Nine Signa
NINE
S IGNA
Blythe doted on her husband at breakfast, slicing his bacon into tiny pieces, one of which she fed to him. Aris was practically preening from the coddling, and Signa had half a mind to kick him under the table.
“What’s wrong with your face?” he asked her between bites of his meal, his voice low and taunting. “Jealousy is unbecoming on you, Signa.”
She rolled her eyes, waiting for Blythe to stand and fetch the milk from the buffet before snapping at him. “I’m not jealous, I’m exhausted by the dozens of spirits who decided to visit my room at all hours of the night. It turns out they quite like your decor.”
“I’m glad to hear they have taste.” Normally Aris might have basked in the compliment, though in that moment his face was grim. “I think they were in our room, too. My skin was crawling all night.”
Signa’s chest squeezed. It was one thing for her to be surrounded by spirits. She, at least, would always know whether they were there and never be forced to wonder whether someone was watching her sleep, eat, bathe, dress… whether they would snap and possess her.
“I assume they did not see anything?”
“They’re already haunting my home. Do you expect me to give them a show, as well?” Aris leaned forward in his seat, the wood creaking beneath him. “How much longer will it take to get them out of my home?”
“This is delicate work. I cannot control what a spirit does, I can only help them navigate—”
“Well, hurry up and navigate them out of Wisteria. There are only three days left until Christmas.”
Signa dug her spoon into her porridge, her eyes bloodshot and her head so heavy that it attempted several times to bob into her breakfast when she forgot to actively hold it up. “I’m working on it.”
It was a relief that Elijah spoke up from across the table, noticing Signa’s struggle. “Did you not sleep well?” he asked, the question immediately earning Blythe’s attention upon her return.
“Was it the bed?” she asked, pouring milk into her porridge. “The room itself? Whatever the issue, Aris can change it to suit your needs.”
“I already told her as much with a note,” Aris offered. “If she decides she hates fun, I’m more than willing to oblige her poor taste.”
Blythe swatted his arm, but Signa only said, “The room was fine. I suppose I was just missing Sylas.”
“Ah yes.” Elijah hummed. “The man that everyone here can see except for me.”
Signa offered him a small smile, though it waned when she heard a teasing voice coaxing the back of her mind.
You’re really using me as an excuse, Little Bird?
Signa had been so exhausted that she hadn’t realized the reaper was there in her mind, listening. On her next bite, her spoon clanged harder against the bowl. If you’re too busy to come home, then you’re too busy to spy on us , she shot back before promptly ignoring him.
She did miss Sylas and had spent a great deal of time considering where he might be and what he could possibly be up to.
But the true reason for her exhaustion stood with her in the dining room even then, giggling and dancing without any regard for those who were trying to have a peaceful breakfast. Still, her lie worked, perhaps a little too well.
Signa could have sworn that her cousin turned purposefully away at her mention of Death.
“Blythe,” Signa said slowly, leaning around Aris to get closer to her cousin. “Do you know where Sylas is?”
“Not precisely, no.” She filled her mouth with eggs, refusing to elaborate. Signa wasn’t placated so easily.
“But you know what he’s doing, don’t you?”
Blythe’s lips flattened into a grim line. “It’s possible that I might have a vague idea. I may or may not have asked for his assistance with an errand.”
Signa quirked her brow, but given how much food Blythe continued to shovel into her mouth, it was clear her cousin was intent on avoiding any further answers.
“Then I suppose I will continue to await his return.” Signa stood, earning the attention of the spirits as her chair scratched against the floorboards. “I have missions of my own to accomplish today. I’ll be leaving Wisteria for a while—”
“ Leaving ?” Aris echoed midbite. He looked as though she’d suggested burning down the palace.
“Only for a few hours, and for work that I cannot do here.” Signa had spent her restless night sorting out a plan, and it had become clearer with each passing hour that if she was going to figure out what had happened to these spirits, she needed to seek information outside the confines of Wisteria.
She’d listened to the spirits prattle on and had tried to pry information from them with little success.
Now it was time to find out what she could learn from the town itself.
She didn’t wait long to leave Wisteria. Signa had already been dressed for town and was out the door a handful of minutes after finishing breakfast, not leaving time for anyone to try to make her stay.
She didn’t turn back to look at the spirits who followed her, tailing her through the hall and to a front door they dared not venture past. Their eyes darkened as they stared between her and the door as if both had betrayed them.
Still, she wrapped her thick navy coat tightly around herself and set off down the sloping hill to the colorful village below.
“It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?” came a voice from beside her. “I’ve not been into town since we moved here!”
She’d barely been out of Wisteria for two minutes and already Signa’s heart nearly burst from her chest at Blythe’s sudden appearance.
Her cousin was dressed in a cream grown and a blush-pink cloak that matched the shade of her cheeks as the wintertime air nipped at her skin.
Aris stood beside her in a striking crimson coat, tendrils of his breath wisping in air that had otherwise been empty only a second prior.
Signa glared at him. “Are you following me?” she asked, annoyed when his face contorted as if she were the ridiculous one.
