The Raven's Chronicles. Rage of the Wraith

Chapter 18. How to be a ghost

Jules woke up at the sound of footsteps travelling around the room. Rolled into a ball beneath two blankets, he stuck his head out like a turtle emerging from its shell and swept his sleepy eyes across the chamber.

A maid stood by the table, her back facing him, but then she must have felt his eyes on her because she spun around, startled. It was the young woman who had confronted him in the infirmary; now she grimaced, slammed the tray with food against the tabletop and left wordlessly.

"Damn it," Jules kicked the blankets away.

There were only one plate and one mug on the tray; Ravin's cloak was gone and his reila didn't lean against the wall where the hunter usually left it. Jules was dejected but not surprised to be left behind. He groaned as the memories of the night floated to the surface of his mind - how could he have been so stupid to fall for the mara's trick? His face burnt with embarrassment - harder than the rune had burned his skin last night - as he wished he at least hadn't ended up crying on his master's shoulder.

As he sat up, he spotted a piece of paper resting on his bedside table. A short note from Ravin read that the hunter had gone to deposit the necklace in a safe location and that Jules was free until dinner.

"Jules?" Rosalie's voice sounded in his mind. "May I come in?"

"Wait a moment!" he jumped out of the bed, then realised he was already dressed as he'd never changed into his nightclothes in the first place. He pinched the material of his tunic, gave it a sniff and took it off, searching for one of his new ones. Once he pulled it on, he ran to open the door but found nobody waiting there. "Rosalie?"

"Here," she materialized right behind him. She burst into giggles when he spun around. Her face was lovely when she laughed - and Jules imagined her like this, alive and blushing, her body shaking with laughter and the golden hair swirling around her.

"Why are you staring at me?" she gave him a suspicious look as she calmed down.

"I'm not staring at you!" he responded a bit too quickly. "So... How are you today?"

"Better than you, I believe," she sat by the table, motioning at him to take the free chair. "I'm sorry I arrived before you've eaten your breakfast, but I wanted to check on you. Last night was bad - I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't hear me. But then I found your master speaking with my father, and told him to go and wake you up -"

"He didn't tell me that," Jules looked at the steaming porridge that awaited him on the tray. Would it be mean if he ate in a ghost's presence?

"Oh, please, help yourself," Rosalie smiled graciously. "I didn't mean to disturb your meal, but there's a favour I'd like to ask."

The boy downed a bite of porridge. "What can I do for you?"

"Ghosts are supposed to appear to people, move objects and make noise, don't we?" she smoothed the fabric of her white dress, a habit that now was useless. "I want to do that. To be able to warn my family, to say proper goodbyes. I want you to teach me."

Determination shone in her dead eyes, and the boy nearly choked on his porridge. Coughing, he reached for the mug and took a big gulp of warm milk.

"I really wish I could help you, Rosalie," he wiped his lips clean. "But I think you'll need another ghost to teach you that. Are there no other ghosts in the castle?"

"There's one or two, but they're always asleep," the girl's face blurred for a second as she assumed a discouraged expression. "Can't we go somewhere else? There's a hut in the forest that's said to be haunted. People say there was an old logger living there, and he used to chop to pieces whoever he met in the forest."