The Morgan Sisters Complete Series Boxed Set

ISBN 9789899734869-22

'It's unusual for ghosts to just disappear like that unless of course, he was finally able to cross over,' she suggested as she took a sip of her lemon tea.

'But the fact that you mentioned his memory loss is a concern. That is highly unusual. And I don't think he'd leave without saying goodbye. He was so drawn to you, especially you, Emma. Do you have any idea why?' She asked just as Wilbur appeared carrying a large plate of biscuits. Emma politely shook her head as he passed them around.

'Mmmm, Jaffa Cakes, my favourite,' said Lana as she took three from the plate.

'I think it's because of the way he died. Oh, of course, we never told you about that...' and so Emma began recalling how the bodies of both the old and the young man were found. How they appeared to be the same man and how they had both died in front of her in the hospital. The younger version later returning as a ghost to his home. Lana interrupted to tell Eleanor about the photographs of the young woman who looked a little like Emma.

Standing to move across the room, Eleanor lay down on the yellow chaise longue just as the clock began to strike five o'clock.

'Excuse me for a moment, girls. Hold that thought...' she said as, just like clockwork, a deep groan escaped her lips before she turned to face them a few moments later looking decidedly younger.

'Oh that's better,' she said, stretching her lithe limbs before disappearing to change into more suitable clothes. From behind the screen, she asked questions about Joe while the girls waited for her to step out.

'He was a very lonely old man,' answered Emma. 'He had few friends; he never married or had children. After seeing his home, we realised that he only ever lived for that woman who disappeared back in the 50s.'

'That must have something to do with his coming back as a young man. He yearns for her so badly that he never really lived after she disappeared. I'm curious as to his memory loss though and to his disappearance, of course.'

Wilbur returned to the room carrying a bowl of fruit which he offered to Emma with a smile, 'Perhaps an apple, banana or a pear?' he suggested, 'Considering you turned down the biscuits,' he said with a wink.

Leaning forward, Emma picked out a large pink pear and took a big bite out of it, juice dribbling down her chin. 'Thank you,' she said, shyly wiping at her mouth with her hand, 'It's delicious.'

'Well, I have made up my mind,' blurted Eleanor after she'd sat quietly for a few moments with her head in her hands.

Looking up at her, Emma and Lana waited curiously, wondering what she'd made her mind up about.

'Every Watcher must complete their first task before acceptance into the Academy in September. I do believe that your first task has just presented itself to you both.'

'It has?' asked Lana, confused.

'Yes, you must track down the ghost of Josiah Grimshaw and then you must uncover what is keeping him from crossing over. Once you've worked that out, you must help him pass over to the other side,' she said, smiling.

'You are authorised to use any of the facilities at Praxos, and you may ask any or all of the other Watchers for assistance. However, as is always the case with the foundation, you must not reveal your skills to anyone out of our circles, other than paranormals. Do you understand?' she asked firmly.

The girls nodded avidly.

'Very well then,' she smiled. 'Good luck. You have until you return home.'

'Can I ask a question?'

'Of course you can, Emma. What is it?'

'Have all the other Watchers been given their first tasks?'

'Some have yes, but a few will be told today or tomorrow what they must do. Don't worry about them, unless they ask for assistance, of course. Now you must concentrate on Josiah.'

Standing to leave the room, the girls looked at each other unsurely.

'Don't worry so much,' Eleanor added, 'I'm sure you'll find this to be a piece of cake,' she chuckled.

#

'Joe? Josiah are you there?' Emma asked a little later. But there was no reply. No matter how long she tried calling out his name, or how loud, Joe refused to appear.

'Josiah Grimshaw, I demand that you show yourself at once!' shouted Lana after they'd been trying uselessly for over an hour.

'This is crazy, why won't he come to us?' she added with her hands on her hips.

'I don't know,' sighed Emma as she flopped down on the beanbag.

'Hey girls,' said a familiar voice as Liam opened the door and waltzed in, leaving Lana beaming at the sight of him.

'Hey,' she said as she draped herself across him as he got comfortable in one of the other giant beanbags.

'Whaddya doin?' he asked.

'Getting more and more irritated by the minute,' she replied as she looked into his eyes with a grin.

'You don't look too irritated to me,' he said, laughing.

Sighing, she leaned forward and kissed him.

Emma, feeling a little uncomfortable, cleared her throat.

'I'm not irritated any more,' Lana muttered as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

'Don't mind me,' Emma said quietly as they completely ignored her. 'Right, I'll go then...'

With no response from Lana or Liam, Emma rolled her eyes and quietly stood up, walking out of the room on her own. 'I guess the task can wait then,' she muttered to herself.

'What's that?' said a voice that practically welded her knees together. Turning, Emma stood face to face with Diarmuid who had just stepped out of Eleanor's office.

'Hiya,' she said as he took her hand. 'You okay?' she asked.

'Yeah, I'm good now you're here,' he said, leaning in to kiss her gently on the cheek.

That's it, Emma's knees were permanently locked together while her stomach did more of those triple salchows. Just the sight of him had that effect on her.

'I've just been given my first task,' he said. 'How about you? You got yours yet?'

