by Nikki Landis
Spells came easily to me. I had an almost photographic memory when it came to enchantments, incantations, and other mystical magical phrases. I’d always been that way. I wasn’t sure if that gift was passed down from my parents or not. I knew Aunt Gwen was also gifted in this way and Gypsy had a knack for it, too although she wasn’t as fast.
“I’ve got it,” I assured her, tucking the watch into my front pocket and the note in the other. “Let’s not delay any longer.”
The spell was chanted, dropping all eight of us into the fade as promised. Squinting, I almost became nervous until Ryder’s arms surrounded me from behind, and we spun in a circle. The moment we touched I felt a flash of icy cold wind brush over my skin, followed by a rainbow of colors that burst like fireworks across my line of vision. A hazy film seemed to settle and cover everything in the vicinity like those waves of heat that hover above the asphalt on a hot day as the sun beats down relentlessly.
Ryder’s lips twitched with a subdued grin when our eyes met. “I hope this helps.”
The sensations and colors were strange but uniquely crafted in such a way that I felt at home among the magical vibrations. The spirit world was vastly different than the fade, Ether, or the human realm. It existed alongside them all and intermingled but had its own distinct space. Because of this, it was like walking in a mirage while simultaneously mingling with the ghostly specters of everyone else.
Souls could be seen walking on invisible but deliberate paths. They filtered in and out, iridescent copies of the physical bodies of each individual ghoul. Thin lines of color trailed behind each ghoul’s spiritual form. The multi-colored thread resembled some kind of umbilical cord, twisted in every shade of the rainbow. I knew not to touch them unless I wanted to bond to that ghoul forever.
Ryder was all of this particular kind of immortal that I needed.
“Can you see?”
“Yes.” At least I didn’t have any problems with vision now. “Thanks, Ryder. This is perfect.”
He pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “Glad I could help.”
“You’re always a help,” I assured him, smiling as he grinned wider.
The spirit world faded slightly as I walked among my friends, each of us wary as we made our way through the veil. The fade was ‘the in-between’ or ‘upside down’ as others had referred to it. Home to the barrier that kept the spirit world from encroaching upon the mortal (or human) realm. Unlike the popular show on Netflix, the fade was a mishmash of colors, objects, and beings. A dumping ground for souls, spirits, demons, and other immortals.
Human souls were the one exception. The only ones who remained long term were the Demented. These tortured remnants of human souls were tainted and twisted until nothing remained but demonic thoughts and actions. Humanity was stripped as mania took over and the hysteria corrupted their minds. They were capable of any heinous act you could think and were vicious hunters. Almost as bloodthirsty as the Thrall.
Reaching out with my energy, I began to seek my captured essence. To my surprise, she wasn’t held captive but roamed the fade freely. Shocked, I couldn’t figure out why Roman would go through so much effort and then not lock my soul away. He was up to something, that was my only guess. He wanted me to come here. Maybe this was some kind of sick test.
Frustrated, I began to circle the lazy pathways of the fade and grew weary. All of us felt lethargic as we stopped at a large body of glittering seafoam green water. Far too enticing to be anything safe, I was too late to stop the twins. Kane and Karter fell to their knees and began to scoop handfuls into their mouths. Autumn and Gypsy followed, leaning forward when I screamed.
“Don’t! It’s tainted. Stop!”
The girls jumped back but the twins fell on their sides, clutching their bellies. Cries of anguish echoed into the air. The liquid burned inside their bodies and elicited frightening hallucinations. Kane and Karter began to scratch at their skin. Streaks of blood rose to the surface as they moaned in agony.
“It’s not real!” I cried out, turning to Ryder and Gabe. “Did you bring any water bottles?”
Sebastian pulled one from his backpack and ran to his friends, tipping the cool liquid down their throats as he chanted a healing spell. Gypsy added a spell of protection while Autumn shook her head, clearly angry. Kane sat up as Karter gulped the water and the two of them hung their heads.
“It was so real,” Kane whispered. “Damn, if we aren’t the ones who get into trouble first every single time.”
