Nefarious

Chapter 1

This was my first time ever working with a ouija-board. Usually me and Francis, the local priest, would just light candles in a dark room and wait for the spirits to come. But we figured that takes quite a long while because sometimes, the spirits dont always show up and when they do they dont really stay for long either.

The ouija-board was laid out on a round table in a dimly lit room with candles. There were religious symbols from every known religion in the world hung up all over the room. The door was left slight ajar so when the spirit makes it presence it will have to rattle something that doesn't have any religious signs on it.
The words YES and NO were written in at the top two corners, and beneath them were the letters of the alphabet in a curling text, in two arches. Beneath that was a straight row of numbers from zero to nine, and underneath was printed GOODBYE.

'Isn't there some kind of law against ouija boards or something? I thought they were supposed to be dangerous.''  I asked Francis

''Dangerous how? It's only a board with some letters and numbers written on it.''

''I heard they were banned in England''  I say with a uncertain expression

''Couldn't be, or they wouldn't have been selling these in public''

Looking around the room, I take a deep breath and face Francis,
''What if it doesn't work? What if this board thingy is just a game kids play at tea parties or something?''

Francis sighs heavily and shakes his head,
''I dont know Lyra but we can still try''

''Yeah I suppose we could''
I turn off the lamp and lean forward.

''The planchette thing is supposed to spell out the answers to our questions,''
Francis said, indicating the little pointed disc hovering at one corner of the screen.
''Without us touching it?'' I ask confused

''The ghost will move it'' he declared

''So does that mean we don't have to wait forever for the spirit to answer?''
I say excitedly

''Yes exactly Lyra, we won't have to spend hours trying to get the spirit to communicate with us''

So I held out my hand and Francis done the same, our fingertips touching.
''Who shall we try to contact?'' He asks

''My parents'' I said, my eyes starting to water as I think of them.
''Are you sure Lyra?'' He asks with a concerned face
''Yes i am'' I reply rubbing my eyes.

''If that's what you want then....
He pauses and leans towards and rubs my back.
...Lets do it''
I grab onto the table and nod at Francis to star.
Taking a deep breath Francis starts calling out my parents names
''Ophelia Rose Slater and Will Slater, we wish to communicate with you, please we wish to cause no harm.''
Francis and I put our finger on the planchette, waiting eagerly for it to move.

Silence.
Thats all that could be heard.
I look around the room, everything was where it was supposed to be...everything intact.

''Mom?...Dad?.. Are you here with us?''
I say taking a deep breath

There was no answer.
Taking his finger off the planchette Francis puts a hand on my shoulder in a reassuring way.

Suddenly i jerk forward, my finger still on the planchette moving and stopping on the 'yes' sign on the box.
Shocked , I look at Francis and smile widely.

'Mom ? Dad? I miss you guys...it hasnt been easy with the two of you gone... I just cant take it anymore and in a few days me and Grace will be moving in with-'' I say hurriedly but im cut off when the planchette starts moving again stopping on random letters.

R
C
O
A
O
B
K
S
I
N

Abruptly, it stops moving with the lamp turning back on, normally a sign the spirit has left. Squinting my eyes together i try to make sense of what just happened.

I look at Francis and see him staring down at the piece of paper where he wrote the letters on.
''What...what was that?'' I break the silence

Francis shrugs, pointing at the letters he says
''I think...your parents might have been trying to tell you something.. or warn you of something''

Confused, I stare at the jumbled letters.
''But what could it mean? The letters? Im so confused....'' I say trailing off

''Im not sure Lyra...this will take time but the letters will spell out something...and it will be more clear in the future.''

I nod in agreement and whip out my phone, taking a photo of the letters.

Turning to Francis, I bite my lip when I realize this might be the last time I would get to see him before I move to ravens city.
He's always been both a friend and a father figure to me and he was the only one who knows about me being a mediator. All those 5 spirits i dealt with couldn't have been done without his expert knowledge in religions and in ancient spells.

''Father Francis , I'll really miss you...But I'll visit when I can I promise'' I reassure him

''Lyra you better not forget about me and all those fun times we had kicking some ghosts ass!'' He says laughing

''Dont worry I wont, You can call me whenever you want just press this button right there'' I tell him pointing out the call button on the old Nokia phone I gave him.

He looks at it confused and smiles,
''These gadgets Lyra..they are going to be the death of me one day''

We laugh in unison.

But who would have known that that last sentence was going to be very true...