Halls of Splintered Souls (Wandering Souls #1)

Chapter Seventeen

I grew up in a small town. I know every inch of it by heart. There wasn't a lot excitement there. Seventeen years was enough for me to get bored of it. I was bound to dream of something more. More experience, more knowledge, more power.

But this? This wasn't quite what I expected.

Ayn's suggestion from a few days ago was stuck in my brain. I thought about it as I was walking to choir practice. I wasn't even sure it would actually work, or if it was safe. This was uncharted territory for me, for anyone really. I've never heard anyone performing such magic.

Adrien had balked when he heard what Ayn said, and I denied her idea on the spot. She had suggested that she would die "momentarily" to see if it had any effect on my power. She didn't even have time to explain how we'd be able to achieve that.

Both Adrien and I were shocked that she even thought of it. No, I was furious. The idea that she might die and not come back was enough to cause a fight to explode between us. We haven't fought ever since... well, forever.

That's why I haven't spoken to her at all these last few days. I passed her a few times, but we ignored each other. I wanted to apologize first, knowing that she was very much capable of holding a grudge for a long, long time, but my ego got the best of me.

I arrived at the studio and put my thoughts on hold.

Death could wait.

***

I didn't remember falling asleep on the couch in the music studio after practice. Or maybe I did. I was very tired from the lack of sleep. I had nightmares each time I closed my eyes.

It must have been late because I could see the moon in the night sky from the window. I fought the growing uneasiness of being alone. My eyes struggled to see in the dark so I stood up and walked over to the light switch to turn on the lights, but the feeling did not go away.

A chill went up my spine. The kind of chill you feel when someone is watching you. Then I turned around, and he was looking right at me.

"I wondered when I'd be seeing you again," he told me.

At first, I didn't know what to say. There were so many questions I would like to ask, but none of them came up. I looked to his chest half expecting it to be bleeding and hollow, but it was perfectly intact.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "You did?"

The thought of him wondering when he'd see me again sent an unfamiliar feeling coursing through my bloodstream. Maybe it was the idea that I wasn't the only one who, deep down, wanted to find him, that he felt the same way. Or maybe it was the excitement of speaking to a dead boy. I couldn't tell.

"You must have figured it out by now," he stated, raising his eyebrow at me, "haven't you?"

"Part of it, I think. A really small part of it."

Baekhyun walked to where I was standing motionless. He tucked some of my loose hair behind my ear, and I felt my heart quicken. That's when I felt it, a subtle static that shocked the part of my skin that his finger skimmed over. I've felt that twice before too, one the first day of school and with... Kenji.

"I've been waiting for you for so long," he told me. I had a feeling that he wasn't just talking about these last few months.

I was so stunned that I didn't even know which question I should ask him first. Should I ask him who he truly was? Why he was there? Why I could see him?

"The song you always play, why do I keep hearing it?" I asked finally.

Baekhyun stiffened then retracted his hand. "Will you believe me if I told you I've always known you will one day come to me?"

What?

Baekhyun sighed as I kept my silence. I didn't know what to say to that. Although, a part of me felt the same. When I heard him that day... it felt like it was calling to me. I didn't admit it at the time, but it wasn't just the mystery that was so intriguing to me. It was him. The very thought of him gave me butterflies in my stomach.

"I know you have so many questions, but I can't answer all of them now," he continued when I didn't say anything.

"Can I help you somehow?" I ask when he finally walked away from me and to the piano. "Are you stuck here because of something?"

"I can't answer that right now," he looked sad. "I don't have enough power to show myself to you for a lot longer."

"Then when?" I pushed.

"New moon, in the clearing in the woods. It won't be as powerful as an eclipse, but you'd be able to see me the whole night as long as I'm underneath the sky."

I was about to reply, but when I blinked, he was gone.

***

"So, when I suggested it, it was 'outrageous, reckless, and irresponsible' but now that you want to do it suddenly it's 'the right thing to do'?" Ayn scoffed when I told her what I wanted to do.

I couldn't blame her. She must be angry that all of a sudden, I agree with her plans when I was the one who berated her for it. "I can't just sit around and wait until New Moon, Ayn. We can't. We need answers."

Ayn rolled her eyes. "It's only four days away."

She was right, but I had a bad feeling about the forest. The idea of encountering another similar experience to the last time I was there was not in any way enticing. If I could release my soul from my body temporarily, however, I might be able to get the answers out of Baekhyun without having to go to the forest.

"I'm sorry for rejecting your idea like that, okay?" I apologized. "It was wrong of me."

"What happened to 'I don't want you to risk your life'? Are you suddenly okay with me dying?" she snapped.

"I'm not, and you're not going to risk your life."

Ayn squinted her eyes. "I'm going to be dying, even though it's temporary. Of course, I'm risking my life."

"You're not." I took a deep breath. "I am."