by Leia Stone
Donovan shook his bowed head and mumbled, “That’s not healthy.”
Geoff snorted with laughter, and he looked ten years younger, beaming at the boy. “That’s very true, but she’s had a bad day.”
My cousin pursed his lips and looked down at his half-eaten chocolate cupcake. He took a deep breath and then, raising his gaze to mine, he thrust the remaining portion out to me. “Nai,” he said, nodding at me gravely. “Family.”
My heart pinched, and my throat clogged up with emotion. In my peripheral vision, I saw Grandpa step deeper into the kitchen, moving toward the other cupcakes as if he knew I wouldn’t want the half-eaten one Donovan offered.
“Oh, dear one,” Gramps said to my cousin, moving toward the counter where the fresh cakes were lined up. “Nai might want a fresh—”
Was I going to eat a half-slobbered-on cupcake so that I wouldn’t hurt my sweet new cousin’s feelings? You bet your ass I was.
With tears in my eyes, I took the half-eaten cupcake and shoved the entire thing into my mouth. The sweet chocolate kissed my tastebuds, and the cake’s tender crumb was probably the best thing I’d had since I left Montana. “Mmm,” I moaned with my mouth full. “Delish! It’s so goo—”
Donovan burst into laughter, a fully free I-don’t-care-what-people-think laugh, and the sound was like liquid sunshine. It warmed my heart, causing me to grin as well.
“Shouldn’t talk with your mouth full,” he admonished with a side-eyed look at our grandfather. “Don’t tell on her, okay, Pappy? She didn’t know.”
Geoff rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched as if he were trying to suppress his own laughter. “I suspect it won’t matter this once.” Grandpa looked at me. “Annette is very kind, and she does her best to teach manners to everyone in the house—including me and your aunt.”
I swallowed the cake and then licked the remaining frosting from my fingers rather than wipe them on my dress.
“Well, I’ll try to remember any scrap of etiquette I can,” I said, raising my eyebrows before I turned my attention back to my cousin. “Thank you, that cupcake was really yummy.” I winked at him.
“Family,” he grinned, nodding his head, like seeing me happy made him happy. Truthfully, seeing him happy made my own heart float in my chest.
“More cupcakes?” he asked, turning to Grandpa Geoff.
Geoff rolled his eyes. “Oh, all right.” Holding up his pointer finger, he said, “You may have one more because you shared with Nai.”
Donovan waved for me to join him. “Let’s have more chocolate.”
“Sorry,” Grandpa said, stepping to my side. “Nai and I have work to do.”
My cousin nodded somberly. “Be safe.” He stared at my feet. “When you come back, we’ll have chocolate.”
My eyes welled with tears. “Thanks.”
I instantly loved him. I loved everything about him and this place. For the first time since leaving Montana, I felt like I’d come home.
Gramps led us back out into the hallway we’d been walking down before Donovan had called out for him.
“He’s so sweet,” I said, running to catch up.
Gramps nodded. “Seeing the world through Donovan’s eyes has been one of the greatest joys of my long life. His mind might not make connections like yours or mine, but he has the best heart: loyal, honest, and kind.”
His eyes grew misty, and I swallowed hard to contain my own emotions as my heart squeezed.
Shifters didn’t get diseases—and we rarely developed disabilities. With our rapidly healing genetics, physical or mental disabilities were just really rare.
“He’s three-quarters human, one-quarter high mage,” Gramps said as if reading my mind. “With being raised in the mortal world, you’d be familiar with autism. That’s the closest thing I can think of to relate this to.”
“He’s perfect,” I assured my grandfather, but the sadness in his expression remained. The only knowledge I had about autism was what I’d read in school, but I could imagine that Donovan wasn’t all chocolate and smiles all of the time.
“We love him very much,” Geoff assured me. “In fact, I’m confident we’ve learned more from him than he has from us.”
Before I could fully digest that last statement, Gramps stopped in front of a set of wooden double doors, smaller than the ones in the foyer, but the wood was polished and smooth. He then turned to face me. “Before I declare you my heir, you’ll need to meet our ancestors and get their blessing. Considering the circumstances, they’ll manage much of your spirit training.”
