Midnight Truth (Shifter Island #4) - Leia Stone Page 0,33
and patted my shoulder. “The only way to learn about spirit is from spirit.”
Okay … that was vague and slightly terrifying. “So … if Gramps is sick, and I need to learn spirit … who is teaching my classes?”
Sariah nodded. “Your ancestors. Your mom.”
My heart thundered against my ribs so hard and so fast I thought I might faint. “But … my mom’s dead.”
Sariah nodded. “So are your ancestors. Don’t worry, it’s all been arranged by your grandfather. Every day, for the next few months, you’ll train with one of your ancestors or your mom.”
Excitement thrummed through me but also trepidation. Getting to know my mother sounded awesome, but lessons on how to harness spirit by Zia? Not so much.
“You look like you swallowed a whole bag of soul stones,” Sariah said with a laugh.
I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the only time I’d seen someone swallow a soul stone was in the Realm of the Dead, and the Keeper didn’t look sick at all but gleefully happy. Instead, I forced a smile. “So, what’s first?”
Reyna held out a crystal point, similar to the one Gramps had tossed at me in the hot springs. “Master Geoff said the crystals are energy augmenters. Each color represents a different purpose. The clear ones”—she dropped the water-clear quartz into my hand—“are to help you access the spirit realm. There are others in his office that he left for you—just in case.”
Just in case? My eyes narrowed, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask the question out loud.
Aunt Sariah gave me a sad smile and then said, “It’s probably a good thing that he planned ahead.”
Her words were layered with meaning, but I couldn’t help but wonder if these crystals … was this why he was failing so quickly?
Reyna walked me down the hall to the spirit pool’s entrance.
“Good luck today,” she said, stifling yet another yawn. “I’m going to, you know, catch up on some sleep.”
I entered the steamy cave alone this time and quickly changed into the swimsuit I’d used last time. I headed to the nearest pool and hovered over the edge of the water.
“Hello? So I just … dive right in?” I called out into the empty room, clutching the crystal in my fist. This felt so weird to just sink into this water and let my spirit go into another realm with no one watching over me. I mean, what if I drowned or got stuck or something? When no one answered, as I knew they wouldn’t, I sighed, slipping into the water with the crystal in my hand and floating up on my back.
The cavern disappeared—as in poof, gone. Only…
Instead of something else appearing, nothing did. Like my eyes were closed, or I was blind. But I couldn’t see anything. Or feel it for that matter.
Panic bubbled up inside of me. Something was wrong, only I wasn’t sure what mistake I’d made or how to fix it.
Forcing my eyes closed was a relief, for at least, this way, the darkness was my choice. Now … what had I done last time?
He’d told me to relax—not one bit of me was relaxed right now. And then he’d said to think of my favorite place. The beach!
No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than the darkness melted away. I opened my eyes to discover I was standing on the shore of a beautiful beach, the aqua waters lapping against the white sand.
But, I still needed someone here to teach me how to harness spirit magic. I thought of my ancestors who’d blessed me my first time here: Aine, Raiden, Lucia, Than, and Zia. If I could pick any one of them to help…
“Aine?” I shouted at the clear blue sky. “Aine, are you here?”
Nothing.
Damn, maybe I should have grabbed that bag of soul stones. Way to throw me to the wolves, Gramps. No pun intended.
I called out to Raiden and then Lucia, each time growing more desperate that someone appear. To make matters worse … not only could I not seem to make any of my ancestors appear, but I had no idea how to get out of here and back to the castle.
“Than?” I called, thinking of the guy dressed in a ninja suit. I waited, hoping he’d arrive, mostly because I didn’t even want to call out for Zia.
Of all of the ancestors, Zia had been the least friendly on my previous visit, as if I’d committed some personal offense against her.