Chapter 15

It was a small party, for they felt more exhausted than exhilarated. But still the Leviathans had been beaten back and that was a cause for celebration. There were still loose ends to be tied up and damage to be undone. But that would come later. Now it was just being glad that the worst was over.

George had been invited to the party, and so had been Kenneth.

"You never told me what was going on" George said accusingly to Megan. "I though we were friends."

"We are. But I didn't know if Derek had gotten to you. I decided to play it safe."

"To think that all of this was happening and I had no idea..."

"You could not have helped much."

Angelique had trouble facing Roxanne's angry eyes. In Roxanne's mind she had betrayed her, and even if she knew it was not true, it was still hard to face.

Sandy accepted a drink from Chris. "I still can't believe it... they would have hung those children, just like that. If I hadn't stopped Nicholas..."

"Don't think about it. It is over. We beat them."

"I could do it because... because Tom had bit me that time in the woods. Somehow it makes me feel that what he did to me was worth it..."

Julia, Barnabas, and Kenneth sat together, speaking in low tones. "I don't know" Kenneth confessed "I don't like amputating a healthy organ. Yet, I had to do it."

Julia spoke softly "In Carolyn's case, her womb could never be healthy. It nearly killed her this time. It might have killed her in the end if it was not removed."

"I know...yet..."

"It is over. It is done." Barnabas said softly. "And it is for the best."

"You do not know what it means to a doctor to do what I did. It goes against all medical ethics."

Julia sighed at that and Barnabas decided he'd better change conversation in a hurry.

"Do you know what I have planned to do with Phillip?"

"Julia told me. Well, it sounds weird, but then, this is a weird setup. I don't see any reason why it might not work. Of course, there are certain things you must remember so as not to harm Phillip."

"That's what I wanted to ask you about."

"I will give you instructions, don't worry. When are you telling Phillip?"

"As soon as I get back to Wyncliffe and get my taxes done."

Kenneth permitted himself a smile "You, doing your taxes?"

"Don't say it." Barnabas looked heavenward "Come April everyone is making jokes about me and taxes. It would be so good if it were true. But it isn't. They would not extend me any more considerations than they give anyone else. Oh, well..."

"What if people start putting you as a dependent in their tax returns?"

"Then I'd be in real trouble... Well, once I got that worry out of my mind, I will tell Phillip. I will need plenty of tact for it."

"At least Phillip is making progress" Julia said "while Vicky..."

"I know. she's catatonic."

"I don't think she'll ever come out of it. Roxanne said that none of those who went through the Ring recovered."

"I think that they were not interested in finding a cure. We are. and we might find it."

"You mean all that was going on?" Phillip's eyes widened. "The Leviathan came back?"

"Yes, they did. But they were defeated."

"I wish I could get my hands on them."

"They would have killed you in five seconds. And they were the ones who had you attacked by Tom."

"That...? Why?"

"Because you had nightmares about bottles long before Chris was possessed by Tom's spirit. You had begun to remember what happened. They wanted you keep you silent."

Phillip looked sick "But that way?"

"You know the Leviathan, Phillip."

"Yes. I do." Phillip admitted. "They would do that, all right."

"And not only them. There are the creatures for whom Roxanne works. Phillip, the Leviathan engineered your attack by Tom, but it was Roxanne who sent you here, by lacing your beer with LSD. And once you were here she tired to get that information out of you, no matter how much damage she did to you in the process. Maybe you remember something about that."

"Enough" Phillip said grimly.

"She will try again to get that information. Not only because she wants it but... but because she is angry at me and knows that torturing you is a good way to get back at me. She admitted to me that she won't care if you end up catatonic for the rest of your life. Or screaming non-stop in a padded cell. She will get that information out of you. Unless, of course, the Leviathan find a way to silence you permanently. You have only one chance. to remember, all by yourself, all that happened after you fell from Widow's Hill."

"But... but I can't"

"You can't now. But if we work at it you will. Then you'll tell Roxanne what she wants to know, and you'll be out of danger."

"You think I can remember?"

"You must remember." I will ask much of you. You will need plenty of courage for it. All I can say is that there is no other way."

"What is that way?"

Barnabas hesitated "How are you doing with the bottle?"

"I can't touch it yet. But I can stand in the same room with it without being bothered."

"All right." Barnabas tired to think the best way to put it. "What the Leviathan did was a very effective way of suppressing old bad memories of a bottle. They did it with new bad memories of a bottle. If those new bad memories could be weakened... if they could lose their hold on you mind, the rest will be able to come out. Ordinarily I would recommend long therapy with Julia or any other doctor. But we do not have the time for that. There is a way. It is brutal, it is tough, it is... disgusting. But it is quick. And we need it to be quick."

"What is that way?" But by the way Phillip was paling, he suspected what it was.

"I have been desensitizing you about bottles, haven't I?"

"Yes, you have."

"I would have to... to desensitize you respect to the specific attack that Tom made."

Phillip stared for some moments, trying to convince himself he had heard what he had heard...

"No!" he jumped away "You are not doing that to me!"

"It is the only way. We well be doing the same way we have up to now. Bit by bit, until you lose all fear."

"You have been planning this from the beginning."

"Only after I learned what Roxanne could do to you, and why. After I learned that I could not stop her from doing what she wanted with you."

"You could have told me of this before we started."

"When? When you could not say two words without screaming?"

Phillip looked down "I... I am sorry."

"You have trusted me until now, haven't you?"

"You did not tell me everything."

"And you have gotten better, haven't you?"

"Yes. I have."

"You'll have to trust me again. Can you do it?"

Phillip shifted his weight uncomfortably. "I...I don't know. When Tom did it, it hurt so much..."

"I know how bad it was. I saw your face when he was done with you. I don't want to see you like that ever again. Phillip, I can make it so that it does not hurt so much. Will you do it?"

Phillip muttered something.

"Phillip?"

"All right, I'll do it."

Will Phillip recover? Will Vicky? What will happen with Carolyn, now that she can no longer have babies? Will David be cured of the werewolf curse, at last? And what about Roxanne?

Stay tuned...