Billy Bones: Beyond the Grave

Chapter 5

When Liz learned that all three of our rooms had been broken into, and that the Lexicon for each of us had been stolen, I swear her hair looked like she was touching one of those magnetic spheres at the science fair. It even smoked.

Jeeves shook under her gaze.

“How in the Afterlife did you let that happen, Jeeves? All three rooms? Were you poking around the Arcane Room all day instead of keeping watch?”

Jeeves lowered his head. The guilt on his face was enough of an answer that he didn’t even have to speak the words.

“Jeeves! You know Gertrude can’t keep an eye on all the rooms at once!”

Smoke rose from her outstretched palm. “Give me the key to the Arcane Room. You are forbidden from entering until further notice!”

Jeeves dropped to his knees, sobbing hysterically. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I couldn’t help me’self.” His fingers fumbled with a ring of skeleton keys until he found one that was slightly different from the others. It had a five pointed star on the end of it instead of a skull. Jeeves’s lower lip curled downwards in a sulky pout as he looked at Liz. He cradled the key to his chest.

“Now, Jeeves!” she said.

“It won’t happen again, ma’am, I swears it!” His body shook with sobbing.

“You said that the last time, remember? Consequences, Jeeves, consequences.”

At that point he stopped blubbering. His pout turned angry, and he thrust the key out at her. Liz took it, and then Jeeves stomped off like a scolded child.

“My apologies,” Liz said. She tucked the key somewhere in the folds of her dress. “He’s been slacking off lately. We’re going to have to have a long talk with him.”

None of us knew what to say, so we all just stood there rather awkwardly until Kenji broke the silence.

“Excuse me,” he said. “But, what is this Arcane Room?”

Liz headed for the stairs. “You’re about to find out. But first, let’s check your rooms. I want to see for myself.”

We followed her up and came upon Miesha’s room. Liz and Miesha struggled to be the first to examine it, but after a single look from Liz, Miesha resorted to following after her.

The space was similar to my own with the exception that the drapes and bedding were a little more feminine. The dresser was dusty, but there was a clean space in the shape of a book. The room was otherwise in pristine condition.

Goliath sniffed at the dresser. He looked at me, but didn’t seem to indicate what he was thinking.

We moved to Kenji’s room after that. It was the same situation there, with the book having gone missing from the nightstand. His room looked identical to mine.

Then, we moved on to my room. Goliath growled the moment the door opened. Liz pulled one of the vials from her bag and motioned for us to wait for her. She looked like she was ready to throw it at a moment’s notice. Goliath joined her as she entered the room.

I hovered at the door, with Kenji’s berry-breath on the back of my neck.

The room had been torn apart. The dresser drawers were scattered about the room. The curtains were shredded, the bed had been turned upside down, and the nightstand was in pieces.

Liz motioned for us to enter.

“Where did you leave the book?” she asked.

I had to think about that. After Liz’s visit, I had crawled into bed to sleep. I hadn’t felt like reading. And after knocking it to the floor, I vaguely remembered having kicked it under the bed during the incident with the curtains.