A Vial of Life

There came no reply. My hands instinctively roamed down the side of the box, searching for the lid’s ridge. The box was locked with a padlock, but as I moved to grab hold of it, my fingers passed right through it. I could feel resistance with the box’s surface itself, however. Did I have any strength to force the lid open? I curled my fingers around the curve of the lid and tried to heave upward, but the effort caused my feet to sink into the floor.

Even if I was able to stand on a solid surface, this box was clearly magical. I doubted that anything but its key could open it.

“Are you in there, Aisha?” I asked again.

I cursed in frustration. It was torturous to be less than a foot away from the jinni and yet completely unable to help her. What do I do now? I was certain that Aisha was in the box. I couldn’t imagine for the life of me what reason Julie and her companions would have for releasing her—they would know full well that Aisha would unleash her wrath on them the moment she got free. Aisha had already threatened Julie’s life once back on the island where we met Arron, and I’d seen how shaken the vampire was by her.

I’d stopped Aisha from murdering Julie that day. Now I thought bitterly to myself that I should have just let the jinni drive a knife through her.

I heaved a sigh, staring down at the stubborn box. There’s nothing I can do to open this. I just had to hope that somehow Aisha would find a way out. If she did manage that, I wouldn’t worry about her. She was powerful and she would be able to find her way back home… although after what Bahir had said about Nuriya being in grave danger, and Aisha having feared The Oasis was under attack, I wasn’t sure what kind of home she’d return to.

Whatever the case, my hovering over this box any longer wasn’t going to help her. I stood up and was about to leave the room when I caught sight of a mirror hanging directly in front of me. Yet as I stared into it, my reflection didn’t stare back. All I could see was the empty wall behind me.

I’d become invisible. And, given the lack of movement from those creatures out in the hallway when I had spoken, I suspected that I was inaudible to the outside world, too.

I staggered backward, half of my back disappearing into the wall, my eyes still locked on the mirror.

It’s like I don’t exist.

I didn’t know what I’d been expecting—that ghosts were visible to people? I hadn’t thought much about it. Now I realized that even if I made it back to The Shade, nobody would even know. They couldn’t see or hear me, I couldn’t touch them… heck, I couldn’t even pick up a pen and write them a note. I was trapped in this… half-existence.

I would be nothing but a shadow, roaming the woods, trying to reconnect with my former life. It took a while for the notion to fully sink in.

But still, I needed to return to The Shade. Even if I couldn’t communicate with them, I needed to know that everyone was all right, if only for my peace of mind. Besides, that island was my home. If I didn’t return there, where would I go?

Pulling myself together, I tore my eyes away from the empty mirror and moved back out into the hallway. I climbed back up the staircase, intending to return to the upper deck, but on arriving at the level beneath, I found myself face to face with one of the ceiling-hanging creatures, all the more alarming now that it stood directly in front of me.

For the first time, I took in its face. Its lips were withered and two long, razor-sharp fangs—sharper than I’d ever seen in a vampire—protruded from its mouth. Its nose was partially receded into its skull. It was staring straight at me, or rather, straight through me. It lurched suddenly, and although my instinct was to duck, I should’ve remembered that there was no need. It passed right through me, as though I was nothing but a cloud of mist, and continued down the corridor. Its movement was strange. It almost shuffled, as though it had injured one leg, and yet it possessed an alarming speed and agility.

I’d never seen any creature like this before. Certain features reminded me of vampires—like its fangs, claws, and pale skin—yet it was like no vampire I’d ever seen.

Shuffling came from my left, and I turned around to see another creature moving toward me. It appeared to be in a hurry and whizzed right through me, followed shortly by a third creature. They scurried to the end of the corridor and raced up the stairs toward the upper deck.

I wasn’t sure where they were going or what they intended to do. But there was nothing else I could accomplish by staying on this boat. It seemed that Aisha would remain trapped here until fate decided to free her.

I followed the creatures to the upper deck, where I found all three standing near the bow of the boat. One of them had taken the reins and was apparently slowing the animals to a stop. Looking around, I realized that we had already reached the harbor.

I didn’t know what the trio wanted to do in The Tavern—perhaps stop over for the night and rest until morning. Somehow, I found it hard to imagine them booking a room in the Blue Tavern’s guesthouse. For that matter, they didn’t appear to be the type of creature that would be welcome in The Tavern at all.

Pushing aside thoughts of them, I floated off the ship and drifted down toward the moonlit shipyard. I turned my mind to thinking about how exactly I was going to glean information about the nearest gate.

Heading to the pub ought to be my first option. That was the hub of this island, where most travelers passed through. In theory I could just hover around there for as long as it took to overhear something.

When I arrived outside the building, it was packed, as it always seemed to be. Although I hardly needed to worry about finding a seat anymore—which was a good thing, for there were none. I wandered around the tables, getting as close to the patrons as I wanted, and listened to their conversations. I saw no familiar faces other than the man tending the bar. He’d been here the night I’d arrived in the guest house, the same night I’d met Julie.