Chapter Six: Spectres.

Ryou groaned and sat up, gingerly rubbing the dent in his forehead that meant he had fallen asleep reading again. As he shifted his position the Ring jangled its spikes nosily, and he automatically put up a hand to silence them. He wondered fleetingly why Malik had made such an effort to give the Ring back to him. Is it because he knows that the longer the Ring stays off the more my yami will punish me? He shivered at the memory of the 'lesson' Bakura had given him last night. He had silently endured it, knowing it could have been a lot worse. Or am I just imagining things? Did he just do it because he wanted Bakura back? Ryou promised himself that once he was better he would ask Malik why.

He was torn from his thoughts by angry voices outside. Through the crack where the door hadn't quite shut he could just about make out Serafina and Malik. They were both trying unsuccessfully to keep their voices down.

"Just give me one good reason why I can't come in!"

"Because Ryou needs peace and quiet! You've probably woken him up already!"

"That's no excuse!" the Tomb Keeper protested. "You let Lyra in this morning!"

Serafina was making no secret of the fact that she disapproved of Malik's presence. Although she didn't realise the full meaning of what had happened yesterday, the teen had showed himself to be violent and possibly unstable, and she didn't want someone like that near Ryou when he was trying to get better.

"That's because I know that Lyra is sensible!"

"I am sensible!!!" Malik screamed.

The witch coughed pointedly.

"Stop taking the piss out of me and let me past RIGHT NOW!"

Serafina seemed about to argue, but gave up. It was probably a good idea, as Malik was about two seconds away from taking out the Rod. "Fine! But only for ten minutes!"

Malik made an impatient noise and pushed past her. Seeing Ryou awake, he stopped, looking slightly guilty. "Oh my Ra, did I wake you up? I'm sorry."

Ryou gave a small smile. "It's okay. I was already awake."

Malik sat down carefully on the bed. "You look slightly better. Still quite pale, though."

Ryou rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. "You're beginning to sound like Serafina." He hesitated. Should I ask him now? And what if he says-

Malik glanced around, and after seeing Serafina 'busy' in the corner, switched to Japanese. "Can I speak to mou hitori no Ryou?"

Anger coursed silently through Ryou, and he gripped his book tightly, thinking how much he wanted to smash it into Malik's face. I knew it! He just did it to get Bakura back!

((Quit your moaning, yadonushi.)) Bakura mentally pushed him aside and glared at Malik. "You call me that again Grave Keeper and I'll send you to the Shadow Realm."

Malik gave an annoying smirk. "My apologies, Tomb Robber." He received an unamused look in reply.

"Uresei. Why are you here anyway?"

His friend sighed. "I need sane conversation, 'Kura. The Pharaoh is driving me crazy."

Bakura yawned, and stretched his arms. "That's quite understandable."

"Hey, you try sharing a room with him. Besides, he snores."

The Tomb Robber gave a wicked grin, showing his teeth. "You're sleeping with the Pharaoh?" he asked in mock surprise.

Malik gave him a dirty look. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Oooh, someone's getting defensive."

The blond boy got up. "I'm leaving."

"Hey, wait!" Bakura grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. "I was only joking. Take it easy."

Malik winced and carefully removed Bakura's fingers from his wrist. Bakura sat up a little straighter. "My Ra, Malik, where did that come from?"

Malik followed his gaze to the deep cut on his arm. "Actually, it was self-inflicted yesterday, when Ryou and I were trying to wake you up."

The white haired spirit's eyes widened, and his long sensitive fingers ran lightly over the wound, careful not to reopen it. "You aren't much good at the whole self-harm thing, are you?"

"Well, I don't exactly make a habit of cutting myself!"

"Obviously," Bakura said coolly. He looked at the wound again. "Did it hurt?"

Malik shrugged, feigning indifference. "Not really," he lied.

Bakura's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, right. The wrist is one of the worst places to cut. It's much too sensitive. And you went in far too deep. A mere scratch would have produced sufficient blood."

"Well, I was slightly tense," Malik snapped. He looked up as Serafina came over, clutching a smoking glass filled with bubbling purple liquid.

"Ryou, it's time for your daily potion." She held out the glass.

Bakura sighed in resignation and took the glass carefully in both hands. He sipped it slowly, and pulled a face. "It's disgusting. Haven't you got any sugar?"

Serafina looked at him blankly. "Sugar?"

