In the meeting place...
"...and because we couldn't make it out on time, we had to hide in the class closet for the next two periods..." a female voice explained.
Cordis completed her tale, pretending not to notice the weight of the whole squad staring at her, mouths hanging open.
She squeezed her hands tight as she glanced around the room, inwardly enjoying the attention and taking mental pictures of their shocked faces.
Her eyes lingered on Seven, who immediately looked away, declining the silent offer to be the next center of attention.
He had just started enjoying being set aside, his presence ignored by everyone. It wasn't normal for him, and he would give anything for it to remain that way—especially with the situation at hand.
"Cordis, are you out of your mind?" Zed interrupted, her headphones hanging loosely around her neck. The green rim matched her shirt, and her short red hair made her green pupils pop.
"No!" Cordis answered, fluttering her lashes innocently, like she was unaware of the weight of what she'd just said.
"I just told you guys—it wasn't dangerous at all. The demon was a very weak one, and besides, it hadn't fully occupied his host yet. Elias can confirm it... the reading from the EMF device was so poor, it could be considered a harmless ghost—"
Before she could finish, Zed snapped her head toward Elias, her face begging for answers...
"Why are you looking at me?" Elias asked, raising his hands in defense. "I'm just as surprised as you are. We had planned to perform the sacrament of reconciliation rites before anything. I had no idea she would pursue this this way..."
The sacrament of reconciliation rites was akin to cleansing. Demons were always ready to throw out accusing fingers at exorcists, holding onto their imperfections and using them against them...
This rite, at bare minimum, offers protection against those mental attacks of guilt and shame.
Your sins will always seek you out if you have skeletons in your cupboard.
"Cordis," Zed called in a slow tone. "You could have gotten yourself possessed or worse—killed!" Zed widened her eyes, horrified at her guts. "Why?"
"For him?!"
She pointed at Seven, who stared at himself, wondering the same thing too.
"I needed company. I would have died a hundred times over during that organic chemistry class if he hadn't been there. Carbon just had to be a—" Her voice faded with each word, realizing that her dumb approach was anything but working for her at the moment.
Zed's expression turned cold immediately, and Cordis froze under her stern gaze.
"Zed, calm down..." Cordis said, now returning her gaze with a serious one. She rubbed her palm against the other, and Zed raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation.
She was ready to lash out at her if she kept up her annoying charade.
"I agree, I was reckless..." she said in a somber tone. And then, with the most convincing tone she could muster, continued...
"—but it had to be done. How else could I convince you that Seven deserved to be here—among us?" Looking around, her expression softened.
Exhaling sharply when everyone met her gaze, she added:
"You guys should have seen him out there." She smiled, hoping they could tell she was being honest. "He's ready. We can't keep coming up with excuses to not involve him. It's only a matter of time before this malevolent ghost evolves. We need his help if we're going to solve this mystery."
'Not the question...' Zed suppressed the urge to facepalm.
"You're missing the point. This is all about you now, and I expected more from you. No buts. You have to simply take responsibility for your actions. You were wrong!"
"Zed! We've observed him enough—"
Oh God... Zed gritted her teeth. She never thought Cordis could be so unreasonable.
"...At least give him a chance. I promise, you won't regret it..." Cordis advocated still, knowing well the impact her words had on her friends.
She was counting on it—their anger to set things straight and their fear to lose her.
She was sorry, but it was the only thing she could come up with. If she was going to make a change that day, she wouldn't do so by being their perfect team member. Been there; done that. She wanted—needed—them to see far beyond.
Past their doubts, rules, and boundaries. She needed them open-minded.
Sitting this out, Seven was tossed aside, left to rot in the darkest corner of the dimly lit room like a persecuted saint. He felt very weird having to stay and listen to a heated argument about him, like he wasn't even in the room.
There were lots of things he could take offense at, but he really didn't care. He'd heard worse.
Their makeshift lair wasn't bad at all... He lazily ran his eyes through the room. There were a lot of tools and equipment scattered orderly on a long metal table at a corner of the room.
A vault-looking door stood on the opposite wall, and the rest of the space was occupied with high-end gadgets and furniture to accommodate a living person.
'...wasn't bad at all.'
Tired of the chatter, he resolved to speak out. They were clearly reading too much meaning into his objectives.
All he wanted was to bring an end to this case using them, quit later on, and leave the follow-up spiritual incidents to them while he enjoyed the last years of school being normal.
