II
An Astral Sojourn
- Page Three -
Thraya took two steps towards the twin's door. The door itself was shut tight and hadn't seemed to be disturbed at all. Surely if a thaekkuz was in the house, it wasn't smart enough to close a door behind itself. Shades, however, had no use for such physical barriers and would have passed right through it.
She placed her ear on the warm wood of the door so as to hear inside. The room beyond was silent. There was no sound of any disruption at all. She let her hand take hold of the brass knob and begin to slowly turn it.
"Watch for father. If he catches us sneaking into Jhulessi and Nesbinet's room, he'll tan our hides."
Serranos' eyes went wide. The earlier tears were sucked back into his sockets. He turned and stared at the end of the hallway as a sentry. He lifted his other hand to cover the candlelight.
Thraya turned back to the door and having felt a click of the knob, began to softly lift and push the door on its hinges. One of the doorjambs gave out a quiet groan under the strain.
Once the door was open sufficiently and no disruption seemed to come from either her father's room or inside of the twin's room, Thraya released the door and took a single step inside. The haunting white light of Ishep filtered in through the bare window at the end of the room. On either side of the room were small wooden beds, each containing a gently snoring occupant.
Thraya pressed her luck and took two more steps into the room. She was now between both beds filled with their slumbering occupants. She leaned into Nesbinet's bed and cautiously felt the bed covers over his chest. She could feel his breathing in quiet little bursts. She pivoted on her hips and lightly touched Jhulessi's forehead with the palm of her hand. The young girl's temperature felt normal.
She turned on her feet, lightly creeping back to the doorway. She could see Serranos glancing from her to her father's doorway nervously. She gave a grin and the thought that they might actually get in trouble for sneaking into their sibling's room.
She took another slow and wide step to avoid any kind of creaks or groans from the floor. Her hand grasped the carved ball of wood on the end of Nesbinet's bed. Obviously whatever Serranos had seen was enough to scare him, but the twins were safe, the house was secure, and the evening's imaginary phantoms would soon pass once everyone got back to sleep.
Once her foot struck the rug-covered floor without a sound she looked back up to see Serranos staring directly at her. His eyes were wide with fear and his pupils had dilated to pure blackness. She felt her eyebrow perk up at this, wondering if her father had somehow gotten the drop on them.
Thraya could feel a chill coming from behind her, maybe a draft from the window. As she thought about the window, she soon noticed that the room she was inside of had suddenly gone completely dark. The only light she could continue to walk by was the flickering candle Serranos held in his hand. Surely a cloud hadn't passed in front of the Night's Lantern so quickly.
She noticed her brother in the hallway shaking now. Clear wax began to jostle out of the metal candleholder and fall in droplets upon his bare feet. He didn't notice the heat or the pain. He continued to stand and shake. She looked at his face and saw him mouth out the words "Right. Behind. You."
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