Lockwood And Co. The Queen's Spirit

Chapter 1

Set after the Creeping Shadow (Book 4 of the Lockwood and Co series).

**Disclaimer**
The main characters of this book belong to Jonathan Stroud and I am just using them for my fanfiction. Please enjoy the story!

Do you know those little moments when you feel like life couldn't get any better? For example, when you feel super special inside and as light as air? Yes, well, for me, facing a deadly ghost with my companions at my side was that moment for me. I had a rapier in my hand and salt bombs in the other. I was staring defiantly at the ghost in front of me. It was slowly changing from its original form to Lockwood and then to Mary, my sister. But I knew it couldn't be them because Lockwood was standing just a few meters behind me, next to Holly. Both of them had their rapiers out and were standing behind a double iron chains barrier.

Why iron? That's obvious. Iron keeps ghosts at bay. You want to survive ghosts? You better have some iron at hand.

Moving on, George was standing right next to me, holding the skull in the jar. The skull was making horrible faces at the Changer and muttering a variety of choice words in my head. Quill Kipps had on his round goggles, making him look like an overgrown scarecrow about to take a dip in a swimming pool. But none of this mattered to me because I was back where I belonged--with the team. I had them back and with them, came back my confidence with my Talents. But of course, I need to start this story at the beginning.

Have you ever heard of ghost stories? What about screaming staircases? A way to see past to the dead? Let me tell you, I've seen it all. Truly. Because I'm Lucy Carlyle. I'm an agent who works for Lockwood and Co. in London. We're the best child operated, ghost hunting team in England. And the only one. But that didn't stop us.

Yes, we've done nicely these days which is why it didn't surprise me much when we got a visit from Mrs. Ravensdale, a sophisticated business lady with lots of money at her disposal.

"Hey, George! Go open the door." I yelled.

"Do it yourself, can't you?" he replied, not looking up from The Incidents of The Problem: Theories and History, a book he had picked up from the public library for more insights on why the Problem has started. More than 50 years ago, the Problem arose. The dead had started returning to the living as ghosts. The first ones to fight against it were Marissa Fittes and Tom Rotwell, who founded two of the biggest ghost hunting agencies in London.

George had no intention of getting up so I sighed and tossed my rapier on the sofa and headed to the door. Before I could open it, Lockwood reached for it and gave it a pull. Outside was a woman who looked about 40 with salt and pepper hair, shriveled gloves and an old-fashioned dress. She had on round glasses that were too big for her head which looked like an upside-down egg.

"Good Morning, Ma'am. Please, come in. Are you a client?" asked Lockwood in all his prim and proper glory. He was wearing his signature too tight suit and his hair had that messy look but not so messy that you would think he's never brushed it."The horror. Oh, the horror!" she ranted emphasizing the word 'horror' as if she couldn't imagine a fate worse than this to befall her. She put up a hand to her forehead and looked at us with a distressed face. I already disliked her and judging by Lockwood's disgruntled smile, he felt the same way.

"Yes, ma'am. We'll try to help you if it's a serious case, but if it's only a Shade or a Glimmer, I think using lavender or iron is sufficient. " said Lockwood taking a seat in his chair.

By this time, George and Holly had both come into the living room. Holly had homemade fruit cake in one perfectly manicured hand and a pot of tea in the other. George was carrying the cups and saucers on a tray. I helped them set everything down properly and we all sat down.

"Obviously it is not a Type 1 ghost, Mr. Lockwood! Or I would not have bothered to come here myself!" Mrs. Ravensdale exclaimed.

"Oh? Then could you please tell us what the problem is?" asked Lockwood, not showing a hint of annoyance except for his forced, tight smile which would only be apparent to people who knew him.

"Yes, of course. A man of details. Yes. Well, I certainly haven't heard anything but my niece has insisted that she keeps hearing a...a weeping noise up in the attic." said Mrs. Ravensdale almost squeaking helping herself to a generous cup of tea and cake with trembling hands.

"Can you describe the weeping?" I asked rolling my eyes at her huge show of fright. She was obviously feigning the trembling hands for use of a better effect. Such a drama queen.

"Yes. My niece said it was crying very quietly and had pauses between every weep. It was also high pitched so it sounded like a woman's. And there was also..." her voice trailed off.

"Yes?" urged Holly quietly.

"There was the..."

"We can stay here the whole day as we have nothing better to do. Please take your time," said George, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What was it, Mrs. Ravensdale?" asked Lockwood gently, ignoring George.

"The...the horrible face!" Mrs. Ravensdale screeched.

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**Author's Note**

Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it. Please comment and vote!

Also, for new readers who have never read Lockwood and Co, first of all, READ IT!! IT IS AMAZING! And second, I know that many things may seem confusing but I'm trying my best to explain everything in a way that is not confusing and to not dump too much information at once which is so hard to do! Please comment if you don't understand something. I'll definitely try and make it clearer.

--Blue