| ANN CHARLES | “Constable,” Prudence called to Cooper, bringing me back to the situation at hand—Doc lying on the couch and me cuddling an alchemist’s looking glass. “Move behind Violet so that you can see into the mirror as well.” Cooper joined Doc and my floor show, staring at me in the mirror. “I’d better not end up with another black eye from this, Parker.” I stuck my tongue out at him. He tugged on my hair. Some things never changed, whether there were ghosts and imps or not. “We’re ready,” I told Prudence while peering at Doc around the side of the mirror. His eyes were closed, his breathing slow and steady. I’d seen him slip into this state several times before the start of a séance. As for me, my chest felt tight and my eyes were on the verge of bugging out, so I tried to mimic Doc and take long, steady breaths. The smell of honeybuns still lingered this close to the couch, as well as Doc’s cologne. Together, they made my mouth water and remember happier times filled with all kinds of sugar. “Medium, listen to my words carefully as I lead you along,” Prudence said to Doc. “If you veer from my instructions even slightly during this process, we might not be able to rein you back in after we are finished here.” “What do you mean, ‘might not’?” I said to her while frowning at Cooper in the mirror. “This is too dangerous.” To the tall medium with his feet hanging off the end of the couch, I said, “Forget it, Doc. We’ll find another way.” I reached toward him. Zelda’s hand clamped onto my forearm, her fingernails biting into my skin, her grip bruising. I looked over. Her white eyes were inches from my face, her lips pulled back in a fierce snarl. “Do not touch him until he is ready, Scharfrichter, or you might lose him for good. Do you understand?” “Yes. Okay.” I pulled back. When she released her hold on me, there were half-moon fingernail marks dug deep into my skin. Two were bleeding a little. Criminy, Prudence was intense. “Are you ready, Medium?” I waited for Doc to nod or reply, but he did neither.
“Then we shall begin,” she continued, settling back into the chair. “He didn’t answer you,” I pointed out. “Yes, he did, only he spoke on a level above your abilities.” I sighed, keeping my fists to myself. But one of these days … Pow! Right in Prudence’s kisser. Cooper’s reflection was grinning at me. He appeared to be enjoying Prudence’s repeated jabs. “Let me get this straight,” I said to Prudence. “From here on out, only you will be able to communicate with Doc?” I didn’t like the sound of that one bit. “Precisely. Now, if you will stop this filibustering, I will show the medium what he needs to see.” “Yeah, Parker, zip it,” Cooper said, laughing under his breath. While waiting for Prudence to continue, I pointed my finger at Cooper in our reflection and pretended to shoot him.
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Issue 48 | July 2020 |
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