Sorry its taken so long to update! I've been really busy lately. A lot is revealed in this chapter and it sort of takes a very unbelievable turn but then again, it is about ghosts so how believable was it in the first place? I hope you all enjoy this!

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

The Attacker

She must have stood for a full two minutes before the sound of the phone ringing continuously reminded her that the only effective way to make it stop would be to answer it. Leaving Kai's office without a backwards glance, she went into a quick run to make it to the reception's phone before it stopped ringing. She leaned over the desk rather than running around it, saving her about ten seconds.

"Good afternoon. Paranormal Psychiatrists. Hilary speaking, how may I help you?"

Static began to scream in her ear so loudly she had to take the phone away until it calmed down into a slight crackle that was unnerving even in daylight. In the midst of the white noise she could hear voices calling her name. It sent a chill run the up the length of her spine and then back down again. Then, as if some one had been tuning the caller's voice like it was a radio station, Hilary could hear her clear as day.

Mariah sounded scared. Very scared. Almost hysterical. "Hilary? Hilary, please say you're there!"

"I am," she replied, noticing that her voice was wavering and feeling scared herself. Mariah wasn't the type of person to lose her cool easily. "What's wrong? You sound terrified!"

There was an increase in static and Hilary struggled to hear what was being said. She tried to tune her hearing but she could only catch every other word. Grabbing a pen and the closest thing she could reach to write on – an old newspaper – she began to scribble down every word she could make out. 'Surrounded', 'ghosts', 'unstoppable' and 'dead' were the only things she could understand clearly and none of them made her feel any less uneasy.

"Mariah?" She tried but there was only crackles on the other end. "Talk to me! Where are you?"

"...Help...us!" Hilary could hear. Suddenly all other noises stopped as Mariah screamed, "Kai, get Kai!"

Hilary was about to when the phone went completely silent. The whole room did, except for the sound of her breathing, which had gotten steadily harder, panting. The room began to darken from the floorboards up, going towards her, intending on taking her light too. Her eyes widened as shadows began to dance on the walls, distorting from a desk to something she couldn't make out and then back again. Her own shadow was elongating, creeping towards the approaching darkness.

Time seemed to stop as a voice sounded on the phone and it wasn't Mariah's or anyone else's that she knew. "It's coming..." The voice was an unearthly hiss, like whoever was speaking was being tormented by something that had been doing so for a very,very long time. It caused Hilary's feet to become rooted to the spot not matter how hard she tried to move them.

Deciding that if she was unable to move, she could at least scream, Hilary did so. She screamed for Kai as loudly as she could, over and over again. She kept screaming even when Kai, Max and Kenny were around her. When she felt arms, shaking her out of the hysteria she was feeling, she opened her eyes to find that everything was back to normal. There as no darkness, no weird shadows and her feet were so free had she taken ballet classes as a child she could have done pointe. Immediately she felt silly. She had no reason to but she did. Had the boys come in when it had gone dark and there were still strange goings on on the telephone that would probably have been different. Now, she would have to try and explain what had happened without the help of paranormal phenomenon and risk sounding like she should be admitted to the nearest asylum.

"I think there's something wrong with the others. I just got a call from Mariah there, but there was a whole lot of other noises and she sounded really freaked. Here, I wrote down some of the things I could make out. Everything else was drowned out by, like, white noise or something." She handed the newspaper tearing to Kai who studied it carefully, allowing his eyes to widen only a fraction but enough to tell Hilary he was slightly alarmed. "But then the room started to get dark and the shadows were getting really messed up. It all went silent on the phone and a voice said 'its coming'. Then I couldn't move my feet so I started yelling for you guys."

Kai took the phone from her and listened in. The line was dead. He hung up and used the last call button on the phone and found it was Mariah's cell. He redialed and felt his stomach lurched when he was told the number was out of service.

"It could be a prank..." Max suggested half heartedly.