"Never mind." Bakura drained the glass and put it down, shuddering slightly at the sour taste. To his amazement, warmth was spreading through his body, right down to his fingers and toes, and the pounding in his head ceased.

Malik eyed him sympathetically. "I've got to go now. In a moment of insanity earlier, I promised the Pharaoh I'd duel him." Rolling his eyes, he exited the room.

"Try not to lose too quickly!" Bakura called after him. He snuggled down into the sheets, surprised at how much steadier his voice sounded. That stuff tastes like piss, but it works.

"Hey Serafina!"

She looked up. "Yes?"

"I'm so bored. Can I go outside?"

Serafina gave a sigh of frustration. Contrary to his looks, Ryou was so restless. He obviously wasn't the kind of person who enjoyed being stuck in bed all day. "If you're quiet for the next ten minutes, I'll go and ask the others if you can all take a walk outside together. You need fresh air anyway."

Bakura waited until her back was turned and then stuck his tongue out at her.

…….

Ryou walked ahead of his friends, absorbed in his own thoughts. At least if I stay away from them then no one will get hurt.

((Yadonushi, why are you always thinking things like that?")) Bakura growled impatiently. ((You know you can't stop-What the HELL is that?))

Ryou felt his yami's attention snap towards his surroundings, and looked without caring. His surprise mirrored Bakura's as he saw a grey, shapeless thing drifting towards him. He didn't have to be close to sense the evil coming from it.

(What is it?)

((Dammit, how would I know?)) Bakura's voice grew interested. ((Let's go and see!))

(But..) Ryou watched helplessly as his own feet walked him forward.

…………

Yugi, Malik, Will and Lyra were walking slowly behind, not really paying attention to their surroundings. Yugi was engrossed in a conversation with Lyra about the duel with Malik. She was looking through his deck in obvious interest, as Yugi droned on and on about the attack points for each monster, what attack it could do and exactly how it had enabled him to beat Malik. Lyra was drinking up each word like a thirsty flower.

Malik and Will were discussing the best ways to kill cliff-ghasts. A person listening in would have caught words like: "Chop off their heads!" and "No! You have to do it slowly!" A sane person listening in would have rolled their eyes and wondered off ages ago.

Malik was listing the advantages of strangling compared to kicking, when he saw it. "Look! What's that?"

"Huh?" Will looked up but couldn't see anything.

"That!" Malik was growing impatient. He pointed to the misty greyish form that was skulking sinisterly around them. For a moment it seemed to disintegrate and disappear, but then he saw an oily glisten in the air, and knew it was watching them.

Lyra broke off from her conversation with Yugi, and looked around carefully before giving him a strange look. "I can't see anything." she said coldly.

"Me neither," Yugi commented.

"But-"

"If this is a joke than it isn't very funny," Will said scathingly.

"They're there! I can see them!" Malik practically screamed.

"I still can't-wait! I can see them too!" Yami stared at the spectral thing in amazement.

Malik was relieved that someone else could see them, which meant he wasn't going insane after all, but his mind was working furiously. Why could only the Pharaoh and him see them? Why not Yugi or Will or Lyra?

Lyra's eyes grew suddenly wide. "Wait. What do they look like?"

Yami screwed up his eyes. "They're sort of…misty. Almost transparent."

Lyra and Will's eyes met. "Spectres…" Lyra whispered fearfully. Pan became a small brown puppy, and his tail drooped between his legs. He whined softly.

"What are these…Spectres?" Malik asked nervously.

"They…they sort of eat your soul," Will said slowly. "They're almost parasitic. They feed on people. But not all people. Only people who have-" He took a deep breath. "Only people who have reached puberty, who have grown up. If you can see them, you know they can get you." He looked at Lyra. "Remember Angelica and her brother Tullio?"

Lyra clapped her hands to her mouth. "Oh God. The Spectres ate him." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "It was our fault."

"We couldn't have known," Will said fiercely.

Well, that explains why only the Pharaoh and me can see them, Malik thought. He was slightly amused that Yugi couldn't see them. He looked around them again. "Why is it keeping its distance? Why doesn't it attack us?"

Will struggled to remember. "I think…yes! They're afraid of the knife! It's the only thing that can destroy them!"

"Wait! It's going!" Yami watched the Spectre carefully. It was drifting ahead of them, surprisingly quickly.

"It looks almost purposeful," Malik mused. "Like it's going to get someone…" Realisation dawned, and his eyes widened in horror. He looked at Yami, and saw that he realised it too.

