Ghost: Books of the Dead - Fantasy Best Seller and Supernatural Teen Book: (Ghost, Occult, Supernatural, Occult and Supernatural)

by John Stone

  Emily was at a loss of words. She looked at herself in a spiritual state. She was all white and dead, dull and weary. She couldn’t even feel her own existence. She was literally just a shade of her former self.

  “Mr. Keaton, Grace was right all along. You were in this, both of you tricked me.”

  “We could ignore you now if we want, and nobody would have to know a thing,” both of them said simultaneously.

  “Why did you do this to me? After all, I trusted you!” Emily cried.

  “Remember you wanted this. You can’t complain,” Rosemary said.

  “Please don’t leave without answering me first. Why did you do this to me?” Emily asked when she saw them leaving.

  Mr. Keaton must have felt pity for her, so he came back and urged his sister to come and join him, and then he began, “We are extremely sorry, Emily, but sometimes things need to be done. We did what we had to. I really liked you. You are just like Rose, smart and intelligent and I couldn’t see my sister rotting in the pit of this library, so I had to get her out of here.”

  “You used me, Mr. Keaton. I really respected you.”

  “Grace was right about me. She was right about my identity, so I confronted her, but old Mr. Mitchell was in my debt, so I had to shut him up. Those books to your place were sent by me. I knew that you never believed in any of this stuff and this switch required you to believe in it, so necessary arrangements were made accordingly,” he said calmly. Rosemary merely looked on.

  “You tricked me in believing that I was losing my mind,” Emily concluded.

  “I only triggered it; the old librarian you saw was there to warn you. She was always the helpful one, but that in turn proved to be an advantage for us. You didn’t believe that any of this existed, but slowly you started believing in them. You made some wrong moves and your kind friend, Mia, helped you immensely in making the wrong move. Sadly, she is not with us on this.” Every word that came out of Mr. Keaton's mouth stabbed Emily over and over again.

  “Why did you do this? What did Grace find in your hometown?”

  “I knew Grace was on to me. She followed me and went to my hometown and I knew there were records there that I couldn't hide. There are people who knew about us. I changed my name and my looks. I don’t know exactly what Grace found over there about us. Do you want to tell me or you want to find it out on your own?” Mr. Keaton said menacingly.

  “What about the library? It is not being taken down?”

  “No, of course, it was not going to be taken down. It was going to be refurbished. We made you believe it. Sweet Rosemary made up a story and you believed it. Don’t tell me that she didn’t warn you.”

  “I felt someone warning me in that abandoned room where Mia took me and then once in my room, as well. Who was that then?” Emily asked although she knew the battle was lost.

  “That was the old librarian. She tried to keep you away from us, but it’s sad that you fell for it anyway. Remember the boy who saw me, too? He was clever and never fell for it, although it was his sister I wanted to get to. Not everyone is like you. I warned you, Emily. We liked you from the beginning, the moment we saw you,” Rosemary replied.

  “My questions aren’t answered yet, wait please!” Emily cried.

  They were almost out of sight, hands linked and Emily had eternity to suffer. Rosemary came back though, “I will let you in on a secret. You know how these things work now. So, catch hold of someone and we can always be classmates,” Rosemary winked and left.

  Emily looked at herself and it hit her. She wanted to cry, but didn’t know how. Then, all of a sudden, the doors to the library blew open with a gust of wind. Emily, Rosemary and Mr. Keaton looked over to see what the commotion was all about. Standing in the doorway was Jamie, Keisha, Mia, Denise and even Grace. They stood there, blocking the exit like femme soldiers. Grace was still walking gingerly on crutches, but she looked strong and resolute. Mia had one of the necromancy books in her hands and Jamie had several small items in tow. They were familiar items, knick-knacks and personal belongings from Emily’s dorm room.

  “Jamie,” Emily called out, but she forgot that nobody could see her.

  “Girls, what are you doing here,” Mr. Keaton asked them authoritatively? “Go back to your studies at once.”

  “Why are you holding Emily’s hand,” Grace asked? “We know all about you, Mr. Keaton.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he stammered. “I’m going to report you all at once.”

  “Go right ahead,” Jamie countered. “So then we can tell the dean how you falsified your identity and manipulated Emily and Grace both.”

  “I’m fine, guys,” Rosemary tried to tell them. “Come on, let’s just all go grab a bite to eat or something.”

  “What’s your favorite food,” Grace asked her with a straight face?

  “What? I don’t understand,” Rosemary said. “You know what I like.”

  “Yes, Grace,” Emily yelled from the background. “Keep asking her. It’s not me.”

  “What is your favorite food, Emily?”

  “I…I…you know I like pizza the best,” Rosemary said.

  “That’s the wrong answer, Lady. We know you’re not really Emily. You’re R. Keaton in Emily’s form,” Grace said. “We’re here to stop you.”

  “Oh, clever girls,” Rosemary said coyly. “It’s done now. There’s nothing you can do about it now.”

  “Oh yes there is,” Mia stepped forward to say. “The old librarian showed us how to send you back to Hell.”