It was true. The razor blades in their throats last time should have taught them a lesson.
“I swear I saw my body torn apart by wild dogs,” Karter added.
“You two have been here before. How could you forget?” Autumn accused, placing her hands on her hips. “You could have died.”
“Sorry,” they mumbled in unison.
“Remember the dangers,” I advised as I met their apologetic expressions. “We need to focus on finding my soul. The longer we linger, the greater the chance we don’t all return home.”
The thought was sobering. Congregating together, we left the treacherous lake and walked deeper into the fade.
“Cass, do you remember what the Demented look like?”
Glancing sideways at Gypsy, I shrugged. “I think so. Why?”
“Because these eyes remind me an awful lot of the Demented.”
“What eyes?”
“The ones staring at us right now,” Gabe interjected. “The bushes on either side straight ahead. Keep walking and everyone stay calm.”
Scanning the wildly colored trees, I found the glowing, pale yellow eyes of the Demented. The fade did something to their appearance over time. Opaque and oddly shaped, they resembled some sickly beast instead of human. Much like a zombie’s milky eye, only these had a distinct horror quality. Demented weren’t that different than a zombie since their hunger for flesh was as ravenous but they still remained human – at least partially. They didn’t feed on raw meat but cooked their prey before consuming. The twisted part that churned my stomach was the fact that their prey included demons, beasts, discarded souls, other humans, and anything else they could hunt and kill in the fade.
My thoughts were distracted when Gypsy screamed and Sebastian grabbed her hand, yanking her away from the Demented that ran from the bushes and trees.
“Run!” he yelled as the eight of us bolted forward, hoping to lose the monsters before someone was injured or incapacitated.
“There’s a cave up ahead. We can make a stand and use our combined magic to take them down.”
Gabe’s suggestion made sense.
Stopping at the cave, each of us turned and faced our enemy. The grotesque bodies of the Demented pitched to the sides and twisted at odd angles. Gnarled and worn like old branches or roots of an ancient tree, they scrambled toward our location. The fade had an odd effect on bones and tissue. Not quite destroying them but bending and twisting the spines and limbs in unnatural ways.
“What do you want to do, sweetheart?” Gabe and Ryder flanked me on either side.
“We’re wasting time. I need to find my lost soul. That’s the only thing that matters.”
“Agreed,” Ryder answered, his smile widening as he looked at the creatures still scrambling in our direction. “I’m suddenly starving. How about you, Gabe?”
A deep rumbling laugh shook Gabriel’s frame. “Cassie, I think Ryder and I can handle this on our own.”
Gesturing with my hand, I nodded in agreement. “Go for it. We need to keep moving before the fade begins to disorient all of us.”
My two Cosan slapped a high five and then Gabe’s body began to morph and change. He roared as his bones snapped and popped, rearranging into a taller, more muscular form as his hands lengthened into claws, his feet changed into the lower limbs of a wolf, and a snout formed where his handsome jaw had been only seconds prior. A light grey fur covered his body as the werewolf stood a good seven feet tall. He howled at the Demented who slowed thei
r approach.
As Gabriel was shifting into his true form, Ryder was also doing the same. “Woo!” Ryder yelled as the ghoul transformed from a live person to some crazy looking half dead creature that resembled a zombie, except he didn’t have a weird gait or useless limbs. Ryder barreled into the closest group of Demented. Gnashing his teeth, he chomped down like this was his last meal, ripping limbs from bodies as he crushed the bones with his saw-like teeth.
It was over before the fight had a chance to begin.
Ripping the Demented apart with his bare hands, Gabriel began to feed on the discarded body parts as Ryder bit into the flesh of any close enough within his reach. The two immortals were ruthless, tearing apart their prey as I watched with morbid fascination. Last time I was sick when I saw what Ryder could do in the cemetery, but this time I wasn’t bothered. Maybe the bond had something to do with my lack of revulsion.
