Pryor's Hill (solo)

[Dracosius]

Bright, teal blue hair glowed in the soft light of early sunset as Aiden Dracosious and his brother, Zevernus, slipped quietly out of the room they shared. Although it was early evening, their uncle’s palace was quiet. Their parents, Jasmine and Zerith, were at a ball. They would have been there with their cousin, Prince Dylan, but they were grounded from such frivolities for sneaking out and fighting in a “secret” club of commoners. It was not, of course, because of fighting with commoners, but rather the fighting itself and the sneaking out to do it that had gotten them in trouble. Both boys had been taught since they were young how to fight. However, their mother was firmly of the opinion that the skills they had learned were not to be used in such an offhand way as to fight in an alley for petty cash.

“Are you sure you want to do this, AJ? We’re going to be in so much more trouble if we get caught.”

“Of course! Mom and Dad won’t be back for hours. You know how late those stupid balls last. Mom and Dad will go right to bed when it’s done. We’ll be out and back well before breakfast.”

The 15 year old boys moved quietly through the halls. AJ had a halberd over one shoulder. He had taken a great liking to the weapon his father favored and excelled in its use. ZJ carried two thin blades, one on each hip. He, too, excelled in his chosen weapon. Neither expected to need their weapons tonight, but they felt more confident in their chosen mission with the weapons in their accustomed places.

They made their way to one of the servant entrances. There, one of their palace buddies, the son of a kitchen aide, waited with two small knapsacks. The sacks held only a blanket and some food for the night.

“Not that I expect you’ll actually stay there,” Jordan said as he handed them their food. “No one ever does and if they do, they don’t come back.”

“Yeah, yeah, we know the story as well you do. Ghosts aren’t real and we’re gonna prove it by spending the night on Pryor’s Hill.”

Jordan snorted his disbelief, “I got your horses waiting with Kyle just outside the gates. You better hurry though before it’s too late to get out.”

AJ and ZJ thanked their friend and hurried out. The gates closed at sunset and opened at sunrise. Typically the adults slept late after a ball, so the boys weren’t terribly worried about getting back into the palace before their disappearance was noticed. They exited the city of Nadai just as the guards were closing the gate.

ZJ looked at his brother, “Well, we’re stuck outside now. I guess we may as well get moving to the hill.”

AJ nodded his agreement. They put heels to horse flank and took off toward the haunted Pryor’s Hill.

[Dracosius]

Back in the palace, Siela decided to check on her brothers. She could have gone to the ball, but she had begged her way out of it. The dark-haired beauty did not want to deal with the endless line of suitors trying to beguile their way into her good graces. After a good bit of begging and pleading, her parents had at last acquiesced and permitted her to stay behind. After an hour or so though, she was bored.

She knew her brothers were grounded and not to leave their room, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t come up with something to do for the evening. She knocked on their door and then stepped inside.

“AJ? ZJ? Where are you?”

She searched the large room carefully. Her brothers were quite mischievous and it would not have been surprising for them to have hidden as soon as the knock sounded on their door. No matter where she looked though, she could find no trace of her brothers.

“Guys, seriously, come out. We’re much too old for these kind… of… games....”

Her words petered out as she realized that AJ’s halberd was not in its usual place leaning against the side of the fireplace. Neither were ZJ’s blades resting on their rack on the opposite side. Sudden realization that they had snuck out dawned on her. For a moment, she thought about going to the ball and informing her parents, but quickly shook that idea away. The teens were constantly trying to get their parents to let them do more things on their own. Tattle-telling would do nothing to help and would only cause a spat between her and her brothers.

Guess I’ll just have to find them on my own. Jordan probably knows where they went.

Siela made a quick trip back to her room to collect her own weaponry: a splendid bow, an enchanted quiver that never ran out of arrows, and a lightweight short sword. The young woman opened her mind as she strode quickly through the halls. She could pick up thoughts here and there as she moved, most had to do with relaxing for the night or wishing to be at the ball. Siela pushed these away. Soon though, a thought about Pryor’s Hill and idiots came to her. She stopped in her tracks and focused on that thought, trying to locate where it came from.

Jordan!

She heard someone jump and followed the yelp of surprise. She hadn’t meant to actually connect and startle him, but at the moment she also didn’t care. The teen in question was with his brother, talking about AJ and ZJ’s latest escapade.

“Jordan! Kyle! Where are my brothers?”

The brothers looked at each other, then at Siela, then back again. The Dracosiouses and these brothers had grown up together. They knew how pointless it was to lie to Siela. They didn’t know how she always knew when they tried, but they had long since given up trying. Besides, though they’d never admit it, they were slightly more afraid of angering Siela than they were of betraying the twins.

