“So, there’s something I don’t like about this castle,” Grace said to Henry and John.
“The beds are comfortable, the fires are warm, the banquets are delicious, and the library is huge,” said John. “Oh, and the chairs in the library are really comfortable. What’s not to like?”
“Everyone is really friendly,” said Henry. “Well, everyone but Talon. And General Graten, of course, but that’s not the fault of the castle.”
“General Graten is a problem,” John admitted. “He just walks up and down the castle halls every day, scowling. We know he wants us dead, so I don’t like sharing the same building with him. One day he’s just going to lose it and try to kill us.”
“I’ve had the same thought,” said Grace. “We need to keep an eye on him. But there’s something else about this castle I don’t like. It’s okay during the day, but have you heard the sounds at night?”
Henry and John looked at each other. “Well of course I’ve heard sounds,” said John. “But--”
“It’s a forest,” said Henry. “A wild forest. Of course there are going to be sounds at night. The wind rustling through the trees, the birds flapping their wings, the screeching of the wild birds…”
“There are screams,” Grace said. “Not screeches, but screams. I can hear them every night.”
“I know what you’re thinking,” John said. “I’ve heard the sounds too. But it’s not human screams.”
“Look,” Grace said, “I know we grew up in the palace. But we spent many nights in the forest on our journey before we got here. Did you ever hear sounds like that before we got to this castle?”
Henry shrugged. “I sleep solidly through the night,” he said.
John paused, and looked at the ground. “I’m not sure,” he said finally. “There were noises in the forest before we got here. Maybe they were similar.”
“John, I can hear screaming in the night. You must be able to hear it,” said Grace.
“Let’s ask Robert,” said Henry.
So they found Robert in his room, and asked him. “I didn’t want to say anything,” Robert said. “But I’ve not been sleeping well. I keep imagining I hear the forest calling my name.”
“Robert?” asked Grace.
Robert shook his head. “No, my other name. I keep hearing someone say, ‘Son of Midor, beware.’ It sounds like the screeching sound of a bird squawking, but then when I go to the window, I can see no bird. I tell myself I’ve been imagining the sound, but…”
“What about the screaming sounds?” said Grace. “The sound of a human screaming off in the distance?”
“This is a stone castle,” said Robert. “On a windy night, the air can rush through the cracks in the wall, and it will sound like a scream.”
“So you have heard it then,” said Grace.
“It does sound like a scream sometimes,” said Robert.
“You’re overthinking it, Grace,” said Henry. “If all you can hear is strange sounds in the night, then don’t worry about it. Sounds can’t hurt you.”
“I can’t sleep another night in this place,” said Grace. “It will drive me crazy.”
“Grace,” said John, “There’s nowhere else to go.”
“What do you want to do?” asked Henry.
“I want to sneak out of the castle tonight,” said Grace. “And find out what those sounds really are.”
“But there’s nothing out there,” Henry insisted.
“If there’s nothing out there, then there will be no harm done in having a look,” said Grace. “But I won’t sleep easy until I’ve satisfied myself.”
“We’ll need a guide,” said John. “We can’t be stumbling around in the forest in the dark.”
They all looked over at Robert.
“This isn’t my area of the forest,” said Robert. “We left my familiar paths a long time ago. I’m as new to this part of the forest as you are.”
“But you know how forest paths work in general,” said John. “You can guide us in the dark better than anyone.”
“Unless,” said Henry, “We could take into our confidence someone from this castle.”
“Who were you thinking?” Grace said sarcastically. “Would this be the perfect time for you to ask Amanda out? Oh, but wouldn’t that make Alicia jealous?”
“I was thinking about Thomas,” said Henry. Grace blushed slightly at this, and Robert shifted uncomfortably once he saw Grace was blushing. “You know he would do it if you asked him Grace,” Henry said. “And we could use someone who knows the area.”
“But would he keep it a secret?” asked Robert.
“He would if Grace asked him to,” Henry said.
Grace shrugged. “Yeah, he probably would.”
“Okay, you talk to Thomas then,” Henry said. “Let’s all meet up in the castle halls at 1 a.m., and then we’ll sneak out from there.”
*********************************************************************
At the banquet hall that night, Grace drew Thomas aside. “Thomas, could you come over here a minute,” she said, beckoning him to the hallway outside.
Thomas excitedly followed. “Yes, what is it Grace?” he asked.