Nodding, Emma tried to extricate herself from the spot as Diarmuid gently guided her across the hall towards the dining area where he pulled out a chair for her to sit down before sitting down beside her.

'We have to find Josiah and help him cross over, basically,' she whispered as he casually moved one of her stray hairs from her face so that it was back behind her ear. 'Wh...wh...what about you?' she asked, her voice all a quiver.

'Liam and I have some puzzle to solve... something about electricity, light and strength. I dunno. We're going to start working on it tomorrow. What are you doing later?'

Emma shrugged her shoulders.

'How about coming out with us tonight. We could go on a double date?' he suggested.

'A date? That would be great,' she smiled. 'I'd love to.'

CHAPTER 28

'Wow... you can see for miles from up here,' breathed Lana from the London Eye later that evening. The four of them stood in one of the pods, along with about ten other people, admiring the view and the slowly setting sun. It truly was spectacular.

Liam stood with his arm draped over Lana's shoulder, while Diarmuid and Emma were sitting down, holding each other's hands as they tried to identify many of the sights in front of them.

'No prizes for guessing what that is,' he said as they looked towards the cylindrical, pointed glass building over to their right. 'The Gherkin?' she asked with a giggle. 'What about that one over there...'

'That's St. Pauls. And there, that's Canary Wharf. And if you look just over in that direction, you can see Buckingham Palace.'

'Really? Wow, that's so cool.'

Liam and Lana came and sat beside them for a moment as Lana whispered, 'You know, just over a few weeks ago, I'd never have been able to do this.'

'How come?' asked Diarmuid and Liam at the same time.

'I grew up with a serious phobia of heights. I was terrified.'

'What changed?' asked Liam as he pushed his hair off his face.

'My 16th birthday?' she said with a smile.

'Oh right, I get you,' he laughed. 'Everything changes on your 16th birthday.'

'It's funny though that you had that phobia, coz I had one too,' Diarmuid said.

'You did?' Emma asked, surprised.

'I know it sounds insane, but I was afraid of electricity.'

'Oh, that is weird. I had a fear of water. What about you, Liam, did you have any phobias?'

'This is freaking me out a bit,' he laughed, 'To be honest, I had a thing against speed. I couldn't travel in a car if we were going over 50mph and, and this sounds so lame, I'd never been on a plane because they travel so fast. But, like you,' he said, dropping his voice to a low whisper, 'that changed with the tattoo... on my 16th birthday earlier this year.'

'Cool,' said the others in tandem before they all went quiet, watching the sights unfold in front of them.

'Hey look,' said Lana, as she stood up, pulling Liam away with her. 'Isn't that the....' she said to him, her voice trailing off as they walked away from her sister.

'Whereabouts are you staying, Diarmuid?' asked Emma.

'On Gower Street. It's kind of in that direction over there,' he pointed slightly over to the left. 'You see that green dome over there? Well, that's part of the British Museum, and we're just around the corner from there.'

'Cool,' whispered Emma.

'You're staying on Declan's boat, aren't you?'

'Hm-hm.'

'Is it on the river now? Or is it in one of the canals?'

'When we left this morning, it was moored at Camden, but we never know. We've had to phone him a couple of times to find out,' she laughed.

'It must be great staying with Declan and Saleena. He's a cool guy, isn't he?'

'Totally,' said Emma, whispering in his ear, 'He won't tell us what his skills are though. I keep guessing, wrongly. He finds it funny.'

'I'm sure he'll reveal all when he wants you to know.'

'Yeah, I guess. What about Zane and Marian? What are they like?'

'Pretty cool. They've lived in London all their lives, like Declan. Their house is amazing. I bet you'd love it there. It's a Georgian terraced house with huge rooms and high ceilings which they've decorated in a contemporary style. It's exactly the kind of house I'd like to own at some stage,' he said shyly.

Emma watched him as he spoke. It was clear that he had a love for property or architecture or both. She smiled when he stopped talking, noticing that he had blushed a little.

'Why are you smiling?' he asked.

'I just think it's cute.'

'What's cute?'

'That... passion you have about houses. I'm guessing architecture is something you're into?' she asked while he nodded.

'That obvious, huh?' he laughed as they finally reached the end of their ride on the Eye.

'It's cool,' she said as they hopped off while it continued to turn slowly and steadily with Liam and Lana following behind.

It was a beautiful evening, not a cloud in the sky, as the sun finally began to descend beyond the horizon, leaving hues of pink and purple in the evening sky.

Hand in hand, both couples were oblivious to the other, as they chatted and walked down towards the bridge that would take them back over the River Thames.

As they crossed over, they looked back towards the Eye, admiring it from the distance when the sound of a police siren could be heard getting closer. The siren multiplied and soon, three vehicles sped over the bridge at such speed that it made them all jump.

'I wonder what's going on?' said Lana as they watched them disappear around the corner.

'Why don't we go and check it out?' Liam answered.

Before Diarmuid or Emma could say a word, the two of them were running across the road, following the sounds of the sirens.

Glancing at Diarmuid, Emma rolled her eyes and shook her head, 'I guess we ought to go, make sure they don't get up to mischief,' she smiled as he took hold of her hand and the two followed suit.