Ghost: Books of the Dead - Fantasy Best Seller and Supernatural Teen Book: (Ghost, Occult, Supernatural, Occult and Supernatural) (34 page)

Emily opened her eyes slowly and looked around to find no one was around. “They were here a minute ago, but now they’re gone. Why is this happening?” Emily was unsure of herself and visibly shaking.

“Emily, be a little patient, and we will get to the bottom of this.”

Jamie promised her so she would calm down. Yet, she didn’t really know if there was truth to any of that. Her words reflected a false promise and Emily wasn’t easily fooled.

“Don’t make a promise that you can’t keep. There is nothing you can do now. I started this and this will be my end,” Emily foretold.

Jamie was silenced. There was nothing she could say that would sedate Emily. So once again her efforts were futile. She swallowed hard and simply held her close.

“We have to go and meet Mia tonight,” Jamie offered, remembering their previous plans. “She might have a solution for us. She has to help us, so hold on tight for some more time,” Jamie said. Then, she paused when she suddenly thought of something else. “Emily, who do you keep seeing? You said that you saw someone? Who was it? Did you really wish to see someone who is already dead?”

Emily didn’t hesitate before answering, “Yes, there was someone whom I wanted to see, but now I am not even sure if that is the person whom I saw.”

“Who did you see then?” Jamie asked very carefully so not to rile Emily up.

“I can't figure that out, but the face was similar to someone whom I have seen before. Why do you think that happened? I was supposed to see someone that I called for. Now, I’m not so sure of whom it was.”

“Do you suppose it was your imagination?” Jamie was still being careful.

“You were there yesterday, so you know that it wasn’t our imagination. Obviously, there was someone there and today someone was here, too. So I couldn’t be wrong.” Emily’s confusion got the better of her.

“Hardly anything makes sense now, from Grace leaving, to you seeing the library ghost, and now to this. When did things take such a terrible turn? Where did we go wrong?” Jamie said it, but it was a mutual thought that both the girls shared.

“What time is it Jamie,” Emily asked abruptly?

“It’s almost ten past four, and I didn’t notice at all. I suggest that you close your eyes for a moment,” Jamie said. “Get some more rest and then we can go and meet Mia around six. Do you want me to close the curtains for you,” Jamie asked out of concern?

“No, don’t draw them. I did last time and look what happened. Let the light come in, and I’ll be fine,” Emily said while she managed to get herself back into bed.

“Do you think you will be able to go to meet Mia, or should I invite her here?” Jamie wanted to know.

“I’ll be fine, so don’t ask her here. I will go and meet her. I have to go anyway,” Emily answered from her bedroom.

“I’ll wait here for you to wake up,” Jamie announced quietly.

Then she started to clean up the mess that lay in front of her. She looked at the cracked mirror and traced her hand over it. She winced at the faint images that crossed her mind.
Whom did she see?
Jamie asked herself, not knowing the answer. The books lay strewn around and she started picking them up one by one. And then she came across the one that was lying in front of the doused candle. Jamie picked it up to read through the pages. She eventually found the passage which mentioned the spell to call on spirits of the dearly departed. She went through a few lines, but then closed it without looking any further. She hated the sight of those books.

“What purpose do they have? I wish they were never sent to Emily to begin with,” Jamie kept mumbling to herself.

By the time she was finished cleaning up, it was already 6:00 p.m. Emily was fast asleep, oblivious to the happenings around her. Jamie woke her up slowly, but the tiredness was still in her face. Despite calling a few times, Emily didn’t wake up. Her breathing was rapid and she seemed to be in pain. Jamie couldn’t figure out the source and she began to worry all over again.

“Emily, wake up! It’s time for us to go. Mia asked us to meet her. We can’t be late.”

Jamie kept calling Emily. She woke up a couple of minutes later. Her eyes dark and an obvious streak of fatigue burdened her features. Although she had slept for nearly two hours, she still looked exhausted.

 “Come on, we need to go. Get a sweater and we’ll get going.” Jamie rushed off to her own room and then the two girls journeyed to where they were supposed to meet Mia.

