Ghost: Books of the Dead - Fantasy Best Seller and Supernatural Teen Book: (Ghost, Occult, Supernatural, Occult and Supernatural) (39 page)

However, nothing got past Rosemary and she sensed it clearly. “Others are not like you, Emily. They only call for me because they need something. They always want things from me. You know all about them. They want me to fix their stuff and do tricks for them. How selfish of them, but you stand above all that. So don’t think that I am in any way ungrateful to you. I owe you a lot since you already agreed to help me,” Rosemary said. A gleam of merriment in her eyes had returned and Emily took note of it.

“Yes, I did agree to help you in any way that I can, but why didn’t you follow me outside,” Emily questioned?

Rosemary looked directly at her and said with remorse, “Simply because I can’t.”

Emily didn’t understand what Rosemary meant and kept looking at her in a confused manner. Thus, Rosemary answered the question for her. “I am trapped here, Emily. Can’t you see that? I can’t leave this place and I am bound to it forever, tied to these walls and books, and at times, the people in here. So, I only get to see Gregory when he comes here, to look at some books or reminisce about the time we came here and he helped me with my assignments. Do you get the depth of the situation here, Emily? If the library goes away, then my existence will be in question. I will be stuck in between with eternal agony and suffering. Can you please help me, Emily,” Rosemary begged?

Slowly, the entire situation started to make sense to Emily. There was a reason why Rosemary couldn’t leave and a reason why she never felt the presence of Rosemary outside of the library. Finally, she could see a way out for herself.

“Is this the case with all of you,” she asked almost innocently?

Then, she suddenly remembered what happened in the abandoned room to which Mia took her and Jamie. She also remembered what happened in her own dorm room where she chanted the prayers for the first time. Rosemary obviously wasn’t expecting this question and Emily could sense that. She immediately told Rosemary not to answer if it made her uncomfortable.

“Have you seen any of us outside this hall,” Rosemary asked?

“I felt it once or twice,” Emily answered flatly.

“Some of us can,” Rosemary answered too quickly, and then she paused to consider her words more carefully. She continued to say, “It is best to stay away from them. They always do the dirty work, and they are scary as hell. I can sense people calling me from outside to do their work or to see them, but sadly, I am bound here. I cannot step outside this place. I tried, but all that I am capable of is letting those see me if they really want. I guess that is why you saw me here first.” Rosemary offered a gentle smile while saying this.

Emily crunched her eye brows, “But I didn’t call you the first time. You were just here and not even the second time. In fact, I didn’t call for anyone, not you or the former librarian. Then, why did I get to see you?” she asked as these were the things that were bothering her and she couldn’t rest not knowing them.

“Like I said, someone must have summoned me and you just happened to see me,” Rosemary offered.

“It was a coincidence? Just like that? But that doesn’t make sense. There must be something else,” she told Rosemary, using her facial expressions to convey a sense of pure curiosity. “Well, can you tell me if there is someone whom you know about and who would stop me from coming here or meeting you or not want this library to be here? There must be someone like that,” and Emily was clear about her suspicion.

“Yes, yes, there are the ones that you mention. They can travel outside and they don’t need the likes of me who prevent them from doing stuff. To think of it now, someone did summon me that day or her…” Rosemary stopped.

“What? Why did you stop? Her? Who are you talking about?’” Emily probed harder.

“Who did you see the other day, the day that you fainted?” Rosemary questioned in turn.

Emily closed her eyes and concentrated hard and tried to remember what she exactly saw. Then said, “I … I saw the old lady librarian and she was coming towards me with her white, sickly hands. Oh, that was horrific. I remember that I asked her to stay away from me and then I screamed and fainted. The next thing I remember I was being taken care of by the nurse. The doctor who used to check me wasn’t there and someone else did. They said it was stress and I asked them to keep that information to themselves. Later that night, I heard the news was all around that I was speaking to myself…and…before I saw the lady librarian, didn’t I see you?”

