Copyright © 2019 Tamara Geraeds
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cover design by Deranged Doctor Design
Editing by Samantha and Rachel, Proofreading By The Page & Ambition Editing LLC
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
What’s next?
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CHAPTER 1
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PREVIOUSLY, IN CARDS OF DEATH
A lot has happened up till now, and in case you forgot or didn’t read it, here’s a quick recap of the most important stuff.
I am Dante Banner, sixteen years old and living in Blackford, Idaho, a small town buzzing with magic, unlike most places. Half of Blackford is invisible to the non-magical eye. I didn’t know about this until I inherited a large house – Darkwood Manor – and five ghosts who live there: D’Maeo, Maël, Jeep, Taylar, and the stunning Vicky. I am their master. They are my Shield and will do anything to protect me. They cannot leave the house, unless they come with me, and if we get separated, they automatically return to Darkwood Manor after a while. Ghosts in a Shield are more solid than others, which makes them stronger fighters, but it also means they can get hurt or trapped and that they can’t always walk through walls and stuff. For instance, they have to be solid to fight, which means they will be vulnerable to weapons during battles.
It turns out I’m a Mage, which is pretty much the same as a wizard but without the pointy hat and ridiculous robes. I have the power of premonition, which is pretty nice but not very useful in a fight. Luckily, I am also a Meteokinetic, which means I can control the weather, although this does take some practice.
A battle between good and evil seems to be raging and I’m suddenly caught in the middle of it. The Devil is trying to find a way to Earth. According to an ancient – and famous – prophecy, my family is destined to stop him. More specifically: my father and grandfather were destined to fail, but I am supposed to win, being the chosen one and all that. I’m not sure how that works yet. All I know is, I received two sets of demon cards, called the Cards of Death, that showed symbols pointing to the people I was supposed to save, one soul for every set of cards. Each of those souls could help the Devil escape from Hell. Although some of my so-called friends, Paul and Simon, made this job difficult for me and my Shield, we saved both souls. Unfortunately we had to kill Simon. We have no idea where Paul is; all we know is that he’s up to no good.
Meanwhile, my mom was taken by a demon and cursed, probably as a warning for me to back off. She’s still in some sort of coma. I don’t know what I would do if I lost her, too.
I have a feeling we’ll need all our powers to win this battle. Thankfully I have my friends Charlie – also a Mage – and Quinn – an angel – to help me fight. It’s a good thing we have them, too, since my Shield and I are not at full strength. Because they are dead, their powers aren’t as reliable as they were before. On top of that, a bunch of evil ghosts are trapped in Jeep’s tattoos and Jeep sometimes gets a kind of fit when they try to escape.
I suspect every one of my ghosts has something troubling them. I just hope we can solve their problems before they interfere with our mission to save the Earth and everyone on it.
CHAPTER 1
Sitting at Mrs. Delaney’s dinner table, I scan the search results for Dante Alighieri on my phone.
“So this man was my ancestor and he wrote about Hell?” I ask, just to be sure.
D’Maeo paces the kitchen. “Well, if Mrs. Delaney says so.”
“But you’ve heard of this Alighieri guy?” I press.
“Sure, he’s famous.”
“There.” Vicky leans over my shoulder and grabs my hand to make me stop scrolling. “There it is, Dante. The Nine Circles of Hell.”
I tear my gaze from her beautiful face and focus on the screen. I scrunch up my nose. “And Mrs. Delaney thinks these are real? Why would Hell consist of circles? What does that even mean? Are they like layers, on top of each other?”
I stop talking and close my eyes when I get the feeling of being lifted off my feet. It’s like sitting in a roller coaster and going into a sudden drop. My stomach flips and I swallow. A soft breeze whistles in my ear.
“Wow, you came with me!” Vicky exclaims.
I open my eyes and grab her for support.
Darkwood Manor’s kitchen is gone. We’re standing in an attic. There’s not much light, but I can make out an old dresser, a mannequin with a straw hat and some carton boxes.
I blink a couple of times, but we’re still here. “Where are we? What happened?”
“Someone touched my grave. I get sucked into a memory and towards the Shadow World when that happens, remember?”
A strange smell hits my nostrils when I take a deep breath and I clasp my hand over my mouth. “What is that stench? Did something die in here?”
Vicky’s blue eyes grow wide. Tears appear in the corners. Suddenly she looks lost.
I throw my arms around her when she sways on her feet. “What is it? Are you sick?”
Can ghosts even get sick?
A sob escapes her and I press her black-clad slender body closer to mine. I rock her gently and kiss the top of her head.
When she finally speaks, her words are so soft that I don’t understand them.
