Chapter 2 Ben #2
Ben filled Alessia in on the basics of what they had learned about Lila and the Mohawk since their previous conversation. When he finished, Alessia nodded.
“It sounds like we might have a shade instead of a full ghost. Haley could tell you for sure,” Alessia said.
“That would fit if she was involved with some sort of hedge witch spell that wasn’t crafted carefully.
Those things can have all sorts of untended consequences.
A shade doesn’t have the personality or memories of a full ghost, and some people believe that the soul is gone. ”
“What’s left?” Ben asked.
“It’s sort of like a photocopy of a picture,” Alessia replied.
“Faded, even if it’s recognizable. There’s debate about what kind of energy a shade has if not a soul.
Fortunately, we don’t have to solve that mystery to be able to break the spell.
If not, and the spirit remains, we can have Haley send her on, but I’m thinking we may be able to fix this before she gets here. ”
Erik wore the silver-threaded gloves as he opened the box, revealing the cup and saucer with the ship’s logo, a salt shaker, and a handful of old buttons.
Alessia closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, letting one hand hover, palm down and open, above the box without touching the pieces. Ben figured she was centering herself.
After a few minutes, she opened her eyes. Her look of concentration shifted to quiet anger.
“That is one of the most tangled-up messes of magic I’ve ever seen,” Alessia said. “Maybe she cobbled it together herself, but if some so-called witch gave it to her or cast it, they were a danger to everyone around them.”
“What can you sense?” Ben asked, intrigued but happy to keep a safe distance.
“Good spells are like poems or mathematical equations, in a way,” Alessia said. “No extra pieces. Clean, simple, straightforward.”
“I’m guessing Lila’s spell isn’t,” Erik said.
“Not even close,” Alessia replied. “It reminds me of the sort of nonsense I see in fantasy books where the spell isn’t meant to work.
She didn’t end up bespelling just herself.
Somehow it touched everything, but without enough power to actually save her or the ship.
This abomination worked just enough to trap her here, but not to actually protect her or anyone else. ”
“If it touched the whole ship, why aren’t there more ghosts?” Ben asked.
“Probably because Lila was the target of the spell. It was likely worded broadly and badly constructed. Sloppy magic makes for unintended consequences,” Alessia replied.
Ben felt quite sure that Alessia would have taken measures against the creator of the spell if it hadn’t happened so long ago.
“Can you break it?” Erik asked.
“That’s the good news. Yes. It’s so badly formed I’m surprised it lasted this long,” Alessia said.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Ben asked.
“Stay back from the circle, just in case,” she told them. Erik got up from the table and went to stand by Ben. “No matter what I say or do, don’t interrupt.”
Alessia scrutinized the open box, and then she stretched her hand out again to hover over it.
She murmured words Ben didn’t catch, and he felt the energy shift in the room.
The containment circle flared with a bright golden light and then dimmed.
The pieces in the box glowed blood-red and then purple before going dark.
“The air feels…lighter.” Ben was unsure of how to put what he sensed into words.
“That’s the energy shift of breaking the spell,” Alessia replied. “It would have been much stronger without the protective box and the wards.”
“Just in case, I’ll hand off what’s left to my contact in Charleston.” Erik still used the gloves as he closed the box.
“No harm in being careful, but the magic is broken,” Alessia assured them. “I don’t know if Lila was Cape May’s only ‘woman in white,’ but we have one fewer after tonight. And if the souls of the others onboard were affected, that should also release them.”
Ben hated to think about being trapped like that, and wrapped his arms around himself to suppress a shiver. Erik laid his hand on Ben’s shoulder, grounding and comforting him.
“Can I get you tea or a soda, or something with protein or sugar?” Ben knew how much Erik’s psychometry took out of him, and guessed the same might be true for Alessia.
“Yes, please,” Alessia replied. “Soda is fine.” Ben hurried to bring her a cola and peanut butter crackers. She polished them off quickly.
“Do you need more?” Ben asked. “We’ve got juice and cookies too.”
Alessia shook her head. “I’m okay. I’m just glad it worked, and it looks like we saved Haley the effort.”
“Thank you,” Erik told her. “When you’re up to it, there’s another piece in the safe that I would appreciate having you look at. We know it’s haunted, but I hadn’t really thought about having magic attached too. I want Haley to look at that one as well.”
Alessia looked intrigued. “What’s the story?”