“Yes, I was there, but not for the reason you think. I came to warn you, because I knew you were in danger. I think that you must have said those prayers before, the ones that triggered my presence and hence I was there. It was because I thought it was a call for help.”

Rosemary’s explanation settled Emily a bit and she was relieved by the fact that she was not totally losing her mind. However, she needed all her questions to be answered before she could help Rosemary completely. Emily was the one who wanted to control the situation by knowing all the details.

“But I don’t understand one thing though,” Emily went on. “Why would the former lady librarian want to harm me? The last time I saw her, she helped me. It was before I knew that she was not human. I was sitting somewhere along here waiting to finish one of the assignments, but it was too difficult. I couldn’t find the book that I was looking for and then I saw her over there in some retro clothes. I didn’t think anything at first, but she was eager enough to help me herself. She directed me towards the book that I needed and that was it. It had all the answers and problems I needed. Even when Denise didn’t help me with the work, I could finish it on time because I had all the answers ready in my hand. Don’t you think that is surprising?” Emily looked at Rosemary and tried to find the answer in her expression, but she got nothing.

“How did you know then that she was a ghost,” Rosemary questioned back?

“I didn’t at first,” Emily admitted. Honestly, before today, I never even believed something like this could even happen. It still feels like a dream to me if you ask me. I couldn’t even believe it at first when Denise told me about it, but there was always a rumor floating around that one of the students a few years back saw the library ghost and fainted or something. The student had the same kind of nightmares and was later considered insane. I was afraid for the people around me. I didn’t want to pull them into my troubles. Grace left and I befriended Jamie to seek help. I still kept seeing the ghost and it was followed by that horrible night in Mia’s secret necromancy room. What could possibly be the meaning of all this? What is going on behind everyone’s back?”

Emily was clearly stressed while recalling the events of the earlier happenings and Rosemary didn’t stop her from saying anything. She just sat there helping Emily piece it all together. When Emily stopped for breath, Rosemary asked her to continue further.

“Don’t hold anything back from me, Emily. This is for your own good. I will do everything possible to stop what is happening to you. Sadly, there is no difference between spirits and people because anyone can deceive you. So you must be careful what you do and say.”

Emily didn’t want to think anymore or analyze what was being said to her. “I know, I know, that is why it took me so much time to believe in you. Everyone was acting so suspicious around me and I even doubted Grace, Mr. Gallagher and Jamie for that matter. Can I tell you something?”

“Yes, definitely, don’t hold anything back from me,” Rosemary urged.

“I think Grace is on to something, because she thought that Mr. Gallagher … I mean Mr. Keaton was in on this. Well, I wouldn’t blame her completely, because I thought that, too. I didn’t say this to you before, but we were sent some strange books. These were books from rare authors on criminology, which I understand, but they were not all on that topic. There were some other books, too, on spirit evocation. That took us by surprise. We thought it was a joke and didn’t take it seriously, and there was no name of the sender. I was the one who found the photograph. It was your photograph. I didn’t know even then, although in this situation, I must admit that it was Mr. Keaton’s image that looked striking to me. I had a feeling that Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Keaton might be the same person. Grace must have caught on to that, too. She left without letting me know anything. Then, I did a bit of investigation myself to get information on her whereabouts. However, I can’t seem to contact her now. The last I heard she was at her mom’s house. Also, she broke her leg and might be resting. I didn’t want to bother her or call her, but at least she is safe. I simply wish I could let her know somehow that I can handle this situation on my own or else she would be worrying on for no reason.”

Emily was saying too much and Rosemary had no intention of stopping her. There she was, listening to her patiently with everything she was saying and Emily admitted flatly soon that she was grateful that Rosemary wasn’t trying to intimidate her in any manner.

“It was a right decision for you not to involve anyone in this,” Rosemary told her. “You did the right thing, but like I said, you cannot trust anyone too closely. There are those who want this library taken down. They hate sharing. Like the former librarian, nobody knows much, but she has a history. She didn’t like anyone in this library, because it was her haven, her temple and now it will not be here anymore. So if she can’t have it, then she will not let anyone have it, as well. Everyone has their own reason, but they all know how to scare a soul when they see one. Have you seen her again somewhere?”

