Page 35 of Haunting Phantom
“You could’ve asked nicely,”I grump, folding my arms in annoyance.
She blinks a few times before she smirks.“Now where’s the fun in that?”
She suddenly appears inside the circle, switching off her bitch mode as she stares down at the board with a solemn look in her eyes. There’s that lost look again, the one that looks like she’s spent years searching for a peace she’ll never find.
Her eyes lift for a few seconds, lingering on Drac, her entire spirit melting at his presence.
She tries to caress his face, but Autumn’s barrier protects him, and the woman he’s holding with all his might. I can see why. The second her eyes dart to Drac’s wife Amber, she changes, the features of her face arcing menacingly into a scowl as she bends down and attempts to connect with them.
Then the planchette jerks beneath their fingers, causing them all to gasp.
Phantom’s mouth moves, but no sound comes out. He looks over at Autumn, studying her face, gauging her reaction. But she’s in a trance, a voice filling her head.
“Pippa’s here,” Autumn whispers. “I think she’s just afraid.”
She closes her eyes again, her breath quickening. “I feel you here with us, Pippa. Your soul speaks to me. Let me be your voice. Speak to us.”
The planchette moves slowly, crawling to each letter before moving on to the next. The letters spell:HELLO
“That’s it? Hello? Come on, Pippa, you can do better than that.”
Her eyes snap my way, and I don’t like how she looks at me. Almost like she’s searing through my soul with her burning gaze.
Autumn’s voice is deeper now, hollow. Like she’s standing in a tunnel and shouting from the farthest side. Then her eyes darken, her voice strangled and possessed by another.
“Hello, Eddie,” she mumbles.
“Pippa?” Drac questions, looking nervously at Autumn who’s doing some weird rocking thing where her whole body swivels in place.
The planchette settles over the wordYES, then stops moving again.
“Hello, Eddie,” Autumn repeats, her eyes pinched shut like she’s in pain.
“Hello, Pippa,” he copies, only to swallow nervously. “Pippa, why are you here? What do you want?”
“You,” Autumn whispers. “Always you.”
Drac frowns, as does Amber. “Pippa, I’ve told you before, I love Amber, not—”
Autumn suddenly rips up to her feet. “YOU THINK I DON’T FUCKING KNOW THAT!” Her eyes are still closed, but she’s completely possessed by Pippa’s spirit.
Phantom’s brow etches into one of concern. “I’m gonna call this shit off if this fucking ghost doesn’t stop her shit.”
Then Autumn sits back down, returning to that strange rocking motion she was doing before.
“If you already knew that, then why did you want to talk?” Amber asks nervously.
Autumn smirks. “Isn’t it obvious, Amber? I wanted to talk to him, but he had to bring you.”
She settles down a bit, that depressing sag to her shoulders a dead giveaway. Pippa’s presence is smaller than I expected—quieter. She’s not as badass as everyone made her out to be. She honestly looks sad, like she’s incomplete and lost in the afterlife.
“I’m sorry,” Amber squeaks. “I—I can go.”
“No!” Drac demands. “You’re not going to let her come between us again. Whatever she has to say, she’ll say to both of us.”
Pippa doesn’t seem to like his answer, but instead of fighting them on it, she turns back to Autumn, focusing on getting in her head until that strange voice takes over, and she’s clutching her stomach like she’s getting sick. “I didn’t come here to fight,” Autumn informs them. “I came for something else…”
“For what?” Drac asks, clutching Amber’s hand so tight, I’m surprised he’s not breaking it.
