to kill it.”
Dad dropped his hand from my chin and took a step back, leaving a vacuum of cold air in his wake. My mind struggled to translate his words into something I understood. It went against everything I’d ever known about the Lower World and about my powers. Shamanism developed naturally in response to the presence of spirits in our world, as a way to protect ourselves from their attacks.
If we could no longer control them, then what did that make us now?
“What?” I breathed the word. “How? Why?”
“I don’t know.” He crossed his arms over his thick chest. “I believe something in Seaport has caused this, and I mean to put a stop to it before it spreads.”
“I thought spirits couldn’t be killed.” Laura moved in to join our circle. She’d clearly been listening to every word my dad said despite his lowered tone. Her wide-eyed expression mimicked the thoughts and feelings swirling through my mind. Dad’s cryptic answers only led to more questions and one dangerous thought that I was desperately trying to fight back.
Dread pooled in my stomach. Killing Anthony, for that one tiny moment, had released dozens of angry spirits onto the world. Could that explain these recent attacks? Anthony’s spell had transformed those spirits into rabid versions of themselves. Despite what Mom had said, I wasn’t so sure it hadn’t caused more changes in their powers than that.
“Spirits can be killed now. Permanently.” Dad’s face twisted into a scowl. “And that’s what my team is here to do.”
Dad moved past me to join his team by the door, and I took a few steps to follow. His boots crunched into the rising snow as he paused to face me. “Stay out here and look after your friend.” His gaze landed on Jason, who had stayed rooted to the spot since Dad’s arrival, beads of sweat popping up on his ashen forehead. “I’m sorry for your loss, son.”
Frowning, I moved to Jason’s side and slid a supportive arm around his back. His body trembled underneath my touch, and I wanted nothing more than to burst into that house with my father and destroy the creature who had done this to him.
Just before my Dad joined his team, he gave me one last look. “Don’t tell your mother about this. She wouldn’t understand.”
And then he motioned his team into house. Laura, Jason and I stood on the lawn watching the silhouettes as they trod through the quiet rooms. Moments later, an ear-splitting shriek split the silent night, a scream of pain and death. Jason’s clammy hand squeezed mine as I murmured words of comfort into his ear. When the world fell silent once again, we waited for my dad and his team to return outside, but they never did.
When I finally poked my head into the house to make sure it was safe, everyone was gone.
***
“Have you gotten through to your mom yet?” Laura asked the next morning, blowing on the caffeinated liquid in a centuries old mug. She’d spent the night, to keep me company after the whole world fell on top of my head. Jason was camped out in Mom’s room, too shaken after last night’s events to be alone. His dad and his siblings were staying with his grandmother two towns away, and he wasn’t ready to face the mourning. Not yet.
I paced back and forth by the table, Astral belting at me each time I took a step near his food bowl. Now that it was winter, his hunger knew no bounds.
“No.” The hot mug in my hands warmed my fingers, but it did nothing to soothe the ice in my gut. “She’s not answering, which is freaking me out.”
“Okay.” Laura leaned on her elbows and peered up at me through her sleep-tousled hair. “Maybe we should tell my dad.”
“What’s he going to do about it?” I asked. Laura’s dad knew we were both shamans, but he was one-hundred percent human, since she’d been adopted as a child. He knew less about shamanism than we did, and that was saying a lot. Telling him about a new rash of spirit attacks in Seaport would only
Dad dropped his hand from my chin and took a step back, leaving a vacuum of cold air in his wake. My mind struggled to translate his words into something I understood. It went against everything I’d ever known about the Lower World and about my powers. Shamanism developed naturally in response to the presence of spirits in our world, as a way to protect ourselves from their attacks.
If we could no longer control them, then what did that make us now?
“What?” I breathed the word. “How? Why?”
“I don’t know.” He crossed his arms over his thick chest. “I believe something in Seaport has caused this, and I mean to put a stop to it before it spreads.”
“I thought spirits couldn’t be killed.” Laura moved in to join our circle. She’d clearly been listening to every word my dad said despite his lowered tone. Her wide-eyed expression mimicked the thoughts and feelings swirling through my mind. Dad’s cryptic answers only led to more questions and one dangerous thought that I was desperately trying to fight back.
Dread pooled in my stomach. Killing Anthony, for that one tiny moment, had released dozens of angry spirits onto the world. Could that explain these recent attacks? Anthony’s spell had transformed those spirits into rabid versions of themselves. Despite what Mom had said, I wasn’t so sure it hadn’t caused more changes in their powers than that.
“Spirits can be killed now. Permanently.” Dad’s face twisted into a scowl. “And that’s what my team is here to do.”
Dad moved past me to join his team by the door, and I took a few steps to follow. His boots crunched into the rising snow as he paused to face me. “Stay out here and look after your friend.” His gaze landed on Jason, who had stayed rooted to the spot since Dad’s arrival, beads of sweat popping up on his ashen forehead. “I’m sorry for your loss, son.”
Frowning, I moved to Jason’s side and slid a supportive arm around his back. His body trembled underneath my touch, and I wanted nothing more than to burst into that house with my father and destroy the creature who had done this to him.
Just before my Dad joined his team, he gave me one last look. “Don’t tell your mother about this. She wouldn’t understand.”
And then he motioned his team into house. Laura, Jason and I stood on the lawn watching the silhouettes as they trod through the quiet rooms. Moments later, an ear-splitting shriek split the silent night, a scream of pain and death. Jason’s clammy hand squeezed mine as I murmured words of comfort into his ear. When the world fell silent once again, we waited for my dad and his team to return outside, but they never did.
When I finally poked my head into the house to make sure it was safe, everyone was gone.
***
“Have you gotten through to your mom yet?” Laura asked the next morning, blowing on the caffeinated liquid in a centuries old mug. She’d spent the night, to keep me company after the whole world fell on top of my head. Jason was camped out in Mom’s room, too shaken after last night’s events to be alone. His dad and his siblings were staying with his grandmother two towns away, and he wasn’t ready to face the mourning. Not yet.
I paced back and forth by the table, Astral belting at me each time I took a step near his food bowl. Now that it was winter, his hunger knew no bounds.
“No.” The hot mug in my hands warmed my fingers, but it did nothing to soothe the ice in my gut. “She’s not answering, which is freaking me out.”
“Okay.” Laura leaned on her elbows and peered up at me through her sleep-tousled hair. “Maybe we should tell my dad.”
“What’s he going to do about it?” I asked. Laura’s dad knew we were both shamans, but he was one-hundred percent human, since she’d been adopted as a child. He knew less about shamanism than we did, and that was saying a lot. Telling him about a new rash of spirit attacks in Seaport would only
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