Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 23:53:49 -0600
From: Chad Cougar <ataq_katt@hotmail.com>
Subject: Family Spirit 1

	Talin had never seemed to fit the typical definition of a boy his
age even before he'd started school.  His parents frequently shook their
heads, sometimes in amazement, sometimes in irritation as he came up with
questions or statements that seemed far beyond his years.  When he was
placed in a preschool class he seemed to treat the other children with
almost adult patience and not just a little pity as he watched them play,
rarely joining himself.  He seemed more amused to watch them almost like a
parent watches its child.

	As he grew into adolescence he showed enormous curiosity in all
things until he was comfortable that he'd mastered it or learned all that
he could and then usually dismissed the subject entirely after that, bored
with it.  There were exceptions of course, the most prevalent of which was
the paranormal.  At the age of seven he'd started asking about ghosts and
showed none of the normal fear a child his age had towards them or monsters
in the closet.  He never had the slightest discomfort that there was
something under his bed.  He knew better.

	By twelve Talin was devouring any information he could find on
spirits, ghosts, the supernatural, and for a brief time even UFOs, although
he ultimately decided that even if they did exist they didn't concern him
over much.  The only time Talin was not reading was when he was swimming.
His father was a successful attorney and had installed a pool in their
backyard, and Talin loved the water, the sun, and being out in the air.
His favorite place to read was on a lounge next to the pool.

	Talin had few friends, a fact that concerned his mother almost
daily.  There were one or two that came by and swam occasionally, but Talin
got tired of them quickly.  He was polite to them, laughed at their jokes,
but it was obvious that he was only tolerating them for their own sakes and
for his mother.

	On his seventeenth birthday Talin stood at only 5'8" tall, and had
a slender muscular build from his time swimming.  It wasn't unusual for him
to do forty laps in the pool a day and then lie in the sun to read one of
his beloved books.  He was deeply tanned by the San Diego sun, and had
somewhat shaggy sun bleached hair that hung past his shoulders.  He looked
almost elfin to most that knew him, and his most startling feature was his
eyes, inherited from his mother.  They appeared to be ice gray and
smoldered with intensity and curiosity

	During the summer Talin took part in one of his few favorite
passions.  He went to stay with his grandmother in Colorado.  She not only
didn't think of him as a strange child with an even stranger obsession, she
encouraged his curiosity about the spirit realm.  Naturally this drove his
parents crazy, which added to Talin and his grandmother's enjoyment of each
others company.

	On June the sixth classes let out on the last day of his junior
year at the private school he attended.  On June the ninth he stepped of
the plane at the Denver Airport and into the arms of him grandmother, his
favorite person on Earth.  Reba Glenn stood only an inch shorter than
Talin, and she wore her sixty four years extremely well.  She appeared ten
years younger than her actual age, and her short neatly styled hair had
little gray in it.  Her gray blue eyes held the same intensity as her
grandson's did.  She made her slacks and blouse appear elegant, almost
regal, and wore her trademark pearls.

	"Oh, my lovely boy!"  She hugged him hard and kissed his cheek.  "I
can't believe it's been six months since I saw you."  She stepped back to
take him in, holding his hands.

	"Reba, did you get lipstick on me?"  Talin grinned lopsidedly and
made a show of wiping his cheek with his hand.  He had always called her
Reba, even when he was small.  In his memory he couldn't ever remember
calling her grandma.  He shouldered his back pack and followed her through
the concourse.

	"If I did you had it coming."  She chuckled and hooked her arm
through his.  "Did you get my last letter?"

	"You mean about buying that old mansion?"  He asked.  She nodded.
"What was wrong with the house you had?"

	"Nothing."  She exclaimed.  "I made a small fortune from it.  You
have to admit that it had little or no redeeming qualities, though.  It was
more or less a great block."  She stopped near the baggage carousel with
him.  "It took three people to clean it, and still looked tiny like a
shoebox."

	"So how big is the new one?"  Talin rolled his eyes.  "Not that one
person needs a thousand bathrooms."

