Free The Crimson Key by Christy Sloat Page B

yelling at him again. I went home and found my mom cooking. She and my dad were in a heated discussion that I didn’t feel like interrupting.
    “Dinner in five ,” my mom said as I went up the stairs. I didn’t want dinner. I didn’t want anything for my birthday. I didn’t want to go to California. I just wanted to learn everything I could about stopping this curse.
     
    After I ate dinner with my parents I took a nice hot bath. Thankfully, alone. I put on my comfy jammies and slipped into bed. I wanted nothing more than to read Hala’s book, but I couldn’t. Instead I got out my sketch pad and started drawing. Needing music for inspiration, I pulled out my phone and turned up the music as loud as it would go. My ear buds were vibrating to the music perfectly. I let my mind go and drew whatever came out. The first picture was of Lyn; her small frame and tiny features. Her hair in a straight line looking perfect just like it used to.
    My next picture started out as eyes and then a soft face. An angular chin that started to bring out someone’s features. Soon I had a picture of a woman I didn’t even know staring back at me. I dropped the pencil and my eyes burned. I had drawn someone I didn’t even know. How did I do it?
    I wondered if I could do it again. This time I closed my eyes. Letting the music guide me, I drew. When I opened my eyes, there was a man in clothing not from this era. Fumbling for my phone, I shut off the music and dialed Hala. I had put her number in right away for when weird things happened to me. She told me to call her if anything strange happened. This was definitely strange.
    “Brylee?” she answered , sounding worried.
    “Hala , something incredible is happening. I don’t know how to explain it. I draw and sketch things sometimes … this time the pictures just came to me.” I couldn’t even talk. I was so excited. I didn’t even know why I was calling her. I just knew that this might have something to do with being a medium or a dead talker.
    “Brylee , put the pencil down and burn the pages immediately.” Her voice became urgent. I was getting scared now. “Do you hear me?”
    “Yes , I just don’t understand why?” I went to the other bedroom—the one I call the fireplace room—and lit the pictures on fire. I watched them burn, erasing the faces I had drawn.
    “You have just drawn the ghosts that were standing with you in your bedroom , Brylee.” My flesh grew bumpy and my heart pounded.
    “Wh-what?” How would she know something like that?
    “I had a vision. They are always watching you. You are never alone in that house. You are the visitor in their home. You opened your mind up to them and you let them in. You mustn’t do that anymore.” I stood slowly and nodded even though she couldn’t see me.
    “Are they bad?”
    She laughed. “No, not really. But these spirits don’t want you there. They are doing everything they can to scare you and your family away.” Hala was good to have around in times like these. If I hadn’t called her, I wouldn’t have known that I was basically being watched. I wondered what else they saw me doing. They were nosy little ghosts!
    “How do I get them to stop watching me? Is there anything I can do?” I started walking back to my room. I looked behind me , and then in front of me, hoping not to run into them. I didn’t really want to have a confrontation with two pissed off ghosts right now.
    “We will work on that in more detail later. Banishing them now isn’t necessary. Just simply tell them to leave you alone and they will. Now I have to get back to my daughter , goodnight.”
    “Goodnight.” I felt bad to be bothering her while she was at home. She didn’t seem to mind , but I didn’t want to be an intrusion.
    So her advice was to just tell them to leave me alone , huh? I stood tall, and with authority in my voice said, “I don’t want you in my room anymore. Leave now!” I felt a brush against my body so