Halls of Splintered Souls (Wandering Souls #1)

Chapter Eighteen

"I'm going to keep the candle alight so you could find your way back," Ayn said for the fourth time that night. "And I'm going to put cinnamons, too. In case you can't see the light, you'll smell the cinnamon."

Adrien agreed to help us in case this whole thing worked and Ayn loses her power. I had texted him of our whereabouts. We had sneaked to the rooftop of the main building. It was recently renovated to facilitate the herbology department. On a night like this, it was the only place we could think of where no one would happen to come by.

Padma hasn't been sleeping in my dorm room, but I've seen her around school a lot of times. I still suspected that something was wrong with her. Although, it could very well just mean she was sick of me for some reason. It seemed unlikely.

I gave Ayn a reassuring smile. "I'll be fine, you don't have to explain that to me every five seconds."

It did nothing to calm our nerves. I was pretending to be brave, but deep down, I was afraid. I didn't know what to expect when I leave my body. I wasn't even sure that I'd be able to see Baekhyun. Going into the spirit realm while sleeping was one thing, but to actually have my soul separated from my body was entirely something else.

"Hey, I'm here." Adrien arrived holding more candles. It made me nervous thinking about what would happen if the candle were to go out and I couldn't find my way back.

"Adrien, thank you for doing this," I told him sincerely.

He flashed me a smile. It didn't look like his usual one. He was nervous too. But who wouldn't be?

"Are you ready?" Ayn asked me, hands visibly trembling as she held her notes to read the spell.

"No," I tell her honestly. "But I'll see you on the other side."

"Remember, don't go into the white light. It's going to bring you to the afterlife," she reminded.

And then everything turned dark.

***

All I knew was that everything disappeared and turned black, then it turned cold. I felt alone and lost. I couldn't see anything except endless expanse of darkness. Then, I saw a light a distance away, like the opening of a tunnel. I felt like it was calling me.

Don't go into the white light. Ayn's voice echoed in my mind.

But it was so bright, and I didn't like the darkness.

It's going to bring you to the afterlife.

That's right. That's not where I'm going, is it? I'm not supposed to go anywhere. I'm supposed to come back.

I forced myself to look away from the white light. When I did, the darkness melted away, in its place was the school. I was glad, at first. What confused me was that it was no longer night. The sun was up, but the school was completely deserted. Usually, at this time students would be bustling for lunch. But then again, it wasn't supposed to be day at all.

I looked up to the fourth floor, to the windows of the music studios. I was supposed to find Baekhyun. Would I be able to talk to him in this form?

I sprinted through the garden, heading to the shortcut. Opening the door, I meant to run to the fourth floor but stopped in my tracks when I saw someone pacing back and forth.

"Aya?" He asked, a surprised look on his face.

"Kenji?" I asked in mutual surprise.

"Are you... dead?"

I raised my eyebrow now. "Are you?"

Kenji laughed, but it sounded sad. "Fair enough."

"Where did everyone go? Why is the school so empty?"