	"Oh."  She feigned disgust.  "You sound like your father when you
do that."  She watched as the luggage began to arrive.  "I bought this
house because it has some character.  You'll love it.  I was even told by a
neighbor that it's haunted."

	"Really?"  His eyebrows went up.  "Is it documented?"  As the
various cases came by he grabbed his two suitcases.

	"Not that I can find."  Reba held his pack as he stacked the two
and pulled out a handle to pull them with and then used an elastic cord to
attach the pack.  "You'll love it, Talin, really.  It's a beautiful
Victorian with ten bedrooms.  It's a work of art.  The family sold it after
the owner, a widower, passed away."  She led him towards the door to hail a
cab.  "I've already started the restoration.  Several of the rooms had been
modernized.  I'm putting them back the way they should be."

	"Sounds really cool, Reba."  Talin put his fingers to his lips and
let loose with a shrill whistle just like she'd taught him and watched as a
red and white taxi moved from the waiting area towards them.  "Did you
bring Mrs. Parsons and that butler guy?  The one with the huge mole?"

	She sighed in consternation and watched him put the cases in the
trunk of the taxi.  "Yes, Jonathan and Lydia still work for me."  She got
into the backseat after he opened the door for her.  "Why would I let them
go?  They're nearly family."

	"I was just curious, Reba."  Talin got in and leaned over to kiss
her cheek.  "I really missed you."

	"Oh, and I missed you."  She grinned and hugged him.  "Kellerman's
in the Federal Distrtict, please."  She told the driver.  "I planned to
have lunch there and then go out to the house.  Jonathan will pick us up
after we eat."  The car moved out from under the protection of the building
and the mid day sun hit the windows full force.  She watched Talin put on
his sunglasses.  "So, how goes life with Michael and Krista?"  She asked,
knowing how strained his relationships with his parents were.

	"No change."  Talin looked out the side window and fought the urge
to sigh.  "Mother thinks I'm insane, and dad thinks I'm just bizarre."
Talin smiled at her slightly.  "We don't talk much."

	"So Michael said."  She offered quietly.  "I don't understand what
happened to your father.  He was such an outgoing inquisitive person.  Even
I have trouble speaking to him now."  She folded her graceful hands in her
lap.  "It's almost as if it's a chore to take my calls."

	Talin understood exactly how she felt.  There was always a sense
around Michael Glenn that you were taking up his time or that he was
pretending not to be inconvenienced.  He reached out and took his
grandmother's hand and squeezed it gently, still looking out the window.
"We aren't earth shattering lawsuits and stuff.  We aren't that important."

	"Well its different here, my love."  She caught his hand and raised
it up to kiss it.  "We have several weeks of nothing better to do than
drive one another crazy."  She smiled reassuringly at him.  "I was hoping
you might take an interest in the house and help me decide what to do with
the rooms."  He smiled and nodded.  "Good.  You may chose the one you like
and have it done exactly how you want it, and the rest we'll restore."

	"Deal."  He grinned and kissed her again.  "Thanks."


	Remy Drake stood in the foyer of his father's house, his face
unreadable, and watched the paramedics carefully bringing the stretcher
down the stairs.  Strapped to it in a dark blue nylon bag marked in yellow
letters that said "CORONER" was the body of his mother, Anne Marie Glenn
Drake.  At some point during the night she'd either purposely or
accidentally taken a huge amount of prescription sleeping pills, and had
been found by the maid this morning.

	Remy's father Jacob watched woodenly from the door to the library.
His face alternated between genuine loss and outright disgust.  Once he
accidentally made eye contact with Remy.  It had not been repeated.  They
stood only a few feet apart as the medics made their way out the front
door, but it was obvious to everyone present that they were miles apart.

	"I'm going to Reba's."  Remy said, tearing himself away from the
scene.  He glanced at his father and for the briefest moment there was
murder in his normally placid green eyes.  "I won't be available for any
service or whatever."  He started for the stairs.

