by John Stone
“Are you hurt?” Emily asked.
Mia only returned a smile, but didn’t say anything.
“Emily, just show her the books,” Denise urged.
“Okay, come this way.” Emily led them to where the books were sitting. Both Denise and Mia went towards the books and started flipping through them excitedly. However, Emily stealthily hid the book that contained the photograph.
Emily saw them speaking to each other in hushed tones, but did not want to pry. She simply waited for them to finish what they were looking at. Mia flipped through every book that was present there, and when she was done, Denise did the same. They took the time to go through all the pages of the books, sitting there together like sisters. They even checked out the inside of the box while Emily watched them carefully.
“Are you looking for anything in particular?” Emily asked.
Both Denise and Mia turned back at her, and then looked at each other and together replied “No.”
“Denise, I never knew you took interest in these things. You never told me,” Emily said. She was unaware of this side of her friend. Then again, she guessed she was unaware of a lot of things lately.
“I was just curious,” Denise said meekly. “These kinds of things are quite intriguing though, don’t you think?”
Emily was not sure what to believe anymore, “I don’t know. I haven’t looked through them yet.” She lied and felt an awkward silence loom over the place. “I haven’t decided what to do with them though,” she added, not wanting to seem like a pushover.
“There is no harm in checking them out once,” Mia said, finally addressing Emily directly. “Why don’t you come over here? There are many things that are a mystery to us. Who knows what might be true or not? What will it harm you to go through them once?”
Emily was sure that she had heard that same thing two days ago from Grace. “I am not sure about this,” Emily said apprehensively. Then, her curiosity got the better of her, yet again.
“Come on, these kinds of things are fun on spooky nights.” Denise laughed and teased Emily, which prompted her to join them.
They sat together and Mia started explaining certain things to both of them. To Emily, she sounded reasonably knowledgeable about the subject of necromancy. Some of the things she was saying even sounded plausible. At times, Mia said certain things that were hard for Emily to believe, but it didn’t seem that Mia was lying. She firmly believed in this dark art.
Emily studied criminology; hence she had heard about and learned incredulous things about the way people behaved in diverse circumstances. What Mia was saying was new to her, and she was struggling to keep an open mind. Emily had never heard of inverted pentagrams, spells to conjure demons and the differences between light and dark magic. It astonished her if these were truly things that people were capable of.
“Oh, can people really make spirits do their bidding?” Emily asked, a bit surprised to something that Mia said.
“Why? You don’t believe me?” Mia asked with confidence. “I will make an offer for you to consider. Now, if you lend me some of these books, then I can show you how these things work.” Mia waited for Emily to answer.
“Hey, Grace is not here and you are brooding here alone. It will be fun. Let’s go!” Denise persisted.
Emily was amazed at every step. Did this little frail girl, who stayed just across the hall, really have such an interest in spirits and invocation? Emily thought if anybody was into sorcery then it must have been Keisha. Denise’s interest in necromancy came as a total surprise and made Emily rethink everything she knew about people in general. You never know what’s hiding under the surface. Who would have known?
Denise must have sensed the things going through Emily’s mind. She got up and walked over to where Emily was sitting. It took Emily off guard and she nearly flinched away from her neighbor. She whispered softly and slowly in Emily’s ear so that Mia couldn’t her.
“Mia, she is amazing, isn’t she? I met her through Keisha and I kind of got hooked on this stuff,” she explained, “but don’t worry, it is all for fun.”
“Why didn’t you tell us that yesterday? And you could tell how tense we were.” Emily said, much louder than Denise wanted her to.
Denise paused, and then said “Weren’t you more concerned about your books on criminology? And if there was someone in your room when you were away, I couldn’t help you with that.” She put her hands on her hips before continuing. “So I didn’t mention anything about these books or else it would have come off as insensitive.” She went on to say, “Emily, don’t worry. I’ll ask Keisha when she gets back. Meanwhile, can we borrow these books and return them to you tomorrow. Is that all right with you?”
