Disclaimer: All characters and anything you recognize belongs to the all-knowing and talented Meg Cabot so don't sue!!!
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews I got! I seriously didn't think that anyone would want to review this, but thanks sooooo much! Words cannot explain my happiness! =o) Here's chapter 5, hope this one's a little more interesting than the last (and longer)~!~
~*The Undoing of the Mediator*~
Chapter 5: The Book
That's how, twenty minutes later, I was riding in a car with Adam and CeeCee answering questions about why he was driving me twenty miles to go to a bookstore.
"Adam," I said "There's just this book that they have there that's, um, out of print and that's the only place they sell it."
"But why ask me? I mean, why couldn't Jake or your mom drive you?" he asked.
"Because they wouldn't take me twenty miles for a book, Adam," I replied.
"Well, anything to be with you!" He said overly-cheerfully.
I looked over at CeeCee and rolled my eyes. "Men." CeeCee laughed, a little too reluctantly. I knew she was enjoying this way too much. She would do anything if it involved being around Adam. I thought her passion for him had ebbed after the thing at Martha's Vinyard, but apparently not. Her passion was just as unbridled as it was before.
We got there about an hour later. Manchester Way was a dreary old street with shops to match. No one actually ever went shopping there, as far as I knew.
"What did you say the number was?" asked Adam, peering out the window.
"1056," I said. "It's a used bookstore."
"There!" exclaimed CeeCee, pointing out her window. The shop she was pointing at was certainly on its last legs. The weathered awning over the door was broken and hanging by one side, and the windows were all dirty.
"You sure it's a good idea to go in there?" Adam asked skeptically. "I mean, the place is like a health hazard or something."
"Yeah, let's go," I replied, opening my door after Adam had parked. I opened the door and stepped inside. I musty smell came wafting to my nose and I practically choked. The carpet was covered in holes and books were stacked everywhere. There was not one single bookshelf in the whole place.
"Can I halp you?" cam a voice from the shadows.
"Yeah, I was told to ask for George?" I said, keeping it as simple as possible.
"Ah, yes. So you're one of them?" He asked. Adam looked at me strangely. I help a hand up, clearly saying "not now"
"Yeah," I said. "Do you have the book?"
"Why yes, we do. But you must promise me something. When you are done, you must give it back to this store. This is the holding area, and this book is free. If you find another questioning person, you must tell them to come here. This is the only one in the world," he said seriously. His eyes flicked to the right of me, where I could only guess Jesse was standing.
"Yeah, I promise," I replied, just as seriously. I wanted to get out of here as fast as I could with the book. This guy was seriously freaking me out.
"Good. Sign this," He said, gesturing to a yellowed piece of paper. There were about ten names on it above the place I signed mine. He handed me a huge brown tome, covered in dust. It had to be at least a thousand pages long. I said a rushed "thanks!" and got the hec out of there.
"What the heck was that all about?" asked Adam, irritated that he was left out of the loop. CeeCee looked delicately unknowing. Adam looked at her. "You know, too?"
She looked straight at him. "It's not a big deal, Adam. I sort of……..found out accidentally, and I don't know the whole truth. I have guessed. Don't ask her, you won't believe a word she says," she said forcefully. I silently thanked CeeCee for explaining, because I really didn't want to get into this with Adam right now.
I opened the book and started thumbing through it. The title page simply said "The Book". Very fitting. The entire thing was handwritten. I looked in the back to see if there was an index, but there wasn't. Great, I would have to search through the entire thing.
I got home pretty late because it was such a long drive, and my mom was really mad. After explaining that I had gone to a used bookstore with CeeCee and Adam (I conveniently forgot to tell her that the book was for me) that was a long ways away. I was completely exhausted, so I dragged myself up to my room and fell asleep in my bed, clothes and all.
