CW in the description

Lee was only half way down when I'Ksha turned on the lights and Lee's panicked feelings melted. It was a short room with a low hanging ceiling. I’Ksha, who was taller than Lee, had only a few inches of clearance from the ceiling. There were two large support columns on either side of the room and  the walls were exposed brick that had been painted over grey.  Small windows near the ceiling were blocked out by snow. The concrete floor was covered by large rugs of various sizes and colors.  Black blankets and moon and moth themed tapestries hung on the walls and much like Lee’s room, I’Ksha had strung fairy lights around the top of the walls. A large bed sat along the far wall with plump pillows and a small desk was pushed to a corner. A dresser sat opposite the bed with a TV on top of it.

“It’s a bit unconventional living down here,” I'Ksha said, bending down and plugging in a space heater. “But I don't really bother my siblings or my dad with noise, so you and I don't have to worry about being too loud.” 

Lee walked through the room looking at little details here and there. They hadn't even noticed a large fish tank in the corner by the desk. It was the brightest thing in the room, color wise, and had a small blue and black betta swimming around. “I have to admit, it’s kinda cool,” Lee said quietly. 

I'Ksha nodded and sat down on the bed crossing her legs. “Yeah, when Cyrus was born my dad needed a room for him. My room and my sister’s room were too small for us to share so my dad was going to move her down here. He spent a long time making sure that everything was clean and he did that-” she pointed over to the corner on the other side of her bed at a closet-like box, “to hide the water heater.”

“Why are you down here and not your sister?”

“Her first night down here she saw a spider and she freaked out. To be fair it was a pretty big spider. I'm not scared of them.” 

Lee’s eyes widened and I'Ksha laughed. “Oh no! Not you too! Don't worry, I haven't seen one down here in months.” 

And it was back. That comfortable warm feeling of Lee and I’Ksha taking up the same space. Lee sat down on the floor at the end of the bed. They took in the noises of the room. The soft fan sound of the space heater, the low hum of the water heater, the bubbling of the fish tank. It was all so calming. They flinched a little when I'Ksha set the bag of books down next to Lee. They had forgotten to grab it from the car. “ How about you look in the encyclopedia and I will skim the other two books?” 

Lee nodded and fished the thick book out, handing the bag back to I'Ksha who immediately opened the top book. The encyclopedia was thick and had thin pages like a Bible or a dictionary. They began looking through the A’s. There were a few interesting deities, 

       Lee was mainly familiar with the ones they had covered in class before but already there were a prominent number from African, Sumerian, Hindu and Haitian mythology and religions that they had never heard of before. After a few pages it felt a bit pointless to go by each name so they tried looking at only names associated with nature which, as it turned out, was most of them. Over the next hour, at least it felt like an hour, they hadn't checked their phone since texting their dad that they would be staying at a friend's for a night, Lee closed the book and set it down with a loud THUNK. 

“You ok down there?” I'Ksha asked placing her book down on her nightstand.

Lee rubbed their eyes. “Yeah, it's just, a lot of reading.”

I'Ksha patted the bed right next to her loudly and Lee got up and sat down on the bed a little farther away from where she had patted. I'Ksha dropped her head into her hands. “Big day?”

“What?” Lee tilted their head.

“We talked about a lot of stuff, did a bunch of research, too big of a day?”

Now that Lee thought of it, this day had lasted a while. Actually ever since Alice had come back felt like things were moving non stop. It was hard to keep up with all of the new information that was being thrown at Lee. It all felt exhausting. Lee’s shoulders began to feel heavy. “What time is it?”

I'Ksha fished for her phone on the floor by her bed. “It’s 10:23.” I’Ksha said, flopping the phone onto her bed. Lee groaned. It hadn't even been an hour since they began reading the encyclopedia. I'Ksha stretched her arms above her head. “Are you tired? Do you want to sleep?”

While Lee was definitely tired they felt too wired up to sleep. “Uh, if you are, sure, but I don't think I could sleep right now.” 