“Do you know when she’ll come back?” Emily inquired, sensing she now had some leverage.
“Soon,” Denise assured her. “Just have patience.”
Emily agreed to let them borrow a couple of books, as long as they kept quiet about them. She felt especially vulnerable without Grace around, and desperately wanted someone on her side. Maybe Denise and Mia could help her with the nightmares. Mia sure did seem knowledgeable about spiritual matters. So, with Emily’s permission the girls picked out a few books. Then, Denise left the room with Mia. After they left, Emily turned her attention back to her own health.
I need to get better for tomorrow, she told herself. This cannot go on.
It had only been three days and Emily felt irritated that she had missed her classes for the day. Emily needed to take the medicine so she could feel better and think straight. She walked towards the nightstand where she kept the medicine. Grace had given her a pill the other night and Emily knew the first aid kit was in there. Yet, after rummaging around in the drawer, she couldn’t find any of the medicine.
Grace must have taken the medicine with her, now I have to get some for myself again.
Emily got up, pulled on her coat and went out. She walked all the way to the pharmacy, and asked for her regular medicine. A familiar voice behind her startled her and she turned around to see Mr. Gallagher standing behind her.
“Emily, are you sick?” he asked.
“Yes, Professor,'’ she replied, but avoided going into the details.
“Is it fever, sore throat and dizziness?” Mr. Gallagher asked her calmly.
I guess everyone can see through me lately, Emily wondered. I’m losing my edge. “How did you know, Professor?” Emily asked. She was genuinely confused.
“I know, girl. You weren’t in class. I’m aware of ...” Mr. Gallagher didn’t say anything further. He just took a pill for his leg and went along his way.
Emily saw Mr. Gallagher walking away and turned right at the corner. Like the librarian, Mr. Mitchell, he used to stay in the university premises, too. No one was aware of his family and everyone around the university knew that Mr. Gallagher resided alone. The only companions he had were his books and students. Emily thought that he even looked sad at times. The pharmacist called Emily's name twice, and it snapped her back to reality. Something came to Emily’s mind at that moment and decided to speak to Mr. Gallagher when the opportunity presented itself. She took the medicine bottle from the pharmacist's hand, thanked her and ran off in the direction that Mr. Gallagher went.
“Mr. Gallagher! Mr. Gallagher!” Emily called out as she ran towards him. He stopped and turned around, seeing Emily run towards him. She stood in front of him, looking at him very intently.
Mr. Gallagher broke the spell. “Girl, is something the matter?”
Emily faltered for a moment more, and then asked him, “Do you know someone by the name of…” Emily couldn’t remember if it was R or S, but then settled with S and said, “... by the name of S. Keaton?” She waited for Mr. Gallagher to answer, but before he could answer, she went on to say, “Professor, you’ve been in the university for a long time, so I thought you would know if someone by that name was ever here.”
Mr. Gallagher didn’t say a thing. Not even a look of
astonishment crossed his face. His eyebrows didn’t rise. His eyes didn’t even blink. He stood there transfixed, or so Emily thought.
“Did I say anything wrong?” Emily asked.
Mr. Gallagher looked at her with soft, thoughtful eyes. Then, he blinked twice before saying, “S. Keaton? I am afraid I don’t recognize the name. But why do you ask?”
Emily wondered what she would say next. Would it be appropriate to tell him about the picture or should I make up something else, she asked herself?
Mr. Gallagher stood there waiting for an answer.
“No, I meant I was reading a book and …” Emily didn’t know how to complete her sentence. “… I mean a magazine and I saw this person working here, well, never mind, Mr. Gallagher,” she finally said.
“If you say so,” Mr. Gallagher replied. He laughed a little and walked away.
Emily couldn’t understand what it was about Mr. Gallagher that made her want to ask him the question. Surprisingly, she felt like he avoided the question on purpose. She sighed and then decided to go back her own way. Near the building, she saw someone coming towards her. It was a girl with familiar round features. She looked closely and saw that it was Keisha.
