by Lucia Ashta
My argument was a bit illogical, but it’s all I could come up with on the spot.
“Fine,” Lady Gosselin said. “Mariana.”
Mariana smiled, and I wished all ghosts could be like her. She appeared unruffled by what occurred around her. Stalwart even though she was dead and stuck in limbo. Maybe she isn’t stuck. But I couldn’t think of a single reason why anyone would want to share the spirit world with the likes of Lady Gosselin otherwise.
“Maurisse has Albacus locked up in some sort of magical cage. I’ve never seen anything like it, so I can’t tell you exactly how he constructed it. But I sense that it’s a network of complex spells holding him there.”
“All right.”
“Isadora, the spells are incredibly dark. As dark as I’ve ever experienced, and I’ve been around dark magic a lot.”
What? She had?
“You shouldn’t go there alone.”
“I’m not planning on it.”
“Of course she isn’t,” Lady Gosselin interjected. “We’re going with her to rescue Lord Albacus.”
“I don’t think so.”
“What do you mean, you ‘don’t think so’?”
I hurried to press Mariana for more information before Lady Gosselin took over again. “Where is Maurisse holding Albacus?”
“At his castle.”
“His castle? He has a castle?”
“He does.”
“Who is this man?” I asked before I realized I’d asked the question aloud.
“This sorcerer is very bad news,” Mariana said. “You can’t face him alone.”
“I have no intention of doing so.” I was well aware of my numerous limitations. I had no intention of pushing their boundaries with a very-bad-news sorcerer. I might be young and inexperienced—and also dead—but I wasn’t stupid. It seemed I was no longer ordinary as I used to be, but I certainly wasn’t about to be foolhardy in this instance.
“Maurisse is a man of incredible power and influence.” Lady Gosselin looked wistful, as if she coveted such reach. “He’s brother to the king.”
“Brother to the king?” My voice was barely a whisper. That was beyond very bad news. That was... that was... devastating news! As brother to the king, he’d be unreachable.
“Not only brother to the king,” Steven said. “But his favorite brother.”
“The only brother that matters to him,” Lady Gosselin supplied. “Maurisse is the duke next in line to inherit the throne.”
It had gone from bad to worse. “Does this Maurisse use magic against the king?”
“Not overtly,” Steven said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. He’s smart enough to do it and not get caught, I think, especially since he already has the king’s trust.”
“And the duke is head of the Magical Council? Does the king know?”
“Of course not,” Lady Gosselin said. “The king supports punishment of anyone purporting to practice magic.”
Mariana said, “Maurisse is holding Albacus within his castle, in some sort of dark dungeon-like place.”
“Certainly the castle has a dungeon,” Lady Gosselin said.
“Certainly, but there was no one else with Albacus. He was alone. If it were the duke’s main dungeon, there would be many other prisoners there with him.”
“That’s true,” Lady Gosselin said, and Steven and several other ghosts nodded.
My nonexistent gut churned. A dark sorcerer, who kept a dungeon filled with people, and was capable of bamboozling the king? Yeah, that was awful. His prisoners probably hadn’t even done anything wrong beyond not satisfying his desires somehow.
“That’s all I saw,” Mariana said. “But Albacus did feel me, I’m almost certain.”
“He did?” I asked, unsure whether it was reason to be hopeful or not.
Mariana nodded. Her brown hair never slid out of place when she did.
“He looked up at me.”
“But you weren’t actually there, were you? I mean, you were still here?”
Mariana smiled gently. “I was still here, of course, but half of magic is the projection of your imagination, of what you believe you’re capable of doing. Albacus seemed to sense the ‘me’ that I projected outward toward his location.”
“That makes sense,” I said, before I realized what I was saying. Was this really starting to make sense to me?
“Is that all you can tell her, Mariana?” Lady Gosselin asked.
“It is.”
“Then it’s your turn.” Lady Gosselin pinned her imperious expression on me.