Okay. My brain was on overload, and his words made no sense. At this point, I’d just roll with it. I forced a smile.
“Whatever I can do to help so that Kian and the others don’t get your power…” I told him.
Gramps smiled tightly. “Once I start your initiation as my heir, Kian cannot refuse your entrance to High Mage Academy, assuming you pass your initiation test. Then you’ll be allowed to attend school for training with the other high mage students and then become my rightful heir.”
Initiation test?
I shook my head. Best to not even touch that one right now.
“Great. Let’s get started.” The sooner I passed this part, the sooner I could get back and make things right with Rage.
He nodded but didn’t move to open the door, his eyes reflecting some sort of unease. There was something else there, a look I couldn’t interpret.
“What?” I asked, trepidation worming through me.
He winced. “The blessing is … powerful, and if you aren’t … well, it could be dangerous.”
Of course. But there was no way I’d let Kian and the others raise the dead or take my grandfather’s power. “There aren’t any other options, right? And you think I’m our best hope at stopping crazy-Kian and his cohorts, so … I’ve got this. Let’s do it.”
He patted my shoulder. “I think you’ll be fine.” Then he turned, and it sounded like he said, “I hope.”
Great.
Without another word, he pushed open the double doors.
Steam billowed out into the stone hallway, the dense moisture temporarily hiding the contents of the room. What the…?
As the vapor cleared, I peered into the space … and gasped.
I don’t know what I expected to see. A gym room with a training mat and punching bag maybe, or dummy targets for knives, but not this.
The room, if it could be called such, was almost cave-like, except the walls and ceiling were all a hazy glass like a greenhouse. The floor was uneven stone, and a path wove through the cavern toward where the source of the billowing haze originated. I followed Grandpa into the space, kicking several gray pebbles from the path. Little patches of green moss were scattered over the stone. It was like we had stepped outside, but we were still in the house.
In the center of the room were two small pools of water, one beside the other. Moonlight bled through frosted windows, casting shafts of illumination through the condensation and across the water, which bubbled and steamed.
“Whoa.”
Gramps smiled. “Our estate was built around this hot spring. The water is magic as you’ll soon see.”
Right then I didn’t care if there were piranhas in there. I wanted to slip into that water and let the heat leach the tension from my body.
My grandfather pointed to a shoulder-high wall of rock that served as a privacy area. “You’ll find a couple swimsuits hanging on pegs on the other side. Reyna uses them if she needs to accompany me. Hopefully, they fit.”
“Okay, be right back.” I wandered toward the changing area while reaching for the zipper on my dress. I dropped my shoes and pulled the zipper down the back of my dress as I circled the corner.
There were two one-piece swimsuits and a pair of boardshorts. I pulled on the nearest one piece and then the shorts, cinching the waist as tight as it would go. The dark red suit was so not my jam, but it was better than my white push-up bra and undies.
&nbs
p; The warm, moist air kissed my skin as I adjusted myself to make sure everything was covered.
The water beckoned me, and I wound my way back to the pools.
Still wearing his spirit master robe, Grandpa Geoff pulled out a palm-size black bag with several small lumps inside. “You’ll need these at first to contact your ancestors,” he said, holding it out to me; the lumps clicked against one another like stones or glass. “Tuck it into a pocket, or tie it on to your suit. You need to have it on your person.”
Then he pointed to the larger of the two pools. “There’s a ledge of stone on one side that will act like a bench.”
Reaching out, I took the black pouch from him, trying to ignore the nerves in my stomach.
Okay. Magic rocks on my person. I shoved them in the back pocket of the shorts. Check.
“Are you going to be joining me?” I looked at his robe, wondering if he was going to change as well.
“Not this time,” he said, smiling at me with a hint of sadness. “But I’ll be right outside the pool to make sure you’re safe.”
