The Phantom Crystal

Partial Secrets Part 2

My eyes widen.

Wait. What? That can’t be right. Them? They really think that they’re the reason why Lux was in the tunnels last night? I nearly laugh as I glance from Jim to Ian then back to Jim. Are they crazy? Lux was obviously there because of Phantom. Lured there because he could sense the crystal like the Janitor said that other ghosts would be able to. 

Taking my silence as shock, Ian sighs heavily and just holds me closer.

“I know, Jackie, it’s scary, but we didn’t mean for him to end up in the tunnels.”

Pursing my lips, I glance from Ian to Jim. What are they going on about? How can they be the reason for Lux being in the tunnel? It’s not like they just opened a rift between our realm and the Ghost Dimension. 

Air catches in my throat. 

What did they do?

“What…? What did you do?” I ask weakly, shooting Ian a pleading look. 

Ian winces while Jim rubs the back of his neck, an uncomfortable look on his face. Ian’s hands flex on my back and he sighs heavily.

“Yesterday, I was showing Jim and his friends around Bemidji, showing him some of the usual haunting spots, spots that are supposedly haunted, and some just nice places to visit while they’re here.”

I nod, eyes flickering toward Jim. Heat flares across my cheeks when I realize that he’s merely watching me. Turning my gaze back to Ian, I hum in hopes of having Ian continue talking. 

Ian squeezes me.

“Well,” Ian says, scrunching his nose. “I remembered you mentioning that small bookstore in downtown.”

Dread drops in my stomach as I pull back to get a better look at Ian.

Books & Me? They went to Books & Me?! Oh no. Did Max do something? Did he say something while they were there? Did the store owner? 

Wetting my lips, I shift uneasily as I glance over at Jim.

“What were you doing at Books & Me?”

Jim sighs.

“I was the one who wanted to go there,” Jim admits, tilting his head back to stare up at the ceiling, his eyes shifting toward me every few seconds. “Ian told me about all the places you and your club wants to visit and the only one that didn’t pop-up on my radar when I was doing my own research was that bookshop.”

“I also hadn’t heard much about that store being haunted,” Ian adds, his blue eyes scanning my face, a small smile forming on his lips. “But since it was you who mentioned it, I’m willing to check it out. Your intuition about haunted areas has proven, 9 times out of 10, more correct than anything else.” Ian shrugs as I stare up at him with wide eyes. “And I need to make sure that the building is safe enough for all of you to visit while also gaining the permission from the owner of the building for a possible walk-through.”

My nose twitches. All right. That makes sense. I frown at the two taller males.

“But what does that have to do with Lux and him being in the tunnels?” 

Ian runs a hand through my hair, pushing my bangs away from my eyes.

“We’re getting there, kiddo, just give us a minute,” Ian states, chuckling. Smiling sheepishly, I nod and shuffle from side to side impatiently. 

“Well, the shop owner was quite…” Jim starts before pausing then shaking his head. “The shop owner was rather gruff but he agreed to allow the lot of you to do a walk-through of his building.” Jim smirks at Ian. “It did take some….PERSUASION on Ian’s part and some sweet talking, but the shop owner agreed.”

My eyes widen and an excited grin splits my face. 

“Whoa, really? That’s awesome! He wasn’t the most friendly person when we met but I’m glad he was okay with us possibly doing a walk-through.” I wiggle excitedly. Partially because I’ve never done a walk-through of a bookstore before but also because I will be able to keep my promise to Max about bringing the club to the store for him.

Ian nods.

“Yes, well, all we need to do is let him know….Wait.” Ian frowns down at me. “When would you have met the Books & Me store owner?”

Uh oh. Did I not tell him that I went over there to visit? I scrunch my nose. I must have only told Rose about that, shoot. Okay. Um….Take this slow and easy, Jackie. Don’t need to provide Ian with even more of a heart attack than I’ve already given him today.

"Well," I start slowly, fiddling with my jacket as I avoid Ian's narrowed gaze. "I decided to go on an adventure that Wednesday of our first week back and it led me to downtown. Some… friends of mine told me about this cool little bookstore that I needed to check out." I shuffle in place, glancing up at Ian through my white bangs. "And I, uh, may have gone to see if they had any books on that topic we discussed on Saturday. But I didn't find anything. But that was also around the time that I figured out the place is haunted and was worth checking out." Shrugging, I frown. "But I still don't understand how any of this correlates to Lux being down in the tunnels last night."

Jim slips closer, squatting down so that he is more at eye level with me, guilt radiating off of the Brit as he reaches out and touches my forearm.

“It correlates because while we were there, we went out back and found a pentagram drawn on the ground behind a dumpster.” My eyes widen as Jim scowls. “We didn’t realize it was still active until Ian reached out to test it and it lit up.”

“But by then it was too late to do anything,” Ian says softly, a shadow falling over his face, causing me to shiver as a strange static enters the air. “An entity already came through the entry point. He was tall and the energy radiating from him was dangerous. So dangerous.” Ian pulls me closer and I tilt my head back to study his dark expression.

Jim squeezes my arm. 

“He told us his name was Lux the Bounty Hunter and he has come to the realm of the living to hunt down a being of great interest. And then, almost as fast as he came, he vanished.” Jim bows his head. “We had no idea that YOU were the person of interest. If he had given us any indication, we would have pulled you from class. We would have tracked him.”

“But we didn’t,” Ian says, growling. “Because we were surprised.” Chuckling darkly, Ian shakes his head before staring down at me. “I’ve been doing this since I was 18 and there are still things that can surprise me into a state where I can’t process anything. 30 years and there’s still much about the Ghost Dimension and its inhabitants that I don’t understand.”

Frowning, I tuck my chin into my jacket as I process Jim and Ian’s words. Why on earth would there be a pentagram behind the bookstore? Did Max create it? Is that even something a poltergeist can do? Did the shopkeeper make it? Is that how Max entered this plane in the first place? 

My nose wrinkles.

There’s just so many questions that don’t have answers. Should we mention this to the club before we do a walk-through? Will the shopkeeper even be willing to speak about it? Does the shopkeeper even know? Or was it just some pranksters that drew it and left it to become active?

A hand presses against my forehead causing me to jolt from my thoughts. Realizing that I’ve been silent for a smidge too long, heat builds in my ears as I glance up at Ian, who is studying me closely.

“Don’t worry, Jack, we’re gonna fix this,” Ian states firmly. “We’re goin’ to capture this Lux the Bounty Hunter and send him back to the Ghost Dimension before he can do you any more damage.”

Biting my bottom lip, I pull on my jacket sleeve.

“And how are we gonna do that?”

A solemn look crosses Ian’s face.

“We’re going to call in reinforcements.”

My eyes widen.

“‘Reninforcements’?”

Ian nods as he shares a look with Jim before his blue eyes return to focus on me.

“We’re going to call your parents.”