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I glanced up at Ivana. Not sure how much she knew, I was hesitant to talk in front of her. I didn’t trust her, even though she had come to our aid several times. Morio caught my hesitation and gave me a tight shake of the head.
“We should go.” He reached down to give me a hand.
“But what of my ghosties? Who stole them?” Ivana’s crass voice was grating, but after hearing her true voice, it didn’t bother me nearly as much. She was far more powerful than even I’d thought, and this was yet another issue we had to rethink.
“They’re gone. I’m not sure what took them, but whatever it is, you’re right. It’s big and it’s bad. I suggest you refrain from ghost hunting for a while. Whatever it is might come back and this time might just go after you, too.”
The thought of telling her who did it, of seeing her go up against Gulakah, offered an intriguing set of possibilities, but then I decided that might not be such a good idea.
She frowned. “As you will, Witch Girl. But suspicion abounds…you are not telling the Maiden of Karask all you know, but soon enough, all will reveal. No doubt about that. No doubt at all. Now go, unless you should wish to come into my house for tea. I’ve oinker left and it heats to a nice broth.” She touched her nose, like Santa Claus, and I shivered. Not quite so jolly and safe, although I’d met the real Santa—the Holly King—and he was far from the happy fat man portrayed in the movies.
Ivana escorted us back to the portal, and we hurried through. We were all eager to get away from her, even Shade, who seemed the least bothered. As soon as we were back in Tangleroot Park, I let down my guard and collapsed on the sidewalk, thoroughly worn out.
Delilah knelt by my side. “Camille, what the hell happened? Do you need to see Sharah or Mallen?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so, but I’m so exhausted. And confused.” Smoky gathered me in his arms, this time ignoring my requests to be set down. His long legs made quick work of the path, and he wouldn’t let anybody question me till we reached the car. Delilah took my keys—she didn’t trust me to drive—and we settled in, with me sitting in the back between Smoky and Morio, and Shade up front with her.
“Okay, now…in the safety of the car, tell us, what the fuck happened to you?” Morio was looking decidedly bent out of shape. I knew him well enough to know that he wanted to go attack whatever had hurt me, but I also knew there was no way he could beat up on the enemy I’d faced.
But had I really faced Gulakah? Was it truly him? Or had something different just put the idea in my head? Shaking off the doubt, I began to tell them what had happened from the moment I touched the tombstone. As I finished, they sat there, staring at me, mouths agape.
“So, I want to know—where the hell was I? No ocean on this planet, that’s for sure.”
Morio shook his head. “I don’t know, but I think you really did land somewhere near Gulakah. You can’t fake the power of his fear.”
Shade cleared his throat. “I don’t think you were in an actual ocean.”
I frowned. “That seems obvious, since I’m not covered with gray ooze. But I was in some body of…liquid, at least my spirit was.”
“No,” he interrupted. “I don’t think you were. I think…what I think is almost too frightening to suggest.” He stared at me, unblinking, those gorgeous eyes stark against the warm toffee of his skin.
“Just say it, dude.” I was tired of people circumnavigating things.
“I think…I think you projected yourself inside Gulakah’s mind.”
His words hit me like a brick wall, tumbling down.
“Fuck. No.” Reeling at the thought, I shook my head. I couldn’t have landed in the mind of a god—especially Gulakah. “No, no…no…”>I did as he asked, sinking to the ground slowly, making sure Morio stayed connected to me. Physical contact wasn’t absolutely necessary, but it made things a lot easier.
The ground was soft and moist beneath my knees, and I felt like I was sinking into the earth. A reverberation of magic ran through Ivana’s land and it sang to me. I caught my breath, wanting to unhook my corset, to press my breasts into the soil. At that moment, Morio let out a small sound and I realized he was feeling it, too—through me.
“Ivana, what is this energy…” My words drifted off as I opened my eyes and looked over at her. It took everything I had not to reel back, to break the connection and spell.
For there she stood, Ivana, the Maiden of Karask, only she was no longer hideous and gnarled, but tall and brilliant and dark as the evening sky. Her hair flowed now, long and silver, with black streaks running through it. She was taller than Smoky, and her face was angular, pale as the moon’s silver light, and her eyes glowed with a dark burgundy—not in the way of vampires, but like hot coals in the middle of a white sea.
Ivana Krask was terrifying in her unnatural beauty—far more than Aeval or Titania. A magnetic pulse resounded from her core, shimmering out in concentric rings, and it captured me with a deep rhythmic vibration. I wanted to run to her, to fall at her feet.
Fighting with my instinct, I forced myself to hold steady. Morio was struggling, too. I could feel longing rise up in Morio—a deep hunger. I reached up, took his hand, and squeezed as hard as I could, driving my nails into his skin to shake him out of his stupor. He moaned softly but then shook his head and glanced at me as he steadied himself.
Shade was holding Delilah as she huddled in his arms, weeping. I didn’t know what was going on, but she didn’t look hurt, so I returned my attention to Ivana, who slowly crossed to stand beside me.
“What is this?” I stared up at her.
She laughed again, then leaned down. She kissed one finger, then pressed it to my lips. “Witch Girl, never forget, the Elder Fae have many forms and more power than you can ever hope to possess. I am showing you my power.”
“Why would you do that?”
“You need to know. For this creature who gobbled up my ghosties, it is stronger than I am. So before you go delving into the grave for its bugaboos and secrets, best you know my own strength. Then, you can decide whether to proceed. You suspected me of raiding the boneyards. I could, if I chose to. But I leave some things be. The ghosties in boneyards, they are home and I do not invade their space. I only go after the spirits who wander, whose fury keeps them from resting. This…thing…whatever it is, plays by its own rules. It eats its fill and scatters the bones.”
