Chapter 16: Meeting a Ghost (Patreon)

I spent what felt like hours telling Soren about Adalinda, how we’d met, and our bond, but in reality, it was only a few minutes. I told him about the spirit binding the Game had performed between us, the way dad’s ring had melted into me, and how Adalinda appeared as a living mist when I activated the artifact.

“So, let me get this straight,” he said when I was finished. “Your celestial… companion is a spirit but also not sometimes. She’s lived before, but has lost her memories, and when she’s not a lizard, she shares your body?”

I nodded.

“Is she a ghost?”

I pursed my lips. “I suppose you could think of her like that. We are not sure what she is, not entirely, but the two of us are tied together. Our lives are intertwined, and she is as much dependent on me for survival as I am on her.” I paused. “I think she’s been in our family for a long time, since before our family name changed to Shanis.”

Soren ran his hand through his hair. “So, she is from Shanasyn’s time… something ancient,” he mused. “And bound to a ring dad left you.”

“Very old, at any rate. According to—” I broke off, realizing what my brother had just said. “Wait! You’ve heard of Shanasyn?” I hadn’t mentioned the name earlier.

He threw me a lopsided smile. “You’re not the only one mum told stories to, you know. Shanasyn’s tale was one of my favorite bedtime stories.”

I frowned. “Mum told you about Shanasyn?”

He looked at me blankly. “Isn’t that where you heard the name?”

I shook my head. “No. I never heard of Shanasyn until I picked up dad’s ring.” Holding up my right hand, I showed him the tarnished strip of gold on my index finger. “This ring. It’s called Shanasyn’s Legacy.”

Gripping my hand, he inspected it carefully. “How did I never notice that on your finger before?”

I shrugged, having no answer for him.

“And you say the ring is soulbound?” he murmured.

I nodded.

Soren released my hand, a faraway look in his eyes.

“What does it mean?” I asked, scrutinizing his face. I could tell my tale unsettled him. At first, I thought it was because I had become a player, then I’d believed it was Adalinda who perturbed him, now I wondered…

What does Shanasyn have to do with everything?

“I’m not sure,” Soren said finally. “I thought I understood…” He shook his head. “But none of this makes sense anymore.”

“And mum’s stories?” I asked. “The ones she told you, where do they fit in in all this?”

He stared at me, his face troubled. “I don’t know.”

“Will you tell them to me?” I asked, eager for any snippet of information I could gather on the subject.

He nodded slowly. “I will. But will you give me some to process all this first? To make sense of it in my mind?” He smiled ruefully. “Then, perhaps, I will have a more coherent tale for you.”

“Alright,” I conceded reluctantly.

He squeezed my shoulder. “Thank you. Now, what about the other Game artifacts you found?”

I sighed. Soren’s desire for information seemed unending, but curbing my impatience with his questioning, I described the items I’d looted from the Black Sewers: the skillbooks, the ability tomes, and the potions. “There was also this,” I said finally, placing the pouch of Class stones in front of him.

Hesitantly, Soren opened the drawstring and peered inside. “Have you used any of them?”

“No.”

“Good, let’s keep it that way for now,” he said, still staring into the pouch in fascination. “I don’t think you can afford to pick wrong again.”

I threw him an annoyed look. I’d agreed to the promise he’d drawn from me last night, did he think I wouldn’t keep my word? Does he trust me so little? Or the choices I make?

Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I reined in my irritation.

My brother looked up and saw my expression. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that.” He inhaled deeply. “Or perhaps, subconsciously, I did. I’m sorry, El. I’m trying to come to terms with… everything. I haven’t yet.” He smiled weakly. “But I’m getting there. Slowly.”

My annoyance faded. Soren’s words reassured me, but it was clear all was not yet right with us. We still had a long way to go. “Do you have any more questions?” I asked, changing the subject.

“No,” he replied. “But I do have one request.”

I sighed heavily. “What is it?”

“Can I meet Adalinda?”