Mia was waiting for them and looked at her watch while they approached. “You guys are late, now come on hurry up. I have things to tell you guys.” Mia grabbed Jamie’s hand and dragged them towards the back door.

“Are you taking us back in that room,” Jamie asked? “We are not going back there. You don’t even know what happened to Emily, and this morning…”

Emily grabbed hold of Jamie’s hand and didn’t let her finish what she was saying. Jamie took the hint and merely followed Mia to where she was taking them. She made up her mind that if it was the dreadful necromancy room, then she would protest.

“Hurry up you two! It’s getting late,” Mia urged.

“We’re moving as fast as we can,” Jamie told her. “Emily is unwell. Where are you taking us,” Jamie asked for the second time?

“Just come with me. I am taking you both to my room. I have something to tell you,” Mia insisted and Jamie didn’t protest anymore.

Mia’s room was lightly lit with books and candles strewn around. Emily noticed that among them were two of her books that she had carried to the horrific room the previous night, but she didn’t mention them. Jamie and Emily stood at the door and observed each little detail. They were skeptical and weren't too sure of what their action should be.

“Come on in. You two don’t suppose that I’ll eat you up, do you,” Mia mocked?

They tiptoed inside the room, but made no attempt to sit down.

“What do you have to tell us? Hurry up, because we can’t waste our time anymore on this. We have been in enough trouble already and it is very exhausting,” Jamie said in an irritated manner.

“You are extremely impatient, Jamie, and you are not letting me speak. What I’m about to say is an important matter, and you two must listen very carefully, so…” Mia couldn’t finish her sentence because Jamie interrupted her again.

“I’m impatient,” balked Jamie? “So why shouldn’t I be? Do you even know what we went through the past couple of days? And especially Emily, look at her first, then pass your ill-founded judgments. Stop with your storytelling and tell me what you know!” Jamie practically screamed at Mia.

“There’s no point in shouting at me. I’m only telling you what I know, and that is the truth,’’ Mia plainly stated.

“And what is your motivation behind that?” Jamie questioned Mia.

“I have no other motivation other than to help you, so listen to me, or else you are on your own,” Mia said one last time.

Emily, who was watching this conversation take place from the far corner of the room, obviously didn’t like what she saw at all. “Stop it, both of you, stop arguing. It’s not doing any of us any good. This is Mia’s room,” she said to Jamie, “so show some respect. Now Mia, tell me what you know,” she said.

“First, I know you lied because something else happened in that room the other day. There was someone whom you wanted to see badly, wasn't there, Emily? I know the effects when you call on someone for a particular purpose, and it was someone whom you loved. I knew the moment it happened and so the ambiance became so conflicted. It was supposed to be a different method and a different spell, but you lied to me, and that was your first mistake. What you saw was real. There were spirits there, but I couldn’t figure out why there was more than one. Even I don’t know how that’s possible? What else did you say, Emily? What other trick did you do?” She waited for a moment, but then urgently continued on. “Now, don’t hide anything from me. Tell me everything that you know,” Mia demanded.

“We came here to seek answers,” Jamie butted in, “not satisfy your curiosity. If you have nothing concrete to say, then it’s better for us to leave. Do you want us to leave,” Jamie threatened Mia?

“Can't you remain quiet sometimes,” Mia asked her? “And why did you even participate in this business? This has got nothing to do with you,” Mia lashed back.

Emily wasn’t surprised that her lies came to light. In fact, she hoped they would so that she had less to explain. “Yes, you are right,” Emily told Mia, “I lied to you, but I had no other choice. I didn’t want the word getting around. I don’t want anyone to label me as some kind of psychopath, and this situation is delicate. I had to be more cautious. Plus, Jamie was there, and I had to look out for her safety, as well. But tell me more about what you know,” Emily said.

Mia wasn’t someone who let go of things easily and this time was no different. She fired questions one after the other at Emily, and she was compelled to answer all of them. Jamie tried to intervene once or twice, but Mia hushed her up every time. The conversation dragged along, and Emily was losing all her footing. She answered some questions and tried to avoid the rest. She could clearly understand that Mia’s intentions were to purge Emily of every tidbit of information before divulging anything else herself. It bugged her that Emily knew something that she didn’t, that she was able to perform something that she had been trying for so long, yet she had failed.

