themselves in.” To prove her point she threw a twig at the clearing. The branch bounced off an invisible barrier and came flying back towards them while a wave of energy shimmered in the wake of the assault. “Now imagine what would happen with a bullet.”
Shane whistled.
“So what’s our plan of action here?”
Siobhan looked at him and bit her lower lip. “How much blood are you willing to let me have?”
As far as weird requests went, Siobhan knew this would probably stand out as a memorable one for Shane.
“My…blood?” he asked, his voice quavering. “What are you going to do with my blood?”
“They’re inside an unbreakable circle,” she said.
“And?”
“That circle is directly on top of the gate.”
He looked like he was itching to reach for a weapon. “ And ?” Clearly he was still stuck on the whole give me your blood thing.
“If nothing can get in, nothing can get out. Not until the ritual is complete or the circle is broken.”
Shane didn’t bother saying and this time.
Siobhan sighed. “They are standing on top of a gateway to a dimension full of monsters. And they. Can’t. Get. Out.”
His eyes widened as he caught up to her thought train. “You’re going to open the gate.”
“Yes.”
“What about the girl?”
Siobhan looked at her replacement who was passed out cold and stripped bare on the altar. “The high council are cowards at the core. They’ll open the circle to save themselves, and if we do this right, we’ll be able to get in and grab her before whatever comes out has a chance to get her first. It’s the only way we’re getting over that line.”
Shane whistled again, a low, impressed sound. “You’ve got bigger balls than I do.”
Pulling her knife out, she tried to lighten the mood. “I think we both know that’s not true.” She held out her empty hand, and he gave her his arm with only the slightest hesitation.
“Try not to kill me,” he warned.
“Try not to die,” she countered before she slit open his arm.
Chapter Twelve
Siobhan was a banisher by nature. Her job was to take whatever got past the gates and send it back from whence it came. But the gateway worked in two directions. Calling them to her was just turning the ritual on its head. The problem was she didn’t have the blood she needed, which was why she had to borrow some.
Shane looked woozy as the blood seeped from his arm and wet the ground beneath their feet. She released his arm, and with her ceremonial knife in hand, she tracked the blood as it flowed towards the white circle her father and his cohorts had laid down in salt.
The moment Shane’s blood touched the circle she drove her knife into the newly reddened salt.
Light and energy exploded outwards with a force she’d been unprepared for, sending her stumbling backwards into Shane. They landed in a heap, bathed in the cool, bright illumination she’d created.
Blinking, she shielded her eyes and looked into the circle, a dome of pulsing energy now showing exactly where the ceremony site extended to. Within the confines of the dome, the high council turned towards her, and though she couldn’t see their faces, she knew they were pissed.
Let them be pissed.
She pushed herself off Shane, and they both climbed to their feet. He removed his jacket and investigated the mark on his arm with naked wonderment. The knife had acted like a soldering agent, sealing the wound once the bloodletting had ended. He rubbed the thin, long scar and turned his arm over as if expecting to see the real wound had moved of its own volition.
Seeing the blade’s healing power in action had lost its impact for Siobhan, so she returned her attention to the ceremony circle where the crackling energy of the dome had formed a bright blue pillar in the center of the clearing. The pillar sparked and billowed outwards with lightning-like arms until it was a good five feet across. The white light shrank until a wide, dark circle had
Shane whistled.
“So what’s our plan of action here?”
Siobhan looked at him and bit her lower lip. “How much blood are you willing to let me have?”
As far as weird requests went, Siobhan knew this would probably stand out as a memorable one for Shane.
“My…blood?” he asked, his voice quavering. “What are you going to do with my blood?”
“They’re inside an unbreakable circle,” she said.
“And?”
“That circle is directly on top of the gate.”
He looked like he was itching to reach for a weapon. “ And ?” Clearly he was still stuck on the whole give me your blood thing.
“If nothing can get in, nothing can get out. Not until the ritual is complete or the circle is broken.”
Shane didn’t bother saying and this time.
Siobhan sighed. “They are standing on top of a gateway to a dimension full of monsters. And they. Can’t. Get. Out.”
His eyes widened as he caught up to her thought train. “You’re going to open the gate.”
“Yes.”
“What about the girl?”
Siobhan looked at her replacement who was passed out cold and stripped bare on the altar. “The high council are cowards at the core. They’ll open the circle to save themselves, and if we do this right, we’ll be able to get in and grab her before whatever comes out has a chance to get her first. It’s the only way we’re getting over that line.”
Shane whistled again, a low, impressed sound. “You’ve got bigger balls than I do.”
Pulling her knife out, she tried to lighten the mood. “I think we both know that’s not true.” She held out her empty hand, and he gave her his arm with only the slightest hesitation.
“Try not to kill me,” he warned.
“Try not to die,” she countered before she slit open his arm.
Chapter Twelve
Siobhan was a banisher by nature. Her job was to take whatever got past the gates and send it back from whence it came. But the gateway worked in two directions. Calling them to her was just turning the ritual on its head. The problem was she didn’t have the blood she needed, which was why she had to borrow some.
Shane looked woozy as the blood seeped from his arm and wet the ground beneath their feet. She released his arm, and with her ceremonial knife in hand, she tracked the blood as it flowed towards the white circle her father and his cohorts had laid down in salt.
The moment Shane’s blood touched the circle she drove her knife into the newly reddened salt.
Light and energy exploded outwards with a force she’d been unprepared for, sending her stumbling backwards into Shane. They landed in a heap, bathed in the cool, bright illumination she’d created.
Blinking, she shielded her eyes and looked into the circle, a dome of pulsing energy now showing exactly where the ceremony site extended to. Within the confines of the dome, the high council turned towards her, and though she couldn’t see their faces, she knew they were pissed.
Let them be pissed.
She pushed herself off Shane, and they both climbed to their feet. He removed his jacket and investigated the mark on his arm with naked wonderment. The knife had acted like a soldering agent, sealing the wound once the bloodletting had ended. He rubbed the thin, long scar and turned his arm over as if expecting to see the real wound had moved of its own volition.
Seeing the blade’s healing power in action had lost its impact for Siobhan, so she returned her attention to the ceremony circle where the crackling energy of the dome had formed a bright blue pillar in the center of the clearing. The pillar sparked and billowed outwards with lightning-like arms until it was a good five feet across. The white light shrank until a wide, dark circle had
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