by KT King
Lancelot and India burst through the doors just as Jack and Johnathon were heading out. It had started to rain even harder and they were soaked through. “Where next?” India asked Lucy. “No sign of her at the canal. We checked as far as the Pink Pig Restaurant. Noddy and Tage were searching beyond that point. Stella has been looking all over Hart Crescent and the Rainbow Bridge. Devlin says he has checked Binders Lane and he is going to search in the Elizabethan Quarter again with Simeon and Sissy. Silvi and the Rodets told us to tell you that there is no sign of her in Finkle Street, but that they are going to check all the buildings between there and Millicent Way again.”
“Jimmy has seen that Alice may be in the vicinity of a statue of Mother Mary,” Lucy related to them. They looked at each other and tried to think. “There is that small stone statue at Devil’s Gate just by the crematorium!” Lancelot exclaimed and they headed back out into the pouring rain.
“It’s hopeless!” Linnet suddenly cried out, from her seat at the back of the Café. She was onto her third bottle of red and was in no state to go looking with the others. “Marcus will kill her, I’m sure of it.” She turned a shade of green and rushed to the toilet to be sick.
Sophie went to comfort her.
“We will find her,” Sophie reassured Linnet, but Linnet just lay down, next to the toilet, put her cheek to the cold tiled floor and stared into space. She suddenly grasped hold of Sophie’s hand, so tightly, that Sophie thought she would break it. “Find her, Sophie! Find my baby!” Then she passed out.
Around nine o’clock, Johnathon really feared that Marcus had taken Alice out of Little Eden without being seen on the CCTV. He called the Metropolitan Police who were willing to be helpful but they had little manpower to spare.
Jimmy Pratt wandered into the Café at about ten o’clock. He had not had any further visions but he did suggest that a séance may help.
“You wanted me to talk to Lilly and Alienor anyway,” he said. “We can kill two birds with one stone this way.”
“It’s worth a shot!” Lucy agreed.
Sophie shook her head. “I don’t like séances.”
“Come on, Sophie!” Minnie said eagerly. “We have to try everything, don’t we?”
“Let’s do it here! Straight away!” Lucy suggested and began clearing a table.
“We need somewhere quiet,” Jimmy told her. “Somewhere where the veils between the worlds are thinner. It’ll be easier to communicate with the spirits.”
With that, the phone rang! It was the Reverend Sprott reporting that Iris was recovering well at the hospital. She had suggested a prayer group be set up immediately in the church and was already ringing round, from her hospital bed, to get it organised.”
“That’ll do!” Jimmy replied.
“What will?” Lucy asked.
“The church! It’ll be quiet in there.”
“Not with a prayer circle going all night it won’t!” Sophie replied.
“Oh, yeah! Suppose not,” he agreed.
“The Chappelle might do?” Lucy suggested.
So, as a prayer vigil was being arranged in the church, a séance was arranged in the Chappelle. Lucy, Minnie, a reluctant Sophie and an even more reluctant India, agreed to go to the Sainte Chappelle, to find out if they could contact Aunt Lilly or Alienor, and to ask them if they knew where Alice was.
“Oh, for God’s sake!” India exclaimed, as she plonked herself down in one of the chairs that had been placed around the altar. “This is ridiculous! I can’t understand how I even agreed to come!”
“I’m not happy about it either!” Sophie agreed. “But, just go with it, India. I’ll keep you safe.”
“I am not afraid!” India moaned. “I just think this is the most ridiculous way to go about things! Normal people don’t rely on superstition to get things done!”
“Who are normal people?” Sophie asked. “British people? Protestants? Atheists? Are they the only normal people? In another country or culture, asking the ancestors or an oracle for guidance, especially in a crisis, would be normal. I have to admit I am with you on séances though, I don’t like them in general as they are usually mismanaged and can lead to all sorts of trouble, even years later! Never ever do an Ouija board, no matter how fun it might seem at the time.”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures!” Lucy reminded them. “Besides, we are not using a planchette or anything like that - and Jimmy is a professional.”
