Darkness pressed on Sabrina's eyelids as her head throbbed. Ugh. Where AM I? With a rush, the memories swooped back, and she groaned.
She thought she felt something like a gentle touch on her cheek, soft and caressing. A soft voice spoke gently, very near her. "Oh, look, she's awakened after that nasty scare, the poor child."
Grandma? No…couldn't be…
"She's baaaaaaaaaccck!" a high soprano voice trilled.
Sabrina muttered something that she hoped sounded like "Shut up," but she couldn't be sure. Her eyelids fluttered, and she opened them to see a ghostly elderly lady hovering near her. The woman gave her a comforting smile. "Are you feeling better, dear?"
Sabrina reached up and rubbed her head. "I think…"
"Arr, ye will be on yer feet in no time a'tall, lass," chuckled the rotund pirate captain. Shocked and nodding, Sabrina searched in her backpack for Salem, who cuddled against her when he felt her warm touch.
Sabrina observed the ghosts with wide eyes, as they 'sat back' and observed her. Finally, the knight cleared his throat. "Come, we must be on our way." He turned to Sabrina. "SHE is expecting you." With a bow, he departed, along with the other five ghosts.
Sabrina blinked at Salem. Salem blinked at Sabrina. "Do you think he could have been any more vague?" Sabrina mumbled.
"Most likely. Let's not keep 'HER' waiting," Salem grumbled.
Sabrina attempted to stand, and placed her right hand on the nearest thing, which turned out to be a stone wall. Looking around, she realized they were in a narrow stone tunnel, and not seven or eight feet in front of them lay a lighted room.
Sabrina's boots made sharp, staccato clicks, although Salem's soft paws made virtually no sound as he padded by her side. Soon, they entered into the room, and Sabrina was nearly convinced they had stepped into another world.
The floor was covered with Oriental and Persian rugs in reds, purples, and ocher. Draperies were pinned to the ceiling, hanging down in folds that reminded Sabrina of the inside of a circus tent. Baskets, trunks, and stands of exotic knickknacks—and some items Sabrina was totally unfamiliar with—were arranged in little niches. Silken, tasseled pillows were arranged in piles. Sabrina could practically feel Salem quiver with excitement at the sight of the tassels.
In the center of the room was a circular table, shrouded in a red cloth with silver embroidery. One lone chair sat behind it. Upon the table was a crystal ball.
Sabrina could feel the magic in the air of the room. Perhaps the room's former owner was a witch, like herself. However, it looked more like the owner was a gypsy or circus fortune-teller, judging by the décor.
The air seemed to grow denser, and she could feel the magic gathering. "Sabrina! The magic's being centered in the crystal ball!" Salem growled, preparing a feline 'battle stance.'
The ball, once clear, now heavily swirled with internal clouds of greens and blues. As the nonplussed pair watched, the face of a woman became visible. Sabrina stepped backward. What the heck is going on?
The swirling stopped, and the woman's face was now more easily defined. She was beautiful, with a delicate nose and full lips. Curly, wavy hair was piled into a bun and held back with an embroidered headband, but curly strands framed either side of her face. Slowly, the woman's eyes opened, and she began to chant.
"Awakened now from troubled sleep,
You find yourself where shadows creep.
The Mansion hides its history,
But solve you will this mystery.
You'll find the truth buried deep,
Beneath the walls where spirits weep."
Sabrina stared at the woman, bewildered, but entranced by the rich, sultry voice.
The woman smiled. "I, child, am Madame Leota: speaker of the spirit world, medium of the mysterious, and seeker of things unseen. And I know why you're here, Sabrina."
Sabrina sighed. "Wonderful. Then can you tell me what's up with Drell?" She paused, musing. "He was really odd today; he sent us off so suddenly. I wonder why he picked me, of all people…"
Leota chuckled throatily. "I may be a clairvoyant, dear, but my powers don't extend to telepathy."
The teenage witch sighed. "Then can you tell us what's wrong with this crazy house so Salem and I can go home?"
Leota pursed her lips. "It isn't that easy, child. The reasons for which Drell sent you are inexorably tied to the ghostly residents of this house."
Salem had relaxed from his pose, and now curiously inched forward. Sabrina took his cue, and walked until she was a foot away from the ball. "What do you mean?"
"A long time ago, child, this house used to be the home of the Gracey family. They were wealthy landowners, and this Mansion was not only their home, but sort of a resort for their family, friends, and the wealthy elite from around the world."
Sabrina interrupted. "Until a mysterious curse was put on the home, and the family and the rest of the Mansion's residents disappeared. Right?"