“Very well,” I said. “You’re all sworn not to speak of this secret beyond the members of this circle?” I made eye contact with every single ghost, and every single one affirmed the promise.
“The two members of the Magical Council I know of are Mordecai, Albacus’ brother, and the Lady Arianne of Acquaine.”
Lady Gosselin clapped excitedly again, her palms not emitting a sound. But her mouth was producing plenty to make up for it. “Oh, how exciting! Isadora, dear, you’ve brought us great news at a time when we desperately needed it.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant by that exactly, but I nodded anyway.
“Lord Mordecai is a great choice for the council, of course,” she said.
“I think Albacus was on the council when he was alive,” I added, feeling generous. If news made her this excited, then why not give her more? She was dead and in limbo. It was the least I could do.
She clapped silently again. “Oh, of course he would be!” she nearly squealed. “Both of them are superb wizards. Didn’t I tell you that? Aren’t they, Steven?”
“That they are,” Steven said. His eyebrows were arched at the news, but otherwise he was the same. It would seem that in their relationship Lady Gosselin got so much of the exuberance that none was left for him.
“And Lady Arianne of Acquaine, you say?”
I nodded. My hair slid in front of my face. Mariana’s eyes widened, and I experienced a wave of relief. I was different from the rest of them. I still had a chance at life.
Lady Gosselin brought a hand to her chin. “I thought Lady Arianne had died a while ago. Isn’t that right, Steven?”
“I believe so,” he said, looking curious again.
“She’s very much alive,” I said, though I couldn’t entirely discount that she might have died. I was planning on coming back to life, after all, wasn’t I? I had no idea what might be in Lady Arianne’s past. If my weeks at the Magical Arts Academy were any indication, unbelievable things happened all the time.
“That’s very interesting,” Lady Gosselin said, sounding distracted by the implications of her misunderstanding.
I took that as my opportunity to leave. I was sure my way of determining the passing of time wasn’t accurate, and Nando had only given me two hours. I had to make my way back to my body, and I had no intention of taking dozens of ghosts with me.
“Thank you for your help and information.” I directed my thanks mostly to Mariana; she bowed her head graciously. “But I really must be going now.”
“What?” Lady Gosselin snapped her head up. “What do you mean, you’re going? I thought you were going to rescue Albacus?”
“Yes, well, that had been the plan at one point, but I can’t afford the time anymore. It’s enough that I can tell Mordecai where his brother is. He’ll devise some way to rescue him.”
“No. That won’t do. You need our help.”
“I thank you, but I don’t have the time to do anything else anymore. I’ve used up what I had speaking with you.” I hadn’t meant it as an insult, but it was the truth, and I wasn’t in the mood to shy from it. Everything took long when Lady Gosselin was involved, including this conversation.
“Thank you, but I have to go,” I said dismissively.
“You can’t. Steven, tell her she can’t.”
I shot a look at Steven that told him exactly what I planned to do. He responded by looking between his wife and me,
probably trying to decide whom he wanted to agree with. Given that I was leaving and he was stuck with his spouse, he was going to choose her.
I didn’t wait around until he made his decision. “I beg your pardon, Lady Gosselin, but I don’t need anyone’s permission. I’m leaving now because I have to return to my body. Any delay will compromise my ability to return to life.”
When Lady Gosselin didn’t say anything right away, I added, “You wouldn’t want me to remain dead when there’s a chance that I don’t have to, would you?”
Her look said it all. She didn’t particularly care whether I lived or died. She was back to thinking entirely of herself.
Well, that wasn’t going to work for me. I did care whether I lived or died. I cared very much, in fact.
With a final smile at Mariana and some of the other more kind-looking spirits, I closed my eyes. I felt my hold on my lifeline tight and pictured myself back at my body.
The technique of imagining where I wanted to be had been enough to deliver Sibylle and me to the spirit world. Surely it’d be enough to return me to the physical world.
