Pure Darkness (Cont.)

Raymond. She hid behind the jewelry counter, unseen. He was talking someone who worked there.

"Did Wanda Moore work here?" The detective was just making sure he was at the right place.

"No. There was no Wanda employed here ever." The worker spoke fast. She was very busy, working with another customer.

"How does this one look? Diamond studs with elegant rubies! Very nice!" The worker went back to speaking with the customer. Raymond turned around, and walked to the exit. He stopped, seeing Claudia in his peripheral vision. He turned his head, and Claudia lifted up her finger, ready to leave.  

"Stop!" Raymond raced over to Claudia. "Who are you?" Raymond held out his hand to Claudia. She couldn't kill him. It would only complicate things. She was smarter than that. She ignored his hand, and got up off the floor by herself.

"Nobody." Claudia began walking to the exit, the mortal way, for the first time. She could not risk him seeing her zap away.

"Wait! Why were you hiding behind the counter?" Raymond was suspicious of Claudia.

"I wasn't." Claudia swallowed. "I was just looking for my... earring." Claudia pointed to her expensive diamond earrings. "But I found it!" Claudia turned around and began walking once again. Raymond had already noticed, being a detective, that she had those earrings on while she was on the floor. He did not believe her story.

Raymond grabbed Claudia's arm, and pulled her back. Her heels almost made her trip. She got furious.

"How dare you touch me! Who the hell do you think you are? You aren't even a cop.  You're just a stupid detective!" Claudia spit out her gum, and began walking once again. Raymond found his evidence.

"How did you know I was a detective?" Claudia stopped in her tracks. Crap. She turned around.

"Will you just leave me alone?" Claudia stomped her high heel leather boots. "You have no power over me!" This was true, but Raymond would not let her get away. As she walked, Raymond stealthily followed.

After a while, Claudia walked into a dark alley to make sure she was not being followed. When she turned, Raymond hid behind a large rock, and Claudia fell for it. She thought he was not there anymore, and used her magic. Before Raymond could speak, Claudia was gone, in a bolt of electric green.

"What the-" Raymond stood up. "Hello? Are you still there?" Raymond walked to where Claudia was seconds ago. "Is this a prank?" He stopped. Was that magic? Raymond could not believe it. No, it did not scare him. It fascinated him. Amazing!







Claudia woke up the next morning, and heard the disgusting, putrid, annoying birds chirping. The sun tore a beam of endless, atrocious light. Today she would get back on track. She needed to find the books. Yet, when she was in that alley, she had a feeling someone else was too. Could it have been Ilek? No. Claudia pushed the wretched thought away. She got up from her bed, and got dressed. Back to the desk.

Claudia walked down the stairs of her gigantic victorian house. It was a waste for her to have such an amazing house, but stay crunched up at her desk with the book all day. Her stairs seemed to spiral up, as if neverending. The curtains were pitch black, and she never opened them. She did not need light. It was only a mere distraction. She had hardwood flooring that brought even more darkness to the house.

Claudia had a closet in her marvelous house that stored only shoes. High heel, and nothing else. Tall, black leather boots, and beautiful red heels. The only thing that wasn't pitch black was her bedroom. Believe it or not, black was not even Claudia's favorite color. Red was. She thought of it as a passionate, deathening color. This is the reason she painted her room this color. The walls were a wonderful shade of dark red, and the dresser was full of over a hundred shades of red lipstick, red eyeshadow, red nailpolish, and anything more you could think of. Even her hair was dyed red. Her desk provided supplementary exuberance to the room.

Claudia sat down on her roller seat, and opened the drawer in her elegant desk. Inside the drawer was a small black notebook. Underneath the notebook was the dark green book. She pulled both of them out. After setting the book on the desk, she opened up the worn black notebook.  Inside of it she saw...