That was nice. I dipped my foot into the water and then slid inside fully, securing the small pouch inside a zippered pocket on my boardshorts. As soon as I was submerged, the heat wrapped me in its embrace, and I sank onto the ledge with a sigh and then wiggled to move the bag of rocks so I wasn’t sitting on any of them.
“Are you comfortable?” Grandpa asked.
“Mmm-hmm.” I rested my head against the paver stone behind me and closed my eyes. “If I were any more comfortable, I’d be asleep.”
“Excellent. Now. Take a deep breath, Nai, and let go.”
Okay. Maybe he was going to lead me in guided mediation or something. Mother Mage knew I needed therapy. Probably a lot of it.
Exhaling, I opened my eyes and stared up at the night sky through the glass windowpanes. My body lifted from the bench and floated to the surface of the pool. My ears filled with water, muting the sounds around me.
Then my mind started to spin.
What would Rage be doing right now? Probably looking for me. Guilt bubbled up with the thought. Was Honor okay with Reyna? Kaja was going to freak out when she found out I’d disappeared—
‘Once you’re relaxed, think of your favorite place,’ Geoff said, speaking into my mind.
I tried … really I did. But now that my mind was churning, I couldn’t seem to make it stop, let alone imagine a beach or mountain cabin or anything else serene. ‘I’m having a tough time focusing.’
‘I was afraid that might happen,’ he said. ‘Don’t worry, I came prepared.’
‘Prepared with what?’ I asked. Unwilling to have any more surprises, I glanced toward him, but he was fumbling in his robe, not looking at me.
And he didn’t answer.
Of course.
I pulled myself upright just in time to see Grandpa Geoff toss something … at me, or rather the pool I was in. A beam of moonlight reflected off the object—
The crystal from his office!
I lunged forward to catch it, but the water slowed my movement, and with a soft splash, the crystal disappeared beneath the surface of the hot spring.
Frustration bubbled up in my chest, and I wanted to mutter “nice throw,” but I reined in my emotions once more. Yelling at Gramps wouldn’t help … but I was tired and not in the mood to dive under really hot water and hunt for a crystal.
I blinked, and the heavy mist in the room cleared—there and then gone.
What the Mage?
The smell of sunbaked sand filled my next breath. Warm air lifted the ends of my hair—my dry hair, and I stared out over the expanse of turquoise water to where the sun kissed the horizon, leaving the clouds above me pink and violet.
What the mage?
I did a full spin, totally caught off guard by my instant transportation to another world. Note to self: that was one powerful magic crystal.
Waves lapped at the beach, soothing my frayed nerves, and a gull cawed above. I glanced to my right and then my left, but the beach was empty except for me.
The area seemed vaguely familiar, but I had no idea where this beach was. It wasn’t anywhere I’d been on Alpha Island or the beach near the ferry…
I rotated in a circle again, shaking my head. Well, I was no longer in the pool of water and no longer in the strange cavern-like room attached to the castle. In fact, I was sure I wasn’t even on High Mage Island anymore.
A cacophony of voices suddenly exploded to my right as five people popped into existence, not even ten paces away from me. They all looked to be in their mid-thirties, and they all appeared to have the same silvery blond hair as me—even the one wearing a head-to-toe black ninja costume straight out of a Halloween catalogue. He had silvery wisps sticking out from under the fabric covering his head.
“Geoff said beach clothes, Than,” a young woman in a skimpy lavender bikini said, shaking her head, which made her shoulder-length curls fan out. She pointed to the person dressed like a ninja. “Why would you—?”
“I know what he said,” Than, the ninja-guy, snapped, waving his hand in a clear indication of dismissal. “But I wasn’t about to stop and change clothes again. Last time he told us to be ready, he didn’t show up for a dozen years—and then he came alone.”
“He’s not even here, Lucia,” another young woman said, this one in a black one-piece and sheer cover-up.
