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Authors: Phaedra M. Weldon
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eyes were black, her face haunted, and her teeth…
"I am sorry, Zoë. But I couldn't stay with you. I know how painful it was for you to hear what Dags said. And I tried to ease your comfort. But it's become too dangerous for me to stay with you. If I linger as part of you, I can't do great works."
I cleared my throat. All of my energy was gone. I felt like I'd run a marathon on two cups of coffee and no sleep. "D-daniel?"
"Oh yes. I'm afraid he was another casualty. I had to bring his essence with me to prevent a full bond with you—just in case I had to escape quickly." She knelt beside me. She brushed my hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear. "Wow…by the time this is all over you'll be prematurely gray, won't you?" She smiled. "Writing the Grimoire , Zoë, educated me to all forms of magic, even Abysmal magic. And that's something I won't be sharing. I made sure that piece of the book is well hidden. But it allowed me to know how to create a temporary bond so that I'm not locked into one life for a long period of time. Of course it does mean a soul has to act as my surrogate. And Daniel with his broken mind and heart is a perfect fit."
"Where…"
"He's with me. In here. Keeping this troll of a woman away from me. I had to gain strength in order to take your body from you because you are brethren. You're kin in a strange way. But Vanessa…she's just human and easy to manipulate." She stood and moved away.
I did manage to turn my head to follow her. She started pulling books down and making an even bigger mess of the room. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find that wand and find that cop friend of yours. I don't know who's hiding him or if he's doing it himself. But I will find him. And then I will use him to find the rest."
"…stop you…mom will…" Jesus… Moving was like traveling through molasses. I pushed forward and did manage to roll onto my other side, away from Manuel's body.
Invite me in!
"Nona won't ever know I'm here."
"But…others will. Jason…and Umaymah…"
There's not much time!
She laughed. "No they won't. You forget. I have all the magic of the Grimoire ," she said as she pointed to her head. "In here. They won't know I'm here if I don't want them to. Now," she clapped her hands. "I need to set the stage, you see. And soon I'll have to take my book back."
I reached out for her as she marched out of the office. I heard her talking with her guards and then the door closed.
Talking outside. The sound of car doors closing. Engines revving.
I took several deep breaths and slowly pushed myself over and up on my hands and knees. Crawling to Manuel took a bit longer than I thought it would. The feeling of impending danger settled on my shoulders and remained there and I had to fight the overwhelming urge to OOB and get the hell out of there. I knew on an unconscious level I didn't have long to do what I had to do. Every part of what I'd become told me to leave. But who I was, the part of me that was me …Zoë…refused to leave someone in trouble. Not when I could help them, the way I'd helped before.
Once on my knees I bent forward over Manuel, held out my right hand and forced it incorporeal before I plunged it deep inside of his chest. He didn't move. The body was dead. And as soon as I found and released Manuel's soul, the body was going to turn to goo and I was going to have to find enough strength to get the hell out of there.
I remembered the cold from before as my arm sank deep. That bone numbing cold and the way it touched off every gross nerve I had. I searched around for Manuel the same way someone would search for a missing bauble inside a vat of crude oil. Blind, with only the sensation of touch available.
I was about to give up and OOB as two things happened.
I touched the warmth of a soul.
And I heard cars screeching to a halt as they parked outside and a lot of people running.
10
Invite me!
I
"I am sorry, Zoë. But I couldn't stay with you. I know how painful it was for you to hear what Dags said. And I tried to ease your comfort. But it's become too dangerous for me to stay with you. If I linger as part of you, I can't do great works."
I cleared my throat. All of my energy was gone. I felt like I'd run a marathon on two cups of coffee and no sleep. "D-daniel?"
"Oh yes. I'm afraid he was another casualty. I had to bring his essence with me to prevent a full bond with you—just in case I had to escape quickly." She knelt beside me. She brushed my hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear. "Wow…by the time this is all over you'll be prematurely gray, won't you?" She smiled. "Writing the Grimoire , Zoë, educated me to all forms of magic, even Abysmal magic. And that's something I won't be sharing. I made sure that piece of the book is well hidden. But it allowed me to know how to create a temporary bond so that I'm not locked into one life for a long period of time. Of course it does mean a soul has to act as my surrogate. And Daniel with his broken mind and heart is a perfect fit."
"Where…"
"He's with me. In here. Keeping this troll of a woman away from me. I had to gain strength in order to take your body from you because you are brethren. You're kin in a strange way. But Vanessa…she's just human and easy to manipulate." She stood and moved away.
I did manage to turn my head to follow her. She started pulling books down and making an even bigger mess of the room. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find that wand and find that cop friend of yours. I don't know who's hiding him or if he's doing it himself. But I will find him. And then I will use him to find the rest."
"…stop you…mom will…" Jesus… Moving was like traveling through molasses. I pushed forward and did manage to roll onto my other side, away from Manuel's body.
Invite me in!
"Nona won't ever know I'm here."
"But…others will. Jason…and Umaymah…"
There's not much time!
She laughed. "No they won't. You forget. I have all the magic of the Grimoire ," she said as she pointed to her head. "In here. They won't know I'm here if I don't want them to. Now," she clapped her hands. "I need to set the stage, you see. And soon I'll have to take my book back."
I reached out for her as she marched out of the office. I heard her talking with her guards and then the door closed.
Talking outside. The sound of car doors closing. Engines revving.
I took several deep breaths and slowly pushed myself over and up on my hands and knees. Crawling to Manuel took a bit longer than I thought it would. The feeling of impending danger settled on my shoulders and remained there and I had to fight the overwhelming urge to OOB and get the hell out of there. I knew on an unconscious level I didn't have long to do what I had to do. Every part of what I'd become told me to leave. But who I was, the part of me that was me …Zoë…refused to leave someone in trouble. Not when I could help them, the way I'd helped before.
Once on my knees I bent forward over Manuel, held out my right hand and forced it incorporeal before I plunged it deep inside of his chest. He didn't move. The body was dead. And as soon as I found and released Manuel's soul, the body was going to turn to goo and I was going to have to find enough strength to get the hell out of there.
I remembered the cold from before as my arm sank deep. That bone numbing cold and the way it touched off every gross nerve I had. I searched around for Manuel the same way someone would search for a missing bauble inside a vat of crude oil. Blind, with only the sensation of touch available.
I was about to give up and OOB as two things happened.
I touched the warmth of a soul.
And I heard cars screeching to a halt as they parked outside and a lot of people running.
10
Invite me!
I
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