Locations of books_________________________________

Black: Unknown__________________________________

Red: With an Anatra_______________________________

Blue: With an Anatra_______________________________







It was written in Claudia's neat hand, with a fountain pen. A frown came upon her face. There are so many Anatras! How am I supposed to figure out which one has the book? Claudia had gotten this information by deciphering one of Ilek's old riddles. She used to think his words were just rubbish, but after thinking about them she figured out the pattern. Some were useless, but some were very useful...







The blood courses through your body, like a race.

Blue at first, red once let out of the track.

Still both are found at the same place.

Can you get them back?







She took this, and another very weird one...







Terror, hatred, envy

Yellow, and red. Ever wherever.

I try hard to help.

Even after now.

and till reach a sorrow.







She then noticed a pattern in the second message...







Terror, Hatred, Envy

Yellow, And Red. Ever Wherever.

I Try Hard To Help.

Even After Now.

And Till Reach A Sorrow.







If you took the first letter of every single word he uttered, you would get, They are with the Anatras. She compared this to the message before, and realized he was talking about the red and blue books. Now all that's left is the hard part. She thought.

Olivia's Powers

         

By the time Olivia had recapped about Ethan, she only had one question. "Wait, if he can do that puffy smoke thing, why can't you too Dunc?" She wrinkled her forehead. Ethan did too. Why is she calling him Dunc? Ethan thought.

         "Well, the other Anatras were way too worried about me joining the light, so they lowered my powers to incantations only, but my brother, being the third most powerful Anatra, can fix that." Dunc stopped in his tracks, and turned to his brother. "Ethan. You'll do that, right?"

         Ethan walked over to Duncan, and began reciting an incantation. Olivia knew it wasn't in Latin since she spoke Latin, in school. It must have been in an Anatra language. For some reason, she felt like she understood it, but she didn't. Maybe it was because she was a sontid. She did not know.

Wentormal Gonginyama

With that, a flash of green light entered Duncan's body, from Ethan's hands. "Great!" exclaimed Duncan. He turned to Olivia abruptly, and quickly changed the topic.

"Olivia, would you like to try out your superspeed?"

         "How do I do that? It took me 15 minutes to run the mile run!" Olivia was trying her best to contain all this information.

         "Just run." Ethan stared at Olivia expectantly, with a smile. He also had taken a liking to Olivia. Now he believed in her also. It took a while, because Ethan had never thought of a mortal as anything but annoying and exasperating, but he did it.

Olivia got into position, and took off running, heading for the mountains in the distance. Within about five seconds, she had gone double the distance. She stopped, abruptly,surprised. She felt the power inside her. It was like electricity surging through her body, and she was waiting for the shock. Now she thought, this is so worth it!

"Now I can use my super speed, and you can do that smoke thingy, and we can get to Rome today! Nothing else needs to be done!" Olivia waited for a response, standing still and smiling.

         "Sorry Olivia, but Anatra powers don't work to get to Rome. The gods want to see if we are capable of life without powers, another very important thing." Ethan stated. "If we use our powers to get there, and the council comes to know, they will be taken away. We have to walk." Ethan sighed discontentedly. "Now try out your super speed, to master it, well enough. You should also know how to use your spell book. These forests are very dangerous, and you might need it." Olivia felt like she was being assigned one weeks worth of homework in five minutes. She thought that having powers were supposed to be fun! She anyways nodded, and took off in a rush.

         When you are running so fast, it is hard to control where you are going, and Olivia had trouble with this the most. No matter how much she tried, she could not control herself. When she wanted to stop, she couldn't.







By the time Olivia was done, it was nearly dark. The moon was out, and it seemed like the moon was giving more light to the forest than the sun. Olivia, Duncan, and Ethan had decided to sleep out there for the night. Olivia had found a patch of grass, and settled in, and Duncan and Ethan had fallen asleep on the rough dirt. Olivia felt bad about this, but as they called her the "guest," so she was given the patch of grass. Even though she knew that they were creatures of evil, Olivia thought of them as quite gentlemanly. It would take a while, but she knew she would get used to this.