“His time is almost over,” another guy said, this one wearing bright green boardshorts with a white hibiscus print. He glanced at his watch and shook his head. “If he doesn’t declare his heir soon—”
“Hush,” the third young woman said as her gaze landed on me. Her white eyelet sundress reached her ankles, but the halter style V dipped almost to the base of her sternum, revealing the curve of her breasts just like a swimsuit would. She wore her silvery wavy hair pulled into a low side ponytail. Petite and thin, she was by far the smallest of the group and, by all appearances, the youngest. However, her icy green eyes were filled with intensity, and the group grew silent with her command. Still staring at me, she raised her hand and pointed at me. “She’s here.”
“Uh … hi,” I said with a lame wave.
The silence stretched into Awkwardville as they just stared at me like I had three heads. Lovely.
“My name is Nai. My grandfather, Geoff Drudner”—my stomach sank with the overwhelming sense of impossibility at what I had to accomplish, but I gritted my teeth and plowed forward—“sent me here to meet my ancestors—you, I assume. I’m his heir.”
The woman in the white eyelet dress wrinkled her nose and sniffed like my words smelled rancid. Then she turned her back on me.
Huh?
“Oh, Zia, stop it!” Lucia, the young woman in lavender, waved at the woman in white and then cocked her head to the side, and her brow furrowed as she studied me. “Where’s Geoff?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. He said he wasn’t coming this time or something.”
Fatigue made it impossible to recall his actual words, and these people didn’t look like they were expecting me, so this was uber awkward.
“Is he still alive?” Lucia asked, her eyes widening, and her lip trembled.
I freaking hoped so!
“Yes,” I replied, but her question sent a punch to my guts. “He sent me here just now.”
“Why wouldn’t he come too? How are you his heir?” Ninja-Than asked, pulling the black sock thing off his head. His eyes were the same color green as Zia’s. “I thought Elia was … before she died.”
I had no idea why Gramps didn’t come, but I’d already said as much, so I focused on what I did know. “Elia was my mother. Gramps said I had to meet you for some blessing or initiation before we could put my name in some scroll or a book.” Tension and exhaustion were making my brain mush. “Listen, it’s been a pretty stressful day—or week rather—so I might’ve missed some detail, but I am who I say I am. Can you help me?”
The young woman in black swallowed, a
nd her eyes filled with tears, which she quickly blinked away. When she spoke, her voice trembled. “Of course we believe you. We just thought … all hope was lost. My name is Aine.” She pointed to the man wearing boardshorts. “This is Raiden.” She continued to point and introduce everyone. “Lucia, Than, and Zia.”
Each of them stepped forward to shake my hand—except for Zia.
Rude.
“So…” I offered them a tentative smile. “You’re going to teach me how to master spirit?”
Raiden checked his watch again and frowned. “We can start lessons tomorrow—after you’ve finished initiation.”
“You mean if she finishes,” Zia muttered, her back still to me.
I narrowed my eyes at the young woman but decided to ignore her passive aggressiveness—for now.
“So … what do I need to do for this initiation?” I tried to move this along. “I want to make sure I get back in time for Grandpa—”
“The initiation comes after your name is in the scrolls,” Than said, shaking his head. “You’re here for our blessing.”
Right. I was almost too tired to care.
Can we just get on with it?
Aine sighed and stepped forward. “Geoff must be very sick to not have accompanied you. I can’t believe he’s not here.”
Okay, they were legit freaking me out about Grandpa, and my patience was wearing thin. I pulled the black satchel out of my pocket. “He gave me these”—I shook the bag—“had me get in the hot spring, and then tossed a crystal into the water.”
All five of them flinched when I shook the bag of stones.
“Be careful with those!” Lucia grabbed my wrist with one hand and pressed the other to her chest like she might faint.
I winced. “Sorry.” I withdrew my hand from Lucia and then gingerly placed the bag back in my pocket.
Than shook his head. “Geoff has obviously told her nothing,” he muttered, his gaze jumping from one member of their group to the next. “The girl just shook our soul stones like they were dice.”
“Soul stones!” I gulped as the air whooshed from my lungs. Then, with an epiphany, my eyes widened. “Your soul stones?”
Wait a minute. Hadn’t the Keeper said something about soul stones … before he swallowed the stone my grandfather gave me to bargain my way out of the Realm of the Dead?