Chapter 3

Chapter 3Noel FaustMy breathing was labored as I stared at the woman. She sat alone in the hallway of the academy, her neck severed, with stab marks all over her body. I shivered at the grotesque scene before me. Would I ever get used to this?She looked at me as I walked up to her. "Hey," I said quietly."Why me?" she responded. "Because my family had a bit of money? Because of things my mother and father are doing that I have no idea about?" Her pitch rose with every word almost to a shrill scream.She was an ethereal, muted gray. The only color that remained were the glowing orange eyes that seemed to pop out with small flames."I don't know why. But I'm going to help you." I sat down next to her.This must be her locker. Yet Reginald told me there were no recent murders. I even had him double-check. I was the last academy student to be announced dead. So she was either killed a long time ago, or very recently. I couldn't make out any details on her face. "What's your name?" I asked, adjusting myself on the floor.She was singing in the back quarter of the magical technology area. Classes didn't typically start here for a few hours, so I was alone in the hall with her."Rebecca. I don't remember my last name. Cursed, cursed last names, always escaping from you," she said. But a moment later, her voice shifted. "Treina... Treina family rakes in good money, their daughter is loaded. What should we do, dad?”"What?" I stepped back a bit. Her voice sounded like that of a younger male, then it shifted again."Take her to this location. You've been chatting her up for a while now like I instructed, right?” The voice intermingled with her own. I could feel the pain as she spoke it. "Yeah, just as you asked. Figured out her dad is planning some big deal with another family too. She sounded so proud, too." Her voice shifted again "Proud of what? Sitting pretty while her dad pays for everything?"I sat patiently and waited for her tale to end. It led up the moment she was led here. It didn't stop until she was dead. My stomach sank as my chest burned with rage."What can I do to help?" I said."Kill them," she responded after a few moments.. "Kill them for hurting me, for lying to me. Kill them for using me like I was nothing."As those words left her, the memories themselves implanted themselves within me. I felt her pain, her frustration. The same feelings I felt when I was killed. Along with one additional feeling.
Disgust. At the defilement that wracked my body.Is this what my benefactor wants from me? Will killing them allow her to rest? Is this pain going to live on inside of me?"I'm not sure I can do that," I responded, standing up. "I mean, I don't even know who they are. I'm not terribly strong either. I'm sorry, Rebecca. Could I send a message to your parents instead? Help locate your body?""Ah, ah, ah... Noel." Her voice twisted, a deep growl coming from within her. "The customer is always right." The benefactor said. Using her spirit as a host.I felt my stomach turn. "You never said anything about murdering anyone. You never said I'd feel like this.” "You told me 'no matter the cost,' did you not? Why would things like that matter?""But!" I started, yet the benefactor cut me off."I'll tire of this if it continues, so what will it be? Will you fulfill any request of the lost souls, or will you return to the afterlife?"I stayed still for a moment. I was killed, slain by someone who bundled all nobles together and thought less of them. now it feels like I'd just died again, but I was standing right here. I'm alive. At least, I think I'm alive.Caedril was a massive city, interlaced with tons of opportunities for all kinds of people. Noble status didn't mean much here. Ability mattered more. It always had. But was that just my understanding? I knew very little about the inner workings of the city. My whole life was spent by her side, someone that already carried privilege. My brain forced itself to play devil's advocate.
Rebecca's feelings weren't the only ones being forced into me. It would seem.At the end of the day, I only had one choice, and I knew that."One final question, benefactor," I said. "These lost souls, they are always due to situations like mine, yeah?"Rebecca laughed again, the soul pulling me to my feet. Deathless eyes looking into mine. "Yes. I'll add in that it's your choice to interpret requests, so long as the soul finds peace and ascends, I won't question your methods. Aren't I flexible?” "Fine," I said, as the creature's presence subsided, leaving the fragmented soul of Rebecca in its place."What are their names?" I said."Eugene Trapper, academic instructor extraordinaire! His talented son, Harry Trapper! The father-son duo of THU!" She laughed again.”you'll finally send me to heaven, then?” My old math teacher. I blinked, surprised. "Yes, I will.” "Then, I'll take care of it," I smiled at her. "So that you may rest in peace."Silica FaerynWe had been walking for around two hours now. Beatrice and my sister, Yelani, were guiding me through the Frostmoore archives, a living encyclopedia of all things related to our kinds: Fennaari and Fae. I had taken some time off from the academy. I was certain I'd attack someone if they so much as let his name crawl out of their filthy mouths. Beatrice stayed silent. I wondered what she was thinking. Though by the look on her face, I could tell she only had one thing on her mind. She and I might be the only people in the world I truly believed cared about him. Maybe Yelani too, if only because she cared about Beatrice."Here we are," Yelani said. She was shorter than me, bright, and generally cheerful. We were opposites, so opposite I used to wonder if she had somehow stolen all of the joy my mother could produce."Where do I start looking?""It's right here. Well, all that we know is right here," Yelani said, moving past a row of books to grab one that looked brand new in comparison to the older, dust-covered tomes that called this place home.Opening it, she handed it to me. "This is everything we know about Artie's situation. As for how someone knew where he and Beatrice live, that concerns us just as much as you. It's not like we can round up the hundreds of elves here and interrogate every single one.
She sighed. "Either way, since I know you're not going to let someone handle the vengeance side of things and you're most capable at actually dishing it out, take the book. Read it, and let us know how we can help." She stretched, tapping Beatrice on the shoulder before sauntering off. She smiled at me softly."We'll find out what ties this strange crucible guild has," she called behind her. "Good luck, Silica."I nodded, then placed the book down on a wooden table, and began to read.The Fennaari have a curse passed down through tribes. Artie was unlucky enough to be the recipient of such a curse. Her mother explained that little was known about the curse, aside from a mark on their body at birth. The level of the curse was indicated by the amount of marks. Artie had six around his neck.I continued scouring its pages until landing on a few odd details. The book didn't seem to have an author, for one. Secondly, its description of the symptoms of the curse were things Artie never faced: mental or psychological distress, anger, lashing out. He was always smiling or laughing at something, even when everyone aside from me ignored him at school. Even when he failed time and time again. I blinked away tears. damn it. I was supposed to feel more in control. I'd spent my entire life being perceived as someone with that. Though he always was good at melting it away.Another strange note was the insistence of the curse making someone powerful. Or the curse drawing people toward them.'The curse bearer held the immaculate ability to generate Eldyr Events.'Eldyr Events? What was that? some other form of natural disaster? I shook my head. Most Fennaari were afraid to even say the word Eldyr. It's sacred to them. It wouldn't be phrased like this without meaning.I continued inspecting every single detail.'Events can vary depending on the type of accursed, yet all events hold the ability to shift reality. Since time began, and the first cursed fennaari was discovered, it's been highly advised to kill them upon birth. Before they reach an age such power could manifest..'None of it made any sense. Why did all of his efforts go to waste if this curse seemed to make someone more of a danger, rather than less of one? Artie hated fighting. Ever since he was young."Reading something, Miss Silica?" The sound came from behind me. It was one of the elders, Renaldyn. He wore long robes and had a gravelly tone to his voice. He was wrinkled but always wore a smile.I nodded, scouring the pages."Would you like some help?" he said after a few moments."I'm good.""Are you sure? I've read every book in the archives at least once, and I don't typically see you here."I ignored him, scanning the book's contents."You know, there's one type of Eldyr Event that book doesn't mention, young one. Want to hear it?""I'm trying to find something impor-""Revival." His voice had changed. When I turned around, his eyes had grown dark. He was smiling widely. "Would you join me for a cup of tea, Miss Silica?”