At that moment, we all went on high alert; Kieran fixed his gaze into the depths of the cave. Lethia drew a whip-like weapon. It was the first time I was witnessing her magical power.
An ugly drone rose from behind us.
"Watch out!" I called out. As I turned, I found myself nose-to-nose with a silhouette. I took up my sword and swung it at the ghost, whose face appeared mangled.
"That was hideous," Lethia said, making no effort to hide her disgust.
With the strike of my sword, the ghost scattered like glowing embers and vanished.
"This is just the beginning; stay sharp," Kieran said.
"Great idea, but one of us needs to pull the oars," Lethia replied.
The drones rose as if every ghost were part of an orchestra. It was spine-chilling. The voice of a singing woman, the cries of a baby, the roar of a screaming man... they all filled our ears one by one.
"Kieran, in front of you!" At Lethia's voice, we turned in the opposite direction. But Kieran had frozen. He was doing nothing, just staring into the eyes of the singing ghost.
"What are you doing, you fool!" Lethia lashed her long whip; its tip coiled around the ghost's throat in mid-air. The ghost, struggling with its hands to break the power at its throat, then vanished like snowflakes. I looked at Kieran's face. His skin was deathly pale, and his eyes were pensive.
Who was that woman? I wondered; she had affected him deeply. But there was no time to think; another one approached, and I swung my sword. But a playful one dodged my blade.
We were all fighting at the same time, brandishing our weapons. There seemed to be no end to them.
"There are too many, Kieran," Lethia said, breathless.
Kieran replied, but I couldn't hear him. My ears and eyes were locked onto a single point—onto a ghost. It was a small child, holding a doll in one hand. I froze. I felt the shiver passing through my body. My heart rose to my throat; I couldn't breathe. As I struggled for air, I gripped the edges of the boat with my hands.
"Luna!" Kieran's voice came from afar, but I wasn't sure if it was real.
I looked ahead. That child was crying, and now, he held the sword of death in his hand. An exact replica of the sword I had used to slaughter him. He rushed toward me, but I couldn't do a thing. At that moment, I wanted everything to end at his hands.
He lunged at me, but his sword didn't touch me; it hung suspended in the air. Kieran had caught it mid-air with his own blade. They clashed violently in front of me. I was drifting between reality and a mirage, seeing events with a delay. Kieran tore the ghost to pieces, and black smoke rose from what remained of him.
As I was still reeling from the ghost of the child, another shock struck: the boat rocked violently, and Lethia, losing her footing in the chaos, plunged into the dark water. The splash was heavy, instantly swallowed by the eerie drones of the cave. Kieran was still paralyzed by his own demons, and with our most composed fighter gone overboard, the chilling silence of the water felt more dangerous than the ghosts themselves.