communicate with them, through them. In this case, the girl is closed off from a joining, so I cannot speak to her directly."
A shaft of disappointment ran through my gut. I'd expected more information from Nerina but we were nowhere further than we'd been after talking to Melisande. But Nerina continued to speak .
"I can sense her, though. Sense her emotions. And I think she can tell I am there with her." After a small pause. "She thinks I am a ghost."
"Apart for the injury you mentioned, is she okay?" I asked without thinking. I gave Jess an apologetic glance but she just inclined her head as if to say it was okay.
Nerina gave her head an almost violent shake, sending her silvery grey hair shuddering around her face. "No. Her mind is unstable. Her thoughts are frantic, distorted. She has a deep anger in her. And a profound bitterness." Nerina paused. "Has she always been this way?" And even though she spoke to me her eyes remained out of focus.
"A little," I answered, not so sure how much to say, not so sure how much I wanted people to know about Greer's emotional issues. "But what you are describing seems much worse than she has ever been."
"I suspect the Greylands have begun to affect her mind," Nerina said, and she gasped softly.
"What happened? What's wrong?" I leaned forward wanting to shake the Death-talker until she said something.
"There are demons around her." Nerina frowned, her porcelain forehead wrinkling. "But she does not seem afraid of them. She seems impervious to them."
"She is a strong walker. From an Alpha pack. Perhaps she managed to overcome one or two of them?" Jess suggested.
"Perhaps." Nerina wasn't convinced. She frowned. "I can tell you no more about the girl than this." The milky cloudiness in Nerina's eyes faded and she was back with us. "My connection to her is gone. But I can give you information of her location."
"Thank you, Nerina. That would be very helpful." Logan provided the Death-talker with a pad and paper and on it she wrote an address.
"The Greylands, the land of In-Between is referred to as such because it is an intangible place. But it has structure and form to those who occupy it. Unlike the other planes, the Greylands do not have their own makeup. It is a mirror image of our plane that is devoid of color and light."
"It looks like this world?" I asked.
"Yes. From the buildings to the street names to lakes, mountains, and trees. The only difference is there is no power, no color. Only shadows and an endless twilight." She pushed the pad toward me and I turned it around, frowning at the scrawl.
It took me a few moments and then I grinned. "I see. You said the world was ours in a mirrored form. Ninety-five Gilligan's Way. I know where that is." I tapped the table with my forefinger. "So what will I need to take with me?"
"I would suggest food as nothing grows in the dead lands. There is no commerce, no markets, nowhere to purchase items that do not exist. So you will need sustenance. And weapons. If something exists here in this world it will exist there. If it is created here it will 'become' there. So you do have a choice with weapons. You may leave them here and pick them up there or you may take them with you."
Yeah, demon-grade ammunition and weapons. Tara and Gracie had that covered. "Food and weapons. Got it. So how do I get in?"
"That is something you will have to discuss with the High Priestess."
Jess shifted in her seat. "I thought you would be able to tell us how to get in?" Jess didn't seem to like the idea of consulting this High Priestess. The set of her jaw made that clear.
"You will need a seal. And unless you have a working seal that opens the Veil to the Greylands, you will need to have an audience with the High Priestess t o make that request."
Jess gave the tiniest shake of her head. She didn't like it. I thought of Grams and the High Council. Maybe she could speak to them for me. Nerina shifted her chair back a bit before standing with the
A shaft of disappointment ran through my gut. I'd expected more information from Nerina but we were nowhere further than we'd been after talking to Melisande. But Nerina continued to speak .
"I can sense her, though. Sense her emotions. And I think she can tell I am there with her." After a small pause. "She thinks I am a ghost."
"Apart for the injury you mentioned, is she okay?" I asked without thinking. I gave Jess an apologetic glance but she just inclined her head as if to say it was okay.
Nerina gave her head an almost violent shake, sending her silvery grey hair shuddering around her face. "No. Her mind is unstable. Her thoughts are frantic, distorted. She has a deep anger in her. And a profound bitterness." Nerina paused. "Has she always been this way?" And even though she spoke to me her eyes remained out of focus.
"A little," I answered, not so sure how much to say, not so sure how much I wanted people to know about Greer's emotional issues. "But what you are describing seems much worse than she has ever been."
"I suspect the Greylands have begun to affect her mind," Nerina said, and she gasped softly.
"What happened? What's wrong?" I leaned forward wanting to shake the Death-talker until she said something.
"There are demons around her." Nerina frowned, her porcelain forehead wrinkling. "But she does not seem afraid of them. She seems impervious to them."
"She is a strong walker. From an Alpha pack. Perhaps she managed to overcome one or two of them?" Jess suggested.
"Perhaps." Nerina wasn't convinced. She frowned. "I can tell you no more about the girl than this." The milky cloudiness in Nerina's eyes faded and she was back with us. "My connection to her is gone. But I can give you information of her location."
"Thank you, Nerina. That would be very helpful." Logan provided the Death-talker with a pad and paper and on it she wrote an address.
"The Greylands, the land of In-Between is referred to as such because it is an intangible place. But it has structure and form to those who occupy it. Unlike the other planes, the Greylands do not have their own makeup. It is a mirror image of our plane that is devoid of color and light."
"It looks like this world?" I asked.
"Yes. From the buildings to the street names to lakes, mountains, and trees. The only difference is there is no power, no color. Only shadows and an endless twilight." She pushed the pad toward me and I turned it around, frowning at the scrawl.
It took me a few moments and then I grinned. "I see. You said the world was ours in a mirrored form. Ninety-five Gilligan's Way. I know where that is." I tapped the table with my forefinger. "So what will I need to take with me?"
"I would suggest food as nothing grows in the dead lands. There is no commerce, no markets, nowhere to purchase items that do not exist. So you will need sustenance. And weapons. If something exists here in this world it will exist there. If it is created here it will 'become' there. So you do have a choice with weapons. You may leave them here and pick them up there or you may take them with you."
Yeah, demon-grade ammunition and weapons. Tara and Gracie had that covered. "Food and weapons. Got it. So how do I get in?"
"That is something you will have to discuss with the High Priestess."
Jess shifted in her seat. "I thought you would be able to tell us how to get in?" Jess didn't seem to like the idea of consulting this High Priestess. The set of her jaw made that clear.
"You will need a seal. And unless you have a working seal that opens the Veil to the Greylands, you will need to have an audience with the High Priestess t o make that request."
Jess gave the tiniest shake of her head. She didn't like it. I thought of Grams and the High Council. Maybe she could speak to them for me. Nerina shifted her chair back a bit before standing with the
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