Possession Read Online Free PDF Page B

the spirits. I think it’s because it’s easier for
them to get noticed when it’s quieter out. When the world is in a cocoon of
sleep. When they can draw power from the dreams of the living.”
    I studied her, standing, framed by the moonlight
shining through my window. “You said that ghost was a choking ghost. Could it
have killed me?”
    “Could’ve. It’s happened before.” When I didn’t
say anything, she continued. “I’d never seen a choking ghost before I came to
this place. It’s best if you protect yourself.”
    She reached into her other pocket and pulled out a
blue velvet bag tied at the top with a black leather cord. She walked over next
to me and spilled the contents of the bag onto the bed.
    They looked like little stones with symbols on
them. My hand reached out to touch one, but something made me hesitate.
    “It’s okay, you can touch them. They’re runes.
Runes aren’t like tarot cards. Now, try to touch someone’s deck of tarot and
they’ll have a fit. The cards hold people’s vibrations, a bit of their power.”
She picked up a rune and bounced it up and down in her palm. “But these don’t
hold any power unless you make a charm with them. Mostly you use them to focus
your abilities, like with crystals and medallions.”
    She held the stone up to me. “See each symbol?
Each character is one from the runic alphabet. I’ve shown them to you before,
but you don’t remember. Wonder if you’ll ever get your memory back.” She put
the stone back in the pile. “They’re old Norse. Odin used them. Have you heard
the poem?” She started to sing,
     
“I know a twelfth one if I see, up in a tree
a dangling corpse in a noose,
I can so carve and color the runes
that the man walks and talks with me.”
     
    She looked down at me. “You never heard it? Well,
if you did, you probably couldn’t remember right now. They say runes have the
power to bring that which is dead back to life. Most use them as a divining
tool. To tell fortunes, to see your future.”
    She gathered the pieces together, poured them back
into the bag, shook it a couple times, then turned it over, and dropped the
stones back onto the bed. “You draw lots. To tell fortunes.” She started
flipping a few of them over. “But you can also use them to make charms. See
this one.” She held one up. Drawn in the middle of it was a line and branching
off at the top were two smaller lines, one on the left and one on the right. It
looked like a stick figure with its arms stretched out. “This one is for
protection. Algiz , the rune of protection. Until you
get some salt tomorrow, I’d better make you something.” She reached over and
grabbed the covers and pulled them down. Before I could react, she grabbed the
hem of my hospital gown and turned it up a few inches.
    She reached up to the back of her collar and
pulled out a sewing needle. “Don’t worry, old Mildred will make it right. They
don’t allow sharp objects in here.” She laughed. “But what they don’t know
won’t hurt them. The place is a lot like a prison. You know how you watch those
movies and the prisoners are always bartering or bribing with the guards to get
stuff? Last week, one of the night nurses wanted me to do a love spell for her.
A guy she fell hard for wasn’t noticing her. Two love birds kissing in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” she sang out. “I got two
handfuls of chocolate bars for doing that bit of magic. I’d share, but they’re
all gone.”
    She reached out, grabbed my finger, and before I
could pull it back, she pricked it with the needle. Speechless, I watched as
she squeezed my finger hard until a drop of blood came to the surface. She
lifted the blood with the needle, and using the needle like a pen, started to
draw the symbol for protection onto the inside of my white gown. She mumbled
some words—too low for me to make out—then dropped my gown and took
a step back.
    Mildred looked very pleased with herself. “The
choking ghosts