*
Will picked up a handful of dirty cellophane pieces from the floor of his old chamber. He let them float down like broken butterfly wings. The shelves were empty and his wagon and crates gone. He got down on his knees and ran his hand over the back wall of the bottom shelf.
“Are you looking for something?” Ash asked.
Will bumped his head on the shelf above. “No, no. Thought there was a souling under here.”
“I’m sorry, Will,” Ash said.
“What for? I mean, you didn’t do it.”
Ashden frowned. “I know you spent a lot of time designing this room. I always loved coming here, the ceiling, the colours. It was a real work of art.”
Still Will said nothing, sorting through memories to find why Ash thought he was responsible for making the cathedral like room. Of course. He wiped a hand across his upper lip. He had told Ashden that he had made it. That’s what he had spent his time doing down here. Well, if the boy had known the truth…
“You’re soulings had changed so much, too. They were starting to move, you know.”
“Were they?” Will got up off his knees.
Ash put a consoling hand on his shoulder, “I just don’t get how they can be so cruel to soulings. It’s not like they are ever going to be a threat to them.”
Will left the cavern, tight lipped.
“It’s a shame we couldn’t get to the next level of the Timefold and drop down on them, you know, a surprise attack.” Will said.
“How many levels are there?” asked Ash.
“I don’t know. I’ve never been to any but this one. But once I met an animal who talked about another level,” he added cautiously. “Maybe it’s just a story. You can’t rely on them to tell the truth.”
“Let’s just keep going until we find some light,” said Ashden.
“Yeah, and I’d like to see the lake.”