I'Ksha nodded and stood up. “Well, I'm gonna go take a shower upstairs. If you need to borrow some clothes I keep my pajamas in the top drawer, I'll see you in a minute.” She grabbed a few clothing items and disappeared up the stairs. After a moment Lee jumped at the hot water heater roared to life.

They stood up and used this time to change. I'Ksha was a larger person than Lee and her clothes fit them very loosely. The shorts they had found were far too loose to wear so they hoped that I'Ksha would be ok with them staying in their boxers. After fighting with themself about it for a bit they decided to take off their binder. They had worn it too long as it was and with the shirt they borrowed being so big they hoped it would hide most of their chest. They folded their clothes neatly and placed them in the space between the water heater closet and the column. Looking around the room again they wrestled with themself to not snoop around. They were curious if I'Ksha had any items like what they had found in their mother's box. 

They saw a few things. There were crystals everywhere around the room, especially on a small table near the stairs. The table was filled with crystals,a large red candle, a bowl and cup, an intense burner and a small statue of a cow. Under the table was a box of different colored candles and jars labeled different herbs. Looking back Lee remembered something similar in the living room when they were younger. They hadn't seen any crystals but their mother had a shelf that Lee had thought of as the ‘candle shelf’. The shelf had been full of candles of different colors and sizes. Every so often Lee’s mother would light them and even let Lee assist her. Las velas están calientes, calientan a nuestros invitades. The candles are hot, they will warm our guests. Lee had always assumed that she had ment the spirits that visited them, not anything else. 

Lee heard the stairs begin to creek and they quickly sat at the desk and pulled their legs up to their chest. They were afraid that they would be caught snooping but more so, not wearing their binder around others made them feel like they were standing naked in a crowd. I’Ksha walked in and flopped down onto her bed pulling a large pillow into her lap and checking her phone. Lee glanced over at her. Her long braids were placed into a black silky bonnet and her face was naked from the usual black eyeliner and eyeshadow she used. It felt a little strange to Lee, to be seeing I’Ksha without her makeup on. I’ksha had always worn her makeup boldly. In a way it felt like war paint, framing her face and making her intense eyes pop. But here she was, no make up, biting at her thumb as she scrolled through her phone in her matching black and white bat pajamas. 

I’ksha cleared her throat and looked up.  Lee  quickly shot their eyes at their knees hoping she hadn't noticed they had been staring at her. Lee began to pinch at their palms. Come on, dumbasses act normal.

“I have an idea on what to do next.” I’Ksha announced bending over the edge of her bed and digging under it for something. “It normally is a really dumb idea but, I don't even think they really work anyway.” She sat up and placed a long thin box onto her bed. Lee stood up to get a closer look, walking over to the bed and stopped. 

“You're joking right?” Lee crossed their arms across their chest, raising their shoulders up to their ears. 

I’Ksha lifted the top of the box revealing just what was advertised, a Ouija board. “Aquila gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago as a gag gift. I haven't used it because it is basically the same as using a Bell Spell, which you have already done,” she raised her hands up to her ears cuffing them, “it just has a much louder ring. And this time we will actually know which spirit we are calling for and not just reciting a spell we don't know.”

Lee sat down very far from the board. “Something tells me I don't want to use that.” they whispered, staring intently at the board like it was going to begin moving on its own. Alice had made one with Lee a few years back when Lee confessed they saw ghosts, using the inside of a cereal box, a sharpie and a shot glass for the planchette. She had convinced Lee that they could summon a spirit so that they both could talk to it to ‘prove’ Lee’s powers were real. Lee had felt something dark behind them when they touched the Planchette and their mother had run into the room smacking the glass to the ground. The two children had gotten a large reprimand after that, especially Lee. “The dead are not there for your amusement,” Martia had said. 

I’Ksha took the board out of the box and placed it between Lee and herself, holding the planchette in her hand close to her chest. “ I know this is a large taboo, and we can stop any time we want to. I can cast some protection if you would like?”

