I studied the petite features of her face, the upturned nose and full lips. Her pale blue eyes were large with long lashes, and her black eyebrows were perfectly sculpted. She had no wrinkles or lines marring her white skin. If it wasn’t for the vacant look of someone already dead inside, she would be the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.
“Stop,” she commanded, her voice soft and gentle.
Even over the pounding of his fists, Lakvas heard her. He turned back to look at her with heavy, haunted eyes. I got a good look at his rugged face, and was reminded of a boulder in the bulging way his brow hooded his eyes.
“It hurts,” he said, his voice a rumbling base that seemed to shake my bones. I didn’t think he was talking about his bloody hands, but he held them out to her when she asked for them.
“It’ll be okay,” she replied, picking bits of bark from his destroyed skin.
Rakshina was trembling beside me, and I released her hand to loop an arm around her waist. I was worried she would start crying and give us away.
“The pains helps me remember…” His voice trailed off and he looked up at the moon while the girl worked.
“It’s okay to forget,” she replied simply. “I will remind you every time.”
“You promise?”
She nodded, and though I couldn’t see her face, it felt like she was smiling at him. Magic sparked to life in her hands, and the skin on his knuckles closed over. She pulled a handkerchief from the small bag on her shoulder and wiped the drying blood away to reveal faintly scarred skin.
I wondered what he wanted to remember so badly that he’d hurt himself. When Rakshina and Drekvic had initially spoken of Lakvas, I’d assumed he was the only problem that needed taking care of.
She’s pulling the strings, Joy confirmed, showing me the lines of magic connecting the girl’s aura to Lakvas.
“The deviants are starting to get out of control,” Lakvas said, looking away from the moon.
“We’ll have to look for more placid souls,” she suggested, using her magic to burn the soiled cloth in her palm. The flames didn’t seem to bother her, although the sight of her hand on fire made me shudder.
“I want him to suffer.”
“We all do.”
Their conversation confused me. Lakvas had attacked Rakshina, yet he seemed to be talking about someone else. Seeing my confusion, Rakshina drew a “D” in the air, and my heart stuttered. They were going after Drekvic? How did they even know where he was?
“Someone is protecting him or we’d have him already,” Lakvas continued, crossing his arms and standing up straight. “I thought it was—I went after her, but she got away.”
“I told you not to go alone. Your sentiments may have gotten in the way,” the girl chided, waving a disapproving finger at him.
“I needed to see her.”
I looked up at Rakshina, noticing the faint scar on her neck. She looked angry, probably remembering the incident.
“We should go inside. I’ll show you what I’ve prepared for the next step,” the girl said, taking his hand and leading him away from the tree.
Before they could get all the way out of the clearing he stopped her. They were out of our hearing range now, but I could see his lips moving. She smiled and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. When their lips met, Rakshina flinched as though slapped, and she turned away, unable to look as they went back into the cave together.
I pulled her further into the trees, wanting distance between her and the other sikewas. It seemed her lover had someone new, and even though Rakshina had moved on with her life, the pain on her face looked fresh. When we were far enough into the trees, looking livid.
“I shouldn’t be mad,” she hissed, stamping her food and crossing her arms in a jerky motion.
“I’m sorry,” was all I could think to say.
“This is how he stays mostly sane,” she snarled. “He’s replaced me with someone else, but she’s not his mate. I’ve never seen her before. Drekvic must have turned her after I left.”
“She looked so young,” I said sadly.
Rakshina just shrugged. “I wish I hadn’t held back,” she said, hitting her right fist against her left palm. “I wish I’d killed him. Why didn’t I kill him?”
“You still care about him.”
“I could have taken him to the Beyond.” She was about to say more, but stopped when a sharp pain in my stomach forced me to double over, gasping for air.
“Ellie?” she asked, putting a hand on my back as I struggled to remember how to breathe. Warning bells clanged in my head, pushing away all other thoughts as I desperately tried to figure out why my magic would do this.
