bat. “Change
back.” I meant it, but only because I was in a hurry, and the bat changed back
into a regular ghost.
Vactarus was about a head taller than me with long,
black hair, a trimmed goatee, and stone gray eyes. He wore a black robe with a
silver crow clasp at the nape. The source of his magician’s power was the hat
on his head. While some magicians used a wand, my mother had said it was just
used to divert attention from their hat as a means of protecting it. They were
masters of illusion and could make their hat invisible.
“Are you able to use your magician magic even though
you’re a ghost?” I asked, suddenly very curious. I had gotten the hat from
Magnus, expecting a battle, because Magnus had taken it very soon after
Vactarus’s death. The old wizard, however, hadn’t realized the magician was a
ghost and gave it to me to return to Vactarus with his apologies.
“Yes.” He glanced at Asiago for a moment. “So, where
is Merlin?”
Very soon after I first met Merlin, he led me to
Vactarus’s mansion. They were friends long before Vactarus died and Merlin
became a wolf. They were also enemies, which was why we didn’t immediately tell
Vactarus that the wolf was the same Merlin he knew. Eventually, we told him and
he warmed to the wolf, much to Merlin’s surprise. I was pretty sure Vactarus
missed arguing with Merlin.
Merlin also liked Vactarus more than he was willing
to admit; as soon as he learned he was on Caldaca, he thought of the magician.
It was an amazing coincidence that Vactarus lived in Akadema, for even though
Merlin couldn’t use magic, he could sense it. He recognized Vactarus’s magic
and knew the magician would be able to help me, so he followed it.
“He’s working on getting his curse removed and he
doesn’t want me around for my safety,” I said. Vactarus frowned with concern,
though he tried to hide it. “I’m actually here because Livia Dracre, my aunt,
was kidnapped.”
He gaped. “Who kidnapped her?”
“Veronica Dracre, her daughter.”
“That is very sad to hear. Livia gave me this mansion
when I chose to settle down on Caldaca.”
“I thought you were stranded here.”
He blushed, which was weird since he was a ghost.
“Well, I could have ended up on another world, but this was where I was born,
so I chose to be here when I lost my power of world travel.”
“But… if you were just a magician, how could you
travel to different worlds?”
“Being a magician on this world limits me on what
magic I can do, but magic itself is not limited.”
“I don’t understand.” It sounded familiar, like
Merlin had said something similar, but Merlin usually explained things in a
very long, drawn-out way and I had a tendency to let my mind wander.
“I had a magic tool,” he explained. “It was not
limitless, however, and it was eventually drained of power.”
“Okay, so you said Livia gave you this house. Did you
know her daughter, Sonya?”
“No. I met Livia shortly after her daughter was
killed and she offered me this house because she couldn’t stand to return to
it.”
“Because Sonya died here?”
“How did you know?”
Instead of answering, I asked, “Did you ever see a
drawing or painting of her?”
“No. Why?”
“Because I found one. Kisha is Sonya.”
“That’s not possible. Kisha had been here for years
before I arrived, and she didn’t even have a name.”
“According to Veronica, Sonya locked her mind away
before Veronica found her because she knew she was going to get killed. That
doesn’t explain why she remembers being here for years before you came,
though.”
“Memory is different for ghosts,” Asiago said. “They
remember what emotionally impacts people. She might be remembering herself as a
person, but thinking of herself as a ghost. Does she feel invisible? Like her
existence doesn’t matter?”
“Of course not,” Vactarus said.
“Yes, she does,” I corrected. I had spent days
talking with her after
back.” I meant it, but only because I was in a hurry, and the bat changed back
into a regular ghost.
Vactarus was about a head taller than me with long,
black hair, a trimmed goatee, and stone gray eyes. He wore a black robe with a
silver crow clasp at the nape. The source of his magician’s power was the hat
on his head. While some magicians used a wand, my mother had said it was just
used to divert attention from their hat as a means of protecting it. They were
masters of illusion and could make their hat invisible.
“Are you able to use your magician magic even though
you’re a ghost?” I asked, suddenly very curious. I had gotten the hat from
Magnus, expecting a battle, because Magnus had taken it very soon after
Vactarus’s death. The old wizard, however, hadn’t realized the magician was a
ghost and gave it to me to return to Vactarus with his apologies.
“Yes.” He glanced at Asiago for a moment. “So, where
is Merlin?”
Very soon after I first met Merlin, he led me to
Vactarus’s mansion. They were friends long before Vactarus died and Merlin
became a wolf. They were also enemies, which was why we didn’t immediately tell
Vactarus that the wolf was the same Merlin he knew. Eventually, we told him and
he warmed to the wolf, much to Merlin’s surprise. I was pretty sure Vactarus
missed arguing with Merlin.
Merlin also liked Vactarus more than he was willing
to admit; as soon as he learned he was on Caldaca, he thought of the magician.
It was an amazing coincidence that Vactarus lived in Akadema, for even though
Merlin couldn’t use magic, he could sense it. He recognized Vactarus’s magic
and knew the magician would be able to help me, so he followed it.
“He’s working on getting his curse removed and he
doesn’t want me around for my safety,” I said. Vactarus frowned with concern,
though he tried to hide it. “I’m actually here because Livia Dracre, my aunt,
was kidnapped.”
He gaped. “Who kidnapped her?”
“Veronica Dracre, her daughter.”
“That is very sad to hear. Livia gave me this mansion
when I chose to settle down on Caldaca.”
“I thought you were stranded here.”
He blushed, which was weird since he was a ghost.
“Well, I could have ended up on another world, but this was where I was born,
so I chose to be here when I lost my power of world travel.”
“But… if you were just a magician, how could you
travel to different worlds?”
“Being a magician on this world limits me on what
magic I can do, but magic itself is not limited.”
“I don’t understand.” It sounded familiar, like
Merlin had said something similar, but Merlin usually explained things in a
very long, drawn-out way and I had a tendency to let my mind wander.
“I had a magic tool,” he explained. “It was not
limitless, however, and it was eventually drained of power.”
“Okay, so you said Livia gave you this house. Did you
know her daughter, Sonya?”
“No. I met Livia shortly after her daughter was
killed and she offered me this house because she couldn’t stand to return to
it.”
“Because Sonya died here?”
“How did you know?”
Instead of answering, I asked, “Did you ever see a
drawing or painting of her?”
“No. Why?”
“Because I found one. Kisha is Sonya.”
“That’s not possible. Kisha had been here for years
before I arrived, and she didn’t even have a name.”
“According to Veronica, Sonya locked her mind away
before Veronica found her because she knew she was going to get killed. That
doesn’t explain why she remembers being here for years before you came,
though.”
“Memory is different for ghosts,” Asiago said. “They
remember what emotionally impacts people. She might be remembering herself as a
person, but thinking of herself as a ghost. Does she feel invisible? Like her
existence doesn’t matter?”
“Of course not,” Vactarus said.
“Yes, she does,” I corrected. I had spent days
talking with her after
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