A Flight of Souls

by Bella Forrest

  Lucas struggled to raise his head ever so slightly, but it slumped down.

  Oh, dear.

  For all his willpower, what if he was incapable of sitting up? What if his mind had been drained so thoroughly that even the thought of seeing his son again wasn’t enough to infuse strength in him? What if he just… couldn’t?

  Couldn’t. The word was jarring to my ear. I hadn’t grown up in a household of “couldn’ts”. The word triggered a saying my mother would often recite whenever Rose or I—or my father—admitted defeat without ever really trying:

  “I know an excuse when I hear one. Don’t you dare deceive yourself into believing that you’re the victim.”

  The saying was so engrained in my family’s history, it had even become something of a running joke between the four of us, like when someone refused to hang up the laundry or take out the trash. Though its meaning never lost its depth.

  But now I found myself doubting my mother’s words. Of course, there were occasions when one really couldn’t do something. Where it was not an excuse and one was incapacitated. When one truly was a victim. My mother herself had been a victim on a number of occasions, even if she’d refused to act like one. But Lucas… as he struggled to sit up with what I was sure was his best efforts, he just looked so pathetic and helpless. It was gut-wrenching. If there ever truly was a victim, Lucas looked it to me now.

  “What are we going to do?” Kailyn whispered in a strained voice.

  “I don’t know,” I breathed. “I’ve got to keep trying, at least one more time.” As much as I hated to leave my newfound uncle behind, I still had a promise to keep to my family… and to River.

  I looked at Kailyn pointedly. “You should return to the pond,” I told her. “You don’t need to stay and wait with me.”

  She shook her head. “No. I can’t leave you here.”

  Eyeing her determined expression, I didn’t bother wasting my precious energy trying to convince her otherwise. I knew that she was too stubborn a wolf to heed my words.

  I set my focus back on Lucas. Now that we had stopped saying Jeramiah’s name, he was drifting again.

  “You can do it, Lucas,” I began again. “I believe in you. Jeramiah believes in you… Jeramiah loves you.”

  As soon as I spoke the last words, it was as though an electric current shot through Lucas. His eyes lifted wide open and, to my great surprise and relief, his head lifted up further than it ever had until now. His face scrunched up in concentration and determination, and slowly but surely, he raised himself higher and higher until he was sitting upright.

  “My God,” Kailyn gasped beside me. “It worked! You did it, Lucas!”

  The blueness of Lucas’ eyes was brightening, and although they were still very foggy, he was conscious and right now, that was all that mattered.

  “Now we need to get out of here,” I breathed, fixing my eyes on my uncle in an attempt to hold his gaze. “We’ve got to head back to our pool in the upper levels, and you must follow us. Do you understand?”

  It had been such a battle for him to sit up, I feared how much more difficult it would be to get him to stand. But I had to have faith in him. I’d seen how the right words could jolt him to life. If he could sit up, he could stand up. And he could walk. He had to walk.

  But first, Kailyn and I had to stand up ourselves. I fixed all my focus on rising to my feet. It was a Herculean effort—just as difficult as sitting up was, but once I was standing my movement came much more easily. I could move through the water faster than I’d thought that I would be able to, and I wondered whether I might even be able to sprint. Kailyn rose to her feet beside me with similar initial difficulty, and then she too loosened up as I had done.

  “You stand now,” I said to my uncle, embarking on yet another pep talk. “Just think of your son. Your son, who holds no grudge against you for abandoning him.” Well, it was true that Jeramiah held no grudge against Lucas… because he didn’t know that Lucas had willingly abandoned him and his mother. The only grudge he held was against my parents and grandfather. But that was a story for another day. “He loves you, and he wants to reconnect with you,” I went on, trying to use as many trigger words as I could think of that might get Lucas going. And it was working. He took much longer than Kailyn and I to stand up but that was to be expected. He managed to stand in the water, however wobbly his stance was.

  “Now walk,” I said.