	"Remy, god dammit, you can't just take off.  There's a lot to be
done.  People will want to speak to you."  Jacob tried to look at his son
but couldn't hold it.  He looked back towards the doorway.  "You should be
here."

	"You finally have the house to yourself, dad.  I don't want to
spoil that for you."  Remy spat acidly and took the stairs two at a time.
His suite was at the end of the hall, and closed the door hard enough for
the solid oak to be heard downstairs and then leaned against it, suddenly
overwhelmed with grief.  "Dammit."  He muttered and swiped at the tears
that started down his cheeks.  He wanted to lash out, to throw something,
to punch someone, but he couldn't.  He slid down to the floor and wrapped
his arms around his legs, sobbing quietly.

	In all truth his mother's suicide hadn't surprised him much.  He'd
actually been waiting for it for a long time.  The air of resignation from
her had been an almost tangible thing.  His useless father had totally
ignored it and Remy's attempts to get him to help her.  It was par for the
course, he thought.  They hadn't ever been close.  Not that he remembered.

	It was mid afternoon before Remy was able to come down the stairs.
The police had left, and the house was nearly silent except for the sounds
of CNN coming from the study.  Remy slipped the shoulder bag to the floor
and set the other large suitcase down, tentatively making his way towards
the study.  For the briefest moment he felt a strong need to be with his
dad, to hug him or hold him, but when he got to the door he stopped,
feeling the resentment slide back into place like an iron shield.  He could
see the back of his father's head over the back of the chair, and he shook
his head and turned away, unwilling to be hurt again.  He took his bags out
to his car and drove away.

	Remy was tall, like his dad, and muscular from playing soccer and
swimming.  His wavy brown hair was pulled back by the wind as he drove his
car, a BMW Z3 towards the interstate.  I wasn't a long drive from Salt Lake
City to Denver, about nine hours, and he'd been making the trip by himself
for two years now, since he'd gotten his license.  He had graduated high
school only a week before, and his eighteenth birthday last April.  He'd
given only the slightest thought to where he was going to school in the
fall, assuming he wanted to.  On one of her better days his mother had
suggested he do some traveling.  Right about now, after stopping at his
grandmother's house, that sounded absolutely brilliant.

	He cranked the stereo almost as loud as it would go and pushed the
little sports car to its limits, feeling a sense of freedom in the almost
reckless speeds.  He had one of the best radar detectors available, and
each time it squawked he mentally tossed a coin to decide if he was going
to slow down or not.  So far he'd slowed down once and kept going once.
Equal odds.  It went off again and he smiled, imagining the silver coin
spinning in the air.  Heads.  Damn.  He chuckled and slowed down.

	He stopped at the Little America in Sinclair, Wyoming, to get
something to eat and top off the car.  The complex offered a decent diner,
a hotel, and a gas station.  Every time he'd ever seen it it was busy and
he impatiently waited for his turn at the pump, annoyed with the nearly
constant wind that blew across the flat terrain.

	The cheeseburger he ordered was left at the counter half eaten, and
he left a five dollar bill as a tip.  Since it was Jacob's money it was
easy to be generous.  He pulled back on to I-84 and headed east towards
Cheyenne and eventually Denver, the back of his mind constantly chewing
over the ashes of the day.


	Talin stood in the study of the enormous house distractedly looking
up at the shelves of books and talking to his dad on the cordless phone.
He sighed, listening, and leaned against the armrest or a long leather
couch.  "Yeah, dad, she seems okay.  When Jonathan told her at the
restaurant it was bad, but you know Reba.  She's pretty much herself
again."  He listened again and picked up a tiny blown glass horse and
looked at it before carefully replacing it.  "Anyway, I booked her first
class on Delta.  She'll get to Salt Lake about eleven am.  I put you both
in the Windham Hotel.  I'll stay here.  She has a lot of people working on
the house.  I can watch them for her."

