Secrets and Specters

by Raven Snow

  “He’s big like Dom but more approachable. He’s the kind of guy you could take home to your family.”

  “The family thing is kind of a deal breaker. You’d have his mom as an in-law.”

  Otsuya frowned. “So? What’s wrong with Al? I like Al.”

  Lady recalled that Al had helped Otsuya out. She probably had a special fondness for her because of that. Besides, Lady was probably being a little harsh. “Al is nice. She can just be kind of… overbearing is all.”

  “How so?”

  “Clingy? Hovers a lot? Come on, you can’t act like she’s not a little much. Even Conners has his issues with her.”

  “I guess.” Otsuya shrugged like she still didn’t see the big deal. A smile crept over her face. “Sooo…” she began, dragging the word out. “Who do you like? Who is it you have your eye on?”

  This was all new territory to Lady. She had never sat down with a girlfriend and talked boys. Of course, she knew who she had her eye on. It felt weird to say it out loud was all. She bit her bottom lip, hesitant.

  “Come on.” Otsuya nudged Lady’s leg with her bare foot. “You can tell me. I won’t tell anyone. Promise.”

  Lady wasn’t sure she believed that. What did it matter, though? It wasn’t like she was a hormonal little teenager anymore. Even if Otsuya did say something to someone, would that be so bad? Maybe this would give her the kick in the pants she needed to suck it up, be an adult, and ask him out. “Honestly? It might sound weird… but I kind of like Crispin.”

  Otsuya didn’t say anything. She stared at Lady, the smile having fallen from her face. It made Lady go all tense inside. What had she said wrong? God, Otsuya could be hard to read. “What’s weird about it?”

  Was that what she was mad about? Lady’s phrasing? “I dunno. We were talking about Dom and Conners. They’re both these big, masculine dudes. Crispin is more… I dunno… Soft.”

  “What’s wrong with being soft?”

  “Nothing, obviously.” Lady squirmed where she sat, suddenly super uncomfortable. “I mean, apparently I like soft. I think he’s cute and sweet and I’d like to take him out for dinner some time, I guess. What’s with the second degree here? You asked, and I answered.”

  Otsuya turned away, facing the movie again though she didn’t seem to be all that into it. “I just didn’t realize you liked Crispin.”

  Lady continued to watch Otsuya, trying and failing to read her. What exactly was going on here? “Is that a problem?” The obvious occurred to her. “Do you like Crispin?” That would explain some things and complicate others.

  “We work together as library professionals, and his well-being is very important to me.”

  “Okay,” Lady said slowly, not sure what any of that meant. “So… you like him?”

  “Of course, I like him. He’s a very nice person. Who doesn’t like him?”

  Lady wasn’t sure how to take that either. “So, if I asked Crispin out sometime… would that be a problem?” As weird as she was, Lady considered Otsuya a friend. She hadn’t ever really had one of those until recently. She didn’t want to step on any toes if she could help it, didn’t want to push Otsuya away. “Because I just think he’s cute. I’m not, like, desperately in love with him or anything. We can stay friends and leave it at that. I don’t have to ask him out.”

  “You do whatever you want to do,” Otsuya said coolly, eyes still on the computer screen.

  Lady couldn’t help but notice that Otsuya’s hair was beginning to defy gravity and that her body was becoming a little less corporeal. She could see the floral pattern of the sofa throw through her right forearm. Probably best to drop things. God, sleepovers had the potential to get weird fast. “I’m… I’m gonna get another piece of pizza.”

  ***

  Fortunately, it didn’t take too long for Otsuya to snap out of her ghostly funk. She was back to smiling and joking when Conners came out of the bathroom. She tried to convince him to join them for one last movie, but he shot that down immediately and continued on to his room, shutting the bedroom door behind himself.

  He had already set Lady and Otsuya up with plenty of blankets and pillows. Lady was less hesitant about sleeping in the living room now that she had company. Otsuya had even volunteered to take the floor after pointing out that there wouldn’t be enough room for them both on the loveseat.