As Kai tried all the other cell phones, Kenny replied, "but that doesn't explain the darkness Hilary said she saw. Or the fact that when we came in she couldn't move at all."

"I think something's up," Kai said as he replaced the phone on the receiver. "All of their phones are out of service." No one said anything as Kai folded his arms, a clear sign he was thinking up a plan. At times like this, it was better to leave their leader undisturbed. After a moment or two, Kai spoke again. "Okay. Here's what we're going to do. Max, Hilary and I will on go on with business as planned. This could be something to do with what happened to Ming Ming and if that is the case then we have to pretend like we're not phased by it. In the meantime, Kenny will try and contact Tala and company's parents or anyone else they might have been in touch with since they left. As soon as you find out something, let me know. I don't care if I'm in the middle of seeing a client, just let me know. And Hilary, if the phone rings again immediately redirect it into my office."

"But your clients-"

"Can wait. Your safety is more important to me than wether a ghost can get to the afterlife before Big Brother comes on." Despite the circumstances Hilary felt a flush of pleasure. Kai either didn't notice or chose not to. "I don't know exactly what happened but my gut feeling tells me it was some kind of attack and it was our friends who were caught in the middle of it. I guess you're not even safe when you're away from me."

There was something in Kai's voice that made Hilary reach out for his hand. It was like sadness, only more wry. "How can we find out who's behind all this? I mean, things are getting more and more serious. Ming Ming's not leaving her room or trying to communicate with anyone in any way and we're being targeted too." She bit her lip uncertainly. There was something else she wanted to add but wasn't sure it was wise to. Then she thought fuck it. "And don't you think its strange that as soon as Garnet, Tala etcetera left, we're having clients calling left right and center? I mean, we're fully booked for the next week and for the foreseeable future. I mean, I've booked some appointments three weeks in advance!"

"I sort of didn't want to say anything, but I was thinking that too," Max admitted with a nervous chuckle in Kai's direction. Kai was still pretty sensitive about them leaving and he wasn't sure what he was going to make of their opinions. He actually wasn't sure of anything when it came to Kai now. He gave his boss a wavering smile that disappeared when Kai didn't return it.

Kai folded his arms and looked from Max to Hilary and then to Max again. "Do you think that they were keeping our business away? That they were deliberately vandalising our income?"

"Indirectly, Kai," Kenny said. "It could be tied in with Ming Ming and the phonecall or it could be coincidence." Kai made to interject but Kenny cut him off. "No, Kai. You have to understand that we have opinions too and it just to happens they're pretty logical. It's a very realistic idea that our attacker put a vex on one of them so that so long as they were in the building we wouldn't have clients. You know its possible. It wouldn't be the first time something like that's happened to a business. How else do you think big company's go out of business so quickly?"

Kai folded his arms, a sure sign that he knew they were talking sense that he just didn't want to listen to. Max looked at him hopefully and he found himself looking at the heavens. "Fine. I guess you could be right and it would make sense." He became aware of their skeptical looks and rolled his eyes. "Okay, so it's a very likely possibility that you're all right but that doesn't change the fact that we still don't know who's doing it. I mean, these are very complex spells and hexes. It would take an experienced practitioner to be able to carry them out as effectively as they've been." He contemplated this for a few seconds and got nowhere. "I suppose its doesn't matter. It would be next to impossible to point out a magic user from an ordinary person. Let's just stick to the plan and hope for the best. Lunch is almost over anyway so our next load of clients are going to be coming in. To recap: Max sticks to his appointments; Kenny tried to find out who our friends might have been in contact with and any information; Hilary stays at reception and directs any phonecalls to my line. Is everyone clear?"

"Yeah..." They all replied halfheartedly.