Then I remembered the wards.
“We have to get back. Something is happening at my house,” I said, my chest growing tight. “Drekvic is there alone.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The front door was open, swinging loosely on its hinges in the cold wind. I ran up the porch steps, hardly pausing as I rushed inside the foyer. The shelf by the door was crushed, my books scattered across the floor, pages torn. From what I could see, the living room wasn’t much better. Thankfully, it looked like the wards for my office held.
“Drekvic?” I called, moving quickly into the house to get a better view of the living room.
“Ellie, stay back!” The voice that shouted out to me wasn’t Drekvic, but Chester, and I moved faster, rounding the corner to the open dining area.
Drekvic was under the table in a frightening pool of blood. His chest rose and fell, but his eyes were closed, and I couldn’t be certain the blood was his.
Chester stood by Drekvic’s feet, a shield at the read. Four red welts ran down his cheek, and his hair was wild around his face. His clothes were torn and bloody, his magic glowing a brilliant green.
Something hit the shield, crumpling it like a tin can. Chester fell to one knee, but didn’t break. The energy in the room crackled as I felt something grab my arm. Rakshina hauled me backwards, pulling me behind her. I wanted to protest, but it was all I could do to hold my footing as the room shook and a large blast of energy slammed into me.
Rakshina fell into me and I stumbled backwards, landing awkwardly on the two-seater . She was on top of me, crushing my leg, and I tried to shove her away. Panic began to settle in as I tried to push toward Chester. I couldn’t let anything happen to him.
“Stay down,” Rakshina hissed, moving in front of me again.
Any kind thoughts about her protecting me were drowned out by the glass sound of Chester’s shield shattering to the ground. His cry tore at my heart and I bolted around Rakshina, throwing my own magic out to protect them as I ran forward.
The force of the shade hitting my barrier knocked the wind out of me and I stumbled, hitting the edge of the dining table. I could see the attacker now—an older woman with wild silver hair and manic white eyes. She slammed into my barrier over and over again, her gaze locked on Drekvic.
“Get away from her!” Rakshina shouted, her voice echoing in the room like a Drill-Sargent’s command. The ghost paused, turning toward her with a wide-eyed gaze. She exposed her teeth in a smile that looked absolutely insane.
“He told me I could rest if I killed you,” it said with a voice like old sandpaper.
That was all the warning Rakshina got before the shade flew forward, slamming into Rakshina’s chest and vanishing. The siekewa collector dropped like a stone, her head making a dull thud against the wooden floor.
Dropping my barrier, I hurried forward, frantically checking to make sure she was still breathing. Jerky, like a marionette, she sat up, her head flopping backwards. I winced, trying to understand what was happening as her hand reached out and grabbed the collar of my shirt. Her long nails scratched my skin, and when I saw her other arm reaching for my neck, I realized that she was trying to strangle me.
“Rakshina!” I shouted, grabbing her wrists to push her back. Her head lurched forward, smacking against my forehead before I co
uld pull away.
For an instant I saw stars, and I dropped my hold on Rakshina in favor of putting distance between us. Before I could get far, she grabbed my ankle, her nails digging into my skin again, drawing blood. She pulled me closer, my clothes making it easy to drag me through the room.
I kicked out with my free leg, making contact with her jaw. She started screaming, an eerie sound that froze my core.
Stop being an idiot! Joy shouted at me. Get it out of her!
I reached out with my magic, recognizing Rakshina’s soul almost instantly thanks to our practice. The shade was suffocating Rakshina’s soul, breaking her light and trying to force her away from her own body.
“Get off of her,” I hissed, digging my power into the soul to forcefully pull it away. When it tried to latch on, I started cutting away at it, careful not to damage Rakshina’s soul any further. Eventually, I held the sobbing echo of a shade in my hands. I didn’t want to deal with her, but I couldn’t really leave her as she was. It was my job to make sure she got to the Beyond, and already I could feel her soul calling to me, begging to go where it was supposed to be.
