“Are you sure you girls don’t need anything?”
“We’re fine, Mom!” Emily groaned, waving her hands at the door.
“Well, just let me know if you want anything!” her mother chirped, and she gently closed the bedroom door.
“Ugh,” Emily sighed, shaking her head. “Why can’t she get the hint? We’re thirteen, she doesn’t need to hover.”
“Uh-huh,” Addison muttered, flipping through her phone.
“I think she was just trying to be nice,” Nevaeh offered, and she flinched slightly as Emily glared at her.
Riley said nothing. She stared around the room, her eyes taking in the queen-sized bed, the fancy computer, the mountain of stuffed animals.
“I’m bored,” Emily announced. Addison and Nevaeh exchanged a glance; when Emily was bored, they often ended up getting into some kind of trouble.
“Riley,” Emily continued, staring at her, “did you bring that thing we talked about?”
Riley nodded, pulling her beat-up black backpack closer. “Yeah,” she said, pulling out a cardboard box. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea, though…”
“It’s a great idea,” Emily said, cutting her off. “I’ve always wanted to try a Ouija board. Haven’t you guys?”
“Sure,” Addison said, distracted by her phone. “Ouija has been trending online lately. Part of that ‘woo-woo’ revival crap.”
“I don’t know,” Nevaeh mumbled. “My dad always said to stay away from Ouija boards.”
Emily scoffed. “Oh, come on, Nevaeh, you’re not scared, are you?”
Nevaeh just shrugged.
“That’s what I thought.” Emily turned back to Riley, who had been setting up the board. “So, what do we need to do? Do we need candles or something?”
“Maybe just turn off the overhead light, and leave a lamp on?” she said, placing the planchette on the board.
Emily nodded to Addison, who got up, grumbling, to turn off the light.
Riley blinked in the dim light. “Okay, there are some rules to do this safely.”
“Really?” Nevaeh’s eyes were wide.
“Yeah,” Riley said, smiling slightly. “It’s not that bad, promise. First, we need to assign someone to be the leader, someone to ask all the questions.”
“I’ll do it,” Emily said, authoritatively.
“Big surprise,” Addison said under her breath.
“Okay, Emily’s the leader,” Riley said, “which means that no one else should talk while we’re using the board.”
“Why not?”
“Because it might confuse the spirits,” Riley answered. “Another rule is that you can’t ask about when someone will die.”
“Why not?” Emily demanded.
“That’s just the rule,” Riley said. “Plus, the spirits might be lying, so even if they did tell you something, you can’t know for sure if it’s true.”
“Then what’s the point?” Emily asked, glaring at Riley.
“Hey, you’re the one who wanted to do this,” she said, holding up her hands. “I’m just telling you everything I know.”
“Fine,” Emily huffed, leaning back on her hands.
“When we’re done, we have to say goodbye, and move the planchette to the ‘goodbye’ on the board. Otherwise, the spirits might be able to make their way out, and that wouldn’t be good. And if anything scary starts happening, we say goodbye then, too.”
“Scary like what?” Nevaeh breathed.
“Like if it starts counting down, or going straight through the alphabet. Or moves in a figure-eight pattern,” Riley said. “That means something evil is around.”
“Is that it?” Emily sighed.
Riley sat for a moment, thinking, before she nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s everything.”
“Finally,” Emily said, leaning forward and putting her fingers on the planchette. “Let’s do this already.”
Addison, Nevaeh, and Riley placed their fingers on the planchette, too, and Emily spoke with a commanding voice. “Are there any spirits here with us?”
Everything was still for a moment, and then ever-so-slowly, the planchette began to move. It dragged across the board, finally resting on the word “yes.”
“Oh my god,” Nevaeh whispered, and Riley shushed her.
“What’s your name?” Emily asked.
Another pause, and then the planchette began to move again, bouncing from letter to letter.
“L-I-L,” Emily said, watching it move across the board, “I-T-H. Your name is Lilith?”
The planchette slid back to “yes.”
“Like the demon?” Nevaeh squeaked.
The planchette jerked suddenly, away from the “yes” before moving back.
“We should stop,” Riley muttered, “this isn’t a good idea…”
“Emily’s moving it,” Addison said, her voice accusing.