“You’re not interesting enough to follow,” Aris said plainly.
It was strange to see him in a top hat, smartly dressed for a proper stroll.
“Did you forget that I’m still in need of Christmas gifts?
And I couldn’t very well leave Blythe at the palace alone, could I?
” This last part he said quietly as Blythe trudged several steps ahead of them, eager to reach the city.
“And what of Elijah?” Signa asked.
“Gundry is keeping him company by the hearth. He says his bones don’t care for the snow.”
She accepted the excuse, not too worried for his safety. The spirits had been mostly harmless so far, and she doubted that Elijah would do anything that might rile them. Still, she was glad that Gundry was there just in case.
“You are moving slower than snails,” her cousin called back at them. “Make haste, you two!”
Begrudgingly, Signa and Aris picked up their pace, cutting their way down a hill and following a long path that eventually led them to the outskirts of the city.
It was Signa’s first time visiting the town that had captured her cousin’s heart.
Blythe had long talked about the snowy wonderland that was Brude, though she’d refused to visit without Aris.
Now that he’d returned, Signa looked forward to seeing the place that had charmed them so thoroughly.
Especially when it meant a few hours away from pesky spirits.
Brude was livelier than Signa had expected.
Gone were the moss-shrouded Gothic architecture and ardent hills she was familiar with back at Foxglove.
In their place were brightly colored buildings with pointed spires that struck through their cover of powdered snow.
Its people were unbothered by the brisk air, dressed in wool coats and gowns as they strolled through town.
Most charming was a man who stood in the town square playing an accordion, its whimsical tune trailing down the cobblestone streets.
A tin can sat before him, and Blythe raced to fill it with a handful of coins.
“It’s the most beautiful sound in the world,” she said with a dreamy sigh. “I hope that man never stops playing. Perhaps one day he’ll even become a spirit who carries these tunes throughout the village.”
“You know it is a poor fate to remain a spirit, don’t you? We want souls to pass on,” Signa reminded her, to which Blythe only pursed her lips, uninterested in having her fantasy swayed.
“Yes, yes. We want them to disappear off to the beautiful and mysterious afterlife. I am well aware. Look!” Blythe pointed to a shimmering canal filled with empty gondolas staked to the land, promising many boat rides in the warmer months. Her smile fell a little as she looked at them.
“Aris, how were we able to take a ride through the canal when we first visited Brude in the winter?”
“Magic, Sweetbrier. Say the word, and I’ll get us a ride right now.”
“That’s all right. Signa will simply have to return in the summer.” And just like that Blythe was off again, continuing over the canal bridge. Meanwhile, Aris remained beside Signa, his hands folded behind his back and eyes on the water.
“Perhaps I could get her a gondola,” he muttered, to which Signa laughed.
“You truly are terrible at this.”
“I appreciate your confidence,” he grumbled, making haste in his embarrassment. Signa picked up her skirts, hurrying to keep pace with him.
“There are a dozen shops around here,” she told him. “Follow Blythe around and see what catches her eye. Let her wander and keep her distracted, all right? Some of us still have work to do.”
“Keeping Blythe distracted is work in itself,” he noted, though if the way his shoulders relaxed was any indicator, Aris seemed content with the plan. “But very well. You go learn how to get rid of the spirits, and I’ll figure out what to get my wife for Christmas.”
“How fair our tasks are,” Signa mused, but gave no other complaint as she hurried off in the opposite direction.
The hardest part of solving any mystery was knowing where to start.
With each day they spent in Wisteria, their chances of riling the spirits increased.
She needed to find a way to break them from their loop.
To earn their attention and help them realize the circumstances of their deaths so they could finally move on.
But for that to work, Signa first needed to learn what exactly had happened on the land where Wisteria resided, and she knew few ways of uncovering the truth other than asking outright.
Unfortunately, Signa had learned that people did not often take kindly to such forwardness, so she’d need to be clever about this.
As she wandered Brude, it was easy to see why her cousin had been so captivated by the town. Strolling the streets, one would think it a whimsical place unlikely to ever be filled with spirits. And yet Signa saw them everywhere.
Spirits roaming the canals, pale skinned and blue lipped with soaked hair and clothes plastered to their skin. Curious children who tried to get the attention of everyone they passed, and hollow-eyed women who wandered the streets with their hair unbound and wearing rags for clothes.
Signa could live a million lifetimes, and still there would always be a surplus of spirits who needed her help.
They were in every city, whether in a hovel or the most luxurious park, and drawn to her like moths to a flame.
Even as she meandered down the cobblestone alleys, tucked into her coat and tactically avoiding their stares, she felt the press of their watchful gaze.
Staring. Probing. Sensing that there was more to Signa than met the eye.
She did everything in her power to try to avoid them, but they would chase her down to the edge of their limit and be waiting when she returned.
If there was one thing her powers had taught her, it was that nowhere was free of spirits. Every town had an underbelly, and everyone had their secrets. One only needed to figure out where to look. And fortunately for Signa, she had an idea of where to start.