Free Siren Spirit by Elizabeth M. Hurst

long as there was tea involved, nothing seemed insurmountable.
    When she returned to the living room with steaming mugs, Emma could see her coffee table had been transformed into a kind of altar with a single lit candle placed on top of a black cloth, printed in the centre of which was a pentagram. Small pieces of paper sat in a row on the cloth, labelled “Yes”, “No”, “Maybe” and “Not Advisable”.
    “So, you still do all this spiritual stuff?” Emma asked.
    “Oh yes, honey. It’s proved invaluable in helping people. Now then, do you have an object I can use? That ring you found, perhaps? Oh, and bring the perfume bottle too, just in case.”
    Meredith sat cross-legged and barefoot in front of the table and took a chain from a small velvet drawstring purse strapped to her waist. Hanging from the chain was a large polished crystal in a vibrant shade of purple, held in a three-pointed clasp at the top.
    “I’m going to do a pendulum ritual,” Meredith declared. “It’s gentler than using a Ouija board and should keep away undesirable spirits. We want to talk to your spirit, not just anyone who wants to join in the fun.”
    Emma knelt opposite her friend. She took a deep breath to try and calm her racing heart, but it proved futile. Until lately, she had been sceptical about the existence of the supernatural, but then she had met the beautiful Grace, and now she believed anything was possible.
    “We’re going to ask a series of questions, the answers to which are written on the pieces of paper. The direction in which the pendulum swings will give us the answer. You ready?”
    Emma nodded.
    Meredith held the chain over the pieces of paper and the ring between her fingers. The perfume bottle sat next to the candle.
    “Are you the spirit who haunts this house?”
    Time appeared to slow as they stared unblinking at the crystal hovering over the piece of paper with “Yes” written on it. Ever so slowly, it began to move in a clockwise direction.
    Emma’s throat dried up. “What does that mean?” she managed to croak.
    “Clockwise is an affirmative response. In the Northern hemisphere anyway.”
    Emma went silent once more.
    Meredith drew a deep breath and continued. “Did you used to live in this house?”
    The pendulum swung again in the same direction. Emma felt her body crawl with a layer of perspiration. In just a few short days, her entire world had turned upside down and now she was communicating with a ghost, through a friend who was a medium. No one would have believed her except Meredith.
    “Did you die in this house?”
    Once again, the pendulum swung in a clockwise direction. Meredith met Emma’s gaze for a moment.
    “The next few bits might not be so nice,” Meredith warned. “But you won’t come to any harm, I promise.”
    Emma tried to feel reassured.
    “Did you die as a result of illness?”
    This time the pendulum remained still over the “Yes” paper, so Meredith held it over “No”. It jerked a little then swung in a clockwise direction.
    “So,” – Emma hesitated a little – “she didn’t die of an illness?”
    “It would appear not.”
    Meredith concentrated on the pendulum again.
    “Did you die at someone else’s hand?”
    Emma’s heart skipped a beat. Again the answer was no.
    “Did you take your own life?”
    This time the answer was yes. A chilly breeze filled the room. The ring, which Emma had placed on the table, began to twitch. The perfume bottle wobbled slightly, then became still again. The candle flickered but remained lit. Emma’s eyes were glued to the scene before her. She could hear her heartbeat in her head like a bass drum. Meredith met her eyes again.
    “Are you OK for me to continue?”
    Emma thought for a moment and nodded again.
    “I have to know what happened, so I can help her, right?”
    Meredith smiled at her, tilting her head sympathetically. She paused before continuing. “The ring on the table. Did it belong to you?”
    Yes