Halls of Splintered Souls (Wandering Souls #1)

Chapter Thirteen

It was fourth period on Tuesday and I had Magical Principal class. I was dozing in and out and wasn't really listening to what was being explained. The teacher is Mr. Conwyn, an old conjuror well nearing his retirement. He was kind and had a calming voice, the kind your grandfather would use to tell stories. Which is also why I was fighting hard to stay awake.

"Each conjuror has their own tether, an anchor, if you will. A tether is an element that could enhance their magic. Some conjurors find that water could make their magic stronger, some use fire, some use earthy elements, and some use the wind. This does not mean that these conjurors control the elements. The elements serve as a boost to any magic the conjuror chooses to perform," Mr. Conwyn explained as he walked around the classroom then stopped next to a girl two rows in front of me, I blinked in an attempt to wake myself. "Miss Woods, that is a very interesting necklace. Would you like to tell your classmates about it?"

Eleanor Woods smiled and nodded, she took off her necklace and lifted it so all of us could see. I fought off a yawn. I really, really need to sleep.

"This necklace pendant is made out of granite stones. I found my tether a few years ago. So now I use this as an enhancer for my magic," she explained.

"Thank you, Miss Woods. Now, since we're almost done with today's discussion, I'm giving you an assignment," Mr. Conwyn said, earning collective groans from my classmates. "Come now, it's just a one-page essay on how each element would affect magical abilities."

A boy with brown hair, Viktor, raised his hand. "Which book should we use as a reference?"

"Anything you could find in the library would do, though I highly suggest the Occult Codex written by our own Professor Cain, she has been my fellow researcher for many, many years."

That made me perk up. Professor Cain must be around the same age as Mr. Conwyn and yet, she looked a lot younger. Everything about her was starting to feel wrong. And the added fact that I saw her in my dream... there must be more to her than meets the eye.

Class ended and I sprinted to the library, afraid that the library would run out of copies of the Occult Codex. It was located on the other side of the building, near the astronomy department. It was huge and had books from different eras. Not just books on magic, but literature too. I even heard that some Professors are able to access surviving books from the Library of Alexandria.

I arrived and immediately asked the librarian, Mrs. Forrest for a copy of the book. A few minutes later she came back and handed it to me. The book looked old and worn, but not in a bad way. I thanked her and made my way back, passing the astronomy department.

"Aya," a voice called out.

I looked to find the source of the voice and froze when I saw who it was. "Professor Cain, hello,"

Professor Cain was dressed in a grey coat. Her graying hair failed to take away her youth. She looked so young.

She smiled warmly at me, but it made me even more uneasy. I didn't plan on bumping into her at all. What if she knew Ayn had taken her grimoire?

"Have you seen your sister?"

Oh no.

"Um... not since this morning," I answered, holding the books closer to my chest.

"Oh, I see. I needed her help with something." Her gaze shifted to the books. "I see you've taken an interest in my writing?"

I looked down to the copy of the Occult Codex and forced a smile. "Yes, Mr. Conwyn recommended it to the class earlier."

Professor Cain smiled. She was being nothing but kind. My instinct still believed that she posed a threat somehow. My heartbeat quickened waiting for her next words.

"Well, off you go, then. Do tell your sister I'm looking for her," she said with a smile.

"I will."

I left and walked without stopping until I reached my room.

***

Padma hasn't returned since yesterday morning and I was getting worried. I tried calling her the other night, but the call didn't go through. I haven't asked around if anyone saw her because however awful I sounded I was somewhat glad that she wasn't currently around.

I was worried, of course. I would have been frantic if she hadn't done this before. A lot of nights she stayed in her classmates' room and I was left to my own devices. Ayn sometimes sleeps in my room, but she felt bad for leaving Gemma alone so she only does so every now and then.

Tonight, Ayn stayed over in my room and we would try to enter the spirit realm, however stupid that sounded. Some part of me found it extremely ridiculous that we even considered it. I was nervous, but it wasn't like it was going to actually work. Right?

"I almost had a heart attack when I ran into Professor Cain earlier today," I told her after she explained that she had returned the grimoire and had copied the instructions to enter the spirit realm.

"She wasn't even in her office until tonight, I doubt she noticed the grimoire was ever missing at all." She shrugged and passed me her notebook. "We have to cover ourselves in salt water."

"To repel bad spirits?" I asked her.

"Yep. Turns out grandma's advice of always keeping salt available is really useful after all."

That's right, our grandma always made sure we have plenty of salt anywhere we go. Salt is used in a lot of protection rituals. The most common one is to bathe in it.

"Okay and then we have to enter... what is this?" I frowned as I read the instruction she wrote down. "What's an interstate?"

"It didn't say, but I assume it's that state when you're not quite awake or asleep?" she replied, unsure. "And then we have to say the incantations."

After we covered ourselves in salt water, we made ourselves as comfortable as possible. Ayn took Padma's bed. It was late so the chances of her returning was slim.

"Remember, once you find yourself in the spirit realm, look for me so we could make sure we both return to our bodies safely," she reminded me.

Aperi ianuam. Incorporeus ingredi. Ostendom alio regnum.

And I dreamt.