Family Business Part 2: Séance in the Shop

 The latest in the life of Em De Mone... 

Séance in the Shop 

The sun warmed my face as I headed toward the building. It was the first week of November and still in the 80s. A cool breeze gave the subtlest hint of fall. Las Vegas sure was different than upstate New York.

A shadow passed under the sun, darkening the desert. With it, a cold hallow reminder of that Fetish and Fantasy Ball only two nights ago. Cursed party-goers were forced to remove their own eyes after their arms morphed into jagged ice cream scoopers. The horror of it had sat in the pit of my stomach ever since, but that nightmare had been the tip of a much larger problem. One my Demon Peace Keeper family needed to solve, which was why I was here today. 

I reached the glass door of the mystical shop and my reflection stared back at me. I tucked a few stray hairs and sighed. I was out of excuses. That’s when I saw him, leaning against an open garage door, coffee mug in hand. 

I froze.

He called out, “They’re over here.”

I gulped and walked toward him. He was huge, looming over me by at least half a foot. Opposite his shaven head was a long pointed beard, braided and tied together with a sliver of leather. His eyes bore into me, “You’re her, aren’t you?”

“I…um…” I fidgeted. Completely unprepared, I couldn’t even organize a response. “Who…”

“Lovie!” Granny said. Dressed like a teenager in her black lace-up boots, worn jeans, and Led Zepplin t-shirt, she hurried out to greet me. Suddenly, she stopped and took a step back. I think she wanted to hug me, “I know this is all new to you, but now that you’re here…well, I’m just glad you’re here. Paddy, meet your granddaughter. Emmie.”

“Hey,” was all I could say.

“She’s the spitting image of Sarah at that age,” He stared at me. Hard. “She sure looks like she belongs to us.” 

I gulped again. I wanted to tell him my name was Em…just Em…not Emmie, but I couldn’t form enough saliva to make my words.  

“You had her tested though, right Letti?” He asked.

“I did, Paddy, just to appease you. I mean it’s more than obvious…just look at her…” And she beamed at me. Her big toothy grin showed off the red lipstick smeared all over her teeth. 

I wanted to do something, respond in some way, say anything, like ‘what test’? But they unnerved me with their stares. 

“Alright, if you say so. Do you need any help with this Wellman thing?” Paddy asked and took a drink from his coffee mug smudged with grit and grime.

“Maybe. Let me see what’s going on.”

“Okay,” he leaned over and kissed the top of Granny’s head, “Keep me posted.”

“Will do,” Granny watched as he walked away, then grabbed me and pulled me down the long well-lit hallway, stopping at the last door on the left.  “Down to business, Lovie. Violet will fill you in. I’ll be back soon. There’s coffee and donuts.”  She said and scurried off.

The meeting room was surprisingly cozy. Violet sat at the table with her legs crossed, slurping whatever was in her big styrofoam cup. Setting down her book, she looked up with a smile, “Morning.”

“Hey,” I said happy to see her. She was a cool chick and already knew about my witchy-demonness. I loaded my black coffee with sugar, grabbed a blueberry donut, and took a seat.

Violet’s gaze followed me. Being pretty terrible at relationships and not knowing what to say, I gave her a nod and shoveled the donut into my mouth. All at once. Instead of showing a bit of dignity and wiping the crumbs from my mouth, I got up, grabbed another donut, and shoveled it in, again, like some sort of heathen.

“How do you eat donuts like that and look like you do? Violet’s eyes danced. “I gained two pounds just watching you eat.” 

 “Honestly, I think it’s the demon metabolism,” fell out of my mouth, along with some bits of donut. I was mortified.  

Violet hid her amusement with kindness, “I’ve heard that. I mean just look at your Granny.”

“Yeah,” I said, quickly changing the subject now that my mouth was empty. I nodded to the corner of the room where Rose stood on her cell phone, head bent in serious conversation, “Speaking of grannies, everything alright with yours?” 

 “Not sure,” Violet said, glancing at the table, “She’s checking on a friend of hers.”

“I hope everything’s okay,” I said and followed Violet’s eye line to the stuff sprawled on the table, “What’s all this?”

“This is what was left behind by Danny Wellman. Scattered in his space where he was staying with his mom.” 

Spread out before me: a lighter, a few coins, four 20-dollar bills, eight ones, a $100 chip to the Luxor casino, a pay stub, and a pack of matches. It all seemed oddly impersonal, “How will this help?” 

“We spent all of yesterday trying to get into the astral plane, the one we sent him to,” Violet’s brow furrowed, "and we can’t."

“That doesn’t make any sense. You created it for Danny. How does one overpower your origin?” I studied the table, looking for anything that didn’t belong.

“That’s what I thought, too, and one of the reasons you’re here,” Violet broke into a grin, “We need your witchiness for a good old-fashioned séance.”

“Seriously?” My heart pounded. I’ve only read about them, never actually been involved in one. “YES!”

Before I could ask for details, Granny opened the door and walked into the room, “Alright, how’s everyone doing on their coffee? Are we ready to get started?” 

