"I believe all I had to do was ask," Diran replied.
It hadn't taken the two acolytes long to find the girl's skeleton hidden beneath the floorboards, along with the remains of a half dozen other unfortunates. Why hers should be the only spirit bound to the mill, Diran couldn't say. Perhaps of all those who had died here-or at least been buried here-she was the one whose death had been traumatic. Dying in great grief, fear, or rage was often the cause of spirits becoming earthbound. At least the number of skeletons explained why the mill itself reeked of evil. Deeds of great wickedness had been performed here, and their spiritual taint had seeped into the wood and stonework of the mill, turning it into a Bad Place.
Diran and Leontis had spent a couple hours digging graves well away from the mill and then transporting the skeletons as carefully and respectfully as they could to their new resting places. They'd attempted to lay the girl-ghost to rest first, but after they'd finished burying her and returned to the mill, they found her ivory-white form waiting for them. So they finished with the others and, after Diran had convinced the girl there was no other way, they'd set a fire inside the mill. But in order to get the girl to agree to let them start the fire, they had to acquiesce to one request: she didn't want to be left alone while her home burned.
The girl couldn't leave the mill, and Diran and Leontis could hardly remain inside. But they could sit atop the waterwheel for as long as it was safe, and the girl could manifest outside the mill, as long as she remained close enough to reach out and touch it.
Diran looked at the girl's almost comically distorted features and reminded himself that he was looking not at a monster, but rather at the soul of a person who was afraid to die for a second time.
"Don't be afraid," Diran said. "The destruction of the mill will not mean the destruction of your spirit. Instead, you will be released from your earthly prison. You will be free at last."
The smell of smoke was much stronger now, the wood beneath them began to feel hot, and a new sound joined that of rushing river water: the crackle of hungry flames.
Phantom tears streamed down the girl's face, wearing channels in her insubstantial flesh, as if her fear would literally be her undoing.
Diran reached out to take the ghost-girl's hand, and though he shouldn't have been able to touch her, though it was more than likely only his imagination, he intertwined his fingers in hers and found them not cold and dead but very much warm and alive.
The girl's features returned to normal, and she gave Diran a grateful smile.
"Uh, Diran…" The usually unflappable Leontis sounded as if he'd edged a step closer to panic. "It's getting rather toasty up here."
Diran could feel sweat beading on his skin despite the coolness of the night air.
"And in case you hadn't noticed, breathing is becoming something of a chore…"
Smoke billowed up around them now, obscuring his vision and making his eyes sting, and he could no longer see the ghost-girl. But he could still feel her hand entwined in his.
Diran had to fight to keep from coughing as he answered. "I promised her we wouldn't leave her until it was over."
Then the smoke parted and the girl's ivory face came toward his. He felt soft lips brush his gently, and then she withdrew back into the smoke and was gone.
Thank you…
Diran tried to tell her she was welcome, but he burst out with a fit of coughing. He felt Leontis grab him by the shoulders and shove him off the waterwheel, and he tumbled down into the waiting waters of the Thrane, Leontis following right after.
They climbed onto the bank many yards downriver, wet, shivering, and chilled to the bone. They flopped exhausted onto the grass and turned to view the bright orange glow of the burning mill set against the black of the night sky.
"You lads might consider getting a bit closer to the mill so you can dry off. It'd be a shame to let a fire like that go to waste."
Only a smoldering pile of ashes and blackened stone remained by the time dawn pinked the eastern sky. When they'd first arrived, Tusya had added the last of his silverburn to the mill fire and spoke a series of prayers, asking the Silver Flame to forgive any impurities in the girl's soul and accept her as part of the divine Flame. Diran and Leontis had prayed along with their teacher, and when the rite was concluded the three men sat in silence and watched the mill burn.
It was Leontis who first broke the silence. "It's too bad we finished the last of the wine, Teacher. I could use a drink right now."
Tusya smiled. "I'm proud of you boys. You served the Flame well tonight. So, though we're all tired and could use some rest, I would be remiss in my duties as your teacher if I didn't ask what you've learned here this night."
Both Diran and Leontis thought for a time before answering.
"There are many kinds of evil in this world," Diran began. "I've known this since I was a child. I once served one of those evils… carried it within me like the blood that flows within my veins. The evil we discovered in the mill tonight wasn't of a supernatural nature. It was the result of someone who long ago could not restrain his own selfish need to wield the ultimate power over others-the power of life and death. I understand now that all evil-natural or not-comes from the same impulse to put one's desires above all else, no matter the cost to others. Evil is the ultimate form of selfishness, and it must be opposed in all its manifestations, whether small or great, mundane or mystical. That is what the Silver Flame asks of us."
Tusya nodded approvingly. "And you, Leontis? What did you learn tonight?"
"That things are not always as they appear on the surface, and in order to combat evil, one must see a situation not as one thinks it is or should be, but rather as it truly is." Leontis looked at Diran then. "You taught that to me tonight, my friend, and I am grateful."
Diran smiled and nodded his acceptance of Leontis's thanks.
Tusya stood, groaning at the stiffness in his joints. "I think it's time we returned to our camp and got some rest don't you? There's a village not far from here, and once our strength is restored, perhaps we'll pay the good folk who live there a visit and see if there's anything three faithful servants of the Silver Flame might be able to do for them."
Diran and Leontis rose to their feet.
"And perhaps we'll see if they have some inexpensive wine for sale?" Diran teased.
Tusya grinned.
Diran walked over to the fountain and sat beside Leontis.
"I thank you for your earlier assistance, my friend. If you hadn't arrived when you did, I'd most likely be one with the Flame right now, and Ghaji would have the burden of my death on his hands. Even though he wasn't in control of his actions at the time, he would still feel responsible."
Leontis didn't look at Diran as he replied. "I was glad to help, but I really didn't do much. You had the situation well in hand before I arrived."
"Remember what Tusya always told us: 'Humble or grand-'"
"'-all good actions brighten the Flame's light in the world.'" A ghost of a smile crossed Leontis's face. "I haven't forgotten."
The entire time he'd been in the courtyard, Diran had felt uneasy, as if evil were present nearby, though for some reason it seemed muted and restrained. He'd put the feeling down to the lingering aftereffects of the Fury, but now that he sat close to Leontis, he could tell the evil he felt was centered on his fellow priest. Something was seriously wrong, and Diran felt confident that was the reason Leontis had kept himself apart from the others while they talked in the courtyard.
"It is good to see you, my brother," Diran said. "It's been too many years since last we saw one another. I would like to think you sought me out for old times' sake, but I suspect otherwise. Something is clearly troubling you. Tell me what it is."