Chapter 3 [Crane Cabin—Sleepy Hollow]
Ichabod disconnected the call and set the cell phone down gingerly on the counter. He felt refreshed by Jennifer's suggestions. For all of their unusual quirks, the Duboises are certainly loyal friends. They can be counted on under fire. He glanced over at the front door and the porch beyond it.
Through the window, he could see Katrina brooding on the wicker chair and staring blankly out toward the lake beyond. He sighed deeply wondering what he could do to alleviate her melancholy. Granted Jeremy's banishment to Purgatory continued to depress her. He'd believed that she had accepted the situation as necessary…distasteful yet necessary….
She'd seemed to accept all of that. Until a week earlier, she had seemed happy and delighted to be working on their new life all things considered. With Abbie's help, she'd begun to explore Sleepy Hollow itself identifying different areas of interest to be involved with. She'd planted a sizable garden in back of the cabin with all sorts of herbs and vegetables. She continued to learn more about their new time sharing questions and concerns with him as needed.
And yet in the past week, all of that had come crashing down. Katrina sank once more into Depression's depths. The nights represented a continuous stream of nightmares. She screamed and cried in his arms. Yet during the day, she remained sullen and quiet. She sat in that same porch chair only moving after the sun had gone down.
He strode across the polished wood kitchen floor in desperation. He needed something to break the downward spiral. He reached into the cabinet and removed the coffee can from its place. He prepared the coffee maker with it and then glanced out toward her. I shan't let you drown in your loneliness, my Love!
Katrina rocked away morosely in her chair. The short tortured attempts at sleep drained her. Depression buffeted her. She glanced over at the drooping plants in the garden begging for water and attention. She had let her practice at spell craft lapse. Several tasks awaited her around the cabin and in town….
…but she could care less….
…The pain bore down heavily on her….
Over the previous week, she'd experienced traumatic nightmares. Jarring images and loud sounds disrupted her attempts to sleep.
Through the haze of blocked memories, a tiny girl's face stared into hers fearfully. She wailed in fright at the breakneck speed of some rapid journey….
…a journey her feet rushed Katrina through….
Katrina, as if she'd just undertaken the journey, felt the sympathetic pains. Her lungs burned. Pain weighed down her feet. Her knees and hips ached. What is this? What is going on? She forced herself out of the chair half expecting to see a mist hanging over the edge of the woods beyond….
Much to her relief, nothing loomed there.
Still she somehow recognized elements of the strobe-like effect. She concentrated through the pounding headache torturing her temples.
Recognition flooded through her consciousness.
The path seemed familiar…the one between Eagle Plain and Wabash.
The mists were the ones used by her coven to obscure themselves and their spells.
And the little girl? Whereas she hadn't before, Katrina felt warmth and a sense of guilt simultaneously. A need to protect the child pushed her toward the stairs…
…but no child was there….
What would…? She almost makes me feel like Jeremy does. How would that be except…. Her eyes went wide. She's my daughter? She put her hands up to her mouth in horror. How could she be…? She….? Her eyes darted back toward the house/ How would Ichabod react if he knew? How could I have forgotten? What kind of mother am I if I have forgotten her? What is her name?
As she struggled with these questions, she remembered…..
[Just after the church flashback in "The Golem"]
Katrina forced herself to rush from the church. Her heart wailed with regret at leaving her beloved son behind. Still she couldn't subject Jeremy to the road ahead. Perhaps it will be easier with one rather than both! She stooped down under the stairs and pulled a wicker basket from underneath them.
A small cry rose from the protective covering.
"Shh….There, Precious. Your brother will be safe enough with our friends. I cannot be separated from you. We women will survive together. You'll see," Katrina vowed. Then after a quick glance around, she stole away into the woods trying to distance herself from her son as much as possible.
Still the sound of the girl pierced her ears.
"Shh! You'll bring the bad down on us! It's all right," the anxious mother concurred and whispered a sleeping spell to get her daughter to relax. Then she pressed on…
[Crane Cabin—Modern Day]
Katrina sobbed as the memories brought a rush of realization to her. She couldn't believe she wouldn't have remembered the precious girl she'd carried into the woods. I must have been heading for Wabash at some point. That would make sense as David and his demon self would have defended us to the death.