Jordan sighed and mumbled, “Pryor’s Hill.”

Siela stared at him, “Come again?”

“I said they went to Pryor’s Hill,” he repeated more clearly, “They’re gonna go spend the night there to prove that the ghost story is just a story. They’ll be back when the gates open at sunrise.”

Siela clenched her teeth to keep from spouting off a string of curse words. Her brothers were often foolish, but this was possibly the most foolish, even stupid thing they’d ever done.

“I’m going to go get them. If you breathe a word to anyone about this, I will personally see to it that you don't leave the kitchens again for a month. More if I can manage it.”

The brothers nodded. They often had to help their mother in the kitchen and absolutely hated it. The threat of being trapped there was not one they took lightly. They watched in silence as Siela hurried away to get her horse. How she was going to convince the guards to let her out was a mystery to them, but not one they wanted to find out any time soon.



The thought of how she would get out of Nadai plagued the young woman’s mind as she rode at a quick walk through the city streets. Short of her parents, uncle, or aunt giving the order, the gate guards were not to open the gates for anyone for any reason. She took a deep breath as she approached the gate; without time to form a solid plan, she would have to improvise.

That all three of them would get into a great deal of trouble for this was absolutely certain, however she could not risk the legend of Pryor’s Hill being true. Her brothers firmly believed it was little more than a story. Ghosts, according to them, were not real. Siela knew otherwise. Once, when she was barely a year old, she had felt and heard her grandmother’s voice as a protective bubble formed around her. She could not recall the circumstances that produced that bubble, but Jasmine had explained the phenomenon when Siela mentioned it years later. Ghosts did exist, it was just a matter of whether they were vengeful or benevolent.

Siela straightened her shoulders as she approached the gate. A young guard stepped out of the guards’ shack and motioned for her to stop.

“I”m sorry, Miss. The gate is closed for the night. You’ll have to wait ‘til morning.”

Siela flashed him a smile. “Well, hello, Jason, I didn’t know you were working tonight.”

Jason took a second look at the lady in front of him, recognition dawning on him, “Oh, Lady Siela! I didn’t recognize you in the dark…”

“It’s quite alright. Have you seen my brothers tonight? They’ve snuck out and I’m trying to find them before our parents discover they’re missing.”

“Yes! They came through just before we locked up for the night. They seem fairly competent though, m’Lady. They should be fine overnight.”

Siela thought for a brief moment of trying to trick poor Jason into letting her out, but opted instead for truth.

“Jason, they’ve gone to Pryor’s Hill.”

She spoke the words in a low voice so only he would be able to hear her. His eyes widened and a shiver went down his spine at the mention of the haunted hill. He looked around to see if there were any superior officers around. He wouldn’t be able to get the big main gate open unnoticed but there was a smaller door that she could get through.

“The little fools! Come with me. You’ll need to lead your horse, but there’s a small door I can get you through.”

Relief flooded Siela as she dismounted and followed Jason the Guard. He led her to a section of wall near the back of the guardsmen’s area and pushed a hidden lever. The section pulled back to show a short tunnel that was just barely wide and tall enough for the horse to get through.

“At the end, there is a stone in the wall that is smooth. The rest of the stones are rough, so you’ll know which one it is. Press it for a few seconds and you’ll be out. It’s a one way thing though, so you won’t be able to get back in. It’ll only stay up for a few seconds, so you’ll need to be quick.”

Siela nodded her understanding, murmured her thanks, and started into the tunnel. It took a moment to convince her horse to follow, but with the simple expedience of a blindfold, she was able to manage it. The smooth stone proved to be easy to find, even in the pitch black of the tunnel. The light of the rising full moon, flooded the tunnel as the secret tunnel opened onto the fields behind the city. She quickly stepped out and removed the blindfold from her horse. The secret passageway slammed shut with a finality that made her shiver. They really were on their own now.

The princess mounted her horse and thudded her heels into his sides. She had no idea how quickly her brothers had been planning to move, so she urged the horse into a gallop. As she rode, she thought back to when she and her brothers had first heard the legend of Pryor’s Hill. They’d heard it a number of years ago when they’d gone on a family trip to visit their Nana in the Nadai Jungle.

[Dracosius]

Dracosius Estate, Moriah approximately 10 years ago

Early morning light glowed gently through the thin summer curtains. The soft light illuminated a richly decorated bedroom. A young couple slept peacefully in the large mahogany bed. A large fireplace dominated one wall, though at this time of year it was empty and clean. Arranged in front of the fireplace sat a couch and large armchair. Each had a small table beside it. A few pictures hung on the wall of various family members. Some of the pictures were quite old, while others contained pictures of a black-haired little girl and a pair of brown-haired twin boys.