She’s back, Emily thought. Then Grace must be back, too. Wait a minute; it hasn’t even been a day yet. This time she was really confused and decided to ask Keisha if there was something that she knew about Grace and the missing books.
“Keisha, where were you since yesterday?”
“Oh!” Keisha said and gave Emily a pleasant smile. “My cousin is in town and I was out of school to meet her.” Then, she seemed to question Emily’s intentions a bit further. “Why do you seem so worried?”
Emily gathered herself. She wanted to ask her about Mia and Denise, but said instead, “Oh, It’s nothing. I wanted to ask you a few things. Please meet me when you are free.” Then, they walked back towards their dorm.
Grace was still not back yet and Emily wasn’t feeling too well either. She decided against going back to bed, but didn’t want to overextend herself. The evening was still young though, and it was time she cleared her doubts with Keisha. No one answered the door when Emily knocked the first time; she had just decided to turn away when Keisha abruptly opened it.
“Are you busy?” Emily asked.
“No, come in,” Keisha said.
“Is Denise in?” Emily wanted to know.
“No, she wasn’t here when I came in. She must be out. Do you need to talk to her?” Keisha asked.
“No, I want to talk to you actually,” Emily said. She was a bit relieved that Denise was out.
“Two days ago, Denise told us that you went out, and came back a couple of times to get your things. So did you happen to see someone get into our room while we were not there?” Emily hoped that she’d finally get an answer.
“Do you mean someone other than you and Grace?” Keisha questioned.
“Yes, so did you see anyone?”
“Let me think.” Keisha thought for a while, and then said, “Yes, in fact I did. I saw someone go into your room, but I thought it must have been you or Grace. I didn’t pay much attention, and when I came back for the second time, I saw Grace leaving.” Keisha stopped, but then said, “She even greeted me on her way out.”
Emily kept quiet for some time. Now who do I believe? She remembered clearly what Grace told her the other day, that she didn’t get back to the dorm until they arrived together. So was Keisha lying to me, but then why would she? Keisha was nice to them all the time. She was nice to everybody for that matter, and didn’t seem like the type of person to arbitrarily lie. Then again, Emily knew Grace even better, and she would never take anything without telling her first. Grace even asked for a pen before borrowing it, so it was unlikely for her to take those books. No, none of it made sense, Emily thought to herself.
Emily excused herself and left her neighbor’s room. She went inside her own room and sat quietly on the chair. A number of questions crossed her mind from why to when. She tracked back her memory. On the days the books went missing, Grace was sitting by her side. Grace laughed and went outside with a friend. Then, Emily recalled that Grace was not in the class for some time and neither was Jesse.
Emily took out her phone and dialed Jesse's number. It rang a few times before she answered.
“Hello, Jesse. Is it a good time to call you?” Emily asked.
“Yeah,” she responded with the music blasting in the background. “Talk to me.”
“Two days ago, you and Grace went out of class at noon. Can you tell me if she went back to the dorm?”
“Yeah, I did go out with Grace, but she went towards the library, and when I asked her if she’ll be coming back, Grace said it will take her a while in the library. She said something about checking a few books, but I don’t remember that clearly.”
“She went to the library? But she was there when I looked back. Did she say anything about going to the dorm?”
“No, she never mentioned anything like that; she just went inside the library.”
Emily thanked Jesse and hung up. She couldn’t make an obvious connection between the times when Grace went to the library to when she went to the dorm. The most unsettling factor for Emily was why she lied about it. There was something about the books and Grace visiting the library that just didn’t seem right.
She could either wait for Grace to come back or find out herself by going to the library. It was too late now, so everything would have to wait until tomorrow. The rest of the night was uneventful, at least until Emily tried to get some sleep. In her mind, various images of the library and nameless faces crowded her brain. Now, if there was something strange about the library, Emily was determined to find out.