Olivia awoke with a jump, and for a minute she couldn't remember why she was lying in the grass. A faint memory lay in the back of her head, waiting to break open the wall. It pushed harder, as Olivia began to remember again. She yawned, and tried to fall asleep again. It was no use. She looked up at the moon. Three A.M. maybe? She got up, and began to walk through the pitch black woods. She did not know why she bothered. You could not see anything, and she tripped so many times on the same branch. She was just surprised that she did not get lost. She walked past trees with faces, and leaves that could walk. It was too bad that she couldn't realize how amazing the forest was through the darkness.

She yawned, and realized she was sleepy again. She began walking back when she heard a twig break. She jumped and turned around. She saw nothing, but the loneliness, except she did not feel lonely. There was someone here. She continued walking, feeling even more scared. She completely forgot where she was going, and ran to hide behind a tree. Another twig broke, and it sounded as loud as a bomb.

"Who is it?" Olivia's voice cracked and it could tell she was weak. No answer. She turned around, and let out a horrifying scream. This scream broke through the air, and seemed like it could be heard all the way across the world.

Before her, stood a demon himself. Olivia didn't know this. He looked nothing like any regular person, but he was scary on the inside. This made anyone scream. It was a weird feeling. Like nothing ever before. She heard another twig crack, but a demon wasn't moving. She spun around, and saw Ethan. The moment Ethan saw a demon, that whole "I can do anything" face wore off. Now it looked more like "I can't do anything." This horrified Olivia. Ethan shook terribly.

Why is he so scared? Olivia thought. It is just another monster.

"What's wrong?" Olivia asked. "Do a spell!"

"H-h-h-he is a demon!" Ethan screamed. a demon let out a wide, thick, scary smile, and looked at the two as if deciding whether to cook or roast them.

Ilek

Claudia walked out of the house, still grasping the phone in her hand. The cold winter breeze whispered in her ear.

"Hello?" Claudia stammered.

"You are on the right track, but I am ahead. This case has a killer. You should solve it instead." Ilek paused. Claudia took over.

"I have to solve the case, and find the killer?" Claudia braced herself for impact. She was not supposed to speak. He was going to kill her for sure. Today she had crossed the line.

"Hmm. I see you have decoded my speech. But there is still a lot to reach." Ilek smiled on the other side of the phone.

Claudia thought that Ilek's rhymes were stupid and crappy, but she ignored it, and shut off the phone. She would solve the case, and she knew exactly where to go next. Wherever Ilek was.







Raymond still could not stop thinking about what Claudia did. It was magnificent, and he wanted to learn more about her. He was hoping that she would return once again.

Raymond walked into the crime scene of Wanda once again. As he entered, He saw a handsome, tall, tan man standing over the body. He was alluring in many ways. He had enticing features, and charisma. This was very surprising to Raymond.

"Who are you?" Raymond asked, taking over.

The man lifted up his head. "Ilek." He smiled. The bomb was dropped, the secret let out. "And who might you be?"

"This is not a time to be exchanging names. What position do you have? Detective, Police, Security?" Raymond walked closer to Ilek. "We have to get to work." He grinned, and was about to turn around, when Ilek interrupted him.

Ilek smiled, "Oh. You cute little thing. I do not work! My only position is in evil!" Ilek turned around, his black coat leaving a trail around him, and in a puff of horrible, choking, fatal smoke, he was gone.

Raymond looked around the room, and saw Ilek now standing on the stairs. "Oh! I'm sorry. I almost forgot to say bye!" Ilek lifted up his arm, ready to kill.

To Raymond, this was weird, but familiar. He had seen Claudia do the exact same thing of disappearing. He was eager to see what was going to happen next. He was even thinking about getting a notebook and writing this all down. Just as he was thinking about Claudia, she appeared out of nowhere.

