Page 58 of The House of Whispers

“Oh, is that so?” I could hear his mouth forming a smile as he raised his hands in retaliation. They glowed a dark orange, burning almost identical to my own. “You don’t know what’s real, Casper.”

My arm swung, sending a burst of magik toward him. Jakkal dodged my power, sending a shot of his own power at me. His power slammed fiercely into my chest. I stood, gasping as it evaporated across my body, leaving me unharmed. My eyes widened in disbelief, looking at Jakkal.

He lowered his hand, shocked. “That’s not possible.” He swung his arm, an electric wave of his power shooting directly into me, fading away as it touched my body. “There’s no possible way you could deflect my power!” Jakkal sprinted toward me. I tried to dodge him, but his body slammed into mine, knocking me hard to the ground. We wrestled, rolling around on the ground as Jakkal became enraged. “Tell me how!” he screamed, punching me in the face. My cheek stung as ringing pierced my ears. Blood dripped from my nose into my mouth.

I laughed, struggling as he pinned me down. “Not as powerful as you thought now, are you?” Jakkal growled, spreading my arms out. He then pushed his knees into the bones of my arms as I groaned.

“How?” he demanded.

I laughed again, refusing to answer him. He pulled the knife from the sheath along my thigh, examining the blade. “You will tell me,” he lowered the blade to my neck, “one way or another.” The tip of the blade unintentionally tapped the beaded necklace beneath my blouse. My face reacted, giving me away. Jakkal tilted his head, tapping the blade against the beads. “What do we have here?” He ripped my blouse, revealing the necklace. “I see.” His voice darkened as a shadow seemed to loom over him. He returned my knife to its sheath, his gloved hand running along the colorful beads. His fingertips glowed, releasing his magik as it fizzled against the necklace. “It seems that the bouncer of yours is smarter than he appears.” His hand gripped the necklace, a handful of beads firm within his grasp.

“No!” My plea surprised him.

“I told you,” he ripped the necklace clean from my neck, beads flying as they bounced freely around the room. “I don’t like to share.” Jakkal had destroyed Chesmu’s necklace. Rage fueled me as I spat the blood from my mouth onto his mask. Jakkal slowly turned to face me. “I don’t have time to play this game with you.” He gripped my throat, choking me. “Curious,” he squeezed hard, the pressure in my face increasing as I kicked my legs, “howdidyou find this room?”

The only words that left me were the mere gasps of desperation.

“Not good enough,” he tightened his grip, “I want an answer.”

I can’t answer. You’re killing me!

“I don’t have time for this right now.” Jakkal released his grip, throwing me onto the floor as air fiercely returned to my lungs, causing me to gasp. He rose, moving away from me. “I have things to attend to.” Jakkal walked away, heading to the stairs.

“Wait,” my throat burned, “you-you can’t just leave me here.” I rolled to my stomach, looking up at him as he stepped onto the stairs, ignoring me.

“Jakkal,” I coughed, rising to my feet, stumbling after him, “Jakkal!” I frantically climbed the stairs after him. Jakkal rushed through the door, slamming it behind himself, locking it as I tried to open the door. My hands pounded against the wooden door, screaming. “You can’t leave me here!” The door shocked me, pushing me back against the railing. He had enchanted it with his magik.

“Fear not,” his voice was muffled beyond the door, “I shall return.” The sound of him faded away. He had locked me within the room.

“Jakkal!” I screamed, slamming my magik into his, our power mixing as it shot me back once more. “JAKKAL!”

The record scratched, beginning the same song that had played on loop.

I was trapped.

Hours had passed, and there was no sign of Casper as the beginning of her shift neared. I had become nervous and worried as to where she was and what could be so important that she just disappeared without even speaking to me. Holding the laundry basket, I headed to Casper’s room. I might look as though I was merely working, but I was really searching for answers.

Thankfully, Casper’s room was unlocked. I fluttered inside, unsure of what I might stumble into. Her room seemed ordinary, her bed disheveled as though she had slept in it. My wings carried me around the room, picking up random bits of her laundry. I picked up the blouse she had worn the day before, noticing that the collar had been ripped—cut from the top down a few inches.

That’s odd.

I tossed the blouse into the basket, searching her mattress for her knife. It was missing, along with her boots and coat. Casper had left. But where? And why didn’t she tell me? I continued searching her room to no avail. There was nothing out of place, nothing visibly missing.

Closing the door, I turned, gasping as his presence startled me. “Might I ask,” Chesmu had his arms crossed, “what are you doing in Casper’s room?” My eyes blinked excessively, my voice mute. Chesmu raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to respond.

Clearing my throat, I replied, “ I’m looking for Casper. She’s been gone all day and no one knows where she is.”

“You needn’t worry about Casper. Now, carry on with your chores.”

Chesmu’s answer seemed to indicate that he knew more than he was saying. He lightly tried to push me down the hall toward the stairs. “You know where she is.” I pushed back, fighting him as he grabbed my arm and led me toward the staircase. “Where is she?” I persisted.

“Like I said,” he pushed me, “you don’t need to worry.” I stood, observing him. The way he protected her from Nathair, the way he guarded himself from me when I asked about her—there was something going on between the two of them. I glanced down, noticing his second beaded necklace was missing.

“If I needn’t worry,” my attitude changed, “why would you feel the need to give her your necklace?” My eyebrow raised as his posture tightened, his jaw clenching. “Ah,” I smiled, “so youdidgive her your necklace. But why?”

Chesmu remained still like a statue.

“Unless,” my smile faded, “unless she was going up against someone with magik.” Fear drained the color from my face. “You know.” My eyes met Chesmu’s. “She’s going after Jakkal, isn’t she?”

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