“I’ve been hearing strange noises at night,” Grace said. “You’ve grown up in this castle all your life. What are they?”
Thomas’s face fell. He had been hoping Grace wanted to talk about something else. But he recovered quickly. “Strange noises? Like what?”
“I don’t know. It sounds like screeches. Or some screaming.”
“Oh, that? That’s just the spirits. Talon’s got them under control. They have been a little bit louder than usual lately, but I think that’s just because Talon’s so stressed out.”
“ The spirits?”
“Don’t worry, they come and go,” said Thomas. “In a couple weeks, you won’t be able to hear anything.”
“What spirits?”
Thomas looked confused. “Don’t you...” he began, but then stopped himself. “Oh, right. You don’t have spirits in the human cities, right? Didn’t anyone tell you about the forest? I’m surprised John didn’t find something in the library yet. It is in some of the books.”
“Nobody’s told me anything about spirits,” said Grace. She felt the hair rising on her arms.
“Right, well this whole forest is enchanted, of course. And midnight is the hour in which all the spirits come out. They’re mostly ghosts and stuff.”
“Ghosts?” The hair on Grace’s arm was fully upright now. So was the hair on the back of her neck.
“Yes, see when someone dies, they become a spirit. And when a monster dies, its spirit tries to terrorize the people who killed it. And in the old days, the ancestors of my family killed a lot of the monsters in this forest. Now, these spirits can’t come out during the day time, so don’t worry about that. But midnight is the witching hour, so all the spirits of the dead monsters can come out. Talon’s job is to protect the castle from the spirits. That’s one of the reasons why this castle has always had a sorcerer working here. We warriors fight the physical monsters, and Talon controls their spirits. But Talon’s been super stressed out lately trying to make sure all the new soldiers find homes, so he’s probably not kept the spirits under control as much. That’s why they’re getting louder. But don’t worry. Talon’s got them under control.”
“And what if something happens to Talon?”
“Then we would need a new sorcerer, as soon as possible. But don’t worry. Whatever happens, the spirits can’t get into the castle. The castle is protected by charms. The houses of all the people in the forest are protected by charms as well. So as long as you stay inside the castle during the night, you’ll be safe. And the spirits have no power during the day time, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
“We are planning to sneak out tonight,” Grace confessed.
“What?” Thomas’s manner suddenly changed. He grabbed Grace by the arm. “No! No, don’t do that. You’re not safe outside of the castle. The spirits can get you.”
“Isn’t there any way to fight them?”
“Not unless you know magic. All of our weapons are meant to be used for flesh and blood creatures. But they can’t hurt the spirits. The only one who can fight the spirits is Talon. He fights the spirits, we fight the monsters.”
Grace turned her head away to try to hide the tears. “Oh, I hate this place so much!” she said. “I can’t sleep at night hearing the screaming. I want to get out of here.”
“It will be alright,” said Thomas. “The spirits aren’t like this all the time. They come and go throughout the year. It’ll be better in a couple weeks. In the meantime, you can sleep in my bedroom.” Grace looked shocked, so Thomas quickly added, “I mean, you can have my bedroom, and I’ll take yours. My bedroom doesn’t have any windows. It’s right in the middle of the castle. The only thing on the other side of my bedroom walls are just more castle rooms.”
“Oh that sounds lovely,” said Grace.
“It’s terrible,” said Thomas. “It’s dark, and the air is damp and stale. Your room is much better. We tried to give you some of the best rooms in the castle because you were the guests. But we didn’t realize the spirits would be getting so bad. But when the spirits go away again, we can switch again.”
Grace thanked Thomas profusely. There was then an awkward moment, while the two of them just stood. Thomas seemed eager to continue the conversation, but Grace wanted to return to the banquet room and talk to Henry and John. (Robert was, as usual, at a separate table with his mother Vivian.)
Grace told them everything that Thomas had told them. “I haven’t read about that in the library yet,” said John. “But that sounds fascinating. I’ll have to talk to Jason about it. Maybe he can tell me what books to read.”
“I don’t like this place at all,” said Grace. “I wish we could get out of here.”
“It is creepy,” John said. “But if what Thomas told you is true, then we can’t go anywhere until Talon gets the spirits under control again. If we were to leave this castle, we’d be walking for several days in the forest before we got out of this kingdom. It’d be okay in the daytime, but we wouldn’t want to sleep in this part of the forest.”
And Grace shuddered at the thought of trying to sleep outside while all the spirits flew around.
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