"Ryou…" they whispered in unison.

Will held the knife in front of him and ran after the Spectres. The others followed more cautiously.

…………

They were now close enough to see the Spectre clearly, its blank face greedy and malevolent. Ryou was filled with a huge sense of foreboding. (Yami, I really don't think this was a good idea.) The misty shapes were weaving their way through the trees, and even Bakura was starting to get slightly worried. He tried to move his feet but found them sluggish, unwilling to respond.

((Dammit!)) Bakura separated, looking at the Spectres nervously. The Ring was emitting a dull glow, but he was unaware of it. The Spectres seemed a lot more interested in Bakura than Ryou, and suddenly a whole swarm of wraith-like forms enveloped him. Nausea engulfed Bakura, and he could feel a million tiny mouths eating away at his soul, tearing it away. He struggled feebly, but a hideous dullness had come over him, sapping his will to live. Dimly, as if from far away, he could feel his soul being drained away, but he was powerless to stop it.

Ryou felt his yami's presence fading and he hesitated. What should I do? Do I help him or leave him to die? Making his decision quickly, he ran towards Bakura, desperately trying to brush the misty things away. He gasped involuntarily as one broke off from its feeding and wrapped itself around him. It felt like his soul was on fire…He tried to move, but his feet were rooted to the ground. His very life force was being destroyed, he could feel it being consumed. Ryou fell to his knees, choking. The world around them was fading…

………..

Will ran towards the indistinct figure, knife held out in front of him. As he came closer, the Spectres suddenly became aware of his presence, or of the knife's, and scattered, some dissolving into the air.

Will turned his attention to Ryou, or the person that he thought was Ryou. "It's all right now! They're gone-" He broke off as the choking figure stumbled upright.

"I'm not Ryou."

Will gasped as another figure, similar but not totally identical to the first came over.

"Oh my God, yami. What were those things?"

Will's head was ringing. He looked at the two slim, white-haired figures. "There-there are two of you?"

"No," said the first 'boy.' The necklace he was wearing began to glow. "Not two. Just one."

There was a sudden flash of light and Will's mind went blank.

………..

Ryou looked at Will. "Please tell me all you did was erase his memory."

Bakura nodded calmly and without concern. "He'll wake up in a second." He went back into the Ring and took control from a reluctant Ryou just as the black-haired boy returned to reality.

"W-what just happened?"

"I was being attacked by those…things. You ran up with that knife and saved me," Bakura said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I did? Oh, yeah!"

"Ryou!" Yugi, Malik and Lyra came running up. They all looked very white.

"Did they get you?" Lyra questioned.

"A bit. Will came just in time." Bakura looked at the person who had just saved his soul. "What IS that thing?"

Will displayed it with a touch of pride. "This is the subtle knife. It can cut through anything – gold, spectres, worlds…I'll show you." He held the knife up into the air as if searching for something, then moved it swiftly along and down. Bakura, Malik and Yugi stared in utter shock.

A square "window" hung in the air. Everything around it was normal, but if you stepped directly in front of it you could see a gigantic rainforest, thick with plants and trees. The clear sound of parrots drifted in through the window. You could smell the wild fragrance of the flowers, and when Malik put a hand through cautiously, he could feel the waxy, shiny leaves and rough, abrasive surface of the tree trunks. It was real. Somehow.

"Is-is that another world?" Yugi's voice was filled with amazement.

Will nodded. "The subtle knife can cut through to any world that exists. But it only works for the knife holder, which happens to be me. I paid the price, as did the former bearers." He held up his left hand, and a hush fell over everyone except Lyra as they realised his little finger and the one next to it were missing.

Yugi was growing excited. "This could be our way home!" he cried.

Will just smiled sadly. "Do you think that hadn't already occurred to me? It won't work. I hate to tell you this, but there are so many worlds the knife can reach, and I have no idea which is yours. I can only cut through into my world and into Lyra's so easily because I can feel them so easily. It could take weeks of trail-and-error before I find your world."

Yugi's face fell.

Meanwhile, Bakura was walking around the window, immensely interested. He noticed in fascination that from the back it disappeared totally, and that the edge between the two worlds was so thin he couldn't feel it. A plan was slowly forming in his mind. He slunk up to Malik, and whispered quietly. "Hey."

Malik jumped and turned around. "What?"

"Do you think that knife can open a way into the Shadow Realm? Or, even better, open the Gates of Darkness?"