I move my ear closer to her lips.
“It’s my grandmother,” she repeats in a whisper.
“What is your grandmother?” I ask, confused. Then it hits me. The smell. That’s what she means.
Vicky frees herself from my frozen grip. She wipes her eyes clean of very real tears.
“This is the spot where they found her. She’d been dead for several days.”
I lick my lips. “Are you saying we’re in that memory right now?”
She nods, looking around nervously. “I must have taken you with me by accident, because I was holding your hand when it happened.”
I reach for her hand and she jumps a little when I grab it.
“So where did they find your grandma exactly?” I lower my voice, although I’m not sure why.
She raises the arm I’m holding and points to a dark corner.
“Okay, stay here.”
“Wait,” she whispers urgently. “What are you going to do?”
I take another step away from her. “Well, we’re here for a reason, so I’m going to see if I can find any clues. You said the deaths of your mother and grandmother were a mystery, right? Just like yours?”
“Well… yes.”
“So let me go check it out.”
She bites her lip and I plant a quick kiss on it. “I’ll be back soon.”
Before she can argue more – and before I lose my nerve – I stick my hands out in front of me and start walking. Or shuffling, is more like it. There’s junk everywhere and the further I walk, the darker it gets. It’s like stepping into a horror movie. My whole body screams at me to turn around.
But I don’t. I want to help Vicky. She deserves to know what happened to her family and herself.
Cobwebs tickle my face and I hit my toe on a chest. The floorboards creak, not just under my feet but all around me. The hairs in my neck rise.
I yelp when a hand touches my shoulder.
“Shh, it’s just me,” Vicky says. She holds up a light. “Here, this might help.” She hands me my phone, which I must have dropped when we arrived.
“Thanks.” My voice is a bit shaky and I clear my throat. “You stay here.”
“No, I’m coming with you. It’s my memory after all.”
I frown. “Really? Did you find your grandmother here?”
She shakes her head irritably. “You know what I mean. It’s meant for me.”
My heart pounds loudly at her bravery. I want to tell her how amazing she is, but I’ve got a feeling this isn’t the right time for that. So I turn back around and take a deep breath. “Okay then. I’ll lead the way.”
Her hand slips into mine and I feel a whole lot safer.
Thanks to the flashlight on my phone, it’s not hard to swerve around the clutter now.
The penetrating smell gets worse with every step but I keep going. When I spot a leg, I come to a halt. Slowly, I move my phone up.
There she is, folded over a bunch of suitcases. Her legs dangle on one side, her head and arms on the other. A small spider is exploring the fabric of her dress.
I move the light over the floor around her. “There’s no blood.”
Vicky nods. “I know.”
“So what happened? Did she have a heart attack?”
“If she did, then how did that symbol get into her neck?”
She grabs my phone and moves closer to the body. With her jaw clenched, she reaches for her grandmother’s hair and pushes it aside.
I bend towards the symbol that is now fully visible. It’s red around the edges, like a new tattoo, but I recognize it immediately. “It’s the same as yours, isn’t it? Even in the same place,” I whisper.
Slowly I bring my hand closer to it and follow the lines, starting with the small I attached to the larger one. I press the large raindrop at the bottom.
“What is it?” Vicky asks. “What do you feel?”
“It’s pulsing. It’s barely noticeable, like the purring of a cat.”
Her eyebrows shoot up and I shrug. “I don’t know how else to describe it.”
“How do you think it got there?”
I wipe my hand on my trousers and stare at the symbol for a minute. “It wasn’t carved in. It must have been magic.”
“That’s what I thou-“
“Hello?” a voice suddenly shouts out. “Mary?”
The creaking of the stairs indicates someone coming.
My gaze meets Vicky’s. “Are we visible?”
“I don’t think so. We’re not really here after all.”
We take a step back from the body and listen to the footsteps approaching.
The door is pushed open slowly and a pale, wrinkled man peeks in. “Mary?” His eyes sweep the attic. “Are you in here?” He squints and reaches for a light switch I wish I’d found before.
For a moment we’re all blinded by the sudden brightness. Then he gasps and grabs his heart.
I hold up my hands in defense. “It wasn’t us. We found her like this.”
“Shh, Dante, he can’t see us,” Vicky whispers.
I drop my arms, but keep an eye on the old man. “Are you sure?”
“Oh no! Mary!” The pale man rushes forward. He almost trips over boxes and other junk on his way.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Vicky says, almost inaudibly.
I bend over to her. “Then why are you whispering?”
She takes another step back. “Because this feels wrong.”