	"You're cousin's car is driving up."  Jonathan, a tall thin man in
his late fifties leaned in through the doorway.  His face showed the strain
of having to tell his friend and employer that her daughter had killed
herself.  He looked drawn.  He'd been Reba's driver and handyman for most
of Talin's life.

	Talin nodded and smiled reassuringly at him.  "Listen, dad, Remy is
here.  I don't know what the deal is, but when Uncle Jacob called Reba he
said that Remy wasn't planning on being at the funeral.  I guess he's going
to stay here."  He glanced out the window into the darkness and saw
headlights pulling up in front of the house.  He listened for several
seconds and shrugged.  "I'll do what I can.  I haven't seen him since I was
nine."  He went to the window and brushed the curtains aside, watching as
Jonathan and Reba walked out to the car.  He couldn't see them clearly, but
he saw Remy holding their grandmother.  "I gotta go, dad.  Let me know how
it goes."  He didn't wait for a response as he hit the off button and put
the phone in its cradle on his way to the door.  He walked out into the
large open foyer and stood at the foot of the curved oak staircase and
watched as they came in.

	His initial feeling was that he'd never seen Reba look as old as
she did right now.  He was made uncomfortable by the feelings he had for
her, noticing that her usually regal face and bearing seemed to sag now,
and that she looked tired and drawn.  The second thing he noticed made him
feel a little foolish.  Remy was not the gangly ten year old he remembered,
but was now tall and muscular, and he dwarfed Reba as they walked in with
their arms around each other, which meant that he was also much taller than
Talin.

	"Talin, dear, you remember Remy, don't you?"  Even Reba's voice was
different, tired.  Her eyes were not the usual hot sparks that he expected.
She smiled at him, an effort, and gestured towards him.  "Remy, this is
your cousin Talin.  You two once played together at my house before your
families moved away."

	"I remember."  Remy's voice was deep and also sounded tired.  He
smiled at Talin and stuck out his hand.  "We went up in the attic to find a
ghost and scared the shit out of ourselves."

	Talin shook his hand, nodding.  "You spilled Kool-Aid on the
stairs."  He chuckled.  "Remy, I'm real sorry about your mom."  He said
uncomfortably.  The truth was he could barely remember his aunt Anne, but
he felt compelled to say something.

	"Thanks."  Remy's face hardened.  "Like I told Reba I'm sure she's
happier than she was."

	Reba sighed and squeezed Remy's hand.  "Talin, would you help Remy
take his things up to his room?  I'll see about getting some proper snacks
together, and then maybe we should all turn in.  It's been a long day."

	"Sure."  Talin went to Jonathan and took the larger of the two
cases from him and headed for the stairs.  Remy kissed Reba's cheek and
followed, getting the other bag.  The house was three stories and a
basement, and at the top of the large curved staircase was another set of
stairs.  They went up that set and down the hall to the last two rooms, one
on either side of the hallway.  Talin set the bag on the bed and turned to
wait, awkwardly stuffing his hands in his pockets.  He had no idea what to
say.

	Remy tossed the other bag on the bed and looked around, taking in
the room.  It was large, like every other room in the house, had a walk in
closet and a bathroom, and in the corner a fireplace.  The bed was a four
poster bed, high off the floor, and there were a couple of overstuffed
chairs and a small table near the windows.  His nose wrinkled and he
glanced at Talin.  "I think I liked the old house better."

	Talin grinned and nodded.  "This place is cool but it feels old.  I
liked the rooms we used to stay in."  He leaned against the door jam.
"Remember using the butler's lift as an elevator?"

	Remy smiled and sat on the end of the bed.  "I haven't thought
about that forever."  He met Talin's eyes.  "It's good to see you again."

	"You too."  Talin pushed away from the door.  "Look, if you don't
want to go back down I can bring you up something.  You know, if you want
to unpack."  Or be alone, Talin thought to himself.