"Ilek, Stop!" Claudia screamed. She then saw Raymond standing there, staring at her. Raymond had a large smile on his face. Claudia had just appeared out of nowhere in thin air. This was going to be a problem.

Claudia had other problems at the moment. She was about to strike Ilek, when he broke out in laughs. "HA HA HA! Claudia! Have you gone good? Why do you care if I kill this pest? He is only trouble in your way!" Ilek could not stop laughing. He held his stomach, and chuckled.

Suddenly, Claudia screamed,"Stop acting like you are trying to help me! You are not! I know you are just using me to get the books! I don't even know who you really are! What's your motive?" Claudia paused for a breath, realizing what she had just done. She had yelled at the most powerful person in the world. It did not matter to her. She had solved the case of Ilek. He needed her to get the books, so he could not kill her. If he didn't need her, he would have killed her a long time ago. Right now, she did not want complications so, she could not let Ilek kill them.

Claudia calmed down and continued, "It will only complicate things to kill him. I think it is best if we just leave it. Let him do his silly investigations. If it is what makes their mortal species happy, why do you care?" The room was quiet for a second, as Ilek stopped laughing all together. Nobody said a word. This only lasted for a bit. The last person that they thought was going to speak did.

"Mind if I cut in?" Raymond stepped forward.

The Demon

The demon laughed, a cold laugh burning with hate.

"Oh, I'm pleased that you know me, Ethan." Ethan shook with fright, a look of stricken terror on his face.

"I..." Ethan could not speak. "Why do you want me?"

"Oh, it's not you I want." the demon purred. "You are merely a poor soul who decided to betray the dark. No, I'm looking for... HIM! HE IS THE ONE WHO-" Rage suddenly burned inside the demon, who enlarged and pointed at Duncan, who had arrived a few seconds ago.

"No!" Ethan and Olivia screamed in harmony.

"He's my brother!" Ethan yelled.

"How... touching." the demon smiled, showing the deep cavern in which some people called the entrance to the horrors of the world.

"No." Duncan calmly said. "The Anatras sent him, and do not fear any Anatra. I am, concerned, however, about you two. Leave!"

He pulled his hands together, and shot out a green ball of light which zoomed past the demon, hitting a nearby tree. Olivia watched in fear, as the tree crumbled to the ground.

"Silly Duncan. I'm more powerful than all of you combined. I was not sent by the Anatras. They cannot control me. I live for chaos. Only the gods can control me, and now they have failed to do that. They are caught up in their other work, that I was able to escape unseen! Fear me, for I'm the future of this world!"

"No." Duncan spoke, valiantly.

"ENOUGH TALK! YOU MUST DIE!" the demon conjured a ball of green fire, and shot it at Duncan, which hit him square in the chest. He collapsed onto the rough ground.

"No!" Olivia screamed. Ethan could only watch in horror. Olivia ran toward Duncan, and the demon laughed.

"This is only the beginning, I'll be back." And the demon disappeared in a bolt of fire. Ethan sprinted toward Olivia and Duncan, and consoled Duncan.

"Duncan?" Ethan whispered.

"Watear." He spoke in a mere rasp. Olivia dug through her backpack for her water bottle. She pulled it out, and quickly shoved it at Duncan.

"No! Anatras, they... can't have water. He asked for watear" Ethan flinched at the bottle.

"What in the name of a demon is watear?" Olivia was getting annoyed.

"Watear is a healing spell which only sontids can use. Anatra healing spells do not exist because Anatras were made to cause pain, not recovery. You need to cast the spell QUICKLY!" Ethan handed Olivia the same red book that Dunc had given her before, except this one was blue. She was confused, but still she opened it, and asked "WHICH SPELL?!?" Ethan responded from memory.

"Um... Fortieth page, third spell from the bottom!" Duncan rasped in pain, and Olivia flipped through the pages. She read out the spell...

