Page 62 of Gothikana

‘Nice to meet you.’ She gave a small smile to Ajax and moved to the exit.

‘Hey! You dropped your paper.’

Corvina turned to take the paper he was extending to her, frowning because she had her paper in her hand. However, with Kaylin watching them both with narrowed eyes, she took it with a thanks and left.

Once out of sight, she quickly unfolded the paper, looking at the quick note he’d scribbled, not even knowing how he’d written it with Kaylin right there.

The lake. 10 pm. For Troy.

The lake. The dreaded lake she had never been to after the last time, the dark woods she’d not been to in weeks. And she had to go tonight. For Troy.

Saying she wasgoing for a walk to Jade was easy enough. Jade was used to her nightly strolls and didn’t think twice about it.

Corvina wrapped her brown woollen shawl around herself, still dressed as she’d been during the day. The moon was full, and for a moment, she hesitated, wondering if she was being stupid. She was. But she knew she needed to do it. In her heart of hearts, she knew something had driven Troy up to the roof, and his brother deserved to know that. She would have told Vad about her suspicions and her meeting but she had neither the time to catch him alone, nor the inclination, not after realising she had no idea about him. She didn’t know if he was involved in anything, she didn’t want him to be, but until she knew for sure, she was on her own.

The wind was a gentle breeze in the dark, the trees dancing softly in it, leaves swaying, branches trembling as Corvina made her way through the woods with the lantern she’d taken from the Main Hall in her hand. She didn’t need it for the light since the moon was doing a good job of lighting her way, but she took it just in case the weather turned and clouds covered it, or in case she needed a heavy iron weapon. She didn’t want to be left alone with herself in the dark in these woods, not after the mirror incident.

‘Can you hear me?’

Not again.

The same feminine voice with the scent of decay, chilling her to the bone.

For Troy,she muttered to herself.Get to the lake for Troy.

Corvina forcefully pushed the voice out of her mind.

Though it was a beautiful night, it was a shame Corvina’s comfort with the dark had turned to slight dread. The girl who had always walked the dark alone without a thought had become spooked by her own shadow, the devolution a consequence of Verenmore.

She walked down the incline through the low mist that clung to the ground as she made her way to the lake. The opening in the woods appeared a few minutes later, her heart beating rhythmically as she neared the clearing, finally emerging on the bank of the lake.

‘Here.’

She shrieked, swinging her lantern up to see Troy’s brother waiting for her against a rock, still in the same coat from that morning.

‘Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Thanks for meeting here.’ He straightened and began to walk toward the left by the lake’s edge. ‘There’s a bridge just up ahead.’ He pointed straight. ‘Got some cover there in case the weather goes bad. Let’s walk and talk.’

Corvina followed his lead, keeping a little distance between them, getting a sense of nothing malicious from him, only anger and pain emanating from his pores.

‘I’ll take him with me in the morning.’ He started the conversation. ‘But I need to know whatever you were going to say in the office. Do you think there’s something wrong with Troy’s death?’

The outline of a small wooden bridge appeared up ahead over a portion of the lake.

‘I think it’s just odd. I’d spoken to him that morning and everything had been fine,’ she reminisced. ‘And then when he was on the roof, it was like he couldn’t hear any of us. The fact that the exact same thing happened last year to a girl just makes it even odder.’

‘What do you mean, the exact same thing happened to a girl?’ he asked, his words fogging the air in front of him.

A small wooden gazebo sat at the beginning of the stone bridge. They climbed the steps and went to the centre of the crossing. Corvina set the lantern on the wide stone railing and looked down at the dark, opaque water that reflected the moonlight.

‘I mean, the exact same thing.’ She touched the cold stone with her palm. ‘It happened before I came here, so I don’t know the exact details. But Alissa, that was her name, went to the same tower roof and wouldn’t listen to anyone when they called, and jumped off.’

‘Huh.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘That’s—’

‘Bizarre.’

‘The castle has always made people behave… differently than they would,’ Ajax looked at the water. ‘I barely made it out of here half-sane. And I didn’t want Troy to come here at all, but he just wouldn’t listen.’

‘Do you…’ Corvina hesitated. ‘Do you think it’s got anything to do with the Slayers legend?’

---