When the Spirit Calls (When the Spirit... series - Book 2) Page 8

  "Simona was fully grown, and she wasn't safe. How safe do you expect a fifteen-year-old child to be?"

  "But we know much more now than we did back then."

  "Do you know for a fact that the spell will work?"

  "We haven't seen it work, if that's what you mean."

  "Where did you find it?"

  "I discovered it in a book of spells being sold by a small press in New York City."

  "Have you tried any of the other spells in the book?"

  "No. Most are for doing spiteful things like covering your enemy's face with warts or causing them to lose their jobs or spouses. We're not into that kind of witchcraft."

  "So you don't know if any of them have merit. For all you know they might have been written by a hack who was getting paid $5.00 for each spell he or she could dream up, like those fools who write stories for the supermarket tabloids. You've already seen what happens when you attempt to cast a spell that has no power."

  "It's all we have. We have to try something."

  "But not if it's the wrong thing. I'd like to see the books you've acquired in your effort to banish Kamet."

  "Does this mean you'll help us?" Madam Elana asked.

  Arlene could see hope filling Madam Elana's eyes, but she wasn't ready to commit herself just yet, even though she knew she could never allow Oculara to be placed in such danger. "No. I haven't made up my mind yet. I want to feel reasonably certain that I have at least a chance of making it through alive before I agree."

  "That's fair enough," Madam Elana said. "Follow me."

  Madam Elana led the way through a door at the rear of the office where a stairway descended to a basement level. At the bottom of the stairs, a steel door that looked like a bank vault door barred further access until Madam Elana held her hand against a palm-reading plate. When her hand had been scanned, a loud click could be heard, and the door opened an inch. It was perfectly balanced so it didn't require a great deal of effort as Madam Elana pulled it open and led the way into what appeared to be a security enclosure. The glass vestibule was only large enough for two people at a time to enter.

  "The environment in the library is controlled for temperature, and humidity," Madam Elana said as she closed the first glass door behind them and then pressed her hand against another palm scanner. "Once that glass door behind us is closed and locked, it will just take a few seconds to exchange the air. The door in front of us won't open unless the first door has been sealed and the system approves of the environment in this small area."

  "I'm impressed," Arlene said as a loud click could be heard, indicating the first door had locked and sealed. A slight breeze could then be felt as the air in the area was exchanged. When the system was satisfied, the glass door in front of them popped open an inch or so.

  "If for some reason this glass door won't open, just press the red button next to the entrance door and that one will open again. When you leave the library, the system doesn't sample the air. You just have to make sure the inner glass door has been fully closed and locked. I'm sure you know that old books must be kept in a controlled environment and handled with delicacy if we want to preserve them for future generations. Once it's been opened for access, we only lock the vault door at night, but it will unlock at any time from inside."

  As Madam Elana pushed the second glass door open, the room illuminated with a low intensity light. She said "Lights at level five," and the room brightened considerably. "It's all done by voice command. There are ten light levels. When they first come on, they're at level one."

  "Now I'm really impressed. You wouldn't think from the appearance of the store that you were so computerized."

  "It's all state of the art, but I've found that if you keep the appearance rustic, the buyers tend to spend more freely. Still, we have advanced shoplifter-detection controls, and every square inch of the shop area is covered by cameras from several angles."

  "What happens if there's a power failure? How do you get out of here?"

  "Not a problem. For emergencies, we have a large propane-fueled generator capable of handling the store and this library for up to seven days. Only half of this level is devoted to the library. The other half is devoted to storage of goods for the store. There's a solid concrete wall dividing the two spaces."

  The area where they entered was enormous and filled with bookshelves. They weren't the fancy sort of wooden bookcases that might be found in a home but rather the metal bookshelves typically found in a book store or public library, and all of the shelves seemed to be filled to capacity.

  "Which books have you purchased since Simona was killed?" Arlene asked.

  "All of them. My original small library, with my herbal spells, is still at my house."

  "All of them? You must have three thousand books here."

  "Closer to six. For eleven years I've bought everything I could find that had the remotest possibility of containing information that would help us banish Kamet— or at least everything I could afford. A lot of rare books fetch a king's ransom at auction houses, so I mostly buy at estate auctions. And sometimes I get very lucky when I buy a box of old books. Last year, after purchasing the entire contents of an old bookstore in Brooklyn from an estate, I found some sealed crates in the basement that probably hadn't been opened in fifty years. One book alone was worth the total I paid for the entire store. I've cleaned and resold any books not related to religion or the occult, as well as any duplicates I've acquired. It's greatly helped offset the cost of acquiring others. There's a complete index of every book I've purchased on the computer. Follow me."

  Madam Elana led the way to the rear of the library area past dozens of shelving units filled with books until they reached a room that contained an enormous wooden table and a dozen chairs.

  "This is our reading room. We come here to study the texts in our search for the information we need to banish Kamet."