  Mia flipped open the necromancy book to a particular spell and began chanting. The Keatons backed away from the girls fearfully and stared at each other in confusion. The girls wouldn’t let them get out through the front doors so they searched about for another way. They saw an emergency exit on the side and rushed over to it.

  Then, Emily saw two tables fly from their place and completely cover the exit. It was as if a strong gust of wind had blocked their path. Yet, it wasn’t wind at all. Emily looked over to the side exit and she could clearly see the old lady librarian standing between them. She looked over at Emily and smiled. Meanwhile, Mia had worked herself into a trance-like state, rocking back and forth. The other girls busied themselves by lighting candles and spreading out Emily’s favorite items in a circle. As Mia chanted, the circle took on an eerie orange glow. A solitary column of light shot up toward the ceiling and books began to fly from the walls.

  “Gregory, you have to stop them,” Rosemary begged her brother.

  Then, Mr. Keaton rushed over toward the girls. Keisha stood in his way, but he slung her down to the ground. Next, Denise leapt onto his back and dragged him down to the ground just to keep him from Mia. He rolled over onto his knees and raised his hand to strike Denise, but Grace poked at him with her crutch. Emily giggled and began to feel an odd tingling sensation all over. It felt like tiny snowflakes were falling on her. Just as she was feeling such delight, Rosemary squirmed and wriggled in agony. She screamed as if she were burning. Her body began to shimmer in and out of view, just as Emily’s body was doing the same.

  “Look, it’s Emily,” shouted Jamie.

  “I’m here,” Emily shouted back. “It’s working.”

  Suddenly, Emily disappeared altogether. When she materialized again, she was inside the orange circle of light. She could feel her body again. It was all coming back to her as Mia hastened through the ceremony. Rosemary screamed out, but she was becoming less and less visible.

  “No,” Gregory yelled! “You’re hurting my sister!”

  There was one final flash of light and then a powerful wind blew through the library. Books, tables, even benches were overturned and the emergency lights came on. Rosemary was gone and Emily was kneeling in the circle of familiar objects. Grace and Jamie rushed over to her while Denise and Keisha comforted Mia. She was covered in sheens of sweat and lay weakly across the library floor.

  “Emily, are you okay,” asked Jamie?
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  “How did you…how did you…?”

  “I went to get Mia,” Jamie explained. “We went back to the secret room and she called on the spirits to help us. The old lady librarian told us what was going on and showed us which spell to use. We were on our way here when Grace just happened to show up.”

  Emily glanced over at her friends. “I’m so sorry….everyone…I’m so…”

  “It’s okay,” Grace said. “Everything will be just fine now.”

  Epilogue

  Emily exited the Fletcher building with Grace, on their way to their second class. A few days had passed since the night of the storm and things were slowly returning to normal. Mr. Gallagher was fired from the University for falsifying information and endangering the students. Mr. Thompson took over his duties and Mr. Mitchell announced his retirement. The rumor about supernatural events taking place at the library wasn’t just a rumor anymore. It was common knowledge among the student body. Emily, Mia, Denise, Keisha, Grace and Jamie were all looked at differently now. People were calling them the Conjurers, but never to their faces. In fact, Emily and Grace were on their way to meet up with the rest of the group now. Along the way, Emily and Grace stopped to sit on a nearby bench.

  “I feel like I didn’t get a chance to tell you how much you meant to me,” Emily told her, “you coming to my aide, after all.”

  “Oh stop it,” Grace chided her.

  “No, seriously,” Emily persisted. “I had my doubts about what was going on the whole time. It just wasn’t adding up.”

  “I didn’t want bother you anymore,” Grace explained. “I left to Elmhurst and conducted this cute, little investigation. I met some really nice people and some really strange people as well. Then, I got hurt on the way back here to tell you all that I found out. My Mom wouldn’t let me go anywhere until I got better so I waited until then. That call you got wasn’t from my Mother. It was just somebody that Mr. Keaton used to manipulate you. My Mom would never have misled you like that.”

  “I thought so,” Emily said, “but everything was so confusing then.”

  “I’m just glad Jamie was there to help you through this thing.”

  “Grace, I don’t want you to think that I was trying to replace you with Jamie. She could never come between the bonds we share.”

  “Of course not,” Grace agreed. “She gossips too much. Now, she’s the most popular girl on campus.”

  They both shared a laugh and pushed off the bench. They headed over to Mia’s secret room, which was hardly a secret anymore. The girls removed all the necromancy books from Emily’s dorm and gave them to Mia. She was sort of like the unofficial leader of their group. Emily didn’t want to look at the stack of books anymore, but she couldn’t deny that she had a newfound interest in the occult. Even Grace had started to take interest. People were coming up to them left and right, asking for spiritual advice and needing favors. They certainly weren’t experts on conjuring and speaking to spirits, but they were the closest thing to it on campus. Emily was grateful for their help and sacrifice, but she was most thankful to the old lady librarian. Without her help, Emily might have remained a ghost forever. Every day, she visited her in the library.

  “So, what do we do now,” asked Grace?

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, do we keep conjuring spirits and helping people talk to their dearly departed loved ones?”

  “No, not yet,” Emily said with a laugh. “We’ve got to pass our criminology exam first.”

  THE END

  Thank You

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  John Stone