	"I don't really want anything.  Tell Reba I'm planning on heading
for bed."  Remy smiled slightly again and ran his hands through his hair.
"Thanks for the help, though."  Talin nodded and pulled the door shut
behind him.  Remy sighed and stood up, pulling his suitcase over.  He
pulled out a pair of boxers and headed for the bathroom to shower.
Unpacking could wait.

	Talin went down the back stairs to the kitchen where he found
Mrs. Parsons in the process of making sandwiches with Reba's help.  Lydia
Parsons stood the same height as Reba, but was a pleasant heavyset woman in
her early seventies.  Her roll in the household had changed over the years,
and now instead of just being the cook she more or less supervised the part
time cleaning and gardening staff, as well as the girl that did the
shopping and helped occasionally with meals.  She still wore the same gray
uniform dress and white apron that Talin could remember her in when he was
a child.  She looked up at him and winked, her smile a little forced
tonight.  "Talin, come and sit down.  I'll have this ready in a moment."

	"Where's Remy?"  Reba asked, handing him a glass of soda.  He sat
down at the round wooden table with it.

	"I don't think he's hungry right now.  He was going to unpack and
head for bed."  Talin shrugged and smiled at her.  "If I was him I think
I'd be tired too."

	"I suppose so."  Reba sat down next to him.  "I can't believe she's
gone.  How horrible for him to've seen her like that."  Lydia set a plate
in front of each of them, and Reba looked at it with disgust.  "I don't
understand why she couldn't have told me she was in such pain."  She
swallowed hard and held a handkerchief up to the corner of her eye.

	"I'm really sorry."  Talin said quietly, reaching out to take her
hand.  "I talked to dad.  I put you guys in the same hotel.  He's going to
pick you up at the airport."

	Reba smiled fondly at him and gave his hand a pat.  "You are a
tower of strength.  I don't know what I would've done with out you."  She'd
been held by him while she cried after getting the news.  "Thank you,
Talin."

	He was uncomfortable with her feelings but didn't say anything.
One of the reasons he came to her every summer was to get away from the
emotional void that was his parents.  He listened to the others talking as
he ate his sandwich and wished that he could be moved by the same grief
that they were experiencing.

	He took a plate from Mrs. Parsons and a can of soda with him when
he headed up to bed, intending to drop them off for Remy incase he'd
changed his mind.  He knocked on the door quietly, not wanting to wake his
cousin if he'd gone to bed.  The door opened and he looked up into Remy's
reddened eyes.  For just a second he felt sorry that those green eyes
should be so pained.  "Uh, I thought you might be hungry."  Talin said
quietly, embarrassed by the fact that Remy was dressed only in boxers, and
that he'd noticed.

	"Thanks."  Remy opened the door wider and took the plate, moving so
Talin could come in.  "How's Reba?"  He went to the table and put the plate
down, sitting in one of the wing backed chairs.

	"She's okay."  Talin sat in the other chair and ran his hands
across the knees of his jeans nervously.  "She's worried about you."

	Remy snorted a laugh.  "That figures, doesn't it?  Her daughter's
dead and she's worried about me."  He sighed and laced his fingers behind
his head.  "Sorry we fucked up your vacation, man.  You must be severely
pissed off."

	"Not at all.'  Talin shook his head.  "I feel really bad for you.
I don't know what to say or do, so I just keep my mouth shut."  He fought
the urge to squirm under Remy's gaze.  "If I can do anything tell me,
okay?"

	"You can take me on a ghost hunt in the attic."  Remy said quietly,
his eyes getting watery again.  He forced a smile.  "I miss those times."

	"Deal."  Talin stood up and went to leave.  He stopped and reached
to pat Remy's shoulder, hesitated because there was a glimmer of closeness
between them, and being close to people was alien to him, and finally
settled for just laying his hand on Remy's shoulder.  "Goodnight, Remy.
Holler if you need anything."

	Later, after he'd stripped and climbed in bed, Talin looked up at
his ceiling and reviewed what was going through his mind.  He still felt
uncomfortable about seeing Remy so upset, and even more uncomfortable about
seeing him in his underwear.  He closed his eyes and sighed,
unintentionally mimicking Remy's image in his mind by putting his hands
behind his head.  He tried to force the images out of his head so he could
sleep.  It took a long time.

