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Ari
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TEMPTED TO TRY A SPELL involving blood magic, I sensed it wouldn’t work this time. More wards had been added to the spells around our cells, preventing the use of all types of magic. There was only one I hadn’t tried yet, but I didn’t actually have any stored inside me. I would have to borrow it directly from Greg.
“My magic will not aid you to escape from this prison,” the Grim Reaper said in response to my thought. It was a bit creepy that he could read my mind so easily. Not even Connor had direct access to my thoughts. He could only sense my emotions.
“Do you have any ideas of how to get us out of here?” I asked.
“I do not,” he replied after a lengthy silence.
“Great,” I muttered, pacing up and down in my cell. Apart from a narrow cot, basin and toilet, the concrete room was empty.
I glanced through the window to see Quin staring at the wall, deep in thought. Connor was pacing as well. He moved with the grace of his panther, sending occasional glances at me. Stephanie was still crying quietly in the cell next to mine. She hadn’t been hurt physically, but she was traumatized that she’d been used to lead us into a trap.
Hours passed and no one came to give us any food. My stomach was already cramping in hunger. I needed a steady supply of blood, or I would risk starvation. Jonah leaned against the wall, looking downward and silently kicking his toe against the ground. Greg had stationed his body in a corner of the room before turning invisible. His hand remained on my shoulder with his arm stretched out unnaturally. He was hiding from my view, but I was always aware of him now. Thanks to our bond, it would be very difficult for me to die, but it wasn’t much fun going hungry.
Eventually, I lay down on my cot and stared up at the ceiling. Stephanie had fallen into a deep sleep and was snoring quietly. Connor continued to pace and Quin still stared broodingly at the wall. I wished we knew what Von Hades and his trusty sidekick were planning.
In response to that thought, Greg manifested and spoke. “There is something we could try that may allow your consciousness to leave this cell.”
Rolling my eyes to the side so I could see his hollow eye sockets deep beneath his hood, I raised one eyebrow in enquiry.
“I can attempt to temporarily detach your soul so you can astral project your consciousness in search of information.”
“You can do that?” I asked with a large dose of skepticism. Jonah drifted closer to listen in.
“Some humans can achieve the separation themselves,” the reaper replied. “While I have not assisted anyone with this task, I am willing to try.”
“Well, if a lowly human can do it, it should be a piece of cake for me,” I said dryly.
“What plan are you hatching, Ari?” Connor called out.
I climbed to my feet and approached the window to see both my mate and our boss watching me. Jonah squeezed his face into the window next to mine. He was cool against my skin when we brushed together. “My invisible friend wants to help me try something,” I said cryptically. We were no doubt being watched and listened to either magically, or electronically.
“Could you possibly be more vague?” Quin asked with a frown. “Will it be dangerous?”
I flicked a look at Greg. “Maybe,” he conceded. “If your soul is detached for too long, it may not be able to return to your body.”
“Of course it won’t,” Jonah said, rolling his eyes.
“Jonah?” Quin prompted. He was invisible and inaudible to our listeners and could fill them in.
“Greg’s going to rip Ari’s soul out of her while she’s asleep and help her to astral project so she can snoop around,” he explained.
Connor sucked in a breath, but I quickly spoke before he could lose it. “He’s not going to rip it out,” I said with a glare at my bestie. “I’m sure he’ll be gentle.”
“Gentle?” Quin said incredulously. Studying me through the bars, her expression became resigned. “You’ve already made up your mind to try this, haven’t you?”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “It probably won’t do any good, but at least I’ll be doing something.”
“Be careful,” Connor said, gripping the bars tightly. “Watch out for her,” he added, including the ghost and the reaper that he couldn’t see in his plea.
“We will,” Jonah promised.
I blew Connor a kiss, gave Quin a wave, then returned to my cot. I wasn’t feeling the least bit sleepy now that we had a plan.
“I can put you to sleep,” Greg offered.
Jonah shuddered at his choice of words. “She’s not a sick old dog,” he protested.
“You know what he meant,” I muttered, then nodded. “Go ahead, Greg. I trust you.” I’d never in a million years thought I would ever say that to a Grim Reaper, but it was true. I trusted him with my life, not that I had much choice.
Reading these thoughts, Greg gave me a small bow, then put his hand on my forehead. Darkness rose up and I succumbed to sleep.
Inside my mind, I stood face to face with the reaper. His hand was still welded to my shoulder. “Am I dreaming?” I asked, looking around and seeing nothing but a black void.
“You are in between the dreaming and waking worlds,” he replied. “I will now call your soul from you.”
I braced myself as he raised his scythe with his other hand. Instead of sweeping it at me and severing my soul, he merely beckoned with it. Death magic welled inside him, calling my soul from me. It reluctantly allowed itself to be pulled free of my body, but a fraction remained behind. A ghostly looking version of myself appeared beside me, glowing the same light blue color as Connor’s eyes.
“Some of your soul must stay behind,” Greg explained. “Or you will become a full vampire again.”
“We don’t want that to happen,” I said, remembering how evil I tended to become without my soul. “What now?”
“Now I will push your consciousness into your soul.” With that, he used the hand that was attached to my shoulder to shove me sideways.
The moment I touched my spectral soul, I was sucked inside it. Opening my eyes, everything looked different as I saw through my soul. The walls were see-through as if I had x-ray vision. I could see my friends in their cells and saw all the way to their skeletons and internal organs. “This is so cool,” I breathed. Jonah looked far more solid to me than anything else did. “Hey, Jonah,” I said, giving him a wave. He continued to look at my body without acknowledging me.
“He cannot see or hear you,” Greg told me. He looked solid as well, as if the dead were alive and the living were the ghosts.
“Now to test whether I can leave the cell,” I said and walked towards the door. Unable to feel the floor, I looked down to see I was floating a couple of inches above it. Glad no one could see my childish glee, I rose into the air and flew in a circle around the cell.
“Have you gotten that out of your system?” Greg asked in a dry tone.
Realizing he was still attached to me and had been drawn along on my joyride, I reigned in my urge to be a kid. “Yep,” I replied as nonchalantly as possible considering I could now fly. “Let’s go,” I added, then cautiously approached the door. Reaching out, my hand passed through the metal as if it didn’t exist.
Greg’s consciousness floated next to me as I entered the hallway. Looking left and right, it stretched out in both directions. My friends and I were the only prisoners. Looking up, I couldn’t penetrate all the layers of concrete and metal, but I could see there were other floors above us. “Should we go up?” I asked my spectral companion.
“That would be my suggestion,” he replied. “We must hurry. Your soul cannot be apart from your body for too long.”
With that reminder, I went into action.
