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“Ellie, what are you doing?”
Ignoring her, I looked into the canal that ran alongside the road. “What’s out there?”
“Curse Keeper.” A low hiss filled the air. “You’ve come out to play.”
“Holy shit,” Claire murmured, swinging her door open. “Ellie,get in the car.”
I steeled my back and tried to stop my hands from shaking. “Spirit, show yourself.”
“Ellie!”
The water splashed and the marsh grass rustled. The movement headed my way.
“Ellie,” Claire begged. “You don’t have to do this. Just get in the car.”
I wanted to run to safety, but this was my chance to get some answers. I needed to know what I was fighting. “Who are you?” I asked, willing myself to be brave.
The rustling stopped in front of me, but the canal was covered in shadows, and I couldn’t make out what was hidden in the vegetation.
“I am your nightmares come to life.” A giant snake’s head rose from a patch of reeds six feet in front of me. Its eyes were red, and it had horns. Shiny green scales covered the snake’s lithesome body, and its head was probably over three feet long.
When it said it was from my nightmares, the creature was right. I’d dreamed of it several nights ago.
The snake’s head bobbed, and the image shimmered and became hazy. The spirit still hadn’t regained enough strength to have a solid form. That would hopefully work in my favor.
I flexed my hand, ready to lift the mark on my palm toward it and send the beast away. It would only be banished temporarily, but at least I’d be protected for the moment. I wasn’t about to let it know I was scared. “Who are you?”
“I am Mishiginebig.” Its forked tongue slipped out of its mouth and quivered. “Have you heard of me?”
I lifted my chin. “No.”
“Before long, you will know me well. I slither through the water, hunting my favorite prey.Humans.” His eyes lit up with excitement. “Thenuppinfeared me, and soon, so shall thetosh-shonte.”
What the heck were thenuppinand thetosh-shonte? I tried to hide the fear that turned my knees shaky. The snake would feed off of my weakness. “Why are you here?”
“To see the witness to creation for myself.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “Why?”
The snake slid from side to side, its red eyes tracking me. “You’re not so special.”
“That’s right. I’m not. Now go tell all your spirit friends.”
Mishiginebig lifted his head high and slid back several feet, looking haughty and regal. “Okeus has special plans for you.”
“Yeah, your badger buddy told me the same thing last night.”
“Okeus wants to have an audience with you.”
“Since when does he ask for permission?”
The giant snake’s red eyes blinked, then narrowed to slits as it leaned closer. “You’re alive because Okeus wishes it. Many of us would rather it was otherwise. Do not doubt that for a minute.”
I didn’t, but there were several ways they could do me in. One, I was pretty sure they could outright kill me, but Collin was certain they wouldn’t. Because my manitou had never been recycled, my life essence had been pure since the creation of the universe. That had earned me the title of witness to creation, but it also meant my manitou was much stronger than other creatures’. For beings that gained strength from consuming the life essence of other creatures—including most of the beings that had escaped from the gate to Popogusso—I would be the ultimate catch. Collin had assured me that the mark on my back would protect my manitou. But I wasn’t sure if his information was trustworthy, and even if it were, the mark would soon be gone.
A car approached from the other direction, its headlights illuminating the snake in gruesome detail.
“Drew!” Claire shouted, waving her arms in desperation.
