4. Afraid of a Ghost

Chapter 4

Afraid of a Ghost

T en more days until Christmas. I hope this works.

Alice kneeled on the hardwood floor of her living room. The exact spot she had staked a mind-controlled, attacking Hugo over a week ago. The room smelled of sage and incense as they burned into ghastly vapor trails. Candles flickered around the room, providing the only source of light.

Alice picked up chalk from her makeshift box of supplies and drew a five-pointed star on the floor. She picked up a wet cloth next to her. "North is that way," she exclaimed as she wiped the floor clean. "You need to focus."

She repositioned herself again and drew another star. She drew a circle, touching each point of the star. She sat back on her heels to examine her work. The lines of the star weren't symmetrical, and the circle line meandered from point to point.

Alice shook her head. "Not good enough."

She wiped the chalky image clean. Her body pulsed with anticipation. Her fingers quivered. She closed her eyes and inhaled, breathing deeply. Alice exhaled slowly, calming her mind. Her thoughts focused on one thing.

Hugo.

Alice focused on Hugo's face, conjuring an image in her mind. His icy blue eyes. His coifed hair and short beard. His smile. The mental image winked at her. She allowed herself to smile. She breathed deep one more time and exhaled. The image was gone from her mind.

She focused back on the pattern as she drew each meticulous line of the star. Perfection in length and angle. The five-pointed star had to be perfect, and as far as she was concerned, it was.

She breathed deep and exhaled once more. Alice drew the circle not by drawing one continuous line, but a series of connecting curved lines from point to point. She leaned back on her heels, satisfied the symbol met her specifications.

Following Alice's command, Max stayed off to the side, quietly observing Alice's movements. Her tail wagged back and forth, creating more fur tumbleweeds bouncing along the dark, hardwood floor. Alice turned to the impatient golden retriever. Gwennie hovered above, standing guard over the room like a quiet sentinel.

"Think this will work, Max?" Alice asked.

Max replied with a small whimper. She kicked up her back legs and slid closer, desperately wanting to join in what she must have thought was play time.

Alice laughed. "Come here."

Max sprung up and nearly tackled Alice. She wormed her head in between Alice's arm and torso. She sat down and tilted her head up to Alice's face to give her a lick on the cheek. Alice rubbed Max's side.

"Okay. Okay. You can help with the spell too. Do you think this will work? Do you think Hugo will come home?"

Max wagged her tail, inching closer and closer. The force knocked Alice off balance. She braced herself with her free hand.

"I do too, girl. I do too."

Alice kissed Max on the head and stood. Max popped up and spun around in circles, excited for something to happen. Alice went to her coffee table and retrieved the black leather book resting on top. The Book of the Dead. She then took her position opposite the north point of the star.

She held her fingers over the metal clasp of the book. Alice's back and neck tightened. Her thumb bounced off the supple leather cover, nervous for what could come. She puffed twice before drawing in a long breath. Alice paused, holding her breath for a moment before exhaling and turning her head to Gwennie and then to Max.

"Ready?" she asked the group.

Gwennie hovered while Max sat down. Max's front paws pattered against the hardwood floor. The tap dance of her toenails reverberated off the walls.

Alice raised her eyebrows. Her heart beat louder against her chest. A bead of sweat trickled down the back of her head to the base of her neck. She gulped.

"Here goes nothing."

With a flick of her fingers, she removed the clasp and fanned open the book. Alice scanned the room, not knowing what to expect.

Nothing happened.

She held her breath and listened for any movement throughout the house, ready for some trapped mystical force to manifest itself around her.

Still nothing.

Alice shrugged her shoulders and exhaled. "Seems okay so far," Alice exclaimed to the curious golden retriever. "It was probably Ez having a little fun."

Alice positioned her right foot behind her body to better brace herself. She held the book with her left hand, while rifling through the pages with her right. She flipped past multiple arcane spells, not stopping until she reached the spell she sought: Manifesting the Dead .

Her emerald green eyes read the spell written in an arcane language over and over. She mentally worked through the cadence, not wanting to mispronounce a single word. Alice shuffled her hips and feet to get a better stance.

"Here goes nothing," she said before dictating the spell in the clandestine arcane language.

A wind swirled above the chalk image. It grew more intense with every word Alice spoke. Candles flickered out. Objects popped off the shelves around the room. Light bulbs roared to life and then burst for the surge of energy. Max slinked away behind Alice's legs and whined.

Alice was unfazed and carried on reciting the spell. A form took shape in the circle. A dark shadow.

Alice smiled. The spell was working. As she read from the spell, the clearer the form became. The shape of a person.

