I sat with my knees drawn to my chest, as close to the small fire as I could be. We sat in silence between the crumbling walls and half fallen roof of a small room just off the central courtyard of the Tyrzel fortress. I could see the moon in the clear night sky, a single source of light in the deep, black void. I buried my chin deeper into my arms, trying to ignore the rising dread in my stomach. I had not had a chance to stop Will from darting into the ruins, had not been able to get some kind of assurance from him that my friends would be safe. So now I sat, wide awake, and starting at shadows that I was convinced would destroy us all.
Will, on the other hand, was curled in a ball on the ground, sleeping soundly. I was annoyed that he wasn’t as concerned about the ghosts as I was, and that rest could come so easily to him in a place like this. Fynn sat on the other side of the fire, and as I watched him, I was reminded of our time in the forest together, not that long ago. He was staring through the open door, where Jakob and Clothis had departed in search of water. In the flickering firelight and soft moonlight, he looked pale and ethereal. I shivered in spite of my proximity to the fire and hugged my knees tighter.
“Relax,” Fynn said to me without moving. “Get some sleep.”
“I can’t,” I replied, my voice slightly muffled as my mouth was buried in my arms.
He turned his head to face me and smiled. That one expression restored him to his true self in my eyes, and I raised my head.
“Sleep,” he told me. “I’ll keep watch and protect you. You’re safe.”
I bit back the remark that immediately rose to my tongue. How could he protect me, when he was clearly exhausted? It seemed to me that lately it was becoming an effort for him to keep up with us as we walked, and he was going to defend me from ghosts? Will had assured me that the ghosts wouldn’t hurt me, so I felt I had to protect him, but I knew he would never agree with me. Instead, I returned his smile and lay down on the sandy ground, pillowing my head with my arms. My hair draped in front of my face, hiding my watchful eyes as I lay determined not to fall asleep.
Fynn waited several minutes without moving until he was sure I slept, the only sound was the cracking of the fire and an occasional snort from Will. Slowly, I watched Fynn drop his pretence of strength, resting his head against the wall and relaxing his body. The change was instantaneous, and the noble Woodwalker became a shadow of his former self. He seemed haggard and worn, an old man trapped in a young body. With only the most minimal of motions, he reached into the pouch at his belt and drew out a shining white sphere. The light from the orb danced on the walls, and I was struck by a sudden recognition that I had seen this somewhere before, but I could not recall where. Fynn brought the sphere to his mouth and quickly swallowed it, its light extinguished. He took a deep breath and his strength seemed to return to him, his eyes grew brighter and he sat up straighter, but he was still not the Fynn I had met in the Woods.
He returned to his vigil, his eyes fastened on the door. I closed my eyes and sighed, wondering how long the effects of the white sphere would last. We were moving in the wrong direction, away from the Wood and the safety of the Dyrel, closer to the fat Huryl king who would kill us all. Somehow, I had to get us back to Oponoe and the Spirit Wood. I fell asleep with a smile on my face, thinking of happier times with Fynn and Damaeon.
A loud bang outside caused me to awake suddenly and sit up. Fynn was already on his feet and halfway out the door as I scrambled to join him. A cloud of dust rolled into our shelter as Fynn disappeared into the courtyard, causing Will to wake up and cough. He reached at once for his dagger, still trying to clear the sand from his throat and eyes. He called to me once as I dashed out the door, but I ignored him. What I saw outside made me stop short and gasp in surprise.
Jakob was on the ground, grasping uselessly at handfuls of sand as he was pulled by an unseen force towards the large hole that had once been a well. Clothis, her sword drawn, was dodging large pieces of falling masonry as she attempted to reach her comrade. I slid to a halt beside Fynn, who had stopped just outside the door and had one arm extended to prevent me from joining the fray.
“What’s going on?” I asked, absently scratching my itchy palm.
“Can you see them?” Fynn hissed.
I looked up and gasped. Ghosts of men were flying through the air, lifting boulders and tossing them at my friends. Two more were holding on to Jakob’s legs and trying to pull him down the well, cackling with laughter as they did so. They were all dressed in what appeared to me to be Arabian garb, with loose pants and vests, their heads wrapped in turbans. Many of them were missing limbs or eyes, or even heads. I swallowed hard to keep from vomiting at the macabre scene before me.
“Ghosts,” I stammered. “The men who died here, the tribe Jakob mentioned.”
Fynn shot me a disgusted look. “Is that what you see?”
“Jakob!” Clothis cried.
I ran forward, reaching out with one hand to grab Jakob as he sailed closer to the well with alarming speed. The two ghosts looked up at me in surprise as I pulled back, fixing them squarely with a stern look. They glanced at each other and one shrugged as they released Jakob and dove down the well. With a startled yelp, Jakob flew forward and collided with me, knocking us both down. He landed on top of me and we lay motionless for a second before he propped himself on his elbows and grinned.
“Thanks,” he said softly, our faces nearly touching.
I felt myself blush as I stared into his eyes, my heart pounding. Jakob winked and rolled aside, rising to his feet and holding out his hand to me. I stood and brushed off my clothes as best I could while glancing around the courtyard. It was deserted, the flying rocks silent on the sandy ground, and the ghosts vanished without a trace. Jakob kept me close, his body tense and his sword in hand as he prepared himself for another attack.
