Page 69 of Radiant Shadows

I chewed on my bottom lip, feeling foolish and chided even though I knew that wasn’t her intention.

“There are other things that lurk in the shadows, Shea,” she continued in a low tone that chilled me to the bone. “Malevolent entities so desperate for life that they’ll weasel their way in at any and every opportunity. Considering how long this woman…”

“Alice,” I supplied.

She nodded. “Considering how long Alice has been dead, her soul has very likely moved on, and what you would bring back would not be her.”

I shivered, scenes fromPractical Magicplaying in my head.

“And even if you could bring her back, she may not want to come back,” Gram added. “If I were at peace, I don’t think I’d take kindly to being dragged away from it, especially to a body that had been long dead and would need copious amounts of magic and maintenance to inhabit again.”

I didn’t give any kind of response. I was both saddened and relieved by all this. Relieved because it might mean I’d neverhave to say goodbye to Julian. Sad because it might mean I could never give him the one thing that would make him truly happy.

“Can I make a suggestion?” she asked when I’d been quiet for too long.

“Of course,” I all but squeaked like a mouse, then cleared my throat.

“May I?” She gestured with both hands open toward the grimoire.

I nodded, picking it up and helping to place it in her lap.

She held a hand a few inches above it, and suddenly, the pages began to flip rapidly until they landed on a section toward the very back I hadn’t gotten to yet.

“Whoa,” I gasped. “How did you do that?”

She gave me a wry, sideways smile. “The book is tied to our blood. Now that it knows us, it can respond to our magical signature—and our intentions.” She winked.

I stowed that information away for later as a badass trick I would absolutely have to try out and leaned forward to inspect the pages that were open in front of her.

“Wedj Joo Ka,” I read the title out loud.

“It means to summon a spirit,” Gram said.

“Oh, I think I’m pickin’ up what you’re puttin’ down,” I said. “You’re suggesting we summon Alice. To see what she wants?”

She nodded, and my excitement at the prospect fizzled out as terror suddenly struck me.

Certainly, Alice would know of my relationship with Julian. What if what she wanted was for me to leave him? What if her ghost cursed me out and demanded I cut ties with him or she’d haunt me? At the very least, it would be mortifying for Gram tolearn of my feelings for Julian that way, and at the worst, I could be inviting a vengeful spirit into our lives.

“Shea?” Gram prompted.

I let out a shaky breath. Okay, I didn’t really think Alice was that kind of person. Julian praised her as sweet and kind. And this way, at least I’d have some kind of answer by the end of it.

“Okay, let’s do it,” I said.

She put a comforting hand on my back. “Don’t worry. I’m here with you. I’ll make sure no dark entities come through.”

My eyes widened. I didn’t even think about that. Clearly, that’s where she thought my hesitation came from, and it was certainly adding to it now!

“Give me your hand,” she requested, holding her hand out between us.

I took it, digging down inside of me for my courage and reminding myself that I was, in fact, a badass witch.No fear, Shea. No fear.

Gram began to recite the spell, and I joined along.

“Iyoo wedj ka em Alice Le Fey,” we chanted. “Nehep en peret.”

The air began to stir with static electricity, humming and buzzing around us. We repeated the words, and the hairs on my arms stood on end. I could feel our collective magic reaching out into the unseeable void and snagging on something, like the tug of a bite on a fishing pole.

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