The Sibyl (10 page)

“No battlegrounds. Not yet.” I swallowed and
wiped my mouth with a napkin. “I don’t know much about ghosts, but
common sense should tell you that being outside is going to
contaminate any evidence we get.”

“Makes sense to me, Eva. Elliot was digging
into his plate of food like a man deprived. I almost felt sorry for
him. “You know more about ghost hunting than you think you do.”

“I know enough to make fun of you about it.”
I smirked as he chuckled. “And no mental wards either. Connor said
we had to find a way to make ourselves stand out. A mental hospital
is too stereotypical.”

Elliot gave me a huge grin for the first time
since we’d sat down to dinner. “That’s my girl. Come on. Hurry up
and eat so we can get back to the hotel. Speaking of Connor, I have
to call him. He will want to know what our plans are going to be.
Then we’ll work on the show to figure out just where we want to end
up.”

***

We walked back to the hotel, stopping to
admire the street sights New York City had to offer. I found myself
stalling. Not from working on the show, of course. Cyrus would be
waiting on me. As we approached my door, I stopped long enough to
wonder about him. What was he? Obviously an immortal. Did he have
to sleep? Did I have to sleep?

Maybe those training sessions would come in
handy after all.

“Let me throw my bags down and grab the
folders. I’ll be right there.” I pulled out my keycard from my back
pocket as Elliot stopped at the door next to mine. He offered me a
small salute then disappeared inside. As I opened my door, I found
myself listening for the strange whispers I’d heard in my dreams. I
was greeted by a glorious silence which was broken only by my happy
sigh.

Today had been exactly what I’d needed. Aside
from our little chat over dinner, we had managed to keep our
conversation light. It was like the old times I cherished the most.
I reached over to flip on the lamp sitting on the table by the door
when a voice broke through the shadows.

“Have a nice time, Ms. McRayne?”

Cyrus. I figured he would be waiting on me.
Yet why he was waiting in the dark was anyone’s guess.

“Damn it.” I threw my purse towards the sound
of his voice. “Why are you so creepy?”

“Creepy?” My new companion flipped on the
switch to the lamp for me. His handsome face was twisted into a
smile of amusement. “I’ve been called many, many things over the
centuries. I must admit, creepy isn’t one of them.”

“Yeah, well, it fits you.” I huffed as I
crossed the room to throw my bags in the closet. “You scared me to
death.”

“Hardly.” Cyrus leaned back against the
entrance door as he watched me gather my folders and notes from the
morning session. “Leaving so soon?”

“Yes. I have work to do.” I went to the door
he was blocking and waited for him to move. When he didn’t, I
gestured towards it with my folders. “Can you move, please? These
things are really heavy.”

“No. You are correct on one matter, Ms.
McRayne. You have an astronomical amount of work to do.” Cyrus
pointed at the bundle in my hands. “But I’m afraid your little
project is not on the itinerary. We need to start your
training.”

“If I’m now immortal, then I have the rest of
my existence for your training.” I shifted the weight of the
folders to my arms. “Besides, we’ve been over this. You do not get
to tell me what to do.”

“I am not telling you what to do, my dear.”
Cyrus took the stack from my hands. “I am telling you what you need
to do to survive. The first thing is how to control the spirits so
you can only contact them through the original mirror. This will
cut down on any threat your ghosthunting expeditions will
cause.”

“You can do that?” I shook out the tingling
in my arms. I wasn’t kidding when I said those folders were heavy.
“I mean, I can choose when and where these visions will occur?”

“Yes.” Cyrus smiled. “But I will need your
undivided attention. Tell your Elliot you will discuss the
locations tomorrow. I will take a look at them myself and aid you
in choosing the safest one for you.”

I started to really tell this strange man to
go to hell, but the words died in my throat. I knew I couldn’t live
my life the way I had today; avoiding every mirror or reflective
surface. I needed to know how to control myself if I were ever to
function in society again. I picked up the phone.

I was right. Elliot wasn’t happy when I
cancelled on him. I begged exhaustion, promising him we would catch
everything up the next morning.

