Rap Once for Yes

"Okay, I'll ask first," said Katie. "Is there a spirit with us?"

The pointer slowed, then crept across the board to the space marked 'YES.' Katie oohed softly, and Sarah scoffed. There had been no glimmer of magic around the white plastic.

"Sweet," said Bill. "What's your name, Spirit?"

The pointer was still boringly mundane as it started to creep toward the 'B.' Then, halfway there it lit up to my senses and jerked both kids toward the 'J' and stopped there. Bill's hands came off the pointer as it stopped suddenly. He and Katie looked at each other, surprised.

"I didn't do that," said Bill. "Did you?"

"No way," she replied. Katie's eyes were bright with excitement. Even Sarah was paying attention.

Bill put his fingers back on the pointer, and it jerked again, this time to the 'A.' Katie and Bill were ready this time, and kept their hands on the pointer. '-SON' followed in short order. The pointer stayed bright with magical power is it danced over the board.

The pointer's jerky, straight line movement continued, inscribing a star over the board. Bill and Katie were getting used to the thing's movement now, and kept up.

"Ask it something else," said Sarah.

"Why aren't you resting, Jason?" said Katie. "Why are you still here with us?"

The pointer inscribed more pentagrams, and the amount of power built up in it continued to grow. After three more circuits, it lurched toward the 'I.' Katie shrieked. 'WANT' followed quickly after. The pointer stopped moving in the center of the board.

"I guess he left," said Bill. He sat up slightly but kept his hands on the pointer.

Katie and Bill both shouted in alarm as the pointer zipped away to the end of the alphabet. Katie's fingers stayed with it, but Bill lost track of it and sat back on his rear end. The pointer continued moving with just one user.

V 

E 

N 

Katie screamed in pain, and the smell of burning filled the air. 

G 

E 

"Katie, let go!" I shouted. 

A 

"I can't! Help me!" Katie sobbed. Sarah and Bill started backing away. 

N 

C 

"Joey! Now would be a good time!" 

E

Joey's voice cut across the noise, pitched low and strong. "Unquiet spirit, I call you to me! Unquiet spirit, do not torment the living! Unquiet spirit, the path to your rest is with me!"

I turned to Joey. He had laid out a cloth embroidered with the magical diagrams that his Master used in his work on the top of the tomb stone. It glowed with the power he had called into it, in the mundane world as well as to my enhanced senses.

"What the hell is going on?" Sarah asked. "If this is some kind of practical joke, it's not very damned funny. Ha ha, let's spook the atheist."

"Not everything is about you, Sarah!" Katie screamed. She was bent double over her hands, and tears ran down her face. The pointer of the Ouija continued to dart back and forth over the board, spelling 'VENGEANCE' over and over.

I crouched down beside Katie, and reached gently for her wrists. "Let me see," I said, trying to be soothing.

"No! Oh, God, oh Jesus, it hurts!"