Halls of Splintered Souls (Wandering Souls #1)

Chapter Ten

In hindsight, maybe I shouldn't have ripped the page from the book. I had my phone. I could have taken a picture of it or something less dramatic. But alas, what's done was done.

I am currently sitting on my bed staring at the picture. The logical part of my brain argued that they just look alike, or maybe it was his ancestor. It could be that they are completely unrelated and I was just making connections between the two of them based on nothing but my anxiety.

I got lost in my thoughts and was startled when Padma opened the door. "Gah! You scared me."

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you, why are you so jumpy?" she asked and walked towards her bed, sitting on it, "what you got there?"

I looked from her to the picture, then to her again. She looked at me curiously. I debated whether or not I should tell her, but I figured getting the crazy out of my system by talking would be a great idea.

"So, you know I joined choir, right?"

She nodded an affirmative, waiting for me to continue.

"Well, long story short, I thought I met some senior when I went to take my phone that I left behind in the studio. And some weird thing happened. Long story short I found the picture of that senior in one of the choir yearbooks... from 1987."

Padma looked stunned. "Oh, wow."

"What?"

"I just... I knew you were crazy since the moment I walked in and saw your aura, but this is a whole other level," she told me then burst out laughing.

I rolled my eyes and threw my pillow at her. "It's not funny!"

Padma kept laughing as I ignored her. When I grabbed my grimoire, however, she stopped. She kept eyeing me as I began writing my assignment for potions class. I looked at her to signal a what?

"I don't think I've ever seen you do anything other than school stuff." She shook her head and continued just as I was about to object her statement. "Tell you what, there's a party near the lake in the forest tonight. Want to come with me?'

I frowned. I never went to any parties. Sure, I get invites every now and then. Especially with Adrien always wanting to drag Ayn and me to them every Friday night. The forest is a common place for parties, away from the teachers' watch. I don't even normally wish to go on Fridays, let alone on a Sunday night. I have classes tomorrow.

"Tomorrow's Monday, Padma. Why would there be a party?"

Padma grinned. "Because this is best night to catch a ghost."

***

I couldn't tell if it was curiosity or stupidity that got me standing in the middle of the small clearing with a bunch of students talking and drinking on a school night. It was just too tempting. For some reason I felt like I had to go "catch a ghost".

I forgot that tonight there'd be a lunar eclipse. I have never participated in any of the European conjuror traditions, but during lunar eclipses young conjurors here usually perform seances to talk to the dead. It doesn't actually work, obviously. The tradition is as real as Halloween will ever be. Tonight, though, some part of me hoped it was real.

"Here, try this." Padma approached and handed me a cup filled with orange liquid as I eyed it suspiciously. "No alcohol, I promise."

I took the cup but made no effort to drink it. Knowing conjuror teens, if it wasn't alcohol, it probably has some sort of potion mixed in. And since I don't know much about recreational potions, I didn't want to risk it.

"It's not going to hurt you, Aya. It's just going to heighten your senses" she told me.

"Why would I want my senses heightened?" I asked her, scrunching my nose as I smelled the liquid. The magic from the potion gave it the sweet smell.

"So that you could see and hear the ghosts better, duh," she yelled as she left again, leaving me standing alone again.

I eyed the liquid and decided to hell with it. I gulped it down and felt a tingling on my tongue. All of a sudden, I could see colors swirling in my vision, auras, I realized. My ears could catch even the faintest of sounds, and I could taste every individual ingredient in the drink.

The sensation was... intense. I felt dizzy and overwhelmed so I walked to the side of the clearing and leaned against a tree. It was almost too much for me, I have no idea why people take stimulants for fun.

Great, I may or may not have consumed what non-conjurors would consider to be a drug.

"Ladies and gentleman!" A voice shouted and I flinched as the sound pierced my ear.

I groaned as I realized I might have to take a sick day tomorrow. I haven't even done my assignment yet. Why did I think this was a good idea?

"In a few moments, we're going to perform a séance," the boy shouted to the cheering students, "our guest tonight is pretty young. You may have heard of her before. She's the ghost from the girls' dormitory: Suicide Suzie!"

Everyone cheered, but I gasped. Could it be they're trying to contact the ghost I saw on the third floor? I felt even dizzier than before as all the voices and sounds crowded my ears.

I suddenly felt hot and desperately wish to get some water. Leaving the clearing, I walked to the edge of the lake. The water seemed so fresh and cool as I kneeled on the edge, cupping some in my hands and splashing my face with it.

I opened my eyes and looked ahead. The potion made it easier for me to see in the dark. In the middle of the lake, I saw what I thought to be a log of wood drifting towards me. However, as it grew closer, I felt my heart quicken. Something was telling me that it wasn't a log of wood. No, I knew that it wasn't a log of wood.

I could see the unmistakable form of a boy, floating and dead. As the corpse moved even closer, I found myself frozen in fear. The body passed in front of me and I couldn't take my eyes off of the face. It was swollen and the skin was pale, like it has been there for a while.

Suddenly, the sky darkened. The eclipse must be in progress now. The corpse stopped drifting as it hit the edge of the lake, right in front of my kneeling form. In the dark I felt the effect of the potion grew stronger. That was how my sight sharpened even more than I thought possible.

That was also when I realized, I've seen this exact image before in my dream.