Chapter Four Hundred and Nine - The Phantom of the Bookshop

Now that we more or less knew what we wanted to say to the ghost, we only had one finally, itty-bitty problem. And that was actually speaking to her. Levina tended to pop up and appear as she wanted.

Still, I did have a small idea. “Do you have a reading room? Or somewhere quiet where we can set something up?” I asked Pecorina.

The mouse tugged on her whiskers the way a man might tug on his moustache. “I have a few small reading nooks upstairs. This is a bookstore, not a library, but some people still choose to treat it as such.” She shook her head, but seemed mostly amused by it.

I suspected that Pecorina didn’t really mind, not as long as nobody pushed it too far. She led us to one of the spiral staircases, where we found Calamity and Awen waiting with a small stack of books. They didn't look like they had anything to do with ghosts, not unless they were ghosts in a machine.

“This store’s weird,” Calamity said. “It’s like a dungeon or something. You can keep walking in any direction until you ought to be on the other side of the street, or in one of the buildings nearby, but it’s all just more bookshop.”

“Yes,” Pecorina said. “We have a very nice collection here.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Calamity said. “This place is way bigger than it ought to be.”

“And yet I still can’t find a place for some of the books I have,” Pecorina said before dismissing Calamity. I guess she didn’t want to answer his unasked ‘how?’ “So, Captain Bunch, you said you had an idea for attracting the ghost?”

“Well, we have her notebook. So she’s probably going to want that back. Do you think you could find some of the unread books on her list real fast?”

“I can, yes,” Pecorina said.

“Perfect! So, we’ll have those for negotiation, and then we hope that she shows up for them, and that’s when we give her the offer,” I said with a nod. It was a simple plan, but I had high hopes for it!

Pecorina seemed amused by the idea, but she didn’t say no to it. “Very well, can I see that notebook again for a moment?” After checking the list for just a few seconds, she nodded, then snapped her fingers, and a few books came floating up from the front of the store and hovered after her. “Lavina seems to have a taste for... romance.”

“Romance is popular, I bet,” I said.

“Yes, well, this particular sort is no less popular, but it’s nonetheless the sort that not everyone will be caught reading out in public. Though, I suppose there’s a market for it at Mitytea Academy.”

“Oh, we’re not from the Academy,” I said.

“Hmm, you’re not?” she asked. She didn’t sound surprised at all.

“Nope. We just had to sneak in there for another task we had, so we got all dressed up for the occasion. Usually I wear a lot more armour.”

“Mercenaries, then?” she asked.

Amaryllis huffed, and I shook my head. “We’re Explorers!”

She eyed us all interestingly, then shrugged and floated the notebook back over to me. "Very well. I'll collect some of the other titles on this list, then I suggest you set up in the reading room on the third floor. It's quiet and out of the way. I'll bring the books there shortly." The few she’d collected already were floated over to Caprica, who scooped them out of the air, then started to read the titles.

Caprica’s cheeks warmed up, and Calamity glanced over them too, only to snort. “No wonder the ghost’s making itself scarce. So, what’s the plan right now?”

I explained things to Calamity and Awen while we made our way up to the third floor reading room. It was a cozy space filled with soft armchairs and couches, the walls lined with shelves crammed with books. In the centre of the room was a large wooden table covered in soft lamplight.

We arranged ourselves around the table and waited. I flipped through the pages of Lavinia’s notebook, hoping that I had been right about her. What if she was just another poltergeist, out to scare people for no reason? I couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something different about Lavinia, though. She seemed more like a sad, lonely soul rather than a vengeful spirit.

Out of curiosity, I picked up the stack of books from her list on the table and read through the titles. The Curious Cases of the Velvet Glove sounded like a mystery novel more than a romance, and The Sassy Sausages of Sir Sebastian felt like a comedy title. Was Unravelling the Undergarments of the Unicorn Queen a historical text?

I opened one of them to start reading it, but Amaryllis carefully plucked it from my hands and set it back down. “Here, read one of Awen’s books instead,” she said as she reached for Awen’s pile. Then she froze as she picked up a book between a manual and a thick text that seemed to be about airship maintenance. That little book was called The Enticing Eggs of the East.

Amaryllis looked at Awen, and Awen seemed laser-focused on the floor.

“You know what, how about we just talk instead,” Amaryllis suggested.

I wanted to talk about that book. Amaryllis seemed to recognize it. Was it about harpy? They came in eggs.

After a while, Pecorina floated into the room, levitating a stack of books. She set them down on the table and gave us a small smile. "I found some of the books from Lavinia's list. Now what?"

“Thank you!” I said. “I guess we lay them out and hope that she passes by.” I set the books, one by one, onto the table.

It wasn’t long before I felt a cold breeze pass through the room, causing the pages of the books to rustle slightly. I looked around, feeling a chill run up my spine. I noticed my friends tensing up as well, and Calamity looked like he really wanted his bow just then.

