Chapter 7: Somebody's Watching Me
As Crystal began to walk down the stairs, torches on the walls suddenly revealed themselves by bursting up with flame. They surprised her at first, but then grew used to them – a lot of things at this house seemed to take the "jump and boo" tactic.
When the stairs finally stopped, Crystal found herself facing a long hallway. It seemed like any other catacomb, with stone walls and floors, spider webs and dust, but there was something different here. Mirrors.
There were oval shaped gilded mirrors on the left side of the wall. Crystal walked in front of one and looked at her reflection. The mirror was sparkling clean – no dust had gathered here.
"That's odd…" She muttered to herself. There seemed to be no one here. But as she turned to go on, a ghostly reflection appeared in the mirror…
The ghoul had a skeletal face, and was wearing a derby and was wearing a long tuxedo coat that went down to his knees. He watched Crystal as she passed, grinning slyly.
Meanwhile, Crystal passed another mirror. As soon as she did, another ghost appeared. This one, unlike its predecessor, was short and plump, with a long top hat and cape. In one hand he held a carpetbag, and he also stared at the oblivious mortal as she continued exploring.
As Crystal passed the last mirror, a final ghost revealed itself. It was a midget, with a big nose and a long beard that had grown down to its feet. There was a giant ball attached to one of his legs, and one could tell that he had recently been in prison from it.
These three spectral spectators watched Crystal as she rounded a corner. As soon as she was gone, they jumped out of the mirrors they were in and began to speak.
"Who does she think she is, coming down here! This is our house, by gum, and I'll be darned if it's taken over by the likes of her!" The tall one said.
"Oh Ezra, calm down," The fat one said, "I'm sure she's just taking a look around. And besides…if she gets too nosy, we can always scare her away."
"Oh, all right Phineas," Ezra said, "What do you think, Gus?" The tall ghost directed the question at the shortest.
"She's pretty," Gus quipped. He wasn't much for words.
Meanwhile, Crystal realized that she was now hearing voices where she had just been. She turned back around, and silently crept around the corner to see who it was.
Three bluish-green ghosts were chatting in front of the mirrors. Were these the people Dustin had been talking about?
"Excuse me," She said softly. The three suddenly stopped talking and stared at her. After a few seconds, the one with the top hat slowly said "Yes?"
"I was, um…just looking for this spell book…I kinda need it. Do any of you have it?"
The ghosts stared at her. All of a sudden, Ezra smiled.
"Phineas! This must be that prophecy girl! The one everyone's been talking about!" He said excitedly. Phineas stared at her for a moment.
"Yes, I think you're right!" Phineas agreed, and the short one nodded. He walked over to Crystal and offered his hand up to her. She knelt down and shook it.
"Hi," he said, "I'm Gus."
"Hi," Crystal replied, surprised at the short little ghost's ball and chain.
"I'm Ezra," The skeletal one said, "And the fat one here is Phineas."
"Hey!" Phineas said, turning and glaring at Ezra, "I am NOT fat…I'm just…big boned!"
"Yeah right!" Ezra scoffed, "I saw you stuffing yourself on that night of the ball."
"Gus saw it too!" Gus added, "You were particularly fond of that giant cake." To this Phineas sighed.
"Oh, that cake was such a sight!" He said mournfully, "It is a shame that I didn't get to eat it…"
"Yeah, well no one else did either, so stop feeling sorry for yourself!" Ezra snapped, "And besides, that food wasn't very good, anyways. Tasted like someone had gone swimming in it."
"It was poison, you fool! That treacherous snake did us in! Murder!" Phineas said.
"Murder most foul!" Gus added.
"Remember that time when we traveled down to California?" Ezra said, suddenly changing topics. As if on cue, all of the ghosts got dreamy smiles on their faces.
"Oh yes...we visited Hollywood…that was a lovely hotel we stayed at!" Gus said dreamily.
"What was that place called? The Hollywood Tower Hotel? I wonder if it's still in existence today…" Phineas mused.
"Wasn't it fun when we broke out of jail?" Gus asked suddenly. Apparently these ghosts forgot to take their Ritalin before they died.
"Oh yes, that was a good day!" Phineas said happily, "And we never could get that ball and chain off your foot!"
"Nope!" Ezra agreed heartily. The three ghosts laughed, as if they were reminiscing about the night of prom during a high school reunion.