	He dreamed about being in the attic at Reba's old house.  He was
nine again and was standing next to Remy, who was ten.  Sunlight filtered
in through the tiny windows at each end of the room, and there were dust
motes in the air, filtering through the light.  Remy had a large flashlight
that was clearly not needed, but he brandished it like a sword, eyes wide
as they crept into the attic from the stairs.

	"See anything?"  Talin whispered loudly, his own eyes like saucers.
He stayed close enough that his arm brushed Remy's as he looked around,
forgetting that he had in each hand a cup of Kool Aid, brought so that they
could have a drink after they found any ghosts.

	"Huh uh."  Remy answered and turned on the flashlight even though
it was very bright in the small room.  "Maybe they don't come out during
the day time."

	"Well I'm not coming up here at night."  Talin stated matter of
factly, glancing behind them.  "No way."

	Remy swallowed hard.  "Me either."  As he shined the flashlight
towards the far corner of the room his leg brushed the lace trim of a
garment that had been tossed in a box.  His mind was already as tightly
wound as he could get it, and his pulse was drumming in his chest.  The
feathery touch of the lace against his skin was just enough.  He screamed,
knowing that they'd found a real ghost and that it had just tried to grab
him.  The silver body of the flashlight arced into the air and Remy
collided with Talin near the stairs.  Both cups of Kool-Aid exploded
between them.


	Talin woke up to the sound of a thump in the hallway.  He blinked
in the darkness of his room trying to place what exactly it was that had
awakened him.  The moonlight filtered in through the windows and his eyes
began to adjust.  He was about to lay back down when the sound came again
close to his door.  He knew it was nothing, even though he'd just dreamt
about the ghost in the attic, but his heart rate sped up anyway.  He slid
out from under the sheets and pulled on his underwear, making his way to
the door.

	There was a muffled voice just outside as he reached for the door
knob and he hesitated.  "Jesus Christ!"  He whispered, embarrassed, and
opened the door quietly.  The hallway was dark, the window at the end
between his room and Remy's at an angle that didn't catch the light very
well.  He stepped into the hall and looked back towards the stairs.

	"Mom?"  Remy's voice came from the shadows near his door.  It
sounded almost like a wail, like the sound of a lost child.

	Talin felt himself stiffen as the ice cold shiver went up his
spine.  He had to stop himself from running back into his room and slamming
the door.  He swallowed hard and felt anger surge up inside him.  "God damn
it, Remy!"  He snarled in a harsh whisper.  "That wasn't fucking funny!"

	Remy stepped forward from his door, still dressed in his boxers.
The feint light from the window colored his skin ice blue.  His eyes didn't
appear to be focused, at least not on Talin.  He looked to the side towards
the stairs.  "I'm sorry, mom.  Please don't leave me!"  He wimpered and
took a step into the hallway.

	Talin fought off a chill as he saw the vacant look in Remy's eyes.
He was sleep walking, he knew that, but how was he supposed to get Remy
back in bed?  Like everyone else he'd heard that you weren't supposed to
wake up a sleep walker.  He scrubbed his face with both hands and sighed.
Remy had taken another couple of steps towards the stairs, and Talin shook
his head.  "Guess we'll find out."  He mumbled.

	As he stepped towards Remy the hallway lit up slowly.  He'd just
reached to take Remy by the shoulders when the glow, an almost sickly green
blue color, faded in behind him, casting his shadow on Remy's chest.
"Mom?"  Remy asked as though he could see her face, a smile coming to his
lips.

	Talin twisted around, irritated, and his eyes went wide.  It was
like time had suddenly stopped and he couldn't breath.  The temperature in
the hallway plummeted and he could see his own breath coming out in small
puffs.  Goose flesh popped out all over his legs and arms, and if he
could've remembered how he would've screamed.

