Bone Dry_ A Soul Shamans Novel - Cady Vance Page 0,67

would work.

After I held my backpack upside down and let the contents spill to the floor, I turned the spell book to the right page. Laura jumped off the bed and sat down on the floor next to me, gazing open-mouthed at the crinkly paper.

The paper had a blue stamp next to the rune so I grabbed a blue candle. For protection—that was a good sign. Then, I went through my regular spell motions. Lighting the candle, drawing the rune, pricking my thumb and dripping the blood onto the paper.

Then, I sat there for a moment, wondering what I should do next. Did I need to choose something to conceal? And if so, how did I mark it as the object to hide?

Laura squealed, and I jumped, sending the paper flying into the air. I grabbed it and looked up to see her eyes round and mouth opened in a big O.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, even though I knew nothing could be wrong if she looked that happy.

She reached out, and her fingers brushed my arm. “I can’t see you!”

Nathan reached a hand toward me, too, and his fingers grazed my face. Heat flamed my cheeks, and I was glad he couldn't see the red threading up my neck. “Me either. It’s like…I can tell something is there. But I can’t really. It’s like this weird mixture of light and shadow. If I didn't know you were there, I would have no idea.”

I glanced down at myself, seeing my jean-clad legs crossed under me. “I can see myself just fine.”

“Trust me,” Laura said. “We can’t see you. There’s some crazy trick of the light going on or something. When you move, I see shadows, but that’s it.”

I let her words sink in. I was invisible. No one could see me, at least not in any sort of true form. Maybe helping Megan and Jason would work after all. If the shamans couldn’t see us, they couldn’t hurt us.

“Okay, looks like this experiment is a success.” I held the parchment over the flame. “I’m coming back now. Let's hope this is how to get me visible again.”

When the flame licked the paper, I felt a light tingling. I hadn’t noticed the change before, too distracted by Laura’s squealing and Nathan’s fingers. But it had been there. Subtle. And sweet. It was the kind of magic I was used to. The kind I’d done with my mom. Not like the magic I'd done earlier today.

"So weird,” Laura said. “It was like a cloud rolled out of the way, and there you were.”

“That’s one seriously cool spell.” Nathan stood and helped me up from the floor. His fingers closed around mine, and I didn’t want to let go. But if he knew what I'd done, I didn’t think he’d be so quick to tell me how cool my spells were. I wondered if he’d even be willing to help me tonight. Because without a doubt, Nathan was one of the Good Guys. And I could never see him summoning a spirit into someone’s bedroom.

“You guys ready to go?” I looked back and forth between them. Laura nodded, determination in the set of her jaw.

“Can I talk to you for a minute before we head out?” Nathan asked, his hand touching my elbow. I nodded and turned slightly away, still feeling guilty about what I'd done and what he’d think about me if he knew. I thought he wouldn’t notice me pulling away, but I could tell by the way his face fell he did.

Laura shuffled by us and grabbed my backpack from the floor. “I’ll just head to the car…”

When Laura was out of sight, Nathan turned to me, his green eyes roaming across my face. My heart sped up, and memories of kissing in the rain flashed through my mind. His sweet, soft lips. After everything that had happened today, I just wanted to feel his arms wrapped tight around me. It was like he was a magnetic force, and being close to him made the world tilt right again.

“Holly.” He tugged a stray strand of my long brown hair. “Something wrong?”

“Yes,” I said, voice barely above a whisper.

“What is it?” he asked. “You can tell me, you know.”

“I know.” I looked up at how he towered over me and tried to read his eyes for a sign he wouldn’t hate me if I told him everything else about me. About conning our classmates. About summoning the spirit. “I’m just not a