Chapter Three

"What," I shouted, "the hell are you talking about, Father Dom?"

Father Dom looked angry. "Susannah, don't swear!" he rebuked.

I'm so sure that swearing to a priest will land me in hell. But I figured after decades of doing good mediator work (OK, a bit more than a decade, plus I hadn't been all goody-goody; I'd kicked more than a coupla ghost butts. So sue me) will save me from burning in eternity.

Father Dominic had came here to told me that he'd talked to CeeCee about mediating, and how Jesse had convinced her to be exorcised, and that she was now coming to see me. Father Dom had thought that hiring CeeCee to help me discover about why I was stuck in the Ninth Dimension, aka the Shadowlands or the Void, would be very effective in helping me return to my body.

"Ms. Webb," Father D had said, "is a straight-A, professional researcher, who can find out the most obscure facts."

Yeah, thankyouverymuch for telling me. Like I didn't know that. I mean, CeeCee's my best friend in Carmel. But didn't he know that CeeCee is the type of scientific person who does not believe in things that she cannot see or can't be explained by science, thinks that people like me (ie. psychics, like her aunt Pru), are freaks. And I had learnt from past experiences never to tell CeeCee about the whole mediator thing. Even though she had made me tell her about the truth about Jesse, during the Winter Formal. I was kind of hoping she'd forget it.

But now looks like it's not a chance. Because a second later, I saw a glowing figure, with the aura of an angel (I think it's because CeeCee's an albino, but I'm not a racist. Wait, is albinism even a race? Or a congenital disease?), which turned out to be CeeCee.

"Suze!" She burst out, then rushed forward to hug me. I was still in my sweater and jeans set, plus my hair is in a ponytail. CeeCee really had to miss me a lot to hug me in my cashmere sweater (she's allergic to wool).

"Woah, miss me a lot, huh, Cee?" I said in a jokey voice. But my throat, for some reason, felt tight.

"I guess I need to get going. CeeCee, be back in twenty minutes, alright?" Father Dom said, following his rope back.

"OK." CeeCee wiped her eyes and sat down beside me on the floor of the long corridor. I was afraid that, if I entered any doors or went into the light, I would never had a chance to go back. Never see Jesse again.

"Tell me from the beginning," I said, looking straight into

CeeCee's eyes.

CeeCee Webb's point of view

It was after school. I was getting ready to go home (Adam was driving me) when a novice came and informed me that Father Dominic wants to see me. I went to his office and found him with Jesse.

"Um, can I be of assistance? " I asked, raising my eyebrow at Jesse.

"Sit down, Ms. Webb. What I am going to say may be somewhat shocking.

I sat down. Boy, was I glad I did.

"Susannah Simon is not a normal person. We—Susannah and me, Paul and Jesse—are gifted with the powers of mediation. Meaning that we can see, touch, and hear ghosts, time travel, and go to limbo anytime we want. The reason for Susannah's state of comatose with no medical explanation had something to do with mediation. But we have no idea what. So we are asking you to help us research on something to save Susannah."

Needless to say, I had not believed that. "Uh, Father D, are you on crack or something? Should I call the ambulance? I mean, see ghosts, time travel, and limbo? Are you from the mental hospital or something?"

Jesse just looked at me and said, "I have proof."

And then he took out the miniature Suze had shown me. The one about him. The one that I had once asked her about.

"Oh my god," I whispered. "That miniature…it's Hector de Silva's! It's painted more than a century ago. But you look exactly like him!"

"That," Jesse said, "is because of what Susannah did. I was murdered in her room. The body that she dug up last year was mine. She tried to make me live, so she travelled back in time and tried to save me. But she accidentally brought me back, and when my soul met my body, I became alive."

I remembered looking at Jesse, then thought of his miniature. They were indeed alike. So maybe there are things science cannot explain?

"Show me the proof. Let me see a ghost," I said.

"But," Father Dominic spluttered, "you're not a mediator!"

Jesse said calmly, "Father, I've got an idea. We can exorcise Ms. Webb here."

"I have a condition. What if I don't see any spirits, or worse still, ended up unconscious like Suze? You'll have to resign." I looked straight into Father Dom's eyes. I feel bad to be so bad, but, hey, ghosts? What happened to: it doesn't exist because there's no proof? I

mean, I'd seen my fair share of documentaries claiming that extraterrestrial beings, aka aliens, do exist. But it's just show trivial. I mean, come on.

"It's a date then," Jesse said. "Midnight, the Basilica."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Roger."

At midnight exactly, I was lying in the middle of a circle, surrounded by incense and candles. It felt a lot like Aunt Pru's house. But at least her incense were fragrant. A rope was tied around my waist, for Jesse to "pull" me from when half-an-hour was up. Father Dom had already went, and Jesse was reading the Latin incantations from Father Dom's black book.

It was pretty comfy, lying on choir robes. Suddenly, I could see through the Basilica. Pale stars twinkled at me, like, out of another universe. I was so freaked I sat up straight. "What's going on?" I asked. I was pretty sure I was going to die, or something.

"Well, go on. Climb into the hole." Jesse pointed at the hole in the dome of the Basilica.

I was climbing up when I looked down. And that's when I nearly fall back down again. Because I was having an out of body experience! I mean, astral projection or whatever. Jesse just pointed at his watch and said I'm running out of time. So, shocked, I climbed into this fog-filled place.

"Um, anybody there?" I asked. "Father Dominic?"

At once, someone appeared out of the fog. But It's not Father D. It's this gladiator guy, wearing the Roman crest helmet, with girdles and all.

"You," he said, "do not belong here."

"Look, Alexander," I said, "the mediator asked to me come here, OK? Just let me in."

Luckily, Father Dom called out to me in the fog. "Ms. Webb? Down the hall."

Which doesn't make things any clearer, 'cause I can't see no hall. Because of the fog.

Just as well that the gladiator let me through and the fog parted. Really. It was like Moses parting the red sea, or something. Surreal.

I walked down the corridor and saw Susannah. Father Dom was motioning to me to come to her.

"Suze!" I cried as I embraced her. "I miss you so much!"