I frowned, automatically disliking the notion.

“You knew this moment was coming,” Adalinda said, finally entering the conversation. She’d listened attentively to everything we’d said but had held herself apart, giving me space to resolve things with Soren.

“He has to meet me sometime,” she added. “Better it is now.”

I hesitated, swayed by her words. “Okay. Let’s introduce you to Soren.”

“Wonderful!” Adalinda exclaimed, streaming out of me like trails of mist. “And this time, I’ll behave. Promise.”

Adalinda has cast manifest, taking the form of a fire lizard. She has 80% psi remaining.

In short order, a fire lizard occupied the space between my brother and me. Soren didn’t retreat as I half-expected him to.

And Adalinda kept her word.

Twisting about with exaggerated slowness, the celestial turned about to face Soren, then went still as only a lizard could. I had not seen her behave so meekly before, and I could only assume she was trying to appear harmless.

Whatever her intent, it worked.

Seemingly fascinated, Soren knelt down to study her. “Hello there, little one,” he murmured.

Still moving with care, Adalinda extended one clawed foreleg to Soren in invitation.

“Can she speak?” Soren asked, brushing the tips of his fingers against her claws.

“Not the way you mean. We use mindspeech to communicate with each other.”

He frowned. “Would that work with me?”

I arched an eyebrow, surprised at his willingness to attempt such a thing. “Let me ask her.”

Raising my hand for patience, I projected my words to Adalinda, “Can you speak to Soren as you do with me?”

“I can’t,” she replied. “He would need to be a telepath himself for us to talk.” Moving jerkily, she darted her head from left to right.

“Why did she do that?” Soren asked, pulling his hand away.

I smiled. “She just answered you.”

“Oh,” he said, looking confused, but only a moment later, his expression cleared. “Oh. She can understand everything I say then?”

This time, I waited for Adalinda to answer, which she promptly did with a curt nod.

Soren inclined his head. “It was nice to meet you, Adalinda. Thank you for looking after my sister.”

Unhinging her jaw, Adalinda stuck out her tongue. “Tell him he’s welcome, but sometimes it’s trying work.”

I rolled my eyes. “She says you’re welcome,” I said, leaving out the second bit.

Soren’s eyes twinkled. “Really? That was all she said?” He rose to his feet. “I admit she’s intimidating, and that’s not even considering the magic I saw her wielding against the Devils. I’m glad she’s on our side.”

I nodded in agreement. “Well done, Ada. I think you won Soren over.”

✵ ✵ ✵

Adalinda unmanifested shortly after. Soren and I kept talking, but it wasn’t long before we were interrupted.

Thud… Thud…

At the unmistakable tread of footsteps, Soren and I turned to face the basement’s entrance. Although I suspected who it was, my hand fell to the hilt of my blade. A few seconds later, Alon’s mop of blonde hair poked through, and I relaxed.

“Why so serious?” he asked as he walked in.

“You gave us a fright,” I retorted. “Why didn’t you announce yourself?”

Alon chuckled but ignored the question.

“Why back so soon?” Soren asked, his eyes narrowing. “I expected you to be out for a while yet.”

“I did too, but there are Devils about. They’re patrolling the area.” Alon shrugged self-consciously. “And after yesterday, I thought it best not to chance another run-in with them.”

“Devils here?” I asked, aghast. “Are you sure?”

He threw me a look.

“Of course, you are,” I muttered.

“But this is Raccoon territory,” Soren murmured.

Alon nodded. “I found it strange too.”

“Do they know we’re here?” Soren asked.

“I don’t think so,” the axeman replied. “They’re moving about in small groups of four and five, and after yesterday, even Devils aren’t stupid enough to believe a pack that small can take down the three of us.” He glanced at me. “Four, considering.”

“They’re scouts, then,” Soren concluded.

“My feeling too,” Alon said.

I bit my knuckles. “But why are the Raccoons letting them be? They should have killed the Devils out by now.”

