The Shimmering Wraith (Lockwood and Co. Fanfic)

The Ghost- 7.

                Silence.

                Now the door was shut even the static had dissipated; an all-encompassing silence weighing down on me, as though the world had been shut out of my head. Faint wisps of plasm skated past, spiralling down from some unknown place above. I drew my rapier, staying close to Lockwood as he picked his way through the archive; weaving round empty desks and abandoned piles of books. The floating plasm stayed well away from my blade, jerking upwards every time it fell near and then jiggling away as though pulled by an unseen string. Like there had been in the reception room when we had been invited to the Fittes' Anniversary Party, the famous Relic Columns rose up from the ground, though I was positive there wouldn't be a soul outside of Fittes who knew about these ones. Skeletons hung suspended behind the glass, along with other bits and pieces that had to have been ancient Sources; a blood red handkerchief, a rusty bullet, even a few broken bits of pottery. There was no blue tinge to the artefacts; I could see them all perfectly clearly through the glass.

                "Lockwood," I whispered, my voice hoarse. I'd stopped a few paces from where he now stood, engrossed in a book he'd just plucked from a nearby shelf.

                "Lucy, I thought I told you to call me Anth-" Lockwood had been turning slowly as he spoke and when he saw the pallor of my face he stilled. "What's wrong Luce?"

                "The Relic Columns," I said softly. "The glass. It's not silver-glass Anthony. It's just ordinary glass. Archive One isn't an archive; it's a death chamber. Look about you; how many Sources are there in this room Anthony? Not one of them is contained."

                "This one is," Lockwood said, a frown crossing his face as he strode towards a column in the middle of the room. Following his gaze I saw that the column did indeed have a bluish hue, a sure sign of silver-glass. Lockwood gave it a thoughtful tap with his nail, looking at the skeleton hanging limply inside. Its skull had been cleaved in half, possibly with an axe. It wouldn't have been a pretty death. "I wonder why."

                "Anthony, please. We need to get out of here," I said, the silence that had been so heavy beginning to lift, the first buzz of the previous static reaching my ears. "Something's coming. Anthony-"

                A high-pitched scream rang loud in my skull, the shrill sound cutting through my thoughts. I put my hands to my ears, falling to my knees as the noise grew ever louder. Other voices joined the first, building up to a piercing crescendo that I couldn't bear. I was curled on my side now, clawing at my head as I tried to stop the awful, keeling wail.

                "Lucy!" Lockwood's voice was frantic and I felt him shaking my shoulder, the psychic noise dying away at his touch. I couldn't stop shivering, the echoes of whatever had just occurred bouncing around inside my skull. "Lucy, are you alright?"

                "We have to get out," I croaked, struggling to get to up. Lockwood put his arm around my shoulders, helping me scramble to my feet. "We have to go now, before it comes back."

                "But Luce-"