by Ashta, Lucia
Nando’s composure was beginning to crumble again, and Count Vabu appeared to forgive him because of the circumstances.
“I assure you, your sister isn’t dead. Her spirit is merely apart from her body.”
“So she isn’t dead? You’re one-hundred percent sure she isn’t dead?”
“I’m certain, boy. Didn’t I tell you? We vampires don’t make mistakes with death.”
He didn’t really. He didn’t explain that bit at all, but neither Nando nor I cared to learn more about that anymore.
If I wasn’t dead, I needed to understand exactly what that meant. I mentally urged Nando to get to the bottom of it, but I should have known I didn’t need to do anything. He was as desperate to comprehend as I was.
“And how did her spirit become separated from her body?”
“I’d imagine the force of whatever magic she did pushed her out of her body.”
Mordecai was nodding fervently from behind them. The beads in his beard clinked. “Yes, that sounds like exactly what must have happened. The dark magic that bound the five humans to the bodies of firedrakes must have been so dark that it took both Arianne and Isa’s magic to break it. Arianne is a powerful witch. Even if her strengths lie with magical creatures, she still can handle a basic spell breaking. If it took the two of them coming together to break, then it was necessarily strong, and likely woven into the very fabric of the people it cursed.”
Mordecai fingered his beard while he thought. “Yes, the dark magic would have been strong enough to knock Isa out of her body, especially since she’s untrained and wouldn’t know how to protect herself from something like that happening.”
Nando sat back on his heels. “Then she isn’t dead.” He sounded equally shocked and relieved. “Is she still in danger of dying?”
“Yes,” Count Vabu said right away. “She can’t remain outside of her body for overly long before her body will begin to shut down without her spirit.”
“All right, so how do we get her back in her body?”
“That’s the tricky part. That’s going to be up to her.”
“Wait,” Mordecai said. “We have a bit of time before she needs to return to her body.”
“No, Mordecai,” Arianne’s voice came from somewhere in the back. Gustave was leading her over. She leaned heavily on her twin. “I know what you’re thinking, but we can’t do it.”
“Why not? It’s the perfect opportunity, you know it is.”
Whatever they were talking about, I didn’t think I was going to like it.
“She’s a girl, not an opportunity.” Arianne sounded tired and worn.
“And Albacus is my brother.”
“What does Isa have to do with Albacus?” Nando asked, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Spirits can sense other spirits, especially when the other spirit wants to be found.”
“You want Isa to remain out of her body to find Albacus.” Nando’s voice was devoid of emotion, maybe because he was running through a whole range of them as I was. I wanted to help Mordecai find Albacus, really, I did. But I also wanted to get back into my body, like, the sooner, the better.
“Exactly, child,” Mordecai said. “She won’t need to remain out of her body for long, certainly not long enough to damage her chances of returning. This could be a blessing in disguise.”
A blessing!
“If she finds Albacus, he’ll have information to share with us. Intelligence that could turn the tides of this war, and help us wipe out the SMS before they can cause any more harm.” Mordecai’s face was that of an eager little boy, and I realized that Nando wouldn’t be able to resist his plea. Heck, neither would I.
Besides, he had some good points. I was already out of my body. It wasn’t as if he were suggesting knocking me out of my body and into this half-dead state; I was already there.
Mordecai was just suggesting we use the situation to gain an advantage, and return the brother he’d already lost once, and was torturing him to be without every day.
“All right. I’ll do it,” I said aloud, to no avail, obviously. I decided to accept the mission. So long as they were all certain it wouldn’t affect my chances of returning to my body, I’d do it.
“You’re certain it won’t impact her ability to come into her body at all?” Nando asked. “The delay, I mean. How long does she have?”
“A day, I’d imagine,” Mordecai said, and Arianne immediately spoke behind him. “Mordecai, a day is too long. Half a day, at most.”
“Half a day then.” Mordecai would take whatever he could get.
Nando deliberated. “Where is she? Her spirit?”
“Probably right here with us,” Mordecai said, and everyone immediately started looking around. Walt looked straight at me for a second, long enough that I imagined he might actually see me. But then his eyes kept moving.
“Isa?” Nando called out.
“I’m here,” I said, sadly, softly, knowing he wouldn’t hear me.
“Shall I?”
Who’s that? Oh, Elwin. I’d forgotten about the inscrutable firedrake while I listened to the others.
Elwin had moved closer, but otherwise looked as serene as he had before.
“Shall you what?” I asked.
“Shall I speak with Lady Arianne and tell her you’re here?”
“You can do that?” My eyebrows rose excitedly.
“I can do many things.”
I was careful to keep my eyes from rolling. I genuinely liked Elwin, and he was about to help me. It was just, could he be a little easier to talk with?
I schooled my half-dead face into a mask of patience. “Yes, please, Elwin. That’ s very kind of you, and I’ll be in your debt if you help me out now, while I’m not-dead—whatever I am.”
He smiled. “You owe me no debt. It is I who owes you a life debt. One that I will be certain to repay.”