Lee bit at their lip. What if this did summon a real spirit? What if it just summoned a ghost? It wouldn't leave Lee alone after it realized that they could see it. That could derail everything else going on, the investigation for Alice, learning about their mother’s book, and even worse than that, what if i’ksha caught them actually talking to the spirit? She would think they were crazy, she would probably never talk to them again. Lee felt a familiar warm hand rest over their own. “ We don't have to do this, I can put the board away and we can go to sleep, but I really think that this may help us. Maybe we can call the spirit from the spell before, they would be the most likely to answer.”

Lee’s gut dropped and their hands began to shake. They did not want to go back to that void. What if the creature that was there showed up here? What if I’Ksha couldn't see it? What if it hurt either of them? But something was pulling in Lee’s gut again, just like the attic box, just like the book. It twisted and squirmed inside of their stomach and pulled them closer to the board. They couldn't believe mother would ever have worked with something like the creature they had seen. I’ksha had said that bell spells could be answered by anything if you don't know what you are calling to. Did they even really know what they were calling to? They brought their hands to their eyes and began rubbing them hard. Count..1…2…3…4…1…2…3…4. Their breath began slowing down. The smell of something burning made their eyes flutter open and they looked up, removing the hands from their face to see I’Ksha standing over them with a stick of incense between her fingers like a cigarette. She smiled down at them and with one hand began to lift the Ouija board up and place it back in the box. Lee reached out and grabbed it. “No.” 

I’Ksha set it back down on the bed. “I'm not going to force you to do something that you clearly don't want to do. We can put it away, turn on a movie and just go to sleep. That’s ok.” 

“I… I just don't want either of us to get hurt.” Lee blurted out. 

“I’ll make sure that we don’t.” I’Ksha squeezed their hand. She brought the incense holder over and sat it down next to two of them on the floor. She sat across from Lee, patiently waiting. Lee breathed in deep, the smell of citrus and mint stinging at their nose. 

“I feel like this is a really bad idea.” Lee groaned.

“But you want to do it?” I’Ksha asked.

“ Unfortunately yes, I do.” This felt like the worst idea but, the feeling in their gut, the twitching, was going insane. They needed to do this. 

“Ok, let me cast some protection first”

…..

I’Ksha spent some time gathering materials and handing things to Lee to rub into their hands. Different nice smelling oils and herbs all while the incense, ‘Palo Santo’ I’Ksha had called it, burned on. The whole thing was rather calming and did a lot to reassure Lee that at the very least, if they ran into trouble, they tried. Finally I’Ksha flipped the lights off and sat herself back on the bed and placed her fingers on the planchet. Lee followed.

“ We wish to communicate with a spirit that used  to work with Lee’s mother…” I’Ksha looked at Lee, raising her eyebrows.

“Martia Annette Moreno,” Lee said after a beat. 

“ We call out specifically to the spirit that uses the moniker ‘The one who lies in the forest, in the lake, and in the earth’. We ask in good faith for you to communicate with us.” I’Ksha closed her eyes and was still. The room was as quiet as it had been before, and Lee looked around the room for some sign of the creature from the void. After a few minutes I’Ksha repeated herself, this time stating Lee’s mother’s name herself. Again, the two sat there patiently waiting for something to happen. After a moment Lee felt the planchet move and they jumped only for the arrow to run over the word 'goodbye’ at the bottom of the board as I’Ksha said the phrase out loud. She took her hands and rubbed them on her knees. “I guess we wont get any answers this way tonight.”

Lee could still feel the pulling in their gut. Something felt off but they couldn't put a finger on exactly why.

“Can we try again please?” Lee said placing their fingers back onto the wooden piece.

“If you would like to. Just be sure to end with running over ‘goodbye’, and be respectful.”

Lee nodded and when I’Ksha touched the planchet they cleared their throat, choking out their answer. “What spirit showed itself to me?” 

A few seconds passed, a few more, and Lee glanced worried up at I’Ksha when the planchet moved.