Ever since bonding with his spirit, Zalgus had trouble sleeping. Falling asleep was as it ever was, but the problem became remaining asleep. He had to assume it was an aspect unique to his spirit, as tonight, like the past few, he checked in on his sister and their new friend to find them both in repose. He leaned against the door frame, pinching the bridge of his nose in fatigue.
Aislynn and Raina had been sharing sleeping arrangements. Now they were both fast asleep - Aislynn having borrowed one of Zalgus' shirts that was too large for her to wear normally. Raina's arm was draped protectively over her smaller friend's waist, but that was no surprise. His sister had a very powerful compulsion to tend to and defend.
Content that his two companions were at ease, Zalgus stepped back and slowly closed the door over. He did not latch it, knowing Aislynn felt uneasy in a completely sealed room. An assumption on his part - since he didn't feel the need to tap into his spirit to figure it out - was that Aislynn was terrified of not having an escape route. Leaving a window open was out of the question - especially with the threat of thugs - so they had compromised on the door of the bedroom to the sitting room of their suite where Zalgus now stood. The entire building was quiet, and perhaps the young man was the only soul awake at this hour.
His dream had split in two. One of a happy, eager Aislynn full of promise and confidence. She consumed knowledge from books nearly as quickly as he did, basked in the well being of those around her, and remained a powerful ally for his sister and him. That had not been what bothered him so much he had awoken. The idea of a more educated, literate Aislynn with stronger, steady voice projection - willing to debate with him on any point - was a very welcome prospect.
Much better than leaving her to rot and struggle with ignorance.
No, it was not that scene that had stirred him from otherwise sound slumber.
A shadow had come. To Zalgus, it had taken the hulking, haunting form of a creature with too many legs, too many joints, and too many eyes. It had only been noticeable by the absence of everything else, and seemed to drink Aislynn's silver light through its skin to protect the eyes. Her color had waned, eyes lost their curiosity, and as the monster crashed over her she had unleashed a scream that struck Zalgus dumb and twisted his thoughts until they were inside out. It had rattled him from the inside out, but what triggered his mind to escape from the horror was when the monster drained away.
Aislynn's hair was white, and her eyes were black. Her skin had a ghostly pallor. She was the very image of a dying star. Clothed in a flowing gown of dead gray, there was a panel cut out of the bodice over her heart. Implanted there was a frosted window. Zalgus could see a partially obscured image of her heart. Despite the stillness of the rest of her body, her heart was beating fast, desperately. As he watched - her heart struggling to bring her back to life - those black eyes closed, and a single, red tear rolled down her cheek.
Then he was awake, already on the move, and then he was gazing at the sleeping figures of Raina and Aislynn.
Now he walked the sitting room, his eyes darting as if reading words only he could see. He had been right. Something much bigger - much more dangerous - than a group of ruffians had Aislynn in its sights. He wondered if they could cope with this as well as their other duties. A small smile of reservation turned his fair features into a quiet facade.
"We will have to," he muttered. A pause, and then he said with more conviction. "We will."
There was no possible chance of his sister abandoning Aislynn with no explanation. Once the reasoning was given, she would be even more adamant about keeping her with them. Indeed, no doubt she would break his arm for considering it.
Zalgus found himself before the bay window, which had been turned a mirror by the night beyond. He examined his own handsome face, instinctively lifting a hand to fix his tousled hair into something a bit more presentable. A chill entered, and he tugged his light robe close around him to shut it out.
"I must be honest with myself." He was speaking aloud to cement the reality of his own emotions. "I would be unable to look myself in the face ever again if I even tried to reason myself into such an action. I would be a right monster for considering it after seeing what I have seen." His dreams were not just random images spurred by a sleeping mind. His dreams fell directly under the territory of the spirit bonded to him.
A deep hoot sounded in his ear, and pushed back the chill. The spirit of fate peeked over his head. Zalgus had the strangest impression that it was smiling at him. Its massive, all seeing eyes were closed in a cheerful expression. Maybe it would let him sleep the rest of the night now. They were still on the move, and their destination was still a week away.
A yawn caught him by surprise, so great that it cracked his jaw.
"Gus-gus?"
The nickname that Aislynn had graced him with on the second morning caught him even more by surprise. He cleared his throat and looked at her reflection in the window. She was peering out at him from the open crack in the door. It was obvious she had just woken up; her eyes were squinted from sleep.
"Is something amiss?" he asked, noting her own spirit poking its head over her shoulder. Its massive ears drooped from their own weight.
"I was going to ask you that." She stepped partially into the room, the sleeves of the shirt falling over her hands. "This is the third night I've heard you up and about at this hour." It wasn't just a trip for a glass of water either.
"I do my best thinking at this time," he answered evasively. "It is quieter, and my sister won't bother me." Now wasn't the time to be worrying her when there was little anyone could to do to change outcomes. There wasn't enough information, and based on the clear look of concern on Aislynn's face, it wouldn't take much to worry her.
"Am I bothering you?"
Zalgus almost bit his tongue as he realized the unintentional implication of his previous words. Still, there were signals he needed to remain in control over. He enjoyed playing with her head, not her heart. So, maintaining grace, he replied.
"Tomorrow we are leaving. The horses are fully rested and ready to continue." He turned to face her with a relaxed posture and neutral tone. "You have quite a bit of catch up to do before we arrive."
"Oh?"
"Well, for one thing, you will have to learn how to ballroom dance."
"W...wot..?"
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