Page 101 of Tethered Magick
“How is it supposed to work?” Kota asked, absently rubbing the goosebumps that broke out over his skin from the power electrifying the air.
I straightened and held up my hand. “Just a hunch…”
I brought the fleshy part of my palm to my mouth and extended my fangs, slashing my skin before letting my blood drop along an unrecognizable symbol on the floor. It looked almost like the sigils the shades left behind, but different. The symbols weren’t the same, and the arches varied, but somehow, I knew they were connected.
Why every ritual required a blood sacrifice, I would never know, but I couldn’t be mad at it. If my blood was the key to the gate, then that meant whoever was working against us wouldn’t have been able to open it without me.
As my blood spread along the nooks and crannies of the carving in the floor, the magick pulsed, nearly knocking me backward.
The crypt rumbled when the symbol was covered in my blood, and I backed up, bumping into Syler who threw his arms around me and held me steady. A crack started at the base of the wall, crawling upward and splintering in all directions until the stone crumbled and fell. The rocks bounced off each other, revealing a swirling, iridescent gate behind it that reminded me of the watery shimmer behind the iron gate in the veil.
“Ready?” Jolon asked, looking at each of us in turn.
“As I’ll ever be,” I admitted, my nerves rioting. This was probably the best and worst idea I’d ever had, but I was too deep to back out now. Every reason I’d given Axel solidified my resolve, and, holding Jolon’s hand, I stepped through the gate.
Twenty-Eight
Lorn
There was a reason the veil was sometimes called the void. The sense of dread you got when you entered the veil never changed. It was a lead ball that sat in your stomach, weighing you down. It was the feeling of your heart dropping to your feet as though you’d just completed a massive dip on a rollercoaster. It was the way your lungs fought just a little harder to breathe.
There was a distinct lack of hope, like just being near the shadow realm sucked all the joy and life out of a person.
“This place is depressing as fuck,” Kota grumbled, as he surveyed the empty landscape.
The ground was ashen and cracked in places, sandy in others, and the black gnarled trees jutted into the red sky like the rugged spikes had made it bleed. Black crystalline rocks dotted the otherwise flat landscape. Standing sentinel around the entrance of the shadow realm, the tall, black iron fence caged in the creatures on the other side, the gate itself judge and jury over all who entered.
Syler signed wildly, and I looked to Jolon.
“He says he hates the idea of you ever coming here again. Can’t say I disagree with him.” Jolon’s jaw was clenched tightly as he ground his teeth together.
“It’s certainly not Disney World.” I was aiming for Axel’s levity, but it fell short.
Not the time nor the place. Got it.
“It’s always been oppressive like this, but at least we’re alone. The last few times I’ve been here, there were shades on this side of the gate, and that’s not a picnic.” I shrugged, but my men tensed with the news, remembering what it was like to watch me bleed out in the mortal realm from the injuries I’d sustained here. “For any of us,” I added.
“Let’s get this over with and get you home.” Jolon interlaced his fingers with mine and led us toward the gate. Syler stayed at my back, and Kota took my other side, my mates doing the best they could to protect me from all angles.
The nearer we came to the gate, the louder the cacophony of snarls and chanting voices became, and the sounds crawled along my skin like ice-cold fingers. The iron gate was a monstrosity, towering well above my head and continuing onward, trying to reach the blood-red sky.
Jolon eyed the gate, tracing the iron with his fingers. “It’s another sigil, baby.” I stepped into his side and noticed the identical symbol carved into the smooth surface.
“The shades like to ramble about my blood being spilled for the veil, so it’s no wonder this is yet another blood keyed lock,” I grumbled, and slid my fangs back into the same spot I’d injured earlier.
This time, I pressed my bloody palm to the searing metal. Everything in the veil was warm. I felt like an ice cube in an oven, the waves of heat trying to melt me.
The gate groaned, the sound so piercing I winced and did everything in my power to resist covering my ears. I wanted my hands at the ready when this thing opened. Magick burned in our fingers and licked up our arms.
The gate broke apart with an ancient cry, the hinges needing a good oil. I worked with Jolon to push our side open, while Kota and Syler pulled at their side, opening the gate wide.
All that separated us from the shadow realm was the single, watery film of a ward that shimmered lightly in the pink moonlight, and on the other side sat the grimoire on a pedestal, glowing with power like the answer to all our prayers.
“Holy shit,” Kota whispered. “This is a bad fucking idea. Are we sure this isn’t a trap?” Kota questioned, his hair mussed from where he messed with the bun tied at the back of his head.
Pure power zapped along my skin like tiny strikes of lightning. “Can you feel that energy? It’s so pure, that’s definitely the grimoire.” Now that the gate was open, I felt drawn to it, pulled along in a rip current I couldn’t escape from.
“Not really. All I’m picking up on is apprehension and a creepy feeling that’s churning in my gut. Do you see those glowing eyes?” Kota peered around, his heart pounding so hard I could hear it.