I pictured everything I remembered about my body laying on the grass in the midst of the huddled members of the Magical Arts Academy.
Only this time, nothing happened.
Chapter 8
I could tell I wasn’t where I wanted to be even before I opened my eyes. I just didn’t feel alive, and that was something you definitely felt.
Everything inside me sank. Oh no. No, no, no. This can’t be happening to me. Of course, it might be argued that it had already happened to me, given that I was, you know, dead.
But I’d truly believed I’d be able to return to life. Mordecai and Count Vabu hadn’t led me astray, and both of them were convinced I could manage it.
Oh, but Count Vabu is the one who pressured me into remembering my time in the sorceress Miranda’s dungeon so that he could find his sister Priscilla. He hadn’t meant to, but Count Vabu’s actions had led me to a confrontation with Miranda that I almost didn’t survive.
And Mordecai was the whole reason I was here, in the spirit world, instead of back in my body. He was the one to implore me to come here instead of focusing on getting back to my life, which should have been my one and only priority.
I was definitely regretting my choices now, when there was nothing I could do to change them.
Why hadn’t it worked? Visualizing where I’d wanted to be had worked to deliver Sibylle and me to the spirit world. Why hadn’t it taken me back to the academy? It should have, right?
I hadn’t let go of my lifeline. I clutched it with every bit of mental acuity I had. I should have been able to picture myself at my body and appear there, reattach my lifeline—however that worked—and spring to life.
I’d try again. Maybe I hadn’t focused well enough.
I remained within the world of my mind, doing my best to forget that I was actually a translucent specter floating along in the spirit world, surrounded by a bunch of ghosts, and visualized the garden in Acquaine, the one I liked so much.
At first I settled on the terrified look on my brother’s face, the one that was surely still in place, but that obviously wouldn’t work. So I moved on to the things that I loved, but didn’t remind me of my predicament. I remembered the sunshine on my face and the perfumes of the flowers in bloom. I pictured the entirety of the garden, even those areas I hadn’t had the chance to explore yet. It was so large, there was still so much more to discover.
Then I rounded on the mound where Wizard Meedles’ hellhound was buried, and with a crash, I came right back to the knowledge that I was dead.
I was all ready to sink into my defeat, but I pushed myself not to. This wouldn’t work unless I achieved it. There was no one that was going to deliver me to my body. I had to return to the garden all on my own.
I was back to the fountain that trickled so melodically.
“She doesn’t actually think she’s going anywhere, does she?” Lady Gosselin’s strident voice irked me sufficiently to snap me out of my concentration. “She does realize she’s still here, right?”
I ground my teeth, the ones I couldn’t actually feel, and definitely couldn’t actually grind.
“I’m sure she does,” Steven said soberly.
“Well then what is she doing?”
“Do you mind?” I gritted out.
“Mind what, dear?” the great Lady Gosselin asked, but she couldn’t be this dense, could she? Besides, she’d already proven that I wasn’t dear to her.
“Will you please be quiet so I can do this?”
“Oh, dear, you can’t do this obviously. You should have been able to do it by now. It doesn’t take long, you know.”
“I do know, thanks very much.” My sarcasm was dense, but I suspected she’d behave as though she were oblivious to it.
“You should just settle in here with us. It’s nice here.”
“I will not be settling in anywhere with you,” I bit out. I wasn’t very kind about it, and I really didn’t care. She had all the time in the world on her side. Couldn’t she just shut her trap for two minutes so I could get out of here?
“Uh!”
Apparently she’s incapable of being quiet. I didn’t need to open my eyes to realize she was livid.
“You—how rude! Can you believe her, Steven?” she raged, but didn’t wait for Steven to interject his answer. “Just because you’re dead, and remaining that way, doesn’t give you the license to speak to me that way. I am the great Lady Gosselin!”
“Yes, yes, I know.” I groaned inwardly.
