Beauty's Beast - By Jenna Kernan Page 0,75

to his chest and holding her.

“They’re dropping, too,” cried Owen.

Alon patted Samantha’s pale cheek. “Wake up, Sam. Please, wake up.”

Instead he watched her soul seep from her body, like mist rising from a meadow.

“No!” he howled. Alon was on his feet in an instant. He knew now what had happened. Nagi had done this. He had broken every law in both worlds and harvested the souls of the living.

Nagi had gone too far. And he would pay for this outrage. But how to defeat one who is invulnerable? Now, there was the crux of it all.

“Look,” said Ophelia. “Their souls are all escaping.”

Before them a mist of souls slipped from the bodies of the fallen.

“Why aren’t we dead?” asked Owen, patting his chest to assure himself that he was still corporeal.

“It doesn’t work on us,” growled Alon.

“Why not?” asked Owen.

“Don’t know. Don’t care. I’m going to kill him and then I’m going to retrieve their souls.”

The twins spoke at once.

“All of them?” squeaked Ophelia.

“He’s immortal,” reminded Owen.

“He’s already tried to kill us and failed. Maybe we don’t die, either.”

“We die,” said Owen. “I witnessed our enemies kill Gail and Gregory. And I saw Nagi murder the deserters among his ranks. We die, Alon.”

“How do we kill him?” asked Ophelia, ready to join Alon.

Alon was already flying across the distance that separated them. He summoned all his remaining energy, determined to take his father’s soul—if he had one.

In the valley, Nagi’s troops turned to watch him. The silence of the battlefield added to Alon’s fury. Nagi would win. He knew it. Still he raced over the uneven ground, straight at the billowing rain cloud that was his sire.

So this was the great Nagi, Ruler of the Realm of Ghosts, stealer of innocent souls. This was the creature that had forced his essence on innocent humans and created him. This monster.

Alon struck at his sire with all the self-loathing in his heart. The energy that shot from Alon’s fingers was strong enough to steal a mortal’s soul. The power collided with Nagi’s vaporous body.

He writhed and then turned his yellow eyes on Alon.

“You dare attack me?”

In answer, Alon hit him again.

This time Alon saw a small wisp, a trace of Nagi’s essence, leave his body and evaporate into the air. The mark, the tiny nick that was no bigger than the bite of a field mouse, quickly disappeared in the rolling smoke that was his father’s earthly body. The similarity between Nagi’s shape and Alon’s flying form sickened Alon. He hit him again.

“Stop that!” said Nagi.

Had Alon actually caused this Spirit some discomfort? Had he caused harm? Alon felt a surging of hope. He hit him again.

Nagi flinched and then recovered.

“Does it hurt you, Father?”

“No more than a bee sting to a bear. You cannot harm me. Stop or I shall end you.”

He didn’t. Alon struck again. As his energy wave struck Nagi, one more hit landed from a different direction. He turned to see Aldara shocking Nagi from his right. Then more stings hit and more. His army had followed and all of the Ghost Children struck with their soul-harvesting force, the gift inherited from their sire, using his power against him.

“Stop!” Nagi bellowed. But he writhed now, billowing and contracting as the stings hit him, sending tiny traces of smoke hissing from him.

He was right. A single bee cannot stop a bear. But a nest of hornets will send any creature fleeing. Alon struck again. Beside him, Aldara attacked.

“You killed Blake! I hate you!”

“Kill them,” cried Nagi to his dwindling troops.

But they did not move to stop Alon’s army. Instead several rose cloudlike into the air and joined the attack.

“Traitors!” Nagi turned to retreat.

Alon pursued. The others followed.

“Run, Father! Run back to the Realm of Ghosts and know that if you come again your children will be waiting to send you home. This is the harvest you reap.”

Nagi turned to face them once more. “You fools. We could have ruled them all. You are their masters. Instead you act as their slaves.”

Alon hit him again. “This world is for the living.”

Nagi writhed. “Who will harvest the evil ghosts without me?”

Alon spoke. “We will. We need you no longer.”

The others roared their assent.

“Enough!” Nagi bellowed. “I go! But none of you will ever cross the Ghost Road. When you leave this world you come to me.”

Alon knew it was true, and it only enraged him more. He struck again but Nagi was already gone.

“Hurry,” cried Aldara. “Before their souls leave the