Halls of Splintered Souls (Wandering Souls #1)

Chapter Eight

I woke up on Sunday morning feeling disturbed and slightly anxious. My nightmare must have been affected by everything that has been happening around me. Baekhyun, Ayn's nonexistent phone call, her assisting Professor Cain and all that. There were too many things on my mind when I cast the spell. That was the logical explanation, but a part of me wondered if there was more to that nightmare than I wanted to admit.

Ayn left a while ago to grab breakfast from the dining hall and bring it back here. I didn't feel like being around people due to my awful mood. She was kind enough to make sure I didn't skip breakfast. She knew I wouldn't eat anything if she left me to my own devices.

A couple minutes later, Ayn opened the door. She was holding two cups of coffee and a bowl of cubed fruits. I noticed then that she had cast a levitation spell to keep some eggs on toasts floating and moving midair. I got up and helped her set down the plates and cups on the desk.

"You better not do this often. Do you know how many people stared at me as I brought these here?" she asked me.

I looked at her and smiled apologetically. "Sorry."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed a toast. After that, we ate in silence. As we ate, I thought about the dream I had. I couldn't get the gruesome image out of my head. Thinking about it almost made me lose my appetite. I contemplated telling Ayn about it. Maybe talking about it would help me feel better and less on edge. However, before I could say anything, Ayn spoke up.

"You know, I had a really weird dream last night," she tells me, pausing to swallow her food, "I must have been thinking about your mystery guy when I went to sleep."

My heart skipped a beat as she said it. What were the chances that she suddenly talked about her dream just as I was about to tell her mine? Not to mention that she dreamt about Baekhyun, or whatever the hell his name actually is.

"What was it about?" I asked quietly.

Ayn grimaced. It was clear that she was suddenly extremely uncomfortable. She put down her breakfast and took a deep breath, preparing to tell me. I waited for her answer with anticipation.

"Well, for one thing, Professor Cain was there. Maybe it was because I just saw her. But apart from that it was actually really... disturbing."

Again, I grew still. Another similarity in our dream. I was beginning to wonder if we were dreaming the exact same thing. I gestured for her to continue.

"You were there. But I don't think you knew that I was there. I stood right next to you and you didn't notice me. And..." She took another deep breath. "I couldn't get the corpses out my head."

I gasped. "Listen, I... I think we had the same dream."

"What do you mean?"

I proceeded to tell her about my dream, which baffled her. We told the dream back and forth, filling in the details together. It was creepy how we both knew exactly what happened in each other's dreams. The only obvious difference was that she saw me in her dream, but I didn't see her in mine.

"Okay, this is way too creepy, but also really cool," she mused in astonishment, "do you think it was really just a dream?"

I thought for a second before responding. It could be our twin bonds or something like that. But we've never had the exact same dream before. Perhaps similar dreams since we mostly spend our days the same way, but it was never like this. It was never so... detailed and vivid.

"I have a feeling it's not that simple."

She nodded, seemingly agreeing with my thoughts. We were quiet for a moment. The added fact that we had dreamt it at the same time made me even more anxious. I didn't know who would be able to tell us what exactly is happening.

"You know... I can always try to ask Professor Cain," Ayn spoke suddenly.

"Ask her about dreaming?"

"No, about the corpses," she paused, "about Baekhyun."

Hearing her answer, my mind went back to the dream. Why was Professor Cain there? Adrien said that the murder was covered up by the council. If I remember correctly, back then, Professor Cain used to be a council member. Was she there because she discovered the body, or because she doesn't want anyone else to discover them?

"It might be dangerous if there is an ounce of truth in the dream," I finally tell her, sighing, "I don't think you should say anything."

Ayn looked unconvinced. I know she'd want to find out the truth, but I couldn't let her throw herself into danger for something I'm not even sure what. For all I know, this might just all be a coincidence. I didn't want her to act rashly.

"Okay, but if something weird happens again, I'm asking her," she relented.

"Sure, whatever," I replied noncommittally.

Despite my reaction to her plan, I actually felt the same way about the turn of events. While scared, I was curious too. I wanted to find out if the dream was really just a dream or if it was something beyond that. I think mostly I wanted it to just be a dream, nothing more. The idea of it being an actual thing that happened years ago terrified me to no ends.

I waited until noon to leave Ayn's room. I didn't want her to ask me too many questions as to where I was going. So, I waited until she took her nap. As soon as she fell asleep, I put on my jacket and shoes then slipped out the door and into the hallway, heading out to the garden. Once there, I breathed in deeply and braced myself as I walked to the door of the shortcut and to the music studios.

I did say she shouldn't do anything to find out the truth.

It doesn't mean I would do the same.