Malik's eyes lit up with understanding, and he looked suddenly interested. "I don't know. Probably."

Bakura nodded. Suddenly, the last of his energy left him and he half fell against his friend, who grabbed him and pulled him upright.

"Hey people? Can we go back to the inn now? I think Ryou could seriously do with a rest," Malik said loudly. He shook Bakura gently, who groaned and nodded.

………..

"Well I'm glad to see you've finally got back; you've all been gone a long time and-what the hell happened?" Serafina looked on in amazement as Will and Yugi came into the room, supporting Bakura. She helped them get him into bed. "You could probably do with a good night's sleep."

Bakura's eyes widened in horror, and icy fear gripped him as he imagined reliving the Spectres' attack in his nightmares. "Are you joking? I'm never going to sleep again."

Serafina sighed, and after mixing some ingredients together, handed him another glass. This one had clear blue liquid in it, which sloshed gently around the bottom. "This is a potion for dreamless sleep. You look like you need it, and it might help."

Bakura nodded weakly and took the glass, drinking the contents slowly. Unlike the last potion Serafina had given him, this one was pleasantly sweet. He lay back on the pillows and closed his eyes, asleep almost instantly. Serafina motioned to Yugi and Will, and the three of them tiptoed quietly from the room.

…………

Everyone had gathered in the other bedroom, amusing themselves in different ways. Yugi was trying unsuccessfully to teach Will how to play Duel Monsters. "So what attack does this 'Dark Magician' have again? Wasn't it 'Dark Spell' attack?"

Yugi sighed. "No. It was 'Dark Magic' attack. See, Dark Magician has more attack points than Summoned Skull's-"

"Oh, I get it now!"

Malik grinned, shuffling his own deck absent-mindedly. Winged Dragon of Ra peeked out at him, and he looked at it thoughtfully before turning it over and putting the deck back in his pocket. He was finding Will's attempts quite amusing, especially when he misunderstood something very simple, and Yugi would go over it for the hundredth time, gritting his teeth. Occasionally it would all get a bit too much, and Yami would take over and start…gesturing forcefully.

There was a tapping sound, and everyone looked up. The noise wasn't coming from the door though; it was coming from the window. Lyra got up and went to the window, looking out cautiously. "It can't be…Kaisa?" The name was said in disbelief.

"What?" Serafina ran to the window. Malik looked up and stared. There was a large grey goose outside the window, flapping its huge wings continuously to stay aloft. It looked like a normal animal, but it didn't feel like one.

Serafina opened the window hastily, and she and the goose embraced each other warmly. She turned to Yugi and Will. "This is my dæmon Kaisa," she explained with some difficulty, as her face was buried in the goose's feathery body. "Witches' dæmons can go a lot further away from their people than normal dæmons can, and sometimes I don't see him for months. What news, Kaisa?"

The goose spoke in a perfectly clear, but strangely wild-sounding voice. "There is trouble brewing amongst your clan. A group of rebelling witches are questioning your authority as Queen, and are trying to take over. You must come back immediately."

Serafina nodded reluctantly and seized her cloud pine branch from where it rested against the wall. "I'm sorry to leave you everyone, but this matter must be sorted out. Until we meet again." She shook hands with everybody, and hugged Lyra. Speaking quietly, so that no one overheard, she whispered, "I wish you and Will luck with your plan. Were you planning to let the others come with you?"

Lyra shrugged, looking a little guilty. "I dunno really. Will and I were going to ask them soon if they want to come. We're not sure when to carry our plans out."

"You will know when the time is right. And I sense that it would be wise to let them come. You may find that they have some valuable skills." She hugged Lyra one last time. "Good luck."

Then she mounted her branch as if it were a horse, and soared out of the open window with her dæmon. Lyra gazed longingly after her before shutting the window - it had started raining outside.

………….

A/N: In case you are wondering why the Spectres were so much more interested in Bakura than Ryou, even though they could both see them equally clearly, its because the Spectres feed on Dust. This Dust can't be seen with the naked eye; however if you look through the Amber Spyglass you can see it. Dust is the thing which happens when matter begins to understand itself, and forms Dust, and as people get older they get more and more Dust. Bakura is about three thousand years older than Ryou, so obviously he has more Dust around him. If Yami had been there with them he would have attracted even more interest from the Spectres, because more Dust is created when people become wiser, and friendlier, and more giving and caring. Being a tomb robber and a thief, Bakura has a lot less Dust than Yami does. Does that all make sense now?