juice, a glass of milk and a mug of coffee. He placed all three in front of Jamie. Jamie looked at the glasses and then back at Del. The brownie seemed a bit flustered. He filled the kettle with water and set it on one of the burners.



“I didn’t know if you were a tea o a coffee sort of person,” Del said. But there will be tea in just a minute.” Jamie took a sip of milk. There was nothing curdled about it. He set the glass down.



“Del, are you all right?” he asked. Del thumped a mug next to the kettle and placed a tea bag in it.



“It is me that should be asking that,” Del said in a rush. “I sign on to care for the house and nearly a blink later you’re almost crushed in your own bed. It is a disgrace.” Del turned and jerked the oven door open. He grabbed the tray of newly baked biscuits and pulled it out. Jamie winced.



“Aren’t your hand’s burnt?” he asked. Del looked at his hands. They were slightly reddened from contact with the hot metal but not burnt.



“I’m fine,” Del replied. He flexed his hands and some of the manic anger seemed to drain from him. “Although it would have been what I deserved.”



“You don’t deserve punishment,” Jamie said. Del sank into one of the chairs. “This wasn’t your fault. Someone killed Albe and I think that same someone is trying t kill me.”



“The keeper before you was killed?” Del asked. There was fire in his eyes.



“I believe so.” Jamie said. “Things are just a little too wonky for it to have been an accident. The trick is figuring out who did it and why.” Del calmed and drummed his fingers on the table as he thought. Jamie took a bit of his eggs, dipping the edge of a biscuit in the golden you as it streamed from the broken center.



“Seems like a keeper would have kept records of the projects he was working on. It might do to check the last thing he recorded.”



“That would be a good place, but his last journal is missing, as are several books from the library.” Del looked very surprised.



“How would someone smuggle books out of this house without the, um well, House knowing about it?”



“For that matter how did someone sneak a boulder into Albe’s room without house knowing it?” Jamie countered.



“Someone found a way around the house’s defenses.” Del let out a low whistle. “That takes some heavy doing. Either very big magic or very small.” Jamie frowned.



“Small?”



“There are some places where tiny things can go, slipping between the cracks so to speak, and no one would notice. Takes a lot of skill to do though.” Del told him. Jamie thought of the calling cards.



“Could it be slipped in like a disease?”

“Disease?” Del asked his putty like face creased into a heavy frown.



“Like the feds slipping small pox infested blankets to the Indians to make them sick,” Jamie said. Del’s frown deepened.



“I suppose it could be possible. Did someone send you a blanket?”



“Not a blanket, no,” Jamie said. “But there are calling cards. According to House they are the only things that came into the house between Albe’s leaving and me arriving.” He paused and looked at Del. “I don’t suppose you know how to tell if one of them had some kind of magical small pox?”



“I could take a look, but it really isn’t my thing.”



“You have to be better than me.” They left the kitchen and went to the front hall. Jamie reached for the cards but Del’s hand stopped him.



“If they are infected then you shouldn’t be touching them.”



“I touched them before, when I came in,” Jamie told him.



“Hmm,” Del said. “If you touched them then it might have activated something. If you touch them again then who ever sent the card might be able to know it and realize that his first hit missed.”



“You mean they could try again.”



“I mean they could try again,” Del confirmed.



“Can you tell anything about the cards?” Del picked up the cards and flipped through them. Jamie could see his jaw clench as he shifted the cards. Slowly he placed them back in the receiving tray. “Anything?” Jamie asked.



“Something,” Del said. “But whatever it is now coats all the cards so I can’t pick out the one that brought it in.”



“Can you get the names? We might want to pay them a visit to see what we find.”



“I can remember the names,” Del said. “I’ll write them down for you in the kitchen while you finish breakfast.” They returned to the kitchen and Jamie finished his breakfast while Del jotted the names down. When finished, Jamie leaned back in his chair and sipped his coffee.



“We are well stocked on supplies, right?” Jamie asked. Del looked up from his list.



“We are. I filled the pantry after lunch yesterday so we wouldn’t be caught unawares by visitors.” Jamie nodded.



“I think laying low for a few days might be a good idea,” he said. “It will give me time to hopefully figure a few things out and maybe someone will come looking to see if their plan was successful. After all if I was setting a trap to kill someone and I knew the trap had been sprung I would want to see if it worked.” Del nodded slowly, a dark smile creasing his lips.



“I really hope they send someone.” Jamie recalled the fiercely protective line in the guide and realized that like dressing well, it was an understatement.



“I think I will head upstairs and see if I can figure out what books are missing. There are no windows in there so it won’t look like someone is working. Maybe I’ll even find a book dealing with House and how someone could have gotten past its defenses.” Jamie went back upstairs to the study.

“House,” he said as he pulled out his laptop and seated himself behind the desk.



“Yes?” It asked.



“Can you tell if someone is near the house, er, you?”



“I can tell only once they are on my porch or touch my walls.” Came the response. Jamie nodded.



“If someone does, can you let me know?”



“Of course.” Jamie assumed this was as close to a burglar alarm as he was going to get. He booted up the computer and logged into the mozy site. To his delight the password worked perfectly. To his surprise there were several files stored there. Again Jamie wondered if Albe had a laptop stashed somewhere or if that had been stolen along with the books. He scrolled through the list until he found the file marked Aphid. He smiled and clicked the file open. The file contained several smaller files inside. There were pictures and a lot of text. Jamie scanned the files wondering where to begin. One file near the center of the list was titled read me first in capitol letters.



“That looks like an excellent place to begin,”