Page 99 of Divine Oaths

I swam against the current, my arms cutting through its expanses, my legs pushing me forward as I kicked in swift, sharp movements. In the waters, dirt and foliage drifted around us. But I was just focused on Kasem, on reaching him before it was too late.

My lungs burned in my chest. My body screamed at me to retreat. But I was so close, so close.

And then there he was, just inches away from me, his eyes closed as a light emanated from him. His wraith form. It was luminescent. In the water, he appeared as a spectrum of silver and gold flames that wove together into another version of him. There was real Kasem, sinking into the depths of the swamp, and wraith Kasem, a ghostly being shimmering with light.

I screamed with my mouth closed, pointing and kicking for his wraith to save his body. But he was unmoved, his eyes glassy, empty. He observed himself slowly drown, as though he was witnessing someone else’s death.

And then, in the murky depths of the swamp, yellow eyes gleamed at us, dark scales shimmering closer and closer.

With the final strength I could manage, I kicked forward, grabbing the true Kasem’s wrist before his body submerged into the unknown. Still holding the blade, I cut through the ropes that bound his hands and feet. But his weight dragged me down, and my breath was waning, my body weak. The alligators in the swamp neared.

Just as the world began to dim and my thoughts drifted from reach, suddenly there was that glow of silver and gold again, embracing me, drawing a fiery barrier that sent the alligators scurrying away. It was like the fire was inside Kasem, like his wraith was a manifestation of sorrow.

The wraith wrapped his arm around my waist, and together we swam upward, against the current, carrying his unconscious body. But something knocked us apart.

Pete.

The knife flung from my hand and Pete was there to grab it. I fought back a scream as he lunged toward Kasem’s body, the knife raised in a killing blow. But the blade cut through Kasem’s shoulder, his wraith pulling him to safety just in time.

An explosion of light poured through the swamp. Kasem’s wraith was drawn back into his body in an icy coldness. Kasem woke, letting out a cry of bubbles and oxygen.

I grabbed Pete by the neck, tried to pull him away from Kasem. Pain tore through me as he elbowed me in the face. And then, up above, there was another burst of light—crimson red, melded with silver—and the ghostly forms of Nathan and Vivian emerged in the swamp. Nathan was different from how he’d looked in the tunnel. The whites of his eyes had settled, his pupils now visible. He was no longer a wraith, but simply a ghost.

Vivian grabbed Kasem and me, helping us swim away, yet all I could do was watch in horror as my vision of the future became reality.

Nathan lunged at Pete, grabbing him by the neck, wrangling him as waterweeds and roots latched on to Pete’s arms and feet and dragged him deep into the swamp. His body grew limp. He tore and fought, but it wasn’t enough. When we finally reached the dock, part of me expected Pete to follow in pursuit. But he didn’t, and I knew then.

He was dead.

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

Refuse thy name

I WAS SHIVERING. KASEM LIFTED me onto the dock, and then he climbed up after, clutching the blade that Pete had tried to stab him with. The wound on his shoulder and wrists left a trail of blood that drew alligators to the surface of the swamp. He slipped his hand around my waist, helping me stand, and we hobbled our way to the shed, Kasem locking us inside just as the alligators reached us. He held me tight as they charged the shed door, their deep, bellowing roars bloodthirsty.

With the door securely bolted, we fell to the ground, hugging each other like we’d collapse if we let go.

The shed was tiny, filled to the brim with power tools and devices that I didn’t recognize. There was also a blue mat that leaned against a shelf packed with supplies, from batteries stained with rust to flashlights with broken light bulbs.

I buried my head against Kasem’s chest, taking in his musky scent, taking in all of him. Just moments before, I’d watched him nearly drown. But he was alive. He was here.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, pulling away from me and examining my injuries, even as his dripped with blood.

I ignored him, cupping my hand over where the knife had cut his shoulder and channeling my affinity. A light tingling sensation gnawed at the back of my head, but slowly, his skin began to weave together. The wound rewound to before the knife had cut him and he hissed in pain as the tissue repaired itself.

I fell forward, drained from channeling my affinity. Kasem held me steady.

“Are you able to heal yourself too?” he asked.

His hand traced my bruised lip and eye, tendrils of silver light unfurling behind him.

“Kasem,” I whispered. “I’m fine. He barely scratched me.”

I pulled him closer, grazing his cheek and anchoring myself to the present. To the feel of his body pressed against mine, his cool touch, our wet clothes sticking together.

The light retreated back within him, his wraith slumbering again in its relic.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I don’t know what’s happening to me.”