Read Online Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink - Free Book Online Page B

continue the struggle, even today. One remains the Guardian of peace in the physical world, and the other the Gate through
     which the Souls can pass. If the Souls ever make their way to our world, the Doom of Gods will begin. And the Souls will fight
     the battle with as many lost souls as they can bring back from the Otherworlds. Only… I’ve heard there is a catch of sorts.”
    “What sort of catch?”
    Her brow furrows. “Well, it is said the Souls’ Army cannot commence the battle without Samael, their leader. And Samael can
     only make his way through the Gate if he is summoned by the sister destined to call him forth. It is said the Army accumulates,
     passing into our world in great numbers through the Gates, waiting…”
    “Waiting for what?”
    “For Samael. For the Beast, known to some as Satan himself.”
    She says it simply, and I realize I am not even surprised.

8
    The world goes still. There is no room in my mind for the wind in the trees or the lake lapping the shore below. No room for
     anything, really, except the tendrils of the prophecy twisting itself into something that is only a seed of reason.
    But Sonia isn’t privy to my thoughts, and she continues as if my world is not, at this very moment, turning in on itself.
     “The only reason I’m telling you the story at all is because of the mark. It is said, you see, that the Souls are symbolized
     by the Jorgumand.”
    I try to keep my face impassive. If I let my resistance fall, if I let her see the depth of my panic, the little reason I
     have left will surely desert me. “All right, then. We both have the mark. I still don’t understand what part we could play
     in such a bizarre tale.”
    She sighs in resignation, standing and pacing in front of me. “I don’t, either. But I’m tired of fearing it alone.
I
don’t have a sister. I hoped…” Her voice softens as she stops to look at me. “Well, I suppose I hoped I was right; I hoped
     that you
did
have the mark and that we might find the answer together.”
    “All right.” I tip my head, challenging her with my eyes. “Then let’s go back to last night. You can start by telling me what
     I was doing falling through the sky.”
    She closes the small distance between us, stopping and grasping my hand with something like a smile. “You were only traveling
     the Plane, Lia. Wandering. Have you really never done it before?”
    I shake my head. “Not that I remember. And whatever is the Plane?”
    “It is an amazing place,” she breathes. “A sort of… gateway to the Otherworlds. A place where anything is possible.”
    I remember my exhilaration as the earth passed beneath me, the sky as deep and endless as the sea. And then I remember something
     else. “But what of the… the thing? The dark thing.”
    She grows serious, the light leaving her eyes. “The walls are thin between the physical world and the Otherworlds, Lia. It
     is the very thing that makes it possible to do such wondrous things and the very thing that makes it so dangerous. What was
     following you last night… Its strength was like nothing I’ve ever encountered, and I have chanced upon many beings in my travels,
     both good and evil.”
    “Do you think it has something to do with the mark? With the prophecy?”
    She chews her lip again. “I don’t know, but the ways of the Otherworlds are complicated. You must learn its nature to safely
     explore its terrain.”
    My anger resurfaces. “And how am I to do that? How am I to learn such an odd thing? Surely Miss Gray and the instructors at
     Wycliffe would think me mad were I to ask!”
    She giggles behind the glove of her hand. “No, it would be ill advised to seek such instruction at Wycliffe. But your strength
     will grow as you become accustomed to travel, and you already have some form of authority, whether or not you realize it.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “That… thing. That… being. I think it wanted your soul.”
    I cover my alarm with a