Triss was a ghost. Silent like the dead. Beyond normal human needs like moving or breathing. At least, that’s what she told herself. Far below her was the wizard, Percival Arcanus. The man who not only wanted her dead, but had the power to make it happen instantly. At least, she assumed he did. Was there a spell that would kill instantly? She supposed if she was spotted he could simply knock her off the rafter and let gravity deal the fatal blow.

Her clothes rustled against the rough hewn wooden rafter. She was getting distracted, she realized. She tried her best to stay still, her body pressed tight against the wood. Snatches of conversation floated up from below, and she was fascinated by what she was hearing.

“Ssso itsss not my fault masster?” Reginald hissed.

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Percival snapped. “The presence of the diverter ward should have been discovered long before the summoning was attempted.” He was drawing in the air with his wand like he was writing on a whiteboard. White-orange light came out of the tip of his wand and hung in the air, creating a dizzying array of symbols and shapes. He paused and stabbed at one symbol off to the side of the array. “There. See it?”

Reginald stepped closer to the symbols. He pulled his own wand and pointed it at the indicated symbol. The symbol grew in size, floating closer to him. He spun it with the tip of his wand. “Fassscinating. Sssomething elssse came through?”

“Precisely!” Percival exclaimed. He gestured to another symbol. “This one you wouldn’t have seen before. Look!”

“The link exisssted before?” Reginald asked after studying the second symbol.

“Not quite, not quite. The link was formed at the time of the casting, but only because the circle was overpowered. Which means?” Percival asked like a grade school teacher.

“No!” Reginald said with a gasp. “That can’t be!”

Percival grinned. “Yet it is.” He strode around the symbols. “The real question is how the original made it through. Assuming that they are an original. It’s entirely possible there are multiples here. Which opens up a whole new realm of possibilities! It’s almost a shame you killed the first one.”

He continued to pace the room excitedly as he spoke, but most of what he said next was lost to Triss. The first one? She thought. I’m not the only one here from earth? How is that possible? Her heart pounded excitedly as a thousand possibilities exploded in her mind. She breathed deeply and slowly through her nose as she tried to calm herself.

A small piece of dust took the opportunity to take an exploratory journey up Triss’s nose. She tried desperately to to dislodge it, breathing out deeply. The dust stubbornly refused to leave, and when she finally had to breathe back in, several of the dust’s friends joined in the fun. Triss felt the pressure of a sneeze building, and she jammed her nose into the beam, trying anything to stop it. A spray of dust floated up from the beam, rising above her head before plummeting in slow motion down towards the wizard and his helper. Triss kept her head down and listened intently, hoping the slight noises she had made hadn’t alerted the wizard to her presence.

“Ssso what do you plan to do now?” Reginald was asking.

“I’m still researching it. There’s a Draconic work on multiverse polarity theory I’ve been studying, I’d like you to double check a couple translations for me.” Percival said. Triss heard a soft clinking noise, and she opened one eye to see what was going on. Percival had one hand on the door, but he had stopped moving. He knows I’m here! Triss thought.

Percival sneezed. “Vile spawn of a treacherous sea bass!” He cursed. “I thought I said to clean the dust off the rafters!”

“Sssorry Masster. I will enssure that iss dealt with sssooon.” Reginald said obsequiously.

“Today, Reginald! You will deal with it today!” Percival declared as he stormed out. “After we deal with this translation issue. Come along!”

“Yesss, Masster.” Reginald walked slowly towards the door. He peered out, his wand out and held behind his back. Triss felt herself being lifted off the rafter, and quickly let go. Floating in the air was unnerving, but she hoped this was Reginald helping her escape from Percival. She flew towards the ground, slowing to a stop at the last second. She hung for a few seconds there, her nose inches from the ground. A quiet hissing noise caught her attention and she looked up to see Reginald looking at her. He mouthed the word ‘Room’, then turned to leave. The air gag disappeared as she fell to the floor.

Triss scrambled to her feet and moved as quickly and quietly towards the door as she could, grateful now that she didn't have shoes. She heard the sound of footsteps receding down the hallway, and the scaly swish of Reginalds tail on the floor. She waited until she couldn't hear them anymkre, then waited a few minutes more. Finally satisfied that they had gone, she placed her hand on the door latch.

