The ghost stayed away for two nights after that and Graden was beginning to think himself foolish. Still, if he wasn’t ready to sleep, he spent his time in the library, not because he actually read much, but because he’d never seen her there, even late at night, and because he was always hoping to run into Louk. On the third night, after changing into bedclothes, he proceeded to the library and found Patren there.
“Can’t sleep?” asked the nurse, in his own sleeping garments, book in hand. A glass on a nearby table held something golden, and Graden’s eyes drifted to it. “A personal vice. Louk keeps little alcohol around, I’m sure you know, as sometimes patients have had previous trouble with it, but I enjoy a good nightcap. You don’t have a problem, do you?”
“No,” said Graden, and went to