  He moved ever so slowly, inching one foot forward, but he managed to reach the edge of the small pool without toppling over. He’s going to have to perk up a lot if he wants to stand a chance of being kept as an ornament in the upper levels…

  There was still a lot to be done. But we were making progress. For now, we just needed to make it out of this cursed chamber and get back to the pool before the ghouls arrived for their “inspection”.

  Kailyn and I drifted upward and out of the water, Lucas trailing behind us. Next we had to pass through the chamber’s walls. We couldn’t pass through the same doorway that we’d come through, because that would lead directly back into the coffin room, a place we did not wish to visit again, especially not with Lucas. So we passed directly through the nearest wall. We traveled slowly through wall after wall, and I constantly looked behind me to check that we hadn’t lost my uncle. There were a number of scares along the way when I believed we had, but eventually we made it back to our comfortingly bright pool on the highest floor.

  I insisted that Lucas jump in first, and then we followed after him, sinking in among the rest of the ghosts. I didn’t even bother looking at any of them and I was certainly in no mood to answer any questions. My primary concern was making sure that my uncle was hidden, the way he’d once hidden me.

  We guided him toward a particularly thick cluster of ghosts and he slumped down into a corner. Kailyn followed suit, collapsing in exhaustion. I felt like joining them, but I couldn’t sit still. Not yet, at least.

  Kailyn and Lucas would need to keep a watch out for the ghouls. As soon as they spotted them approaching, they needed to start moving around and acting lively. I didn’t know how my uncle would survive the scrutiny. He had practically no aura, like the rest of us in here, and with his incapacitated state, he stuck out like a sore thumb. I feared that when the ghouls arrived in an hour or so, they would immediately take him. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed and how many more hours we had until the ghouls came looking for us.

  Marcilla, Nolan and Chantel hurried over to us and, predictably, asked us to tell them everything that had happened. I gave them non-answers. I had more urgent things to do now than talk.

  I’d sunk into deeper desperation to escape this place than I ever thought possible, and at the same time felt more clueless than ever.

  My mind turned back to the oracle, even as I cursed her. Why did you mean for me to be here, Hortencia? For what purpose? And what do I do now?

  I asked the questions in my mind while thinking of her eyeless face, as if by sheer will power alone I would be able to extract answers from her.

  For some reason, the memory of her insisting that I was a coward was the only thing that echoed around in my head.

  “You’re not trying, you’re simply wandering!”

  Now her words stung my ego more than ever. What more can I possibly do? I would have loved to see what she would do in some alternate universe where she was in my shoes.

  I retreated into a quiet corner, tilted my head back and closed myself off to my surroundings, trying to think. After a while, I found myself recalling something Lucas had said to me earlier, that the fae were the only means of escape. Yes, it was all very well saying that, but how—

  “Stop being a coward, dead boy.” I imagined the oracle’s voice in my head again.

  It prickled me enough to dig deeper into Lucas’ idea, as crazy as it was. What is the main reason why escaping via the fae is impossible? Well, for a start, they would never agree to let us escape. Why would they when they were trying to
stock this place up with ghosts? Freeing us would be going against everything they were trying to achieve…

  Then a thought struck me. A thought that chilled me to the very core.

  What if…

  No. That could be suicide on my part.

  “Coward!”

  I scowled, wanting to repel her repulsive voice from my head, and regretting ever having thought of her to begin with. But the word rang true within me. As rough as it was to admit, I realized that in casting Lucas’ observation aside so quickly as impossible, I had proven the oracle right. I had been nothing but a coward.

  Ben

  I had to leave our pool again.

  Abandoning my spot in the corner, I hurried back over to the other side where Kailyn and Lucas were resting. I shot Kailyn a sharp look.

  “Kailyn, I need to do something. Keep an eye out for the ghouls and make sure that the two of you are moving around and not looking so dead by the time they arrive.”

  Kailyn glanced at my uncle with uncertainty, then nodded. “I’ll do my very best,” she murmured.

