Midnight Lies (Shifter Island #2) - Raye Wagner Page 0,4
more of a fight about going with me, but I shook the thought from my head and faced Surlama. Honor was dead; every minute mattered.
The light flared green in her palms once again and then she raised her gaze to the entrance as a ghostly apparition of an old man walked into the garden. I yelped and jumped backward, knocking into Rage.
“Right on time,” Surlama purred.
At the same time, I muttered an apology to my mate, who was staring at me like I was crazy.
Rage grasped my arms to steady me. “What’s wrong?”
“Uh … there’s a … ghost.” I pointed at the spirit, my hand shaking. Pretty sure the boys didn’t know what my new “gifts” entailed.
“Over here.” Surlama waved to the ghostly man, and he floated toward her.
“You can see him too?” I asked the dark mage. “Do you have spirit magic?”
“I see all manner of things between worlds,” she replied cryptically. She produced her knife again and held out her hand to me. “Now, I need your blood. Just a drop.”
“No,” Rage growled.
I waved my hand toward the tent rooms. “You have a ton of it here already, use some of that.”
She shook her head. “It’s more powerful fresh and freely given.”
The ghost started to shake, his whole body quaking.
“We’re going to lose the chance to open a portal if you delay,” she shouted. “Give me your hand!”
Frick.
I gave her my pointer finger. “Fine. Just get me to Honor.”
She grabbed my finger and pricked it, squeezing a single drop of blood onto the tip of her knife, and then released my hand.
I pressed my finger into the folds of my filthy shirt to keep any blood from dripping onto her ground. No way was I giving her any more that she might use later.
Another howl filled the air, this one seemingly right inside her tent home.
“Hurry up,” I snapped.
She narrowed her eyes. “Ready?”
“We’ll get Honor a body,” Justice told me. “Don’t worry.”
I nodded, my throat clogged with emotion.
“Be safe.” Rage stepped closer, and I felt the heat of his body at my back. Surlama plunged her sword into the ghost’s chest and his high-pitched shriek rocked the garden area, causing me to cover my ears. What the hell? I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, then the vined trellis behind Surlama began to shimmer with a golden light.
“Get ready,” Surlama told me.
I flinched. What was I doing? What would the Realm of the Dead be like? How would I find Honor there? And—crap! Turning to Surlama, I asked, “How do I get back, once I find Honor?”
A portal opened into another world: vibrant green trees with turquoise flowers, blossoms in vivid colors blanketed the ground, and dazzling birds flew in a pale lavender sky. I stared, my jaw agape, and stepped toward the beautiful space.
“I’ll send for you,” Surlama said.
Her voice drew me back, and I glanced over my shoulder just as something crossed her face, a wild expression I didn’t trust. Before I could demand more answers, the ghost stepped through the portal, and I felt a sharp tug at my navel …as if I was tied to the apparition.
What the…?
My blood. She’d bound me to the spirit?
Cursed mage council!
“Better hurry, it’s closing,” she hissed as the edges of the portal began to shrink.
I spun to get one last look at Rage, to tell him I’d find Honor and be back soon, but he leapt across the distance, slammed into me and, wrapping me in his arms, pushed us both through the opening and into the Realm of the Dead.
Surlama shouted, but the sound cut off when the portal snapped shut.
Chapter 2
With the force of Rage’s body, I stumbled through the portal and tripped over my feet, but my mate held me upright, standing on solid ground.
“Nai.” He pressed his hands to my back as his breath feathered over me.
I sucked in a sharp breath, but not even a heartbeat later, my legs trembled, and the air whooshed out of me. The tethering sensation, tying me to the ghost, snapped, and the spirit flew off over the rolling hills toward a white castle in the distance.
“Rage!” I gasped, looking up at my mate in shock.
He panted but met my gaze with a grin. “You didn’t think I’d let you come here alone, did you?”
His black hair was disheveled, and dark soot still smudged his face from the mid-year games. His green eyes were bright and filled with emotion as he stared down at me.