**WREN**
I am so incredibly bored. Like, I’m seriously considering watching reality TV bored. Don’t get me wrong, is a nice guy… And I do appreciate what he and his friends are doing for me. I really do. It’s just… I have no idea why so many people are going out of their way to help me. I mean, I didn’t ask them to. Not that I’m complaining exactly, but it’s weird, right? People just aren’t that kind, not in my experience. Also, I’m not used to being cooped up like this. The room’s not even bad, it’s actually kind of cozy. But I’ve been in here for days. Richard and I have been watching movies on his laptop, which was fine at first. He’s got decent taste, and I even found myself laughing a few times. But there’s only so many stories you can sit through before they all start to blur together. The hero wins. The villain loses. Someone kisses someone. Blah, blah, blah. Honestly? Half the time Richard ends up talking over the movie anyway. Mostly about Lindy. I don’t know if she’s his girlfriend or what, but he is OBSESSED. It’s weirdly adorable and also kind of exhausting. If she’s not his girlfriend already, he needs to do everyone a favour and just ask her out. I don’t even think he realises he’s doing it, But it’s like her name is a comma in every sentence he speaks. I asked Rina once if I could just go out into the bar, not to drink or anything, obviously. Just to hang out. Maybe talk to people. Watch Laura hex someone. You know, normal teen stuff. But no, absolutely not. She was horrified. Something about laws, and safety, and ‘a minor in a space with alcohol.’ Like, great. I’m old enough to raise the dead, but not old enough to sit in a room that has whiskey in it? Totally fair. Thanks, society. Still… I guess I just have to deal with it. This is still way better than being stuck doing whatever Solem wants. A few days of being bored and babysat is worth it. I just really hope Clare and Lukas figure things out soon. I know there’s some terrifying hunter lady meant to be dealing with him, which is great and also horrifying. But Solem has to have tricked heaps of other people the same way he tricked me. Not everyone he manipulated deserves to be hunted down like a monster. Not all of them are like him.
“Hey, kid.” A voice grumbles from the far side of the room.
“You could at least put on a movie that isn’t total garbage.” The ghost standing by the bed crosses his arms dramatically. Again. I roll my eyes. Most of the time, I don’t mind that I can see and hear ghosts. Sometimes they tell me useful stuff. Sometimes they’re actually kind of interesting. But this guy? This guy is beyond annoying. I don’t know the whole story, but I’m pretty sure the creature in the basement, Jane, or whatever, ate him. He’s very upset about it. Understandably I guess. But once he figured out I could see and hear him, he just would not stop talking. Complaining. Moaning. Ranting about his death and how unfair it all is. And now, apparently, he’s decided I’m his designated therapist.
“This movie is interesting.” I respond. Richard smiles and nods at me, clearly assuming I’m talking to him. That happens a lot. People thinking I’m talking to myself or to them when I’m talking to a dead person. It’s fine, I don’t really bother correcting them. People don’t usually seem excited when they hear a ghost is eavesdropping. The ghost groans loudly.
“Why the hell are you even still here? This place is terrible. If I could leave, I would’ve by now. But apparently I’m stuck here.” He grumbles, not for the first time. It makes sense, from what I can tell, ghosts are pretty much trapped in the general vicinity of where they died. Except Uncle Cole… I’m just going to chalk that one up to him being a necromancer. Or maybe it’s his taxi… It was the car that killed him, and technically I’ve never seen him away from it… I’ll have to ask next time I see him. Still, I can see why this guy is complaining. He’s been here longer than I have.
“I’m trapped here.” I mutter under my breath, replying to him this time. Again assuming that I’m talking to him, Richard pats my arm sympathetically.
“I know. But it’s only for a few more days.” He promises. Right. Just a few more days. Then what? It’s not like I have anywhere to go. I don’t exactly have living relatives lining up to take in the necromancer orphan. And even if Uncle Cole wants to look after me… He’s still dead. Pretty sure that disqualifies him from being a legal guardian. The law tends to frown on ghosts signing adoption papers.
“This place and all the wards on it were designed to keep people out, not in.” The ghost huffs. “You haven’t even tried to leave. Did you even try a window?” He demands. I blink and shake my head slightly. He throws his translucent arms in the air.