	Standing in the center of the wide hall was an older man, wispy and
undefined except for his upper body and face.  He was balding, and wore
clothes that had to be a century out of date.  His face was lined with age
and his eye brows were drawn as though he was angry.  Nothing but black
sockets looked back at them.

	"Mom, please!"  Remy pleaded, tears rolling down his cheeks.  His
chest hitched in quiet sobs.

	"That's not your mom."  Talin said quietly, pushing Remy back
towards the bedrooms.  He had to drag his eyes away from the image in the
hall.  He reached up and put his hands on Remy's cheeks.  "Remy, you're
sleep walking.  You need to wake up."  Remy's breath puffed in his face in
the chill and his eyes met Talin's but didn't focus.  Talin looked over his
shoulder just in time to see the whatever it was fade away.  He could feel
the warmth coming back through the open hall.  "Remy, I need you to go back
to bed."

	"Don't make me be alone."  Remy sobbed, wrapping his arms around
Talin and crying on his shoulder.  "Not any more."

	"Ok, I promise."  Talin guided him towards his room.  "You can
sleep in my bed, okay?"  He pushed the door open, glancing into the hall at
where it had stood.  Remy sniffed loudly and followed Talin to the large
double bed.  Talin lifted the sheets for him.  "Come on, Remy.  I need to
go check something.  I want you to stay right here until I get back."  Remy
slid into the bed and seemed to be instantly asleep.  Talin pulled the
covers up and went back into the hallway, pulling the door closed behind
him.

	The hair on the back of his neck rose as he crept up the hall
towards the spot where it had appeared.  The temperature was normal again,
and he carefully went around the spot where it had stared at them.  He
tried the door next to Remy's room, peering into the darkness.  The room
was neat and orderly, another bedroom, and he pulled the door closed.
Across the hall next to his room the door was ajar.  He looked into the
moonlight room at the Victorian furnishings and saw nothing out of place.
Next was the stair well.  He leaned over the railing and looked at the
large chandelier and at the Persian carpet runners on the dark oak steps.
Everything was quiet, nothing out of place.

	He was beginning to feel ridiculous as he came to the last door on
the top floor.  Running around in his underwear at whatever time of the
morning it was, he shook his head and sighed through his nose.  He reached
for the last door knob and was shocked to feel the icy coldness of the
metal on his hand.  The door knob felt like it had been in the freezer.  He
jerked his hand away and stepped back caught off guard.  "What the hell?"
He mumbled, hesitatingly taking the knob in his hand again.  It was still
icy cold, and as he tried to open it it wouldn't budge, locked.  Talin
stepped back from the door slowly, running his hands over his arms.

	"Too many books."  He mumbled as he walked back to his room.  He
stole glances over his shoulder at the door, trying to blow it off as
imagination.  The problem was he knew damned well it wasn't his
imagination, and he knew he wasn't crazy.  He took one last look at the
door and the spot on the floor and went into his bedroom shaking his head.

	Remy was sleeping quietly and Talin stopped at the end of the large
four poster bed with his hands on his hips.  He was beginning to think it
had been a mistake to bring Remy in here.  Remy was very nice looking, and
he was also Talin's cousin, and that didn't sit very well, not to mention
he'd never shared a bed with anyone before.  He yawned and went around to
the side of the bed, finally deciding that it was no big deal.  He
carefully climbed under the covers and willed himself to relax, laying on
his side away from Remy.

	It took a lot of effort to put everything out of his mind.  He was
just getting to that foggy area between sleep and awake, believing that he
might get back to sleep, when Remy made snuffling sound, rolled over, and
slid his arm around Talin's waist.  He mumbled something thickly in his
sleep and settled against Talin's back.

	Talin didn't breathe for several seconds, his eyes wide.  One side
of his mind was screaming that he should get OUT OF THE BED, while another
part was feeling wonder at having someone touching him like that.  In the
end, the excitement of the night and his being exhausted won out, and
before he could move away he drifted off to sleep.