Crystal tried to process all of the information she heard.
"Wait a minute…how did you guys die?" She realized that she hadn't asked anyone this question yet.
They turned to her with sad looks on her face.
"It was that Madame Leota!" Ezra said dramatically, putting his palm against his forehead like a damsel in distress, "We were all here for a party one night, and Leota, trying to get back at George, cast a spell over the house that killed us all. Some of us were poisoned. Others were forced to dance to death." Crystal thought back to the ballroom, and the ghostly dancers there. Maybe even in death they were still cursed.
"Master Gracey wasn't affected by the spell," Phineas added, "Leota wanted to do him in personally. She hung him, but before he died he cursed her right back. Of course, I'm sure you've heard that part." Crystal nodded.
"We could've avoided the curse too, if it wasn't for Gus!" Ezra said, glaring at him. Gus blushed and looked away sheepishly.
"Gus is a relative of the Master," Phineas explained, "He said that we could hide out here while the law was after us. George took us in, and we did various jobs around the mansion. Every once in a while we'd try to hitch a ride outta here, but we didn't have any luck. We're still trying, though," he said with a grin, and Crystal imagined one of these ghouls appearing in the backseat of someone's car. She smirked at the thought, and made a mental note to check her car for ghosts when she left.
"Well, hopefully I can free you guys and everyone else here," She said, "But I really need that book."
"Oh, that spell book? It's right here." Phineas said, reaching into his carpet bag. He stuck his hand in, and started to feel around for it. Crystal heard the rustling of various objects inside.
Then, to her amazement, Phineas stuck his arm farther in – he now had his whole arm up to his elbow in the small bag, searching for the spell book.
"Hmm…where is it?" He muttered, and by feeling around farther and farther, he managed to get inside the bag completely. Crystal looked into the bag, but she couldn't see a thing – only hear the faint echo of Phineas whistling and searching.
"How…?" She started to ask, but realized that questions like this were futile in this mansion.
A few moments later, Phineas' arm suddenly stuck out of the bag, the book in hand. "Here it is!" He exclaimed, and Crystal took it from him.
"Er…thanks," She said.
"No problem!" Came Phineas' echo-y response. Ezra picked up the bag and turned it upside down, causing Phineas to come tumbling out, but nothing else.
"I'd better get this to George," Crystal said, "Thanks for your help!"
"No problem," The three hitchhikers said in unison, bowing like the gentlemen they…weren't.
"If you know anyone that gives rides to ghosts to California, have them give us a ring!" Gus added as Crystal exited the crypt. She smiled, and made her way back to the mansion.
About ten minutes later, Crystal re-entered the Foyer, book in hand. As she stepped inside, the door blew shut behind her.
"WELCOME, FOOLISH MORTALS," A voice boomed suddenly, from somewhere in the room, "TO THE HAUNTED MA-…oh, it's just you." George suddenly materialized in front of Crystal.
"Sorry," He said sheepishly, "I thought you were one of those nosy kids that dare each other to come in or something."
"'Oh, it's just you?'" Crystal repeated, smiling, "Is that any way to greet the girl that just found…" She paused for dramatic effect and revealed the spell book, "Your ticket out of here!"
"You found it!" George said happily. Crystal handed him the book, and he began to search for a counter curse. But the smile faded from his face as he flipped through.
"What? Is it the wrong book?" Crystal asked wearily. She did NOT want to have to search the whole mansion again.
"No, it's the right book…but read this," He said, handing it to her. There on the page, in faded cursive letters, was this:
The spell will be broken,
And the spirits will be free
But for this to happen
One must pay a token fee.
One ghost must remain here
And stay forever more
Be doomed to haunt the mansion
If to fulfill the lore
One more thing, I hate to add
That prob'ly will cause some shock:
The gypsy must help cast the spell
Not just the unknown rock.
To break the curse they must agree
To say the spell together.
Once they do I guarantee:
Things will become better.
On the page across from this was a spell to break the curse.
"You mean…we have to get Madame Leota to say the spell? She'll never do it!" Crystal said.
"And one ghost will have to remain here," George added quietly, "It's bad enough that we're all trapped here, but at least we have company. I can't imagine what it would be like to haunt alone."
The mortal and spirit stared at the floor, unsure of what to do next.
