Page 21 of Courting the Dragon King

The spirit sat up, but the body remained still, lying on the bed. “Oh. Hello,” the woman answered. “I’m Susan.”

Wraith sat beside her. “How are you feeling, Susan?”

“I … I feel strange.” She glanced down at her body. “Oh! Am I dead?” She stared for a few seconds and then blew out a breath. “Well, I knew it was coming.” Then she looked behind Wraith.

Wraith followed her gaze. A door made of carved bones, bound together, stood open behind him. It had followed Wraith as he walked. As a child, he’d named it the Bone Door. Beyond lay a mass of moving smoke and fog.

She pointed. “Am I supposed to go through that door?”

Wraith nodded. “That’s right.” It seemed this spirit was very ready to move on. Some ghosts didn’t see the door or acknowledge it if they did. And sometimes, when a ghost really wasn’t ready, the Bone Door would not appear at all.

But most ghosts would pass through, even with no guidance. “Are you ready to move on?” Wraith asked.

“I have been so very tired and in pain for so very long,” she mused.

Wraith patted her ghostly hand. “There will be no pain or tiredness in the beyond. You will be at rest.”

She stared at the Bone Door. She hesitated. “Will going through the door hurt?”

Wraith shook his head. “It’s just the next step.”

She clutched her translucent hands together.

“Would you like me to go with you? I can take you through the door, so you do not have to go alone,” Wraith said.

For a second she did not speak. Then she nodded. “Yes. I would appreciate that. Thank you.”

Wraith stood and held out his hand. Susan placed her ghostly hand in his. Unlike most necromancers, he could actually touch dead spirits. Touching them was not like touching the living. Their bodies were colder. Less firm and solid. It was kind of like touching a full wineskin: It was soft and yielding, but at the same time, it did not collapse.

She got up from the bed, gaze on the Bone Door and the beyond. She looked at Wraith. “I have had a good life, you know. I loved this village and the people. And I loved the parties, celebrations, and festivities.”

“There is one happening today, a fishing festival,” he said.

Susan laughed. “I was such a good fisherwoman. I could reel them in back in my day. Every year, I’d show off my haul at the harbour.” She smiled. “Have you gone to the festivities?”

Wraith shook his head. “Not yet. I will head there after I help you pass on. But can you tell me where it is?”

“It’s at the far east harbour.” She pointed. “Walk straight down this lane in front of my house, and then take a left and just keep going straight. It is always such a glorious day!” Her smile dimmed. “But I have not participated in years. My bones are too old, and I am so very weary. And those I used to fish with are long gone.”

She looked at their joined hands. “There are so many faces in the town I do not recognise.” She took a deep breath, even though she no longer needed to breathe. “Should I be scared?”

“No.” He squeezed her hand. “There is nothing to fear.”

She stared at the door. Finally she said, “I am ready.”

They walked forward. Beyond the door, all Wraith could see was smoke and fog. But that was because he was still alive. Even for him, the beyond held mysteries. But what he gathered was that the dead all saw something different from one another.

They stepped through the door.

Susan gasped. “Oh. It is beautiful!” She placed a hand to her lips. She released his hand and continued on, the pull of the beyond drawing her onwards.

Wraith stopped walking as the fog and smoke surrounded her.

“Beautiful,” she said once more, and then Wraith could not see her anymore.

She’d been particularly aware for a spirit. But Wraith was used to a lot of variation between ghosts. Perhaps it was because she had been ready in life to pass. He stepped back through the door. It closed and disappeared.

He walked towards the bed, staring down at Susan’s body. It was empty of life. Just a husk now.