Kai sensed that they weren't too happy with his commands but what could he do? The answer was simple. Nothing. They had no leads at all. There was nothing he could think of to do but sit and wait for the next attack and hope that one, he was ready for it and two, the conjurer decided to finally launch his tricks at his direction. If it meant that it kept his friends out of danger it was a small price to pay. He frowned. If only there was some way he could prepare but how can you face a demon when you don't know what it is? If only he did. How he'd love to come face to face with the bastard and introduce him to his fists. Ten or twenty times.

Whoever it was was a coward. He at least knew one thin about him. Instead of settling their problems face to face he fought like a dirty dog, hiding in the shadows and taking out his friends first. Well, maybe Ming Ming wasn't exactly a friend but she was still partly a victim, even if she had intended on sacrificing him for the sake of her good looks or whatever it had been. The real problem he had was that there was no one that sprung to mind that he had crossed so badly that they would want to hurt him. Of course, there was always relatives of Craig East but as far as he was aware, as soon as the drug allegations and attempted murder had come into the light, they had severed all ties with him, or what was left of him anyway. That left with no one. Sure, he'd had the odd disagreement with people but never something so sever that they had claimed revenge on him. In fact, the only person that had was six feet under. He felt frustrated.

Inside his office his mood wasn't lightened any. He knew he should be grateful that he was still in a job but his mind just wasn't on his clients. What had happened to Hilary had scared him. She'd described a tradition haunting of a poltergeist, only ten times more powerful. But why would a poltergeist suddenly haunt them? They hadn't even encountered any entities with that kind of rage lately, so how could a poltergeist become attached to them? This was a mystery that was becoming more and more complex. He couldn't piece together how the phonecall that Mariah had made had caused Hilary to be attacked. Even angry spirits have their boundaries. They couldn't jump from Mariah to Hilary in the space of two seconds for no reason. Well, Kai supposed that they could but it was highly unlikely. If they had been targeting one person it was unheard of them to just jump to another for the hell of it. He doubted he'd ever been stuck in a hole as deep as this one before.

The phone on his desk rang and he jumped. He hadn't expected to be disturbed so soon. He was slightly apprehensive about which of his friends was calling him. If it was Kenny, it could either be good or bad news. If it was Hilary, it was more than likely he'd have to brace himself for some sort of attack.

He lifted the receiver and raised it to his ear. Hilary was talking. "Your grandfather's come to see you. Can I remind you you have several clients coming in to see you this afternoon?"

Kai hesitated. Then, "Cancel all my appointments."

"But Kai!"

"Do it."

Hilary sighed. "If you're sure."

It didn't take long for Voltaire to walk smugly into his office and immediately begin to examine the various items around it, particularly the broken photoframe in his bin. He didn't comment but raised his eyebrows in interest and then moved on. Kai watched him closely as he stalked around his room like a lion hunting its prey and at that moment he felt like the gazelle. The older man's cold eyes settle on Kai's and they stared at each other. It had been a common battle of wills when Kai ahd been much younger. After an argument they'd have a staring contest, which Voltaire would generally always win. There was something about the hate in his eyes that Kai found hard to look at. Probably because it was directed at him. Once again, he allowed his grandfather to win by looking away.

Voltaire smirked. "It appears there's been mutiny on the bounty, eh Kai? Tell me, where's the beautiful Garnet Granger today and her sidekick? Why is it that you're fiancé is having to hold the court now?" He chuckled as Kai narrowed his eyes, knowing that he'd hit a soft spot.

Whatever business Voltaire had in town he obviously hadn't been able to resolve it yet. Why else would Kai have the pleasure of this visit? "A little disagreement. Nothing that won't resolve itself."

His grandfather didn't say anything back but looked smug. Kai knew instantly what that look meant. Voltaire knew more than he was letting on. "Is there a reason why you're darkening my doorstep again after only being here yesterday?"

Voltaire raised an amused eyebrow. "I was just curious as to how you're getting on. I also have a question for you. Have you ever heard of a book called 'The Book of Hecate'?"