The next morning I woke up to find the covers pulled over me and the windows shut. Jesse was there and I knew it. I got out of bed and looked for the book. I hadn't really gotten a chance to read much of it yet, and the parts I had read were only explaining how Mediators could see, talk and touch ghosts. Interesting, huh? I found it on my dresser, with about ten sticky notes sticking out of it in various places. A note lay beside it that said, "Querida—Did you have a good sleep? I thought maybe you would want some help with the book, so I marked some pretty important passages. With all my love, Jesse."
I read this with both pain and excitement. I wanted to be with Jesse so much, to trace my fingers over the scar on his eyebrow, to catch a glimpse of his chest……..it was way too much for me to handle knowing that he could be standing right beside me and I wouldn't know it.
I took the musty old book over to my bed and opened to the first sticky note. I noticed all of them were in the second half of the book, labeled "Shifters". The first was "Mediators" and that is pretty much what I had read the day before. Nothing new there. The sticky note led to a passage about traveling freely between the two dimensions, the Shadowland and Earth. It described it in detail with pictures to match. I guess these were for the benefit of those lucky people who never had had to brave it up there, and thus didn't know what it looked like. The next few were somewhat new to me, but not completely. I didn't really pay attention to anything that wasn't entitled "Regaining Mediator Powers".
At about the ninth sticky note I found it. I skimmed the page looking at what it involved. It was way complicated. First of all, it had to be performed during a full moon, which was in 2 days. Shoot, I'd have to wait awhile. It basically consisted of knowing exactly where a ghost was, entering their mind, and imagining what they would look like, down to every last hair. It would take about two hours to complete, and if I broke my concentration once, I'd have to start over. Great, concentration doesn't come so easily to me.
I knew exactly who to talk to this about. I pulled on a black mini and a red scoop-neck T-shirt and ran out the door with the book, carefully avoiding Andy and his breakfast marathon. I grabbed Dopey's bike since I didn't have one and I glided all the way down the hill to the Mission Academy.
"Father Dom?" I yelled as I approached his office. "Are you here?"
"Susannah!" Father D exclaimed when he saw me. "What are you doing here on a Sunday? Are you here for mass?"
"Um, no, sorry Father D," I felt kinda bad about that. I got over it quickly. "Look at this!" I exclaimed, thrusting the book at him, open to the sticky note page.
He took the book and looked down at it. "Susannah," he breathed. "Where in heaven's name did you get this book?"
"Some old guy told me where to find it at some creepy old bookstore," I replied. "But look! Look at what it says! I can be a Mediator again!"
Now those words I never thought I would say. Let's just say that life as a Mediator is no picnic. I've always complained about how much I hate it, but I guess it's one of those things you only really appreciate once it's gone. That and Jesse.
"Hm, this is somewhat complicated," he said. "Who are you going to use?"
"Jesse, of course! Who else?"
"What about your father? You must know him pretty well," Father D suggested. A vase in the corner started shaking. I guess Jesse really wants me to use him.
"My father? Thanks but no thanks Father D. I'll use Jesse, if that's alright with him," I said. I mean, come on! I know my father, but I've never actually studied him like I have Jesse. I can imagine every single feature on Jesse perfectly without hesitation. No problem.
"Well, Jesse agrees with you, so I guess I'm outnumbered," sighed Father Dom. I know exactly why he doesn't want me to use Jesse. He doesn't want me going over every single feature that makes up Jesse. Him being a priest, I guess I can understand……..kinda.
"I want to be there, though," Father D said, dead serious.
"Yeah, alright," I replied. I guess he didn't want me jumping Jesse the moment I saw him. Understandable, but annoying.
"How about you come here at nine o'clock in two days. Sound good?"
"Yeah Father D, I'll see you then," I replied, bouncing out the door.
A/N: Ahhh………that was my longest chapter ever! I hope the next ones will be even longer, but you never know. There was an alternate ending to this chapter that was like the biggest cliffhanger ever, but I decided to save that for a sequel…otherwise this story will be going too many places at once. Luv ya all. If you guys have any questions about the story, feel free to ask, I will try to get chapter 6 up as soon as possible, but I'm totally loaded down with homework and swim practice, so it might be a few days