All-righty then. “Then please begin with telling Arianne that I’m here and that you can speak with me.”
Elwin started making his slow way over to Arianne.
“And please also tell her that I’ll help find Albacus, as long as they tell me how to do it, and as long as there’s a sure way to get me back in my body once the time comes.”
“There are no more sureties in death than there are in life.”
Yeah, thanks for that, Elwin, I thought, as he waddled toward Arianne.
Gustave noticed the bright blue and indigo firedrake first, and looked at him intently, perhaps trying to speak with him. But soon he realized Elwin wanted Arianne, and he stepped behind her, continuing to hold her steady while allowing the firedrake space.
Elwin waited for Arianne to make eye contact and then bow her forehead. He stepped right up to her and pressed his scaled one to hers.
She closed her eyes.
Gradually, the others noticed and turned to watch, waiting silently as I was, the day thick with anticipation.
The moments, filled with the songs of birds and insects, flitted by. Walt turned in my direction for a few seconds again. I grew hopeful that he might actually sense me there, only to have that hope dashed away when he returned his attention to Elwin and Arianne.
When she opened her eyes, I realized he’d told her exactly what I asked him to—well, probably not exactly. It didn’t seem as if Elwin spoke in the same way anyone else did.
At the questioning expressions that surrounded her, she smiled tiredly. “Isa’s spirit is indeed right here with us.”
“Oh, thank heavens,” Sir Lancelot said from Brave’s shoulder, and I smiled at the little relieved-looking owl. “That’s excellent news, Lady Arianne.”
“Indeed it is, Sir Lancelot.” Arianne’s voice was kind. “She’s here with us, and even better, Elwin here can communicate with her.”
“Oh?” Mordecai said.
“It appears that she bonded with him when she performed her spell, breaking the web of darkness that held me and the others. He can see her too.”
; Nando’s faced looked so hopeful then that it squeezed my heart, the one I wasn’t sure I even had anymore. My brother loved me; his love was written in his every gesture, in his every desperate touch of my limp body.
“Will Elwin ask her if she’s willing to help find Albacus?” Mordecai said.
“No need. Elwin tells me that she is.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
“As long as she has a sure way to return to her body once she helps locate him.”
“Of course.”
“Where is she?” Nando asked.
“Elwin says she’s kneeling right next to Walt.”
Every head swiveled in my direction. Walt’s eyes glittered with tears. He stared right at me—straight through me—and didn’t see me.
My heart squeezed again.
Nando reached across my body, searching for me. His hand went right through me.
My heart squeezed so painfully I was certain I must still have it.
No one said anything for a while, until Nando snapped into action. He looked in my direction and commanded, “If Isa is going to do this, then we’re going to get moving right now. She’s going to do it fast, and get back to her body without delay. I want to hear plans of how she’s going to find Albacus. I especially want to hear plans of how she’s getting back in her body. Only once I’m convinced that she can make her way back will I agree to any additional time spent on anything else, even finding Albacus. I don’t care about turning the tides of the war if it means losing my sister for good. We’ll find another way to Albacus if we have to.”
“This is the way,” Mordecai said.
“There’s always another one. I won’t risk my sister.”
“I’m not asking you to,” Mordecai said, though he kind of was, just a bit.
“Convince me we have time to spare, and that she can enter her body without difficulty, and she can help you find your brother.” Nando wasn’t asking, he was telling. And I didn’t blame him one bit. I normally didn’t appreciate him ordering me around or making decisions for me, but nothing about the situation was normal.
He was defending me when I couldn’t. I’d take it, however it came.
“We’re wasting time,” Nando said. “Who knows how to get her back in her body?”
The magicians exchanged looks, then all stepped forward at once, circling around Nando and me. “We can figure it out together.”
“Figure it out? You don’t know how?”
“We can do it.”
Nando took them all in, nodded, and made space for them. The magicians settled in to decide the way to save my life and maybe the war.
I never would have guessed that this was how I’d contribute to the effort of preserving the world of magic. Just weeks ago, I didn’t know about magic at all.
But nothing about what had happened since I’d come charging through the gates of Acquaine on Trixie’s back was as I would have imagined it.
I was entirely certain nothing ever would be again, not now that I was a student at the Magical Arts Academy.
Half-dead, I drew nearer to the circle. I wouldn’t miss a word of their plan.
I wasn’t going to die today. Not truly.
About Ghostly Return
Sometimes magic requires the ultimate sacrifice.
To do what’s right, Isadora had to die.
But not even death will keep her from fighting—not when her family at the academy is under attack.
Isadora knows far too little about magic, and she understands even less about the spirit world. But with the help of some unexpected friends, she intends to find the ghost with the power to turn the tides of the magical war.
Will Isadora find the way to survive the spirit world? Or will it claim her forever?
For my father,
who taught me the true meaning of creative passion.
You continue to inspire me every day.
The unseen teems with life.
Chapter 1
I was half dead—or rather totally dead, but only for the time being. I was banking on that. My brother Nando was too.
