by Lucia Ashta
I gulped. “What’s worse than that?”
“Your wizard friend is trapped in another world.”
“What?” I whispered so softly that surely the girl wouldn’t have heard me if she weren’t part of a world described in careful whispers.
“Albacus is half here, half there, not really anywhere.”
“What’re the spirits saying?” Nando asked, reacting to my worry.
“There’s a girl, and she’s telling me that Albacus is trapped in some other world.”
“What?” Sir Lancelot snapped.
“She says he’s half here, half there, and not really anywhere.”
“Well then that is truly the worst of news.”
The owl said it, not me, but I couldn’t have said it any better.
Chapter 5
“I don’t understand. How is something like this possible?”
Seeking the source of this new voice, I whirled around, bumping into my brother’s broad chest.
“Whose voice said ‘how is that possible’ or whatever?” I asked him.
“You mean Gertrude?” By the tone of Nando’s voice, it was clear he expected me to recognize her voice. “You know Gertrude.”
Did I? I was certain she hadn’t been there just moments before. “She wasn’t here with us before.”
“She was, only she was a cat.”
I blinked, ran what he said through my mind a second time, but still failed to make sense of it. I opened my mouth to ask how on earth she could have been a cat when I snapped it shut instead. Hardly anything made sense at the moment. What was one more thing?
“Lady Isa,” an educated voice said. “Perhaps it would be wise to follow up with the spirit and gather more information. What does the spirit mean when it says that Albacus is in another world, neither here nor there?”
Right. Albacus. The girl spirit. I’d already forgotten.
I peered out at the shining, flowing spirits until I found the girl again. “Will you please tell me more about this Albacus and where he is?”
Again the girl took a long while to respond. I suppose that when one is dead and trapped in the earthly plane, there isn’t much hurry.
“I don’t know exactly where he is or why. I only know that the Duke cursed him to make it so.”
“I see.”
“What do you see, Lady Isa? Please relay what the spirits say,” a small, somewhat squeaky voice asked.
“You don’t hear her?”
“We can’t hear or see any of them,” Nando said. Nando. I’d never forget my brother.
“She’s saying—wait. I don’t know her name.”
“It doesn’t matter. Just tell us.”
But it did matter to me, and it certainly mattered to the girl, whose face drew tight in offense that the living wouldn’t even care about who she’d been when she was a part of our world.
I ignored Nando for a moment and spoke to the girl. “What’s your name?”
She harrumphed, scowled at Nando for good measure, then said, “Ama.”
“Ama.” I smiled. “That’s a beautiful name.”
She straightened and scowled at Nando some more. “Thank you. It was my mother’s name.”
“Is your mother still living?”
Ama’s eyes flew to my face. “I don’t know. I’ve been trapped here since I died in the dungeons. I haven’t seen any of my family.”
“Oh, that’s so awful.” I brought a hand to my chest. The thought of dying trapped in this dungeon was frightful—and far too relevant for my taste. But the idea of never finding out what happened to the people I loved, well, that was somehow just as bad. “I’m so sorry. I’ll do what I can to help you, I promise.”
“I’d appreciate that very much. It’s been quite lonely here, despite all the others trapped with me.”
“Are you saying your spirits can’t leave the castle? You can’t move on?”
“The Duke has trapped every spirit of every single person who’s ever died while a prisoner. There’s no way for us to escape. We’re condemned to remain here for eternity. The Duke won’t free us before he dies, and then no one will even know we’re here.”
“That’s right,” another voice echoed.
“We need you to help us,” a third said.
“I’ll do all that I can.”
“Thank you,” Ama said, every one of her features expressing her gratitude.
“I’ll get to work on the problem right away.” Which was a bit funny, really, because I had no idea what to do or where to start. But not knowing had never stopped me from trying before.
“Wait,” Nando said. “What problem are you about to get to work on? Freeing Albacus?”
“Who’s Albacus?”
My brother didn’t answer my question, however. The voice in my head wasn’t forthcoming with explanations either. Instead, Nando craned his neck to face behind us. “What do we do?”
“Who are you talking to?”
“Sir Lancelot and Gertrude.”
“Lady Isa, have you asked this Ama for more details about Albacus’ situation?”
“Are you Sir Lancelot?”
“Isa,” Nando snapped. “Maurisse’s spell is affecting you very seriously. We don’t have time for any more of your questions. We need answers and solutions.”
“Oh.” My face fell. “I don’t have any of those.”
“That much is obvious,” Gertrude muttered.
“It’s not her fault,” Nando snapped, then addressed me. “Let’s make this simple. You repeat what I say to Ama. Then you repeat what she says to us. Can you do that?”
“I think so.” But the truth was that I wasn’t entirely sure. I really just wanted to take a nap. Maybe when I woke up I’d feel better, more myself. “Nando, I’m sleepy. I want to rest.”
“You can’t. We don’t know what might happen if you do.” He sheathed his sword and held both my shoulders with strong hands. “Repeat after me.”
“All right.”
“Ama, will you please communicate with me through my brother?”
A few moments passed in silence while I stared at Ama, waiting for her answer.
