Page 85 of Ransomed to the World
Sadie continued for a few more paces before noticing Annora had halted. She turned and hissed, “Now is not the time to stop.”
“There’s a ward on the door.” Annora shuffled uncomfortably, not wanting to get any closer, the need to touch it almost like a compulsion.
Sadie frowned and looked back at the door. “Just a small one to make sure no harm comes to the council. As long as you don’t plan to murder them, you’re fine.”
Annora leaned forward, swearing she saw something moving inside the darkness. “I think there’s something in there.”
“Don’t be stupid.” Without waiting for a response, Sadie walked through the ward and began walking down the hall.
Shit.
A pit yawned open in Annora’s stomach, a warning that something was going to go horribly wrong. She did her best to shove it away and clamped down on her magic until her senses deadened. Gathering her courage, she charged up the stairs.
As she crossed the ward, the reassuring connection to the guys became muffled. They were still there, but it was like the wards were interfering with it or something.
Instead of crossing into the building, she was dumped into the afterworld…only it was a vastly different place from where she grew up and not at all comforting. She was still inside the castle, but the magic was a physical thing swirling around her. The shadows were deeper here, more ominous, as if something was waiting.
A lithe young woman in an elegant dress glided out of the darkness, her gown glittering with jewels, the graceful way she moved almost hypnotizing.
Annora stilled, feeling very much like a drunken trash panda dressed up in clown clothing by comparison. Whoever entered was no longer alive—nor were they really dead. Edgar’s warnings to be wary of the darkness flashed in her mind, and she braced herself, expecting a monster to rip out of the woman and devour her.
A gentle smile softened the woman’s face instead. “I haven’t seen one such as you in ages, and I couldn’t help be curious.”
“One such as me?” Annora fought the urge to flee. She waited for her instincts to kick in and warn her of danger, but the woman oozed serenity. Not sure she could trust her own senses, Annora kept her magic locked down tight and waited.
“You’re a bridge, a talent so rare that only one is born every century, usually in a time of great need. There hasn’t been one who has survived childhood in nearly five hundred years.” She came forward and circled Annora. “You must have come to be recognized by the council.”
Her gaze dropped to Annora’s dress, then she frowned and shook her head with a sigh. “Now that just won’t do. You do them an honor by offering your services as a warrior and arbiter.” She touched the dress, clicking her tongue. “You need something that will make you shine.”
Annora was ready to object when another woman entered. She was just as striking as the first, wearing a deep red silk gown that clung to her gorgeous body, but the kindness was absent, replaced by a haughtiness that gave her a slightly sour look. Disdain oozed from her as she glanced at Annora, her lips curling in disgust. “Why are you bothering with a half-breed, Eliana? She’s not worth the effort. She’ll be lucky they don’t strike her down for her daring.”
“Hush.” The first woman waved her away. “You’re just jealous that she has more power in her little finger than you had when you were still alive.”
The woman gave a loud harrumph. “In my day, a child like her would be nothing but a servant who needed to be taught her place.”
“By someone like you?” Eliana straightened, lifting a delicate brow. “If I remember correctly, Rowena, you barely had enough power to qualify as an elite. If you have nothing more to add, maybe you should join the others and go back to your sector.”
The woman pretended not to hear, tossing her dark curly hair over her shoulder and flouncing over to a chair and fireplace that hadn’t been there a second ago. “It amuses me to watch you dress her in silks and try to pass her off as anything but a servant. Her breeding will ring true. You can change the outside, but she’ll still always be a drudge. Spare her the humiliation and toss her back.” She plucked a grape off the table and popped it into her mouth.
“Nonsense.” Eliana shook her head, her sleek blond curls swaying gently. She winked at Annora, then rolled her eyes. “Not everyone is a snob and adheres to the old ways. If such people don’t learn to change, they’ll eventually become extinct.”
Sadness carried in her voice, and Annora took it as a warning of what would come, sooner than anyone expected if the rebels decided to truly fight for their freedom. Eliana tucked up the extra yards of fabric from Annora’s dress, twisting it and nodded to herself. “Yes, I think I have the perfect thing.”
The darkness near the floor caught at the edges of the off-white dress, then began to streak upwards, the magic transforming the material into a wispy deep blue satin. Gems sparkled like the night sky every time Annora moved, while the fabric clung to her and swished around her ankles like a cloud.
It made her feel beautiful and delicate.
Eliana scanned her, her chin in her hand, and she tapped a finger against her bottom lip. Then she straightened, nodded, and smiled. “It’s perfect.”
Annora glanced between the two women, cocking her head. “Why are you helping me?”
Rowena snorted, but Eliana waved her off like shooing away a pesky fly. “The wards weren’t created by magic alone—one volunteer from each of the families gave up their afterlife to keep the wards active. Most of us have fallen dormant, each patrolling our own quadrants…until you. You shook up our existence, your presence summoning me as soon as you passed through the wards.”
“I didn’t mean to,” Annora mumbled in apology.
Elaina gave a tinkling laugh. “You are so darling! Most phantoms have so little power, they hardly even register when they cross the wards, but not you. Your powers rang like church bells, wild and unruly, they’re—”
“—dangerous the longer you remained untrained.” Rowena sprawled back in her chair, took a sip of her wine, and smirked. “And for the record, I only came out of curiosity…to see exactly how long it will take for the council to quash you like a bug.”
