Read Part 2.
Read Part 3.
The sharp cries that rang out were a symphony of excitement, disbelief, and a great deal of fear as the rest of the guests came to a similar conclusion. Scrolls were once again furiously at work to take pictures of the glowing object, message acquaintances of the events, and most certainly broadcast the news on their own social channels. The activity and the rising of fear caused the serene and well-dressed hosts to leave the positions they'd taken away from the auction and infiltrate the party once again with a soothing presence, coaxing and establishing calm amongst the crowd.
The panic that threatened to erupt was understandable. Regardless of the novelty that had brought them here, it was an entirely different thing to suspect that a spirit was actually present in a room with you. Most citizens had lived a fairly comfortable life, sheltered from direct contact with the ghosts by standards decided upon by the Four Moon families when their respective heads had restored the city to civilization after The Ruin. Through wards on all public buildings and most homes, combined with a thriving market of personal protection charms, they did reasonably well keeping the living safe from the dead.
"My honoured guests..." Evony's soft voice filled with the room with an air of authority as they raised their hands to draw everyone's attention to the dais. "I am truly grateful for your company this evening. As you can see, we have an unexpected demonstration of my invention and while I am elated at this opportunity to publicly display its effectiveness, this is a cause for some concern. As you know, spirits can be quite benign but the history of our city has created many dangerous and vengeful entities that can latch onto unsuspecting innocents and cause harm. As you are in my home, my associates at Crescent company and I believe that your wellbeing is our responsibility and they have generously decided to provide me with the support required to ensure your safety before you leave this evening. I ask that you do not leave until this help has arrived."
The request was punctuated by the subtle maneuvering of the Crescent hosts to flank the doorways leading out of the room, presumably to bar our exit.
"Can they do that?" Remy asked in bewilderment.
"It seems they can," I replied. "But I suppose this means the science is sound. Would they be taking it so seriously otherwise? They're not going to be making any friends by keeping a whole room of people trapped with a spirit."
"But surely it must be a hoax," Remy laughed nervously. "I mean, there have been no signs until now. And what purposes would it serve for some spirit to come haunt us here? When it was sure to be detected?"
"Power! What else?" said Velvet. She nodded meaningfully to Yurome. "Probably attracted by some unwise mystical dabblings."
Yurome rolled her eyes expressively.
“Honestly, we knew the place was haunted when we came,” she remarked to Winter and I. I laughed.
"Have you ever seen a ghost?" Velvet asked crossly. "They're not all benign hovering creatures like you see in the Fourth Quarter or the damn movies. You're naive. Powerful ghosts can feed off the energy of the living! There are rites and rituals to cause such things, as sure as there are rites and rituals for reincarnation. It was easily obtained knowledged before The Ruin."
Miette returned to us then, carrying the small ornate box.
“Can we see it?” Yurome asked immediately. Miette smiled at her apologetically.
“I think we’d better keep it closed for now, so as not to cause more stress and concern,” she replied. Her voice had a musical quality to it that I found most pleasing.
"Why haven't you used it, then?" Velvet asked. “If we know where the spirit is we can stay well away from it.”
"It seems that while the crystal can detect the presence of a nearby spirit it can not pinpoint it any more than that," Miette answered her. "It can tell us one is nearby, but not where it is."
“What support could they possible be sending for?” Remy asked, suddenly. “Wouldn’t it be most politic to send everyone home.
“Most likely a medium,” I replied. “Someone to make sure the ghost doesn’t follow anyone home.”
Miette shook her head.
“If it’s a manifest, a magician of ghosts would be better,” she said, meeting my eyes. “A medium would be able to sense a shade, but a magician of ghosts can command a manifest.”
“How exciting,” Yurome said. Velvet huffed and crossed her arms impatiently. Yurome gave her a level look, unperturbed.
"One does have to follow one's own pleasures," she replied noncommittally.
"You would find a manifest to be a pleasurable thing, wouldn’t you," Velvet said, uncrossing her arms. "Charming as you are, you'd have no end to hapless victims who would let you feed off them, ensuring a long and comfortable afterlife."