Within minutes, nothing of our attackers remained. The men returned to their original forms, none the worse for wear except for the vast amount of blood splattered all over their clothes and hair. I didn’t dwell on what else clung to their frames as Gypsy and Autumn shuddered at the sight. Kane and Karter seemed overly fascinated and launched into a succession of questions, firing them off at Gabe while he glanced in my direction with an exasperated smile, barely able to keep up. Sebastian was also curious and started a lengthy conversation with Ryder about ghouls and their abilities.
All in all, I was pleased we managed to survive this long.
“Cassie, can you feel that?” Ryder stopped and turned my way, his expression serious.
“Yes.” The pull on my body to join my soul had greatly increased. Her voice echoed in my head with desperation. Dangerous creatures lurked in the shadows and hunted my poor essence, much worse than Demented or simple demons. She was frightened.
Shit.
I knew what I had to do, and I wasn’t looking forward to tricking Ryder.
Chapter 7
“What’s the matter, Cassie?” Ryder sensed my hesitation, his hand reaching out for my own.
“I can feel the lost portion of my soul.”
“That’s good. I was hoping you’d feel its tug while we were here.”
“I guess. That’s not the problem,” I whispered, trying to keep my voice down. I didn’t want the others to know.
“What’s the problem?”
“We’re being hunted. Actually, I’m being hunted.”
“Shit,” he cursed, glancing around as his eyes took in every dark corner of the fade. “What do you want to do?”
The Demented were nothing compared to what was coming.
“I’m almost positive it’s a Soul Eater which makes sense.” Gripping his hand, I let go and turned until our eyes met. “I should separate from the others.”
He frowned. “Fine, I understand you want to lure it away.”
“I’ll go alone. There may be more than one.”
“Hell no,” he hissed, trying not to draw attention from the others as we picked up pace. Luckily everyone was ahead of us so dropping away would be fairly easy.
“You don’t have a choice,” I argued. “I need you to stay with them and keep everyone together. Gypsy is in danger as well as the other Salem witches. This place will begin to drain our vitality soon. They’ll need your abilities as a ghoul to guide them.”
“What about Gabe? I can grab him and –”
“There’s not enough time, babe.” I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Don’t look back. Just keep moving forward. The fade excels at disorienting its visitors. Lost souls are its specialty.”
“Cassie,” he warned. “Don’t do it.”
“Invisium conparte!”
I disappeared from his view as he shouted my name, pissed that I eluded him so quickly. I used the invisibility spell on purpose, briefly cloaking my body so I was basically invisible. It didn’t last long. I was too weak and in the fade it was unpredictable. There was nothing to do but focus.
Ryder would be fine, and he would help the other witches. Gabe’s strength would give them an additional layer of protection. They would make it. Gypsy, Autumn, Sebastian, Kane, and Karter had all done this before. They weren’t amateurs.
Sighing softly, I slowly made my way toward the rumbling sound that preceded the rotten belch of the Soul Eater. I hadn’t been entirely truthful with Ryder. The remnant portion of my soul had a distinct and foul attachment. In other words, it was tainted.
That knowledge was terrifying. A dark spirit of some kind had latched onto my essence and was beginning to devour it piece by agonizing piece, causing a trickle-down effect. Other monsters and beasts of the fade were attracted to the bright piece of my soul as it was slowly being devoured. The attention of the Soul Eater brought high level demonic creatures into the mix.
I had no idea what I would find when I was reunited with my essence. There was no option but to consume the portion I found but the result could be disastrous. If the taint had become permanent, I would be doomed forever. No amount of magic could restore the light that was devoured and removed.
Stifling a cry, I stumbled along the ground and ran faster, my limbs burning with the exertion. Up ahead, another rumbling roar could be heard. I climbed to the top of the steep hill’s incline and paused, looking down over the ridge. The dark apparition of the Soul Eater was fighting with smaller horned beasts that surrounded my quivering soul.
Funny, but souls without their bodies were like ghosts in the fade. Filmy and slightly white, a mirror replica of my body hovered in a corner by the nearest tree. I was a bit flustered with the image. What a coward I was!
