Bone Dry_ A Soul Shamans Novel - Cady Vance Page 0,70

Megan’s house.

It clearly wasn’t happy we were here.

And then Laura and I stood, still in the Borderland, shadows and colors moving in fast circles like some kind of disco ball.

The second rune—the one that had let the spirit loose in the entire house—was right where Megan had told me it was. Carved deeply into the floor of the hallway on the second floor. Blood stained the wood where the shamans had cast the spell. I hadn’t been able to wrap my head around all this yet. Why had they started in Megan’s room and then moved to the rest of the house? Why hadn’t they started here in the first place?

“So, here’s my idea.” I squatted next to the rune. “You go down to the first floor. I’ll scratch out the rune, then run to the top floor. When one of us sees the spirit, we’ll start banishing it. Since we’re anchored, I’ll feel if you’re doing it. You’ll feel if I’m doing it. That way, we can combine our magic and banish it together without running all over the place.” I looked up at Laura. “I think that will work.”

“Alright, let’s try it.” She gave a mock salute and jogged down the curling staircase.

Alone again, I took a few deep breaths before I brought out the knife. Knowing that Laura was still there, connected to me, even though she was rooms away, kept me centered. I’d been tackling so much by myself the past year, and it felt good to be a part of something. Part of a team.

I canceled out the rune as quickly as I could, then stood up, determined to find the spirit. Cold still churned, but the spirit was nowhere to be seen through the shadows and rainbow-colored angles of the Borderland. As I headed toward the staircase, a rush of amazement washed over me. Until today, I hadn’t walked around while partially inside this world, and I felt detached from the Earth even though I could feel my feet touching the floor. The ground just felt different. Like a big squishy sponge. I wondered if this was how Mom felt all the time.

I moved up to the third floor, and through our bond, felt Laura down on the first. Her movements were snail-like, same as me. We were both being cautious, but it was more that making our way through this murky plane wasn’t something either of us felt comfortable with yet.

Just then, the spirit rushed past, and my feet moved faster out of instinct.

Then, it rushed back again, down the stairs. I spun around, confused, hesitating in the middle of the hall, not sure what I should do. Laura’s emotions surged through me as the spirit passed her. Her magic sprang forth, building up her banishing spell.

She must not have been fast enough because I felt her frustration a moment later, just before the spirit flew by me. Without any thought, I threw my own banishing spell at it, hoping the magic would stick. And it must have because the shadows of the spirit slowed.

But then it was gone again. I stumbled down the stairs after it, tired of standing around and waiting for it to come to me.

Laura met me halfway, on the second floor, and I realized both of us were breathing too hard. Our fear and emotions were stinking up the Borderland so much we could have been beef patties in a meat-eater’s paradise.

The spirit approached slowly now, making that weird breathing noise Ananann had made when it was smelling me. Laura and I grabbed hands and yelled at the same time. Our magic mingled and blasted right at the spirit, reminding me of the Care Bear Stare. And then a second later, it was gone. I fell against the banister, relieved, excited and damn tired.

I felt a lot more energy seep out of me as we wound up the spell, shaking bones and tossing them into corners. The magic was nothing like the summoning spells I'd cast earlier today, but my energy was already zapped and my tank was running on close to empty. We had two more houses to visit before we could call it a night. I just hoped my energy could last a little longer.

I owe you one, Megan texted me after I’d grabbed the cash envelope from her bedroom and sent a text letting her know we’d taken care of it. Why did everyone keep saying that to me? If anything, I owed. Two hundred