See Part One (A) For Disclaimers
Chapter Four
Renee had no intention of waking Val when the bishop arrived. She didn't care if she had to turn off Val's alarm. She would deal with that possibility. Her friend had to get some rest, before she collapsed from exhaustion. In the meantime, she headed to the control room. There were a few leads she wanted to follow. Tatya was already in the control room, and as Renee entered, the psychologist asked, "Is Val resting?"
"Yeah . . . she just went upstairs to lay down. What are you into?" Renee asked, sitting down beside her friend. She peered over Tatya's shoulder and read, "Justin Adams. Kristen's father?" Tatya nodded, her eyes never leaving the screen. Renee studied the picture . . . the man who had sired Kristen Adams . . . then finally asked, "Why?"
"Well, for one thing, I saw those pictures of Kristen Adams as well. And I wanna find out what the connection between the two of you is. I've never heard of such a strong resemblance between two people. I don't know if you're identical twins, or just two women who . . ." Tatya replied, letting her voice trail off. She shook her head and sat back in her chair, then added, "So far, I haven't found anything out."
Renee didn't know how to answer. She had been wondering the same thing herself. Her parents had never said anything to her about being adopted, and she did resemble them. But . . . she also resembled Kristen. Very closely. After a moment, Tatya said, "You know, Val warned us about your resemblance to Kristen. Or more appropriately, she warned you, because she had a pretty good idea how Philip would react to seeing you. But I wonder. Did the bishop think to warn Philip?"
Renee winced . . . that was something she hadn't considered. And if she knew the bishop, he hadn't considered it, either. He was a good man. He just didn't think all the time. She asked, "Should I make myself scarce when they arrive, then? I mean, the poor man will have enough to deal with, especially if the bishop didn't tell him about his new status in the Legacy. To say nothing of Andy."
"No . . . no, let him see you immediately. That will be the least of his shocks. But Renee, he will be immensely protective of you. Don't think otherwise," Tatya warned and Renee nodded in acknowledgment. During the last few days, she had learned everything she could about the new House member. It had made for interesting reading.
Philip Callaghan had been born thirty-four years earlier in Belfast, Northern Ireland. While details about his early life were sketchy, Renee had learned that he had one brother, Michael, who died a few years previously in a car bombing. It was oddly close to the time of Melanie's death, and Renee wondered about that. But she was probably seeing things. She would leave such things to the real psychics.
Philip had joined the priesthood after the usual seven years of study. He had studied in the United States, wishing to see more of the world before he was ordained. In 1992, Philip had joined the Legacy, recruited by Dr. Derek Rayne. Renee had made a face at the mention of the man, but continued reading. For the next eight years, Philip was torn between his duties as a parish priest and the all-absorbing world of the Legacy.
But in the mid-nineties, something happened. A woman. The details were, once again, sketchy about what happened. But Renee could read between the lines. Philip had evidently become fascinated with a young woman in San Francisco, a young woman named Ellen. But, in the end, he remained true to the priesthood. And Ellen killed herself.
Renee had almost cried out when she read about Ellen's suicide . . . she had drowned herself the night Philip had told her that he wouldn't leave the priesthood for her. And with her death, she had shattered the young priest. Along with his heart, was his commitment to the Legacy, and several friendships.
It was only the death of another young woman which returned him to the Legacy, the unofficial fiancee of his friend Nick Boyle. Both Nick (obviously the son of the late and unlamented Jonathan Boyle) and Julia Walker were members of the Legacy. Julia had died in Ireland during a case, the same case which brought Rachel Corrigan to the Legacy.
"Philip should have stayed, and to hell with Rachel Corrigan," Renee muttered. He had next aided in a case involving a little boy being tormented by the ghost of his late brother. But he continued to question his place in the Legacy, especially after the Egyptian incident. During an investigation into royal Egyptian remains, Philip had nearly lost his life.
The being responsible was the spirit of an eight year old Egyptian princess, Senephra, who had been murdered during a civil war. The little girl had been murdered in her sleep by a jealous high priest, her fragile eight year old skull smashed in. Even more devastating, Senephra wasn't given a proper burial. She could not rejoin her family after her death.
This abuse of an innocent child had brought tears to Renee's eyes. But the young computer expert continued to read the file about Senephra, and discovered that five years earlier, the child's mummy and tomb had been shipped to San Francisco for cataloguing and reconstruction.
