Chapter 3
Chapter Three
KENNEDY
“This isn’t the proper place to do this,” an unfamiliar voice says. “And we can’t summon someone we know nothing about.”
“Has anyone tried to look her up online?” Another voice chimes in. “Maybe there was an accident outside of town we never heard about.”
A third voice speaks. “Look her up how? By her first name and the word “dead”? And what even brought her to Shadow Hills? Some unfinished business maybe?”
“That’s not how ghosts work, Simone,” the first voice says. “That’s all from the movies. Ghosts tend to end up in the place they felt the safest in life—where they called home. Then, they either choose to stay or move on from this plane based on their personal wishes.”
I try to make sense of the conversation being had around me, but I can’t seem to figure out where it’s coming from.
I thought I finally had a solid grip on reality, having finally made physical contact with another person, but I must have celebrated too soon.
Without realizing, I slipped away again, only to hover somewhere in-between, hearing their voices but not being able to see them.
I focus with all my might, begging the familiar cafe to come back to me.
I squeeze my eyes shut and clench my fists.
Please, please, please.
When I open my eyes, I scream. A young, Black woman with tight curls appears right in front of my face, and I seem to have scared her just as much. She jumps back, mouth wide, and hands pressed to her cheeks just like the kid from Home Alone.
“Holy shit!” She exclaims.
Kiki’s excited trill comes from behind me, and I turn to see her pointing animatedly at me. “That’s her!”
In front of me are three women: a thin, almost model-type with thick wavy black hair, a shorter, more petite woman with similar hair cut to her shoulders, and the lady still wearing the Macaulay Culkin face, only her mouth is now closed.
The woman in the middle with the short, dark hair takes a tentative step toward me. “Hello. Are you Kennedy?”
I nod as I continue to absorb the scene unfolding before me. I’m back in the cafe, only I have a bigger audience. I turn to Kiki. “How long was I gone?”
The cafe owner glances at the clock on the wall. “About twenty minutes, I’d say.”
The newcomers are staring vexedly, waiting for me to make a move. “Are you the witches?” I ask them.
The one who greeted me takes a shy step back while the other two awkwardly raise their hands. “We are,” the tall one admits.
I rush to her and take her hands, elated that I’m still able to touch someone, but she pulls a face. She clearly isn’t the physical affection type, but I can’t help myself.
“If I disappear again, I need you to perform a seance,” I tell her, exasperated. “Right now, I can’t stay in one place more than a few minutes at a time, but you should be able to ground me. Can you help?”
Her eyes narrow as she frowns. “How do you know so much about witches?”
I didn’t expect to have to divulge so much about myself so soon, but I guess there’s no better time than the present. Especially if I want their help.
Letting go of the striking woman’s hands, I take a deep breath. “My childhood friend. Her mother was a witch.”
She and the others exchange expressions I can’t decipher—they’re either intrigued or confused.
Again, the short-haired woman is the one to speak up. “I don’t mean to pry, but did you ever live in Shadow Hills?”
I frown. “It’s where I grew up. We moved away when I was twelve.”
It’s a memory I don’t like reflecting on, but paranormal towns are rare, so they probably would have put it together eventually.
The other woman relaxes, and I see sympathy in her eyes. “We can help you.”
I give her a slow smile and release a heavy sigh. “Thank you…”
“It’s Calliope,” she says, finally providing her name. She then addresses the second witch. “This will be a good lesson for you, Simone. Communicating with spirits who are either lost or don’t wish to remain on our plane is a difficult practice, but useful.”
“Clearly,” Simone jokes, gesturing toward me.
“What do we do first?” I ask, eager to get started. The sooner these witches perform whatever spell necessary to hold me here, the sooner I can stop feeling like the floor is about to give out from under me.
Calliope fumbles for an answer as she bites her bottom lip. “Given that you’re actually here, I’m not sure.”
My heart sinks. “What does that mean?”
Simone looks just as curious.
Calliope’s voice raises an octave, as if trying to reassure me that she knows what she’s doing. “I know the spell to anchor a spirit,” she starts, “the thing is, it’s part of a summoning spell, and without the summoning part, I’m not sure how to perform it.”
“Can’t you look it up?” the other woman asks. So far, she seems to be the most sensible of the group, and I’m grateful for her willingness to ask all the right questions.
“Umm, yeah.” Calliope pulls out her phone from the back pocket of her jeans and begins searching. “Let me just…there should be a digital copy of the handbook somewhere to download…but maybe, no that’s not it…”
As she continues mumbling to herself, my favorite of the group finally introduces herself. “I’m Raegan, by the way.” She gives me a comforting smile that crinkles the corners of her eyes. “I’m sorry this is happening to you.”
I dip my head in thanks, but I can’t bring myself to say anything.
Simone is watching Calliope frantically continue scrolling, but after a few minutes she turns to Raegan. “Can’t we just ask your mom?”
“Ah-ha!” Calliope’s joyous cry fills me with true hope, only before I can hear what she found, I feel myself slipping.
The only thing I can make out as I’m pulled once again into the dark abyss is Simone’s sarcastic comment. “Welp, that solves that problem.”