“Isa,” Nando barked. “You’re supposed to say what I say.”
“Oh, sorry. ‘You’re supposed to say what I say’.”
“It’s hopeless,” Gertrude said.
“Nothing is hopeless,” Nando said. “Not where my sister is concerned.”
“I get that, really, I do. I’d do anything for Clara. But Nando, it’s like she has cotton for brains right now.”
“And that’s not her fault.”
“I never implied it was. What I am saying is that we don’t have time to mess around anymore. If she can’t hold onto a thought for more than a few seconds, we have to find another way.”
“Like what? Have the spirit answer my direct questions?”
“Yes, exactly like that.”
“Isa will still have to repeat her answers.”
“She will, but maybe she can do that if she repeats what Ama is saying immediately.”
Silence reigned for a few moments in which I admired the beauty of the spirits around me. How strange that they should be in such an unpleasant space.
Gertrude said, “It’s the only way. Elwin can help keep her on track, won’t you, Elwin?”
Who is Elwin?
That’s me.
The voice in my head is named Elwin? That’s odd.
But the voice in my head didn’t respond, which meant the voice in my head was odd, masculine, and rude. I frowned.
“Ama?” Gertrude said, moving to stand next to Nando and me. When I felt her, I startled, especially when I realized there was something moving on her shoulder... some kind of animal, I thought. I cringed and pulled back.
“Did she answer?” Gertrude said. “Isa, did Ama answer?”
“Oh, you’re talking to me? Who’s Ama?”
No one said a word, and I wondered why. The air around me grew tense, making m
e feel decidedly uncomfortable. I rubbed my hands across my arms.
“It’s all right,” Nando soothed. “Everything’s going to be all right.”
“No, it’s not,” Gertrude said. “Not unless she can get it together and keep it that way long enough for us to get some answers.”
“Isa,” Nando whispered. “All I need you to do is focus on my voice. Do you think you can do that?”
“Of course I can. I love your voice. Te quiero, hermano mío.”
“I love you too. Now, do you think you can find the spirit of the girl Ama you were speaking with a few moments ago?”
I opened my mouth with questions, but he stopped me. “Don’t worry about understanding things right now. Just follow my directions. Nothing else.” He paused. “We’re all counting on you to do this, and I know you can.”
Right. Whatever he wanted me to do, I was going to do it. No matter that I felt like my brain was mush, I wasn’t going to let down the brother who’d given up everything for me.
“I’ll do it,” I said.
“Good,” he said in an even voice. “Did you find Ama?”
Oops. I’d forgotten that I was supposed to find her. I looked with my heart, because it felt like that’s what I was supposed to do for some reason.
“She’s right in front of us.” I smiled. “She’s really beautiful.”
“I’m sure she is. I’m going to ask her a question. I need you to listen to her answer, then repeat it verbatim.”
I nodded, holding onto his instructions with every speck of mental strength I possessed.
“Ama, we’ll do whatever we can to help you and the other spirits trapped here with you. But our situation is dire. If we don’t find the way out of here, we won’t be able to help ourselves, let alone you. Will you please answer my questions and give us any information that might aid us right now?”
“I’ll help you, but I want you to promise just as Isa has that you’ll help us later. I can’t stay here any longer. I’ll... I don’t know what. I can’t take eternal imprisonment any longer.”
“What did she say?” Nando asked me.
Oh. “Um, ah, she said she’ll help us, but... that she wants you to promise to help her in return.” I finished triumphantly. I’d remembered!
“You have my promise that I’ll do everything within my power, and that our friends will do the same, to set you free.”
“That’s sufficient, thank you.”
“She says thank you,” I relayed, feeling proud of myself for managing it before being prompted.
“Good. Ama, what do you mean when you say Albacus is trapped half here, half in another world? Do you know how Maurisse cursed him to this fate?”
As soon as Ama answered, I repeated her response. “She says she didn’t hear Maurisse curse him, and all she knows is that Albacus flickers in and out of our world.”
“Is he going to the place where spirits go once they pass on from the earthly plane?” Nando asked.
“She doesn’t think so.”
“Why?”
“My brother asks ‘why,’” I relayed before I remembered I wasn’t supposed to do that part.
“Albacus hasn’t told me, but he’s told some of the other spirits that he’s going some other place. Some other, how did he put it?”
A man, who would have been completely ordinary except for the fact that he was dead and floating next to Ama, drew closer. “Albacus says he’s going to another star system and possibly another time. He says he doesn’t recognize the sky. There are two moons, and the sun is different too.”
I gulped.
“What did she say?” Nando prompted, and I was able to repeat the man’s entire reply.
“What?” Nando and Gertrude said at the same time the moment I finished, sounding entirely more alarmed than I felt, which immediately made me wonder what I was missing.
I said, “Albacus described the sky as different. There are two moons and a sun that looks nothing like ours.”
“Ah—” Nando stammered. “I don’t know what to say about that, actually.”
“Neither do I,” Gertrude said. “Mordecai is going to freak.”