His tears had receded while he focused on the steps needed to return me to my body. None of the magicians gathered in the gardens of the Magical Arts Academy was entirely certain how to make me whole again. They had theories, lots and lots of theories, but theories alone wouldn’t cut it.
“Ask them to hurry up please, Elwin,” I told the bluish-indigo firedrake, the only one who could see and hear me now that I was dead. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t hurry the magicians along. They were my seniors, thousands of times more experienced in magic than I. But I wasn’t concerned about what etiquette dictated I should or shouldn’t do anymore.
All my concerns about propriety vanished like a puff of smoke. I supposed that was what happened when you died.
“Tell them I need to get back to my body right away,” I added, though not because I was experiencing any particular urgency to return to my body. The magicians seemed to generally agree that I had half a day during which my spirit could roam free and still reenter my physical shell.
I didn’t want to wait a second longer than I had to, however. Being out of my body, watching myself there, stretched out on the grass as if I were sleeping, felt indescribably strange.
I understood they were hurrying, especially since Nando was pushing them every few minutes to get on with it. But still... I needed back in my body, and if I had to find Albacus first, then we’d best get on with it, especially since no one was certain that their proposed plan would work.
Elwin waddled from where he’d been standing, halfway between Lady Arianne and me, and lowered his forehead to hers. He’d done this several times since I died, so she tilted her forehead to meet his the moment she noticed him.
Mordecai, Marcelo, and Gustave, the ones who were being most vocal in that particular moment, stopped to watch and wait.
Arianne closed her eyes, and her granddaughters, Clara and Gertrude, took a step toward her. Clara especially shared her grand-mère’s ease with magical creatures, though no one was as adept at interacting with them as Arianne.
The three flame-haired women wrapped around Elwin, who I knew from experience could take a long time to deliver a message. He liked to express himself the roundabout way.
I sat at the periphery of the circle of gathered witches, wizards, firedrakes, hellhounds, and a talking owl. At first I’d positioned myself in the middle of them, but every time one of them shifted and I was in the way, they passed right through me. Some of them didn’t even notice me, others looked down at whichever appendage I’d touched as if something felt wrong. It was… an odd experience, one I didn’t enjoy.
I was quick to move out of range. I was already struggling not to examine my circumstances too closely. I’d wait to have an emotional breakdown until I was back in my body, alive. There was no time to waste now.
Elwin took a waddled step backward, and Arianne opened her eyes.
“Well?” Nando pressed right away. “What does she say?”
“She says that we need to hurry up. She wants to return to her body.”
“See? We’re finished here. Whatever plans we’ve come up with will have to be good enough. She can try to find Albacus, but in two hours she goes back in her body, no matter what.”
“Two hours!” Mordecai said, stepping forward. He’d been especially agitated since he’d figured out that, as a spirit, I might locate the missing ghost of his brother. “We have at least six.”
“I’m giving you two. Not a minute more.”
Nando wasn’t usually this uncooperative. But then, his little sister, the one he’d sworn to protect, had never died before either.
“Give her at least four. That’s plenty of time for her to claim her body. You have to keep in mind that spirit location isn’t an exact science. It can take time.”
“I don’t have to keep in mind anything beyond Isa’s well-being. I’ve already failed her magnificently, as she lies dead at
my feet. I won’t fail her again. Exact science or not, you have two hours. You’re wasting time.”
In a magnificent huff and whoosh of his robe, Mordecai whirled to face Elwin. “Tell her that she needs to disconnect her spirit from her body. Do you understand me when I speak to you, Elwin?”
Mordecai looked to Arianne, asking for her intercession. She leaned forward and placed her head against the firedrake’s. He spoke to her so that not even I could hear. She chuckled, pulled away, and said, “He says he understands you just fine, Mordecai.” From the amused expression on her face, it was clear that what the firedrake had said was more colorful than that. Since I was becoming more accustomed to his nebulous way of expressing himself, I guessed his response was far more poetic, and difficult to understand.
“He also says that there’s no need to communicate what you want to say through him. She can hear you fine. She’s right here with us, watching everything we do. We just can’t hear when she talks back.”
“Of course. Very well then.” The hoary wizard spun in a slow circle while he talked, trying to find me, I supposed. “Isa, you need to detach from your body.”
I wasn’t attached to my body. Wasn’t that obvious? That was the problem. I wasn’t in my body at all. It felt as if I were observing the body of some other girl.
“Elwin, will you please relay that I’m in no way connected to my body.” I sighed. This could take a while, time I didn’t have.
We all waited while Elwin and Arianne repeated the process until Arianne said, “She says she isn’t attached to her body.”
“Of course she is,” Mordecai said too quickly. “If not she wouldn’t still be here with us. She’s holding on.”
“That may be so,” Marcelo said, “but you have to remember that she’s a novice in magic. We’ve barely had the chance to train her at all. Things that are obvious to you, won’t be to her.”
Well, that was one big, fat understatement.
“She might not be aware of the connection at all if she doesn’t understand what it feels like.” Thank you, Marcelo!