Chapter 31 #2
“Tomorrow morning,” Afton hurriedly corrected, his nose back in his book. “That’s the earliest I can get everything ready so we don’t get flayed alive.”
Kane and Erinna exchanged a look. A conversation that didn’t need words. “I’ll get the gangplank ready tonight. We head in by dawn.”
Erinna nodded and turned on her heels. She would not wait for morning. She made one trip back to the room to grab another offering. Some seaglass and a broken fork. Not like the offerings helped her in any way, but something was better than nothing at all.
Inez was upright in bed, a broken book in her hand. Her eyes were aimed at the pages, but her stare felt somewhere else. Somewhere far away.
“I might not be back until morning,” Erinna told her, giving her arm a light squeeze. Inez folded the book and placed it gently in her lap; a few pages threatened to fall from their binding.
“Go, you’re wasting time.”
Erinna grabbed the lantern by the side of her bed, lit it, and headed towards the cemetery.
The small groundskeeper’s house was exactly as she left it.
She strode toward the desk, riffling through the papers.
The pieces of parchment were faded, and the edges had been worn over time.
Despite its wear, Erinna could make out a list of names.
Most likely a list of those who passed and had been buried.
The scribbles were almost illegible, like pure chicken scratch with missing letters. But at the bottom of the list was the closest thing she could get to a name.
Raye.
She tried not to succumb to hope too early.
She hadn’t ever been successful in contacting the deceased directly.
The chances were high that she would fail.
Even with intention, she couldn’t control the will of her Talent.
There were no books or teachings on how to handle aberrant magical nature. But she had to try something.
Erinna picked her way back to the crumbling graves, drawn to the one where she’d left her offerings before. Inez had shown her that particular stone for a reason—she was certain of it now.
The ground bit cold through her clothes the moment she sat.
Night fell fast on the island, stealing the warmth of the day with it.
Erinna clenched her jaw against the shivers that curled up her spine, closed her eyes, and reached deep inside herself.
Finding the place where her Talent dwelled, she pulled.
It awoke, beckoning, asking her to do something she still didn’t understand. The prickles beneath her skin were icy, and her fingertips buzzed. The sensation came faster this time. Her body cooled from both the night chill and her own magical gifts. Erinna welcomed it in desperation.
“Raye, I call to you,” she whispered.
Her call was met with silence. Erinna grunted, reaching further into the cold.
“Raye, I call to you,” she forced out through clenched teeth. The chill beneath her skin stung. It started with her fingers and worked to her core. Her Talent lapped at whatever warmth it could take, and Erinna let it. There was ringing in her ears and a lancing pain in her marked forearm.
Deeper. Dig deeper. It was like searching through dirt and sludge to find a clear thread, anything to pull. Exhaustion hazed her vision, and Erinna cursed the muting effects of Ionian tea.
Her heart beat rapidly as her body numbed against the feeling. Sweat built on her brow, and a tightness clenched at her throat and heart.
“For the love of the Mother Goddess, Raye, answer me!” she growled the command. This would be the last attempt. Erinna couldn’t hold on much longer.
“S….Ple…Bre…”
Erinna nearly thought it was a trick of the wind until a shadowy figure of a man flickered before her. She took in a gasp of air, unaware of her held breath. Faint whisps of light moved in concert with shadow.
“Took…a...while...” She heard the voice in her head, a lilting baritone. His features were dulled and faded, but Erinna could make out the figure—a middle-aged man, slim, tall, and still garbed in the muted orange of old scholars. He was struggling to remain partially corporeal.
Erinna rubbed at her arms in an effort to warm herself but couldn’t hold back the shivers.
Raye held out a spectral finger and pointed at the ground in front of her.
“Take…the gift,” he said, and Erinna followed his orders.
She dug up the old treasure and waited for the next steps, teeth still chattering.
“Go.” Raye pointed to the house, his voice straining as if he would fade at any second. The spirit flickered and dimmed.
Erinna hurried as quickly as she could, back into the groundskeeper’s home, stumbling slightly across the threshold. The lamp swung around the room, casting odd, moving shadows. She looked around for the spirit, praying it had not yet left.
Shadow and light moved once again as Raye flickered into focus.
“Fire…burn.” Erinna scurried to the large fireplace, gathering any loose wood she could find, and placed it on the cracked brick.
In one quick movement, she coaxed the flame from the lantern to the pile of wood, and soon the fireplace was alive once more. The warmth of the flame was welcomed.
“Burn…”
Erinna threw the gift into the flame, and as the material cracked with heat, Raye blinked out. Erinna was left alone, next to a fireplace, cold and defeated. With no energy left, she let the black void of sleep pull her under, at least grateful to have the heat of a fire on her back.