“What did you do last night,” Mia asked her again? “Which book did you study from? Was it one of those books that were in your room? Emily, you are not this goodie-two-shoes person you portray to be... you are one of us,’’ Mia continued saying, and that pushed Emily over the edge.

She stood up and flipped her hair over. “What are you trying to prove by this? Why did you even call us here? I’m leaving,” Emily said before Mia could even answer. She and Jamie both started to move towards the door.

Finally, Mia decided to give away what she knew. “This has got something to do with the library, doesn't it,” Mia questioned?

“I don’t know if this has got anything to do with the library,” Emily lied, but there were fragments of truth in her answer, too. The incidents in the library were genuine, but Emily had no idea how that fit into the story.

“How many more times will you lie before you come up with the truth, Emily?” it was apparent that Mia didn’t like the answer Emily provided. Thus, she reacted sharply towards it. “All right, go on denying or hiding the truth from me,” she continued, “but let me warn you, it will do you no real good. This has something to do with the library, a spirit formed there and it's letting its presence be known. There was a library pass from our university lying around in the room. I saw it while you girls were still there, but I didn’t think that it was worthy enough to mention, but there was something odd about the piece of paper. It dated back to the 1960’s and the old torn piece of paper had someone's name stamped on it, which I couldn’t tell immediately, but you guys might if I showed them to you. Wait here and I’ll bring out the paper.”

Mia went to get the paper. Emily and Jamie stared at each other with raised eyebrows and tried to retain their composure. Mia came back to the room and handed it over to Emily with a knowing smile. Jamie and Emily both looked at the piece of paper in awe. They couldn’t hide their amazement and surprise. The girls recognized the name.  They clearly knew what it meant.

“Look at this, Jamie! How is this even possible?”

“I have no idea. Now where do we start looking,” Jamie asked?

“What is it? Is there something that I don’t know,” Mia questioned?

“No, there is nothing that we can tell you,” Jamie told her with a straight face. “We are just as surprised as you are regarding this thing.” Jamie tried to act convincing, but it wasn’t working. 

Mia had already caught on to the fact that Emily was lying. “You don’t sound persuasive enough, and I saw the look that you gave each other. So, I’ll ask you one final time, what is it?” Mia tried harder.

Both the girls got up without saying a thing and completely ignored what Mia said. Then before going out, Emily said in a polite manner, “This is obviously something that I have to take care of myself. You cannot help me with this anymore and I don’t expect it either. Don’t expect an answer from me because I can’t tell you anything.”

 Emily closed the door behind her and left, but she could hear Mia shouting their names in agony. In hindsight, she probably should have satiated Mia’s curiosity. At least it would have kept her out of the way while she and Jamie explored this latest piece of information. Now, Mia would never stop pursing them.

“What triggered all this,” Jamie asked innocently?

“I think it’s me, it must be me. I started all this and now I have to put an end to it before more people are driven to madness. I can’t let that happen. I can’t push more people into trouble. I still have no clue if Grace’s okay or why she refused to contact me. How many days has it been, Jamie? Or Mr. Mitchell, who confessed and then denied everything afterwards, and now Mia has gone mad with this necromancy power. This isn’t right and it must stop,” Emily said firmly!

“Do you want to contact Grace one more time,” Jamie asked earnestly?

“What is the point? I know she has the answers, but what if she refuses to talk to me? What then?”

Emily expressed what she felt inside and Jamie couldn’t deny the truth of her words. It was true that things were indeed getting out of hand and no matter how sincerely they tried, it seemed like they were traveling round in circles. At least they had the library card, but there was no telling how far it would take them.

“I’ll head to the library. Will you come with me,” Emily asked her friend? She didn’t wait for a response to start walking in the direction of the Fletcher building.

“You want to go now? Because of a piece of paper, are you sure about it? I mean, what if Mia had forged it or something like that. We will never know that,” Jamie said expressing her doubt.

“I don’t believe that she made it. I keep telling you that we have to trust her. Now come with me.” Emily dragged her friend towards the library.