Outside the bedroom door three small children giggled as their leader, the black-haired girl, slowly started to turn the handle. The siblings had woken extra early today; unable to contain their excitement they had come to see if their parents were awake yet. It was a special day, for today they had been promised a special trip to see their mother's adopted relatives in the Nadai Jungle.

“Ready?” Siela whispered, her eyes alight with the mischief of sneaking into her parents' room.

Her brothers giggled and nodded in answer. As she flung open the door, all three ran in screaming at the top of their lungs and pouncing on their sleeping parents.

“MOMMY! DADDY! MOMMY! DADDY! WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP!!!!

Zerith sat up quickly and caught the younger of the twins as he landed, “AJ! What got you up so early?”

“Can't sleep! Going on a 'venture today!”

Jasmine sat up and let the other two children get a little more comfortable, “An adventure? Where are you going?”

The older twin, ZJ, sighed, “Don't you a'member Mommy? We're going to see Nana!”

Jasmine smiled, “Ooohh, that's right. I remember now. But we haven't even had breakfast yet, ZJ.”

The small boy considered that for a moment, then brightened, “We can eat on the way!”

Zerith and Jasmine laughed and started shooing the kids off the bed so they could get up. “As fun as that sounds, son,” Zerith chuckled, “Let’s get dressed and go to the breakfast room. With it being such a special day, I wouldn't be surprised if Cook made an extra special breakfast treat.”

All three children's eyes went wide in wonder at what “extra special” might mean. A moment later, they were scrambling across the room, out the door and back to their own rooms to get dressed. Jasmine watched them fondly, then grinned at her husband.

“Pay up.”

“What!? No, you owe me!”

The former queen shook her head as she began unbraiding her long, black hair. “We got a whole extra hour of sleep this year. Check the time yourself if you don't believe me.”

Zerith looked over at the intricately carved table clock on his nightstand. It was a beautiful work of ingenuity in engineering and magic. Sure enough though, the time was a full hour later than what it had read on this day last year when Siela had burst into the room, with her brothers right behind her. He scowled briefly at his wife's back then grumbled, “Alright, you win. Five gold piece it is.”

Jasmine laughed and came around the bed to kiss her husband, “I'm going to go check on the children. See you at breakfast.”

A few minutes later the whole family was sitting down to a breakfast of bacon, sausage links, pancakes, eggs and fresh fruit. For an extra treat a small dish of sweetened whipped cream sat beside each child's plate to dip their fruit. Once breakfast was done the family gathered the few belongings they would need, a few wrapped packages and headed for the Nadai Jungle.

Half a dozen or so years ago, their planned journey would have been unheard of and incredibly dangerous. Jasmine and Zerith had worked hard with the natives of the jungle though, and had managed to make some trade relationships with some of the tribes. As a result, there was now a trading post outside the safest entry to the jungle. Despite the trade agreements, or rather in part because of them, only a few select people could safely enter the jungle at will. Jasmine and her family were among those few both in repayment for negotiating trade and because of her adopted status as a member of one of the tribes. Even so, once they were in the jungle the standard dangers of traversing a wild jungle remained.

[Dracosius]

The journey from their countryside estate to the jungle was only a couple of hours long. However the seeming inexhaustible energy and endless questions of two 5-year-old boys made it seem inexorably longer. Jasmine was relieved when she saw the trading post up ahead. As they neared it, AJ looked out the window and pointed inquisitively to a cabin on a hill.

“Daddy, what's that over there?”

Both parents looked, but it was Jasmine who answered, “That is called Pryor's Hill and you are not go there, any of you.” Her tone had become serious as she answered the next question in her children's eyes, “It's an extremely dangerous place that even adults avoid.”

“But why, Momma?”

“Perhaps I'll tell you the story when you're older, Siela. For now, that it's dangerous will have to suffice.”

“But – “

“Enough, Zevernus!”

The children drew back in surprised silence. Their mother almost never raised her voice, let alone used one of the twins' proper first names, especially over curious questions. She sighed at the look in their faces, “I'm sorry. Let's talk about something else. For instance, did you know there's a bird sanctuary in the jungle? It's full of all kinds of brightly colored birds. Some them are even as big as you boys!”

As the chatter turned to what they'd get to see and do while visiting Nana, Zerith watched Pryor's Hill as they finished passing it. For a moment he thought he saw something in the broken down cabin on top, but quickly dismissed it as a trick of the eyes. Today was supposed to be a day of fun and happiness. It would not do to bring himself down with thoughts of ghost stories.

