Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Truth
"How does this work?"
That was a lie. Of course Sibyl knew how the process of conjuring a spirit worked; she'd witnessed Lexi do it at least a dozen times. But she wasn't quite ready to reveal her true intentions to the mortal. She had to make sure contact was made with the spirit in question before she could do that.
"I'll lie down on your father's grave," Griffin answered, approaching the headstone. "I'll go into a sort of trance. That's where I'll make contact. Your father won't be able to see you, but I'll relay your message to him." He smiled, no doubt trying to look reassuring.
She nodded and watched him get to work.
The mortal pulled his hood up, settling it so that the dark material partially covered his blue-green eyes. He then dropped to his haunches before laying, supine, onto the grave.
It only took a few seconds for the spirit to appear. In the form of a man rapidly approaching old age, the spirit had an almost insect-like quality to him. With small, wide-set eyes, a pointed chin, long, thin arms, and elongated clasped hands, the man reminded Sibyl of a praying mantis. The lazy way his head swivelled back and forth between Griffin and herself only cemented this image in her mind.
In the time it took for the dead man to arrive, Griffin's own spirit had risen from his body. His spirit form now stood opposite her, staring first at the old man, then at herself as if questioning how the two of them could be so closely related. What Griffin did not yet realize was that Sibyl was not related to this man in the slightest. She had not come to reconcile with anyone; she had come here to gain some valuable information.
Having overcome his initial shock, Griffin made his best attempt at a calming smile. "Um...sorry to bother you," he said to the spirit.
The mantis man's head swivelled in Griffin's direction, his shrewd eyes narrowing. "Who are you?" he asked without preamble.
Sibyl watched the mortal shift uncomfortably. "My name is Griffin," he said. "I am here with your daughter. Even though you two haven't spoken in a long time, she wants to say goodbye."
If the spirit hadn't been suspicious before, he sure was now. "I don't have any children." He said the word as if it were synonymous with 'filth.'"
Griffin's eyebrows rose and he shot a sidelong glance in her direction. Other than Seers, mortals as a rule were not able to see the spirits of the dead; as far as Griffin was concerned, Sibyl was neither able to see nor hear his exchange with the dead man. Sibyl would have been tempted to capitalize on this ignorance a little longer, but she wanted to obtain the information she'd come for as soon as possible.
When the mortal had mentioned a daughter, the spirit's head had begun to swivel again, his gaze not bothering to shift out of alignment with the rest of his skull. Eventually, those eyes rested on her again, but, this time, they widened with recognition and outrage.
"You," the spirit spat, and Sibyl got extreme satisfaction in hearing the tinge of fear colouring his voice.
"Me," she confirmed, flashing her fangs in an expression that was more snarl than smile.
"What do you want?"
"Nice to see you again, Ian. What I want is to know the address of your employer. Well..." Another flash of fang. "Former employer. As you're no longer breathing, I doubt you're still on the clock."
The mantis man fumed. For a moment, she imagined his colourless face flaming red with rage.
He was about to speak - no doubt to tell her exactly where she could shove her request - when the mortal spoke first.
"Uh, Sibyl?" he asked tentatively, staring at her as if she'd suddenly sprouted a second nose. "You want to fill me in on what's going on here?"
"Not now," she answered, waving her arm dismissively in his direction. She didn't have time to explain that vampires could see spirits, but that they needed a Seer to conjure them from the other side. She also didn't have time to explain the significance of the information she was looking for. All that could wait.
The spirit, who by now seemed to have calmed somewhat, snapped, "I wasn't prepared to hand out that information when I was alive. In case you haven't noticed, now that I'm dead, you can't hurt me. So why should I tell you anything?"
"You know what he is," she answered simply, gesturing to a very nervous-looking Griffin. Taking the spirit's clenched jaw as answer enough, she continued. "Then you know that you're in his hands. I may not be able to forcibly make you talk - unfortunately - but he can."
"How?" Ian asked through gritted teeth.
Griffin's wide eyes suggested he too would like to know the answer to her question.
"Show him."
Sibyl closed the distance between herself and Griffin. Placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, she leaned in to whisper, "I know you're confused, and I promise I will explain everything later. But, please, I need your help here."
Sibyl was well aware that using the ask-nicely strategy twice in a row was something of a gamble. Especially when the man she'd been asking nicely had just discovered that she'd been lying about everything.
The temptation to refuse was very apparent on the mortal's face. For a brief moment, Sibyl considered threatening him. While his spirit was roaming free of his body, his corporeal form was left weakened and vulnerable. She, like the rest of her kind, had been blessed with superhuman strength; but, even if that had not been so, it would be all too easy to destroy the body he'd temporarily left behind.
Ultimately, she decided against this tactic. If she'd only needed his help this one time and never would have needed to deal with him again, she could have gone the rough-and-tumble route. As is stood, she was going to need his help long-term. Seers were getting harder and harder to come by, and she didn't have the luxury of waiting around until another one presented itself.
"How do I do it?"
She was so surprised that he'd agreed to help that, for a moment, she said nothing. Eventually, she nodded her thanks and explained, "You have to understand, you are the reason his spirit is here. You called him over from the other side. You have power over him. Look him in the eye and tell him what you want."
The mortal nodded and turned to face the spirit. He didn't look happy, but at least he was going to acquiesce.
The spirit looked like he was about to laugh out loud. "Him?" he asked incredulously. "Do you honestly think he's going to be able to force me to do anything? The pathetic boy's shaking like a leaf."
"Go on, Griffin."
The mortal nodded. In a voice that was more intimidating than she would have thought him capable of, Griffin said, "Tell me the address Sibyl's looking for."
The spirit froze almost comically, his face a caricature of astonishment. In a garble of words, he spat out an address. When he'd emerged from his apparent trance, he swore loudly.
Griffin beamed at her, clearly surprised and delighted by his success. Ian's spirit, on the other hand, couldn't have been less amused. If he'd still possessed a physical body, Sibyl was certain he would have tried to attack them.
"Thank you ever so much, Ian," she taunted. "That's all we'll be needing from you today."
He swore again.
Turning to the mortal, she explained in much softer tones, "Concentrate and you can break the connection. If it helps, think about him going up in smoke. Literally."
Griffin nodded and focused his eyes on the spirit once more. Seconds later, Ian was engulfed in flame, his deadened eyes shining with hatred. And then he was gone.
"Well done," she applauded when Griffin - now back inside his body - had climbed to his feet.
All previous joviality had vanished. Looking angry and betrayed, he said, "I think you owe me some answers."
She nodded. "You're right, but not here."
He crossed his arms defiantly. "Seems like as good a place as any."
"Look, I know you have questions, but we can't stay here. We've been in this place too long already."
She looked around as she spoke. There was a reason why Seers were rare; they were a hot commodity in the supernatural world. Hanging around a cemetery, drawing attention to themselves, was not a wise endeavour.
"Are you expecting someone?"
"Not someone," she answered quietly, her senses on high alert.
There it was. She'd thought she'd heard something a minute ago. Now, the sound of approaching feet was unmistakable. They'd been discovered.
Grabbing the mortal by the arm, she all but dragged him in the direction of the front gate. "We need to leave. Now."
"Why?" he asked, dragging his heels like a petulant child. "There's no one here."
"Famous last words," she said as the hoard of newcomers swarmed through the front gate.
They were headed right toward them.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone