Part 1.
I blinked and carried a tray to Miette and Yurome’s table. Miette stared at me strangely as I sat down. Unsure, but trained well, I tried to cover my confusion and handed her the file. It wouldn’t do to show her any signs of uncertainty.
“It’s called the Bell House,” I said. “There have been stories for months surrounding it. Strange occurrences and sightings. I was wondering if you could look into it… I should warn you - the sighting have been violent and...bloody.”
Miette was already flipping through the file eagerly, but I felt Yurome’s concern as she looked from me to Miette. Here was where I would have to tread carefully.
“Forest was one thing,” Yurome said. “He was tame But an actively harmful spirit is another matter.”
I nodded and gestured to the tray I’d brought forward, prepared for just such an objection.
“I’m prepared to help with that,” I said. “I’ve scoured the considerable resources at my disposal to collect what I can to help you.”
They both examined the array of items. I was pleased by the impressed looks on their faces.
“There are items for basic defense from spirits and charms of warding I encourage you to not engage in any sort of conflict. All we require is information. I also suggest you talk to some experts before pursuing this one.”
I glanced at the large center table where Sickle and Precious had engaged some other customers in discussion, no doubt about the very topic we were discussing here.
“Sickle and Precious are two of the most famous mediums in the city. They have hard earned information about interacting with all kinds of spirits that may also help keep you safer.”
Miette turned the bottle of salt over in her hand, the intense unreadable expression on her face. Yurome look worried and glanced at me once, while I kept my features schooled to a vision of composure.
“Asking the mediums for information is a good idea,” Miette said finally. “I’ll do it.. If you’ll answer one question for me, Winter.”
I blinked, a bit wary but forcing my tone to remain even and inviting.
“Anything, my dear. Your safety is paramount.”
She glanced over at the counter.
“Is there a reason you’d like me to investigate The Bell House…”
I froze.
“..and not the spirit by the counter?”
A chill went through me and I turned to stare at the back of the customer sitting there… The one whose face I hadn’t seen…. The one for whom I’d fetched nearly have a dozen cups of brew in a strange dazed loop that I was only now remembering… I was speechless.
Yurome reached out and squeezed my hand comfortingly. I was thankful and squeezed back.
“Maybe The Bell House should be the third edition,” she quipped. “We seem to have found another subject for the second…”
When they had left, after a lengthy discussion with Sickle and Precious who had also apparently been aware of our guest but hadn’t thought to mention it, I was still shaken. I had been serving hot drinks to a ghost all afternoon without realizing. It happened that way sometimes. One got caught in the loop of their inscape and barely realized that you were performing the same task over and over again. Thankfully, Miette’s realization had drawn attention away from how I was manipulating events before Yurome’s intuition kicked in and I gave something away. And just as fortunately, Miette had snapped me out of the loop before I had fed the spirit any more energy..
I picked up my scroll and dialed an address. After only a moment, a face appeared.
“How did it go?” the face asked.
“Well,” I replied. “She’s agreed to explore it. I’m almost certain Yurome will accompany here.”
“Good.”
“Incidentally, I fell into a spirit loop in the shop. It’s contained now but I’ll need resources to strengthen the barriers of the building.”
They nodded.
“I’ll send them right away, along with someone to provide extra support in case the exploration of the house ends up being more than they can handle. We want to use her, but she also needs to be kept safe.”
I nodded in agreement. Miette was, after all, our wild card. She couldn’t fall into the wrong hands.
Hey! My name is Ciel Sainte-Marie (aka So Nefarious). I'm a writer and artist hanging out on Steem, writing stories, and studying games. My dream is to be a game designer so follow  to watch that develop. You can read the first story I posted on Steem here: The Ghost at the Auction Party |