This time, Nando also addressed the other kind spirit helping us. “Can you see Albacus when he’s, uh, here in this world?”
“We can see him,” Ama said.
“They can,” I relayed.
“Is he trapped like you are then? Stuck in the castle?”
“Yes,” the male spirit said. “Albacus is cursed to remain in the castle forever, but the Duke placed him in his own special prison.”
“What’s this prison like?” Gertrude asked.
“Wow,” I said.
“Well?” Gertrude said. “What’d he say?”
“Oh, sorry again. He said Albacus’ prison has bars made of dark magic. His cell is woven into some kind of pattern that supports the spell. It’s magic the man’s never seen before.”
“So he’s a magician!” Sir Lancelot exclaimed from Gertrude’s shoulder.
I shrugged. Gertrude huffed and asked the blank air in front of us, “Are you a magician?”
“He is,” I repeated, omitting the was the man had used. To me, the spirits still seemed very much alive, except for the translucent, glowy bit. I wanted to show them that, even if the gesture was perhaps silly.
“Do you know what spell Maurisse cast to trap us in here? The curse that’s affecting my sister?” Nando asked.
The man nodded grimly. “I do.”
“He says he does.”
“That’s great!” Gertrude jumped in place, startling me with her sudden movement. “Knowing the spell is the first step to breaking it. With Mordecai and Giselle on our side, and my sister, we’ll figure it out for sure.” I could feel her grinning even though I still couldn’t make out her face. “Are you able to repeat the spell back to us?” she asked the space Ama occupied, although she was addressing the magician.
“Of course I can. I’ll never forget the curse that killed me.”
I swallowed audibly. “He says he remembers it. He also says the same curse that Maurisse cast on us killed him.”
“Oh,” Gertrude said, losing some of her enthusiasm. “Well, then, will you kindly follow us out of here? It won’t help us if you repeat the spell through Isa now. We need to go where the others are, the ones who’ll be able to break the curse.” She was getting excited again. “There isn’t a curse that Mordecai hasn’t been able to break with enough time, especially if he has Albacus to help him. From what Clara tells me, those two can do anything with enough focus and practice.”
Even I was aware that time for focus and practice was something we didn’t have.
A sound like a very large bubble popping rang out in the dank air of the dungeon. “What’s that?” I asked.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Nando said.
“It’s Albacus,” Ama said. “He just popped back into our world for a time.”
The male spirit was nodding his agreement. “He should be here somewhere.”
“What’s going on?” Nando asked.
“They say Albacus just returned to our world.” My tone was neutral. I was no longer sure whether that was good news or bad. It didn’t seem that rescuing Albacus was going to be at all as simple as we’d hoped. But then, I suppose I’d been foolish for ever thinking that. Albacus was dead, after all, and Maurisse was a sorcerer so skilled and so manipulative that he’d managed to trap the spirit of one of the greatest magicians to ever live.
“Let’s grab Albacus and get back to the others immediately,” Gertrude said. “And let’s take all the spirits with us.”
Well, that’s absolutely ridiculous, I thought. How are we supposed to grab and take that which isn’t material?
But I didn’t bother voicing my concerns. My brain might be muddled, but I remained aware that it was. I wasn’t the person to be making the plans, that was for sure.
“Isa, lead the way to Albacus,” Gertrude said. “And hurry.�
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Without a plan in sight, I started moving forward at a clipped pace. Nando moved right along with me. It took me a few fast strides to forget what I was doing, but it took me much longer than that to realize it.
“Albacus?” Nando bellowed, and I remembered.
Albacus. Right.
You can do it, Isa, the deep voice said.
It seems like I’d better.
“Albacus?” Gertrude called.
“Over here,” Ama said, and I rounded the turn to the left and took off in the direction she pointed. I couldn’t see the floor, but I could see her.
I followed her light to the wizard who’d drawn us into this mess in the first place.
Chapter 6
“You shouldn’t have come,” the man who must be Albacus said, his voice laden with a regret that stopped me in mid-step.
Nando bumped into me from behind, quickly skirted my body, and then pulled me forward by the hand. He positioned himself in front of Albacus, who’d materialized partially inside one of the thick stone walls of the dungeon.
Gertrude appeared next to us, with a small owl perched on her shoulder, and an indigo firedrake behind her. I peered at them curiously as if for the first time, since Ama and a few of the other spirits put off enough glow to encompass them.
The owl met my stare with wide, unblinking yellow eyes until I had to look away.
“You really should have stayed away. Why didn’t you?” Albacus lamented.
“He says we shouldn’t have come,” I repeated, a beaming smile plastered on my face. Sure, the news was dire, but at least I’d remembered what I was supposed to be doing. Progress was progress, right?
“We can hear him,” Gertrude said. “You don’t need to repeat what he says.” Under her breath, she muttered, “Thank goodness.”
“What do you mean, you can hear him?”
“I don’t know how much plainer I can say it.” Gertrude frowned at me.
“Don’t be mean to her,” Nando said. “What’s happening to her isn’t at all her fault. She’s trying to help.”
“I know, Nando, I know. It just would’ve been nice if she could help us more.”