Chapter 2
After four days, there was still no sign of Grace. Emily didn’t let her mind linger on that because she had her own demons to slay. After all, Grace left without giving her much to go on. Like Keisha, she could be visiting one of her cousins or relatives, too. At this point, there was nothing more Emily could do about it.
Time has a funny way of easing the pain, and after just one night Emily seemed to have relaxed a bit. Sure, she was still worried about the missing books, her friend’s terrible lies and the recurring nightmares, but Emily refused to let those things control her life.
Emily sat down for breakfast and tried to focus on just being a student. Then she remembered that in the midst of everything, she forgot to ask Keisha about her friend, Mia. She also wanted to know more about Denise’s new found interest in necromancy and witchcraft. But first things first, she wanted to head over to the library to see Mr. Mitchell. She wanted to ask the librarian about Grace and find out if she was really there a few days ago. Although he was old, he would surely remember an attractive girl like Grace.
If that didn’t work, then I could always ask the library regulars, she thought.
Walking to her first classroom, Emily still felt slightly under the weather. That wasn’t so uncommon during the later months of the year. It seemed like the flu eventually dragged everyone on campus down for a few days. There was the usual hubbub all around, the known faces, the recognized gestures; they were all there. Soon, Emily reached the Fletcher building and made her way toward the elevator.
One of her classmates called out to her from the corner, “Hey, Emily, what is with you? Why didn’t you come yesterday?”
Emily cited her poor health for the absence and didn’t indulge her friend with any more of an answer. After sitting in her seat, Emily looked over to where her best friend used to sit. Then she sighed loudly and reluctantly waited for the teacher to arrive. Everyone in the lecture hall was getting a bit antsy. However, the students didn’t have to wait long; the criminology graduate assistant, Kirk came in and informed them all that Mr. Gallagher had taken leave for the day. There were complaints from the student body, but Emily held her peace. Emily knew it was the perfect opportunity for her to head over to the library and find some a
nswers that would provide some solace to her own discomfort.
As she expected, there were indeed library regulars milling about, lost in between pages of the books that lay in front of them. A few people looked up when Emily pushed open the door and entered. She went straight away to where Mr. Mitchell was sitting. He was busy going through an old magazine, and he immediately looked up when Emily stepped in front of his desk. A faint smile appeared on his face, which reminded Emily that the librarian was indeed fond of her. She greeted him warmly and asked him how he was doing.
“A little cold, dear. Two days and I’ll be fine,” he said, and coughed a little after replying.
Emily wasn’t so surprised. This was the season when everyone caught the flu. However, she didn’t delay the conversation with meaningless chit-chat. She knew that she had answers to fetch and so she asked him the question directly. “Mr. Mitchell, sir, do you remember my friend, Grace?”
“Grace? Dear, you must have a lot of friends, which one do you mean?” he asked. “Oh! Wait ... I know who you’re talking about. You mean the girl from your class with specs and red curly hair, who always ties it up in a bun. Isn’t that her? I saw you talking to her a couple of times. It must be her.”
“Mr. Mitchell,” she balked, shaking her head. “That’s not my friend, Grace. That is Sarah, my classmate. I am referring to the tall, round-faced girl with long sleek hair. Wait; let me show you a picture.” Emily took out her phone to help Mr. Mitchell.
He took some time to look at the image on the phone, and then made a gesture which confirmed that he did indeed recognize the girl. “I remember her; she was with you here the other day. What about her?” he said.
“Mr. Mitchell, she was not only here with me the other day. She came alone, too, the day before yesterday and was supposed to borrow some books. Do you remember?”
“Emily, there are numerous students and teachers who come here every day. Do you suppose I remember each and every one when they come in? Sure, I keep the records, but some people read their books here while others borrow them. Do I need to look at everyone as if they are a criminal?” Mr. Mitchell sounded a bit irritated.
