The Courtesan (Johnlock-Historical)

Chapter 18

John chuckled as Sally poked him, making him jump a little. "Stop that."

"What? Did you feel something? Maybe it was a ghost or a spirit." She gave him a wide-eyed scared look, but she couldn't hold it very long before grinning back at him.

Greg leaned forward from his seat behind them. "Would you two sauceboxes shut it? They are about to start."

"Yes, Father." Sally's tone was completely sarcastic.

She ignored the irritated sigh he gave in response. John grinned at the exchange. Sally liked pushing Greg's buttons the most, although she teased all the rest of the senior staff often.

"I hope they get going soon." Mrs. Hudson added, from beside Greg. She had recovered well from her fever, seeming almost back to normal.

Claire appeared in front of the curtain, smiling at the small audience of four. Her black dress made her almost disappear as she lowered the lighting until only the lamp she held was on. It lit her face from below, making it look still beautiful, but somehow eerie. Washing out the color.

She stood quietly, getting their attention. "Tonight, ladies and gentleman, you have the privilege of being in the presence of a man of great powers. He is able to contact the spirit world, and will pass along their messages. First, he will open a channel to that world. Then, you will be allowed behind the curtain, one by one, to talk privately with this great man. Contact your loved ones who have passed over to the other side through him."

Walking a couple steps, she pulled on a cord, and the dark curtain was pulled back, showing Sherlock sitting at a table covered with a long dark tablecloth. The room beyond was darkened as well, the only illumination a single candle on the table near him. It flickered, lighting his face from below. His cheekbones stood out, and his skin was very pale. Heavy dark black make-up encircled his eyes, making him almost unrecognizable. A deep purple scarf with silver accents was wrapped elegantly around his head in a loose turban, covering his hair entirely. He was wearing a dark caftan; the sleeves folded up to his elbows.

"May I present The Great Carnac!" Claire announced, lifting a hand towards him.

Glancing at each other, Sally and John chuckled but clapped their hands a few times, joining in with Greg and Mrs. Hudson.

"Silence please now...," Claire said, in a hushed whisper. "He needs absolute silence while he summons the spirits to us." She turned down her lamp, so the only light in the room was Sherlock's candle. It seemed over-bright in the dark room.

Sherlock sat tall and proud, easily drawing everyone's attention. He lifted the candle, circling it over the table top. John realized there was a human skull on the table, the candlelight flicking over it. Sherlock started chanting, the words foreign and mysterious, his low baritone carrying through the quiet room. His one hand kept moving the candle in small circles, as he closed his eyes, leaning his head back, concentrating hard as he chanted.

Opening his eyes again, he looked intently down at the skull and rubbed his free hand over the top of it. His chanting increased in volume, getting more urgent.

The candle went out, leaving them in complete darkness, and Sherlock stopped chanting. It seemed even darker and quieter than before, from it happening so suddenly. John could feel the hairs on the back of his neck prickle in awareness.

And then he saw it. The skull was glowing in the darkness. The face and top of it were covered with a dancing blue flame.

"He has brought the spirits here!" Claire said, awe and wonder in her tone.

Sherlock was chanting again, low and fast, still staring intently at the skull. And then he passed his hand over the skull. The blue flame was now on his hand, moving and dancing.