He looked at the other two beside him but neither responded to the sound; once again, no one else could hear it. This time he wasn’t going to make the same mistake. He stood and searched for where it came from but when he couldn’t find it, he turned back to Keira and William.

“I heard it again.”

William looked puzzled, he hadn’t explained what had happened the previous night to him yet as he wasn’t sure how to bring it up or if it was even worth telling him. But Keira knew what he meant and started searching for some sign of the thing that only spoke to him.

“What are you two talking about, what are you looking for?” William asked as he watched Keira.

“I’ll explain later but right now I think I need to find one of the instructors.”

Keira nodded to him and followed as he walked back into the building, William was close behind though he paused at the door to look back out, trying to understand what had caused the change in mood. It was Faye they found first and she took one look at Finlay to realise something was wrong and immediately called Ronan who appeared with a cup of tea in hand.

“What’s going on?” She said after shouting for him.

“I heard it again, the laughter from outside.”

“I’m glad you came to your senses and told me, are you sure it was the same?”

“Yes, there’s no mistaking it.”

“Do you still hear it?” She was looking behind them as if there might be something in the doorway that followed.

“No, I only heard it once and then we came in to tell you.”

“Okay, good, you stay here.”

She started to walk past them but then Ronan stopped her. “I suspect you won’t find anything if you go out alone.”

“What are you suggesting?” She asked the man, her eyes narrowing.

“I think we’ll need to follow Finlay if we want answers to this.”

“I’d rather not know than risk that.”

“You’ve been spending too much time with Sara, I remember when you were fun.”

She looked as though she was about to punch him but then her shoulders slumped in defeat. “You know what, fine, you’re right. If this is going to keep happening, it’s better we go on the offensive rather than letting it surprise him when he's alone.”

“That’s the spirit.”

“William,” she had stepped in front of the boy who was still as perplexed as he had been when they first came in. “Go and get Sara, she was helping some of the girls in the room back there, tell her exactly what happened and that Ronan and I are going with Finlay to investigate.”

He nodded and immediately left to find Sara though he took a quick glance back at them before going through the door she had pointed to.

“Keira, you need—”

“I’m coming.”

“It’s not safe and—”

“I’m coming.”

“Now listen—”

“The more eyes the better, I won’t do anything stupid but you know how stupid he can be so if I’m there to watch him then you can focus on whatever else you need to do.”

“She makes a good argument,” Ronan said, grinning.

Faye rubbed her head and groaned. “Fine.”

She smiled at him but he couldn’t help feeling a little put out by the idea that he needed a carer to watch him. He had no intention of doing anything stupid as they continued to say and it wasn’t as if he chose all the situations he had found himself in. He opened his mouth to protest but Ronan’s amused face made him stop and instead, he turned to follow Faye who had already started for the door.

The night air was cool and the starlit scene of the world beyond the building was as beautiful as it had been the previous night. Faye was looking around but there was nothing unusual to see and when he stopped beside her she asked if he heard anything. He didn’t, there was no sound, no laughter, nothing that wasn’t supposed to be there and he was starting to wonder if they were wasting their time.

Keira had kept close to him, with Ronan at the back but as they took a few more paces outside, there continued to be nothing to signal where they should look, let alone go. He wasn’t sure if he wanted there to be anything, if he really wanted to confront whatever was going on here with him but waiting for something that might not happen was beginning to feel even worse.

“It seems whatever it is doesn’t want to come out while we’re all here,” said Ronan.

“So what should we do, give up?” he replied.

“Not yet, let's just give it some more time.”

They waited for what felt like forever; Keira had started to become frustrated and was fidgeting, he was feeling the cold chill in the air and Ronan seemed off in his own world. Only Faye remained diligent, her eyes ever watching the world around them as though something might jump out from the darkness at any moment. But when he was ready to tell them they were wasting their time, ready to give up, he finally heard it.

He spun around, it came from behind them, behind the building they had come from. Faye reacted to his movement and darted in front of him but the others remained still and watched. After a moment she turned and spoke in a quiet, careful manner.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Did you hear it?”

He didn’t respond, not because he didn’t want to but because of what the sound was. It wasn’t laughter as it had been before, it wasn’t the sound of a wraith crying out at him, it was a whisper, it was his name. It danced over the gentle breeze as though the wind itself was speaking to him and him alone. No one else could hear it but it continued to call out to him, to summon him.

“It’s coming from the other side of the building,” he finally dragged the words out, still shaken from hearing his name in his sister's voice.

“The same direction as last night, well that’s not surprising,” replied Ronan.

Faye led the way and the small group walked around the building towards the sound of the whisper on the wind. Their formation stayed the same, Faye taking the front with his guidance from behind. When they crested the same small hill he had walked over the night before, they could see down to the river he almost crossed and met the wraith but so far there appeared to be nothing there.

They paused, far enough from where he met the wraith the night before and he wasn’t sure why Faye had called the stop. After a moment of watching the world and making sure nothing was coming, she turned to Ronan.

“If we’re heading towards that woodland, it’ll only get harder to see.”

The forest was dense but more importantly, the canopy of trees was tight enough that almost no light from the starry sky above penetrated it. Walking through it in a normal place would be difficult enough at risk of tripping but to do so when there was a chance of attack was dangerous. Ronan had an answer to this problem and for the first time since he met him, Finlay saw the weapon of the man’s spirit.

