How to Make a Sinner Sleep

50 | window; that overlooks the garden

It was safe to say, as any normal, sane human did, that Kaden avoided Noah promptly after the dragon's accusation. Not only because it was awkward, and that there was something miserable about Noah's tone that insisted upon an answer.

What answer? Kaden didn't know, and if he did, life would be much easier.

But there were many things that people didn't know, such as the perfect thing to say in particular situations, or what action to do.

If it were any other person, perhaps they would have a worthwhile answer.

But it wasn't.

And so, Kaden had forced a laugh that practically said, 'I don't know what you're talking about' and hurried away to unpack his bags and find the room he was supposed to stay in.

He felt a slight of dizziness on the way and stumbled on the stairs, knowing very well that a dark pair of eyes were judging him, and moved even faster.

He would choose ghosts over awkward social situations, any day.

There were three bedrooms upstairs, and Niklas had specifically chosen the room with a retractable staircase to the attic. Attics, as common sense told, were almost always haunted.

Kaden actually wondered where Niklas came upon the house, and considering the cleanliness of it, who owned it.

He had a feeling Niklas wouldn't tell him though, giving a paragraph of speech that answered absolutely nothing instead. He placed his bag down on the bed that hadn't been tossed with clothing in the short time of their arrival.

After, he turned to examine the room. There was a lot that could be said about a room, especially when inhabited by another.

But even ghosts left marks.

Kaden noticed a hitch in the wood that ran along the wooden frame of the door and walked closer. In small scribbles, unnoticeable if one didn't look down, there were several tallies running along the height of the wall.

A number was inscribed next to it, along with a date.

Were they height markers?

Judging by the height, whoever made them was measuring a child's growth over the years. It was consistent, one mark for every consecutive year after the first.

Only, it stopped at the sixth year. There was a burnt mark instead, a thumb print that sunk into the wood as if it'd been melted, somehow and in some way. Kaden fell into a daze and traced the blemish on the oak, the darkness that told of a haunted past.

If the house were really haunted, what tale did the ghosts have to tell?

The floorboards creaked in the corner of the room, and he turned his head. Unnerved, Kaden glanced upwards at the attic and left the room.

He wandered the top floor, determining that it was more terrifying to listen to Noah's quiet accusations than to dance with ghosts. A closed room stood, the door firmly placed and refusing movement. Curious, he attempted to move the handle.

Only after aggressively wriggling it did he manage to pry it open, swinging it wide with a heavy thud.

It was a study room, tidied but old with the feel of unused. The desk was piled with books and papers wedged in between, but parted to leave a neat space to write or work on. There was a thick layer of dust settled over, and while everything else in the house was maintained, the study room hadn't been.

Kaden stepped inside, freezing at the darkness of the room, and the thick scent of dirt. He continued inside, to the curtains that shuttered all light away.