You pulled away from Damien to see who had shouted. It was a woman who couldn't be much older than you, if not younger. She was dressed in all black and had a hat with a veil folded back over her head, and she stood with a look of intensity. Both the detective and the Colonel dropped their weapons. She had complete control over the situation.

Abe was the first to break. "Who the hell are you?" he asked. To your surprise, Will stepped forward.

"Celine? What are you doing here?"

""Celine?" How the hell do you know her?" The detective's anger was slowly growing back.

"Madame, I'm afraid you've come at a very inopportune time." Benjamin was standing in the doorway, fear showing faintly in his expression. You hadn't heard him arrive and you had no clue how long he had been standing there. He glanced at the shattered clay pieces spread out across the floor and sighed. "That was master's favorite vase."

"Celine, I'm very sorry, but something dreadful has happened here," said Damien.

"You know her, too?" you asked, confused. He had never mentioned about her before. He just nodded.

"I can see that, and I'm glad I got here before it got any worse." Why was she even here? Was she invited as well?

"This shit is only the tip of the iceberg!" The chef stomped in angrily, waving around a soup ladle. "And it's one huge fucking iceberg!"

Everyone was on edge and you were afraid things would escalate again.

"Everyone, please calm down. Fighting isn't going to help anything." You tried to speak clearly and confidently, like the other woman, but even you could hear the slight shaking in your voice. You turned to the new guest. "Celine? I, uh, I'm really sorry. I assume you knew Mark?"

"Of course."

"Wait... you're the lady from the pictures! Of course you knew Mark! Oh shit. Oh shit, he's... I'm sorry, Mark is..." You didn't know how to say it without sounding too harsh or too weak. Hell, you still hadn't fully accepted the fact yourself.

"Celine, Mark is dead," Damien finished for you.

"What?" She sounded heartbroken, finally losing the confident composure. You felt awful, not just from seeing her hurting, but from hearing the news all over again. It didn't hurt any less.

"Dead, like my hopes and dreams," grumbled the chef. You shot him a dirty look. Now really wasn't the time for sarcasm.

"We don't know who the killer is," you added.

"Hence the guns," said the Colonel, holding his gun up for emphasis.

"That is not "hence the guns!"" The detective shouted, holding his up as well.

"Stop waving those bloody guns around!" You were surprised, it was the first time Benjamin had really stepped in and spoken up.

"H-hold on, tell me what happened. How did Mark... die?" Celine didn't seem too concerned about the guns. Of course, the death of her friend was more important at the moment.

"It was murder." Lightning struck as Damien stepped forward. "And worse yet, the body is missing." He sounded... different, and he looked somewhat unfocused as he spoke. You reached out and grabbed his hand. He blinked once and shook his head, before turning to you and giving you a sad smile. He squeezed your hand once before letting go.

"What? Show me. And don't say that word." The butler led the way to the living room, everyone else following close behind.

"What word?" asked the chef. "Murder?" Lightning struck again as he said it.

"Yes! That word!" Celine sounded nervous as she looked at the taped off area of the living room where Mark's body had been. "Do you not see the lightning?"

"What does the lightning have to do with anything? You sayin' that's what murderered Mark?" Lightning flashed as the detective finished. You winced. You were surrounded by idiots.

"Well, Mother Nature doesn't exactly strike me as having murderous intent," said the Colonel sarcastically. More lightning.

"Stop! Whatever is happening here is tapping into forces far beyond our control!" She rubbed her face. "Follow me." Everyone followed her to the dining room and everyone took a seat around the table. Damien sat to your right and William to your left.

"Look," she continued. "Mark's death is tragic, but I fear there are forces much darker than anything we've seen here today. I've spent years studying the arcane arts. If you, untrained, can summon lightening with a mere word, we're all in grave danger. We can't face this alone. We need to work together if we're going to survive this."

Will and Abe glared at each other when they heard they had to work together. Although, while you believed that working together was the best option, you weren't sure you trusted everything she said. Yes, the lightning was weird. Yes, you felt a growing sense of unease after she mentioned dark forces were at play. But her showing up out of nowhere still gave you a weird feeling. Again, why was she here? How did Damien and William know her? You glanced at the detective and he gave you a look that you took to mean "we'll talk later." You nodded and leaned closer to Damien. The one person you knew you could trust. You felt safer just being near him.

"Celine, what are you proposing?" Damien asked. Good question.

"We need to speak with Mark. I need to commune with the dead." ...What? This was too much for you. The dark arts, ghosts, demons, all of these seemed ridiculous. You shook your head, but stayed quiet. This lady was insane.

"That... doesn't sound like a good idea." At least the detective was on your side.

"Well, it's a good thing I don't need your permission," Celine shot back. "But you!" she said, pointing at you. You flinched. "You've been awfully quiet."

"With those beady little eyes," the chef contributed.

"And wearing those rags?" added Benjamin. You were still wearing Damien's sweatpants and t-shirt. You gave him a hurt look and he shrugged.

"Maybe I shouldn't have trusted you." That one hurt the most, coming from the detective. Why was everyone suddenly against you?

You turned to the Colonel. He looked at you and gave a small smile. "I'll pass." You mentally thanked him for that.

"But I feel like I can trust you," continued Celine. Where did this come from? She went from accusing you to trusting you. You sure as hell didn't trust her. "I sense you have a far greater part to play in all of this."

"I don't want to play a part in this," you mumbled. "I want this to be over."

"Will you help me find an answer?" You didn't want to, but you nodded anyway. She gave you a look that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. "Perfect." That didn't sound good. "Come with me."

You looked to Damien for help, but surprisingly it was Abe who spoke up.

"Alright, that's enough!" He slammed his fists down on the table and stood. "I'm not just going to sit around and let you drag my partner off to what could be their death. I won't stand for it!"