  Arlene breathed deeply and released it. The value of the collection had to be incredible. "The college library at Bryn Mawr is reputed to contain one of the largest private collections of incunabula," Arlene said. "It includes the first printed versions of many classical, medieval, and Renaissance works. Most of your books appear to have been printed after 1500, but if your collection is comprised solely of religious and occult works, it has to be one of the largest such parochial collections in the U.S.— perhaps even the largest in the world outside of the Vatican. It could take years to get through all of this."

  "I've already been working on it for years, and I've only been through about a third of the English section of the library. The vast majority of the books are in English, Latin, Greek, Italian, Spanish, French, and German, but a not inconsiderable number are in Arabic, Egyptian, Turkish, Hebrew, Farsi, Aramaic, and God knows what else. Even the English tomes are difficult to get through. Middle English is a far cry from the way we speak now."

  "In my other life," Arlene said, "young ladies from better homes were dissuaded from pursuing an education that one might construe as leading to a working career. From their earliest years they were instead educated in classical literature, music, and art. By the time she reached her teens, Amelia Westfield could read Latin, Greek, and German. By the time she graduated from finishing school, she had added Italian, French, and Spanish. It permitted her to read any of the classics in their original form. I have those memories, but I don't have a clue when it comes to languages from the Asian and African continents. In any event, it sounds like we'll need lots of help."

  "Who can we trust to keep our research a secret once they know what we're looking for and why?"

  "I know three people whom I would unhesitatingly trust with my life."

  "The girlfriends you wrote about in your book?"

  "The very same."

  "Will they help?"

  "They will when they understand the importance."

  "You'll need a place to stay. Gisela and Oculara live with me, and I don't have enough room for four more in my small house, b
ut I think I know where a furnished house is available. The owner had rented it for the summer, but the renter backed out at the last minute. I'll check to see if it's still available."

  Pulling her cell phone from her pocket, Arlene said, "I'll call my friends.

  "We'll have to go upstairs to get a signal from a cell tower, but you can use the landline phone on the table."

  * * *

  Chapter Five

  Erin parked the silver Saab a few doors down from the antique shop and joined Renee and Megan on the sidewalk as they exited the passenger side of the vehicle. For the long drive, the girls had opted for jeans and tee shirts, the informal summertime wear of twenty-one-year-olds throughout North America, if not the world. But while Renee and Megan were wearing tennis shoes, Erin showed her preference for open-toed wedge sandals. The two-inch thick soles gave Erin just enough additional height to have Megan, at five-foot, five-inches, appear as the shortest of the quartet.

  Pushing her shoulder-length brunette hair back behind her ears, Megan looked around with shining brown eyes. Her adorable face, with its button nose, always projected a child-like innocence. "Gee, if it wasn't for all the mountains and trees here," she said, "we could still be in New Bedford. It doesn't look much different than home."

  "We're in a different state, Meg," Renee said, grinning, "not a different country."

  Megan's infectious smile and effervescent personality made her a favorite target for Renee's wit. Giggling, she said, "I know, Ren. I just expected it to look more— different, sorta."

  The girls had spoken to Arlene on her cell as they entered town and knew she was in the antique shop, so they had begun moving in that direction as they talked. They were halfway there when the front door opened and Arlene stepped out. The girls rushed excitedly to one another, hugging as they met.

  "I'm so glad you could come," Arlene said. "I need your help desperately."

  "What's the big emergency?" Renee asked. "On the phone yesterday you made it sound like the world is going to end— today."

  "For someone it might," Arlene said.

  "Now what does that mean?" Erin asked.

  "Let's go inside. We can't talk about it out here."

  Entering the shop first, Arlene turned in time to see the eyes of each of her friends widen as they took in the contents of the shop.

  "Wow," Megan said, speaking first. "Look at this place. It's wonderful."

  "It's awesome," Renee said.

  "I could spend a week shopping in here," Erin said. "Or maybe a month."

  "Later," Arlene said. "Right now there's work to do. Let me introduce Oculara," she said as the fifteen-year-old approached them. "Oculara, these are my friends. This is Megan, Erin, and Renee."

  "I'm very pleased to meet all of you," Oculara said. "I've been reading about you."

  "About us?" Renee asked a little warily.

  "In Madam Arlene's book. Madam Elana lent me her copy last night. I stayed up reading until I couldn't possibly keep my eyes open anymore. Imagine going back through time and living a lifetime as someone else. I admire you all so much."

  "You told them about that book of yours?" Erin said to Arlene in an accusing tone.

  "No," Arlene said, "Madam Elana already knew about the book and guessed the rest after we met. Don't worry. We're among friends and kindred spirits here. They won't be spreading the word about our past life."

  "I'm sorry if I've upset you," Oculara said nervously.

  "It's alright, Oculara," Megan said. "We're not upset. It was just a bit of a shock. Except for our immediate families, who don't believe it anyway, we've never told anyone what happened to us. And no one has ever guessed before."

  "Did you just refer to her as Madam Arlene?" Renee asked Oculara.

  "Of course."

  "I'll explain later, Ren," Arlene said as several women entered the shop. "Oculara, we'll be downstairs for a while."

