without all ego. Your sole purpose is to serve, and you do so without expecting anything in return. You shed your body and become healing light. Once you do that, you enter the body of the person or cat. He tried for a little humor when he was now wishing he hadn’t made the suggestion. You can examine them from the inside. If the mages left anything in her, you will see it. If you do, come back out and share with me. The experience might leave you very tired and in need of blood.
Her eyes met his. “I know I can do it. She wants me to find whatever it is and remove it. I can, Isai.” She switched her attention to the male cat. “Phantom, I’ve never tried this before but if it works, she will be free of whatever they left behind. Give me a few minutes to get it right.”
He didn’t like her sharing anything at all with the shadow cat. He seemed too far gone already. He wanted to protect his female, and the only way to do that was to follow whatever command he had been given.
The male suddenly swung his head away from Julija and snarled, pulling his lips back to expose his teeth. Comet had come up behind him. Phaedra slipped between the male and Julija. Belle stayed right beside Phaedra, closing an invisible gate to Julija. The only hope Phantom had to reach her was to leap over the cats, exposing his belly to them. Behind him, Comet prowled, but it was Blue that worried him the most. The big cat was nowhere in evidence.
“Hurry, Julija, if you are going to do it,” Isai encouraged.
She didn’t hesitate. Once she made up her mind to do something, she was determined. It took three tries to shed her body in the Carpathian way. It was difficult for anyone new at it to let go of all ego and become pure healing spirit. She had no problem entering the little female cat’s body. She was used to merging with Isai and used the same seamless method.
Isai stayed merged with her, just in case she got into trouble. He didn’t want her distracted, so he stayed quiet, not giving her any advice, just remaining as an observer. He was impressed with her way of quartering the body, looking for something off. She made her first pass without finding anything, but she was patient and she went back to the cat’s spine and rib cage. Her white-hot spirit illuminated the entire skeletal structure.
Do you see it, Isai? There is a dark spot, very thick, on the underside of her spine. It’s about an inch thick and three inches wide.
He didn’t like the sound of that. He didn’t want her to get too close. Pull back, Julija. If it is some kind of explosive, you might detonate it.
She didn’t argue with him. Instead, she pulled completely out of the cat and wiped at the sweat on her head. She appeared to be reeling, her body trembling with the effort she’d made.
“Let me try something else now that I know where it is.” Without explaining, she lifted her hands, one curling around the cat right over the spot, the other waving in the air gracefully. She began chanting.
That which is hidden, now bring to light,
So that I may see what is inside.
Light to dark, dark to light,
Revealing all which would hide from sight.
Once more, she shed her body and entered the little female cat. Isai, merged as he was, continued to keep an eye on the agitated male. His rumbling protest rose as the other cats kept him from his prey and his mate.
The dark spot was once more back in the light. Now, it was no longer just a spot. It was clearly a very tiny bomb placed within the female’s body. In his mind Isai heard Julija murmur another spell. This one seemed to access the memory of the inner workings of the bomb.
Shade to shadow, shadow to dark,
Reveal to me your working parts.
Show me that which is hidden away from light,
So I may see your working mind.
For just a few moments, the case was laid open, allowing them to see the contents. The blast would radiate outward in a starburst pattern, at least, it appeared so to him. He could see the simple mechanism that the mages had attached inside the cat’s spine. It was counting down. It wouldn’t matter what Phantom did