Heal fos mou

si, den ypofei apkoia perissera

"Dunc, are you feeling better?" Olivia asked. Dunc was still and silent for a minute, then he slowly got up. He looked dizzy, but he said he was fine. Ethan put Duncan's shoulder around him, and walked with Duncan. "The only problem is that a demon is coming back." Duncan sighed, and took Ethan's arm off his shoulder. "I don't think we are ready." Duncan frowned. He didn't seem normal.

"No kidding! That was a demon. We can't beat him!" Ethan responded.

"OKAY!" Olivia walked in front of Duncan and Ethan, then turned around. "What the heck is wrong with you guys?" Olivia looked like dynamite that had just been lit. "I just went through SO much, only to hear that you think we can't do it? Is this like some sort of side effect to being an Anatra because I can't think of you guys saying such things. I don't want to be cheesy or anything, but you guys can't just give up. We have to hurry. Once we find that light, and Duncan gets it, everything will be fine. The Greek gods are probably looking for the demon. They will capture him, and everything will be solved! I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited. We just saw a demon and didn't get killed. We should think like that, so stop being bumbershoots, and cheer up!" Olivia was angry, and anyone could tell. "I think it's time to go back to sleep." Olivia skipped away in the direction of their stuff. Duncan and Ethan exchanged looks.

The Vision

The entire room stared straight at Raymond. "Yes, um... who are you?" Raymond was clueless of the danger standing in front of him. He spoke like he was in a comedy show. This was no comedy. Ilek could not take it.

"Sorry Claudia." With that, Ilek pulled out his hand once again. Claudia knew she could not fight this battle with words. Claudia reached out, and grabbed Ilek's arm.







Everything faded into complete solitude. I had touched him. What little power I had left was gone. Turned to ashes at my feet. He had complete power over me. His arm tingled at my touch. He slowly said my name.

"Charlotte" Just one single touch was enough for him to take all of my powers. I quickly pulled away, hearing his cackles and hoping anything that he had done to me through touch was gone. Hoping it could make me powerful once again. I could hear him chuckling behind, now clearer than ever. Had he already killed the mortals? Their race should live on. He was truly pure evil. No. Pure Darkness.







My eyes were wide open, but I saw nothing. Everything was gone, as if never there. I could hear nothing, but the dead silence sounded like thunder. Like nothing was louder.

I felt like trash. I had believed in someone who was nothing but a threat. Nothing but an idiot. Ilek could never harm me. It was over. I had nothing to worry about anymore. Yet, all these powerful memories of how Ilek had tricked me haunted me and rushed through my mind like specks of dust in the bright sunlight. He was dead. Gone forever. My brother.







Claudia awoke in the same dark room she had been in before. Her body lay next to Wanda's. Claudia was not surprised by what had occurred to her just now. It was often for a trismos to get a vision. The type of vision where a certain moment takes complete control of your mind, and you are put in that exact time for as long as it lasts. It was confusing at first, but she soon got the hang of what it was. The only thing that surprised Claudia was the fact that she was witnessing someone else's memory. It was not one of her memories.

His british accent broke the confusion and silence. "I thought you were dead!" Ilek ran towards Claudia from where he was standing before in the corner.

Wanda's body was still there. Ilek was still there, (Sadly). Raymond was nowhere to be seen. Pressure tore through her entire world like paper in her veins.

"Did you kill him?" She stared straight ahead, and nowhere else, as if a tunnel were right in front of her. "Do you realize what you did? You just got us involved in the case again! You complicated everything!  Now there's no way out! We're stuck once again!" Claudia yelled at the top of her lungs. She wanted to kill Ilek really badly, but she was not powerful enough. He took a while to respond.

"I did not kill him. He should be back anytime now." Ilek cleared his throat, and tapped the floor with his feet. "Did you just pass out or..."

"No. It was a vision." Claudia had no other choice than to answer. Otherwise, he would kill the mortals.

