The Dark Between Dreams | ✔️

Chapter 38 🔻 Heartbeat

Crow ceased knocking on Blackburne's armor. "This is...fun," he said, observing his reflection in the knight's polished breastplate. Then he poked curiously at one of the blades of his halberd. "Are you a warrior?"

"A knight," the armored ghost answered flatly.

"A knight?"

"Yes," Blackburne stepped backward out of Crow's reach, almost tripping over a giggling group of children in the crowded street. "You know, a soldier in service to a king?"

"Oh. Interesting." Crow stroked his thin beard in thought. "Aḫ-ḫur could use a knight..."

Blackburne's eye twitched at Crow's stare. "Right." He turned away from the strange man to interrogate a street vendor. "Excuse me, but who is in charge here?"

The vendor just shook her head and raised her hands, not understanding the knight's language. But the ghost just behind her answered, "That would be King Tamzi."

Blackburne leaned forward, palms on the wooden counter full of wares separating them. "Where can I find him? I need to talk to someone with some sense around here."

The other ghost pointed behind Blackburne. "Talk to him."

The knight followed the ghost's gesture and found Crow laughing while ghost children climbed all over him. When one of the children dropped her little straw doll, Crow rescued it before it could be trampled in the street and returned it to her.

Crow caught him staring and wandered over, dragging clinging children behind him. "This is my new friend!" he said to them. Then he frowned at the red-haired knight. "Ehm...What was your name again?"

"Nymandus. And we are not friends."

"Nymandus," Crow repeated, garbling the accent.

"You said it wrong." Blackburne's dark eyes scanned the surrounding sprawl. "Is there a castle around here? A palace?"

Crow brightened at that. "Yes! I can take you there!" He let the giggling children slide from his shoulders and marched past Blackburne, saying, "Follow." He paused and spun on his heels when the knight didn't move. He beckoned with his head. "Follow."

Blackburne took a moment to groan up at the twilight sky. But he needed to find out how to return to his son, so he gave in and skulked after Crow. Beneath criss-crossing chords of curious glowing red stones above them, Crow would pause every once in a while to converse with any random ghost, talking to them in their own language. And the other ghosts would beam and clap him on the shoulder or offer him little gifts, which he gratefully accepted.

They all gave the glaring medieval man a wide berth, however.

"Listen, strange man," Blackburne said, pulling Crow away from yet another conversation. "There must be a mistake. I cannot be dead. How can I be dead? Look at me!"

"Okay," Crow said, confused. He admired his own reflection in the knight's armor again. "You are...shiny."

Blackburne shoved him away with an exasperated sigh. "I have a son!" he said. A vein bulged in his forehead and his long hair undid itself as he paced. "I left him in the midst of battle! I cannot stay here!"

But Crow wasn't paying attention to the frustrated knight. They'd turned into an empty street. His amber eyes darted from side to side. He raised a palm to the knight behind him, hissing, "Sakātu."

"I need an audience with your king," Blackburne continued to rant. "Surely he can tell me how to get back home—"

"Quiet!"