“Good. You’d be wise to remember it.”
Actually, I’d be wise to forget it. She was the only thing standing in my way of returning to my body. All I needed was a bit more concentration.
I opened my mouth to speak, shut it, forced myself through the motions of some deep breaths, and tried again. “Will you please give me some silence here? I can’t focus with you talking. Please let me do this. I’m not fully dead”—and I was desperately hoping that still remained true—“allow me the chance to live until my time is truly up.”
Lady Gosselin huffed to make her displeasure with me known. But finally, she said, “All right. I’ll do what I can to help you return to life.”
Suddenly she was the magnanimous fairy godmother, when all I needed from her was to keep her colored lips pursed shut.
But if she’d be quiet, I’d take her silence however it came. “Thank you,” I said as if she truly were my benefactor. She wasn’t, but whatever.
Immediately I zoned back in to the space in my mind where I might imagine anything, anything at all, including me fully alive again. It took a few minutes, but I was finally able to forget about the great lady Gosselin, her surly husband, and the rest of the milling spirits, all undoubtedly watching me.
I sank back into the scents and sounds of the garden, where my body still lay. I’m going to do this. I absolutely am going to do this.
“Do you think she’s going to manage it this time? She’s taking quite a long time already.” Of course, it was Lady Gosselin’s voice. It was hushed, which was an improvement, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
I waited for a few moments, hoping she’d have the decency—and the sense—to actually keep quiet.
“She doesn’t look focused enough.”
“All right. That’s it.” I snapped my eyes open, losing all the work I’d done. “I can’t do this with you interrupting me every few minutes.”
“What? Me?” She placed a bejeweled hand against her chest. “What did I do?”
“You talked!” I growled, I legitimately growled. Obviously, that wasn’t the best way to secure the woman’s cooperation, but I was beyond caring. I was ready to... I didn’t even know what!
The lady’s expression went from surprised at my outburst (she genuinely seemed surprised that her whispers had bothered me) to insulted by my rudeness—again. She opened her mouth to speak, and I just could
n’t take it anymore.
I stilled her with a single look. I was certain by now that I must have looked deranged and possibly dangerous. “DO NOT SPEAK. PLEASE.”
She glared at me. I sighed. “Please. This is my chance to return to the world of the living. Don’t you want that for me?”
I don’t know what I was expecting. Whatever I was, I didn’t get it.
“I’ve done nothing but help you since you arrived. I—”
Mariana whisked between the two of us, with a hand outstretched to Lady Gosselin. “Please, allow me.”
I looked to the kind Mariana. Every single one of my hopes swam in my eyes. “Please help me,” I whispered. “I can’t do it like this.”
She smiled so beatifically that I believed her an angel for a few moments. “I’ll help you. Don’t worry, you can do this.”
“How can you help me?” I shot a concerned look at Lady Gosselin, then directed it at her. Unless she had a spell that could shut the woman up, she wouldn’t be able to help me enough.
It was as if she read my mind. “Don’t worry. I can definitely help you, and I will.”
She took several steps toward me, until she would have blocked Lady Gosselin from sight if it weren’t for the fact that Mariana, even with her arms spread out to the sides, was a fraction of the big lady’s size.
Mariana’s lips started moving. I made out no more than mumbles, and wondered what it was with these magicians who guarded their secrets so closely, even into death.
But when the air, perfectly still and forgettable just moments before, starting whipping around us, I forgot about wanting to listen to her spell. Whatever she was brewing, she meant to help me in earnest, unlike Lady Gosselin.
I stared at Mariana until she closed her eyes to me and beamed a smile that made her relatively ordinary face radiate with beauty. “You didn’t manage to return to your world before because you were afraid you’d fail.”
“No I wasn’t,” I said right away. She smiled bigger.
“To return, you must fully believe that you can.”
“I did.”
Her smile didn’t waver.
“Expunge doubt. Cling to faith like the lifeline you hold.”