Passenger

Chapter 9

We didn't run into Ripely again as Krys and Neb continued along the path, thankfully. Even so, I kept an eye out for the weird bandit on the outskirts of the treeline as we went.

My body still felt very strange. It was a weird tingly sensation - sort of like what you'd expect if you'd managed to give yourself a static shock, except all over.

And then there was one other thing, that I didn't actually realize until Krys pointed it out. "Rachel...something's wrong with your form." He said quietly, to get my attention. "you're...glowing yellow."

"what now?" I looked down at my arms, and was surprised to see that he was right. My entire body was glowing with a dim yellow hue. "huh...that's weird. Wonder if that's got to do with my tingly feeling."

Krys frowned at me. "when you tried to touch me, the effect of the Yellow Magic vanished, Rachel." He said softly. "did you...do something?"

I shrugged. "hell if I know. You think I've got any clue what I can do as a ghost?" staring at my arm, I frowned, thinking. What could it mean, if the effect vanished from Krys when I tried to touch him, then I started feeling weird?

Well, the obvious answer was that, somehow, I'd absorbed the effects of the Yellow Magic. But that didn't make sense - I didn't feel slower or encumbered, which was clearly what the magic was supposed to do. I just felt...tingly. Like I said, static shock. Well, I was a ghost. Maybe it had a different effect on me because I wasn't alive?

That meant I could probably do something with it, right? There was a sudden feeling of excitement as I realized the prospect of the situation. If I had magic in my form, surely that mean I could use it somehow, right? I just had to figure out how. Maybe Krys had some idea.

With a plan in mind, I looked up to see it was significantly later in the day, and Neb and Krys were chatting ahead of me as they walked. Glancing up at the sky, I reckoned it had been a few hours since I'd been paying attention. Damnit, this stupid thing of not being able to keep track of time was the worst! No wonder all the stories about ghosts took so long for them to do anything - it took them forever just to follow a line of thought!

With a huff, I floated over to Krys. "hey, buddy. I've got something I want to try." I told him, floating slightly in front and above him. "I'm gonna see if I can't do something with the magic I've got in my system - so, uh, sorry if it gets weird, alright?"

Krys nodded, though he looked a bit worried. Remembering everything I'd learned about controlling magic, I focused, raising a hand out in front of me. I wanted to shape the magic, somehow, into something I could manipulate - like a net. Yeah, that was a good image. A net, that I could just throw on something. Not Krys or Neb - just a tree, or something.

But, for some reason...it didn't. I could feel the magic at my fingertips, wanting to be released, but it didn't go any further. Lowering my hand, I frowned in confusion and mild frustration. "what the - why didn't it work?"

Krys looked at me in equal amounts of puzzlement, but didn't have an answer. Clearly he'd seen what I was trying to do. I glared at my hand and floated back with a huff. So much for that.

As I sulked, Neb had started talking again. "well, I'd hoped to be in Cassion by the end of the day today, but thanks to that run-in with that guy we had, looks like we're going to have to spend another night in the great outdoors." He said, glancing back at Krys. "you don't mind too much, do you?"

I scoffed as Krys shook his head. "oh, come on." I told Neb, folding my arms and leaning back. "you seriously think he isn't used to roughing it by now? He'll be just fine."

After I said that, I felt a strange sensation run through me. All the static, tingly sensations I had been feeling abruptly diminished with a slight spark - like I had touched someone else and given them a shock. I shuddered involuntarily at the unexpected feeling.