Right?
After placing the vase of flowers on the counter, I slowly turn around. Gwen removes the spirit board from the box and puts it on the table. “Do you have any candles?”
It takes me a few moments to realize the question is directed at me, and I root through the drawers until I find two candlesticks and their holders. Once placed on the table, Benny fishes a lighter out of his pocket and lights them up.
Gwen flicks her attention to me. “Did you bring the item?”
“I’ll get it now.”
Walking upstairs, I force down the insistent feeling of stepping into unknown territory. Warning bells blare inside me, but I ignore them. What’s the worst that could happen? Ghosts don’t exist. And if they do, what can an entity possibly do to us? They don’t hold any sway here in the physical realm. If something more dangerous is at play, why would it need to be called forward by a silly spirit board?
I return to the kitchen with the porcelain doll and place it next to the spirit board. Lily pales, and Gwen tilts her head as she studies it closer.
“It’s…ugly.”
“You mean creepy as fuck?” Brittany asks, pulling out a chair and sitting down. The others follow suit until we’re seated around the table, swapping uncertain glances.
“Has anyone done this before?” I ask.
Gwen shakes her head. “I guess we link hands and invite it in?”
“Invite what in?” Lily looks alarmed, her eyes wide and jaw slack. “We’re not encouraging it, are we?”
“Relax,” Benny drawls, adjusting his cap so it sits backward, strands of brown hair sticking out behind his ears. “Ghosts don’t exist, remember?”
“Yeah? You obviously believe they do, or we wouldn’t be here, doing something this…this reckless.”
Laughing under his breath, Benny shakes his head. “Take a deep breath so that you don’t pop an artery or something from all the undue stress.”
Gwen takes my hand and then holds hers out for Lily, who reluctantly accepts it with a glance in my direction.
When we’re all holding hands, Gwen lowers her voice as a strand of green hair slides from behind her ear. “Let’s close our eyes and empty our minds.”
“Empty our minds?” Benny sounds stupefied.
“Just…think of nothing.”
Brittany bursts out laughing, the sound sudden and piercing. “I’ll be surprised if Benny ever has a single thought in his thick skull.”
“Rude!” Benny scowls. “I think sometimes.”
“Sure.” Brittany winks.
Gwen demands their attention. “We’re wasting time. Let’s close our eyes and keep our minds quiet and receptive.”
My eyes shut, and I tighten my grip on Gwen’s and Aron’s hands. Silence settles over the room as the seconds tick by. Someone coughs—a girl, by the sound of it—and my brow furrows. I try to clear my mind, but it races, jumping from thought to thought like clouds in the sky.
“Are we ready?” Gwen asks beside me, releasing my hand.
“Let’s each put a finger on the skull dial.”
I blink my eyes open and place my finger on the cool surface, swallowing down the nerves churning my stomach. Lily looks almost green as she hesitantly follows suit.
“Okay,” Gwen breathes, glancing at us all, back to business. “Keep your finger lightly on the dial. Don’t try to manipulate it in any way. We take turns asking questions. No one cheats, understood?”
I stare at the letters on the board, wondering if I should stop this before it’s too late. We can still back out.
Something—call it intuition, if you will—tells me I should. I’d regret it if I don’t speak up now, but one glimpse at the doll with its empty eyes steels my resolve. We’re doing this. I need to learn more about this place and the weird things that have happened to me in the few weeks I’ve been here.
