The Haunting - Chapter 16
Spring 1893
He laid there in bed, as still as he could, straining his ears to listen for a repeat of the sob. For a moment he wondered if perhaps he was still dreaming, and that it was all just some cruel fantasy to raise his hopes of a reunion with his beloved ghostly love. Castle closed his eyes and held his breath, waiting in the silence. And then it returned. It was faint. Very faint. But it was there—the mournful sobs of a heartbroken woman. It had to be her. There was no other explanation that would suffice. The shade of Katherine Beckett was still haunting the brownstone.
Castle shoved his duvet off and practically leaped out of bed. He curled his toes into the cold hardwood floor, hunching his back as he shivered, feeling the chill in the night air. Grabbing his robe, he shrugged it on before nudging his door open and peeking out into the hallway. It was quiet and empty. No sign of the phantasmic presence of his beloved Katherine. Sighing, he shook his head and ducked back into the room. Perhaps he was mistaken, letting his imagination run wild. After all, he had just had a very sensually stimulating dream that had heavily featured Katherine.
Just close the door and go back to sleep, Rick, he told himself, knitting his eyebrows together as he scowled down at the floor. He desperately wished his dreams were a reality. However, he knew such thoughts were futile, and would only lead him into madness. No. It was not her. He was just imagining things. Sighing, Castle retreated back to his bed. It was probably best he forgot about it.
Disrobing, Castle reached for the duvet, but stopped, hand frozen halfway there, when he heard the wretched sob again. It was much clearer than before. He stood still and narrowed his eyes, once again waiting for a repeat. And this time it came.
Shrugging his robe back on, Castle stepped out into the hallway. He shivered, and tugged the robe tighter around his broad frame, listening for the soft sobbing. It echoed throughout the upstairs landing, and Castle held his breath, his eyes flirting across to the closed door to Katherine's bedroom. Little by little, he tiptoed the distance, and reached for the doorknob, his fingers curling around it. All the while, the sobs continued to radiate from within. Turning his wrist ever so slowly, Castle opened the door.
The sobbing abruptly ceased.
He narrowed his eyes and scanned the dark interior of the bedroom. He inched his foot forward and crossed the threshold. The moment he entered the bedroom, he felt a distinct drop in room temperature. His breath fogged in front of his eyes, and his bones rattled from the chill. A cool breeze with no obvious source swept across his face. It was her. He knew it was her. Katherine Houghton Beckett was in the room with him. And she had been sobbing.
"Katherine," he called out, surprised at the strength of his own voice. "I know you are here. Please, do not hide from me. Show yourself. Please. We need to talk."
The wind howled and the rocking chair by the window began to move on its own, swaying back and forth. Random books from the small shelf on the other side of the bed floated out from their slots and hovered in air. Her little handheld looking-glass mirror rose up into the air, and then fell to the floor. Her elaborate comb followed. Soon the entire room seemed to come to life, Katherine's numerous possessions floating aimlessly around the bedroom. And then the lamps started to glow with an unnatural blue flame.
Castle blinked and held his hand up to shield his eyes as the blue light intensified. "Katherine!?"
The entire room seemed to shake with unnatural force. And then, all of a sudden, it stopped. The bright blue light slowly coalesced, taking form. Castle blinked and watched as he saw the beautiful features of the young Katherine Beckett materialize before him. He licked his lips anxiously and swallowed, trying to study her expression. She was wearing a mask of disinterest, yet her eyes were unable to hide her turmoil.
"Katherine?" he spoke her name again, almost pleadingly.
"I am here," she answered, but did not answer. It was as if she were whispering directly into his mind. Her voice was ethereal and full of grace. It was lovely, almost euphoric.
"I thought you left me," he said, stepping closer to the angelic beauty, radiant and magnificent, shimmering in a pale blue glow.
"I thought I was holding you back," was her response. "I did not want to see you waste away for something that may never be."
"And now?"
She blinked, and her ghostly eyes finally moved, her gaze shifted to met his. Her blank expression cracked, and her true emotions were on display. "I could never truly leave you, Richard," she spoke this time. There was a buzz to the air, and the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stood up, gooseflesh materialized along his arms.
"But you tried?"
"Yes," she hung her head, shame contorting her beautiful features. "However I could not."
He frowned. "I… I don't understand."
"I am not at peace," Kate said.
Castle reached up and carded his fingers through his hair. "I can find out who killed you," he asserted. Despite the insurmountable obstacles to such a feat, he would still do it. He would do anything for Katherine, even if the price were to lose her forever. She deserved peace and rest… and justice. "I just need a little more time."
"No," she shook her head sadly, giving him a wistful smile. "That is not it. That no longer binds me to this world."