“I just have to kill them,” she sobbed. “Lakvas will set me free if I kill them.”
“You don’t have to kill them,” I said softly, cradling her in my arms as I opened the first gate. The moment I tried to take her through, her mood changed again, and her furious energy pushed hard against my hold.
“I have to kill them!” she screamed, pounding against my barrier. I used Joy’s magic, just to enforce it, not wanting to over-exert her. We still had to get through six more gates.
“You can’t hurt them while I’m here,” I replied, my voice still calm.
My mind was anything but. I wanted to crush this soul like a bug on the sidewalk. She had tried to kill my friends, and if Chester was hurt I was already making plans to find her in the Beyond and wipe her out of existence.
You can’t do that, Joy admonished.
The thought makes me feel better, I snarled back as I opened the next gate.
The closer we got to the Beyond, the more the soul swung wildly from wanting to kill Rakshina and Drekvic, to just plain crying in despair. When I finally got her to the Beyond, she seemed exhausted. Her physical form manifested itself, and the old woman just stood there, gaping out at the meadow.
I flinched when I suddenly saw the color of her aura—a burnt orange smoking with dark energy. The darkness puddled at her feet, evaporating as it hit the grass. Confused, I looked at her again, trying to see her like the other collectors did.
It’s Lakvas’ power, Joy explained, catching on faster than I did. It’s draining away because darkness cannot exist here.
“You’re safe here,” I told her, forcing her to look at me. Her eyes were no longer white, but a vibrant green.
“Thank you,” she said, tears sliding freely down her cheeks. “You saved me. I was trapped. I couldn’t stop.”
“I have to go back. You’ll be safe here. He can’t touch you again,” I replied, reaching out to stroke her hair once. She smiled and nodded, and I turned to go.
When I finally landed in my living room, I saw Rakshina kneeling next to Drekvic, Chester standing off to the side looking over my back porch. Without thinking, I threw myself at Chester, wrapping my arms around his neck and in a fierce hug.
“You’re okay,” I whispered, burying my face into his chest.
He hesitated only a moment before hugging me back.
“I was afraid when you left,” he replied, his words tickling my ear. I was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Is Drekvic okay? Joy asked, tentatively. I knew she felt guilty for ruining my moment with Chester, but she was right. I should check on Drekvic, too.
I pulled away slowly, but Chester didn’t release his hold on me. He only allowed me to pull back enough to look me in the eyes.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice low and meant only for me. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I just want you to be safe.”
“Don’t apologize,” I replied, leaning in to give him another hug. He was so warm that I didn’t want to pull away. “I’m sorry, too. I was stupid to send you away.”
“Yeah, you really were,” he teased, but the gentleness of his tone just made me laugh.
I pulled away again and turned toward Rakshina and Drekvic. I wondered at his choice to let her touch him, but I only had to look at the gentleness in her face as her hands glowed with power. She had healed Chester’s stab wound as well, and that could easily have been fatal. It was odd for someone with Rakshina’s history to have such strong healing skills, but I was grateful.
Drekvic’s head rested on her lap, his eyes still closed. His chest rose and fell while she rubbed his temples, her magic weaving across his body in a dark pattern. She looked up at me as I approached, but didn’t stop her work. Her smile was tired but sincere as I dropped down next to her. Joy wanted to touch Drekvic, to confirm for herself that he was okay, but I didn’t want to interfere with Rakshina’s spell.
“Thank you,” Rakshina said, serenity in her tone for the first time since Lakvas came back into her life.
“You’re okay?” I asked, remembering how her soul had seemed crushed.
“Once the shade was gone, I could put myself back together. It’s Drekvic we should be worried about,” she said. “The shade had him a lot longer. It’s because Chester came to see you that he survived at all.”