And it was in San Francisco that little Senephra had finally been set free. However, she had nearly killed Philip in the process. Renee winced at the description of the incident, written by Alex Moreau. The angry little spirit had struck back at what seemed to be the modern version of her tormentor. The child saw no difference between the high priest and a Roman Catholic priest. So, when confronted with a man who seemed to be a current incarnation of her murderer, Senephra had lashed out.
So Alex Moreau, who had found Philip lying unconscious in the library, had surmised. Renee, however, had another idea. If that was true, why didn't Senephra kill Philip when she had the chance? He had been lying at the bottom of the stairs, unconscious and vulnerable. If the little girl had wished it, she could have killed Philip then and there.
Renee knew she would never learn the reason, but she had her guesses. In any event, Senephra had tried to kill Philip, almost took over the body of Corrigan's young daughter Katherine . . . because a jealous bastard wanted revenge on her father. The high priest was lucky he was dead . . . because Renee would have killed him herself. She printed out a copy of the incident for Val, since it illustrated that sometimes humanity created its own monsters.
And then Renee had continued with her research. After that case, Philip had finally made his choice . . . he would return to his parish. But first, there was a case to be investigated. And in the report involving the Warden at St. Athanasius, Renee met Philip Callaghan for the first time, for it was in his words that she learned what happened.
Three young boys . . . probably no more than fifteen, since Philip had observed they were sophomores . . . had found the Hand of Glory ritual, which was then performed. They had been trying to break free from the bullies who plagued their existence. It didn't quite work out, as all hell literally broke loose. Philip, with aid from Nick Boyle, had ended the Warden's brief reign of terror, before returning to his parish.
There was no mention of him for several months, until shortly after the death of his brother Michael. He returned to San Francisco from Ireland after spending time in a monastery, where he had found something belonging to Derek Rayne's late father, Winston. Here again, Renee had grimaced. She had heard about the elder Rayne, too.
In any event, contained within the metal canister were the ashes of a dead sorceror, Joshua Cantwell, who had been destroyed by the Legacy. He had also been the grandfather of Rachel Corrigan, and the great- grandfather of little Katherine . . . whose soul he now sought to take. But he failed, and was returned to Hell.
Not long after, Derek Rayne was put on trial for endangering his people. The tribunal was actually an attempt by Rayne to smoke out a traitor. It worked. A vampire precept was deep fried. Philip again disappeared from the Legacy. He reappeared several months later, when he was accused of murder. Duh, Renee thought, rolling her eyes in disbelief, as if anyone who paid attention to the man would believe that?
As it turned out, he was framed by the ghost who actually committed the crime, a serial killer who had not repented of his sins. And so, he had not been absolved. He began tormenting Philip, and to protect his friends, the desperate priest took the ghost into his own body. He had planned to kill himself . . . but instead, the ghost had taken over Philip. Rayne set him free, but shamed by Ravenwood's actions, the young priest disappeared. Until he reappeared in Boston, there was no mention of him in the Legacy archives. Aside from Sloan suspecting him of treason.
Renee had snorted in derision . . . as Kerry would have said if she had been reading the reports, as if! But Sloan had been wrong, and he paid for his mistake with his very soul, sacrificing himself to save Derek Rayne and humanity. Just as Kristen had paid to protect Philip with her own life. And, while reading the events which occurred in Boston, Renee had no doubt she would have done it again.
"Hello, earth to Renee, is anyone there?" Tatya said a bit impatiently and the younger woman shook herself. She blinked, looked at her friend, and Tatya added, "You looked like you were a million miles away. Everything all right?" Renee nodded a bit sheepishly.
"Yeah . . . just remembering what I found out about Philip Callaghan. What were you saying?" Renee asked and Tatya just smiled. The young computer expert wasn't sure if she liked that smile. More to the point, she didn't know what it meant, and that was what she really didn't like.
But Tatya only replied, "I was just saying that maybe Dani and I should have gone easier on Andy. We discussed it while you were off in La-La Land . . . our reaction may have pushed Andy even further away." Renee considered that, and thought about what she knew of Heather Foster's death. Then, after a few moments, she shook her head.
"It may not have helped, but our reaction doesn't matter. Andy is convincing himself that he won't like Philip. So he's really gonna be pissed if he turns out to be wrong," Renee answered. She paused, then smiled, adding, "Oh, did you hear that mini-argument between Val and Andy yesterday? It wasn't about Philip."
