The vision

Athena heard a faint rustling sound and her eyes shot open. She looked around and her eyes landed on a sad looking figure that sat in a corner. She screamed loudly, waking up Little Snow who was in her arms.

It was a woman who looked completely disfigured.

She looked at Athena in surprise. "You can see me?"

Athena looked confused. After a while, something dawned in her mind and she backed away in a corner whilst hugging Little Snow tightly.

"Stay away from me!" she cried.

The woman stood up. Her clothes were soaked with blood and had one arm. She moved towards Athena curiously.

"Argh!" Athena screamed on top of her lungs. Why did she keep seeing ghosts?

"I am not going to kill you," the woman said as she stopped a few inches away from the bed.

"What do you want from me?" Athena asked fearfully.

"I just want to know why you can see me," the woman said.

"I don't know," Athena shook her head. The woman pursed her lips and said, " I died in this room fours years back. I was murdered. I don't know why I can't leave."

Athena remained silent as she stared at her.

"Can you help me? You are the only person who can see and talk to me," the woman said.

She tilted her head.

"Can you help my sister to avenge my death? Maybe I would be able to leave after that."

Athena did not immediately reply. She looked at the pitiful woman. "What do I get in return?"

"Five thousand gold coins," she answered simply.

Athena's eyes almost popped out of their sockets in disbelief. Five thousand gold coins? She gaped at the woman.

"Is it too little?" the ghost said worriedly. "What about eight thousand gold coins?"

How rich was this ghost?

Athena recovered her composure and said with a blank look. "Eight thousand gold coins can do. Do you know your murderer?"

The ghost nodded. "It was my lover, David Brown."

"Why did he kill you?"

"Because of my family's heirloom. The Book of Evil. It's an ancient book that contains many hidden dark secrets that no living creature knows." The ghost explained.

"My parents died a while back and left this book in my hands. It has been passed from generation to generation but no one has been able to read it. The book contains some strange symbols and foreign language. Many people wanted to get their hands on this book and David is one of them. However one day we woke up and found that book gone. I failed to protect it. David thought that I still had the book and..." She lowered her head.

" He tried to take it away from you but found out that you don't have the book and killed you out of anger," Athena said as she shot her a sympathetic look.

She nodded.

"I will help you then but can you please let me sleep in peace for now?" Athena said.

The woman nodded and disappeared into thin air. Athena shook her head helplessly before she went back to sleep.

In the afternoon, she followed the ghost to meet its sister.

The ghost led her to a dark street. A pungent smell hung in the air. Heaps of rubbish were everywhere. The ground was wet and muddy that soon her sandals and feet got dirty and wet. She shivered. Her feet felt so cold. From the corner of her eye, she could see two ragged men fighting while a few filthy people watched as they cheered. Both men were heavily injured but they continued to fight.

"Ruth..." Athena called the ghost. The ghost's name was Ruth.

"Just keep on walking." Ruth said.

They walked further into the dark street. There were tramps everywhere. Up till now, she did not see any vampires at all.

"This is where most humans of this town live," Ruth explained.

Athena's heart ached for these people. Her heart ached even more when she noticed a woman hitting a little child who appeared to be around six with a huge stick. The young boy was covered with bruises and there was a huge cut on his forehead. Blood gushed out of the open wound.

"Give me that bread!" the woman yelled at the boy. However the boy refused to hand over his slice of bread.

"I said give it to me!" the woman bellowed as she continued to hit the child. Athena took a step forward, wanting to save the child but Ruth shook her head and stopped her. "Don't."

They continued to walk. A few heads turned to look at her curiously. They could not see Ruth since she was a ghost.

Soon they stopped at an old looking caravan. A girl who appeared to be a year or two older than Athena was being pulled out of the caravan by a filthy and rough looking man.

"Let go of me!" The girl screamed as she struggled.

The man laughed as he continued to pull her.

"Sister!" Ruth cried out and tried to hit the man but her hand went through.

Athena scratched her head awkwardly when she saw Ruth's desperate attempt to rescue her sister.

She noticed an iron rod that laid on the ground, not far away from her. She went to pick it with one hand before looking at Little Snow. Little Snow seemed to understand her intentions and hopped out of her arms.

After Little Snow left her arms, she charged towards the man.

