Page 90 of To Dwell in Shadows
“Easy, easy! Vanthee and I will take you, but not now.”
When?
Why not now?
Do not betray us!
“Rest assured, we will get you where you need to go. I know you’re all angry with him for taking your lives, and you have every right to be. But you’ve done enough.”
She looked at the desperate, pleading faces of the spirits. “What do you need to move on?”
None of them spoke for a moment. Then the Lycah floated forward.
Hear my story. I was born in the territory of the great Queen Keebee under a waxing moon. When I had seen nineteen winters, I left to go in search of adventure. Along the way, I met a vampire…
As the Lycah spoke, the others began to push in front of him,each wanting Selene to hear their story too. Sam was growing paler, and his breathing more irregular.
“We’ve got to get him out of here,” Vanthee whispered as two spirits visibly began arguing with each other. “It’s like he’s been poisoned by their anguish.”
“I’m scared the spirits won’t let him go.”
Vanthee glanced at Sam, then at the sky, and finally at the approaching turn in the maze before saying, “Keep listening to them—I’ll get him out.”
“He’s too weak to stand.”
“I know,” Vanthee said. Then she bent down and effortlessly lifted Sam onto her shoulders in a fireman’s carry. She adjusted her grip, securing one hand on Sam’s dangling thigh over her left shoulder while firmly grasping his bicep with the other.
Selene stared at her, wondering if there was anything Vanthee couldn’t do. “You’ve got him? It may take some time before you make your way out.”
“I’m fine. I don’t like leaving you here alone, though.” Vanthee replied.
“I’ll be okay,” Selene said. The spirits were growing restless around them, clearly agitated that Vanthee was about to remove their punching bag. Selene waved her arm at Vanthee. “Go!”
“All right!” Vanthee said as she hurriedly backed out of the corridor, careful to keep Sam’s horns from brushing the ground. “Dark blessings, human!”
“Same to you, demon.”
As Vanthee disappeared around the corner, Selene squared her shoulders. Turning back to the spirits, she shouted, “Listen up!”
The spirits stared at her with hungry eyes.
“I’m sorry that you’re no longer among the living. But if anyone wants to share their story or send a message to Aurelia, I’d be honored to carry it back.” She pulled the writing pad out of her pocket and flipped to a fresh page.
Eager cries rippled through the throng of spirits, their voicesrising in a collective, desperate strain. One by one, they surged toward her, but their urgency was so intense that they soon merged into a chaotic blur of misty white forms. The very air seemed to pulse with their sorrow as the raw weight of their heartbreak enveloped her in a tide of grief and regret.
Chapter 44
Selene held up her arms as the spirits pressed in around her, pushing and shoving to get in front of her, each one trying to be heard, eager to relay their message into her ears. Although she could make out individual faces before, now the spirits blurred together.
“Step back,” Selene said weakly. The shadows that carried her words to the spirits were faint. “Give me a moment… ”
She dropped her head, trying to breathe, but the spirits only pushed in closer. Cold fingers brushed against her body and tangled in her hair, pleading for attention. From the way her knees wobbled she knew she was close to curling up on the ground, just as Sam had done.
“Help,” she whispered.
She thought she could handle it, but she was wrong. There were too many of them, and they were too desperate. Eventually, she would have to be carried out by Vanthee as well, assuming she didn’t lose her mind first. Or perhaps she might suffocate, drowning above water since her air supply was choked off by spirits.
But then, she heard something that made her freeze. She lifted her head, trying to focus on the faint sound.