The remainder of the journey to the jungle village passed quickly and they soon found themselves in Nana’s house. The children had been turned loose to join the other village children and Zerith and Jasmine walked arm in arm as they chatted with her adopted mother. Elsewhere the children had gathered to listen to one little boy telling a story.

“Do you believe in ghosts?” he asked his audience in a hushed voice. The children had gathered under a makeshift tent of branches and leaves piled thickly so the inside was dark with a single candle for light.

“Of course not!” ZJ scoffed.

The other children chimed in with similar statements of disbelief. The storyteller chuckled at their responses.

“Well you should! Everyone knows about the hill just outside the jungle, right? Well, they say it’s haunted! Anyone that goes there never comes back!”

AJ looked at him confused, “Why not? It’s just a hill.”

“Because Pryor kills them, of course! Listen and I’ll tell you the story of Pryor and how his hill came to be haunted… Many, many years ago there lived a man named Pryor...”

[Dracosius]

From atop the nameless hill, Pryor looked out over the green fields. The long grass undulated gently in the breeze like waves on the ocean. The sweet scent of summer filled the air and above him the sky was perfectly clear. He inhaled deeply, appreciating the natural beauty around him. About a half mile behind him loomed the edge of the dark jungle. He'd been cautioned against being so close to it, but he wasn't worried. The natives only bothered those that dared to intrude upon their domain. This hill was not actually in the jungle. Since it wasn't in the jungle, there was no need to fuss.

“Pryor!”

He turned at the sound of his name carrying up the hill. He looked toward the source and his eyes brightened a bit at the sight of his lovely wife. She waved as she slowly worked her way up the hill. It was not an easy climb at five months pregnant, but she wanted to see this view that had sold her husband about purchasing this land. Pryor hurried down to meet her and helped her the rest of the way up the hill.

“Isn't it beautiful, Melody?”

Melody looked around and nodded. It was indeed beautiful, but the jungle worried her. All her life she'd been told never to go anywhere near it. The natives would be all too happy to kill her just for looking at it if she got too close. Now that they would be living a scarce half mile away from the edge, the stories came back to her. However, Pryor would not hear of looking elsewhere and she'd given up trying to convince him.

“Are you absolutely certain, Pryor? The jungle is so close...”

The tall man put his arms around his wife, holding her close. “It's fine. We're not going to bother them by being on a hill. They have no need to come this far out from their precious jungle. We'll be fine, I promise.”

His wife sighed and relented. She still wasn't sure, but she knew how fruitless it would be to continue trying to change her husband's mind.

Over the next two months, Pryor and several of his friends built a sturdy home. In due time, Melody gave birth to their firstborn son. They named him Michael and all was well in their world.

Now just a little ways inside the jungle's border there lived a native woman. She had no tribe, for she'd been cast out for the practice of witchcraft and other dark arts. She watched the home being built on the hill with some interest. There were not many who were brave enough to walk so close to the jungle, let alone live within sight of it.

One day she decided to investigate exactly what had been built and the kind of people that lived there. She used her magic to transform herself into a songbird and flew up to the cabin. She darted here and there, observing the man Pryor at work as he worked. He was currently giving Melody's best kitchen knife a new edge. With his sleeves rolled back and the sweat glistening on his brow, the witch noticed that he was quite handsome. It was in that moment that she decided that he would be hers.

She flew back to her hovel and returned to her proper form. The man's wife was pretty and he seemingly adored her. She grinned maliciously, Pretty, but not beautiful. It should be little trouble to turn his head. After all, he need not leave his wife and son entirely.

Due to the small family growing nearly everything they needed, it was several more months before the witch had a chance to catch Pryor alone. The day finally came when Melody took Michael, who was beginning to pull himself up on furniture and use it for a walking aid, into Nadai to do a little shopping and to visit his grandparents. Pryor had some work to do on the house, so he kissed his family goodbye. When they were gone, he got to work, humming softly to himself as did his chores.

Using her magic, the witch again changed her appearance. This time she transformed herself into a beautiful woman. She made her way up the hill and sought out Pryor.

“Good morning,” she purred at him as she took a seat. The short dress she wore rose tantalizingly up her thigh, revealing most of her leg, as she crossed her legs at the knee.

Pryor stopped, more than a little confused, at the sudden appearance of this woman. “Hello,” he answered cautiously, “who are you?”

“Me? I'm Saraphina.”

“Well, Saraphina, I don't know where you came from, but the nearest village is about three miles that way,” he told, pointing northeast.