Jimmy swaggered up to the altar. He started to place a camera on a tripod, just to the side of them. “You didn’t say he could film this, did you?” India muttered to Lucy. Lucy shook her head. “He’d better not use this in one of his shows!” India replied. “I have a reputation to uphold. I don’t want people seeing me on TV taking part in a séance, for goodness sakes! I think I’d better sit this one out!”
“This is why I don’t trust him,” Sophie whispered to India. “He is a showman first and psychic second.”
“I don’t trust men who wear black shirts and loafers!” India said, in a matter of fact way, and stood up as if to leave, but Sophie pulled her back down.
“Don’t go!” Sophie begged her. “I thought I was going to protect you, but maybe it’s the other way around!”
India sighed. “Okay, but I am not having my face on TV!” She turned her chair so that she had her back to the camera.
Jimmy lit some candles and then turned off the main lights. It was as if they were suddenly plunged into a very tiny space. The rest of the Chappelle had disappeared into the darkness. He paused a moment, waved his hands around a bit, and then took some Visconte Tarot Cards out of a deep purple velvet pouch and laid them on the altar. The gold leaf on the cards shimmered in the candle light as he cut the deck and made two piles.
“Are you sure you are supposed to have tarot cards in a church?” Minnie asked, a little afraid.
“Shhh,” Lucy whispered to Minnie. “You’ll put him off!”
“With whom do you wish to communicate?” Jimmy began to say, to no one in particular.
“You know very well we want to talk to Aunt Lilly!” Sophie said impatiently.
Jimmy made them all hold hands and then he closed his eyes. “No, no!” he suddenly cried out. “You are not welcome here!”
“Who is it?” Minnie asked and shivered. The candles flickered all of a sudden and she felt sick to her stomach with fear.
“The room is full of spirits!” Jimmy said, half opening one of his eyes. “A woman in white is trying to get in. Take her away, Alan! Protect my auric space!”
“Who the hell is Alan?” India mumbled to Sophie under her breath.
“That’s Jimmy’s spirit guide, apparently.” Sophie smiled. She was rather amused by Jimmy’s theatrical performance.
“She is here! She is here!” Jimmy said. “Come, Lilly! You are welcome! Do you have a message for us?”
A few moments passed and they all stared into the centre of the altar. A silken hush pervaded the chamber. Their minds went blank. Suddenly, a sharp knocking sound startled them all. Minnie nearly jumped out of her skin and yelped like a puppy in distress!
“It came from near the pews!” Jimmy said excitedly, and they all looked over into the darkness. He jumped up, took the camera off its tripod and went to film the front row.
“Aunt Lil is that you?” Lucy said, half laughing. “Don’t frighten us all like that!”
“Lilly, speak to Alan! Tell us - where is Alice?” Jimmy said. He began to shake slightly but it was not put on. The transference of one consciousness to another causes the electromagnetic field to vibrate, which in turn, causes involuntary shaking - as a seasoned Quaker will tell you!
Jimmy put the camera back on the tripod. He could hardly hold it steady.
He went back to the altar, as if in a trance like state, and with his hands still shaking, he took th
e top tarot card and laid it out, face up, in front of himself.
It was the Queen of Swords. “An ancestor comes to speak with us!”
“That must be Alienor or Aunt Lil,” Sophie suggested.
Jimmy took another card from the top of the deck and turned it over. It was the Prince of Coins. “A man with power seeks money.”
The next card he turned over was The Tower. “Destruction is coming - he will stop at nothing to get what he wants.”
“This is getting us nowhere!” India huffed.
Minnie began to get very afraid and the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. “I don’t like this,” she said. “I think we should stop! There is evil here.” She looked around at the others with panic in her eyes. She wanted to get up from her chair and run away, but Lucy kept her hand in hers.
“Don’t break the circle, Minnie,” Lucy told her. “We must find Alice.”
For Alice’s sake, Minnie took some deep breaths and Jimmy continued. The next three cards Jimmy pulled were The King of Swords, The Star and The World.