Alon sighed. “My guess? The Raccoons don’t want to risk a gang war.” He threw Soren a look, not missing the irony of his own statement. Not so long ago, Soren had said something similar about the Devils—and Alon had disagreed vehemently, but correctly it turned out.

Soren’s gaze flitted between me and Alon. “You know what this means, don’t you?”

We both nodded. “We can’t stay here,” I said.

“That’s right,” Soren said. “We’ll have to leave this bolt hole. Not immediately, but soon.”

“We should wait a day at least,” Alon said, “and see if things cool off.”

“Agreed,” Soren said, “but after that we’ll have to find shelter elsewhere.”

Where that would be, no one ventured to say. The ugly truth was that we had nowhere else to go, not if the Raccoons were willing to sell us out.

Sitting down, Alon made himself comfortable. “So, how is everything between you two?” he asked in an obvious change of subject that no one disputed.

“I met Adalinda,” Soren said. “It was… interesting.”

The corners of Alon’s mouth turned up slightly. “That’s one way of describing her. Did she try to bite your head off like she tried to do with mine?”

“She did not do that!” I protested.

He laughed. “Only joking.” He glanced at Soren. “Does this mean you’re okay with El being a player?”

My brother nodded slowly. “I’m getting there. And given what we’re up against with the Devils, I can’t deny that a small part of me is glad she is too.”

“Speaking of the Devils and players,” I said, “you guys realize Matthew was a player, right?”

Alon turned to me in surprise. “The rogue we killed?”

I nodded.

“What makes you think that?” Soren asked.

“The Game told me,” I said, tapping my temple. “And he isn’t the first player I’ve seen in the Devils’ company.” I left it at that, Alon’s face was already darkening in recollection of the mage present during his beating in the Sewers. “Do either of you have any inkling why players would lower themselves to work for Cantos?”

“They might not be working for the Devils,” Soren pointed out. “It may be the other way around.”

I snorted. “Having met Cantos, I’d say that’s unlikely. The man’s entirely too arrogant to subject himself to anyone.”

Soren rubbed his chin. “The players could explain the Raccoons inaction, though.”

Alon and I stared at him blankly. “Meaning?” I asked.

“Think about it,” Soren said. “The Devils already outnumber the Raccoons. Add players to the mix…” He shook his head. “There’s no way Raccoons would try to take on both the Devils and players. Doing that would risk the gang’s annihilation.”

I frowned, unable to find fault with Soren’s reasoning.

“Where does that leave us?” Alon asked.

“In even more trouble,” I muttered.

Soren nodded. “The question is what do we do now?”

“Wait the day like Alon suggested and see if the Devils back off,” I said. “What else?”

We should do that, yes.” Soren glanced at the axeman. “But I think we’re also going to have risk going out again. We need more information.”

Alon stood immediately. “I’ll go with you.”

Soren turned to me.

“And I’ll stay behind,” I said before he could ask me to. “I have my player progression to take care of anyway.”

“Player progression?” Soren asked, his brows crinkling. “What is—” He broke off, laughing ruefully. “Never mind, I can see you’re better equipped to handle it than me. You’re going to have to do as you see best.”

Alon grinned. “Doesn’t she always?”

“Idiot,” I said, shaking my head fondly at him, and shooed them away. “Go on, get going you two. And stay safe.”

Saying their farewells, the pair exited the basement, leaving me alone. Sitting down on my mattress again, I munched through the remainder of breakfast.

Once more, my thoughts drifted to the fight with the Devils and the haze I had seen around Matthew. His stealth—and my ignorance—had almost cost us the battle.

The more foes I faced, the more I realized how many elements there were to the Game, elements I knew nothing of, and for a moment, I felt overwhelmed.

I couldn’t give in to doubt and fear, though. Especially now, after learning how temporary our reprieve in Soren’s bolt hole was to be. Sooner or later, the Devils were going to find us again.

And when they did, I had to be ready.