Read Online Spirit Prophecy (The Gateway Trilogy Book 2) by E.E. Holmes - Free Book Online Page A

were here and we were going to stick it out, but not because we didn’t have a choice; it was simply that our choice had already been made. We would have to deal with a lot of unpleasantness and uncertainty as we found our footing. But not finding our footing wasn’t an option. Both Hannah and I had dealt with a lot of shit in our lives, and quite frankly, I couldn’t really think of anything they could dish out here that could top what we’d already had to face in the past. It was a weirdly comforting thought, and I lit it like a talisman in my chest. We would do our best to learn what we could here, and then our lives would, once and for all, be our own.
    As I trudged back up to the castle, I felt renewed from my artistic release and my mental regrouping. I tried to hold on to that feeling as I entered the crowded entrance hall at 8:25 to prepare for the welcoming ceremony. I pointedly ignored the way the crowd parted for me like I was carrying a particularly contagious form of leprosy and found Hannah and Karen by the fireplace.
    “I was starting to wonder if I’d have to come looking for you,” Karen said, draping my sash over my shoulder.
    “Just needed some air,” I said as she handed me a safety pin. I secured the sash in place and pulled the triskele necklace over my head. “Have I missed anything interesting yet?”
    “No, we’re just about to line up in formation,” Karen said. She smoothed out my sash, now secured to my shoulder, and looked with satisfaction between Hannah and me. “Perfect. Now when the music starts, I’ll show you where to line up. Just follow the progression outside. You’ll be on the western side of the courtyard.”
    “Aren’t you coming with us?’ Hannah asked in a slightly panicked voice.
    “I’ll be out there, but I have to take my place among the other adults. When the moment comes, I’ll come to light your candle and stand with you.” At this she handed us each a tall, white taper in a tarnished brass candlestick.
    A sharp echoing gong resounded around the hall, and, like a flock of doves taking flight, the Apprentices fluttered around, arranging themselves into two long columns. Peyton, I noticed at once, was at the very front of the queue, bearing her own candle and an expression so smug that I could cheerfully have slapped it off her face. Maybe I should let Milo loose on her, I thought. I glanced around for him, but he was nowhere in sight. In fact, for the first time since I’d arrived here, I didn’t see a single spirit anywhere.
    “Where’s Milo?”
    “Upstairs. He’s not allowed at the ceremony, none of the spirits are,” Hannah said.
    “Why not?”
    Hannah just shrugged.
    Karen guided us quickly into position about a third of the way from the front, where we hurried to imitate the other girls around us; chins up, shoulders back, and candles raised in both hands before us. As nervous as I was, I still managed to register the fact that I felt like a complete tool, and barely managed to cover a nervous laugh with a snorting sort of cough. Hannah looked whiter than I’d ever seen her.
    “Relax, or you’re going to snap that candle in half,” I muttered.
    She threw me half a smile, then drew a long, slow breath and relaxed her grip on her taper.
    Just behind me, a tall gangling girl with freckles and a long blonde braid of hair was chewing nervously on her lip and standing on her tiptoes, searching the hall. She was so preoccupied that her candle was dangling loosely in her hand, tipping out of its holder. Just as I opened my mouth to point this out, Celeste came sweeping by, righting the candle and adjusting the girl’s sash.
    “Phoebe, mind your taper, please,” Celeste said, and then her eyes fell on the empty space beside the girl. “Where is Savannah?”
    “Dunno,” Phoebe said. “Haven’t seen her since lunch.” Celeste raised her eyes to the ceiling as though praying for patience and then hurried away though the crowd.
    A haunting,