Had that worked? Just fetching the books she wanted? Or... maybe Lavinia was in the room already, waiting for us to find her books for her. If I could go intangible and had basically given someone a task, I’d be a little bit tempted to follow them too.

Lavinia didn’t make us wait for long. A low moan filled the room, echoing in the quiet space and causing my hair to stand on end. The flame of the lamp flickered violently, casting dancing shadows against the books on the table. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a faintly glowing figure materialise next to the table.

She did look a little feminine, though it was hard to tell.

Some of the ghosts I’d seen looked very much like people, and others seemed more like wispy clouds of faintly-glowing magic. Lavinia was somewhere in the middle, not quite shapeless, but hard to define.

“Lavinia,” I started, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice. “We’ve got your books.”

The ghostly figure paused, its glowing eyes focused on the books. A spectral hand reached out to touch one of them, passing through the pages. Then, slowly, the hand solidified enough to flip the book open.

I noticed that my friends were staring intently at the ghost and... was Calamity hiding from it behind Caprica’s chair?

"Lavinia," I said, breaking the silence. "These are the books you were looking for. Or, some of them, anyway. We thought you might like to have them. Also, we wanted to discuss something with you. Pecorina could use your help around the bookstore."

The ghost was quiet, spectral eyes flicking back and forth between me and the books. Then, it shot off into the maze of shelves. It returned with a book clutched in its ghostly hand, titled The Assistant's Almanac..

I blinked, then laughed. “I guess that's a yes, then. You'll assist Pecorina here with the bookstore operations, and in return, you get to read all the books you like, and people will stop trying to exorcize you. Does that sound good?”

The ghost paused, then vanished once again. When she reappeared, she had another book. This one was called The Silent Agreement. It was an affirmative response, in its own ghostly way.

Pecorina crossed her arms and looked quite imperious as she hovered at shoulder-height. "However, there are a few ground rules," she declared, then she started counting off on her paws. "First, no misplacing books in the wrong sections. Second, no frightening the customers. And third, I expect you to work with a certain decorum. Being dead is no excuse for being late to work, not even if you found something to read. Can we agree on that?" She hovered a bit higher, challenging the spectre.

The ghost seemed cowed, floating down and into the floor a little. Then she disappeared, and I was worried that Pecorina had scared her off.

She came back though, this time with another book that looked a bit old and tattered. The Good Girl’s Guide to Good Manners.

Pecorina seemed satisfied with this response, a small smile creeping onto her face. Lavinia swooshed through the room, and the books she’d brought out to communicate with all flew back to their places on the shelves.

Was she eager to get back to work? They hadn't actually worked out pay, or vacation, healthcare and benefits, and I was starting to think that maybe there wasn’t a union for working ghosts either.

“You won’t work her too hard, right?” I asked Pecorina.

Pecorina chuckled, a soft, warm sound. "I'm not a monster, Captain Bunch. A library is a sanctuary. Usually it’s for the living to see the words of the dead, but I suppose going at it in the other direction’s only fair. As long as Lavinia respects the rules, she can read all the books she wants in her downtime."

"Then it's settled!" I exclaimed. I felt a small rush of relief.

In front of us, Lavinia, still glowing with an ethereal light, seemed to nod her agreement, the books floating around her as though excited to be read. In that moment, I felt an odd sense of satisfaction. We’d accomplished something... well, not big here, but still something that felt important, even if it was just for someone who wasn’t around anymore.

I wondered if Lavinia had ever thought that her love for books would lead to her afterlife's occupation. It seemed strange and yet, perfectly fitting for a ghost haunting a bookstore.

Our steps were a little lighter as we wandered back to the second floor. The strange bookstore non-dungeon seemed to warp and shift around us, but somehow, it felt more welcoming than before. Maybe it was just knowing that there was one less sad ghost in the world.

“Wait! Pecorina, we forgot to get that book,” I remembered.

“No, Broccoli, you forgot the book,” Amaryllis said. “I remember it very well. As well as that promised discount....”

Pecorina sniffed, but she still smiled as she led us through a labyrinth of shelves, finally unveiling the grand leather-bound volume of The Art of Being Majestic, the gold lettering of the title shimmering under the warm magelight.

“A parting gift for your successful ghost hunting. And, of course, for the assistance you provided me today,” Pecorina said, her eyes sparkling with amusement. “Ten percent off.”

“What!” Amaryllis squawked. “That’s it?”

“Technically, the ghost is still here,” Pecorina said.

Amaryllis looked a bit red at that. “How much is it, exactly?”

“Hmm, Twenty-two gold pieces. Local Inkwren gold, but I can convert most currencies for you... for a price.”

What if I told you we got a good word from Miss Cottage?" Amaryllis asked.

"Hm," Pecorina raised an eyebrow. "I suppose that chops off another percent."

I settled down on my heels, because from the look on Amaryllis' face and the glint in Caprica’s eyes, we were going to be here for some time still.

***