Ghosts and Dreams. This is the sixth chapter of the Paragons episode The Magic Emporium.

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“What makes you think I can find your sister?” I asked the girl.

She brushed her long bangs out of her face.

“You can talk to ghosts,” she replied, as though that explained everything.

“And how will that help me find your sister?”

“Ghosts are always watching,” she said. “Maybe they saw something that will lead us to my sister and the other missing kids.”

“Other missing kids?” I frowned. “Just how many kids have gone missing?”

“Six. All Dreamweavers.”

“So you’re a Dreamweaver.”

“Obviously.” She fiddled with the end of her ponytail.

I looked around at the tall buildings. “So where are we anyway?”

“The Magic Emporium.”

Yeah, that made sense. Supernaturals from other realms generally weren’t permitted anywhere on Gaia besides the Interchange and the Magic Emporium. I probably should have thought about that earlier, when I was talking to the bandits, but I’d been a bit too preoccupied with totally freaking out.

“Yeah, we’re in the Emporium. We’re on the ugly backside of the big mall,” the girl told me. “Those bandits are pretty good with a bow and arrow, but their magic is totally lame. The teleportation trap they’re so proud of has a maximum range of only two hundred meters.”

Their spell still sounded way more impressive than any magic I could do. Ok, admittedly, repelling the Cursed Ones was a pretty useful skill, but it wasn’t all that versatile. And I wasn’t sure it even was a spell. I certainly had no idea how I did it.

I could also, apparently, talk to ghosts. I wasn’t sure if that was a spell either.

“So, will you help me?”

I looked at the girl. “What’s your name?”

“Violetta.”

“Hi, Violetta. I’m Savannah.” I smiled at her. “And of course I’ll try my very best to help you. Though I’m just an Apprentice. Wouldn’t you rather, well, get a real Knight to help you?”

She shook her head. “No. The Knights won’t help me.”

“Why not?”

“They only get involved with human problems.”

“Why?”

She shrugged. “Your Government typically doesn’t allow them to do anything else. I guess it’s their way of punishing the Many Realms Court for not yet inviting Gaia to join their ranks. But in the end, the only people who get punished are all the struggling supernaturals who travel here to make an honest living.”

“What is the Many Realms Court?”

“An association of leaders from all across the Many Realms.” She frowned. “You sure don’t know much about supernatural matters, do you?”

I sighed. “The Gaian Government likes to keep its people ignorant.”

“Yeah, sounds familiar. Our leaders do that too.”

“The only difference is we’ve been at this for centuries,” added an echoey voice.

I pivoted around and found myself face to face with Nixi the ghost girl.

“How long have you been eavesdropping?” I asked her.

“The whole time, of course.” She flicked her hair. “It’s really boring being a ghost.”

“Are you talking to a ghost right now?” Violetta asked me, squinting, like she was trying to see the ghost too.

“Yes,” I said, then looked at Nixi. “If you’re bored, I can offer you an exciting mystery to solve.”

The ghost tittered. “If you wanted my help that badly, you should have just dropped to your knees and begged like any good, sensible person would do.”

“So you do know something about the missing kids?”

“I might know something,” replied Nixi. “Of course, if you want my help, you’ll have to do something for me first.”

“I’m listening.”

“I need you to convince her—” She pointed at Violetta. “—to let me possess her body. It’s been so long since I’ve had a body. And, unfortunately, if I want to possess someone, I require their consent.”

Good to know.

“So, come on. Ask her if I can possess her.” The ghost made a big show of playing with her nails. “I promise it will only be for a bit.”

I narrowed my eyes at Nixi. “Just how long is ‘a bit’?”

“Don’t panic. I’m not greedy. I’m just asking to possess her for the duration of your investigation. You can’t say no to a reasonable request like that.”

“I can’t say yes to it either,” I replied. “Because it’s not my body.”

Nixi’s gaze slid over me. “Truthfully, I would have preferred to have your body. You have some powerful magic inside of you, just waiting to come out. I can taste it.” She licked her lips. “But I can’t possess you. You’re immune to possession.”

I wasn’t sorry to hear that. The thought of a ghost possessing me seriously creeped me out. I hated the idea of not being in control of my own body. But that’s exactly what I had to convince Violetta to do if we wanted the ghost’s help.

She took the news better than I’d expected. Not that she looked happy about it, but she agreed anyway. She must have been really desperate to find her sister.

“Ok, this way.” The spell was done, and the ghost was now speaking through Violetta’s lips.

I followed her to the shiny, pretty side of the building. She took a few moments to splash around inside a large decorative water fountain, laughing as everyone who passed us by looked on with quiet disapproval.

“I’d forgotten how wet water feels!” Nixi said excitedly. When she hopped out of the fountain, she sprayed me with hundreds of tiny droplets.

I didn’t mind. The day was hot, and the water cooled me down. But I really was in a terrible rush right now. I had to get the bag of ingredients back to the Castle before the unicorn hair lost its magic.

“You said you know something about the missing kids?” I reminded the frolicking ghost.

“Right.” She squeezed the water out of her slippers. “Earlier today, I saw one of them, a girl who looked just like Violetta.” She smiled at her reflection in the pool of water.

“Do you know where she went?” I asked her.

“No, she wasn’t that interesting. So I followed a handsome young Metamorph instead.”

I sighed.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that, Savannah Winters. Yes, I know your name. And I watched you swoon over that handsome white Knight the other day.” A sly smirk curled her lips. “So you have no right to judge me.”

I sighed. Again. “I wasn’t swooning.” Blood rushed to my cheeks.

Which of course made her laugh. “Don’t worry. I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

I buried my face in my hands. “You can’t tell anyone. You’re a ghost. No one else can hear you.”

“They can for the next few minutes, as long as I’m in this body.”

Awesome.

She zipped her pinched fingers across her lips. “Relax. I swear I’ll take your secret to the grave.”

Her promise might have been more reassuring if she weren’t already dead.

“Let’s just…” I rolled back my shoulders, trying to squeeze the tension out of them. “…figure out how to track down the missing kids. Ok?”

“No problem. It just so happens that I have an idea.”

“I trust this idea doesn’t involve possessing any more people,” I said warily.

She laughed. “Of course not, silly. We’re simply going to retrace Taya’s steps. That’s Violetta’s little sister, by the way.”

“The little sister you didn’t watch because there were interesting boys to stalk?”

“You totally get it! I knew it! We’re both the same, you and I.”

“Right,” I said, unenthusiastic. “So how are we going to retrace Taya’s steps if you didn’t see where she went?”

Nixi snorted. “Seriously, Savannah, have you already forgotten that you have magic?”

“No, but I don’t know any tracking spells.”

“That’s no problem.” She grinned at me. “Because I’m going to teach you one.”