Tatya raised an eyebrow. In the last few days, that was something of a surprise. Minor word exchanges had happened often lately, usually centering around Philip Callaghan. Renee explained, "Andy made the mistake of referring to us as a coven. Yeah, I know. Val is a mage, you're a Wiccan, I'm a Catholic, and Dani isn't sure yet what she is."
Tatya laughed and replied, "Well, I think Dani is nothing in particular just to be contrary. And to be honest, I have misgivings about another priest in the House." Renee frowned, and Tatya added hastily, "Hey, you know I don't have a problem with Catholics! If I did, I'd be getting into more arguments with both you and Andy over religion, rather than Philip's place in this House. It's just that . . . "
"It's just that you spent too many nice days arguing with Bishop Hughes, instead of getting the job done, or outside having fun with the rest of us when he was on a tangent," Renee completed. Her friend nodded, and Renee continued, "Well, it could be worse. You were raised in an evangelical church." Tatya shuddered, obviously remembering.
"Yes, and it turned me off organized religion for all time. Wicca is organized, but it's also . . . more personal. Which is what I've always thought religion, faith, should be like. I mean, who in the hell gave us the right to tell other people they were wrong? Once I was cognizant enough to understand, it made me furious," Tatya replied.
"Well, evidently, the elders thought God had given them the right. You've heard of the divine right of kings . . . same idea. Not that I need to tell you this. That's one of the things I liked about growing up as a Catholic. I didn't have to proselytize, and Mom and Dad taught me that everyone has a different road to God," Renee observed.
"You grew up in the '80's, too. It wasn't always like that in the Catholic Church. I had some friends who grew up in the 50's, and they were taught anyone who wasn't Catholic would go to hell," Tatya answered and Renee nodded. Yes, her father had told her the same thing about growing up in the Catholic Church.
"I know that. But what I'm trying to tell you is, just because the bishop is like that, just because he believes he's one hundred percent right, doesn't mean Philip Callaghan will be. He probably knows that Christianity has its dark side, just like the Legacy does," Renee pointed out. That had been a hard lesson for Renee to learn.
"I hope you're right, Ren. Because I do not feel like getting into a theological argument with a kid, whether he's a priest or whatever. He's the same age as Andy, and believe me, those four years sometimes feel like forty," Tatya said. Renee fought her urge to laugh.
"Give the guy a chance . . . you told Val you would pick up the slack from Andy. Don't judge him until he gets here," Renee told her friend, instead. Tatya bobbed her head, and the younger woman continued, "Listen, I think Val should be just getting to sleep. I'm gonna head upstairs and turn off her alarm clock."
Tatya smirked and replied, "That might prove dangerous, kiddo. You *do* know what will happen if she sleeps through the bishop's arrival with Philip? She will know you're the one who shut off her alarm clock." Renee shrugged and Tatya continued, "As long as you know. See you later, kid . . . I have some surfing to do!"
* * *
The day was rapidly going from bad to worse for Philip Callaghan. As they approached Baltimore, the knot in his gut twisted until it literally hurt to breathe. What was he doing? He was supposed to be . . . somewhere, doing the work of the Church, doing what God wanted of him. In Boston, in Ireland, wherever. He was supposed to be fulfilling the job of a priest, he was supposed to be fulfilling his vows.
So what was he doing here, on this train, with this man? Why was he heading to Baltimore, back to the Legacy? To a House that didn't even want him. And why couldn't he shake the feeling that it was exactly where he was supposed to be? That was ludicrous . . . he didn't belong in the Legacy, he had never belonged in the Legacy. Boston had taught him that, even if his previous sojourns into the secret society hadn't. Philip closed his eyes and leaned his head back.
But when he closed his eyes, all he could see was Kristen as she had died in his arms. She had sacrificed her life to save him, the second time a woman had died because of him. The first time . . . Ellen. The bishop said, interrupting Philip's thoughts, "We all have someone like that, you know. There's no shame in it."
Philip blinked, and the bishop continued, his eyes impossibly, painfully compassionate, "A woman whom we feel we let down. Maybe a woman who had wanted to marry us, or a mother who had hoped for grandchildren. You didn't let anyone down, Philip. Kristen would tell you that, if she could. And she thought you were worth dying for."
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