My soul was a witch, one of the most powerful witches to ever live. Why the hell was I cowering in fear instead of launching spells and incantations at the monsters who attacked me? Since the moment I entered the fade I’d felt the pull of my soul, the extent of its search. Now that I was here, I was completely ignored.
Making my way slowly down the hill, I used the cover of crimson bushes and lime green trees to hide my true form. I was almost to my essence, ready to snatch her up and make a run for it when a loud rumbling sound caught my attention. Alerted that I was no longer alone, I scrambled to my feet and tripped, tumbling down the hill in a tangle of arms and legs. A giant belch filled the air as I turned and came face to face with the wide mouth of the Soul Eater. Nothing but rows of razor-sharp teeth shaped into a giant circle, the mouth made grotesque sucking sounds as I darted out of the way.
The Soul Eater launched forward as the head thrusted in my direction, slamming into the base of a turquoise tree above my head. I screamed the same time as my soul, and we took off in opposite directions. Fuck my life. You’d think if she was me, at least she’d be of the same thought process. No, it didn’t appear to be the case.
Flustered, I rolled away from the Soul Eater’s next strike as its massive tail swung around and hit the ground only inches from my waist. Scrambling to my feet, I began to run in the direction of my stupid soul. She wasn’t paying attention to anything and clearly traumatized by the length of time she’d been here. Her body smacked into the next monster to enter this area and I groaned, watching her fall to the ground like a useless doll.
“Cassie!” I yelled, hoping the familiar voice would help calm her down.
My soul sat up, jumped to her feet, and began to run in my direction. Finally, things were starting to work out. At least, that was what I thought until the clawed hand of the Soul Eater tore off another piece of my essence. A horrible rip could be heard in the air as I screamed in agony, my body convulsing as it flopped to the ground in shock.
I must have been the most naïve and idiotic person ever to become a witch. I’d walked into the fade thinking this was an easy assignment. Find my essence, restore the fracture, regain balance. Life was never that easy. Why was this lesson one I repeatedly had to learn?
A loud chuckle permeated the air as the Soul Eater screeched, his loud cries of anguish calling othe
r beasts and monsters forward to witness his suffering. The trees rustled while brightly colored leaves shook in fear. Loud ripping noises and screeches began to grate on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard. The Soul Eater wailed as his mouth puckered and the sucking noises combined with a slurping sound that caused the bile in my throat to rise.
Turning my head, I came face to face with Ryder as his ghoul gobbled up the bits of tainted and blackened dead flesh that fell from the Soul Eater. Slightly above him was the form of a giant silvery gray wolf. The snout was covered in putrid fluid and dark blood as the Lycan ripped apart and severed the body of the Soul Eater one portion at a time. Once the last of the pieces had fallen to the ground, the wolf lifted his head and howled for several minutes. The loud sounds were like a primitive roar and I stood in awe of the shifter as he transformed back into the loving and caring man I knew as Gabriel Alton.
My hero. One of two.
Additional slurping sounds drew my attention as Ryder finished the last of the flesh and grinned, blood and sinew stuck in his teeth. As gross and disgusting as it was, I’d never been so happy to see Ryder and Gabe since the moment we met. The thought occurred to me that my ancestors knew exactly what they were doing when my Cosan was formed.
I needed the talents of a ghoul, a vampire, and a shifter to get me through the last twenty-four hours. I never would have made it without all three of them. Emotional and full of gratitude, I held out my arms as my two immortals gathered me up in a tight embrace.
“Gabriel, Ryder,” I choked. “How did you know?”
“We heard your screams,” Ryder admitted.
“My wolf took over and found you quickly. He’s an expert tracker.” Obviously, Gabe could transform into either his were or his wolf. I didn’t realize that was possible until today.
“Thank you,” I whispered, blubbering like a baby. “I don’t know what I would have done without you both.”
“I don’t know either,” Sebastian interrupted. “I’d like to think we could have handled a couple of Soul Eaters though.”