She just hoped that she could knock out this man. The pale looking girl swung the iron rod rather weakly at the man. The man who did not notice her approach was caught off guard and was hit badly. He loosened his grip on the girl and the girl took that opportunity to escape.

The man turned to look at Athena. His eyes blazed with anger. "Little brat!" he yelled and began to attack her. Athena tried to defend herself. Using all the strength she had, she swung the heavy iron rod towards the man's head but the man dodged her weak attack effortlessly.

He sneered at her. "I am going to teach you a lesson little bitch!"

A cold glint flashed in her eyes. Her attacks became more fierce and quick. She raised her leg and gave the man a casual kick that somehow sent him flying and landed heavily a few metres away. He coughed out a few mouthfuls of blood and passed out.

Everyone who had been watching, "…"

What the hell?

Athena looked at her little thin foot in surprise. Excitement flashed in her eyes. When did she become so strong?

However the moment she took a step towards Little Snow, she collapsed.

When she woke up, she felt very weak. She looked around to just see Ruth's sister. "Thank you for saving me back there. You were really amazing!"

Athena sat up and said hoarsely, "Where am I?"

"You are in my home," the girl answered. She looked very similar to Ruth except that she seemed a bit naive.

"Where is Ruth?" she asked drowsily.

"Who?" the girl asked, looking confused.

Ruth appeared and said," She can't see me or hear me."

Athena did not say anything and looked around. The whole place was filled with books and bottles that were filled with weird looking liquid. There was a crystal ball on a small table.

"Are you a witch?" Athena asked curiously. The girl shook her head. "I am a fortune- teller."

"Was your sister also a fortune- teller? " Athena asked.

The girl's expression changed slightly. "How do you know my sister? Who are you?"

"You did not answer my question," Athena clicked her tongue.

"Well, yes. She was," the girl answered looking a bit sad at the mention of her older sister.

"She was the best sister I ever had. After my parents died, she looked after me, protected me away from the evilness of this world but now..." She said with a longing look.

"Oh, Lana," Ruth said as she tried to touch her sister.

"Your sister misses you very much, Lana," Athena said seriously.

"How do you know my name?" Lana asked in surprise. "I do not remember telling you my name."

"Can you lend me your body for a few minutes?" Ruth said to Athena.

Athena narrowed her eyes. "That's not part of the deal."

"I know," Ruth answered hurriedly. "But I will pay a few more coins. What about ten thousand gold coins?"

Lana looked at Athena in bewilderment. In her eyes, Athena was talking to the air. Could it be... Was it possible that she could talk to the dead? Maybe she was talking to her sister? Lana pushed her thoughts aside. Athena looked like an ordinary human.

After contemplating for some time, Athena reluctantly agreed. She did not like the idea of someone using her body but the offer was rather tempting.

She closed her eyes and felt something cold enter her body. Her consciousness slipped away slowly and collapsed.

Lana panicked and began to shake her. "Young lady are you okay? Can you hear me?"

After a few minutes, Athena opened her eyes. The look in her eyes and her temperament had changed drastically. She pounced at Lana, catching her off guard. "Little sister!" she called out affectionately.

Lana,"..." Can somebody tell me what is going on? Lana tried to push her away but Athena did not let go. "Lala, I really missed you."

Something flashed in Lana's eyes. That nickname... Only Ruth called her that. Lana stared at the strange girl. She still looked the same but her demeanor had changed. She felt so familiar... As if she had known her for a long time.

"Sister Ruth?" said Lana doubtfully.

"Lala, I know that I was wrong. You were right at that time. David was not to be trusted but I fell for all his schemes despite your warnings. I should have listened to you." Athena sobbed as she hugged her. "He is the one who killed. He killed me for that book..."

This time Lana confirmed that it really was her sister. She felt happy and puzzled at the same time.

"How did you..."

"I met this girl who could interact with the dead and decided to borrow her body so that I can talk to you for a few minutes,"Athena explained.

"I want you to avenge my death, Lana. Kill David for me so that I could leave in peace. After you kill him, I will give you the inheritance our parents had left for us that I had hidden in the forest a few years back. You will have to give this girl ten thousand gold coins. It's part of our deal."

Lana nodded and talked to her sister a few minutes more.

"I will kill that bastard," Lana vowed. "I promise."