It was far-fetched, but who said he couldn't dream?
It was brutal, but a day in his shoes would convince you...
"I moved with grace, the rhythm was my heartbeat. Betrayed, I was silenced in a flash. Where I fell, the roots hold my secret."
The room went silent as everyone turned their gazes toward Seven, who let out a breath, already regretting his decision to speed up the process.
They were talking too much... he convinced himself, staring at them, his face betraying no emotions.
"What's that?"
"A riddle. We solve it, we solve the Dancing Phantom case..." he explained flatly.
"The Dancing Phantom?" they whispered simultaneously, with a few nodding in recognition.
Quite impressed with himself, he ghosted a smile...
"What moved with grace again?" a voice interrupted his gloat.
"The malevolent spirit... I think," Seven replied.
Repeating, "I moved with grace; the rhythm was my heartbeat. Does it ring a bell?"
"The dancing! Jace's dancing!"
"The hum from the tree... the rhythm!"
Zed and another girl with wavy blonde hair replied. The tension in the room increased by the second.
"Betrayed, I was silenced in a flash..." Seven added slowly, arching his ears for a response.
None came, and the built-up tension crashed like the second pig's house made of sticks.
"Does that mean whoever killed it did so swiftly?" a black-haired guy asked, and Seven squeezed his hands into fists, an inch away from facepalming himself.
'What?!' he cried out inwardly, seeing the contemplative expressions on their faces as they considered the possibility.
'I can't possibly tell them I almost got killed from what I thought was a harmless flash too... I would be revealing—'
"No, that's not it..." he heard Elias's voice coming to his rescue.
"This ghost has an affinity for electricity. Jace showed a level of resistance to my shot; he was awake the next morning, and from the volts I sent through his body, he should've been down for a week at least..." Elias said, slowly getting up and putting his glasses away.
"And we always seem to forget this was possibly a murder that happened in this school—a student! If there was any way the perpetrators were going to get away with it... which they did, by the way..."
"They would've gone for a less messy method," Zed completed, her eyes gleaming with a mix of curiosity and relief.
She wasn't the only one. They all had contemplative and relaxed looks on their faces...
Elias was right. And without a second thought, Seven blurted out—
"The library!"
As everyone turned back to him, he explained...
"That night—the same night I met you guys—I saw Jace under the tree. And when I reached out, I saw something."
Adjusting so he could sit at the edge of the armless chair, he continued. "The scenes were scattered, but I could make out one in particular—him laughing with some other people—two or so. They threatened to keep someone locked and taunted them about not letting the person go..."
"Why the library?" a dark-skinned guy questioned.
"It's closer to the fence that leads outside, so the murderers wouldn't have to bother with the security guards. It's equally an open space, quiet, and has the least number of students!"
"You do realize the murder involving students is just one possible scenario?" Zed asked, biting her finger.
"Yes, but I saw another thing. Nothing supernatural, but very weird. When I startled Jace and he bolted, he could've gone anywhere in the school, but he ran to the library..."
Everyone was equally on the edge of their seats, a few feet from falling into Seven's mouth.
"His attempts to get away from me were random, mindless, and extremely harmful—which you could confirm from the wound marks on his hands. At first, I thought it was just rants from a tormented soul. Now?"
"Not so much. Recalling what he said... he wasn't staying away from me, he was escaping..." Seven explained slowly. His words fumbled, but his listeners didn't seem to mind.
"He screamed that I should let him out repeatedly as he banged relentlessly on the library door!"
"..."
A cold silence settled afterward, as the group tried to digest the information.
"So we visit the library tomorrow?" Cordis, who hadn't said anything for a while, asked, staring victoriously at Zed.
Lowering her head, shoulders relaxed, Zed nodded...
"I—I guess. I'm sorry for earlier. Deeply," she said, and Cordis smiled in response.
Seven shrugged off the fact that he deserved an apology too and didn't get one. He just pursed his lips and fiddled with his bracelets.
He needed some calm and quiet. Something cool.
He had just said a lifetime's worth of words in a few minutes. He was certain it took a lot out of him. All he wanted at the moment was to leave for some fresh air and maybe ditch his cap while at it.
With his palm already on the doorknob, he heard behind him—
"If I recall correctly, you said saw..." a familiar voice referred to him, and he stopped to look back. Too disoriented to register the statement/question.
"Yup. Seven is Clairvoyant!" Cordis declared.
And amid the shock and silent questions, he quickly excused himself.