  “I wish he’d left his door open,” Lady said to no one in particular as she stretched out across the love seat. “The thing manifests in his room. How are we supposed to know if it’s there?”

  “You knew last time, didn’t you?” Otsuya asked from where she sat cross-legged on a pile of blankets in front of the laptop.

  “Yeah, but that was just kind of a fluke.” Lady looked at Lion where he laid curled up on her chest. She petted him and he purred.

  “Are you so sure about that?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Otsuya reached up and gave Lion some petting as well. He purred even louder, sounding like an engine revving in the relative quiet of the apartment. “I’m just saying that you’re a witch. You’re sensitive to this kind of stuff. I think you woke up last time for a reason.”

  “People keep saying stuff like that.” Lady shook her head. She wasn’t so sure about any of it.

  Otsuya shrugged. “Well, whatever. I’ll definitely wake up. Don’t worry.”

  It didn’t sound like Otsuya had any doubts about that. It put Lady at ease on the closed door front, but something was still bothering her. “Do you… do you really think I have talent as a witch?”

  “Hmm?” Otsuya glanced up from the computer screen she had gone back to. She was scrolling through a list of titles looking for something else to watch. Lady might be getting sleepy, but Otsuya clearly wasn’t. The jury was still out on whether she even slept at night or not.

  “Do you think I have the potential to be a witch?” Lady asked again. “Is it something innate or is it just something people have been saying about me? How many apprentices has Ms. Poole even had?”

  “Do you have potential?” Otsuya raised an eyebrow, like she didn’t understand where this was coming from. “You know you do. You can see all the weird stuff that goes around here, right? If you didn’t have the potential you wouldn’t even know anything was off… Well, that’s not entirely true, I guess. Most people who live in Dark Lake know it’s a weird place. They just kind of ignore it, I think.”

  “Okay, but there seem to be a lot of people around here who are a little sensitive to things. Like Conners. He can kinda sense things and do stuff but just a little, right? What if I’m like that? What if I’ve got a little spark of magic but not the aptitude for it?” Would Ms. Poole let her keep working at the inn if she didn’t have the potential she thought she did? Lady let that last question go unasked. She was afraid of the answer.

  Otsuya really stopped and looked at Lady then. “Ms. Poole sees something in you. I see it too.”

  “What?” Lady asked because, heck, she definitely wasn’t seeing it herself.

  “I dunno… Desire, I guess? The spark is there, but so is desire. That’s really important. Conners might have the spark, but he doesn’t want it. You want it, right?”

  Lady hadn’t really given the matter much thought. Sure, she had considered what it might be like to be a witch with magical powers and the like. Who wouldn’t after all that had happened? She hadn’t ever really sat down and thought of it as an eventuality though. Now that Otsuya posed the question to her directly, the answer was obvious. “I mean… yeah. Yeah, I want it.” She had never thought about what she might do with her life until Ms. Poole had presented her with the option of being her apprentice. “I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted anything more.”

  “Well then, there you go.” Otsuya shot her a bright smile. “Don’t worry so much about it. These things take time. You’re learning. I know Ms. Poole might be frustrating, but she’s a good person. I wish I’d had a teacher like her.”

  Lady started to m
ention that Ms. Poole really hadn’t taught her all that much. She resisted the urge, though. Otsuya didn’t need to hear all that. She’d had a rough run of things, what with growing up in a time where witches were feared at best. “Thanks,” Lady said instead. She yawned and snuggled down into her pillow. “Start another movie if you want. I’m gonna rest my eyes.”

  “I’ll keep the volume low.”

  ***

  Lady was asleep before Otsuya even started the next movie. The transition into sleep was like sinking down into a water bed. She felt herself transitioning into a dream. One moment she felt the sofa beneath her, the next, she was stretched out on a patch of moss. Her dreams always took her outside, she realized drowsily. She wondered if that meant anything and tried to remind herself to ask someone when she was awake.

  “You could ask me,” said Lion.

  Lady turned her head to find Lion stretched out beside her, sunning himself in a beam of light coming down through the trees. “Does it mean anything?” asked Lady.