Kai sat back in his chair slightly. The Book of Hecate was the infamous black magic book used by the ancient witch herself. It apparently held all sorts of forbidden magic with spells that even the most powerful of witches would struggle with. It had been deemed so dangerous that ancient Wiccan covens had hid the book somewhere where no one would be able to find it and then allowed the memory to die with their members. How the hell did Voltaire know about it?

"It's a black magic book."

"Right," Voltaire smiled sarcastically as he mimicked Kai's words. "'It's a black magic book'. For centuries its been lost, the whereabouts forgotten with the witch coven who tried to hide it. It's rumored that this book holds the most powerful spells known to witchcraft, so powerful only a select few have the means to control them. It's said that Hecate herself wrote them during her reign. Of course, and this is the part most people don't know, Hecate almost went mad with the power she had created and foresaw the end of the world she'd created should it fall into the wrong hands so, she being as wise as she was, entrusted it into the hands of her most devoted of followers."

"I don't need the history lesson, Voltaire. I know the book's whereabouts have never been discovered and just for the record I have no interest in where it may lie. I'm a Goddamn psychiatrist, not a sorcerer."

Voltaire chuckled. "I'm not asking you where the book is. You see, Hecate overlooked one thing when she entrusted her secret. She overlooked man's desire for power. One of her followers wanted the power for his own. However, he knew that he would never be able to wield it so long as his brethren lived. So, in his will to the next generation, he left the book's hiding place encrypted in a map so that one day, when Hecate's coven was good and dead, one of his descendants would be able to find the book and have so much power his name would go down in history. Maybe not his exact name, but certainly his family name: Hiwatari."

The shock of this news made Kai get to his feet, backing against the chair. Voltaire's smile turned malicious as he watched his grandson's shock unfurl. Of course Kai had probably thought the book was a myth; a legend spread by Wiccan who dream of more than just being able to float bodies at slumber parties. He didn't know just how real this really was. He also didn't know what it meant to Kai; what it meant to his future. Or, more to the point, lack of.

"You...You don't mean to say you've got this book?" Kai demanded, slamming his fists down on the desk.

There was a scream from the reception but before Kai had a chance to react Voltaire had aimed a gun directly at his forehead, finger on the trigger and ready to pull. "Sit down, Kai," the older man said calmly with a tinge of amusement in his voice: he was enjoying himself. "That was the sound of your fiancé screaming and so long as you behave she won't have any reason to scream again."

Reluctantly he did so, glaring at Voltaire with real fury. His mind was racing to find a way out of this situation but it was coming up with a blank. If Voltaire said he'd hurt Hilary if he tried anything Kai didn't doubt he would. The only thing he could think on to do was to stall and maybe allow himself to think of a plan. "It's been you the whole time, hasn't it? It was you who cast the spell on Ming Ming."

"It was her own fault. She brought it on herself. She came to me for funding while she tried to finance her ridiculous pop career. She promised me that she would endorse Hiwatari products for the rest of her life, should she succeed and did she?" Kai didn't need to answer. "No. She dropped me like I was a burning ladle. A little taste of fame and she was hooked, like a pathetic heroin addict. She came into my office, all designer clothes and spoiled brat attitude. It seemed that being worshiped like an idol had gone to her head. She told me that she no longer needed my services. I let her go. You see, as soon as she betrayed me I saw the chance of a lifetime. I saw my chance for revenge.

"Even before she was discovered, Ming Ming was always self obsessed. Constantly looking in a mirror, checking her appearance and making sure she was still beautiful. So, I decided that I would use her the way she used me. First, however, I would need to find a way to control her, manipulate something she adored more than anything. I looked at her family, but I could see nothing compared to her face. Not even her own mother was cared for more than she cared for her beauty. That's when I knew what to do. I'd heard Mariah had dabbled in magic once or twice and I saw the opportunity. I began to pour myself over magic books. It became my obsession. I began to practice and very soon I was saying spells in my sleep. Don't forget, spell casting is in our blood."

Kai nodded. "That would explain Mariah's natural ability."