“Stay close,” Jakob hissed. “They could strike at any time.”
“They’re gone, Jakob,” I told him as I began to move across the courtyard.
“You can see them?” Jakob asked, lowering his sword.
I nodded. “Fynn and Clothis are gone, too.”
I reached the small room where we had gathered, and stepped inside. The fire was extinguished, the embers cold and under a thin layer of sand. Our meager supplies were also partially buried, as if no one had entered the room in years. Will had also disappeared, although I had not seen or heard him leave the room, and there was no sign of his passing in the sand. I shook my head in confusion, and turned to rejoin Jakob in the courtyard, calling to him as I did.
“Will’s gone. Looks like it’s just you and – “
I stopped speaking and sighed. The courtyard was empty, Jakob had vanished to wherever the others had gone, and I found myself alone in the haunted fortress in the dead of night.
“Fantastic,” I said to myself.
I walked into the centre of the courtyard, glancing up at the dark sky, and was grateful for the large moon that shed some light on the ruins. I peered down the well, in case Jakob had somehow fallen, but saw nothing in the blackness. Straightening, I surveyed my surroundings. There was a dark doorway at the base of the remaining tower, which seemed to be the only entrance into the fortress. The rest of the courtyard was surrounded by half formed walls, and the entire central keep had fallen in on itself. The only other door was to the small room where we had once been safe.
The ghosts must have taken my friends into the fortress, I decided. There were no tracks anywhere in the courtyard, other than mine, and I knew they would never leave without me. Still, I hesitated going into the ruins alone.
“Fynn?” I called. “Jakob? Clothis? Will? Where are you?”
My voice echoed off the walls, bouncing back to me unanswered. I waited, but the only sound I heard was the distinct scream of the roc and the flapping sound of its wings on the night sky. I darted forward, through the dark doorway, deciding to take my chances with the ghosts than the giant bird.
The inside was pitch black, the faint moonlight doing nothing inside the stone walls. I stumbled forward a few steps, my hands stretched out before me as if I were blind, until my foot connecting with something softer than stone, but still hard. I picked it up and felt the familiar weight and contours of wood.
“If only I had a fire,” I sighed.
In response, the torch ignited in a steady orange flame. I nearly dropped it in surprise. Blinking in the sudden light and smoke, I held it up and looked around. The inside of the tower was barren, except a single deteriorating staircase that curled upwards. I took a deep breath and started up the steps, hoping the stairs would last long enough for me to go back down once I had found my friends.
“Fynn!” I called again. “Jakob! Clothis! Will!”
“Leila?” I heard someone respond.
I hurried up the last few steps to a landing, where a large wooden door stood. I pushed it, throwing my weight against it to get it to move, and it creaked slowly open. Inside was a large room that was largely full of sand that had blown in through an open window. In the centre of the room stood a figure I had never expected to see again.
“Nathan?” I whispered.
My brother nodded, a wide smile on his face. I took a few steps towards him, scarcely daring to believe it was real. Nathan, my brother, my best friend, standing there in this strange world and holding open his arms for me to embrace him.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “How did you get here?”
“The same way you did,” he told me. The sound of his voice was soothing and brought tears to my eyes. Had it really been five long years since I had heard it? I took another step forward.
“You couldn’t have,” I argued.
“Leila,” Nathan said chidingly. “It doesn’t matter how I got here, or why. All that matters is that I’m here now, with you, and I’ll never leave you again. Now how long are you going to make me wait for a hug?”
Every muscle in my body yearned to race up to him and hold him tightly, never releasing him again. I had made that mistake once already, and it had cost me everything. I took a few more steps towards him, and heard a warning voice calling out in my head. It was the same voice as the fire spirits, and it made me pause. Nathan frowned, his arms still outstretched. I forced myself to take a step backwards as I stared into his honest face, the face I had missed so much.
“Nathan,” I said hoarsely, tears streaming down my cheeks like waterfalls. “You can’t be Nathan.”
My brother looked shocked and hurt. I bit my lip and squeezed my eyes tightly shut.
“NATHAN IS DEAD!” I screamed, feeling my heart tear into pieces as I did so.
There was a rush of air around me and I fell to my knees, sobbing as I had not done since Nathan’s funeral. I relived his last moments, I had been standing on the curb, waving to him as he crossed the street to meet me. The driver that hit him had been drunk and on his way home from the bar. Nathan had been smiling right up to the point of impact, when his face had transformed into an expression I had never seen. I stood like a statue, my hand still in the air, as if the simple act of lowering it would confirm what I had just seen. My brother, my twin, taken from me as I watched helplessly.
Gulping down the dry, sandy air, I opened my eyes and raised my head. The room was empty, and a gaping hole had appeared in the floor where Nathan had been standing. Had I run to him, like I longed to do, I would have fallen. The sorrow for my dead twin hardened in my stomach as I rose to my feet. The ghosts were behind this, the vengeful spirits who were trying to destroy my friends. Turning on my heel, I hurried out of the door and continued up the staircase, hoping to find my companions before it was too late.