Light had all but drained from the sky by the time we were finally ready to begin.
The dying sun filtered through the dining room windows, reflecting off the deformed mirror that hung proudly from its new place on the wall. The warped glass distorted the light, glowing and orange, like a lava lamp.
We milled around the room, waiting for Luc's sign. He was still checking things, flitting here and there, but at least his mood had improved. He still wasn't saying much, but that strange icy thing he had been radiating earlier had now melted away.
Tory was pacing, a cheap beer in hand, looking bored. Ethan was leaned against the wall, watching his boyfriend, his eyes swinging back and forth like one of those cartoon cat clocks. I hovered nearby, nursing a beer of my own. It was warm and disgusting, but it helped settle my nerves a little so I continued to sip.
Luc clapped his hands.
We all jumped.
"Shall we?" he said, turning to us. His green eyes, glowing in the low light, darted between each of us.
"Might as well." Tory slammed back the rest of his beer, then placed the bottle against the wall, out of the way. He sauntered over to the table and plopped himself down in a chair.
Ethan took the extra chair in the corner, curling up on himself like a judgmental cat. He shrugged off his messenger bag and pulled out his sketchbook, balancing it on his knee.
I didn't move; I had hoped to take that chair myself. The only remaining chair was opposite of Tory at the table, with the mirror directly behind it. Though I had fought to be here, I had initially thought I would only be a witness. The thought of participating hadn't crossed my mind until this very moment... Though that seemed like an obvious conclusion now.
Still, I slunk back to the wall, pressing myself into it like I would be able to blend in with the busy wallpaper.
Of course, Luc wasn't fooled. "Rachel?" he asked, expectantly. He pulled the chair out, confirming my place. "Care to join us?"
I swallowed hard, then nodded, sheepishly dragging my feet over and taking a seat.
Luc pushed me in, pining me in place against the edge of the table. He leaned over my shoulder. "Don't worry," he breathed in my ear. "I'll be here the whole time. You're perfectly safe."
I nodded again and he gave my shoulder a squeeze before leaving me there. He did another quick walk around the perimeter of the room then circled in closer, pacing around the table.
The board—his mother's board—was there, laid out in the centre of the table. It was smooth and perfect like before; being tossed across the room hadn't damaged it at all. Though the board was at a different angle, turned to the side, the one open eye still seemed to be fixed on me.
But something was missing...
"W-What are we supposed to do?" I asked, breaking the heavy silence of the room.
"I'll walk you through it," Luc said, still pacing.
"Yeah, but there's no pointer-thingy..."
Luc just looked at me, his brow folded slightly with confusion. "Pointer thing?"
I made a triangle shape with my fingers, then mimed pushing it around the board. "Yeah, the pointer-thingy."
"You mean a planchette?" Luc suggested, smirking. "No, no, we won't be using a planchette. Planchettes are too vulnerable to the subconscious muscle movements of those participating. A pendulum is far more reliable."
He reached into his pocket then and pulled out a little velvet bundle. Quickly unwrapping it, he revealed a thin silver chain that ended in a large crystal. The crystal was purple with thin veins of white and shaped like a four-sided pyramid.
Picking up the end of the chain, Luc dropped pendulum. It unspooled and swung out, hanging heavily in the air between us. He dangled it over the board, between the two eyes, holding it there until the pendulum's swing stilled.
Then he let go.
My breath caught.
The pendulum stayed in place. The chain was as straight as if Luc was still holding it. It looked like an arrow, aimed straight through the table, balancing impossibly on its point.
"Ready?" Luc asked, looking over his shoulder at Ethan.
Ethan's eyes were tight with worry, but his jaw was set. His hand hovered over a page in his sketchbook, a nub of charcoal between his fingers. "Ready."
"Then let's begin," Luc said, turning back to us. "First, I'll need you need to join hands."
Like a good puppy obeying his master's command, Tory immediately reached across the table. I took his hands; they felt rough in my own. I hoped he wouldn't mind that mine were shaking and more than a little sweaty.
"Now," Luc began, circling the table again, his hands clasped behind his back. "I need your full concentration. Concentrate on the crystal pendulum between you. Imagine that you are pushing energy into it. The crystal is a key, a key to a door that the spirits can step through..."
He gave us a moment to do as he asked. My mind was so busy with nerves that it was hard to focus. I looked up at Tory—the always fidgety Tory—wondering how he was managing it. I found his face blank as he stared down at the pendulum between us. Unlike the night in the shop, he wasn't struggling at all.
Trying to mimic him, I stared at it too. I had no idea what what I was doing. In my head I tried to picture a beam of energy flowing from me into the crystal as if that might help but it only made me feel stupid. But I held my stare, not even willing to blink. My vision began to blur and a slow tingle spread through my hands, as if it was filtering in through Tory.
"Excellent," Luc said, though I wasn't quite sure what was so excellent. Was it working? I didn't dare look up for fear of breaking my concentration.
He came to stand right at the edge of the table, bracing himself on its edge he loomed over us. "We are here," he said. "Here and ready to listen. Are you willing to speak with us?"
The crystal trembled.
A gasp escaped me, but I didn't break my gaze.
Luc cleared his throat. "We wish to talk to you. Will you speak with us?"
The crystal shuddered again but stayed in the centre.
"Something is here," Luc muttered under his breath. "I can feel it. But why won't they talk?"
"Can I try?" Tory asked.
"Go for it," Luc replied with a sigh. He backed up.
"We are here with Rachel Vaughn!" Tory's voice was much louder than Luc's. "We know that someone wants to speak with her. Will you speak with us?"
The pendulum didn't move.
Tory took a deep breath, then shouted, "If anyone is here—"
"You don't have to yell!" Ethan said. "I don't think spirits are hard of hearing."