“There will be a battle, not just for Little Eden but for mankind,” Jimmy said dramatically.
“I think the war has already started!” Sophie said, exasperated.
“Who will win this war?” India asked him.
“What is he talking about?” Minnie whispered to Lucy. Lucy put her finger to her lips to indicate for Minnie not to ask any more questions right now.
Jimmy took out another card, it was The Fool. “That has not yet been decided,” he answered.
“But…” India began to say, when Jimmy put his hand up to quieten her.
“Lilly is faint. She says she cannot stay in the spirit realms if Robert does not make a choice.” Jimmy dropped his head and then his demeanour seemed to return to his normal swagger. “That’s all I can tell you for now.”
“But…” India tried to say again.
“I have told you what Alan is telling me,” Jimmy said complacently, “I cannot tell you anymore.”
“But, what about Alice?” India asked. “Does Alan know where Alice is?”
Jimmy shook his head. “Nope, sorry. He says Lilly is too faint to help us and he doesn’t know who this Alienor is that you keep mentioning.” Jimmy suddenly put up his hand and added, “Wait, there is one more thing!”
They all looked at Jimmy, hoping it was about Alice, but it was not! “There is a man called Frith - he can help you.”
“Who?” India asked.
“Frith!” Jimmy replied. Everyone looked at everyone else but no one had ever heard that name before.
“We don’t know anyone by that name,” Lucy said finally.
“I’ll leave that one with you!” Jimmy replied and went to turn off the camera.
All of a sudden, Sophie stood up and went as white as a sheet. “They are here!” she said under her breath.
“Who are here?” Lucy asked. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she felt a tingling on the top of her head. Minnie squeezed Lucy’s hand, they both had clammy palms and could feel a creeping terror quivering over their skin.
Sophie closed her eyes and shivered. “The three men that Melanie killed - the men they found in the lake! Their spirits are here!”
Chapter 22
~ * ~
Jimmy turned the camera back on and trained it on Sophie. “Where are they?” he asked excitedly.
“Right behind Minnie,” Sophie replied.
Minnie jumped out of her seat!
“Can you see what they look like?” Jimmy urged Sophie. He was desperate to capture something supernatural on camera.
“Yes,” Sophie responded. “They look bedraggled and are dripping wet. I’m glad I can’t smell them.”
“I can smell that!” Lucy interjected and gagged. “It’s like wet dog meets death!”
As the apparitions of the three men came nearer to the friends they began to transform. “That’s better,” Sophie said out loud. “They look as they did before they were drowned. Has the smell gone, Luce?”
Lucy nodded. “Yes, thank God. They didn’t half pong!”
“Describe them to us, Sophie. What do they look like? Are they young, old, handsome?” Lucy asked her.
“Well the first one…he is shorter than the other two. He has dark hair to his shoulders and he’s wearing a burgundy suit. He has a walrus moustache!”
“Ask him his name,” Jimmy suggested.
Sophie frowned. “You know I am hopeless at getting names, but I will try!” Sophie asked the first man his name. “He says his name is John. His last name sounds like Vick.”
“Could it be Quick?” India asked.
“Oh, yes! Very likely!” Sophie nodded. “The second man…he is taller and really stocky. I wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley! He has a full beard, which is a bit on the untidy side. I bet there is food stuck in there somewhere! He has very dirty nails.” Sophie wrinkled her nose as she focused in on the vision. “He says his name is Henry, but I can’t get a second name.”
“He must be Henry Slight!” India said, “And the third man?”
“The third man…he is blond haired and clean-shaven. He has a tight-fitting jacket and is wearing a very fine blue silk cravat. He looks as if he has been to the theatre or somewhere like that. He is carrying a cane with a silver top and he has a white rose in his buttonhole. He is smiling at me and bowing down as if to kiss my hand. He is a charmer but I feel he’s a bit of a cad!”
“A cad!” India said, with a smile. “I haven’t heard that word in a long time!”
