“It WHAT?!” Marcus asked, incredulous. Marcus reached for it. “Give it to me!” he demanded.
Celine pulled it back. “No, Marcus. While I appreciate what you’ve done, I must do everything I can to protect my family. Especially after your performance in the in-between. That includes keeping control of your soul for as long as I can.”
Marcus set his jaw. “This is unwise, Celine,” Marcus warned.
“We’ll revisit it when the adjudicator returns, until then, it’s mine.”
He huffed at her. “We’ll see about that, Celine.” He turned on his heel, exiting the house with a slam of the door. Celine sighed, watching him disappear down the path. She shook her head, climbing the stairs.
She entered Damien’s room. “Is he gone?” Gray asked the moment she entered the room.
“Yes, he’s gone.”
“For now,” Gray griped. “I’m sure he’ll be back to cause trouble.”
Celine climbed onto Damien’s bed, taking his hand in hers again. “Well, perhaps not,” Celine hinted.
“You give him too much credit, Celine. The man is a menace.”
“That might be, but there is something I didn’t tell you before that might hold him off for just a little bit.”
“What’s that?” Gray asked.
“Yeah, what is it?” Damien inquired, interested in the conversation.
“When I freed him from Shadow World, I convinced the adjudicator to give me control of his soul.”
Gray’s eyes went wide. “You got it to do what? You’re kidding?”
Celine brandished the black soul chip. “Nope.”
Gray hurried to her side, kissing her. “Celine, you’re a genius.”
She grinned at him. “He was not happy when he found out.”
“You told him?” Gray inquired.
“I did. I warned him to keep his cool and not to do anything destructive.”
“So, this means you…” Damien began, unsure where to go.
“Have some control over him. Not lots of control but enough to barter with if need be,” Celine responded.
“That’s perfect, Celine. It buys us some time.”
“Buys us some time?” Damien asked.
“Yes,” Gray answered. “It buys us some time to figure out what we’re going to do about getting rid of Marcus Northcott.”
Epilogue
Celine laid on the bed, monitoring Damien’s vital signs. Hours after he’d awoken, returned from Alterra, she still counted his heartbeats and tracked his chest rising and falling. Asleep on his back, she feared him slipping back into another realm, although she realized this was an impossibility.
Celine slipped her hand around his, squeezing it tight. It was warm to the touch, a sign he remained in this reality. As she scrutinized his vitals, her mind drifted to her encounter with Marcus in the in-between, following Michael and Damien’s departure through the shimmering rainbow that marked the edge of their world.
She had stepped forward to return to their reality when he grabbed her arm, dragging her away from the barrier. “Celine, wait,” he uttered, pulling her further.
She wiggled her arm, trying to free herself. “Marcus! What are you doing?” she demanded.
“Stopping you from making the biggest mistake of your life,” he countered.
“What? Are you crazy?” she questioned, at a loss for another response.
“No,” Marcus contended. “Celine, you must not return to that world.” He reached for her, trying to grab hold of her arm again.
She evaded his grasp. She shook her head at him. “What? Of course, I need to return. What are you saying?”
“Celine, I cannot allow you to do this,” Marcus answered.
“Gray was right,” Celine cried. “I can’t trust you! You never stop. Never stop trying to seize any opportunity to get the upper hand! No, Marcus, I will to return to my world. You cannot stop me, and you’d be unwise to begin a battle in the in-between. Too much can go wrong.”
“Celine, I’m warning you…” he began.
She stepped past him toward the rainbow barrier, then halted as a shiver passed over her. She swallowed, recovering from the tremor that wracked her body. “Damn it,” Marcus swore behind her. “I knew I shouldn’t have given Buckley that concoction to restore you.”
She glanced to him as her body was pulled toward the world’s edge. “Oh, Marcus.” She shook her head at him, disappointed.
Celine’s mind replayed the conversation over in her head. She chose not to share it with Gray yet. Her reasoning was twofold. First, she did not want to worry him, and second, she hoped to learn something from her musings about it.
Something was different, odd about it. While Marcus always considered her decision to spend her life with the Buckleys a mistake, this exchange was different. There was something more to his statements, something portentous. His tone and demeanor were uncharacteristic of his typical behavior. He seemed perturbed, bothered.
In addition, the red vial he provided Gray did exactly what he disclosed it would, returned her to this world. If he planned to abduct her from the in-between, he’d never have left that ace with Gray. Something didn’t make sense about the conversation, Celine reflected, as she studied it. If impeding her return was not his plan, why did he attempt it? Marcus rarely reacted impulsively. What was he hoping to achieve?
Celine found no answers, despite searching the farthest reaches of her mind. As she turned back toward Damien, focusing on the rise and fall of his chest again, one question burned through her mind. What was the meaning of Marcus’ ominous warning?
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If you want find out what Marcus’ ominous warning meant and continue the adventure with the Slayers, look for Book 4 of the Shadow Slayers series coming in early 2022! If you haven’t read books 1 and 2 yet, now is a great time! Start with Shadows of the Past by clicking here!
Like cozy mysteries? Check out the Cate Kensie Mystery series. Misty Scottish moors and a quirky castle. Read Cate’s first adventure, The Secret of Dunhaven Castle, by clicking here!
Ready for adventure? Travel the globe with Maggie Edwards in search of her kidnapped uncle and Cleopatra’s Tomb. Book one, Cleopatra’s Tomb, in the Maggie Edwards Adventure series is available now!
Gone: A Shadow Slayers Story (Shadow Slayers Stories Book 3) Page 33
