Well, they’d found her. They’d gone back to where the two of them had separated to find the place all lit up, each and every one of the machines that had been in here before gone. All but one, anyway—the one that Clover was next to. For a minute, Nik had feared the worst when he saw her lying down on the ground. But the knights had told him that she was only unconscious, and that she was completely fine otherwise. They brought her back home and made sure her parents understood every bit of the situation.
Honestly, a part of him had hoped that they’d be mad. That they’d blame him. But they didn’t—they thanked the knights for their service, and then made it explicitly clear that he couldn’t have known something like this was going to happen.
But he found himself determined to do something else then: to set things right. He worked with the knights to uncover and interpret the minimal evidence that they were able to find on the island, even convincing them to completely shut the place off while they investigated. Apparently no one thought about it before.
Or maybe they thought no one was ever stupid enough to try.
No matter how busy he found himself in the weeks that followed, he always made sure to visit Clover’s parents. There was a lot they were going through. The least he could do was be there with them.
As soon as Mrs. Glynn saw him, she eagerly gestured him inside. “Oh, Nik! It’s been a couple of days. Did you take a short break to go visit home? Tell me, how are your parents doing?”
“Yeah, I checked up on them.” That was a lie. Well, kind of. He’d sent them a letter a couple of days ago to tell him that he was still in the middle of the investigation and that he still wasn’t going to come back for another couple of weeks at the earliest. He’d gotten a response from them, but… he hadn’t looked at it yet. “They’re both doing good.”
“That’s wonderful. Would you like some tea while you’re here? As luck would have it, I was just starting a pot.”
“Yeah, but… I didn’t really intend on staying long. There’s still a lot of work I’ve got to do.”
“Nonsense! Let’s go and relax for a little bit. You deserve it for all the hard work you’ve been doing. Besides, there’s something I want to tell you that I think you’re going to like to hear.”
“There is..?”
He followed her inside, and took a seat in the living room. He watched her dart in and out a couple of rooms, including to drag her husband out and sit him down in the armchair across the room.
After setting a cup of tea in front of Mr. Glynn and Nik, Mrs. Glynn finally sat down and took a sip from her own cup.
“Do you remember, Nik, when we said that the doctor suggested we get someone from the Lysha? Since that note you found next to her mentioned something about a spirit?”
He nodded. “Were you able to get in contact with one of them? I assume it wouldn’t be too hard to do—all things considered, Levi Asari isn’t that far away from here…”
“Actually, it was the original reason that I was preparing tea. We were able to get in touch with them much quicker than we thought, and we just got word that they’ll be coming by soon.”
Mr. Glynn nodded. “Seems the case has caught some interest there. The letter mentioned them sending the Vulture, didn’t it?”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Mhm. That and a child of Fleyw Bresh. Just to be sure.” She took another calm sip of tea, then seemed to remember something. “Oh! Nik, do you know where those notes they found are being kept? I’m quite certain the letter mentioned wanting to see that, too. I know that no one here was able to make any sense of them, but if it’s the Vulture that’s going to be here, then maybe he can.”
“They’re with the knights. Remind me and I’ll show it to them when they get here. I don’t want to end up missing them if they’re coming soon.”
“I’m sure that will be perfect. Thank you, dear.”
They talked for a little bit about nothing in particular—literally anything that would fill in the silence while they waited for their next guest. It was a special kind of agony to wait, honestly; Nik remembered the reason he had almost avoided visiting them, despite how guilty and responsible he felt for the whole mess they now found themselves in.
But he didn’t have too long to think about that, fortunately, when there was another knock on the door. Mr. Glynn was the one to get up and welcome who it was and, soon enough, two new people walked into the living room with him: a ugly in his early thirties holding a handful of papers and wore the signal of the Vulture on his belt, and a younger kid who… honestly didn’t look like much, but who must’ve been the child of Fleyw Bresh. There wasn’t really a lot of them in this place anyway, it was probably the best that they could find. And as long as they knew what they were doing, Nik didn’t mind that.
“She’s in her room now, I can show her to you,” Mr. Glynn was saying as they walked in. “Unless you’d like to meet my wife and a friend of Clover’s first. You could have a cup of tea if you want, too. Really, there’s not that big of a rush…”
“No, you were right the first time.” The Vulture nodded wisely at his own words. “At least in concept. The earlier we’re able to get this done and get some results, the better. Oh! But I should properly introduce myself, before getting to my business. I’m Nehi, the Vulture. This is simply a new recruit of the Lysha. I brought them along because of their ties to the Fleyw Bresh”
“I’m quite good with Truth magic,” they said in a near-whisper. “Th-that’s the kind of magic we use to interact with spirits. I’ll do all I can to help.”
Mrs Glynn nodded. “I believe I can speak for us all when I say that we’re already more at ease with the two of you here. Go on and check on her. I’ll make sure some tea and snacks are ready for you when you’re all done.”
…
After probably only about ten minutes but what felt like ten hours, Nehi calmly came back down and explained that he had absolutely no idea what had happened. “The young lady doesn’t have a spirit,” he’d said, as if that was something that they didn’t already know, like it really explained anything. “That is about the extent of what I was able to learn. Unfortunately, the Lysha deals in spirits, not in souls.”
And that was when he pushed the child of Fleyw Bresh—who had been nervously hiding behind him—out into the open. Then they explained, “But I was able to learn something. I-I wasn’t able to learn the specifics, but I was able to tell that her soul had split. A part of it currently resides in her. The other part… it is not with Vriuh, because otherwise the other part would’ve drifted down to join it, but it is not with her. If, by some miracle, the missing part can be met with what remains with her, then she should return to normal.”
After some questioning, they also gave the half-reassurance, “She will not want for anything in this state. It is—what’s a good way to put this for you..? Oh!—in ‘hibernation.’ She will sleep until her soul is whole again, but in her stasis, she does not need subsistence. I only recommend that you take care of her body, so that her soul has something to return to when it is found.”
Clover’s parents still had questions, so the child of Fleyw Bresh stayed with them. Nehi had asked Nik about the notes, so they left for the knights’ headquarters.
“You know, I could use some help with my research,” Nehi remarked. “I’ve heard that you’re already well involved in the matter as it is. If I’m to sort this out, I’m going to need someone who’s aware of some details I can’t learn on my own.”
Nik kicked a pebble. “Dunno if you want to listen to anything I say,” he grumbled. “According to everyone else, there’s no proof for any of it. Probably made the rest of it up.”
“I don’t think so.”
He looked up at the Vulture, waiting to hear perhaps the same things he’d been hoping for this entire time.
“There’s something else going on here. I have all the resources and time capable of figuring out what it is. All I’m missing is someone who was there, who can guide me in the right direction. So, will you help me?”