  "Very good, Madam Arlene," she said as she turned to greet the new shoppers.

  As the three young women stepped into the library and saw the bookshelves filled to capacity, their eyes widened. "My God, Ar," Erin said, "what is this? The town library?"

  "Most of these books are religious in nature and were written by theologians and religious scholars. I would hazard a guess and say that this is perhaps the most complete library on the occult and demonology in the entire United States. For the past eleven years, Madam Elana has been on a one-person crusade to acquire every book she could afford on the subject. This collection represents a veritable fortune in rare books."

  "Is that why this place is built like a bank vault?" Erin asked.

  "Yes. And it's where we'll be working for the next few weeks."

  "Uh oh," Renee said, "I'm starting to get that funny feeling again."

  "Why did that girl upstairs refer to you as Madam Arlene?" Megan asked.

  "These people use the title Madam as a sign of respect for those with superior paranormal powers."

  "These people?" Erin said questioningly.

  "They're witches."

  "Witches?" Megan echoed.

  "Not evil witches," Arlene said quickly. "They're Wicca. But they've tampered with forces they didn't understand, and as a result they've created a tremendous mess they can't resolve alone."

  "What sort of mess?" Renee asked.

  "Let's go into the reading room," Arlene said. Once they had taken seats at the table, Arlene said, "They've— released a demon from the Underworld— one that's gone on a killing rampage now that he's free."

  "What?" Erin said loudly.

  "They were trying to contact a spirit from the immortal world, as we've done in séances, but they misunderstood the meaning of the spell they cast. It wasn't intended to contact someone in the immortal world but rather to free a specific demon from the Underworld."

  "Oh my God!" Renee said. "No, wait a minute! Didn't you once tell us it's impossible to escape the Underworld once you've been pulled in?"

  "Apparently it's impossible to escape— but one can be freed by a mortal with the knowledge to accomplish it."

  "And you say this demon is killing people?" Erin asked. "Is that why you said 'For someone it might'?"

  "Simona, the woman in my dreams, is believed to have been the first. She was a member of the coven that released the demon. Since then, for the past eleven years, the demon has been on a killing rampage. Nobody knows how many other victims there have been because the demon kills by directly influencing innocent people to commit the act. By the way, the girl upstairs— Oculara— is Simona's daughter."

  "And you want to get mixed up in this?" Renee asked.

  "No, I don't. But they need help— my help. If this demon isn't banished back to the Underworld, he'll be able to continue his killing spree until all the coven members involved in freeing him die of old age."

  "How can we help?" Erin asked. "We don't have your power to see and communicate with spirits."

  "Apparently this isn't the first time a demon has been freed from the Underworld. Madam Elana has found references to at least two other instances. Our first priority is to read through these books, looking for anything of relevance to those or other instances. We must find a way to banish the demon."

  "There must be thousands of books here," Renee said. "It will take forever."

  "It's a formidable task," Arlene said. "And— I haven't told you the worst part yet."

  "You mean there's something worse than a demon that's going around killing innocent people?" Erin asked.

  "No, not worse than that," Arlene said. "I was referring to the reading chore ahead of us. The books aren't all written in English."

  "Not English?" Megan asked.

  "Well, some are, but we'll leave those to Madam Elana and the members of her coven. We should concentrate on the books written in Latin, Greek, Italian, Spanish, French, and German."

  "I don't know, Ar," Renee said. "My Latin was never very good. Neither was my Greek for that matter. It's been probably ei
ghty years since I used any French and even longer for Italian, Spanish, or German."

  "Our other selves were all educated in those six languages, and I'm sure we still have those memories. They'll come back to us, and we'll help each other as much as we can. Erin, you were always best in Latin, so why don't you concentrate on those books. Renee can take on the Italian books while Megan takes the French texts. I'll tackle the Greek books. Whoever finishes their group first can start on the Spanish or German texts. That will just leave the Egyptian and Asian books. We'll need to find someone who can help us there if we can't find an answer in the others."

  "This is impossible," Erin said. "We have to return to school at the end of August you know."

  "I know, but perhaps we'll find the answer quickly, and then the coven can perform their role in all this."

  "Perhaps we should hold a séance," Megan suggested.

  "A séance?" Arlene said with surprise. "You always hated our séances."

  "Yes, I did, but only because the spirits kept using me as a medium. I've never remembered anything that occurred afterwards."

  "What possible good would a séance do?" Erin asked. "The spirits never really gave us any useful information. Everything was recondite and steeped in ambiguity."

  "Arlene once said that the soul remembers every single detail of anything that's ever happened to it, regardless of how insignificant," Megan said. "If so, their memories of their lessons from school will be stronger than the memories we have of their studies."

  "What of it?" Renee said.

  "Maybe the spirits of the girls we replaced could refresh our memories in the languages they studied like they did with personal information in the past. They owe us, don't they?"

  "But those were different bodies," Erin said. "Their brains already contained the memories of everything the girls had learned."

  "Our souls merged with their bodies, so we must have brought all those memories back with us. Right?"