“I wasn't asking for directions, Pryor,” she said as she stood and approached him. “I've come to see you.”

Pryor stuttered, “Um.. uh.. m-me? Now look, lady, you really should be going. I've got a lot to do around here, and you're just going to be in the way.”

The witch laughed and caressed his face with her hand, “Oh come, aren't I beautiful? I know what men like. I can please like no one else can.”

Pryor nervously pulled her hand away from his face and backed away. “You need to go. My wife will be back soon.”

“She only just left,” the witch reminded him, “she need never know. We'll keep this a secret. Just the two of us.”

Now Pryor was not always the strongest man, neither was he the smartest. But he was loyal to a fault and he never lied. The mere suggestion that he could betray his wedding vows angered him greatly. Until now, he'd been cordial and civil. After all, there was rarely a need to be rude. His voice flattened as he repeated his earlier statement.

“You need to go. Now. Don't come back. I'm a happily married man and nothing you offer will change that. Go play your tricks on someone else.”

Sensing that she would not succeed with this form, the witch huffily left the hilltop home. If he was going to be so loyal to his wife, then the simple solution was to remove the wife. Clearly, Melody being away from home was not sufficient to get Pryor to come to her. In that case, the wife would simply have to die.

[Dracosius]

The witch waited and plotted. A few months later, Michael turned a year old and the young family celebrated. The witch could hear the happy family from her hovel and it turned her stomach. Then an awful idea hit her. What better way to ruin a man beyond hope than for him to be the cause of his family's demise? She would not simply kill the wife. That would be easy and would allow for the man to spend the rest of his days in grief. That was not enough for the witch. He would pay quite dearly for turning her down.

It took her the better part of two weeks to collect all the things she needed for the powerful spell she needed. Once it was done though, she wasted no time. With a few words of blackest magic the spell was cast. Cackling with glee, the witch hurried to the top of the hill to watch it unfold.

As misfortune would have it, her spell happened to hit whilst Pryor was cutting wood for the fire. The moment the spell hit, his eyes went blank. He turned with ax still in hand and returned to his house.

“Are you done already, Pryor? That was quick,” Melody looked up from her place on the floor where she was playing with Michael. “Pryor? Are you feeling alright?”

“Dada!”

Michael got to his feet and toddled over to his father, arms outstretched to be picked up by his father. But his mother, wary of the odd look in her husband's eyes, hurriedly snatched him back just as Pryor swung the ax at the toddler.

“Pryor!? What's wrong with you!?”

Melody backed away, now trying to comfort a wailing Michael. The frightened child could not understand why his father would try to hit him with the ax. The house was small and try though she might, there was no escape for the young mother and her child. When it was done, the witch, watching from the doorway that Pryor had left open, muttered a few words, and Pryor came to his senses.

He shook his head and looked at the blood spattered walls and floor. Then at his hands, still gripping the ax and covered in blood. He threw it away from him hurriedly, then his gaze fell to the bodies at his feet.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

With a bloodcurdling wail of despair, he fell to his knees, holding the lifeless bodies to his chest as he wept and whispered to them, “What have I done? Forgive me....forgive me.. oh my precious... I don't know what happened... forgive me...”

The witch strolled in, once again in her disguise as a beautiful woman. “What happened here?” she asked innocently, then cackled, “let this be a lesson to you Pryor: when a beautiful woman comes to you, never tell her no.”

Pryor did not need to look to know who stood behind him. He glanced around for his ax, his eyes red with grief and anger. Spying it, he grabbed it and strode forcefully toward the witch. “You! You did this!”

Taken aback the witch hurried to get out of his reach. “Stop! Look what you did! Do you really want another death on your hands?”

Pryor didn't answer her. He merely continued his advance, intent on destroying her. The witch, realizing her mistake ran for the edge of the hill. At its edge, she began a new spell. As soon as she finished it, she ran down the hill, still fearing for her life. At the bottom she looked back and sighed in relief. Pryor stood at the edge of the hill, beating futilely against a barrier he could not see. Her spell had trapped the enraged man on the hill. Satisfied that she was now safe, she returned to her hovel leaving Pryor to his anger and grief.

“In his grief and anger, Pryor went completely insane and died on that hill. Some say that he's still there, along with his wife and child. No one knows how Pryor died, but no one that ever goes there comes back. It's said that in his insanity, the ghost of Pryor sees everyone as the witch and kills them!”

“That's silly,” AJ said, “everyone knows that ghosts aren't real.”

“Hmph! Shows what you know! Ghosts are too real! I've seen them!” the storyteller retorted.

“Well someday, I'm going to spend the night on Pryor's Hill and prove it!”