“There. My plans are officially cancelled.
Are you happy now?” I flopped down on the edge of my bed as I
disconnected the call. “You know, for someone who is supposed to
only act like a shadow, you are killing my social life.”

“What is this social life you speak of?”
Cyrus teased as he pulled a chair up to sit across from me. “I’m
assuming it is something important.”

I scoffed, thinking of how to respond before
noticing he had the hateful mirror in his hands. My direction of
thought changed immediately as the whispers began to fill the
silence around me. “What are you doing with that?”

“We are going to begin your training.” Cyrus
had the mirror face down, and I could see the intricate carvings on
the back of it. For the first time I noticed the lines formed the
face of a woman. She was screaming.

“You must realize, Ms. McRayne, the veil
works much like a door. It can be opened and closed very easily.”
Cyrus wrapped my hand around the mirror’s handle. “I want you to
envision a mirror that is trapped behind a door. Imagine yourself
being able to close this door at your whim. Many Sibyls before you
added a lock to it for which only they had the key.”

“I’m going to imagine a door.” I spoke the
words as if I were talking to a toddler. “That’s it? Your extensive
training, which you have been nagging me about for two days now, is
to imagine a damn door?”

“No, this is not all. But this is the most
important. You must realize the power your mind has over the
supernatural. You – and you alone – must be able to use this power
to block them out.” Cyrus held up his hand to hush me as I started
to speak. I closed my mouth as he continued. “Yet just as a door
can be closed and locked, so too can you open it. When you are
ready, you can call forth spirits from the veil.”

“So if I close my eyes and wish for all of
this to go away, will that work too?” I leaned forward. “After all,
if I can create the doorway, then I should be able to stop this all
together.”

“I am afraid it is not that simple.” Cyrus
leaned back in his chair to create more distance between us. “Now
do as I say. Close your eyes. Create your doorway.”

I let out an exaggerated sigh as I closed my
eyes.

“Now focus.”

“I’m focusing.” I grumbled. It wasn’t long
before a door appeared in my mind. Unfortunately, it wasn’t some
grand entrance only seen on the Charleston houses I grew up around.
The only door I could conjure up was the little wooden one from my
studio apartment back in Georgia. I used this image as a base,
adding not just a lock as Cyrus suggested. I added iron bars. I
wrapped chains around it. By the time I was finished, my gateway to
the afterlife could have protected the treasures at Fort Knox.

“You must be pleased.” Cyrus spoke and I
nodded, keeping my eyes closed. “Then look into the mirror. Apply
your door to it.”

I flipped the mirror over, confident enough
in my own imagination to know this could work. I opened my eyes to
see my reflection shimmering in the glass. I gasped as the face of
the woman appeared once more. She smiled. I didn’t.

“Hurry, Ms. McRayne.” Cyrus’ words were
filled with caution. “Apply the door.”

I returned my focus to the woman in the
mirror as the whispers grew louder. This time, I didn’t back away.
I imagined my door slamming shut in the woman’s face before me. I
laughed out loud as the whispers ceased. I hurried to apply the
iron bars and chains as I had done in my mind.

“It worked!” I laughed again as I looked into
the mirror. The door was still there, but it was fading. Within
moments, it was soon replaced by my own reflection. “Cyrus, it
really worked!”

“Yes.” The man nodded. “This has proven to be
a very successful method for your predecessors.”

“What else?” I stood and starting pacing the
room. “Should I go and do this with every mirror?”

“Yes. Practice this until your mind begins to
subconsciously project the image you created on every reflective
surface.”

“I have to go tell Elliot.” I crossed over to
the door leading out into the hallway. “He is going to be so
relieved.”

“Not so soon, Ms. McRayne.” Cyrus pressed the
mirror back into my hands after I had put it down on the bed. “Keep
this mirror with you at all times. Make sure this is the only one
you use when making contact.”

“Why?” I was confused. “If the door works,
and I can shut it at will, why keep things contained to just one
mirror?”

“Size.” Cyrus shook his head. “If a mirror is
large, it becomes a portal large enough for the dead to cross into
this realm. When you open the door, you are inviting them to pass
through.”

