The Phantom Crystal

The More You Know

“Whatcha lookin’ at, Sweet Cheeks?”

A gasp of white vapor rushes past my lips as a voice speaks into my ear. Whipping around, I stare wide-eyed at the speaker as he hangs upside down in the air. Solid light grey eyes stare down at me, his dark grey face wrinkling with the wide, sharp-toothed grin he is giving me. A tattered and worn heathered-grey shirt hangs around his neck until the being rolls onto his stomach. Ripped black pants hang low on his hips and he isn’t wearing any shoes or socks. He kicks his feet about as he stares at me, charcoal grey hair swaying with the movement.

I blink up at him.

“M-Max?” I ask.

The being blinks in surprise, his grin slipping for a millisecond before swiftly returning at full force. He rolls onto his back, clapping.

“OOO, somebody knows my name!” Max says, gleefully and he zooms down to my level. “Not many people can say that they know my name. Care to return the favor?”

The librarians’ warning rings in my head about my parents' popularity among those from the Ghost Dimension. I smile at the poltergeist.

“Uh, my name is Jack. And, uh, some friends of mine told me about you and that you might be able to answer some questions that I have.”

The poltergeist twists in the air, rubbing his chin.

“Oh? Is that so? And who might these ‘friends’ be? I don’t really get out much, so you must excuse me on being rather, suspicious.”

“Marvin, Ester, and Matilda,” I say, not really seeing any point in lying. I want him to help me and I know if I full out lie to him, that prospect is out the window.

Max’s eyes widen and his grin slips down to a smirk.

“Ah, so the good ol’ librarians ratted me out, did they?”

My nose scrunches.

“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘ratted you out', but merely provided me with someone who might have answers for some questions that I have.”

Max hums, twisting in the air as he eyes me.

“Oh? And what kind of answers could a poor ol’ poltergeist provide a bright-eyed human, like you?” Max hangs upside down.

I drag in a deep breath.

All right. Here goes nothing.

“I would like to know more about the Phantom and his crystal.”

Max freezes in mid-twirl, his grey eyes widening. My heart hammers when he zooms down, so close that we are now nose to nose as he studies me. My skin crawls when Max drags in a sharp breath, sniffing me. The poltergeist’s eyes snap down to my chest before slowly returning to my face, a sharp grin forming on his face once more.  

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Max says, his voice low, grey eyes gleaming in the soft golden light. “It looks like the big wig found himself a new ride. I guess sister dearest was starting to get a little too close for comfort.”

A pit forms in my stomach. Is it really that obvious? Do I emit some sort of weird smell or glow that tells people that I am carrying around a ghost and his crystal?

I swallow thickly as I force my nerves to calm down.

“So, you know about him then?”

Max laughs, sending a slimy chill down my spine.

“Know about him? Sweet Cheeks, anyone who was created and formed in the Ghost Dimension knows about the Dimension Siblings. They were the ones to CREATE the Ghost Dimension and are the ones IN CHARGE of all the entities that reside there. The Phantom is probably the most well-known, seeing as he has the most control over the other ghastly entities than his two siblings do. And don’t even get me started on the petty little feud going on between the brothers and their sister.” Max shakes his head. “Honestly, as the oldest, you’d think she would have more self-control. But, then again, the power residing deep within the Phantom IS quite powerful. So, I really don’t blame her for wanting it.”

My eyebrows shoot toward my hairline as I glance down at my chest. Is the Phantom really that powerful that he can CONTROL other ghosts? Is that why that janitor was so worried about other entities locating me? He was worried about those entities gaining control of the crystal with the Phantom inside of it and reign havoc on the Ghost Dimension? My lips purse together. This is not easing my worries about carrying this thing around inside me one bit.

“You keep mentioning siblings,” I say, cautiously. “Are they trapped inside crystals as well?”

Max bursts out laughing, clutching at his sides.

“Oh, good one, Sweet Cheeks.” Max wipes a tear from his eyes as I glare up at him. “Are they trapped in crystals as well? Phew, that’s the best joke ever.” Max zooms down to my level and wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Let me clue you in on a little secret. If the Phantom’s older siblings were also trapped within crystals, then the entire Ghost Dimension would be in utter chaos. While everyone has some control of themselves, having the Phantom in charge of the Ghost Dimension kept things orderly and everyone was relatively calm about everything. When he got trapped in that piece of rock that you now carry around like a second heart, well, let’s just say things got outta hand REAL quick.” Max shrugs at my confused stare. “While strict, the one thing I can say about good ol’ Phantom boyo is that he was FAIR. His sister on the other hand.” Max whistles and floats back up to the ceiling. “Well, I don’t think anyone ever taught her how to share. And not too many folks were overly pleased about it.”

“And his brother?”

Max twirls, waving his hand and sending three books flying off the shelf as he hums.

“His brother, the Demon, not too many folks had issues with him. He ain’t perfect and certainly no Phantom, but I know quite a few folks who would take him being in charge of the Ghost Dimension than Sister dearest any day.”

I nod, tugging on my gloves as I process the poltergeist’s words. So, someone put the Phantom inside of the crystal because he was in charge of the Ghost Dimension. Now his sister wants to get a hold of said crystal and use it to rule the other ghosts. Was his sister chasing his imp assistant and that’s why he demanded to be put inside of me? Is there a way to get the Phantom back out of the crystal?

I sigh before smiling at the Poltergeist.

“All right, thank you for your time. You’ve given me a lot to think about.” I readjust my bag. “Would it be okay if I came back with any other questions?”

Max quirks an eyebrow at me, smirking.

“What? Too afraid to ask the Phantom himself?”

I roll my eyes, pouting slightly as I cross my arms.

“No, but he seems to enjoy being all mysterious and difficult when it comes to explaining things. At least you gave me straight answers.” Even if they did nothing to elevate my fears.

Max hums, tapping his chin.

“All right, you can come back and ask me questions. On ONE condition.”

My eyes narrow. The first thing my parents taught me when they told me about their type of business is to never, EVER make deals with paranormal entities, no matter WHO they are. But I really need this source of knowledge if I want to understand ANYTHING that’s happening to me.

“What is it?”

“It’s nothin’ bad, Sweet Cheeks,” the poltergeist states, waving a dismissive hand. “All I want is for you to bring in that wannabe paranormal group from the college up the street. I read their blog all the time and they DARE say that there have been no signs of ANY poltergeist activity within Bemidji’s city limits and I’m over here like, HELLO? Do I not exist to you?”

A small smile forms on my face as I listen to the poltergeist rant. Well, that is most certainly not what I was expecting him to ask, but I guess it could be worse.

“I mean, I can’t make any promises about whether or not they’ll believe me about your existence, but I will certainly see what I can do about them coming here.” My eyes flicker toward the front of the shop. “I’m just not sure how your landlord will take a group of college students stomping around his bookshop.”

Max’s eyes light up and he quickly dismisses my concern.

“Oh, the big guy will get over it. He would be pleased about the business, I’m sure. I just feel so excluded,” Max says, pouting. “Here I could be giving those brats an experience of a lifetime and they don’t even bother doing their research! I mostly don’t keep myself a secret. I LIVE for the attention.”

Chuckling, I shrug.

“To be fair, I also didn’t even know about you OR this bookshop, but I’ll see if I can help you out with that.” I glance down at my phone and wince. “But I need to get going. It’s gonna get dark soon and I walked here. Thanks again for your time.”

Max blows a raspberry and mutters something about ‘weak humans and their fluctuating body temperatures.’ Huffing, I roll my eyes and wave as Max zooms off further into the bookshop, sending books flying and lights flickering in his wake. I glance at the desk as I reach the front of the shop, but the shopkeeper is nowhere to be seen.

Well, I’m gonna be back I’m sure, so I’ll just thank him then. I head for toward the front door. But at least now I have more avenues that I can explore for my meet-up with Ian on Saturday. I also have another name to work with. The Demon. I bite my lip. Now, that just makes the Phantom’s brother sound dangerous. And knowing that I have one of the CREATORS of the Ghost Dimension riding around inside my chest, I know that I can’t just bring this up with Mom and Dad. For one, will they even believe me? There is hardly anything about the Phantom, his crystal, or his siblings. And two, if they do believe me, what will they do with that information? Will they try to capture the Phantom if we figure out how to get him out? Will they try to capture his siblings? Ice spreads through me that has nothing to do with me opening the shop’s front door.

I really don’t want my folks messing with these beings. They sound absolutely dangerous, not to mention a little psycho. I can’t let Mom and Dad get involved with that. They’ll just get hurt! And if Rae finds out. I shudder as I pause at the stop sign.

Rae’s gonna be pissed.

I shake my head, readjusting my scarf around my neck so I can bury my chin once more. Right. So no to telling Rae as well. I wince. That doesn’t really give me a lot of options of who I can talk to about this. A pit forms in my chest as I start across the street, head bent against the gusting winds. I shoot once last glance back toward the shop, the hairs standing up on the back of my neck as a strange and unnatural chill wrecks through me. Nothing appears out of place. Frowning, I turn my water gaze forward once more.

Let’s just get back to the dorms and do a little more research for Saturday.