Alice shouted, "I call forth the soul of Hugo Dodds and beckon him to return to the mortal realm from the places behind."

The form materialized. A head, torso, and arms still cloaked in the shadows but clearly defined.

"I call forth the soul of Hugo Dodds."

The shadow figure squirmed, flailing its arms and moving.

"I call forth the soul of Hugo . . ."

A flash of light and a burst of energy erupted from the summoning circle. Alice shielded her eyes from the intense flash. The blast knocked more candles and objects off the shelves. It would have knocked Alice over had she not steadied herself.

A screech howled through the living room. Alice lowered her arms to see a shadowy figure flying toward her. A figure with a head, arms, and a torso, but vaporous trails following behind. Its eyes glowed yellow and mouth gaped open. Its body was a swirl of dark shadows.

"It's a wraith!" Alice shouted as she stumbled backward, tripping over Max. She fell to the floor with a thud and dropped the book. It slid across the hardwood flooring.

Max took off in a frenzy to escape the ghostly figure racing toward them. Her paws slipped on the hardwood floor, and she tumbled to the ground as her legs sprawled out. She bounded back up and took off into the hallway.

Guinevere confronted the charging apparition, flying headfirst to meet the phantom like a jousting knight. It flew right through the spirit. Guinevere turned around and charged once again, unable to impede its progress. The wraith followed Max, screeching and wailing.

Alice flipped over and leaped to her feet. With a flick of her hand, she called forth a purple ball of arcane energy. She pursued the duo into the hallway.

Max was at a near sprint down the hall, but she slammed into the front door as she turned back to the living room. The wraith closed in, clawing at the dog and screeching as it flew nearby. Max regained her footing and took off for the safety of the living room, narrowly dodging the spectral attack.

The wraith slammed into the door, momentarily stunned. Alice furled her eyebrows, curious as to why it couldn't pass through the door. The protection spell . The house protection spell prevented the ghost from leaving the house.

"Hey, you," Alice yelled. "Chase me."

She threw the purple arcane ball of energy, hitting the spirit in its torso. It shrieked in anger and turned its attention toward Alice.

Guinevere flew in from the living room and right through the ghost as it attempted to strike the spirit. Gwennie slammed into the stairway wall, momentarily stunning the broomstick.

The shadowy wraith charged at Alice, with its claw-like finger out and ready to strike. Alice's eyes widened at the approaching spirit, unsure if it would pass through her or slash at her. She gulped. She breathed in and readied the flame to strike as it closed in.

Max ran back into the hallway behind Alice. She whined at the charging wraith. Max stopped, digging her feet into the flooring only to slide into the hallway. Her legs slid along the smooth surface before she steadied herself and bolted back into the living room. The wraith banked to the right and passed through the wall.

"Shit!" Alice yelled. She hurried into the living room.

Max ran out and headed for the stairs with the wraith closing in behind. Guinevere flew into the living room, striking and passing through the wraith yet again.

"Max, stop it!" Alice yelled as she sprinted through the living room. "It's keying off your fear. Calm down, girl."

Max bolted up the stairs with the wraith close behind. Alice tried to keep up, but the golden retriever was a pro at stair climbing. She reached the top and leaped into the bedroom as Alice reached the bottom of the steps. The wraith followed the golden retriever.

Alice scurried up the stairs, her legs straining with every step. Dog barks came from the bedroom.

"Max," Alice shouted. "Come back here, girl."

The shrieks of the wraith echoed off the stairway walls. Guinevere flew like a flash past Alice, barrel-rolling as it darted into the bedroom.

"What the hell is that thing?" Alice's reflection screamed. "Get up here, now!"

"Max!" Alice yelled, catching her breath as she reached the top. A purple arcane ball formed in her hand.

She lunged into the bedroom to see the wraith circling around the canopy bed. Max hid underneath, crying and whimpering. Guinevere poked at the ghastly image like a dashing swashbuckler with no results. The wraith charged at the bed, but it was met by an unseen force. It bounced off, unable to proceed. It flew into the bathroom.

"What is it?" Alice's reflection cried out. "Get it! Get it, get it, get it!"

The wraith charged the canopy once more. Guinevere passed yet again through its temporal body. The wraith dove for Max, but it was stopped again by the unseen force. A spell, carved into the canopy posts, protected the occupants from any sort of magical or spectral attack. Luckily, Max's first instinct was to hide under the bed.

The wraith flailed wildly, screeching into the night. It flew into the boarded-up window, but it was met with the same unseen force as downstairs, contained by the defenses protecting the exterior of the house.

It turned around to face Alice. The wraith snarled, narrowing its yellowish eyes. Its black, cloudy body grew darker as the shadows swirled in its body. The wraith's lengthy arms outstretched, its clawed points splayed out at the ready.