"Oh! About what?" He leered maliciously.

"Same old. Same old. Your evil ways. By the way... where did Raymond go?" She smiled, her red lipstick complementing her white teeth. Claudia did not bother telling Ilek about the vision. She was sure it was just a one time thing. Probably a glitch in the council of magic.

"He wanted water." Raymond said.

Claudia stared at him, totally confused.

"He-" Ilek was about to respond, when Raymond walked back into the room.

"So you're a trismos and he's a trismos? Are you guys like... married?" There was a complete pause in the room. Claudia broke in, madder than she had ever been before.

"What the hell?! You told him?" She was ready to get up, and punch Ilek in the face, the mortal way. She lifted her fist, then stopped. She was amazed at herself. One day she was completely scared of Ilek, and the next day she doesn't even care about his threats. This was all because she knew that he was only using her. Still, he needed her, and he would not kill her.

"Woah, woah, woah! You don't have to blame him! I'm a detective! I do this for a living. I kinda.. well, overheard you guys talking before." Raymond interrupted Claudia and Ilek to carry on.  You guys threatened to kill me, and she puffed out of nowhere, and he did this weird puffy smoke thingy, and with the electricity and green sparks, and the coughing and the threats-"

"We get it!" Ilek yelled, startling Raymond. He turned to Claudia. "I only told him that you are a trismos. I had already told him in the beginning that I am a trismos."

Claudia exhaled. "If you tell a living soul, I will hunt you down personally, and kill you."

Empty Threats

Raymond was responding to Claudia's long threat. "I don't think you will be able to hunt me down when I tell somebody you're a trismos. You need to think clearer. They'll kill you." Raymond spoke smoothly. His words came out like velvet, meant to be. They fit perfectly. Claudia felt like stabbing him. She lifted up her hand with a rough motion.

Ilek caught her just in time. "No Claudia!" He grabbed her hand, doing the right thing. Claudia gaped at him.

"No! Don't touch me. I'll get another vision." Claudia braced herself, but nothing happened. She exhaled, "Jeez. Just... Don't touch me." Ilek slowly pulled his hand away, feeling awkward.

"Well, you don't have to worry. I won't tell. I find you guys rather fascinating. I would like to learn more!"

"Well, I think you have learned enough. We don't need any mortals in our life." Ilek shuddered just saying the word. " Well then. We'll be on our way." Claudia nodded, and lifted up her finger.

"Wait! Can I come with you?" Raymond tried.

"No." Claudia and Ilek spoke in unison, without turning their backs, and in a flash of blinding light, they were both gone, leaving Raymond in complete agony.







Claudia searched through her entire desk. Where was it? Tension dove through her body like a fierce knife. Her sweat warmed up her body. Had she lost it? No. She couldn't have lost the only thing that had meaning in her life. She was not that dumb. Although now she felt like the stupidest person on the earth. Why didn't she take the book with her?

There was something weird about her desk. She felt as if there was something else missing. Maybe something in the room. Claudia walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. She walked all the way down the spiraling stairs, frequently looking back. She needed to find a spell. The only problem is that trismos could only destroy and kill. No. She needed someone to cast a spell. Claudia grabbed her coat off the rack, and headed out the door, her bright red dyed hair flowing elegantly behind her.







Raymond was awoken by a dark shadow reflected on his window. It was one of a man. He was broad. There was no light. He couldn't make out whether the man was inside or outside. Raymond bent over to look at his alarm clock. Two a.m? He must be a neighbor. He could see that the man was carrying a briefcase. Soon enough, the shadow disappeared. Raymond was sure that whatever was there, was gone. He pulled up the sheets again, and closed his eyes.

Raymond was about to fall asleep when he was once again awoken by the shadow, This time it made a sound. It was a loud bang that sent Raymond jumping up. He opened his eyes, and saw, standing before him, Ilek. Well, not standing, but hanging, on a hook, from the ceiling. His dead eyes stared through Raymond's.