“Yeah!” ZJ chimed in, “we'll both go.”

Siela rolled her eyes at her brothers. There was no way they were going to do anything now. They'd never find their way out of the jungle without their parents.

“Ghost stories are just that, stories,” she said firmly. “I'm going to go ask Daddy if we can go see the birds now.”

Present time…

Siela sighed as she looked up and saw Pryor’s Hill ahead of her. She had yet to catch up to her brothers. The idjits must be on the hill already. Damn it! She wished that her statement from when she was a child was true. Most of the time, ghost stories were just stories, but this one held at least some glimmer of truth. Something was on that hill, for it was true that those that tried to prove the story false always disappeared without a trace.


The top of Pryor’s Hill held only a house that was starting to fall in on itself from the many years of neglect and weather. Sections of the roof were caved in, window shutters creaked and banged against the house as the wind blew across the hilltop. The floorboards creaked as the boys cautiously walked through the remains of the home. Debris and dirt covered every inch of flat surface. The couch, once nicely upholstered, now showed signs of rot. The only footprints to be seen were their own. No animal tracks, not even rodents, could be seen. It seemed that even animals avoided this place.

[Dracosius]

THUD...THUD... THUD…

ZJ looked at his brother, his face pale in the moonlight, “Did you hear that?”

“Yeah… we should probably check it out. Let’s split up and find out who else is here.”
Though ZJ was only a few minutes older than his brother, sometimes he felt like the difference was in years. While the thought of splitting up in an unknown area didn’t precisely scare him, he wasn’t certain that it was a good idea. However, AJ was already well on his way elsewhere and he didn’t want to seem afraid of being by himself in an abandoned house.

AJ had gone outside, so ZJ stayed in the house. As he walked around a corner into the main hallway, he thought he saw something flit around the corner at the far end. A whisper in his ear caused him to turn, but nothing was there. He walked on, but could not deny the feeling of the hairs rising on the back of his neck.

Outside, AJ slowly walked around the outside of the house. The mysterious thudding had faded out, but there was no reason for the source to have just disappeared. As he patrolled around the building, he noticed a set of large footprints. Footprints that hadn’t been there before. Puzzled, AJ called out in a quivering voice.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

Silence greeted the teenager. He followed the footprints. An odd furrow ran alongside them, unbroken, as though something was being dragged on the ground. The footsteps led toward the backside of the house. Then, as suddenly as they began, they stopped. They didn’t lead anywhere.

THUD… THUD.... THUD…

AJ looked around. The sound was louder this time, but he could still see no source for the noise.

“Run! Flee for your life, foolish child!”

The voice was soft and wispy, barely loud enough to be heard and distinctly female. Inside, ZJ heard the urging to run as well. He hurried outside, nearly running into his brother.

“Was that you?”

“No! I thought it was you!”

“Well, if it wasn’t you and it wasn’t me, then who was it!?”

[Dracosius]

Finally, Siela arrived at Pryor’s Hill. She left her horse at the bottom of the hill beside her brothers’ horses and started slowly working her way up it. Now that the moon was high in the sky she could see a bit more clearly. It wasn’t a difficult climb, but she didn’t want any surprises. Cautiously, she nocked an arrow to her bow, began to gather her spirit energy, and infuse it into the arrow.

Suddenly before her stood an image of a young woman. Siela could see through her hideously maimed form. The spirit spoke softly, fear in her eyes even in death.

“Run.. flee this place!”

“My brothers…”

“Do not heed me. They will die as others have. Pryor can see no difference between the living and the dead. He sees only what his insanity allows him to see. You must go!”

“Not without my brothers.”

Siela determinedly walked on pushing past the ghost of Pryor’s wife. At least now she knew the danger of Pryor’s Hill was real. A shivering tingle ran up her back as she came closer to the crest of the hill. Something was extremely wrong about this place. Her psychic senses buzzed angrily in her head of imminent danger, but she pressed on anyway. To push out the buzzing she thought about the lecturing she’d give her brothers for their stupidity.

“AJ! ZJ! Where are you? Come out! Now!”

AJ and ZJ looked wide-eyed at each other at the sound of her voice. Though they’d have never admitted it, the brothers were relieved to hear their sister. They hurried around to the front of the house, nearly toppling over each other. They straightened themselves out hurriedly, trying to appear cool and not at all frightened.

“Siela! What are you doing here?”

“Saving your life, idjits. Get off the hill.”

“What? No way! We made a bet and we’re going to keep it!”

“And just how do you plan to collect if you’re dead?”