“Em’s all caught up,” Violet said, “Kinda.”

“Good,” Granny said, then looked at me, “You sure you’re okay with being our fourth?”

“Absolutely.”  Was she kidding? I was thrilled to be a part of something magical. “Connecting with the elements should heighten our power, especially since the plane isn’t cooperating.” 

“My thoughts exactly,” Violet’s face lit up with excitement as she reached into her satchel. She pulled out an altar cloth, four candles, a pack of matches, and a handful of crystals.

She unfolded the cloth on the table to display a pentacle. Then she placed crystals along each of the five points and a white candle in each corner. 

Rose returned to the table, took a seat, and rubbed her temples. 

“Rosie?” Granny said. I could hear the concern in her voice, “Everything okay?”

“There was a fortune teller that didn’t show the night of the Fantasy Ball. And now she’s MIA at a Wiccan circle she sponsored. So no, it’s not okay, but it’s not a Wellman issue. I’ve got folks looking into it. It’s handled.”

Violet gave her grandma a worried look, “You up for a séance?”

“Yes dear,” Rose said.

Violet lit the candles and took her place at the table. 

We all reached for one another. The moment we joined hands, encircling and closing the space, earthly vibrations pulsed through me. 

“Who wants to ground us to this plane?” Violet asked.

“I do,” I said with confidence. 

“I’ll take water,” said Rose.

“Fire and I go way back,” Granny squeezed my hand and cackled, “I’ve burned a few bridges in my day.”

A collective nervous laugh heaved from us all. I was scared but also exhilarated. At this moment, I was utterly accepted just as I am. 

Violet squeezed her hands, and we all vibrated, “Ready to start, Em?”

I cleared my throat and spoke with intent, “I call upon the element of Earth to ground us here. May we stay secure in our own time and bodies as we connect to another plane.” I squeezed the hands I held, as gravity tightened its hold. 

“I call upon the element of Fire. May it guide us and light our way into another realm.” Granny said, and a ball of light ignited in our circle.

“I call upon the element of Water to add power and strength to our connection with another realm.” Rose said, and the walls of the room whirled around us.

“I call upon the element of Air to lift us into the spirit realm so we may commune with the deceased Danny Wellman. Danny Wellman, come to us now.” Violet squeezed, and everything vibrated and pulsed with energy.

In unison, we spoke, “Danny Wellman, come to this plane. Danny Wellman, enter the here and now.” Repeating it over and over, getting louder and louder, the room vibrated and shook. We were close.

Then things went sideways and something was very wrong. My hands burned and my chest heaved. I closed my eyes to push past the pain and hold tighter. We didn’t stop. We only got louder. Finally, we broke through the barrier. The room stilled.

I fluttered my eyes open and caught the gasp in my throat. A huge gust of air breezed into the room, blowing out the candles. There before us, wafting in mid-air, was Danny Wellman’s apparition. But this version of Danny Wellman was a shadowy sliver of the one I witnessed less than 48 hours ago.  

This astral projection was a tormented spectacle. His mouth had been sewn shut, and a straight jacket restricted his arms. His body thrashed about wildly as his eyes screamed in pain. Anguish filled the room. It was palpable and welled up within me, suffocating me, like a heavy blanket. 

Clinging to a trickle of air, I tried to hang on the hands in the circle. Eventually, my body gave way. My vision blurred and I let go. We all did. 

Danny’s apparition faded, but not before he stilled and focused. Narrowing his eyes, he studied the table. The pack of matches levitated into the air. Every match in the pack spontaneously ignited, then burned out, and fell back to the table. Danny disappeared. 

The room filled with air and the lights blinked on. Granny reached for my hand and squeezed, “You did great, Lovie. You okay?”

I wasn’t sure I was okay, but I was here and breathing. In and out. All the air I could handle. I nodded. It could have gone worse. 

A vibration came. Rose reached for her phone. A voicemail. She got up to listen to it. 

“Okay, so that was crazy and terrible. What do you think happened?” Violet asked, reaching for her styrofoam cup.

“Someone knows we’re looking for them, and they don’t want to be found,” Granny said. “Where’d those matches come from?”

“That’s some dark dark magic to not only penetrate your astral plane but then imprison Danny like that,” I said, reaching for the crispy matchbook, “Manny’s Old Town Saloon and Gambling Hall.”

“Looks like we’re headed there,” Granny said. 

“My fortune teller friend is officially missing,” Rose said, returning to the table.

“I know Miranda. She’s very powerful. I wonder, if…” Violet’s voice trailed off as she looked at the leftovers of Danny’s Wellman’s life sprawled on the table.

“She’s tied to this mess, after all,” I finished Violet’s sentence.

“Change of plans. Violet and Emmie, you check out the Saloon. Rose and I will look into missing Miranda. Tonight. Report back here at midnight. Okay?”

Good thing I was off work at the Foundation Room tonight.  I had a demon killer to hunt. At a Saloon.

To Be Continued

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Part 3: Manny's Old Town Saloon and Gambling Hall

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Part 1: Mystics and Mechanics

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Part 1: The Intro