He couldn't trust you, but now he was defending you. What was going on?

"Well, I trust Celine with all my heart and I see no reason why anyone should doubt her!" shouted the Colonel, also standing. You were sure he had his reasons for trusting Celine, but almost everything she had said since she arrived seemed fabricated. You didn't have a good feeling about her.

"I have to agree with the detective, it just doesn't seem natural." Benjamin was back on your side.

"Says you! You walk around with a stick up your ass, acting like you're the boss of me!" the chef shouted, then turned to you. "...But I think he's right, something is weird."

You looked at Damien to see what he had to say. He was unfocused again, staring at the table. "Damien?" you asked and touched his arm.

Slowly, he looked up. "I trust Celine. I think you should do what she says. But... please, be careful." He looked at Celine with a worried expression. "Don't do anything that will harm her." You were surprised and disappointed that he sided with the seer instead of you, but you trusted him. That still didn't mean you trusted her, though.

"Thank you. If it makes you feel better, you can have someone stand outside the door, as long as they don't interrupt my work." You nodded.

"Abe."

Damien looked slightly upset at your choice, but Abe seemed more... experienced? He would be able to protect you if worse comes to worst.

Abe gave you a look of understanding. "Believe me, I'll be keeping a close eye on all of you. Especially you," he said to Celine. She didn't answer, and instead stood to leave the room. Damien followed, and after a moment of hesitation, you and Abe followed as well. You heard Damien call out.

"Celine? Celine, wait!"

"Yes, Damien?" The two stopped at the bottom of the stairs. You and Abe waited in the hallway, watching and listening in.

"Are you alright?" Damien asked. "I know this news is difficult to deal with."

"I am, for now." She pushed past him and started up the stairs.

"I..." He began to follow her. "But all this talk of the occult! And Mark is dead- hey, wait!" They stopped again at the top of the stairs. You and Abe slowly and quietly started up the stairs behind them. "I just didn't think you were the type to become mixed up with all of this."

Celine seemed annoyed by that. "There is more to this world than you could ever hope to imagine. I just had my eyes open to a small portion of it." She walked off down the hallway without waiting for a response. After exchanging a worried look with the detective, you continued up the stairs.

Damien sighed. "Just be careful!" he called after her. You quietly slipped past him. "You too," you heard him mumble. You looked over your shoulder to give him a small, sad smile as you followed Celine into one of the bedrooms. Abe was close behind, but he stopped in the doorway.

"Good luck," he said, before closing the door behind you. You hoped you wouldn't need it.

"Can you grab me my bag?" the seer asked as she sat down at a small table in the corner of the room. You handed her the small purse that had been thrown near the bed. "Thank you. Now please, have a seat."

Cautiously, you sat across from her. For the first time, you stopped to take everything in. The table was full of cards, candles, and strange symbols. A crystal ball was set right in the center of everything. You felt like you had just gone into one of the psychic tents you saw at fairs.

"Now, I'm sure this must be unsettling for you, being thrust into this series of unfortunate events." You nodded. "But I promise, with your help, I'm going to get to the bottom of this. I'm not sure who would want to kill Mark, but something tells me this seemingly significant event is actually a footnote in a much larger mystery unfolding in our midst. I've never been very comfortable in this house. Now that my eyes are open, I can see that there are dark forces surrounding this manor."

"How do you know Mark?" you interrupted. If you were going to do this, you might as well try to get something out of it.

She seemed surprised by the question. "That's... not important."

"No, I'll only do this if you answer. How do you know Mark?"

She hesitated before responding. "He was my husband, once."

Now it was your turn to be surprised. "I didn't know Mark married. When...? What happened?"

"I answered your question, let's move on." She leaned forward and took both of your hands in hers. "Now, if you're still willing to help, please close both of your eyes and focus on what you're feeling, what you've seen, and what energies you can sense in this room. Take deep breaths, try not to get distracted. You can do this."

"Fine."

You didn't want to, but you followed her instructions anyway. You closed your eyes and tried to take deep, even breaths. Before you knew it, you felt everything fading away around you. Before you even opened your eyes you could hear a faint ringing in the background. When you did, you saw you were standing in front of what you guessed was a screen of some sort. Playing on it was events you had witnessed during the day.

It started off with the Colonel aiming his gun at the detective and shouting, "I WILL NOT BE CALLED A MURDERER IN MY OWN HOME!"

It then faded into another scene, one where you were walking with the Colonel. "I figured it was time to get to know each other better. Somewhere away from the prying eyes of... anyone else."

Next was a scene with the detective. "You're not going to believe this, I can barely believe this. It's gone. It's just completely fucking disappeared. The body- it's gone!"

Then the mayor. "...not sure what we're here celebrating, exactly. I mean, it's good to be with friends, but out of the blue like this..."

Finally, you saw the chef standing outside with a strange man. This was different. You had no memory of this.

The man appeared to be digging. "Employers come and go, come and go!" He laughed. "Some die, some don't."

Suddenly, everything became distorted. The ringing grew louder and a rythmic pounding noise joined in. It faded to black one last time just as the ringing and booming became deafening. You put your hands over your ears and fell to your knees. It wouldn't stop. It kept getting louder and louder and louder and louder. Eventually, you just let it overpower you.

It wasn't long before you lost consciousness.

[Okay first of all, what the hell is up with Mark? Have y'all seen his van videos? Is he okay? Lmao. Second of all, I'm going to be trying to make the chapters longer. However, that also means they're going to take longer to write, so updates will be slower. Thank you all for being patient and for taking the time to read my story! If y'all have any suggestions on where you want this to go or how it should end, please don't be afraid to message me! Thank you again and I love all of you!]