AJ started to answer, but stopped as an angry roar filled the air. Blessed from birth with spirit-based powers, Siela saw what her brothers could not. A large man stood behind them with a blood covered ax raised over his head. WIthout thinking about it, she raised, drew and shot the ghost in the chest.

While they could not see the ghost of Pryor, the boys could certainly hear him. They watched, astonished as their sister’s arrow seemed to disappear. They were more surprised when the angry roar was replaced with one of pain. For a brief moment they could see the flicker of Pryor’s ghost. It raised the axe and began charging the three teenagers.

“MOVE! Scatter and get off the hill!” Siela barked at them. She was as surprised as they were that her arrow had hurt the ghost, but she didn’t want to wait to see if she could do more.

The boys needed no further encouragement. All three fled at top speed. Behind them they could hear the thud of Pryor’s booted feet and his angry roars. Siela risked a glance over her shoulder as she neared the outer edge of the hill. The nightmare sight of the angry ghost, heedless of the arrow sticking out of his chest, bearing down on ZJ was forever burned into her memory. She stopped and drew another arrow, quickly infusing it once more with spirit energy.

“ZJ! Tuck and roll!”

Heeding his sister’s fear-filled instructions, ZJ smoothly did as he was told. Though he could not have seen it with his eyes, he swore thereafter that he felt the wind of the axe passing over where his body had been seconds before.

As he dove, Siela released the second arrow. Once again, Pryor’s ghost roared in pain. This time, it turned its attention to Siela as it finally recognized her as the source of injury.

“Come on, Siela! Get out of there!”

The girl wasted no further arrows. She turned and fled for the edge of the hill. She glanced back over her shoulder and slowed. Pryor had stopped. Before him stood the ghosts of both Melody and Michael. Pryor stared at them grief replacing the raw anger that had been in his eyes moments before. It was only for a moment, then as Melody called for Siela to run once more, the insane anger returned. Melody and Michael shimmered out of Siela’s sight and she joined her brothers at the edge.

As they started down the hill, she could hear his cries of rage turn to frustration and looked back once more. The ghost stalked back and forth at the edge of the hill, roaring to the stars as he watched his prey escape. Siela slowed to a stop.

“He can’t leave the top of the hill…” She paused for a moment as the realization of what that meant sank into her mind. “ZJ! AJ! He can’t leave the top of the hill!”

“Come on, Siela! Can't you hear it? That thing’s gonna kill us!”

“No, listen! As stupid as your bet was, you can still win it.”

AJ paused and perked up at that and started back up the hill to join his sister, “What do you mean?”

“The bet was to spend the night on the hill, right?” Both boys nodded and she continued, “Then set up camp. That ghost can’t leave the top of the hill. Might not get any sleep, but you’ll technically be on the hill. We can’t get back in until dawn anyway. We’ll be safe as long as we don’t go to the top of the hill.”

The boys looked at each other, thinking quickly back and forth in their “twin” language. Siela was right. A smile crept across their faces and they took a seat on the hillside.

“Siela… we love you.”

Their sister sighed and took a seat herself, “Yeah, yeah, I know. I don’t suppose you guys brought any food? Oh, and I get an equal share of the bet in exchange for saving your lives and not telling Mom and Dad.”

[Dracosius]

The twins reluctantly agreed to that and the rest of the night was spent talking, munching on biscuits and dried meat, and trying to doze. Eventually, Pryor’s ghost gave up and quieted down. About an hour before dawn they mounted their horses and headed back to Nadai. All three were quiet, each thinking about how they were going to explain their nighttime absence to their parents.

The teenagers arrived at the gate just as it was opening and hurried inside. They made their way to the palace, slipping in through the same servants’ entrances they had used to get out. Without a word to each other, they quickly stabled their horses and headed up to the floor where the family suite of rooms stood waiting for them. As they climbed the last stair, AJ looked up and bit off a curse.

“Where have you been?”

Jasmine did not raise her voice. She didn’t need to. As she stood there in her silken bathrobe, arms crossed over her chest and her hair still braided for bed, her eyes flashed amethyst. This eye color change along with the cool, calm tone of voice clued them in for just how much trouble they were in.

“Aiden, Zevernus, I’m waiting for an answer.”

The boys looked at each other, then their mother and hung their heads. “Pryor’s Hill…”

Jasmine’s eyes widened as she struggled to keep her jaw from dropping. “And you, Siela?”

“I went to fetch them.”

Zerith, hearing the talking in the hall came out from his and Jasmine’s bedroom, yawning, “Are the little hooligans back, yet?”

“They are. They say they went to Pryor’s Hill.”