They are definitely the three men Melanie murdered.”
“His name is…I don’t know…he is just showing me his hand. He keeps pointing to it like he is playing charades. What name sounds like hand?”
“It is Hand!” India exclaimed. “It’s Leonard Hand! Sophie nodded. “They’re telling me they have been summoned here tonight by Melanie.”
As Sophie said Melanie’s name out loud the side door flew open of its own accord and an unexpected blast of freezing air rushed in, blowing out the candles and plunging them all into pitch darkness.
Lucy screamed and grabbed hold of Minnie, who put her hand over her mouth to stop herself screaming. Minnie’s courage was second to none when it came to the living, but the dead, well, they scared the bejesus out of her!
“I don’t fancy seeing Melanie again!” Lucy shuddered. “I can smell Lilly’s perfume. Lilly is right here with us. Oh God! Please protect us Aunt Lil.”
“Don’t worry, sis!” Sophie said. “The spirits of Alienor, Lilly and St Hilda are around us. We are protected.”
“I assume we have found Melanie,” Jimmy said, seeing a large orb float down from the lectern and across his camera screen. He pointed towards the mahogany pulpit.
Sophie could see more of Melanie’s spirit than just an orb and she was dressed in her sheer white night gown and was reading aloud from the Bible. Oh, bloody hell, Sophie thought to herself, she’s using black magic!
“What’s happening?” Lucy whispered.
“We must form a circle around the lectern,” Sophie told the others. “That way we can anchor Alienor’s, Lilly’s and St Hilda’s energy through our bodies and block Melanie’s incantations from manifesting.”
Minnie was reluctant to move, but India bravely went to stand behind the pulpit; she was not bothered by the astral realms at all.
“I don’t like how it feels!” Minnie said, clinging to Lucy’s arm. “I feel really scared now.”
Sophie intrepidly climbed the steps to the lectern, knowing she would be standing right over the top of Melanie’s miasma, and she did not like that idea. She looked down at the huge Bible and saw it was open at Psalm 140.
Melanie was going to use the prayer to whip up evil. Sophie knew she would have to fight like wit
h like and use a prayer in retaliation. The outcome would depend on which of them had the strongest will.
“What are you going to do?” Lucy asked her sister.
Sophie took a deep breath and replied, “Looks like it’s going to be a prayer-off between me and Melanie. Wish me luck!”
Sophie took a deep breath and prepared herself. She hoped she would remember the right prayer to say. She did not need to worry, however, St Hilda guided her all the way…
Come, deliver me, Archangel Michael, from the snares and traps of evil.
Silence those who would speak ill or viciously against me, and would accuse me of lies before God.
Release me from their web of deceit, and protect me from the wickedness and mischief of other’s tongues and actions.
Let justice conquer all who stand against me and in your holy presence, let those who plot or curse against me, fall into their own net and be gone.
Let them be forgiven as quickly as I am set free.*
The prayer of light worked, and Melanie, unable to summon the dark forces as she had intended, suddenly flew down from the lectern and lashed out, trying to strike Henry Slight, who was the closet to her.
Sophie watched as John Quick, who was afraid of Melanie, knelt before St Hilda and asked for forgiveness, hoping it would save him. But St Hilda pointed to Melanie saying, “Forgiveness comes from within yourself and yourself alone. Neither I, nor God, can grant you forgiveness. But I will fill your heart with the Holy Spirit, if you wish it.” John nodded, and suddenly, twelve white doves flew out of nowhere, straight through his chest from back to front. John and the doves disappeared into a shaft of white light and were gone.
“Wow!” Sophie said, in a hushed voice. “I’ve just seen the Holy Spirit in action!”
“I can smell roses,” Lucy said quietly.
“I’m getting nothing!” Jimmy moaned, as he looked at his camera screen. “Not even an orb!”
“John Quick has gone to the other side,” Sophie told them.
“Did Melanie really kill John Quick?” India asked Sophie. “Can you find out what happened between them in that past life?”
