"How are things going with Kairn," She said, that sly look still apparent in her face.
Things had changed so much, but certainty was never something I'd had an abundance of. "I don't know. I think we are at a turning point of some kind."
"What do you mean?" She seemed surprised by my turn to more serious issues.
"There's something he's not telling me I think... I mean, I don't really know, but something seems off." I ventured.
"Like what?" Ligeia was always such a good listener. I was thankful to have her as a friend.
"He mentioned something strange yesterday and something about it keeps popping up in my mind. He's had past incarnations you know," I began to explain what Kairn had told me as we ventured further away from the Academy. "He said that each of his lives feels like a different person. That he remembers them but it doesn't feel like it's him, do you know what I mean?" I struggled for words.
"I think so," She said, "And you're worried that he won't remember you in future lives... or feel the same?" She hazarded.
I gritted my teeth. "Well no, that wasn't it exactly, but thank you Ligeia for providing me with something new to worry about." I laughed.
"Sorry," She apologized with chagrin in her eyes.
"It's hard to put my finger on it," I tried to explain. "I guess I'm wondering what happened before. Were there others.... that he felt this way about? It's not that I'm jealous, but I'm wondering about the lifespan of our relationship."
"You're wondering when he will have a new incarnation and things will change?" She questioned.
"That's sort of it, yeah," I agreed. "In one way he's an immortal being, a God, but in another way, he's not, because the end of each incarnation is a death of sorts. And I... I don't know how long my life will last. How long do Mages usually live?" I asked.
"Depends on which God you're bound to?' She said, and I sensed a tinge of bitterness. "Some have very long predictable life spans, like those bound to Time Gods for example." I thought of Sybelle. How long would she live?
"And what about Trickster Gods," I asked gently. She laughed bitterly and I added, "I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me-"
"-no, it's fine. It's just that nobody really knows. There is no pattern among trickster Gods. So It could be a thousand years, or it could be tomorrow." She explained.
"That's how non-magical humans go throughout their whole lives," I said simply.
"It feels like I've forgotten what that's like," She said, the humor returning to her eyes.
"Yeah, me too," We laughed in agreement and continued on our way. As we moved through the forest, tracking the ruins on my map, I began to notice something.
"These ruins," I counted all the various spots that we'd marked. "I wonder if they are all represented in the liminal world?"
"I guess there's only one way to find that out." She said.
"I'll have to wait to go looking," I said. "I don't want to leave you out here all by yourself."
We walked back to Halewick House before it got dark. I dropped her off at the beautiful old house and made my way back to the site of my cottage. I didn't want to think about what Alice had said. Was I a danger to the students? It would do no good to dwell on it, but still, I took the roundabout way back, so that I missed the campus.
As I made the hike back, I began to wish that we had called it quits earlier. It was pretty dark and the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up. It was probably nothing, but I had grown to fear that sensation. When I was in the Liminal World the feeling of my hair standing on end was the first sign of a supernatural creature.
Where was Nox when I needed him? Would he be able to hear my call? Lucian had me practicing reaching out with my mind, and strengthening the connection between me and my familiar. Even if it was nothing, it would make me feel better to have him here. I reached out with my mind. Nox.
I could feel his mind, so foreign to mine, with flight always at the forefront. He heard me. Would he come? I didn't have to wait long. I saw his form, darkest black against an already dark sky. His course led him to me, where he landed on my shoulder and pecked nervously at my sleeve.
I stroked his feathers as I began to move quicker. His feathers puffed up. Was he afraid as I was?
A sharp sound pierced the silence of the night, making me jump. I was already tense with anxiety. What had gotten into me? I couldn't discern the sound. It was haunting. Could it be a bird of some kind? It sounded almost human. I tried to turn my mind to other things while I walked back. That couldn't be.
Still, the sound echoed through the trees again, this time frightening me with its familiarity. It was like the hollow echo of the banshee. If there was a banshee, it would not be able to escape the Liminal World without access portal of some kind. I should be safe. But the noise bothered me. I had dispatched the first banshee, and now there seemed to be another. I hurried back.
I would have to tell Lucian what I'd heard in the morning. It couldn't be a good sign. He'd said that they were harbingers of death. I didn't have time for that.
4
The Gates of the Liminal
The next morning I showed Lucian the map I had created with Ligeia's help. I had marked all the ruins on the map, overlaying the geographical features with an array of various ancient sites.
I pointed to