“And they can’t fit through this?” I waved
the mirror like a flag. “I thought ghosts were wisps. Shadows. They
would be able to fit through a keyhole.”

“Many prefer to remain as they were in life,
but their size can be adjusted as needed.” Cyrus stared at me,
until I looked away. “So lesson two is simply this: keep this
mirror on you at all times. Understand?”

“Yeah, okay.” I didn’t feel the need to tell
him I would probably lose the mirror before the week was out. I had
a tendency to leave things behind. “I’ll do my best to
remember.”

Cyrus passed by me to stand by the small desk
in my room. “Also, you need to learn about the god you now serve.
You must study the written works about our history.”

I hadn’t noticed the pile of books he had
placed on my desk when I had first come into the room, but I
noticed them now. There were volumes thicker than my textbooks from
UGA. I walked over to them, reaching out to take the first one off
the top. Of course, it was a book about crossing over to the other
side. The one beneath it? A study on the role death has played in
Greek mythology.

“Are you kidding me right now?” I stared at
the pile then at the man beside me. “I am not going to read all of
these. I don’t have the time.”

“Ms. McRayne, you are an immortal.” Cyrus
rewarded my exasperation with a half smile. “You have nothing but
time.”

“Tell me more about the immortal part.” I
tossed the book down and leaned against the desk. “What does that
mean exactly?”

“It means exactly what you think it means.”
Cyrus stuffed his hands in his pockets as he looked down on me.
“You won’t die as long as you are the Sibyl. Your body is now
Apollo’s vessel. You are considered valuable to him.”

“How so?” I tilted my head to the side. “If I
am not supposed to use my ability to talk to the dead in public,
how does it benefit Apollo?”

“I never said you couldn’t use your abilities
in public. I simply suggested that you not go out and willingly
seek opportunities to put yourself in danger. Ms. Carter would hold
séances for her clients and speak at conferences. She used small
venues to bring followers to our god.”

“Perhaps I could try to make contact on the
show.” I spoke more to myself than to my protector. “This could be
just what we need.”

“My apologies, Ms. McRayne.” Cyrus was
glowering again. “I don’t believe I heard you correctly.”

“It’s nothing.” I waved his questions away.
“Look, I’m really tired. Can we call it a night?”

“You are starting to look pale. Perhaps it is
best if we say our goodbyes.” Cyrus grabbed the folders I had
forgotten about. “I’ll take a look at these and let you know
tomorrow morning which will be best.”

“Alright.” I was only half listening, half
paying attention as he left. My mind was racing as I thumbed
through the pile of books Cyrus had left behind. Connor and Elliot
both insisted we have a gimmick to attract viewers to the show.
Could I use this whole Sibyl thing as a gimmick? Could Kathy Carter
have given me the one thing needed to make sure Elliot was a
success?

I needed to know more about the spirit world.
I needed to know the best ways to protect myself and Elliot. If I
was going to be cursed, then I would be damned if I didn’t use this
newfound power to speak with the dead to my advantage.

No. I would use it to our advantage. I would
make sure that Elliot’s show was a success, one way or the other. I
plopped down in the desk chair with a new determination. I would
learn everything I could about the veil and the myths. If the
Sibyls were meant to pull in followers to Apollo, then I would be
the best at what I could do.

I started with the thickest book in the lot,
skimming over most of the text. Especially when I came to the part
about how the Sibyl was created. Since the story was a repeat of
what Cyrus had already told me, I skipped it. I skipped over a lot
of the text to be honest. I was tired and my eyes were having a
hard time focusing. So much so that I almost missed the very
section I had been looking for. It jumped out at me in the gray
mass the sentences had become.

“Contacting the Golden One
.” I murmured the words
out loud, using my finger to underline each sentence as I read.
Apparently, the keeper had direct communication with the god at all
times in the event something catastrophic happened to the Sibyl.
The keeper could request aid and keep Apollo informed on the
activities of the Sibyl. There were brief prayers the Sibyl could
chant in order to get Apollo’s attention, but I wasn’t sure if such
small tokens would be enough. I needed his blessing to make sure
Elliot’s show was going to be a hit in the midst of all the other
paranormal gurus out there.