Lady of the Shades Read Online Free

three feet in diameter, two thirds visible, one third obscured inside the wall. The mist eddies within the translucent boundaries, thick and thin
tendrils overlapping, blending into one another. I lay my camera on my lap. According to the landlady, a flash frightens the apparition away and nothing develops, but I’ve got to try.
    ‘Can you hear popping sounds?’ Joe asks, leaning towards the bubble, face aglow, eyes wide with wonder.
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘What are they?’
    I shrug. ‘Ghosts forming. The mist reacting with the atmosphere. Exploding air bubbles inside the wall. Take your pick.’
    I rise from my chair, walk around the ball of mist and study it from the sides. I can see through it, but only barely. Cold air radiates from it.
    ‘Ed,’ croaks Joe, and raises a trembling finger. ‘
Faces
.’
    I return to my chair and stand by it. Within the mist, faces – or eerie simulacra – are forming. They aren’t clearly defined, but they seem to be human. Glimpses of eyes and
ears, open mouths, teeth. I think of the figures hovering behind me but I don’t look back to compare their faces with those in the bubble. I don’t need to. Those six faces are as
familiar to me by now as my own.
    I don’t show it, but I’m excited. Apparitions are rarely this vivid. This is one of the most astonishing encounters I’ve yet to experience.
    I turn towards Joe. ‘Describe what you’re seeing.’
    He gulps, tugs nervously at his beard, then whispers reverently, almost afraid to speak. ‘A woman’s face, maybe twenty years old. Long hair. The face is changing now. Losing its
shape. Gone.’ A few seconds of silence. ‘Now another’s forming.’
    ‘A boy’s,’ I interrupt. ‘Plump. Short hair, badly cut fringe, what looks like a bruise under his left eye?’
    ‘That’s it,’ Joe agrees.
    ‘Great. We’re seeing the same thing.’ It’s important to establish that fact. People don’t always interpret apparitions the same way.
    The faces so far have been small, embedded within the heart of the mist. Now one forms closer to the surface of the bubble, larger than the rest. An old man. We’ve been told that the other
faces vary, but this one always returns.
    ‘This is unreal,’ Joe moans as the man’s gaze sweeps the room. Joe is shaking badly. He glances at the door and I expect him to run. But then he bunches his fingers into fists
and forces himself to stand firm.
    ‘Do you see his pupils?’ I ask. Joe stares, then nods. ‘I couldn’t see any on the others. Their features were blurred. This one’s less ethereal.’
    ‘They’re real,’ Joe mutters. ‘Ghosts are real.’
    ‘So they’d have us believe,’ I say sourly, then press closer to the bubble. ‘Tell me your name,’ I whisper. ‘Prove you are what you appear to be.’
    The ghost doesn’t respond. None of them ever has.
    We spend a couple of minutes watching the old man’s face as his eyes roam. When there are no further developments, I decide to try a snap. ‘Seen all you want?’ I ask Joe as I
produce my camera.
    He nods reluctantly. ‘Yeah.’
    I take a quick shot. The face dissipates instantly and the bubble loses its shape. Most of the mist is sucked back into the wall. A strong sulphurous stench fills the room. I cover my mouth with
the mask I always bring along. Joe also has one – I gave it to him on our first night here – but he seems to have misplaced it. While he fumbles in his pockets and coughs, I take him by
the elbow and guide him out into the corridor. Once the coughing subsides, he wipes tears from his eyes and grins weakly. ‘Must have left the mask at home.’ He stares through the open
door at the last of the mist vanishing into thin air. ‘You see shit like this all the time?’
    ‘No two apparitions are the same, but yes.’
    ‘Fuck.’ He shivers. ‘They’re really real.’
    I arch an eyebrow at him. ‘You reckon?’
    ‘After what we’ve just seen? Of course.’ He squints at me. ‘Are you saying