  Lion gave a hum, like he was considering the question. “I don’t think we’ve met another witch with a familiar, have we?”

  “I guess we haven’t,” Lady said slowly. It was hard to access her memory while she was sleeping, but what Lion had just said sounded right. “But familiars are a witch thing. I bet they’ve had them before, even if they don’t have them right now. Oh! Or they could be a wild animal. I wouldn’t be surprised if Al’s familiar was, I dunno, like an earthworm or something.”

  “Maybe,” Lion said slowly. “Do you think they have the kind of bond we have, though?”

  “Aww.” Lady rolled over and pulled her cat into a hug he didn’t much appreciate. “We have a bond?” She knew they did, but it made her heart warm and fuzzy to hear Lion say it.

  Lion squirmed out of her arms. “You know what I mean.”

  Did she? “Do you think it might have something to do with my element?”

  “Could be.” Lion was being coy. Trust a cat to not be straight forward with you.

  “So, what? Animals? Are animals even an element? Oh! Maybe it’s—” The forest around Lady began to darken. She felt her dream beginning to fade. For a few seconds she was confused. The truth came to her all at once then. She remembered what this was, why she was here. “I need to wake myself up.”

  Waking up wasn’t an issue. No sooner had Lady thought those words than someone in the real world was grabbing her arm. Lady came to around the time she collided with the floor. Otsuya had yanked her arm so hard she had rolled right off the sofa. Not that this had slowed Otsuya down any. Already she was on her feet and moving toward the bedroom. Lady saw her throw the door open without hesitation.

  Lady could hear Lion hissing but she didn’t take the time to look around for him. She clambered to her feet instead, knocking the laptop off the coffee table in the process. Otsuya had already gone into the bedroom. Lady swore and took off across the room. “Otsuya—” She didn’t make it any further than the door frame.

  There was indeed a shadow person in the bedroom. It was on the bed itself this time, crouched on Conners’ chest like the picture from the book Crispin had showed her. The thing was a mass of black. It took Lady a few seconds to realize that it had turned its head to look at the intruders.

  “Um,” began Otsuya, standing stiff and still only a few feet in front of Lady. “Hey.” She addressed the shadow person awkwardly. “Can we talk?”

  Lady gave a shriek as the shadow person leapt from the bed. It was on Otsuya in less than a second, its movement a fluid blur. Lady saw its dark hands settle on her friend’s shoulders and, suddenly, they were both falling. Except they didn’t hit the floor. They kept falling right through it, leaving behind a sudden flurry of pajamas and flesh-colored wrappings.

  “W-what?” Conners stammered, sitting up in bed and looking around. He had been asleep until Lady screamed apparently.

  Lady’s mouth worked around words she didn’t have. She pointed at the floor emphatically but mute. Somewhere in the next room Lion was growling.

  “Lady?” Conners slid to the edge of his mattress. “What are you— What happened?”

  “Shadow person and— and Otsuya. Just… through the floor!”

  “What?” Conners followed where her finger was pointing. “What’s that?”

  “Otsuya and the shadow person fell through the floor!”

  “They what?”

  “They fell through the floor! The floor!”

  Someone next door knocked loudly on the wall. It didn’t make Lady want to stop shouting. Conners got out of bed, moving to join her in the middle of the room.

  “Does this place have a basement?” Lady demanded.

  “Not that I know of.”

  There had to be some way to get to her. Lady ran from the room, across the apartment, and to the front door. Outside, the air was frigid and the paved walkway burned her feet it was so cold. The wind kept throwing her hair back into her face as she spun around, trying to spot the space nearest the bedroom. Conners had said there was no basement, but she had hoped there might be some kind of crawlspace. “Otsuya?” she called. Someone was going to come outside and tell her to keep it down, but she didn’t much care. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Darn it! She needed to help her!

  Ms. Poole! That was it, she should call Ms. Poole. Lady ran back inside and retrieved her phone. She returned to the parking lot as she dialed. It was like her brain had convinced her that being able to see the entire apartment at once might help somehow.

