“You’ll need to use a blood connection to reach them,” Helga said.
Remembering the ritual I’d performed with my mother, I took my Essex dagger out of my holster. The silver glinted in the sunlight that streamed through the stain-glass window. Without hesitating, I sliced my palm, allowing a few drops of my blood to drip onto the hard stone floor. As soon as the liquid sizzled, Helga started her chant.
“Good luck,” Dave called as my head fell back and my eyes closed.
Clouds suddenly grew thick around me, wind forcing my ponytail to flick around my shoulders. My mind begged the ancestors to answer my call. I had to speak to-
“What’s happening?” a female voice asked.
Opening my eyes, I almost stumbled. We were in the meadow, the usually light clouds dark and red above us. Heavy with rain, they looked like they were about to burst.
“I’ve found them,” I shouted over the loud whistle of wind.
The one with blonde hair stepped closer and grabbed my hand. “Why are you here? Why have you not stopped them from draining the line?”
Seeing what was happening in this realm made my palms sweat. The ley line was in worse shape than I realised.
“I need your help.” Looking at all four of the ancestors, every one of them in long white gowns, I wondered if I would be one of them in the future. Only those who were good in life would serve the Earth in death. Other witches would go to the other side or the universe’s version of hell, which I knew nothing about.
“What do you want?” The curt question made me swallow down my fear.
Nothing they did or said would prevent me from getting what I needed. Well, maybe that was a bit of an arrogant stance, but I would try my damn hardest. I was no longer in a book. My real life had become much more consuming than my books. I had to be the agent I knew I was capable of being.
“As you know, my connection to the ley line is compromised. Please give me more power so I can bring these men down. I can’t defeat them without my pure magic.”
A gust of wind almost knocked one of the ancestors down. There didn’t seem to be much power left in this realm. I desperately had to sever Lucien’s link to the ley line.
“And you think you’ll be able to end this man quickly?” The hesitation on their faces was apparent as they stared at me.
One of them bit their lip, their hands clenched by their sides. Looking around, I spotted the Essex graveyard in the distance. Two tombstones toppled over as I watched, their crash loud in our ears as the breeze carried it towards us.
“We know where he is, I have a huge team ready to take him down. It’s me he wants. I need to be the one to disconnect him from the line. I can’t do that as I am now.”
My words flew away, but the ancestors must have heard as one of them came closer and gestured for the others to join her. “We don’t have much power left, Gemma. If we channel our magic through you, you’ll have enough to do what you need to do. If you fail, we won’t recover, we’ll be lost to the void, and so will this realm.”
Wow, talk about pressure beating down on my shoulders. Maybe I shouldn’t have come to the ancestors for help. I hadn’t expected so much expectation to be placed on me. A dead witch with a weak link to the ley line.
“I...”
“It’s okay,” one of the other witches said as she took her friend’s hand. “We believe in you, Gemma. Your mother trained you to be the best. Every moment of your life has led you to this.”
It had? Oh jeez, that didn’t help at all. Since I was young, I’d had a confidence that most found arrogant. Recently, with my death and all, I’d lost that. My ego had been knocked down a peg or two.
“I’ll try my hardest.” Weak words at best, but that’s all I could promise. They might have faith in me, but I’d somehow lost my belief in myself.
“You can do it!”
Another of them put her hand up. “If you’re successful, we’ll use our power to bring you back to life without consequences.”
My knees almost gave out as I breathed deeply, my hand on my chest. Really? My life also depended on my ability to detach Lucien Harvey. Boy, my mission really was set out for me.
The ancestors joined hands and started to chant. A rush of energy pulsed on the grass beneath my feet. Heat rose inside me, pooling at the pit of my stomach. Strength that had been missing since I’d died came flooding back.
“Go now!”
Their bark echoed in my head as I was whisked away from the field and back into my body in the church. My gasp was loud in the silent church as my eyes flew open. Humming in my veins made my muscles burn with tension. Magic lined every part of me.
“You did it,” Dave whispered as his dark eyes raked over me.
Lifting my hands, I glanced at them. They were glowing with light, the colour quickly fading as the power settled in my bones.
“Let’s go!”
Looking at Helga, I smiled my thanks. She waved at me in dismissal. “Please, save the ancestors.”
Had she heard the conversation with the ancestors?
Not bothering to think too hard on it, I joined Dave as we jogged down the aisle. He glanced at me, a glint in his eye.
“There’s the Gemma I know and love.”
Shaking my head, I couldn’t help the smile that came to my face. “It feels good to be back. However...” I dragged the last bit out as we exited the church and prepared to flash to our team. “If we don’t do this right, not only will I stay dead, the whole world will die along with me.”
Chapter 14
“You’re all in place?”
