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“…and everything in between…”
The wind was hurricane force now, and the woman struggled to resist its pull.
Caught in the gusts of wind, the sword spun back and forth on the asphalt before starting to slide toward the hole. I lunged for it, stretching out my arm. But my coordination was gone and my arms flailed like a rag doll’s, sending intense pain searing through my back. I screamed as my fingers closed around the handle and I fell the rest of the way to the ground, my cheek scraping the pavement as I watched the Raven Mocker turn toward the homeless man.
“I compel you to leave my sight,”Collin shouted, fury in his voice.
In one movement, she thrust her hand into the homeless man’s back. His screams pierced my ears, only stopping when her wrist twisted with a sharp jerk. The wind swept her feet out from beneath her and pulled her backward as she ripped the man’s heart from the gaping hole in his back. Holding it up in triumph, the Raven Mocker took a bite as she disappeared into the vortex. The hole closed, but her evil laughter still rang in my ears as everything fell away and faded to black.
I was dying. I’d failed them all.
Chapter22
Iwas plunged into the blackest darkness I’d ever experienced and surrounded by an icy cold. Was this hell? I fought to breathe, but my chest resisted the simplest command to draw in a breath. I was suffocating.
Collin called my name and I tried to answer him, but nothing came out. Instead, I felt myself falling and his voice became fainter and fainter.
Desperate, I reached out for anything to hold onto. My hands felt nothing but the dank, heavy air around me.
Was this how it would end?
The moans of countless creatures filled my ears and my panic resurfaced. I couldn’t spend the rest of eternity in hell. Hysteria took over and I searched for an escape. But it was like I was running on a treadmill; there was nowhere to go. The moans and screams grew louder.
“Collin!” I screamed.
Then a searing pain exploded in my hand, shooting straight to my back, and a bright, blinding light flashed in front of my eyes. My spine arced as electricity shot through my body, jolting my nearly still heart and sending it racing. The band on my chest loosened and I sucked in a deep breath.
The manitou of every living thing rushed through me with an intensity I’d never experienced. The sensation had always been peaceful and reassuring before, but this time it burned through my blood, filling every cell, and I cried out in pain and surprise. I was me, but not me. I was part of all living things, both in the sea and on the earth. I was everywhere and nowhere.
I was in Collin’s arms. His touch had brought me back.
Our connection was stronger than it had ever been before, and I not only felt his emotions—intense, overwhelming grief and panic—but my racing heart slowed down to synchronize to the rhythm of his, the rise and fall of our chests matching to the millisecond.
I felt his arms loosen around me as he realized I was not only alive but that we had a deeper access to each other than ever before.
We were literally two halves of a whole, separated by a thin veil. We stood on either side of it, our conscious minds aware of each other but neither one willing to make the breach.
I dragged my eyelids open and took in his pale face and his red, glassy eyes.
“Ellie,” he murmured in relief as he bent forward, resting his face on the top of my head. “Thank God.” His voice cracked with emotion.
Without releasing my hand, Collin sat on the ground with me draped across his lap. His grip on me tightened and his body shook with emotion.
“Oh, God, Ellie. I thought I’d lost you.” His grief and gratitude pushed through with his words, and I knew without a doubt that Collin had never been more frightened or more thankful in his life.
I stared up into his face, realizing that something about our connection had changed. I had always been able to feel him before, and while the veil between us was still intact, a wall I hadn’t known existed was gone.
“Thank you,” I murmured, but my mouth was dry and my tongue struggled to form the sounds. “You saved me.”
He let go of my hand, shutting down our connection, and pulled me closer. His eyes sank closed and he kissed my forehead. “You were dead, Ellie. You had no pulse.”
“I’m not dead now.” I didn’t want to think about what I’d experienced before Collin saved me. Nor the implications of where I’d be spending eternity.
I tried to sit up but realized my energy had faded now that we were no longer touching marks. I sagged into him, limp and useless. If a Raven Mocker were to attack us now, I wouldn’t even have the strength to lift my hand and recite the words of protection.
He felt my movement and released a heavy breath, searching my face. “How do you feel? Does your back hurt?”
“There isn’t any pain. I’m guessing our connection healed me?”