  No one answered the phone. Lady swore and tried again. This time someone picked up on the third ring. “Hello?” answered a tired voice that Lady could only hope was Ms. Poole.

  “The shadow person came and Otsuya confronted it and it attacked her and they fell through the floor and I can’t find Otsuya now.” Lady said all of that in one breath. The wind was hitting the ear piece. She hoped Ms. Poole could understand her.

  “Wait. Slow down, girl. Repeat all that.”

  Lady took a deep breath, ready to repeat what she had just said but not capable of slowing down. Movement near Conners’ bedroom window caught her eye. A lamp had been turned on and she could make out Conners standing there, the curtains pulled back in one hand. He motioned her back inside.

  “Hang on,” Lady said into the receiver. She ran for the apartment at a jog. “She’s in here,” Conners called from the bedroom.

  “What?” Lady shut the door behind her and hurried over to confirm what Conners had just said for herself.

  Otsuya was indeed standing there. Her pajamas were back on and she was looking at her hand with intense scrutiny, flexing her fingers like something was off about them. “Never mind. She’s here now,” Lady blurted into the phone.

  “Lady, what—” began Ms. Poole, but Lady hung up too fast to hear the rest.

  “Otsuya, what happened!” Lady went to her friend and put her hands on her shoulders. She had to make sure she was really there and solid. “You scared me!”

  Someone next door pounded on the bedroom wall again. Lady was feeling manic enough that it just annoyed her. She marched to the wall and pounded right back. Conners just sighed. “Please stop. I have to live here.”

  “I’m okay,” said Otsuya. “I don’t know where she went though.”

  “You should have just waited,” said Conners. “She crawled up through the floor naked a few seconds after you bolted out of here.” Lady noticed that Conners was pointedly avoiding looking at Otsuya directly. It seemed the two of them had shared an awkward moment just now. Not that Otsuya seemed bothered.

  “Does my skin look right?” asked Otsuya.

  Lady could honestly say that she had never been asked that question in her life. “Um…” She trailed off, giving Otsuya a slow once-over. “I mean… It looks okay. I don’t see anything wrong with it.”

  That seemed to satisfy Otsuya. “Good.” She stopped flexing her fingers. “Sorry. It’s been a long time since that happened.”
>
  “You mean you’ve had to wrestle ghosts before?”

  “I’m not sure it’s a ghost,” Lady said, ignoring the question Lady had posed. “I mean, part of it is, but there’s too much anger there. It’s not thinking straight.”

  “So, it’s definitely a ghost.” Conners had found the ability to look at Otsuya again. “And it’s definitely… It’s definitely female?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Otsuya nodded. “Definitely a female presence. That was something you guys were still on the fence about, right?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I think Lady’s theory was right. It was feminine, and it was mad about its husband. It feels sad and betrayed, but mostly it’s just mad.” She looked to Conners when he sank down onto the edge of his mattress, shoulders slumped. “Sorry. I know that’s probably not what you wanted to hear.”

  Conners shook his head. “It’s fine… I mean, it’s not fine, but it is what it is. I’m better off knowing the truth. At least now, maybe we can do something about it.”

  “Like talk to the family?” Lady asked carefully.

  Conners raised his gaze from the carpet. “I’m not looking forward to it, but yeah. I guess that’s something that’ll need to be done. Let me sleep on it, try to think of the best way to approach it. We’ll have dinner with Shannon first.”

  “You’re coming too?” Lady had figured it would just be her and Dom. She certainly had nothing against Conners coming.

  “I’d better,” said Conners. “I can’t let you guys do everything for me. I kicked this thing off. I need to be the one to put it to rest.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Lady didn’t get much more sleep that night. No one did. They all ended up back in the living room watching movies. When morning rolled around, Conners drove everyone back to the inn before heading off to work.

  Otsuya and Lady both reported in to Ms. Poole. She didn’t have any hard feelings about being woken up the night before. She listened to them tell her what happened patiently. There wasn’t a whole lot to report. Sure, it had been a hectic night, but not a whole lot had been found out. They knew now that the shadow person was definitely Beatrice.