The Missing Piece of Charlie O'Reilly by Rebecca K. S. Ansari

Author:Rebecca K. S. Ansari [Ansari, Rebecca K. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-02-06T00:00:00+00:00

24

What Michael called a “game room” was laughably different from the image Charlie had in his mind. No TV, no PlayStation, not even a Ping-Pong table. “Gaming” in the 1840s apparently consisted mainly of chess. There were four tables of inlaid checkerboard marble, each topped with intricately carved black and white stone queens, kings, and pawns. It all looked beautiful, if perhaps a bit boring, like it belonged in a museum.

A semicircle of chairs faced a fireplace, and some modern additions lay stacked on a wooden shelf by the wall: mostly board games, like Monopoly, Sorry, Life.

“We should have smuggled in an iPad or something,” Charlie said. He liked board games as much as the next guy, but a screen would be nice.

Michael laughed. “By definition, electronics need electricity. Not much of that to be found around here. Brona tries, however, to keep us entertained. You should have seen this place when she brought back this game Pictionary a few years ago! We had tournaments and everything.”

“Can I speak to you for a sec?” Jonathon whispered into Charlie’s ear. The vehemence and concern in Jonathon’s words were like a cold wind.

“Um, sure.” Charlie took his arm off Liam’s shoulders and asked him and Ana to give them a moment. Ana shepherded Liam to a seat by the fire.

Jonathon glared. “Why did Brona act like she knew you? What haven’t you told me?”

Charlie had never made a deliberate decision to not tell Jonathon about his dreams. But given that neither he nor Ana had understood the connection between his nighttime visions and Liam, it had simply never occurred to him.

“And where is your chain?” Jonathon asked, his eyes locked on Charlie’s neck.

“Brona took it. She gave me this eternity knot thing instead.”

Jonathon shook his head rapidly, his eyes never leaving the stone. He looked green.

“What?” Charlie asked, his pulse quickening. “What does it mean? Why are you acting so weird?”

“I don’t know what it means!” Jonathon rubbed his face with one hand and hugged himself with the other. “There is so much going on that I don’t understand.”

Charlie tucked the medallion into the neck of his shirt. “Look, let’s just work on getting out of here. Okay?” He wanted to tell Jonathon to pull it together—they were so close to achieving what they’d come here to do—but he noticed something under Jonathon’s fingertips. “Hey. Your scar’s gone.”

Jonathon touched the skin above his eyebrow where the thin white line had been. “I guess it is.”

Michael’s voice broke up their conversation. “Charlie, Jonathon, sit down.” He sat on the edge of a chair near Liam and Ana. “So what’s the big surprise?”

Charlie sat next to Liam and took one of his hands in his. “I know you came here because you made some mistake, but—”

Liam jerked his gaze away and looked down at his shoes. More than that, everyone else was avoided looking at Charlie too.

A sick feeling flooded him. Was it as bad as he’d feared? Maybe Liam had done something truly terrible.

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