Page 81 of Crossing Between
"Stop," I gasped, covering my ears though I had no physical form to shield. "Please stop!"
The voices crescendoed into a deafening discord, desperation clawing through each scream until I couldn't distinguish one tormented cry from another. My heart slammed violently against my ribs like it was trying to escape the horror surrounding me.
When I tried to inhale, my lungs seized, refusing to expand as if the air in this gray limbo had solidified. Black spots bloomed across my vision, spreading and merging as the grayness around me pulsed. A cold, primal fear crawled up my spine. Not the fleeting kind that comes from watching a horror movie, but the bone-deep terror of facing something ancient and malevolent that recognized me even as I failed to understand it.
Somewhere in all of the dissonance, I thought I heard a voice that sounded achingly familiar, but it disappeared beneath the tide of suffering before I could grasp it.
"I can't...I can't breathe!"
A tremendous BOOM thundered through the grayness, silencing the voices instantly. The pressure released, and I sucked in a desperate breath as the gray parted likecurtains.
A figure appeared before me. Shanna.
She looked exactly as I remembered her from the scene Quilith had shown me, but somehow more. Her beauty was luminous, transcendent, her silver-blonde hair floating around her face as if underwater. But her eyes, they were filled with such profound sadness that it made my heart ache just to look at her.
Shanna smiled, the expression gentle and sorrowful all at once. She reached out, her hand cool against my cheek. The touch felt impossibly real in this unreal place.
"It's a heavy burden," her voice like distant chimes. "Being a soulbinder with creator magic, child."
I stared at her, overwhelmed by her presence.
"Please," my voice thick with emotion. "I need your help. The Essencefeaster, it's taken my brother. It's hurting people. I have to stop it, I have to save everyone." My words tumbled out, desperate and pleading. "Including Ryan. There has to be a way to save him, too."
Shanna's expression didn't change, but something in her eyes deepened. She said nothing for a long time, her hand still resting against my cheek, her gaze searching mine as if looking for something hidden within me.
When she finally spoke, her voice was barely above a whisper. "Would you sacrifice yourself to stop the demon?"
"Yes," I answered immediately, without hesitation. But even as the word left my lips, images flashed before my eyes. Varon's rare smile that seemed reserved just for me, Kenji's playful wink, and the tenderness of his kiss, Elias's gentle strength, and the way he called me "kærasta." For a single, selfish moment, I wanted to take back my answer.
Shanna saw my pause and the conflict in my eyes. Her smile turned knowing, almost maternal.
With a graceful wave of her arm, the gray nothingnessaround us transformed. Suddenly, we were sitting in a cozy parlor, with overstuffed armchairs and a cheerful fire crackling in a stone hearth. Bookcases lined the walls, and soft rugs covered a wooden floor. It looked like something from a Victorian novel, warm and inviting.
Shanna sat in one of the chairs and patted the seat beside her on a small loveseat. "Come, sit with me, Zoey. We have much to discuss, and little time to do it."
I moved toward her, feeling my legs and body again as I sank onto the cushion. The loveseat was as comfortable as it looked, and the fire's warmth reached me even across the room. Despite the comfort, my heart was racing. I was talking to Shanna, and hopefully, she was going to help me save Ryan and stop the Essencefeaster.
Chapter 45: Zoey
I sank into the loveseat, the cushions soft. The warmth from the crackling fire caressed my skin, a stark contrast to the cold, formless void I'd been drowning in moments before. I traced my fingers along the plush fabric, marveling at how real it felt despite knowing none of this was happening in the physical world.
Shanna sat elegantly beside me, her silver-blonde hair shimmering in the firelight. Up close, I could see the delicate lines around her eyes, not wrinkles of age, but markers of a life lived with sorrow.
"Tea?"
Suddenly, two steaming cups materialized on the small table before us. The rich aroma of cinnamon and cloves wafted up, intensifying the cozy atmosphere.
I accepted the cup with a grateful nod, letting the heat seep into my palms. "How are you doing this?" I gestured around the room. "Creating all this?"
"This is your subconscious, dear. I'm merely directing the scene." Shanna took a delicate sip from her cup. "Ithought you might be more comfortable having this conversation somewhere warm, rather than in that gray emptiness."
I wrapped my fingers tighter around the cup. "Thank you."
"So tell me, Zoey," Shanna tilted her head slightly, her eyes studying me with gentle curiosity. "What do you know of your abilities so far?"
For several minutes, we talked. I told her about discovering my power when my parents died, about accidentally bringing my mom back to life, about my connection to souls. She listened attentively, occasionally nodding or asking a clarifying question. It felt surreal, discussing magical abilities over tea like we were chatting about a new hobby.
All the while, my mind raced with thoughts of Ryan, of the Essencefeaster, of the men I'd left behind. Anxiety built in my chest until I couldn't maintain the pretense of casual conversation any longer.