"Come get me," Alice taunted it. "Come on. Get me."

The wraith charged Alice, claws pulled back and ready to strike, with a ghastly shriek.

Alice produced a purple arcane ball and flung it at the ghost. It slammed into its torso, and the arcane ball evaporated in a purplish explosion. The wraith reared back in pain. Alice, in a twisting dance, pelted the phantom with two more arcane balls.

The wraith faded; its shadowy appearance became translucent. As Alice pelted it with her arcane energy, the wraith became lethargic and stunned.

"Spirit, I command you to leave this realm," Alice said before reciting words in her arcane language.

When she finished, she snapped her fingers. The wraith writhed as if in pain; its shadowy body faded from existence. It was gone.

Alice breathed a sigh of relief and hunched over to catch her breath. Guinevere dove under the bed as if to check on Max.

"Did you get it?" Alice's reflection asked.

"Yeah," she responded. "Yeah, I got it."

"Good. I need you in here."

"In a moment," Alice yelled.

Alice turned and plopped onto the bed. She buried her face into her hands. She lifted her head up, but she still covered her mouth with her hands. Alice glared at an irregular spot in the hardwood flooring, but it faded out of focus. She tried so hard; everything was perfect. The drawing on the floor. The words. Everything.

Why didn't he respond? Why did the wraith come through?

Tears welled in her eyes. She wanted to scream, but she didn't want to terrify her faithful pup cowering beneath her. Alice fell backward, patting the bed.

"Come here, Max."

Alice's words trailed off. Her hand hit a bump in the bed running under her back. Alice sat up and scouted the object by rubbing her hands over the mattress. There was a hump. She slid off the bed and onto the floor.

Max emerged from under the bed and nestled against Alice, her ears pulled back in fear. She whined and cried as she tried to get as close to Alice as possible. Guinevere emerged from under the bed as well, floating around the bedroom as the vigilant guardian.

"It's okay, Max. It's gone," Alice reassured the frightened pup.

She rubbed the dog's side with her free hand, while flipping the covers over the mattress. She delved her other hand in between the mattress and the box spring. It grazed something. Something rectangular with a bit of a rubber coating.

Alice withdrew it from the mattress. It was one of Hugo's hockey sticks. A hockey stick he kept in their bedroom closet.

Alice gasped. Her breathing picked up, and her body trembled.

"How did this get there?" Alice asked as she examined the blackish-gray graphite shaft.

"Get in here now," Alice's reflection yelled.

Alice stood, letting go of the cowering dog, and entered the bathroom, still holding on to the hockey stick. Max followed as far as the threshold where the hardwood floor gave way to the black and white tile of the bathroom.

Alice's reflection was as worn and weary as herself. Her hair messy and frizzed out. Dark rings around her eyes. She paced back and forth in the mirror. "You have to believe me," Alice's reflection said.

"Believe what?" Alice responded.

"Believe me," Alice's reflection said as she stared into Alice's eyes.

"I believe you."

"I heard him. He screamed. I heard him call out. He said, ‘How do I get out of here?' Then I heard the closet door open." Alice's reflection paused. "Where did you find his stick?"

Alice held up the hockey stick. "I found it under the mattress."

They both raised their eyebrows.

"You don't think?" Alice asked.

Alice's reflection smiled. "Yep. He's still here. Our Hugo is still here."

Alice focused on the scuffed up white tape wrapped around the blade of the hockey stick. Her smile drifted into a tight point, her lips pursed.

Alice's reflection shook her head. "Don't. Don't do this."

"If Hugo is still here, then why didn't he answer?" Alice asked.

"Stop. Don't. Don't ruin this for us."

"Why didn't he answer?"

Alice's reflection dragged her hands across her jaw, her fingertips ensnaring her chin. She exhaled a deep breath. "Please don't do this to us. He was screaming. It might have been for help."

Alice lowered the hockey stick. Tears welled in her eyes. "What if he was screaming to leave him alone? Why else wouldn't he answer?"

"What if he's in trouble?"

"What if we're the trouble?" Alice asked.

Alice's reflection shook her head. "Try again. Please. For me."

Alice struggled to hold back the tears. She slumped her shoulders and bowed her head. The thought of Hugo not wanting to return weighed heavy on her. She needed a hug.

"Please," Alice's reflection said, her voice cracking as she begged. "Please try once more for me. You have too."

Alice wiped away a tear. "I-I need supplies for extra protection. I'll get some tomorrow and try again."

"Thank you," Alice's reflection whispered.

Hugo's hockey stick dragged on the black and white tiled floor as Alice left the bathroom.