One Bad Move, and you're Dead

"How the heck did you get my number? Why are you calling me at two fifteen in the morning? Are you out of your mind?" Claudia chomped on her caesar salad.

Raymond responded from the other end, "He is dead. Get. Over. Here." Raymond was not that shocked. He had seen many murders before.

Claudia froze. "Who's dead?" It was a question she did not need an answer for. She knew who it was. The only person that Raymond would call her about. She shut off the phone, and flashed herself to Raymond's door.

Raymond was still staring at the body when he heard a knock at the door. He opened it to see Claudia standing before him. She did not wait. She stormed into the house, and straight to Ilek. She stopped the moment she saw him.

"Could you get out for a minute?" Claudia looked irritated that Raymond was in his house. He did not move. He had every right to be there. It was his his house.

"I can be of help. I am a detective. Wait! There's a note!" Raymond was right. Sticking out of Ilek's pocket, was a torn up green post it note. Claudia read the words aloud.

"Dear trismos, You have been nothing but trouble. Consider this a warning. You better stay out of my way or you're next. Actually you are next. Sincerely, the one who has the absence of color."

Raymond stared at Olivia. "Um... this might be a bit harder, but I can still solve it." Raymond frowned, and looked at Claudia.

"Who could it be? The only person who could possibly threaten me is Ilek, but he's dead. Who could it be?" Claudia kept her eyes on the note.

"Don't worry, we'll find whoever it is." Raymond consoled Claudia.

Claudia's reaction was the least bit natural. She turned to Raymond, and slapped him, sending his head to the right. "You have nothing to do with this. Stop being a pain, or I'll kill you."

Ilek was dead. Claudia had no competition. She would get those books if the world depended on it.

"Uh... Could you fill me in?" Raymond gave her the same charming look he had given before.







Raymond had finished recapping about the books, and Ilek, and almost everything Claudia had to say, when the sun came out. The two of them then realized that they had been talking for hours. Claudia got up from the chair she had been sitting on, and smiled. "Let's go find that book."

Raymond stopped her. "Wait a minute. You're gonna use that book for what?"

"Ugh! Were you even listening?" Claudia sat down on the chair once again. "Once I find all four of the books, I will have the power of all four supernatural creatures. Right now I only have one. The book of ghosts. I am already a trismos. Once I get the other three; Wizard, Witch, and Anatra, I will be able to do anything!" Claudia got up once again, and stared straight at Raymond. "I have never been a great detective. I have seen your skills. You can be of help, but if I hear the slightest complaint or annoyance, you are going to be killed. Kapeesh?" Claudia opened her purse, and pulled out her lipstick.

"What powers do ghosts have?" Raymond stood up as well.

"Well, they can't be killed because they are already dead. So for me, they supply immortality." Claudia looked around the room for a mirror to apply her lipstick. "They can also walk through walls if they are in ghost form, but I prefer to stay in regular form." Raymond was even more amazed. Claudia walked over to the mirror across the room. She had gotten used to Raymond's curiosity and constant change of subject.

"Okay! I'm in!" Raymond just couldn't let go of an opportunity to learn more. "When do we leave?"

Claudia responded after finishing putting on her lipstick. "Now!" Claudia capped her lipstick, and turned to Raymond. "Do you prefer travel by flash, broom, or carpet?" Claudia stood confidently.

"How 'bout car?" Raymond tossed the keys to his worn out volvo in the air, and caught them. He grabbed his coat. "Are you coming?" Raymond stood at the door, waiting for Claudia to answer.

"What? Why? This is faster!" Claudia said.

"First we have to decide where we're going!"

"Well... First we have to get to the woods. Where the anatras are! We have to find the red and blue books!" Claudia remarked.

"Well I know an amazing shortcut! Let's take my car." Raymond said. "Oh and by the way, you left your book on the table. Don't forget it!