Leota blinked. "Yes."
Sabrina leaned forward on the table as Salem jumped up to curl in front of the crystal ball. "Then what caused the curse? Where did the family go?"
Leota sighed. "This story is more complicated than you would believe, and we don't have the time to go into that now. I promise you'll hear the full story later. Suffice to say, an evil man named Atticus Thorne took over the house once the family was gone, and began corrupting the house and the residents with his evil magic.
"We are trapped inside this Mansion, Sabrina. And alone, I and the few ghosts that have not been turned evil by Thorne can do little to stop him. That's why we need your help."
Sabrina chewed her lip thoughtfully. "So the dark magical energy that Drell sensed near the house…"
"Must have been Thorne," Salem finished. "Makes sense. So we have to stop him, huh?"
Leota gaped. "A talking cat?" she questioned, eyes wide.
Salem growled. "Listen, lady, you're a talking head in a crystal ball, and you think it's weird that I can talk?"
"Salem used to be a warlock, before he got turned into a cat for a century. He tried to take over the world," Sabrina hastened to add. Way to go Salem, let's anger one of the few people were who can help us.
Leota blinked for a few seconds. Recovering her composure, she nodded. "Er, yes. Thorne must be stopped if the souls in the Mansion are to be freed."
"Just how many ghosts are there, anyway?" Salem asked, curiously.
"We have 999 happy haunts here in the Mansion," Leota smugly informed him. "And we always have room for one more." She winked naughtily.
Salem shuddered, before turning to Sabrina. "And you said it would only be twenty minutes," he accused.
Sabrina, choosing to ignore him, pressed on. "So, how do we defeat Thorne? I may be both a witch and a Spirit Detective…whatever that means…but I'm not powerful enough to defeat a fully-grown magic user."
"We will be aided in our quest by a magic artifact," said Leota, as a light glimmered at the top of the room. It floated down to reveal a…lantern. A slightly tarnished, once golden-colored, lantern.
"Wow," Salem drawled sarcastically, "this gets better and better. Not only do we have to defeat a dark magic-using control freak, but we get to do it in style with a piece of camping equipment."
Leota shut her eyes, mentally counting to ten. "This," she explained in a long-suffering tone of voice, "is the Beacon of Souls. It is designed to fight dark magic by using the power of light. However," she warned, "Thorne will be using his own dark magic to try and stop us. He'll put barriers on the doors, and twist the very rooms themselves—until the lights are turned on, of course. The dark energy Thorne's infused into the evil spirits will diminish, making them shriveled and cowardly. You'll need to draw them into the Beacon, where they'll become purified. Then, they should slowly regain their memories and become their former selves."
Sabrina blinked as she examined the lantern closely.
Leota cleared her throat as she continued. "Now, the source of the Beacon's power comes from six sacred jewels known as Soul Gems. I gave five of them to some of the ghosts you just met, who have hidden them somewhere in the Mansion. We have one left, which allows the Beacon to function, although very weakly."
The lone gem that was set into the Beacon caught the light. It reminded Sabrina of a diamond, but this gem caught the bit of light in the room, and reflected it in pure hearts of white, blue, and pink. "Will the others make it stronger?"
"Yes," Leota nodded, "when the other five are collected, it should be quite formidable."
"Great then," Salem stretched out on the fabric, "what are we waiting for? Let's go, Sabs."
"Well, not so fast, Mr. Fuzzy Lips! I'll also be helping Sabrina…"
Sabrina blinked. "Where are we going to put you?"
"I'll just ride in your satchel there…"
"Okay."
"Rmmmph. Hey, hey, watch it! I'm fragile! Careful, honey, careful! Oooh…fingerprints! Watch the fingerprints!"
Salem shook his head as he also leaped into the backpack, near Leota, and Sabrina walked out of the room.
Author's Note:
Yes, the story's structure is based on the game. I'm doing my best to make the story seem like one that would fit into a supernatural detective story. I it works and that everyone likes it!
I know that it's cliche to hear, "We'll tell you the full story later," but in Leota's defense, Sabrina needs to meet some of the key players in the story to fully understand.
Oh, and Drell's weird behavior? Why he made Sabrina into a Spirit Detective? Yes, all will be explained...but in the next story. For now, my dear readers, both you AND Sabrina are in the dark, in order to heighten the mystery. Heh heh...
Next chapter: Sabrina gets a crash course in ghost-busting and magic lantern-wielding thaks to Madame Leota. But does she have the resolve to carry out a task of this magnitude?