Page 110 of Woven Souls

Her hooded head turns to me. “I don’t know who you guys are, but I hope you’re here to tear this place down. The Brotherhood is a sham.”

Before I can ask what she means, she and a handful of other Ghost spirits take off across the foyer and through the doors. I hear a few screams, letting me know there are still people hiding inside the temple.

“What now?” I ask Willow.

When I turn to look at her, I find Willow’s attention is trained behind us. Following her gaze, I find the doors being locked by the Ghosts she temporarily disabled outside.

“Well,thatcan’t be good, can it?” she asks softly.

The sound of shuffling feet pulls my attention away from the front doors. The two doors behind the front desk open, and a wave of Ghosts pours into the room with their weapons drawn. Willow takes a step back, bumping into me with a soft gasp.

“I really didn’t plan on killing anyone today, Kwil,” she murmurs.

There’s no point in keeping quiet. These Ghosts are Fae, which means their hearing is superb.

Ghost after Ghost enters the room with their swords drawn. They fill up the space and push the two of us back towards the wall. With them come three more Elders. Their expressions range from curious to downright murderous. I wrap my arm around Willow’s waist and pull her towards me. My grip around my sword tightens.

“Do you know what you just did by sending your power through this temple?” one of the Elders asks. This one is shorter than the rest, for Fae standards at least. Her pale blond hair is long, hanging down to her ankles and flowing behind her as she pushes through the small army to come towards us.

I bare my teeth at her, and she pauses but doesn’t stop her glaring.

“You’re disgusting,” she snaps at me. “Theodon or Viktor should have killed you.”

I don’t let her words get to me. The only person whose opinion matters is standing beside me.

“Where are they?” I snap back.

“Oh, they’re here, speaking to my colleagues. You’ll be joining them shortly.” Her eyes dart to Willow. “Now, I asked you a question,girl. Do you have any idea what the hell you did?”

“Nope, and I don’t care.” Willow’s body trembles once in my grip, but she states confidently, “And I’ll do it again and again and ag—”

The doors closest to us open. Three men and three women stroll into the room looking smug. Witches and warlocks. Shit. In their hands are glowing thick metal chains. I eye them closely. What the hell are those for? Me? I’m strong, but for all of them to be carrying those things… It seems a bit excessive.

“You closed the ripple into the Third Realm, trapping hundreds of Ghosts on the other side!” the Elder snaps. “You’ve signed their death warrants.”

“Don’t listen to her. There are other ripples,” I whisper into Willow’s ear when I feel her body stiffen in surprise.

“I’m more concerned with our deaths right now, not theirs,” she mutters back.

“Oh, no Willow.Youare not dying,” the woman assures Willow as her expression brightens. “In fact, we’re planning on making sure you stay with us for averylong time.”

My stomach drops.

“Kwil, what does that mean?” Willow whispers.

After a hard swallow, I force myself to answer her. “Nothing good.”

Chuckling softly, the Elder raises her hand. The small army of Ghosts and the witches and warlocks all descend on the two of us at once. Just as they reach us, the ground beneath our feet trembles. This time I know it has nothing to do with Willow or her power. The footsteps of the Utikyie grow stronger.

We weren’t fast enough.

They’re here.

Just as the impending sense of doom bears down on me, an explosion rocks the room. Willow and I are thrown back against the wall as the ceiling collapses. As dust and stone fill the space, a black metal hand comes into view. Half of the Ghosts in the room split up, heading towards the new threat.

The other half continues to head straight for us.

Chapter28

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