And stopped.

There's other people from earth here. Which means there might be a chance to get home. If Percival doesn't want to help, maybe I just need to figure it out myself. The idea was ridiculous. She could barely operate a toilet in this new world, and she was supposed to figure out magic that a trained wizard said was impossible?

Then again, If I figure out magic maybe I can escape this castle and take my chances out in the world. People out there might try to kill me, but Percy definitely will.

She was moving to the table before she realized she had made up her mind. She had to do something, she knew she couldn't continue to drift along. Unless she took charge of her destiny she would wind up dead.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The book of spells on the table would be a great first start. She examined it without touching it, noting the exact location on the table just in case Reginald or Percy were the type to notice a book being slightly off.

The book was open to a page covered with strange symbols and diagrams. She couldn't understand any of it. She tried concentrating to see if the spirit they had given her understood it. A single symbol on the page lit up.

Continuation. Increase volume. Touch. Touch. Touch.

The voice still had its weird flat tone of voice, but somehow seemed excited? At least she guessed that based on the repetition. She touched the symbol on the book. Absolutely nothing happened. She saw a dim light out of the corner of her eye, and realized that one of the jars of magical ingredients was glowing. "You want me to pick this up?" She asked. There was no response. She picked up the jar, which stopped glowing. The small cauldron Percival had been using the night before began to glow. She focused on it.

Add one splash.

She took the lid off the jar. A bright green liquid swirled inside. She poured a small amount into the cauldron. The cauldron continued to glow. She added a little more, and the glow faded. Another jar on the shelf started to glow.

She put the lid on the first jar and carefully returned it to the shelf. She added powder from the second jar until the cauldron stopped glowing. Three more ingredients were added the same way before thin white smoke began to rise from inside the cauldron. Maybe this was a mistake. She thought as the smoke began to swirl above the cauldron.

Before she could react, the smoke flew at her face. It started to shove its way up her nose and down into her lungs. Triss turned to run, but the smoke was in her face, making it nearly impossible to see. She stumbled towards where she thought the door was. She gasped in relief and pain as her hand slammed into the wooden door. The smoke was drawn deeper into her lungs, and she coughed as she fumbled for the latch. Her panic grew as she felt all over the wooden door without finding it. She forced herself to calm down, closing her eyes and holding her breath. The smoke continued to slide up her nostrils, but she did her best to ignore it. She found the edge of the door with her fingers and slid her hand up until, at last, her search was rewarded. She grasped the latch and pulled the door wide open, falling out into the hallway.

The smoke in front of her eyes cleared slightly as she scrambled down the hallway on her hands and knees. She pulled herself to her feet and stumbled down the hallway, leaning on the wall for support. The smoke continued to dissipate the farther she went, until at last it finally went away completely. She looked back to see a smoke trail leading all the way back to the tower. It undulated in the air like a tentacle, searching for it's prey. Triss turned and fled down the hallway.

*****

"This doesn't make sense." Thomas followed the floating symbols with his finger. "I see how the spell was formed, and how my ward diverted it. But the power of the spell was easily fifteen times what it needed to be. No wizard smart enough to make this would be dumb enough to overpower it like this."

He sighed. "You can jump in anytime." He said, turning to the skull sitting on the table. After a silent moment he began to pace around the glowing array. The white-orange light of the symbols were the only illumination in the small dark room. The wide plank wooden floors were worn smooth by years of use, and the rough stone walls were blackened by the soot of an untold number of candles. Two tall, thin bookshelves stacked neatly with small bottles and jars stood on either side of a small wooden table which was bare except for a grinning human skull.

"Yes, yes, I know." Thomas said. "The link source is definitely more important. How did they find a link to earth?" He stopped to examine a symbol more closely, then spun to glare at the skull. "Tainted? Not a chance. My wards were immaculate." He paused. "No, I don't think so." Pause. "Oh." He began to stride fiercely around the room. "If that's the case the link would have been...." He trailed off as he stopped walking.