Agreeing, Voltaire nodded too. "It would indeed, and mine too. The day came when I finally saw what I needed. It was a hex spell. A spell one casts on a reflective item to steal one's soul and, as I'm sure you figured out, a person without a soul isn't very pretty. Enter Ming Ming. I watched her as she bought my hex from an antique's shop and soon after she stopped leaving her house. Enter me, now. I made her an offer she couldn't refuse. I told her to get you and I would give her back her beauty. She agreed right away. Now, I had to make sure you would devote all your attention to her. So, I cast a little spell over your building. Well, the people inside it. So long as certain people remained under your roof, client's would remember something they needed to do everything they called, or approached your pathetic little business." Kai's breath hitched in his throat at this point. So Hilary, Max and Kenny had been right. He'd been a fool not to have seen it before. "I thought you'd make the connection but luckily you had too much going on that you didn't even consider magic as the cause for one second. I knew that pretty soon you'd be desperate and accept any client you could get. Which is where Ming Ming came in. She was assigned to mess with you and your friends, to stir up some trouble. And, if I'm not mistaken, she did.

"I knew that sooner or later you'd be able to find out the solution to the problem and I told Ming Ming to make sure you were with her but, just as I hoped, she screwed up. I knew that, by your nature you'd be suspicious and you'd send one of your subordinates, not knowing what you were getting them into."

Kai's eyes opened in realisation. "That's why you came here yesterday. You wanted to make sure everything went according to plan."

"Yes. You see, I didn't trust Ming Ming's acting skills and I wanted you to be suspicious of her. That meant you would be reluctant to help your friend when there was really nothing to be worried about. I knew that some one wouldn't be happy about that and it would be the last straw from the attitude I knew you'd been having with your friends."

"How do you know about that?"

Voltaire gave a condescending look normally spared for young children. "I had people watching, of course. In short, some of your friends left, leaving them free for me to attack. And this is where The Book of Hecate comes in. My interest in magic, especially the dark arts, led me to crave more. I wanted more power and the only way I could get it was to search for the legendary book. After hunting for almost a year I had almost given up until I stumbled across it when I was searching through some of our history. A map, actually. A map encoded with an ancient Latin protection spell which I easily broke. It didn't take me long until I found the book and as soon as I had it in my hands I could feel the power it wielded.

"I saw some interesting things in that book but there were two that really caught my eye. One was a spell to bring back the dead. Of course, I had no intention of using it but I had every intention on manipulating its promise. I'd previously searched for a collection of ghosts who would be desperate for another chance to live and I found them. I enticed them with the promise that they would reborn if they carried out my orders. A grand haunting! I set them after your AWOL friends and when they got in touch with you I set them on Hilary."

"And the point in that was...?" Kai asked, angrily.

"To have some fun. I never did keep my end of the bargain, however. I exorcised every one of them when they went to claim their reward."

Kai shook his head. "You've gone to all these lengths. I'm assuming you've got a bigger plan, right? Or are you just going to kill me now?"

Voltaire laced his fingers under his chin and looked at Kai. His grin had turned into a sneer, a sneer Kai hated as much as he hated the man himself. The sneer had always meant bad news. "That leads me into the interesting spell number two, buts lets keep the suspense rolling. I'm not going to kill you Kai. At least," he sniggered, "not yet." He motioned an upwards movement with the gun. "Get up. I want you to walk out of this office and to remember that I have a gun at your head and so will Hilary."

Clenching his fists, Kai did as he was told. Voltaire followed at his back. In the foyer, he was immediately grabbed by two men in black uniforms and saw Hilary was being held in much the same way, though her mouth had been gagged and she looked scared. Not for herself but for him. He didn't doubt that her captors had been indulging her in a little bit of what Voltaire had planned for him. Without warning, he felt a needle being pushed into his skin and withing seconds he'd lost consciousness.


Please review!

jellybean-kitty