Page 37 of Witch Unbound
“I get it. Let’s just do this.” I tucked the gem into the hidden pocket in my boot.
“One more thing,” Ida said. “You can’t use magic there. It doesn’t work, at least that’s what I’ve been told.”
So, no teleporting. Shit. Okay. I could do this. I had a dagger in my boot. I exhaled and rolled my shoulders. “I’m ready.”
The runes flared bright, forcing me to throw up an arm to shield my eyes. The light winked out a moment later and darkness reigned. I lowered my arm to find myself surrounded by inky blackness. The only light came from the glow of the circle surrounding me. Beyond those lines was…nothingness.
The abyss.
Every instinct warned me not to leave the circle. Every instinct cautioned me not to make a sound. There were things out there. I could sense them, but so far, they hadn’t noticed me. There was no doubt that leaving this circle would make me visible to them. An icy ball of terror formed in my belly.
No. Shake it off, Cor. Jasper was out there somewhere. I had to find him. I had to leave the safety of the circle. I closed my eyes and focused on my malevolent lover, on the connection I knew existed between us, and reached for the two-way sense that I’d only recently realized was accessible.
There it was, steady and secure. Shame it couldn’t act like a guiding beacon for me the way it did for him. I’d just have to do this the old-fashioned way. I stepped closer to the glowing line, and the darkness beyond grayed to reveal shapes and forms in the rise of rocks and mountainous terrain. There was substance out there. Maybe it would be clearer once I left the circle.
Only one way to find out.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped over the glowing line and into darkness.
* * *
JASPER
I fucking hate being immobile. I hate that I have no concept of time here. Cora…God, Cora… She’s alive, that much I’m certain of, but she must be worried about me. I can’t keep doing this to her. I can’t keep coming here…Whereverthismay be.
The darkness is like treacle, and the thing, the presence that holds me captive, is silently watchful.
“Come on, then.” I glare into the darkness. “Let’s get this shit over with.”
I’m suddenly free, my body my own again. Is this a trick?
It speaks then, its voice surrounding me. “You think you can find your way back?”
Doubt flares inside me. Have I found my way back before? I can’t recall. I’m either here, or there.
“You can go, Jasper. We’re done now,” it says.
It sounds…weary, and its declaration makes me uneasy. It’s never simply let me go before…has it? “Who are you? What do you want from me?”
“I have what I need. I no longer need you. You’re free.”
Bullshit. This has to be some kind of trick. “Fuck you.”
“Do what you will, Jasper. Stay or go. It affects me not.”
I feel its presence retreat and then it’s gone.
What the fuck? Is this for real?
I back into the darkness, expecting the invisible force to grab me once more, but when nothing happens, I turn and run. I need to find a way out. Back to Cora. But this place is nothingness, eternal darkness, and I have no clue where I’m headed.
I stop and focus on the connection between us, the one that always allows me to find her. I reach out to her through it.
The world goes gray and rocky terrain becomes visible. There’s a forest up ahead and a line of dark, twisted trees.
The connection inside me throbs and tugs.
This way.