Zerith came more fully awake at that. He looked at his children, all three of whom had their heads bowed, waiting for yelling to begin. He couldn’t honestly say he was surprised that the boys had gone, but Siela?

“Explain…”

Surprised at their parents’ calm, the boys began their story of the bet with their friend, how they snuck out, and Siela’s timely rescue. The reasoning sounded fairly lame now that they had to recount it to their parents.

“As disappointed as I am in you boys, I’m not really surprised. But, Siela? What possessed you to chase after them instead of coming to us?” Zerith asked.

The boys spoke up then, their words tumbling over each other as they came to her defense.

“She didn’t have time!”

“We’d be goners if not for her!”

“Yeah, she saved our butts. We couldn’t even see the ghost, but she must have shot it!”

“How did you manage that anyway, Sis?”

Siela bit her lower lip, she hadn’t really thought about what she was doing last night, simply reacting. “I-I could see him. Maybe it has to do with my spirit magic, I dunno. But I saw the wife, Melody, and she told me to run. And I could see Pryor. He carried an ax. When he was behind the boys with his ax raised, I simply reacted. I’d filled an arrow with energy and shot him. I.. didn’t expect it to actually work, but it worked well enough to let us get away.”

Her family stared at her in awestruck silence. AJ was the first to recover.

“You can shoot ghosts!? AWESOME!!”

[Dracosius]

Jasmine and Zerith watched as their children filed into their rooms. Once the doors had shut, Zerith turned to Jasmine.

“She shot. A ghost.”

“Yes, dear, I heard it, too,” Jasmine said with a yawn as she headed back to their room. “She is able to harness spirit magic, so it’s not a surprise that her magic can affect spirits. I just didn’t realize she could do it, much less with a normal weapon.”

Zerith followed his wife, closing the door behind him. “So what are we going to do about this adventure of theirs? It was pretty gutsy. Most people wouldn’t have risked the whole ‘no one ever comes back’ thing.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes at the admiring tone in her husband’s voice. He was actually a bit proud of them for daring to test out a ghost story! “Yeah, and by their own admission, it almost got them killed! If Siela hadn’t gone after them and caught up to them in time, we’d be short two children right now and we wouldn’t even have bodies to mourn over!”

Jasmine’s shoulders slumped as she sat down heavily into the armchair in front of the fireplace. In the hallway she had maintained a stern look and tone. Now that she was away from her children, she allowed the full realization of what had transpired and been so narrowly avoided wash over her.

“We almost lost them, Zerith,” she said quietly, holding back tears. “We almost lost them over an incredibly stupid bet.”

Zerith took a seat beside his wife and wrapped his arms around her, “I know, Love, I know. But we didn’t. They have learned a valuable lesson. I’m tempted to say the terror they dealt with last night is punishment enough, but I’m not entirely certain about that. Perhaps they and Jordan can spend the next month helping muck out the stables or something like that.”

Jasmine chuckled and wiped her eyes. “That might suffice. Let’s wait until at least lunch, or maybe dinner to tell them. Let them spend the day wondering what their punishment will be.”

Zerith smiled, “Sounds like a plan. Now, let’s get back to bed for a bit. It’s incredibly early and I, for one, would like some truly restful sleep now that the kids are safely home.”

Jasmine nodded in agreement and got to her feet. With the knowledge that her “babies” were safely home, she fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Zerith followed suit. Sleep came a little bit later for the father of three, thinking about just how imulsively reckless his sons could be and what that recklessness almost cost them last night. Little idiots, at least they made it out alive this time. Is a month long enough…?

~~~~~

In her room, Siela quietly pulled her bow from its place across her back and unstrung it. She laid it on the couch in front of the fireplace and set her quiver on the floor beside it. While her brothers were probably thinking more about the “awesomeness” of her new found ability to shoot ghosts or what kind of punishment their parents would decide on, Siela was thinking back to everything she had witnessed last night.

Aside from the surprise of a spirit magic infused arrow hurting a ghost, she had noticed that Pryor stopped when his wife and child were standing before him. For a brief moment he had seemed sane. It was as if he recognized who stood before him, but then the memory that the grievous injuries on the spirits in front of him were his own doing renewed his anguish. The madness returned and it no longer mattered who or what stood before him.

I wonder if the madness can be cured. It was gone for moment, I’d swear it was. If it can happen for a moment, perhaps it can be reversed entirely.

In that moment, Siela decided more research about the legend of Pryor’s Hill was in order. It pained her to see a family forever imprisoned on that hill, unable to move on to the next world. She wasn’t quite sure how she would manage it, but one day she would return to Pryor’s Hill. When she did, she would not be the only one leaving the haunted hill at dawn.