Page 101 of Haunting the Deep

I yank my sleeves down over my hands and grab the record from the old gramophone. I break it over my knee. But it makes no difference; even without the music, they continue to slow-dance.

“Dad, please. It’s Sam. Just look at me.” My voice is verging on desperate.

“You guys need to see this,” Mary says from the floor, next to the record I just broke.

“Elijah!” I yell as I bend down.

We crowd around Mary. The record title is “Nearer, My God, to Thee.” My heart beats wildly.

“Samantha?” Elijah says, looking from the record to my dad and Mrs. Meriwether.

“We learned about that song in history class,” Susannah says. “It’s—”

“The one that’s famous for playing while theTitanicsank,” I say, finishing Susannah’s thought.

“Where is the jacket? The record jacket,” Elijah says with urgency.

I open the cabinet with my cloth-covered hands and grab at all the records, spilling them onto the floor. I push through the messy stack and land on the empty cover for “Nearer, My God, to Thee.” I flip it over.

The girls lean closer to read the lyrics on the back.

Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,

Darkness be over me, my rest a stone;

Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God, to Thee.

“The message from my bones,” Alice says in disbelief.

“The whispers from that spell we did,” Mary says.

“We need the spell book and the dance card,” Susannah says, and Elijah blinks out.

I pick up the record jacket, turning it over again. Something shifts inside. “Hang on, there’s something else in here.” I pry the jacket open and shake it. A heavy piece of stationery falls to the floor.

Alice hovers over my shoulder, and Elijah blinks back in with the spell book and the dance card, placing them on the floor next to us. I carefully unfold the stationery.

Dear Miss Samantha Mather,

Your presence is requested at the clock on the Grand Staircase within the hour. Sign your name to the dance card and I will take care of the rest. If you have doubts as to the urgency of this invitation, I suggest you consult Redd, as you are wont to do. Kindly appear within the hour, or I fear I will not be the only one who is disappointed.

I search Elijah’s face for an answer. He looks as panicked as I feel.

“It’s a threat,” Susannah says.

My stomach clenches, and I look at my dad and Mrs. Meriwether.Who exactly is threatening me? And with what?“An hour. We only have an hour.”

“Why Redd?” Mary asks. “Does this have something to do with what she told us?”

“I don’t know, but between this letter and the trance, we need her,” I say. “She knows way more about magic than we do. I don’t see any other way with the time we have.”

“I agree with Sam on this one,” Alice says. “This letter suggests Redd might know something we don’t.”

I stare at my dad’s vacant expression. “I’ll go get her.”

“I’ll drive—” Alice says.

“No,” I say. “The letter was for me. Stay with Susannah and Mary and the spell book. Try to figure out how to break the spell on my dad and Mrs. Meriwether. I’ll bring the dance card. Redd’s place is only a few blocks away. I’ll get there just as fast if I run.”