Chapter 13

"What are you doing?"

I glanced at the ghost floating over my shoulder. He was looking at my paper. I don't know why Lucy brought him, but she did.

"Just some work." I wrote on the side.

"Looks more like a doodle." He snorted. I scowled at him.

"Watch it ghost.." I wrote, menacingly. "It's part of the job."

I finished the sketch with a swipe of my pencil. I feeling the edge of the banister. Letting go of it, I held up the paper to get a better look at it. In the drawing was an old man. He sat by a fireplace, as if waiting for something. Or someone.

I grabbed the banister again, closing my eyes to the room. I watched the man. He just sat there. I noticed a dark shape walking toward him. I squinted. It looked a little like a plump woman. She held a knife. I knew what was going to happen. I let go of the banister.

"Did you find something Dottie?" Lucy called from the other room. I rolled my eyes and looked at the ghost.

"What's wrong, cat got your tongue?" He snickered as he floated out of the room. I sighed, frustrated. I wrote what I had saw on the side of the paper. I heard footsteps walking up behind me.

Probably Lucy.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up.

So not Lucy.

I unsheathed my rapier slowly, listening to the steps. They weren't far, just a couple feet away from me. I turned quickly. Too quickly. I didn't see the ghost, but I did see the knife heading toward me. I dodged the attack, stealing a glance of the ghost. It was a woman. Blast it. Probably should have hung to that banister a little longer. The old man didn't die, the woman did.

I swung my rapier in her direction. I missed, sadly. I scrambled out of her way and watched for her. I sensed her screaming. I ran for the door, only to run into Lucy. She was clutching her ears. She looked in the direction of the ghost.

"How can you deal with her screaming?!" Lucy cried out. I shrugged, then pulled her arm. We ran down the hall, out of the reach of that ghost.

"Guys!" Lucy called out. "We found the ghost!" Lucy and I kept running. I glanced back. The ghost followed us, holding the knife above her head. I groaned. Not only did we find the ghost, we found it's Source. And it does not look like she will ever let go.

I looked forward. Lockwood walked out of one of the rooms he was looking in and looked at us. He ran in our direction and attacked the ghost. Lucy and I stopped and stayed behind Lockwood, catching out breath.

"Did you find the source in that room?" Lucy gasped, looking at me. I shook my head and pointed at the knife. Suddenly I realized something. Where was the skull?

"You think it's the knife?" She asked, looking at the knife then back at me. I wasn't paying attention. I was looking for the skull.

"What are you doing?" She asked. Then I felt something. Some sort of tug. I saw nothing, but something tells me I needed to look. I shook away the thought. I look at Lucy and nodded, pointing at the knife again.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but are you going to help me?" Lockwood asked. I unsheathed my rapier and joined the fight with Lucy and Lockwood.

"Dottie found the source." She yelled to Lockwood.

"Great, where is it?"

"The knife."

Lockwood stopped and looked at her. "You got to be kidding.." He quickly regained his stance. "Well do you have a silver chain?" He asked Lucy. She checked her pack.

"No, what about you Dottie?" She said, looking at me. I fumbled with my satchel. Nope, no chain. I shook my head at her. She cursed under her breath.

"Well one of us needs to go get it." Lockwood cried. I raised my hand, volunteering to go get it. Lucy and Lockwood exchanged looks, then back me.

"No time to argue." He said, dodging the ghost's knife. I ran down the hall, toward the stairs. I heard Lucy call out to me. I didn't hear her, so I kept running. I reached the room with our supplies. Suddenly I heard Lucy cry out once more.

"Dottie! Watch ou-"

Her voice cut off after the door slammed behind me. I held my rapier steady. The light flickered off. I closed my eyes and counted to five, then opened them. I glanced around, looking for the ghost. There was a chuckle behind me. I spun around. Nothing.

"Wee lamb, you don't want this."

I breathed slowly, still glancing around for the ghost.

"You want knowledge. I can give it."

I snorted. What the heck was happening?

"Yer wonder'n what is happen'n."

I froze up. Can she read my mind?

"Ai, I can." She giggled. I glanced around.

"Where are you?" I thought.

"No where, elsewhere, anywhere..." She said in a sing-song voice.

"What is this 'knowledge' you think I want?" I thought. I looked around for her. Where was she? What was this knowledge? How can she read my mind?

"Ack, just stop, one thought at a time." She scowled. "First off, stop look'n fear me, it's annoying."

I scowled. I wasn't going to stop. She sighed.

"Second, I can read yer mind 'cause I'm a witch."

Great. I heard her scowl.

"And third, the knowledge you seek is you."

I stopped, confused. I heard her click her tongue, annoyed.

"You wonder about yerself. Why you can do stuff unlike others."

The temperature dropped. She was near. Chatting time is over. I held my stance, trying to block my thoughts from her. She laughed.

"You can't block yer thoughts from me." She cackled. I didn't pay attention to her. I glanced around the room for her. I heard her sigh.

"Pity, you could have been a great asset. Now it's time to die."

My hair stood up. I swung my rapier, hitting its mark. I heard ectoplasm sizzle. She cried out. I ran for the supplies and grabbed a silver chain. I glance back at the woman, my eyes widen. She held her knife above me.

Suddenly the door broke down. The woman, distracted, grazed my arm. I threw the chain on her knife and she dispersed. I slumped down, exhausted.

"Dottie!" Holly cried, running up to me. She grabbed my arm, inspecting the cut.

"I thought we were done with this." Holly said, sternly. I shrugged and looked behind her. Lucy was looking at me. Did she hear the ghost from behind the door?

"Are you alright?" Lucy asked. I nodded.

"I was pounding on the door, screaming your name."

I looked at her. Why didn't I hear her? I shrugged at her. George walked over to the knife. He carefully picked it up, observing it.

"A hunter's knife." He said. "She must have hunted."

I shook my head. She didn't. She was a murder. She tried to murder that old man, till he killed her instead. George didn't notice.

"Nice job catching her, Dottie" Lockwood smiled.

Soon everyone started grabbing supplies. The cut wasn't bad, Holly was relieved. I grabbed stuff as well. But I was left alone with my thoughts. Where was the skull? That ghost knew something about me, but what was it?

I felt the tug once more, nearly dropping the stuff I was holding. I glance over in the direction of the tug. It was the same spot as before. A little room, a few feet away from where I felt the last tug. I placed down the box, ignoring the tug, and checked the contents inside. Nothing broken, thank goodness, but something caught my eye. The knife, wrapped in silver chains and inside a silver box.

I bit my lip.

She might know where the skull is.

She might know what I do.

I glanced at the group. They all were still cleaning up and Lockwood was talking to the owner of the place. I turned back at the knife. Without a second thought, I snatched it and shoved it into my satchel.