Disappear: Into Shadow

- CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN -

Rain pelted against the library reading room's windows and poured off the ivy surrounding them. The room's lighting, while still bright, was much better when the sun shined, Professor Blake told himself for the umpteenth time. Normally, rainy days were perfect for staying inside and reading.

The patter on the window panes and the trickling stream filling the gutters had become hypnotic. His mind wandered continually from the pages he was trying to absorb. It seemed to be the student body's consensus that this rainy day was not meant for studying. Surrounded by empty tables, Blake was the sole occupant of the room.

He had been making excellent headway into the Library's latest heavy journal on Alexandria before the rains came. Devouring the first third of the heavy book in hours, his marathon pace had dwindled, and he found himself re-reading the same two pages. He decided to take a break, giving his eyes a break. As he rubbed his eyes he found his neck was also stiff and his back annoyed. He blamed it all on the rain rather than the time spent buried in the pages.

Stretching his arms he looked at the ceiling's blackened oak Tudor beams and yawned. Sitting in the empty room, Blake was struck by the strange feeling he was being watched. His heart skipped a few beats. Perhaps it was Camael again! He thought his little paranormal experience of a year earlier had just been an extended and particularly lucid dream. Now that the feeling crossed his mind again, he recognized it instantly. It had not been a dream. He whirled around, searching the room. All he saw were empty tables, wood panelled walls and the great stag's head on the far wall.

There was no mistaking the sensation running the length of his spine. Blake recalled it was only after falling asleep that the spirit revealed itself.

"I can feel you watching me again. Do you have something you want to talk about Camael?" Blake asked the empty room.

It was a new voice, a woman's that answered. "You know Camael? You've spoken with him before?"

This was very interesting, Blake thought. How curious, a new spirit, a friend of his perhaps?

"I can't say I know him. We have met once before and did speak." Blake said.

"What did you talk about?" The voice, sweet and soft as wildflowers floated through the room.

"That's not something I would discuss with a stranger, living or otherwise."

The woman's voice laughed. "Professor Blake, I appreciate your discretion."

Blake paled, nearly jumping out of his chair when a beautiful woman appeared in the chair across from him. Her long raven black hair shone and her eyes glowed. Their colours shifted between grey and a pale liquid blue. Her rose hued lips parted and she smiled. Blake had never known such a beauty. She eclipsed the brightest stars of his imagination.

"You have nothing to fear," she said. "I'm a friend of Camael's."

Blake found he was having difficulty forming a sentence, let alone a single word. With great effort he finally forced himself to say, "How do I know that? You may simply be affecting a guise of extreme beauty to weaken my resolve."

She smiled again and it warmed his being. He felt the loneliness inside himself, one never filled by his quest and books. He had missed the love and company of a woman in his life.

"You flatter me, Professor. What can I do to convince you?"

Blake was not prepared for the question. How does one prove the identity of a spirit?