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What if I could use that connection again? What if, instead of letting the Gateway drain all my magic away, I could somehow direct some of it towards Garrik? After all, Natalie could control my hands and feet. But surely she couldn't control my magic completely. Not the part of it which came from inside me.

"Celeste, put your left hand against the second seal," Natalie ordered.

My hand lifted immediately, pressing against the silver circle carved into the right side of the Gateway. Once again, I felt that horrible tingling sensation rushing up my arm, followed by the unpleasant feeling of something drawing magic out of my body.

But this time, instead of concentrating on trying to pull my hand away, I closed my eyes and thought about Garrik. I pictured his handsome face, with those deep blue eyes and the little silver streaks in his dark hair. I remembered the warmth of his enormous hands against my skin and the way his arms had felt around me when he held me close. And I thought about his body, lying on the marble table behind us.

His heart was beating now. His lungs were breathing. I'd helped make that happen. Surely I could help him again!

Please, I thought desperately as I concentrated on directing my magic towards the big ghost instead of the Gateway. Please let me do something to help him!

For a moment, nothing happened. Then I felt a strange warmth spreading through my chest. It was the same wonderful sensation I'd experienced when Garrik kissed me—when his spectral form became solid beneath my hands and I could feel the warmth of his body against mine. Only this time, it seemed to be coming from inside me…and it was growing stronger.

I concentrated harder, imagining that warmth flowing out of me and towards Garrik, wherever he was standing.

Suddenly, I heard him gasp.

"By the Ancients!"

I opened my eyes. Garrik was standing close to me, staring down at his own chest with an expression of utter astonishment. His spectral form was glowing—not with the eerie blue light of the Gateway, but with a warm, silvery radiance which seemed to be coming from somewhere deep inside him. And for a moment, he looked almost completely solid.

"Garrik?" I whispered from the corner of my mouth.

He looked up at me, his eyes wide.

"Celeste! What are you doing?" he muttered hoarsely.

"I'm not sure!" I admitted in a low voice. "I'm trying to send some of my magic to you instead of letting the Gateway take it!"

His expression changed.

"Sweetheart, I can feel it!"

"Really?"

"Yes!" He pressed a hand against his chest. "The connection to my body is growing stronger! Much stronger!"

My heart leaped. Oh my God—it was working! At least, I thought it was.

But then Garrik suddenly bent forward, gripping his chest as though he'd been struck by something.

"Garrik!" I gasped.

He made a strange, strangled sound and reached towards the marble table where his physical body lay. I followed his gaze…and what I saw made my heart nearly stop.

His body's chest was rising and falling much more quickly now, and I could actually see the muscles in his neck tightening as his heart seemed to begin beating harder. The sleeping body was reacting to the magic!

"Oh my God!" I whispered. "Garrik, are you okay?"

He straightened slowly, looking absolutely astonished.

"Yes, sweetheart," he murmured. "I believe I am. But I can feel my body calling to me more strongly than ever before. It's almost as though something is trying to draw me back into it!"

For a moment, I forgot all about Natalie and the terrible Gateway. Could this be it? Could my magic finally be strong enough to reunite Garrik's spirit with his body?

But then Natalie spoke again.

"Celeste, what are you doing? You're supposed to be extinguishing that rune!"