He blinked, furrowing his brow as he stared at her shimmering form, confused. "Then what does?" he asked, genuinely curious.
"You," was her answer.
"Me?"
"Yes," she answered, shifting round the room. Her ghostly hand gripped the guardrail along the foot of her bed, and she sat down, the mattress dipping with her weight. Katherine stared into space for a moment before turning her head to look back at him. "I thought I was holding you back from finding happiness… from finding… true love. But I was wrong. I am in love with you, Richard Castle. And I know you are in love with me."
He nodded.
"We are soul mates."
Again, he nodded.
"And soul mates cannot be parted," she explanted at length, pausing to mimic heaving in a deep breath, though she did not really breathe, before finishing, "even in death, apparently."
Castle raised his eyebrows in surprise, and cautiously stepped forward. When she made no move to disappear, he walked towards the bed and joined her, sitting down right next to her. He could feel her aura crackle in the air around her glistening form. It was terrifyingly brilliant. He clenched his jaw and swallowed, stifling down the swell of emotions at finally have her back. He had almost given up hope on ever seeing his ghostly companion ever again.
"I really did attempt to cross over," Katherine went on, pointedly not looking at him. "I was refused, rebuffed back onto this plane of existence. And when I returned, the house was empty and you were gone. I was afraid that being alone in this house was to be my eternal damnation. But then you came back, and I… I did not know how to feel or what to do. I… I…"
"I love you, Katherine Houghton Beckett," Castle interrupted her, having heard enough. He turned and raised a hand, letting out a satisfied sigh of relief when his fingers were met with a static buzz around her gorgeous face, allowing him the sensation of touching her. She must be expelling a lot of energy to manifest herself so much across the veil and into the plane of the living. It was always very taxing on her. So he was fully prepared to wait a handful of days until she could appear once again. "I had a lot of time to think during my time away, seeing this great country, and the only firm conclusion I could come up with was that I love you, Katherine, in whatever form I am allowed. And I realized that that is all that has ever really mattered. Yes, this love may be difficult, but none of the best things in life are ever easy." He paused, pursing his lips. "My mother told me something very wise before she died, and I have been completely rubbish at heeding it."
"What did she tell you?" she hesitantly asked.
"That a love like the one we share… is worth fighting for."
He watched her shimmering form as she closed her eyes for a beat, before speaking. "But is it enough?" Katherine questioned, looking worried.
"It is for me, yes," he declared, proud of the firm conviction in his voice.
"You say that now, but what if sometime later you want more?" she hedged, looking almost afraid to ask.
"Then we will find a way," Castle vowed, emphasizing the use of the plural pronoun to include both of them in the statement. He clutched her ghostly hand in his, reveling in the numbing buzz that caused gooseflesh to erupt along his arm as their fingers interlaced. "I love you, Katherine. Whatever it takes, for how long it takes… I am in this until the end. We are in this together."
She narrowed her eyes, staring off into space, thoughtful. Her aura brightened and her form became more solid. Katherine arched into him, cupping his face in her chilly hands. "Kate," she murmured, smiling shyly as she kissed him. "You can call me Kate."
Recognizing her permission to use the more familiar nickname for when he addressed her as a sign of her agreement with his declaration, Castle smiled widely, his eyes crinkling with delight as he stared lovingly into her eyes, her gorgeous face brightening with mirrored joy. He dipped his head back down to steal another cool kiss from her ghostly lips. She responded in kind, pushing back into him, molding her translucent frame to his solid one. She let out a soft hum of approval as she withdrew, pursing her lips as she smiled at him. Her eyes were soft and warm.
"You have a deal, Mister Castle," she affirmed. "I promise to haunt you forevermore."
He chuckled, letting his hand down to hers. His heart swelled with joy when he was able to reassure her with a gentle squeeze of his large hand around her smaller one.
She looked up at the clock mounted on the wall, watching as the hands ticked by. "The hour is almost up," she announced, flirting her gorgeous eyes back to his. "It will be some time until I can appear again. Tonight has cost me a lot of energy."
"I understand," he assured her. "I will be here when you can return."
Katherine granted him one last chaste kiss. "Until then, my Richard."
"Until then, Kate," he vowed.
She rewarded him with a beaming smile for using the nickname she had just given him permission to use. Moments later, Katherine shimmered and the image of her began to fade. His hands past through her, and then she was gone. The lamps illuminating the room diminished until they went out, and soon the room was plunged back into darkness. Yet as he sat there, one hand resting over the spot on the mattress that had previously been occupied by the shade of his beloved, Castle found himself heartened by the events of the evening.
It was not over.
There was still hope.
