The books had been cleared from the dining room table and in the center sat the Ouija board. Four white candles surrounded it, and outside the candles lay a black bag and two small bowls—one black, the other red.

Luke had a large metal amulet hanging from a thick, silver chain around his neck. The amulet had a black phoenix etched into its surface.

We sat across the table from each other.

I looked at the board with trepidation. It was only another way of communicating with the spirits, right? I kept telling myself that and tried to believe it, but there was something ominous about the board. It felt wrong. Evil.

The wooden board had a polished surface that made it shine. Letters and words gleamed against the grain in sharp contrast.

I leaned in to get a better look.

In the top left corner was the word yes. In the top right corner was the word no. Below these two words were all the letters from the alphabet arranged in two rows, and each row was arched in a way that created a half circle. Beneath the letters were the numbers one through nine. There was no number ten, but there was a zero to the right of the number nine. And below the numbers was the word goodbye.

A pointer sat on top of the board—a heart shaped piece of plastic mounted on three felt tipped legs. At the tip of the pointer was a transparent circle that showed the selected letter or number beneath.

"We both place our fingers on the planchette," Luke said.

"The what?"

Luke pointed at the white plastic pointer. "It's called a planchette. We ask questions, and the spirits answer by moving the planchette back and forth around the board."

Sounds easy enough.

"But before we begin, I have to do a few things." He rose and took out a green bundle of herbs about four inches long from the black bag on the table. He saw me watching him. "Rosemary." He took out the lighter and lit one edge of the bundle, letting it burn for a few minutes, before blowing out the flames. With the fire gone, the bundle emitted a thick, smoke. "Rosemary cleanses the atmosphere."

I watched him make his way across the room. He held the rosemary up high and waved it as he walked back and forth. When he was done, he came back to the table and dropped the smoking bundle back into the black bowl.

He then took the lighter again and lit each of the candles. Reaching into the bag, he pulled out a bottle full of red liquid and slowly poured the contents into the red bowl. Next, he pulled out two raven feathers and placed them on either side of the board. He placed two fingers from his left hand into the red bowl, closed his eyes, and wrapped his right hand around the medallion.

Luke said a few words in Latin, slowly withdrew his fingers from the bowl, and then spread them across the board, smearing reddish black slime. When he finished, he sat and wiped his fingers across his arm.

He held out his hands across the table. "Now, we say a protection prayer."

I stretched out my arms and put my hands in his. Whatever was about to happen, I was glad Luke was by my side.

There was a grim expression on his face as he looked down at the board and then back up to me. "You should never use the board alone. It's best if you use it with two people."

I gave him a nod and then silently vowed to myself; I'm never going to use this thing again if I can help it.

Luke tightened his fingers around mine and closed his eyes. "Let the flames of the candles protect us. Let the candles bathe the four corners of this room in light and force out negative energy. I invite spirits to come through who are helpful. Let those helpful spirits harm none." He opened his eyes and let go of my hands. "I need you to take a moment and think about your family."

I closed my eyes and thought of my mother, my father, and my brother. I tried to recall happier times. I held a picture of them in my mind for a few seconds before opening my eyes.

Luke gestured to the planchette. "We both put our fingertips on the pointer."

The thought of touching the board sent panic racing through me.

"Colina, it's alright. No matter what happens, I'm here."

I took a deep breath and placed my fingers carefully.

"Make sure your touch is light."

I nodded. "What do we do now?"

Before I could finish my sentence, the pointer started to move across the board.

I cried out in surprise and snatched my fingers to my chest. The pointer stopped moving.

"It's okay, it's supposed to do that. Put your fingers back. Trust me."

I looked at Luke and forced my fingers back onto the pointer.

As soon as I made contact, it began to move again. It circled around the board in the shape of a figure eight.

"We'll start out asking yes or no questions," Luke advised.

"Terrific," I mumbled under my breath.

"Do you want to start?"

I shook my head.

"Think of your family again."

As I did, I felt a chill settling in the room. Something's here with us.

Luke closed his eyes and spoke in a loud voice, "Spirit, are you here?"

The pointer slowly moved until the word yes could be seen through the transparent plastic circle.

Luke opened his eyes and looked down at the pointer. "Thank you, spirit." He looked at me. "The spirits like to lie. And they aren't the best spellers."

I couldn't help myself I laughed.

He shrugged and gave me a half grin, then looked back at the board. "Spirit, do you have a message for us?"

The pointer moved slowly to yes again.

"What would you like to tell us?" Luke asked.

The pointer stopped moving.

"Spirit, are you still here?" Luke demanded.

Nothing. The pointer didn't budge.

The flames on the candles began to flicker. At the same time a prickling feeling crawled down the back of my neck.

Luke looked around the room and took his hands off the pointer.

I lifted my fingers. As I did, the planchette started moving on its own. It slowly weaved into a figure eight again.

I looked at the board in shock and whispered, "Is that normal?"

Luke frowned. "No."

The pointer started to move faster. And faster still. It spun around the board in figure eights.

There was a whooshing sound and the flames on the candles suddenly rose. The room filled with noise. It sounded like someone was humming. The humming grew louder. Another whoosh. The candle flames went even higher.

I was glued to my chair, too afraid to move. I kept looking back and forth from the racing pointer to the candles. "Is this the 'something else' you were worried about?" I shouted to be heard over the racket.

Luke's right hand was wrapped around the medallion and his lips were moving, but I couldn't make out what he was saying.

There was a loud thump from underneath the table. I scooted back in my chair. The thump came again, and this time the board rose off the surface of the table a few inches.

I looked over at the mantle where the travelers' protection pouch lay. I had taken it off earlier, when we'd returned from the hospital, so I would be open to the spirits. I sorely wished I had it on now.

"Should I be worried?" I yelled.

Luke didn't answer. His full focus was on the board as his lips moved faster.

A book flew off the bookshelf. And then another. There was a loud knock on the wall, and the whole table jumped. All four legs actually came off the ground. I shot out of my chair and stood, not sure what I should do or where I should run.

Luke stood, raised his hands, and shouted, "Be gone!"

The Ouija board flew off the table and slammed into the nearby wall. As it hit the floor, the room went silent. There was another loud whoosh.

Then the candles went out.

We stood in the dark. The only sounds were my heavy breathing and my heart pounding in my chest, which sounded like a jackhammer in my ears.

I heard a clicking sound.

Luke's lighter flared to life in his hand. He went over to the candles and relit each one.

I said, "Let's not do that again."

He walked across the room and picked up the board and the planchette and put them both back on the table.

He glanced at me. "Are you ready?"

I took a step back and looked at him in shock. "You want to do that again? Seriously?"

"I'm not sure what came through, but whatever spirit that was, it was dark and angry. It was not your family." His face was void of expression. "Which means we have to try again."

That was the last thing I wanted to do. A better plan was to take the board and throw it directly into the fire.

Luke sat in the chair, quietly watching me.

Some evil spirit had just jumped into the room and thrown things around. What if Luke hadn't been able to force it back? And now he wanted to try again? I stood there looking at him. I didn't want to touch the board, but we had no leads, no idea where to look for Darla. This might be our one chance at finding the answers we needed.

I took a deep breath, walked back to the table, and sat down. "I'm ready."