15
ADDIE
Aportal burst open before me. I jerked back, afraid that I’d accidentally reached into the afterlife. Now that my arcana knew how to properly raise the dead, it could do it without my permission. But the white form that darted out of the portal wasn’t a ghost.
Maddox leapt past me. He hit the ground and let out a howl that chilled me to my bones. I fumbled, catching myself on the muddy bank of the ravine, and turned to look back at Maddox. Hackles raised, he growled at the man sliding down the ravine.
The man hit the bottom of the ravine and paused. He cocked his head curiously. The man’s arcana spread out to touch Maddox. A wave of anger hit me and sent my own arcana out in response.
How dare he touch Maddox?
The man recoiled when my arcana hit him. He recovered quickly and clutched the rosary around his neck. When he did that, the force of his power doubled in pressure. It came thundering back at us.
His power was strong, but it had to do with the rosary. So, I grabbed my own and tried to figure out how he was doing it while Maddow issued a warning growl. At first, I shoved my power into the rosary. When my arcana sank into it and began to tug at my core, I flinched and pulled back.
Except, when I pulled back, I found more power coming with me than I’d originally put in. I inhaled, excited. There was magic stored in this, somehow.
Not that I needed it.
The cool touch of death surrounded me. I lifted my gaze up to meet the man in the rabbit mask. I couldn’t look him in the eye, but he could see me, and that was all I needed.
For once, I didn’t hold back. I wasn’t going to shy away from my power. I released my grip on it and let it rush forth. Out and out, my arcana poured. I could feel every dead thing for miles all around. Oddly enough, the rosaries both glowed with pale blue light.
His burned brighter than mine. The small beads of light turned into tiny suns that seared my eyes. I had no idea what I was looking at. There was no time to decipher this now. I had to show him that I was not someone who could be hunted for sport.
Instead of letting my power hover near the ground, I shoved it all at Maddox. I wasn’t sure why, but it seemed like the right idea at the time.
The blue light flared around him. The fur shed off his tail to reveal bone that lengthened and sharpened. His talons did the same, turning into bone-like razors. He even seemed to grow in size as he soaked up my power.
We were bound, the two of us. Though we hadn’t wanted to admit it, this was obvious proof. The way he accepted my power like a conduit had to mean something. I just hoped that it didn’t mean that I was shortening his lifespan.
No one should have that much death in them—no one other than me, I guess.
I expected another show of force from the man’s arcana, but he changed his tune. When he spun and ran up the ravine, I gaped at him. However, he must have known he wouldn’t get far on his own.
All that power that’d been swirling around us was forced in every direction. The impact hit me in the chest and stole the breath from my lungs. Before my eyes, I watched portals to the afterlifetearopen.
Ghosts poured out of the rips in the veil between the two worlds. From the earth, corpses clawed their way out and began clambering towards us. I gave everything I had to Maddox. When I searched inside myself, there was almost nothing left.
Had I not given my arcana to Maddox, I would have been able to turn the corpses on the man. The ghosts were another problem. I didn’t want to tear their souls apart. I didn’t want to be the reason that those souls no longer existed.
Maddox didn’t hesitate. He slashed at the first ghost to rush toward him. I expected his claws to go through the incorporeal spirit, but he made impact. His strike ripped the spirit to shreds before he slammed his tail into a corpse.
I stood there, stunned. I could do nothing to stop this madness. These were people. They weren’t weapons or tools.
They were people!
“Stop!”
Everything came to a standstill. My command took ahold of everything, the same way it had to the rabbit that I’d summoned earlier. My heart thumped nervously. I didn’t know how long I could hold them all.
Maddox glared at me with hatred in his eyes. He’d come here to protect me, yet I’d once again betrayed him with my power. Surely, he understood why I’d done it. I refused to let these people become sacrifices. Even if they were already dead, they had a chance to find peace in the afterlife.
They would have nothing if we destroyed them the same way I’d destroyed Jaden.
“Go home.”
The command was simple. I had no idea if everything in the vicinity would be able to understand. The rabbit hadn’t been able to comprehend the idea of freedom. But the ghosts seemed to release a unanimous sigh as they slipped back through the rips in the veil.