  Of course, there wasn’t much Kailyn could do if the ghouls arrived and Lucas had drifted off again by then. Other than another frantic pep talk, Lucas was on his own.

  I didn’t know how long I would be gone. It could be hours or it could be minutes. I hoped against hope that it would be the latter and I would arrive with a solution before the ghouls came around.

  “But where are you going, Ben?” Kailyn called after me as I began to drift up toward the surface of the pond.

  I glanced down at her sharply. “Just… do as I say and stay here with my uncle.”

  She looked like she wanted to press me for an answer, but she didn’t and I didn’t give her the chance either. I drifted out of the pool and, glancing left and right to check that there were no ghouls nearby, I moved as fast as I could toward the tunnel that wound toward the main door.

  I wasn’t nearly as fast as I needed to be, but it did feel like the more I moved, the easier it became, and the more awake I felt. I managed to reach the wooden door without bumping into any unsavory characters, and then sank my head through to verify that there was nobody on the other side. Seeing that there were none, I entered into the lake-filled cavern and headed toward the dark canal. I followed it until I neared the exit that led back into the whirlpool cave. The exit. The same number of ghouls were guarding the exit, as was to be expected.

  But this time, I did not enter the vast enclosure. Instead, I remained hovering within the tunnel, about five feet away from the mouth of the tunnel. Just close enough to allow me view of the watery exit, but not so close as to be easily spotted by the ghouls.

  Now it was time to wait again. The most excruciating wait so far. I just had no idea when the next batch of fae would come streaming through the vortex.

  As I hovered in the murky water, I tried to count the number of times that the fae had come through the portal since I’d been here. It had been several times. Not only when Kailyn, Lucas and I had been waiting in our hiding place, but also before, when I’d caught sight of Sherus walking along the tunnel with his sister. They seemed to be coming in and out all day, with intervals of several hours. I had to hope that the last time had been several hours ago and their next visit was due soon.

  So I waited. And waited. With each moment that passed, I became more and more anxious that the time would arrive for the ghouls’ inspection, and they would find Lucas in our pool. But I had to stop worrying about what could be happening. There was nothing I could do about it. The only thing I could do was wait right here and pray that the fae would hurry up and…

  My heart leapt as a fae burst through the whirlpool, followed by a whole crowd of the spirits. Sherus was at the front as they all came zooming down with their white coffins. I hurriedly ducked my head beneath the water and sank downward, hoping that none of them had seen me.

  Touching down at the bottom of the base of the canal, I cast my eyes upward and watched their forms whoosh over me along the tunnel until they had all passed. But I knew by now that it would not be long before they returned. I moved closer to the surface again and raised my head above the water just enough to be able to watch for their return. It had been less than a minute when I caught sight of Sherus again, followed by his group of accomplices. I ducked down, waiting for the exact moment when he would be passing close enough, before moving up in as sudden a motion as I could manage.

  As I sprang up before him from nowhere, his eyes widened in alarm. He had been traveling too fast and I was too close for him to stop in time. I was able to sink right into his body. Though only for a second. I was immediately thrust out, but it didn’t matter. I’d gotten his attention before he’d reached the exit of the canal and came within view of the ghouls. His eyes sparked with irritation. He grabbed hold of my arm, giving me a steely gaze.

  “You,” he murmured. “What do you think you’re doing? You don’t belong out here.”

  As I had expected, he began dragging me back toward the main door.

  “Wait,” I said, speaking with all the strength that I could manage. He ignored me and continued hauling me along the tunnel. “I know that you’re in trouble,” I hissed.

  This made him halt and whirl around on me, his eyes fiery. “What?” he snapped.

  “I know you’re in trouble. You and all your people. You made a pact with these ghouls and are unable to fulfill it.”

  Sherus faltered, confusion marring his perfectly symmetrical face. “What—Wh-Who are you to address me like this?”

