"Why are we walking so fast?" Carfron asks when he catches up to me.
I ignore him and walk faster. I wish someone else could see him or at least explain him. I'm glad that everyone thinks he's part of the Orb, but I know he's not. The last time the Orb spoke, the very first thing it did was light up. It took me days to figure out what it was trying to say. Funny, back then, I would've loved for Carfron to appear and talk to me.
I faceplant into the protection of my bed. He flops beside me, and the mattress shakes with his weight. I jump to my feet. "It's not appropriate for you to be in my bed!"
He gets up with an apology. I'm glad I imagined him polite.
Can you read my mind? If you can, sit in the chair. I stare at Carfron, trying to get him to do what I want, but he looks confused. Sit in the chair!
"Are you feeling well?" he asks.
"Yeah. Why do I have to talk to you? Why can't you hear my thoughts? I'd feel a lot less crazy if I didn't have everyone else hearing only my side of our conversations."
"I can't read minds. That would be odd."
"Really Carfron, that would be odd? Let me ask you, before you died, did you understand English?"
"No."
"Then why do you now?"
"I speak Naga-Nuru."
"No, you speak English. How can you know Naga-Nuru when I don't know it?"
He shrugs and goes back to the sofa. Then he yawns.
"Are you tired?" I ask.
"Yes. Tired."
"How can you be tired? You're dead. I'm imagining you! You don't know Naga-Nuru, and you are not tired."
"You are wrong."
"About what?"
"All of it."
Cold runs down my legs and freezes my feet in place. I can't run. He can go everywhere I go. I think I'm wrong, too. Whatever he is, I have to deal with him by myself. Even if everyone else wanted to help, they couldn't. It's like I'm shrinking, like the world is leaving me. I'm alone.
"That scares me," I say softly, hoping he'll say something that will make me feel better.
"I understand."
That makes me feel worse. I'm trapped with this monster. There's nowhere to go. I can't get enough air in my lungs. My heart is pounding so fast it's going to pop. Did he do something to the air? Why can't I breathe?
I throw open the backdoor and run out to Lenox's balcony. I hang my head over the sidewall, take a deep breath, and follow it with a few more. Tiny townspeople are going about their day while guards mill about on the walls. Carfron used to be one of them.
"Are you feeling better?" Albína asks, popping her head out the door.
"No. I almost fainted again. That's my new thing. Hanging out with dead soldiers and passing out."
"Poor girl," she says, leaning on the wall next to me and putting her arm around my waist. I lean my head on top of hers.
"This is the worst. This is crazy," I say.
"You always worry about your sanity. And it always turns out fine in the end."
"This is different. The plaque is nothing. I don't know if it's broken, or if I grabbed the wrong thing, or what, but it's just a tile. The Orb is dark. Neither one is talking. Last time it glowed so bright I could barely look at it. I don't think this is related to the Orb."
Albína gives me a squeeze. "You're thinking too much. It's scary having a stranger suddenly appear, but you've been through worse. This will all work out, and you'll understand."
"No, you don't understand. I know things about him that I couldn't possibly know."
"Like the page?" she asks. "That's nothing to worry about."
"Carfron, would you please come here," I yell through the open door. He obliges, and soon he's leaning on the wall on my other side. "Can you give me something to say in Naga-Nuru?"
I turn to Albína. "And then say something back, and I'll have him translate it."
She shakes her head. "What will that prove?"
"That there's more to this. I don't know! I'm really scared and totally freaked out. Maybe I'm crazy, or maybe he is Carfron, or a demon, or something worse. I don't understand this, but how would I know Naga-Nuru?'
I look down at my shaking hands. I try to make them stop, but can't. The blood leaves my fingers, and a firey tingle travels up my arms.
"The Orb has psychic abilities," she says. "It could read anyone's thoughts in Cromsmead in order to pick up the language. It wouldn't be hard at all."
"Jonah said the same thing. I want to believe you, but it's not that simple."
"Has Carfron threatened you or tried to hurt you?"
"No," I say quickly. "No, he's polite, and he smiles a lot. We haven't spoken much, but he seems agreeable, except when someone else tries to talk to or approach him."
"You need to fly," Carfron says.
"What? Why?" I ask.
"You need to fly."
"But why?"
"You need to fly."
"I got that. I need to fly. Where do I need to fly to?"
"You need to fly."
"What's going on. Where are you going?" Albína asks with fear in her voice.
"Nowhere. My flying days are over," I answer.
"You need to fly."
"Does he want you to fly?" she asks.
"Yes. He just keeps repeating himself, and he won't tell me anything else."
"You need to inform Master Sarpedon and Jonah," she says.
"You go. I want to be alone with Carfron. I'm not interested in a replacement for Lenox. Make sure they know I'm not flying anywhere."
It takes some convincing, but she eventually gives up and leaves to find Jonah. I go back in and flop on my bed. Carfron respects my wishes and sits on the sofa.
"Do you have to be here? Can you leave for a while and give me some time to process this?"
"No." He's not mad or apologetic, just factual. He's like that android on that television show. He's pleasant but robotic, almost as if he's been programmed with responses.
"Well, I have to pee. So what's the plan for that?"
He stands.
I jump out of bed. "I'm not going to the bathroom in front of you. I don't care if you're imaginary or not."
Carfron's staring at me. I make a run for it. There's no lock. I turn and push my weight against the door. I stifle a scream when he's already in the room. I'm defeated. I know from experience I can't battle my brain.
"Okay, in the tub," I order.
He steps in without argument, and I close the curtain. It's like a public restroom, I tell myself. When I'm done, I leave without a word to him, but he follows me.
"Carfron, I haven't eaten all day. Can I get you anything?" I ask, accepting my new friend. Maybe it might be nice having a roommate. I also want him to eat. Prove he's real, or not real, or something. I don't know.
"I have my own," he says with a grin and pulls a muffin from his pocket.
"Well, that's surprising," I say. I pull the wall ribbon and wait on my bed until the food arrives.
"Do you want company?" Albína asks when she returns and sees the food cart.
I laugh so suddenly I snort, which makes her laugh. "I'm good. I'll just have some dinner with Carfron. Maybe he'll tell me why he's here."
"You have to fly," Carfron says.
"I have bad news for you," she says. "You're getting a new flying mount."
Anger rushes to my head, but I crush it quickly because Albína looks like she might cry. I guess she and Lenox had gotten closer than I realized.
"It's fine. It was inevitable. They're going to make me fly wherever Carfron desires. It would've been nice to get more time, but whatever."
She sets the table and chatters away about some of the maids on the lower floor. I'm trying to memorize the details because Trelix enjoys the gossip. If I can get the names right, he'll be thrilled.
When she's done with her story, not the setting of the table, that was done ten minutes ago, she asks me if I need anything else. When I tell her I'm good, she gives the room a worried glance that lets me know she doesn't like Carfron either. Then she leaves without another word.
I sit at the table with Carfron across from me. I eat in silence and try not to stare at him while he eats his imaginary muffin. We don't talk, and when I finish, I go to my office and open the first book I grab. It's a textbook on weapon maintenance. I slam it shut.
"You may need to know that," he says, following me out of the office.
I ignore him and leave my room. I have to get some help with this.