Erik and Ben took turns filling her in about Peter Randolph. Considering the tale of a potentially malicious ghost, mobsters, and murder, Alessia seemed to take it in stride.
“Not the worst I’ve run into,” she said. “You really never have a dull day, do you?”
Erik frowned. “I knew when I bought the store that it had a mission as well as a market. It seemed like a good way to use my psychometry to make a difference. At the time, I thought it would be a lot safer than my old job. That part hasn’t exactly worked out the way I planned.”
Ben could almost see Alessia thinking about their revelations. “I’m not surprised you hit it off with Monty and Haley. This is all their jam.”
“We are happy for their help and yours,” Erik assured her.
Erik retrieved the haunted window from the safe, still in its protections. He put the box on the table where Alessia still sat within the salt circle. Erik used the silver-threaded gloves to unwrap the window in its box from the protective blanket. He opened the box, but didn’t remove the window.
Ben watched as Erik added more salt to the circle around the table for extra protection.
“I only did a superficial reading when the window came in. With you here for backup, I’d like to see if I can get more of a read on it with my psychometry, and then see what magic you pick up,” Erik said
“Sounds good,” Alessia replied. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, centering herself. Ben could usually see strong ghosts, but whatever energy tainted the window wasn’t something that was visible to him. That didn’t stop him from picking up really bad vibes.
They waited, and Ben tried not to fidget.
Erik took off the gloves and let his right hand hover above the window, palm down and fingers splayed. He didn’t touch anything. Ben split his attention between watching Erik for any sign of danger or distress and eyeing the window suspiciously in case its image moved.
“It’s old…and genuine Tiffany,” Erik replied. “I am getting glimpses of the workshop. No idea whether Tiffany himself worked on it. There’s a man. I don’t know who he is, but there’s a dark vibe about him and the book. It’s haunted, and I think there’s also magic involved.”
He paused, frowning. “I’m getting an image of a large stained glass ceiling dome. No context. I don’t know whether that’s coming from the window’s history or its last owner.”
Erik suddenly withdrew his hand as if he’d been burned and slammed the box shut.
Alessia’s face paled, and she recoiled. She made a gesture of warding. Ben and Erik exchanged a glance, silently agreeing that she had gotten even worse vibes from the window than Erik had. Erik put the gloves back on and hurried to wrap the box in the protective blanket.
“Are you okay?” Ben asked, worried.
Alessia nodded. “Yeah, but that was really dangerous. What did you two pick up from the window?”
“Seriously bad vibes,” Ben replied.
“A sense of evil.” Erik rejoined them. “I felt like something was reaching for me.” Erik had gone pale, and his eyes were wide. Ben knew the energy had to be truly evil to leave Erik shaken. “What did you see?” he asked Alessia.
“I’m not a medium, but I’m fairly certain it’s possessed by a malicious ghost,” Alessia said, seeming to slowly be regaining equanimity.
“It’s not spelled, of that I’m certain, but it does carry a strong resonance of magic.
I don’t know whether it’s the man you saw in the image or the prior owner or someone else, but I don’t think that can be cleansed by anything short of an exorcism, and maybe not even then.
When Haley arrives, you can ask her, but I’m afraid that one may be too much even for her. ”
Erik nodded. “Thank you. I suspected as much, but it’s good to verify. I didn’t buy it for resale. I bought it to pass off to an organization that will permanently store it on magical lockdown so it can’t ever hurt anyone again.”
Ben went to the fridge and came back with small bottles of orange juice for Alessia and Erik, which they accepted gratefully and knocked back like whiskey.
“I’m sorry about that,” Erik said after they had a few moments to collect themselves.
Ben went to answer a knock at the door and returned with Haley.
“Hey, everyone,” Haley greeted them. “Did you start the party without me?”
Erik shook his head. “A little, Alessia cleared a bad spell, so it was out of the way before you arrived, and we just read a new acquisition and confirmed it had seriously bad mojo. You can look at the other piece as well, but I’d rather not put you in danger.”
“Trust me on this one, Haley, leave it for someone else,” Alessia said.
“Okay then.” Haley seemed to accept Alessia’s advice without another thought. “You said there’s a ghost you wanted me to contact?” Haley poured herself a cup of coffee and sat at the table next to Alessia.
“Yes, if you can reach him,” Erik said.
“Tell me what you need, and I’ll make the connection if I can,” Haley replied.