Rosemary’s words were comforting. Emily found all the information that she needed to know. It was then that she decided that she could lay her trust in Rosemary, after all.

“I don’t know and I cannot even tell you clearly, but someone was there. I am sure about that. I could sense it and feel it as well when Mia took me to that abandoned room. The feeling was so scary and it was nothing like your presence. The lights went off, the wind blew hard and I just knew that something was going to happen, but things were different than they are now. I had a feeling that something might not be right. Whoever was there was trying to intimidate and scare me. And I am not mistaken, because Jamie felt it too. Then, I suffered from heavy fever. Can this all be mere coincidence? I think not, because both of us can’t be wrong. You are here and I felt absolutely fine.” Emily was trying to be honest as much as she could. She believed that saying everything out loud would help them resolve the situation sooner and although the conversation was dragging on, she didn’t mind.

“You seem to trust Grace too much,” Rosemary said.

“I don’t think so,” Emily batted back.

“Then why did she leave you without saying anything? Have you ever thought about that specifically? Did she contact you in between or even try to contact you at all? If she knew something was wrong and amiss, then do you think it was right for her to leave so suddenly without telling you, knowing that you will worry? That is burdening your friend with additional troubles.”

These simple questions and statements made Emily look up, and there were lines of doubt on her face. She became silent and didn’t say another thing. Sure, she loved and trusted Grace and was almost confident that Grace meant no harm, but she couldn’t completely ignore what Rosemary just said. Thus, she decided to give some thought to it. On one hand, she felt a tinge of guilt for doubting her friend, but how could she purposely dismiss what Rosemary said. Thus, Emily maintained her silence.

“Did I say anything wrong?” Rosemary asked.

“No, you didn’t. It is just me. I can’t deny what you said. I agree that Grace should have informed me about her plans and what she was up to. That would have provided me with more comfort. But she didn’t do that, and in all this, I had to befriend someone new. That is also completely out of character for me. I know that I am making all of these problems for myself, but what am I supposed to do?” This time, Emily expressed her doubts clearly.

“Emily, we have no time to waste,” Rosemary said.

The conversation between the two was going on a surface level, so Emily couldn’t understand the urgency of her statement. She sensed that something was suddenly changing. “What happened?” she asked.

 “This library will not be here much longer, and I can sense that you are in deep trouble. We must do something quickly. Do you agree to do as I say,” Rosemary asked firmly? Emily nodded and Rosemary seemed pleased. Once Rosemary got the affirmation, she said, “Don’t talk to anyone but Gregory. Don’t speak with Jamie or even Grace if she calls you. You can’t afford that. Now listen carefully, do you know who wants this library to be taken down?”

“Who is it?”

“It’s Gregory, and we must stop him at any cost.”

Emily only looked at her in total astonishment.

“He won’t listen to you,” Rosemary went on, “and there is no way that I can get out of here. So you have to agree to the plan that I have in mind,” Rosemary proposed.

“All right then,” Emily agreed. “Tell me what you want me to do, and I will do it. If that's what it will take to save the library and give me peace before I go completely insane, then I am all for it,” Emily said with determination.

“All right then, it’s not too late. I want you to go and inform my brother about this. Ask him to be here and then I will do the rest.” There was urgency in Rosemary’s voice.

“What if he doesn’t agree to come? He didn’t believe me at first, so what is the guarantee that he will believe me now? I cannot possibly drag him in here after everything that happened earlier this evening.”

“I have a plan, so trust me on this. I know he will come. He is my brother, and I was the one he cared about the most. You are a bright student, Emily, and I trust you to the fullest. Please think of something and urge him to come. I must convince him not to take this library down. He must know this is where I am. Emily, there are evil things going on and we must stop it. This is our only chance.”

This was the final push that Emily required and she decided to follow the order swiftly. “I will go at once.” She pushed away from the table and prepared to leave.