Page 141 of Whisper of Nightmares

Something wrinkled and clumped with the fresh dirt.

Euphemia drops her shovel.

She kneels and picks through the freshly tilled earth.

And unravels a worn piece of parchment.

Euphemia cannot read, so she cannot be certain. But she knows in her bones that this is what she’s been searching for. The true deed to Thorfell Manor. Their chance to honor the ghost. Save Dagfinn. Save Kelda, as well, for this deed will hopefully remove the pressure Percival has been placing upon her.

Euphemia folds the parchment and, finding no pocket to place it in, she settles for storing the document against her breast.

Despite her sheer exhaustion, Euphemia climbs to the top of the tower with renewed energy in every step.

She throws open the door, reaching for the the document, and⁠—

The room is empty.

Dagfinn’s body is not in his bed. His linens are disheveled, half fallen to the floor. The bedpan has been upturned. The bowl of soup that had been left for him has been thrown across the room.

Footsteps echo behind her and Euphemia jumps.

She twists around to come face to face with Kelda.

More cheerful than usual, Kelda says, “Excuse me, just bringing Dagfinn some tea⁠—”

But her smile falls when she beholds the state of the room.

“What happened?” Kelda asks, setting down the tray.

“I don’t know. I just got here.”

Kelda’s gaze drops to Euphemia’s hands, dusted with dirt and bleeding in places.

She opens her mouth to say something, but her attention snags back on the empty tower, and whatever she had been about to say gets swallowed by panic instead.

Kelda hikes her skirts and quickly descends the stairs, muttering to herself all the way down.

Euphemia follows after her, uncertain what else to do. Without Dagfinn’s body, she has no ghost to reveal the deed to. No way of bringing the real Dagfinn back.

Kelda bellows at the bottom of the stairs. “Dagfinn! Dagfinn!”

She hurries down one corridor, crying out his name over and over.

Asvald appears shortly. “What is it?”

Peering into one room, Kelda looks around, then closes the door again. “Dagfinn’s gone missing. Have you seen him?”

Asvald’s face goes ashen. “Missing? Since when?”

“I don’t know. Just help me find him.”

They fly down separate hallways, occasionally calling a name that never answers.

Euphemia bites her lip, thinking.

If she were a spirit, where would she go?

Fortunately for Euphemia, she’s already met two spirits before. Her father and Dagfinn’s, and both of them had appeared in the same place they died.