The Psychic Within

Chapter 18: Speak

It was a stupid idea.

I stared into the one open eye that was carved into the centre of the spirit board. Its hollowed out iris made it seem like it was staring back. I pressed my lips together as I fought with myself.

Yeah, this really is a stupid idea, a frightened little voice whispered inside.

Hadn't I heard a million horror stories about playing with boards like this? Rumors and legends and movies that warned about playing with things you didn't understand. If you weren't careful, all the stories said, you could invite something in, something dark and evil and vicious.

And those dark, evil things were real. I knew that. I knew that well.

But I also knew that there were precautions you could take.

I broke the stare with the eye. My gaze travelled up, tracing over the walls to Luc's messy golden handwriting that hugged the edge of the ceiling. Without thinking, my hand went to the chain that hung heavy on my neck, the chain that held the Polly's strange little key. These things—these protections—had once been enough to repel the Beast. And if they could repel it...

Honestly, I couldn't think of anything more malicious than the Beast.

My attention fell to the board again. I pulled back more velvet, revealing more of the board's surface. It was old, well-worn, but so beautiful. The wood was deep and dark. I ran my fingers over it. It was smooth, almost soft. The edges of the carvings weren't harsh at all. A work of art.

It seemed so harmless lying there, bundled in velvet. It was so pretty, it should be hung on the wall.

This is a stupid idea, the scared little voice inside piped up again. You should really wait for Luc...

The thought of it made knots form in my stomach. I knew that even if I were to ask Luc for his help with the board, he would say no. He wouldn't want me involved. My hand clenched into a fist against the board. Luc... I was so sick of waiting around for him, waiting for someone else to provide the answers. Lock me in a tower, why don't you?

Now, sitting right in front of me—literally—I had the opportunity to find out for myself sitting right in front of me.

I glanced at the barrier again, and continued to gnaw at my lip.

Without risk, there is no reward.

Fuck it, I thought. I pushed back the velvet entirely, freeing the board. I'm already haunted.

Settling back onto the floor in front of the board, I crossed my legs. The nice thing about these were that they were pretty straight forward. You touched that little wedge thing and it moved across the board and pointed out the letters to make words. Easy-peasy. So, where was it?

I dragged its box over and shoved my arm inside. It was so large that my hand barely grazed the bottom. There was nothing. I skimmed along the sides, then even dumped it upside down. Only a dust bunny dropped out.

Damn!

Without the pointer, or wedge, or whatever, the board was as useless as the box it came in. It was probably packed away amongst Luc's other boxes, but in which one? There were so many...

Ugh! I flopped back on the floor. After all that, and I can't even use it. I wracked my brain, trying to figure out some alternative. It just needed to be something that could slide easily across the board. Something like—

There was a strange dull thud overhead. My head whipped up, staring at the ceiling. I lingered in place for a moment, wondering if I had heard it right, before I jumped up and ran up the stairs.