He rushed over to his table, setting the skull on a far corner and grabbing a cauldron from the shelf. He nearly ran as he gathered ingredients, setting up a line of containers in front of the cauldron. He carefully measured out various powders and liquids with metal spoons and cups, before placing each jar back exactly where they had come from. Finally he pulled a smooth glass wand from his robes, tapping it gently on the cauldron.

A stream of blue liquid rose into the air and flew to the floating symbols. The liquid swirled around the symbols, coating them and changing them. Thomas watched the process intently, noting every change, until at last everything stopped moving. The blue faded slowly into the white-orange light and then disappeared completely.

The glass wand clinked as it fell on the floor. Thomas held one edge of the table for support. He turned to the skull, his face white. "They know!" He said hoarsely. “They know where we are!”

*****

Triss was lost, cold, and afraid. Her headlong dash through the castle had taken her through corridors, down staircases, and across a bridge that stretched over a massive foyer. That part had been so incredible she had almost stopped, but the panic driving her legs hadn't allowed her to slow. It was only the increasing cold in her head that finally dropped her.

She wasn't sure how long she lay on the floor, clutching her head and trying not to scream. She had bitten her tongue hard enough to bleed, and her mouth was filled with warm coppery taste. She focused on the pain in her mouth, trying to distract herself from the ice in her head. She was grateful at least that it wasn't as bad as the first time, but that just made it the second worst experience of her life. If she didn’t count that Nickleback concert.

Eventually, the pain and cold began to fade, absorbing into the center of her head just like before. She stood shakily to her feet, grabbing at the wall for support. Her thoughts were racing, and she tried desperately to to figure out what she should do now that she was completely lost. She decided the best plan was to try and find her way back to her room. She had made a few trips around the castle now, and if she could spot anything familiar she might be able to make it.

She began stumbling down the hallway, the rough stone scraping at the skin on her palms. She made it as far as the first split in the corridor. She had absolutely no idea which way she had come. “How in the world am I supposed to get back?” She complained. “Stupid spells. Stupid spiri….stupid Triss!” She smacked herself in the head. In her still aching head, with her scraped palm. “Ow. Really really stupid Triss.”

She tried to concentrate on her destination, her bedroom. It was the place in the castle that felt most like home to her right now, the safest place she could go. Not like anywhere in this castle is actually safe for me. She thought.

Nothing happened at first, and she felt a surge of hopelessness course through her. After a moment, the glowing line appeared hesitantly in the left hallway. It was dimmer than before, and ended after about ten feet, but it still felt like hope. She followed the lifeline down the hallway, and it obediently guided her along. After what she felt was ten minutes of walking, she finally reached the bridge. Her steps quickened now that she knew she was on the right path, but it still took what felt like twenty minutes to make it back to her rooms.

When she stepped through the closed curtains into the bedchamber she was happy to see the sun shining through the curtains still. “Ok, still daytime. Didn’t completely lose track of time.” She hurried through the room and cleaned herself up in the bathroom. She actually managed to figure out the toilet as well, which helped her feel slightly better about her situation. Well, once she washed her bare feet in the tub, she felt better. She really needed shoes.

Triss flopped down face first on the bed, and groaned with satisfaction. “I am never leaving this bed.” She rolled on her back, and saw that the room had changed colour. She looked over and saw that the sun was beginning to set, and was making the walls glow with lavender light. She stepped over to the window, and was astounded by the view.

The white sun was just touching the horizon, casting out bands of lavender light. The ocean sparkled like a jewel, the sun reflecting off the shimmering blue surface. She watched as the sun sank slowly beneath the waves, casting purple and yellow and orange bands across the sky. The sea reflected them back in iridescent tones, like precious gems of all colors rolling across a sheet of sapphire glass.

She sat by the window, and watched until the colors faded, and the inky veil of night descended. She waited, hoping against hope that a moon would rise and stars shine through. anything to make this world seem a little more normal. She waited as the absence grew like a hole in her heart. Finally, she stood and drew the curtains against the alien darkness. The moon would come, and millions of white stars would blaze across the sky. It would be beautiful, and it would feel like home. She didn't need to watch. She believed it, and that was enough for now.

Foolishness.

The voice took her by surprise. It was the same spirit voice as before, but no longer flat and emotionless. Instead, it sounded annoyed.

"Wh...what?"