I looked over my shoulder, but Chester had stayed across the room, still staring out the window. My brow furrowed and I frowned.
“How did he get through the first gate?”
I saw Rakshina’s shoulders tense at my question and I looked back at her, suddenly annoyed that she had kept something from me.
“Siekewa go through the gates differently than collectors,” she said, biting her lip. Her hands continued their rhythmic tracing, even as she stumbled over her words. “We can drag people through the veils rather than having to open a gate, kind of like a secret entrance.”
“You could have taken me home in the beginning,” I said dumbly, feeling stupid for never having asked her to begin with. It made sense that siekewa could get through the gates differently. They didn’t have cairns to help create keys, so, of course, they’d have another way to make it through.
“Yes, but I didn’t know you were actually stuck until you could get home on your own. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
Is he okay? Joy asked, interrupting my thoughts. I echoed her question, gesturing to Drekvic.
“He’ll be fine, but I doubt he’s going to wake up until tomorrow. He hit his head on the corner of the table when he fell. He sensed the shade coming and dragged Chester through the veil, but then collapsed. It took Chester a little bit to understand what was happening, and even longer to figure out how to get the shade out of Drekvic. He was gentler than you were,” she said, grinning wryly at me.
I felt myself blush.
“She’s always been forceful,” Chester said, making me jump at his sudden closeness. He had moved beside me, his footsteps light and silent.
I reached up to him without thinking and he took my hand, giving my fingers a tight squeeze before releasing them. I wanted him to keep touching me, but the thoughts seemed guilty in my mind, as though I was being unfair to Drekvic.
You need to stop that, I snarled at Joy, annoyed that her emotions were becoming my own. It was confusing to feel so strongly about two people.
I can’t help it! I’ve never been in love before, she cried, sounding as upset as I was. It hurts, realizing that I can’t ever be with someone like you can. I guess that’s why I’m thinking about it so much.
I frowned at her words, staring out at the interlace patterns of Rakshina’s magic. I could see where the loops and curves pulled Drekvic’s soul, teasing it to fill out his entire body. Rakshina was also giving him magic, and I knew that she would be exhausted at the end of her casting. I vowed to wait with her and put her
to bed in Jana’s old room. She would need somewhere safe to sleep.
Drekvic’s blood still pooled under the kitchen table, and the left side of his face was sticky with the stuff as it dried. With a sigh, I stood up to get some towels.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Rakshina passed out almost immediately after she finished rehabilitating Drekvic’s soul. Chester had scooped her up in his arms and taken her upstairs while I mopped the floor and cleaned up Drekvic’s wound. It was a small gash on his temple, but head wounds tended to bleed the most. Using my magic, I carried him upstairs. It took a lot of concentration, but I managed not to hit his head on the railing.
His door was shut, and I wanted to curse at him for making my life more difficult than it already was. I wasn’t sure I could concentrate on holding him up while also opening the door. Thankfully, Chester was just leaving Jana’s old room. He hurried over and pushed the door open, making room for me to pass through with Drekvic.
I dropped the man unceremoniously on his bed, and pushed his dangling arm back on the flat surface with my hands. The room was warm, so I didn’t bother making sure he was covered, but I did adjust his head to look more comfortable on the pillow. Joy was anxious that he hadn’t woken up yet, but Rakshina had claimed that he wouldn’t, and I forced her emotions as far away from mine as possible. I wanted to talk to Chester, and her constant thoughts of Drekvic didn’t mesh well with my feelings for the collector.
We went downstairs and sat in my office since the living room was in such bad shape.
“I’m sorry,” Chester mumbled, dropping down into my chair as he rubbed the back of his neck. He had washed most of the blood from his skin, but his clothes were still torn and he looked tired. “Most of the damage was me fighting off that shade once I got it out of Drekvic. She threw pretty much every object in your house at me.”
“Thank you,” I said, walking over to put a hand on his shoulder. “I would have lost him without you here.”
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