“Of course,” Bea said, looking startled. “Haven’t you?”
“No,” I said a little bitterly. “I mean, not a real one. Your grandmother insists I have to practice without ‘cheating,’” I said, rolling my eyes. Bea giggled as I unwrapped the spirit board and its planchette, and set them carefully on the bench. “But I’ve read about them. Should we do it together?” I asked her. “Two spirit witches are better than one, right?”
Bea smiled, and we took our places on the bench, sitting cross-leggedon either side of it, and placing our fingertips lightly on the planchette. I had a vague memory of doing this once at a sleepover with Poe using a novelty Ouija board, but we’d giggled and cheated too much to even scare ourselves. Now I wondered, if we’d taken it seriously, would my latent magical abilities have turned an innocent sleepover into a terrifying paranormal experience?
For the second time, a frigid breeze sent shivers shooting down my spine. If Jess Ballard really was here, she was getting impatient.
“Okay, okay,” I muttered. “Chill out.”
Bea knelt on the opposite side of the bench, and together we placed the tips of our fingers on the planchette. Instantly, a hum of energy, almost like electricity, buzzed beneath the pads of my fingers.
“Whoa,” I muttered. “Do you feel that?”
“Yeah,” Bea said, her eyes widening. “I told you she really needed to talk to you.”
Feeling jumpy now, I tried to channel my energy into concentration. I closed my eyes, and at once the planchette began to move. My eyes flew open. The planchette was whizzing around the board so quickly I couldn’t register the letters.
“Hey!” I shouted. “You have to calm down! I can’t help you if I can’t understand what you’re saying!”
At once the planchette squeaked to a stop. It was still vibrating with energy, but it didn’t move again. I could have sworn I heard an exasperated sigh somewhere near my left ear.
“Thank you,” I said. “Now, please tell me who you are.”
Bea opened her mouth, but I shook my head at her. I might be relatively new to witchcraft in general, but I knew enough to know that establishing the identity of the spirit speaking to us was crucial. There were much darker entities with a vested interest in me, and I wasn’t about to be tricked into trusting one.
The planchette moved slowly and deliberately across the board: J-E-S-S-B-A-L-L-A-R-D.
“Okay, Jess. I’m sorry, but I need to make sure. You came to Sedgwick Cove to pass something along to me. What was it?”
The planchette jerked to life again: G-R-I-M-O-I-R-E.
I sighed with relief. At least now I could be sure of who we were talking to.
“Thanks, Jess. Okay, now, what is it you need from me?”
M-Y-B-O-D-Y
I blinked down at the words. “I… I’m sorry, Jess, but I’m not sure your body will do you much good now. You’re dead.”
N-O-T-D-E-A-D
Bea and I looked at each other, her sad expression mirroring my own. Xiomara had warned me that spirits were often confused about where they were and what had happened to them. Apparently Jess didn’t realize that she was dead, or at least she didn’t want to accept it.
“Jess, I’m really sorry, I’m sure this is hard for you, but?—
The planchette started whizzing over the board again, and this time I had to concentrate to catch all the letters.
N-O-T-D-E-A-D
N-E-E-D-T-O-R-E-J-O-I-N-M-Y-B-O-D-Y
I stared at the words, my heart speeding up.
R-U-N-N-I-N-G-O-U-T-O-F-T-I-M-E
“I… I still don’t understand what you mean,” I said. “Even if we brought you back to your body, what good would it do?”
L-E-T-M-E-E-X-P-L-A-I-N
