Chapter Seven: Flower Offering

The screams came from her bedroom. Sisi opened the door and was smitten by the grating echoes that funneled through. It was coming from the bookcase, and when Sisi ran to it, she saw a book tremble and shake at every scream it gave out. She fumbled for the book, and it fell open to the floor. The screams were amplified, making Sisi tear up from the inhuman shrill.

She sighted the Simcronomicon, reached for it and flipped through the pages. She scanned through the lines, searching for an instruction on silencing the wailing book:

Once a captured soul is released from its mortal body, the soul is bound to its book. The soul will be panicked, and it will communicate through the book with great clamor.

To silence the bound book, one must plant a seed as an offering to the confused soul. Utter and repeat the captured soul's name as you plant and water the seed. This will link and nourish the seed with the soul. The ritualist can now use the book to summon them for service or for company.

Sisi didn't know about the seeds or the offering ritual. She got up, ran out of the house and hailed for a cab.

An hour later, she returned with thirteen garden pots and a packet of lilac seeds. She went to the third floor and positioned the garden pots equidistantly. With her knees on the floor, she could feel the screams vibrating from beneath.

With the last pot arranged, Sisi chanted Emery Thornton's name. She planted the seed and watered it. The screaming stopped.

Sisi walked down the stairs to the first floor and entered her bedroom. Emery's book of life remained open on the floor. It was silent and still. Sisi picked it up and read the last pages of Emery's life. She read that Emery had met a handsome stud named Don Lothario, and she had invited him for a midnight WooHoo. The night had been so impassioned that Emery's heart burst in excitement—literally.

Sisi closed the book, gave out a sigh and returned it back to its shelf. When she turned around, Sisi screamed at the ghost standing behind her.

"Sisi? What am I doing here? And why is my voice weird and echo-ey?"

Emery moved towards Sisi and noticed that her legs were missing. And she was floating. Emery looked at her arms, her palms, her chest.

"I'm see-through! Why am I see-through? Sisi? What's happening?"

Sisi took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. Her first impulse was to reach for Emery's hand. When she took it, the hair on her arms and her nape stood on their ends, and there was a tickling sensation that pulsed through her body. Bliss—the feeling that she could stay awake forever.

"Sisi! Please!"

Sisi snapped out of her moment. She told Emery that her soul was safe in her hands and that her soul will be free soon. Sisi was uncertain about the souls being free and being safe, but one thing was for sure—they were in her hands.

"Why do you need us? What do you have planned?" asked Emery, doubtful of Sisi's intentions.

Sisi then told her a lie, a lie that she had not thought of nor had she control of saying. It was The Third taking over her tongue and saying, "because you will be saved. All of you."

Before Emery could respond, her ghostly body faded. She had said something, probably begged Sisi to do something. But her words were unclear like a drifting echo. Soon, Sisi was left alone. When midnight drew near, Sisi went to bed. She closed her eyes, but sleep didn't come.