“Unbelievable. You’re trapped here by choice.” He complains. Okay, rude. But now the idea’s in my head and I can’t shake it. I don’t even want to leave, not really. I’m safe here. Watched. Protected. And if I did manage to sneak out, someone would just drag me back. Still… The thought lingers. Tugs at something. Ugh, No. I don’t want to think about this.
“You know, I’ve been thinking about what’s going to happen next. Once all this is over.” Richard says suddenly, his voice hesitant, like he’s been working up to it for a while. I glance up, a little startled. He’s not looking at me directly, his gaze is fixed somewhere in the middle distance, like the words are safer if he doesn’t aim them right at me.
“I know you don’t really have any other family.” He continues, voice soft but steady.
“But I’m sure we can figure something out. You’re not alone in this, Wren. We’re not going to leave you out on the street or anything.” He shifts awkwardly, like the words felt too big once they were out. Like he’s afraid they might be too much. I kind of want to cry. I’m not going to, obviously. That would be extremely uncool. Lame, even. But still, something tightens behind my ribs. That twisty, painful kind of gratitude that makes your throat feel full and your eyes sting.
Richard barely knows me. We’ve met a handful of times, and he still talks about Lindy like she hung the moon, but he’s trying. He’s looking out for me. Caring, even when no one asked him to. I should really stop complaining about being stuck here. And I definitely need to stop thinking about the windows. It’s ridiculous. I don’t want to leave. Not really. There’s nowhere to go, and I’m safer here than I’ve been in months. So why won’t the thought go away? Richard clears his throat and stands.
“Just heading to the bathroom, I’ll be right back.” He says awkwardly, I suspect he just wants to avoid the awkward moment.
“Cool.” I say, waving him off like I’m not about to do something incredibly stupid the moment he’s out of sight. The second the bathroom door clicks shut, I’m up. Moving before I even realise I’ve made the decision. What am I doing? I don’t know. I don’t want to know. My brain feels like it’s been hijacked. My thoughts keep circling back, again and again, like there’s some invisible hook dragging me toward something I don’t want but can’t resist. I find myself in the kitchen. Of course. It’s the only window I might realistically reach. Torin’s other doors and hallways are laced with spells that do not mess around. You so much as look at the wrong handle, and it starts hissing at you. But the kitchen? That window’s small. Old. Probably overlooked. I climb onto the bench, my hands trembling as I reach for the latch. It sticks at first, resisting, like even the building is trying to tell me no. But it moves. Just a bit. Enough. And that’s all it takes. The tiniest crack. The smallest opening. And suddenly, I’m compelled to keep going. I don’t want to. I don’t want to go anywhere. But my body won’t stop. Damn it. It hits me in a flash of clarity, this isn’t just impulse. This is magic. I’m caught in it again. The deal I made with Solem. I thought it was gone. I thought I’d shaken it off. But no, it’s still there, just waiting. Subtle. Patient. Waiting for the moment I let my guard down. This impulse started the moment the ghost made me realise there was a chance of escape. The magic didn’t make me try when I thought it was impossible, but now? Damn ghost… I hear the toilet flush. Panic jolts through me. Adrenaline overrides hesitation, and I wrench the window open with more force than necessary. It creaks loudly, but it’s open. That’s all that matters. I scramble through it and I barely fit, honestly. If I were any taller or broader, I’d be stuck. But I make it. I drop to the ground outside, heart hammering, breath short. Behind me, I hear Richard shouting.
“Wren?! WREN!” He calls out. He reaches the kitchen just in time to see me sprinting away. I don’t look back. He can’t follow. The spells on the building won’t let him leave without triggering them, it wasn’t supposed to matter because I was trapped inside anyway. My feet pound against the pavement. I make it halfway down the street, lungs burning, head spinning, still not sure what I’m doing. Then the car pulls up. Black. Sleek. Quiet. The back door opens before the car’s even fully stopped. The man who steps out is familiar in that awful, stomach sinking way. I’ve seen him before. One of Solem’s people. Not important enough to have a name I’d recognise, but important enough to be here. Now. I try to stop myself. I really do. But my body’s already moving. Already obeying. I climb into the car and I hate myself for it the whole time. I slump into the seat, exhausted, defeated.
“Captured again.” I mutter, my voice flat. The door shuts behind me. The car pulls away. And just like that… I’m gone.