The golden glow of his aura radiated and pulsed in the usual manner and from his hand grew a long staff, simple in design but elegant with many markings that looked very much like the runes he had been teaching Finlay. On the top of the staff was a pronged structure that looked like a grasping hand with long fingers that curved upwards as though they were to hold something.

He took the staff and struck the ground twelve times in a circle in front of him; with each strike a rune appeared on the ground, marked in a golden glow as though carved out of the earth by his anam. They were the symbols to summon Solast and Finlay realised that there were even more steps for him to learn before he ever mastered invocation. Once the twelve runes appeared, he struck one last time in the centre of the circle and Solast’s rune etched itself in the same glow.

Ronan closed his eyes for a moment and he watched as the man's golden aura increased in strength and light. It seemed to flow from his heart along his arm to the staff and then spiralled its way up to the top before forming a ball within the clasping hand, there it remained, stable and strong as he had told Finlay to do. He had created a safe space and once formed it opened and within that same moment, Ronan released his anam into the runes he had carved and called Solast.

It took less than a second before the man’s aura faded but his staff remained and on top of it, a glowing orb of light that radiated and pulsed with a warm touch. The light was far beyond reason, while bright, it was comfortable to look and yet the world around it was lit up as if it were the sun. A glow erupted around them and all the way down to the river at the bottom of the hill so that they could see as clear as if it were day.

“Problem solved, shall we continue?”

Faye didn’t say a word but turned and continued down the hill towards the river and woodlands beyond. He watched as the outer edge of the light that broke reason moved with them, following the pace of Ronan and his staff. They paused at the river and Faye was searching for a better place to cross as the rushing current seemed uncomfortably deep.

“Finn, Finn! Hurry! Come on!” Laughter followed the words. The whisper that called his name had gotten louder and become more than just a whisper. His sister was calling him, commanding him to hurry and join her.

“The voice changed, it’s not just laughter any more. It’s really calling me—it’s still her voice.”

Keira looked at him with concern obvious in her face, Faye gave him a similar look but Ronan seemed to be searching for some sign of the source instead. He felt as though he was going crazy and even while in the company of these powerful people, was nervous at what they might find.

“It’s coming from the woods, straight ahead.”

“There’s some rocks down there, we can cross and then come back up,” replied Faye.

As they crossed the river, Faye called upon her sword. It wasn’t that she heard or saw anything but they were now closer to the source of the sound and further than he had travelled the day before. It was almost certain something would appear soon and she would be ready for it. Keira looked as though she was going to do the same but Faye stopped her.

“Your job is to keep an eye on him. Leave anything that shows up to me,” she said.

“Don’t worry Keira, you’ve seen yourself just how effective Faye can be at dealing with such matters if they arrive,” said Ronan.

She nodded and he almost laughed remembering the woman’s frustration at the man after being covered in the inky blood of the sea monster. The group followed the river back to where he heard the call and then turned to the forest. It was still imposing, tall trees and dense undergrowth but with the light from Solast and Ronan, it was much easier to navigate.

The calling words continued; it was uncomfortable, only he could hear it and it was the sound of his lost sister. He didn’t know what to make of it, didn’t want to hear it any more but it was true that this would likely continue until they found the source of it. He wondered if wraiths were known to be manipulative; if they’d use his sister’s voice to lure him out like that but when he asked Ronan, the man replied with uncertainty.

“I’ve never heard of them doing such things, that’s not to say it’s impossible but it wouldn’t be common. I suspect if there is a demon at the heart of all this, it will be something different. It might be similar to the wraiths, perhaps even was one once but I think now, it would be something else.”

They continued to push through the forest following Faye who determined their path under the general direction of him and the sound that spoke to him. It was slow progress, even with the light to guide them, the dense brush made it difficult to push through but after walking far enough in to no longer hear or see the river, they found a clearing.

It wasn’t large, still surrounded by the same forest they had been walking through but it was open and free from any tree beyond the edge. Almost a perfect circle, in the middle there was a small pool of water that was still and free from any creeping vine or plant that might break its surface.

“It stopped,” he said.

As soon as they were clear of the trees and stood in the clearing looking towards the small pool, the sound of his sister, the calling over the wind had stopped and there was nothing but silence. The world was still and there was no sign of life beyond the four that stood there waiting. They hadn’t replied to him as it wasn’t the first time tonight that there was no sound but this felt different, something about it felt wrong to him as though they had reached where it wanted them to go but there was nothing here.

“Ronan,” Faye said. “Be ready.”

The man didn’t reply, and for the first time wasn’t smiling in his usual manner but instead took on a much more serious presence. He started to touch the ground with his staff, more gentle than before, not in the same striking manner as when he summoned Solast but again, runes appeared where he pressed. He wasn’t familiar with these runes, nor did Ronan explain what he was doing but afterwards he remained as still as Faye with the staff held above the central mark.

There was a greater sense of unease, a weight and exhaustion he hadn’t been experiencing and then Keira grasped his arm with a tight hold. He looked at her and realised she was as uncomfortable as he was feeling. Faye started to radiate with the pulsing red aura she had on the ship and her weapon simmered and snapped in a blaze of readiness but there was nothing here to signal the sudden tension.

It was only then he realised what had triggered their reactions, the miasma had gotten worse, far worse than before. It felt heavy, thick and dense, almost as bad as when the guardians were near them and his body started to ache under the pressure of it. Then there was the voice again, but this time it was different, a spoken tone that wasn’t the breathy whisper in the wind or echoing shouts from afar. It felt close, it felt as though someone was standing in front of him and even worse, everyone else reacted as though they heard it.

“You’ve finally come back to me.”