  “Just an attentive observer.” I considered mentioning his interaction I’d witnessed with his sister but, given his foul mood at the time and his rising impatience now, I didn’t think that was the best incident to call upon to make my point. “Whatever pact you made with them, and whatever the quotient is that you’re struggling to meet… I can help you with it. I can help you with all of it.”

  Sherus blinked in disbelief, then narrowed his eyes on me. “Who are you?”

  “If you must know, my name is Benjamin Novak, Prince of The Shade.”

  I paused, watching the flicker of recognition in his eyes. “The Shade,” he murmured. His expression toned down.

  “I command the loyalty of a number of witches,” I went on. “If you let me free, I would bring a small army of them here to free you from whatever bond you have formed with these creatures.”

  My heart sank as he shook his head. “Witches won’t be strong enough to help us in this,” he whispered.

  His answer took me by surprise—not only that the witches wouldn’t be strong enough to overcome the ghouls’ power, but that Sherus was actually admitting his inadequacy. I’d thought that perhaps his pride would rear up and that he’d assert again that they would indeed make the deadline as he had done with his sister, and that he didn’t need anyone’s help, least of all the help of a ghost. Perhaps his sister’s words had gotten through to him and he’d realized that maybe she was right. Maybe they would not be able to fulfill their end of the deal. I had no idea what that would mean for them or what the consequences would be, but from all that his sister had said, it would be something terrible.

  “Are you certain witches couldn’t help?” I asked, desperately hoping that he didn’t know what he was talking about. “Perhaps you’re not aware that it is not an uncommon practice in The Sanctuary for witches to keep ghouls as slaves.”

  Before he could answer, several of his companions approached, giving Sherus questioning glares. Sherus nodded toward the exit. “One of you stay with me. The rest of you should leave.”

  They eyed me curiously, no doubt wondering what on earth could be so interesting about me for Sherus to want to stay behind and give me the time of day. A fae with long, dusty blond hair and turquoise eyes stayed behind while the rest left.

  Sherus set his eyes back on me. “No, I told you. Witches cannot help.”

  “What about dragons?” I asked, trying with all that I had to keep
the desperation out of my voice.

  Sherus scowled. “Ghouls make food out of dragons. But even if the dragons scorched this place to ashes, they would still be of no use. Our pact with the ghouls is far more subtle than that.”

  I was dying to ask what this pact was exactly, but I did not want to pry too much… at least, not yet. I racked my brain as to what else I could suggest. Then I blurted, barely even thinking, “Jinn. I also have an army of jinn.”

  Yeah, right. If the Nasiris would be willing to help me out of this mess—which I was sure that they would, given their queen’s attachment to me—according to Aisha, they had probably been taken by the Drizans. God knew where they were now; perhaps they were locked up in the Drizans’ lair somewhere. I doubted they would still be in The Oasis. But I couldn’t think of how I was going to fulfill this promise now. I just had to say whatever I could to bring me closer to freedom, even if it meant lying through my teeth.

  I saw immediately from the look in Sherus’ eyes that I had made the right move in mentioning the jinn.

  “An army of jinn, you say,” he whispered. “You really command the loyalty of jinn?”

  “Yes,” I said, speaking with confidence I did not possess. “An entire clan of them. All of them have pledged their allegiance to me and I assure you that they would be willing to use their powers to help you.”

  “And in exchange,” Sherus continued, “I imagine that you want me to let you free, correct?”

  “Not just me. Five others, also.”

  “Six?” He raised a brow. I feared that I had taken a misstep.

  I actually wanted to ask that he free a whole lot more, but it would be pushing my luck too much. Besides, the ghouls could not notice the fae smuggling their ornaments out, or the fae would be in trouble. And the ghouls’ trust in the fae was something that we needed to keep up as long as possible.

  “Six is rather a lot,” Sherus said. “But I suppose we can squash you all into two boxes.” He paused, his eyes boring into mine. “But how can I trust that you are who you say you are? How can I trust that you are the prince of The Shade, and that you really have command over an army of jinn?”