“I am not. Lilith, prove that I’m not moving it.” Emily smirked. “Who does Addison have a crush on?”
Addison sputtered as the planchette moved across the board.
“S-A-M. See? You never told me that, did you?”
Addison shook her head mutely.
“Emily, I think we should stop…” Riley said, glancing across the board.
“Oh, come on, we’re having fun,” Emily smirked. “I’ll even ask it about me, next.” She cleared her throat. “Lilith, who is going to ask me to the Winter Carnival?”
The planchette sat, unmoving.
“There’s no way-” Addison said, but then the planchette started moving, sliding over familiar letters.
“S-A-M. Sorry, Addison,” Emily laughed.
“You are moving it!” Addison yelped.
Emily shook her head. “I am not! I guess Sam just likes me better.”
As the two began to bicker, the planchetta started to move again, slowly creeping along the numbers, counting down.
“Guys,” Riley said, glancing between them, “I think your fighting is pissing off the board.”
Emily glanced down, where the planchette was already at six. “Whatever. Let’s ask it another question.”
“We really shouldn’t-”
“Lilith,” Emily asked, staring at Nevaeh, “is Nevaeh’s mom ever going to come back?”
Nevaeh paled, and Riley almost removed her hands from the planchette. “Emily, don’t-”
But the planchette was already moving, gliding over the board to rest on the word “no.”
“Oh, sorry, Nevaeh,” Emily said, pouting. “I guess it might be lying, right, Riley?”
Riley said nothing, and Nevaeh sniffed.
“Lilith, what do you think of Riley?” Emily smirked. The planchette moved across the board. “L-O-S-E-R. Even the spirits think you’re a loser, Riley.”
“You are moving it,” Riley said, accusingly.
Nevaeh and Addison said nothing, eyes bouncing between the two girls glaring at each other. Addison frowned slightly, and Nevaeh tried not to cry.
Emily laughed. “Sure, so what?” Emily said, pulling her hands back and crossing her arms. “It’s just a stupid game. Just like inviting you here tonight.”
Riley blinked rapidly. “What?”
Emily laughed. “You really think I’d invite you if I had a choice? Our moms go to the same church, and mine made me invite you tonight.” Her voice changed to a mocking falsetto. “’Poor Riley doesn’t have that many friends. Her mother is so worried about her and all her goth stuff. You should invite her to your slumber party, Emily.’” She glared at Riley. “You’re a loser without friends. We all know it.”
Riley sat, motionless, staring at the discarded planchette.
Emily huffed again, standing and stretching. “Come on, girls, let’s leave the loser alone so she can cry, or whatever. Let’s get some ice cream downstairs.”
She flounced from the room, Addison behind her, phone in hand. Nevaeh followed, a little slower, looking back at Riley but not saying anything.
Riley sat alone in the dark, and wiped a tear off her cheek.
“Why?” she said, her voice shaking. “Why didn’t you say anything? I thought the point was for you to scare them?”
She looked at the corner of the room, where a mist slowly swirled.
“Now, now, have patience,” a deep, melodic voice said.
“But you were supposed to scare them!” Riley cried, lurching to her knees. “They’ve been bullying me for years! I summoned you so you could punish them.”
The mist grew denser, coming together in the shape of a beautiful woman.
“Shh,” she breathed, and Riley felt a tingle rush down her spine. “All in good time. Do you really think scaring them with the Ouija board was your best option?”
Riley shrugged. “I thought you could reveal their secrets. Embarrass them.”
The woman tsked. “I thought you had more ambition than that, Riley.” The room grew colder. “I thought you really wanted to make them suffer.”
“I do,” Riley said, but her voice was hesitant.
“Then you just need to trust me,” the figure said. She smiled, her eyes flashing like flames. “By the end of the night, you will have your revenge.” The woman started to fade, the mist returning. “Such a wonderful invention, ice cream. So many complex flavors. No one notices a little extra bite.”
Riley’s mouth dropped open. “Wait, you’re poisoning them? That wasn’t the deal!”
“Oh, Riley,” the woman’s voice echoed around the room. “You should know better than to trust a demon.”
Riley could hear the distant sound of breaking china and choking, mixed with quiet, evil laughter. What had she done?
© The Lightning Tower, 2020