Page 23 of Bound Paths
“What was that?” Juliette asked as she caught and steadied Rose in the tunnel’s safety.
“What was what?” Rose asked.
Juliette’s brows raised skeptically. “The flood of power? Were you holding back as we crossed?”
“No!” Rose said, shocked Juliette would ask such a thing.
Juliette held up her hands. “I didn’t think so. Your wind felt at full strength as we walked. I just don’t understand where the last burst of power came from.”
Rose shook her head in disbelief. She hadn’t imagined any of it: the smooth black stone in the heart of her magic, shaking as if trying to set something free, and the power flooding into her. “I’m not sure I could put my theory into words,” Rose said. Now, more than ever, she wanted to get beyond the veil.
She wanted to get to Luc.
Juliette gave her a final, lingering glance as if sensing Rose’s renewed focus on her goal and said, “We’re almost there.”
CHAPTER NINE
550 YEARS AGO
Andie hoped this idea of using spirits to fuel magic would disappear. She at least convinced Cee not to tell their father immediately. They should test it again themselves before getting anyone’s hopes up. The feline might fight harder next time—it might not go the same way. Cee agreed to replicate it once more before sharing their solution.
Nona’s spirit, desperately fighting against Cee’s gold lasso, haunted Andie’s dreams.
They didn’t have to wait long for a second opportunity to learn what the magic of spirits could do for them. Illness was spreading, and rations were sparse. Ilena was overburdened, so the sisters continued to give care where they could. Cee’s list of townspeople who needed them continued to grow. It was a stark reminder that Nona’s spirit may not have wanted to be a sacrifice, but she also might not have wanted to die when she did either. The cycle of life and death continued with or without Andie’s interference.
Watching more townspeople sicken was another reminder that their problems were only beginning.
A woman Andie barely knew was on their list today. She had an illness they hadn’t heard of, but Ilena said it wasn’t treatable. Andie was taking notes but was unsurprised to smell copper the moment the woman’s breath left her body.
Cee was moving before Andie could snap the journal shut. Andie didn’t want to blindly follow this time. Knowing what Cee was up to, she pricked her finger, offering her blood in exchange for the ability to see spirits.
They followed the spirit again to the edge of the woods. It was later in the evening, and darkness was falling. “We might not make it back in time,” Andie cautioned.
“I’m going,” Cee replied. Her tone brooked no argument.
She couldn’t stop Cee or let her venture out alone. With little choice in the matter, she followed. Andie had a reasonable suspicion of where this spirit would lead them. She didn’t think the feline waiting by the river was an accidental placement. The river’s running water felt like a natural meeting place to journey to an afterlife—whatever that looked like.
Most humans seemed to believe there was existence beyond the veil after death. No one talked about what that meant though. Andie had asked her father again after Nona’s death. He said the questions were natural, but he had no different answers from those he’d given in her childhood. When their mother died, he’d said she went to a better place.
No one seemed sure of what lay beyond the veil. Was it really a better place? What had they inadvertently robbed Nona of by pulling her back? What were they about to steal from this new spirit?
The answer felt within Andie’s grasp. She would never be comfortable with Cee’s plan unless she knew the spirits were willing. Nona hadn’t been willing, but they also hadn’t known what would happen. Andie wasn’t sure what to do this time, but she knew it was her last chance. The magic of the spirits wasclearly a powerful fuel for growth. It would work again. When it did, Cee would tell their father, and he would build their plans for survival around it. Andie didn’t want to take that from Cee, but she also couldn’t stand by while the villager’s spirits were robbed of choice.
The spirit stopped at the river. The large feline was barely visible in the fading light—but it was there. Andie and Cee took their spot behind the tree and waited.
Cee was prepared for a real test this time. She brought seedlings from the field they still toiled in when they weren’t helping Ilena. Cee buried them quickly—the rougher, the better—to test the theory. The best test would be to see how well the seeds would grow with magic if they were defenseless like the current crop.
The feline’s purr drew Andie’s attention from Cee’s plants to the scene by the river. The spirit placed its hand firmly in the cat’s fur. It leaned into the stroke as it had with Nona, granting the spirit comfort as its travel companion. Andie knew the moment was near as the spirit wove its fingers deeper into the feline’s scruff, and the animal leaned back on its haunches—preparing to leap.
Andie waited to see what Cee would do. She couldn’t bring herself to foil her attempt, but she’d take any opportunity that presented itself. Cee pulled a vial from her cloak.
“What is that?” Andie asked.
Cee didn’t have to answer. It was a lot of blood.
“Where did you get that?” Andie asked.
“Some villagers gave it as an offering,” Cee replied.