"Katrina, what pray tell is the matter?" Ichabod queried with alarm as he hustled out of the house. He set the two coffee mugs down on the small wooden table beside her lest he spill the hot caffeinated contents therein. "You seem as if you've seen a ghost!"
"Close….There was a spell on me, Ichabod. A spell that made me forget something precious to us. I'm sorry….I'm so sorry. Hold me. Don't hate me," she begged.
He seized onto her in support. "I could never hate you, my Love. How could you ever think such a thing? Now whatever is the matter?"
"Ichabod, remember how it was when we found out that Henry Parrish was Jeremy? I….I had twins actually. I don't know why Abbie only saw Jeremy in her vision. Perhaps it was part of the spell against us. I don't know," she explained while clawing to hold onto Sanity's slippery slope.
"Twins? What?" For a split second, Anger's flame burned brightly in his breast. Still seeing her current state and realizing the significance of the discovery in light of the recurrent nightmares, he quickly snuffed it out. "Spell? You speak of a forgetting spell?"
She quivered with regret and despair. "Aye. I can't believe any spell made me forget about her. There…there's so much I don't…remember. Other things are muddled. I remember leaving Jeremy with the Dixons at the church. Then I picked her up and tried to soothe her cries as we hurried into the woods. I had to get away from there, Ichabod. I wouldn't take a chance with Jeremy's life as you know. Maybe I should have left our daughter as well. However I couldn't bear to give up both babes. And yet I can't even remember her name. What kind of mother am I, Ichabod? Jeremy's right! I'm a failure!" She broke down into a slew of tears and pained wails.
He didn't know what to say. He wanted to barrage her with a long list of questions about this mystery daughter. Still he didn't want to sound too harsh or judgmental having learned the downside to such reactions from the recent past. "We did the best we could against Moloch. Let us leave it at that for now. If it was a forgetting spell from your former coven, we shall seek like assistance from similar sources." He sucked in a deep breath. "I require a moment however."
"A moment? Ichabod, what?" she wondered not grabbing his gist.
"I must let Captain Irving know that I shan't be there today. I have need to what do they call it these days? Ah yes, 'call in sick'. I just need the phone." He rushed back into the cabin and secured the cell phone once again. In his haste, he misdialed a couple of times before getting the right number.
"Sleepy Hollow Police Station. How may I help you?" the desk sergeant answered.
"Sergeant Richards, good morrow! This is Ichabod Crane. Is Captain Irving available per chance?" Ichabod queried.
"Captain Irving is in a meeting at the moment, Mr. Crane. Might I take a message?" Richards replied.
"Thank you. I shan't be there today. My wife is suffering from a most severe melancholy. I shall be spending the day with her. If you could inform Captain Irving of that, I would be most appreciative," he requested in his most polite manner.
Richards stifled her initial response. She always did wonder if he had all of his marbles in order. Still she wasn't about to go into such things at that point. "I shall let him know. Thank you, Mr. Crane. I hope your wife is feeling better. Have a nice day."
"Thank you for your courtesy as well. Have a wondrous day," he concluded before hanging up. He disconnected the call and turned back to Katrina. "There we are. Now we're set and…." He jumped in surprise.
Cybelle shrugged at him. "Thank you for your courtesy, Captain. Good morrow to you. I wanted to offer Althanor's assistance in resolving this situation. I can bring you to our island for such assistance."
"I would like that, Ichabod. Please. May we go?" Katrina almost pleaded.
"Of course. We would be delighted to accept your aid, Milady. If we can assist Katrina in her malady, that would be a bonny thing," he agreed. He helped Katrina from her chair.
Cybelle opened the mist portal. "Then step through and find yourselves in our home." She ushered them both through the doorway. Then, after shutting off the coffee pot with another spell, she followed them through and shut the door behind herself.
Time for answers, it seemed….needed answers in a big way…..