Still kneeling beside him, I close my eyes and focus on calling Dominic’s soul from the confines of his body. Behind my eyelids a bright, blue orb forms.
“Good. Very good,” Abigail mutters her approval. There’s a strange admiration in her tone and I know this must be something she wishes she could do for herself.
I settle into the energy, allowing it to fill up my perception. It’s not all that unlike astral-projecting, but it feels different. Denser somehow. It doesn’t take long to latch onto Dominic’s energy, but rather than forming as a person, I continue to see the blue orb within my mind’s eye. A silver string also extends from the orb, making its way out of the darkness. Suddenly, as if the orb knows what it needs to do, it sails out and away from me. It vanishes through time and space, pulled somehow into what seems like a black hole. However, the silver string remains, floating like chemtrails in the air.
When I open my eyes, I realize it’s attached to his abdomen.
“The rest is now up to him,” Abigail says. “He had but moments, so be ready.”
I nod, exhaling a tense breath.
While astral-projecting is similar, walking to the edge of the veil was something else. There was a darkness beyond—an energy that consumed all light, if you weren’t careful. And I’m not sure whether or not sending Dominic into that was a wise choice.
“It is time,” Abigail says. “Summon the boy back.”
Nodding to her, I close my eyes, and take a deep breath. Unlike when I tried to bring Cat back, there’s a deep, powerful connection—like a direct line that binds us together. I can already tell that I don’t need some of the other ingredients, like the blood—or even the invocation. His soul, the bright blue orb, is right before me. All I need to do is encourage him to return to his vessel.
Like a conductor, I raise my arms in front of me, trying to guide it back to where it belongs.
“That’s it,” Abigail says, her voice lifting in tone. “Continue with the intention.”
Exhaling any nervous energy, I focus on the orb, directing it lower. When it reaches Dominic’s body, it hovers there. Rather than sinking back into his body, the energy is more like two magnets with opposing forces trying to connect.
“Something is not right,” I say, narrowing my gaze and trying harder.
“He is choosing to stay separated,” Abigail says, her eyes distant.
“What?” I spit. “Why would he do that?”
Abigail shakes her head. “Of that, I do not know.”
“Goddammit, Dominic,” I cry out, dropping to my knees and shaking his body. “Get your ass back to me. You promised you’d help me.”
A new kind of panic flashes through me and I rake my fingers through my hair.
What is he doing? This is the last thing I need right now and he knows that.
So, why the hell won’t he come back?
Chapter 15
The Other Side
My blood boils, and I imagine the various ways I’m going to kick Dominic’s ass when I finally get him back.
“Come back. Right now,” I cry out, clutching at his shoulders and shaking his torso. The silver string remains, but with each passing moment, it seems to fade.
His body is limp and the edges of his lips are taking on a faint bluish tint.
I shake my head in disbelief. “Oh, no you don’t…”
Closing my eyes, I try to tap into universal energies and the deeper parts of my gifts—parts I didn’t know existed, as I try to summon him back. Without thinking about the words, they spring to my lips. “Dominic Crane—wandering soul, I summon you back from the realm of the dead. Return, fragments of soul and self, from that of the spirit realm, to re-inhabit the body.”
I open my eyes and for a brief moment, the blue orb of light grows brighter, but it doesn’t get any closer to his body.
“Fuck,” I spit, slamming the side of my fist into the dirt. “What am I doing wrong?”
“This is of no one’s doing but his own. The boy is refusing to come back,” Abigail whispers feverishly beside my ear.
“How do I get him back?” I say through gritted teeth.
Abigail’s lips press tight and she shakes her head.
“Don’t you dare tell me there’s no way,” I say, reeling on her. “There has to be a way. I’ll drag him back kicking and screaming if I have to.”
Her eyebrows tug in and her nostrils flare as if the thought of it is distasteful. However, she whispers, “If you are to stand any chance, it would come at great risk.”
I’m suddenly on my feet. “How do I do it?” I demand.
Abigail’s expression is grim as she says, “Your soul must leave your body to follow after him.”
“So, how is that any different from what I’ve been doing? Astral projection and all that. Hell, what I just did—” I start.
“It is not the same. You leave this plane of existence entirely to enter the realm of the dead. There’s only one way to do that,” she says, frowning.
My fingers curl into fists as I glare at her. “Would you spit it out already? We’re running out of time.”
“It’s not your consciousness that travels with this. It’s your soul. Should you go there, you risk not coming back,” she says, setting her jaw. “It takes a strong will to return to the living without an anchor on this side.”
“So, be my anchor,” I say, as if the answer to the question was completely obvious.
She shakes her head. “I cannot. I’m not of this plane. I’m somewhere between.”
“Great, just…great,” I say, walking away from her and nodding to myself. “Well, looks like I have no other choice. It’s now or never.”
“Autumn,” she says, the warning lingering in my name.
I wave a hand, dismissing her worry. “Hey, I’ve done it once, right? Why not go two for two?”
She inhales sharply. “This is not a game, child.”
“Then I guess I better get