Tory shot him a glare. "Well, they haven't answered, so maybe they can't hear us—"
"Maybe they just don't want to talk to you," Ethan said with a roll of his eyes.
"That could be it," Luc said, stepping between them. He approached the table again and dipped down to look at me, breaking my gaze. "Maybe you should be asking the questions, Rachel."
"M-Me?" I replied.
As if in response, the crystal moved slightly toward me.
Luc snapped his eyes to it and gave a half-chuckle. "I think you were right. Whatever—whoever—it is, they want to talk to you."
Tory was focussed on me now. His face was tense, like he didn't know what to expect. Or was he jealous?
I inhaled deeply and returned my gaze to the pendulum. I noticed that it had started to slowly spin in place, like a top, curling the chain around itself.
"I-Is... Is anyone here with us?" I said, my voice whisper quiet.
The crystal stopped spinning then quickly unwound itself before sliding over to the open eye.
"See?" Luc said aloud, translating the board's actions. "I knew someone was here."
"W-Who are you?" I asked.
The pendulum took off, the chain taut as it circled the outer edge, touching briefly on the letters, too fast for me to catch them.
"'Many'," Luc said. "'Many... friends.'" His brow was folded deep over his eyes.
"That's what they said before," I breathed.
He looked at me, his green eyes tight and guarded.
"Wait, does that mean—"
"Oh!" Tory cried.
We both turned to look at him. His wide-eyed gaze was focussed on me.
No... He was focussed beyond me, behind me... On the mirror...
"They're... They're here!" he said, his face blank with shock.
"Who is here?" Luc went to Tory's side. He crouched down, trying to get to Tory's eye-level. "What can you see?"
"Girls..." Tory said, his eyes darting around. "Two, no... Four... No... Seven? More keep coming. There's so many of them!"
Chills chased across my skin. If Tory could see them, that meant they were actually ghosts. Spirits of the dead. So many dead girls standing right behind me. I stayed frozen place, my skin singing with shivers; I couldn't bring myself to turn around and see for myself.
Luc looked over at Ethan. "Can you see them?"
Ethan had his own eyes closed, his whole face screwed up, like he was concentrating hard. "Yes... Yes, I can. But I can't focus on them all at once. If you want me to draw a picture, Tory, you need to focus on one at a time!"
"Did you hear that?" Luc asked Tory, speaking right in his ear. "Focus on one."
"Roger that," Tory said. His darting eyes slowed and focussed on one point, just over my head. Soon after, I heard the scratch of Ethan's charcoal on his sketchbook page as he began to draw.
Luc left Tory and sidled up to me. "This is your chance, Rachel. Talk to them."
"I–I'm scared," I admitted in a whisper.
He reached out and placed his hand on my arm. "I'm right here, remember? I can keep you safe."
I gave him a little nod and took a deep breath, focussing back on the pendulum. It was swaying in place, as if it was waiting for me.
"W-what do you want from me?"
The crystal pendulum swung around again, touching upon familiar letters.
"Warning," Luc said, after they had finished. He sounded surprised. "They have a warning. Just like you said."
A scowl flickered across my face. Had he not believed me?
There was a ripping of paper as Ethan tore a sheet off his sketchbook. "Focus on another one!" he shouted to Tory.
"Keep going, Rachel," Luc encouraged me, ignoring the other two. "Ask them more. Ask them why they need to warn you..."
Turning back to the board, I centered on the pendulum again. "Why are you warning me?"
Once again, the pendulum spun at my command, spelling out the answer.
"'It weakens,'" Luc said, transcribing again. He frowned. "What is 'it'?"
For once it didn't wait for me to ask the question. The crystal just spun around, faster than ever. It was like it wasn't even trying to spell anything out, just spinning, spinning, spinning...
Then it came to a sudden stop.
A chilling breeze blew through the room, making my skin prickle. Somewhere in the house, there was a deep groaning creak. We all turned towards the entrance of the dining room, like we were expecting someone to walk through... but no one did. There was no one there.
Luc stepped back from the table and headed towards the arch, to go and check it out...
The minute he was out of reach, the pendulum picked up again, spiraling around the board, pointing out another message.
T. H. E. B. I. N. D.
"Oh." Tory gasped.
The pendulum dropped, the chain puddling on the board.
As he said it, his eyes faded. They didn't roll back in his head, like last time. Their colour changed, shifting from brown to a glowing gold—as if lit from within—before changing to...
Green. A bright, grass green, like Luc's eyes. The exact same shade.
"—not strong enough!" he spat out, like he was halfway through a sentence he had never started. He blinked, those green eyes—so strange set in Tory's face—looking around like he had forgotten where he was. As they fell on Luc, they stilled and focused in on him.
"It's not strong enough!" Tory shouted at Luc, standing up from the chair, releasing my hands. He advanced on Luc with frantic urgency."It's going to break! It's going to break the—"
Then Tory's whole body seized and dropped, like he had been tased.
Ethan cried out and leapt from his chair, his sketchbook scattering on the floor. We all rushed to Tory's side.
Sprawled on the ground, the green in Tory's eyes blazed like a sulphuric flame. Then the green flared to a deep, fiery red... Or was that was the blood spilling out from the bursting vessels in his eyes?
Tory screamed then. He thrashed around on the floor, his hands frozen in claws, flailing, reaching, grabbing at air. His searching hands found my arm and—
A searing fire rushed through me. I couldn't even muster a scream of my own before everything went black.
What do you think the ghosts were talking about?
Who do you think they are?
I'd love to hear some theories. 🔮
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
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As usual, I'll be posting the next chapter on Patreon next week (find the link on my profile!) and then on Wattpad the week after that!