I put my arm around her while we watch the man kneel in front of Vicky’s grandmother. “No, oh no.” He shakes his head violently. “I knew I shouldn’t have left you alone. I knew we were onto something."
He looks up and blinks away his tears. For a moment I think he can see me, but he’s just staring sadly into the distance. The pain on his face makes the hairs in my neck stand up again.
As I look into his eyes, a strange sensation flows washes over me. “I know this man.”
Vicky turns her attention to me. “What? How? You weren’t even born yet in this year. And this man is like…” She waves her hand in his direction, “seventy years old.”
“Yeah, maybe he just looks like someone I know.”
We both bow our heads when the old man lifts Mary’s hand and kisses it. “I will avenge you, my sweet Mary. They will pay for what they did to you and I will make sure they will never harm anyone else ever again. And I will continue our search, my love.”
I gasp. “Wait, is this your grandfather?”
Vicky shakes her head. “No, he died young. My mother once told me about another man who worshipped the ground my grandmother walked on, but there are no pictures of him.”
“Well, this must be him.”
The man puts his hands together and lifts his head to the ceiling. “Dear God, please help me fight the Devil. Help me protect all the innocents and keep this world safe. Amen.”
My heart stings at his words. This man doesn’t have a bad bone in his body, yet he has just lost the person he loves most. My hands ball into fists at the thought of the unfairness of it all. Mom and Vicky are just like him. They want to do good, make people happy, yet they suffer more than others. If there is a God, why doesn’t he help people like them?
Before I can finish my thought, a rainbow appears in the corner of the attic. It rises to the ceiling, covering everything beneath it in specks of colored light.
The old man smiles and closes his eyes. His body seems to light up from within.
“Thank you, God. I will not disappoint you.” He stands up, straighter than before, and takes a deep breath. A tear escapes his eyes as he looks down on Mary. “Goodbye, my love. One day we will be reunited.”
With light steps he walks back to the door. A second later, darkness falls upon us and his footsteps retreat.
For a while we just stand there, lost for words.
Finally Vicky speaks up. Her voice is hoarse with emotion. “That was beautiful.”
I’m about to agree, when I notice some kind of mist creeping towards us. “What is that?”
Vicky’s body tightens. “The Shadow World.”
I squeeze her closer to me. “We don’t want to go there again, do we? Why are we walking towards it?”
“We’re not. It is moving closer to us.”
“Well, let’s get out of here.” I grab her hand, turn and pull her with me.
But the mist comes in from all directions. It rises from the ground, leaning towards us, reaching out.
I duck to avoid it. “How long do you usually stay in a memory?” I ask, looking around for a way out.
“I don’t know, it’s different every time.”
“Has this ever happened before?”
She jumps back as the mist dives
at her. “No, but it has been getting closer with each memory.”
While I hold on to her with one hand, I hit myself on the cheek with the other as hard as I can. It has no effect. The rules of dreams don’t apply here.
The gray mist rises around us quickly. Wisps sway from side to side, like snakes assessing their prey. I try to follow them with my eyes, but there are too many of them. The air around us gets thick as they box us in.
I pull Vicky’s arm to get her attention. “On three we jump through it.”
She nods and I start counting. “One… two…”
On three, the mist swoops down on us from all sides. Everything is blurry and it feels like I’m suffocating. My head spins and Vicky’s hand slips from mine.
“No!” I yell, but the sound is sucked into the void.
I have no control over my body. It is pulled away. All energy drains from me, making it impossible to fight. A thousand hands pull at me. Their cold touch numbs my limbs.
I don’t want to fight anymore. Closing my eyes, I drift away.
CHAPTER 2
“Dante? Are you here?”
A beautiful voice wakes me from my slumber. My eyelids are glued together. When I force them open, I see that I am still surrounded by impenetrable mist. Raising my head is difficult, it’s so heavy.
Tentatively, I move my fingers. They are numb from the cold and feel like they don’t belong to my body.
“Dante? Please answer me.”
She sounds desperate. I open my mouth to call out, but a sliver of mist crawls in and cuts of all oxygen.
I gurgle. My fingers grasp for a weapon. They are the only parts of my body moving. The rest of it just lies there frozen. I want to reach for my power core, but I can’t remember where to find it.
“Don’t forget, it’s not real!” Vicky shouts.
Not real? Then why am I choking?
“Fight it! Fight it with your mind,” her words echo.
Okay. I’m not choking. This mist is not real, it can’t hurt me.
It doesn’t help. My body convulses with the effort to breathe. Everything tingles. I can feel the cold, empty mist taking over my body. It moves my arm and pushes my body upright.
The Third Sin Page 1