Witching Hour: A Wild Hunt Novel, Book 7 Read online

  I paced for a moment, chewing on my lip. Then, as the woman’s voice echoed again from within, I made the decision to look for her out on the Aether. When people died, they moved over to the Aether. From there, they either made their way to the Netherworld, or to another realm of existence depending on their spiritual bent. But while they were still connected to the physical plane—our world—whether by choice, accident, or because they were trapped, the spirits existed on the Aether.

  I’d have to transfer my spirit to the etheric realm—which was the conduit from where one could travel between realms—and then from there, I could enter the Aether.

  I looked for the best place to settle in. A fern that was well over waist high was growing out of the side of the trunk, near the roots. If I sat behind it, the fronds would hide me from anybody who happened to be passing by, although at this time of night I didn’t expect to see any other hikers on the trail.

  I took a thin blanket out of my pack and spread it over the dirt, first tossing aside a few rocks that would poke my butt if I left them. Nestling myself beside the fern, I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the trunk. The reverberations of the spiritual energy coming from within rippled up and down my back like a massage, tingling as they undulated through my aura. In some ways, the sensation was calming and yet it set up an agitation in me, and I couldn’t quite pinpoint why.

  A mist began to form around me, rising from the ground, swirling as I separated my spirit from my body and eased out of my physical form.

  I stood, testing my footing on the etheric realm. I could still see my body and the forest, but it was as though I were viewing it through a thick mist. I deliberately channeled my thoughts, keeping them away from home or anybody I knew because in the etheric realm, the moment you thought of a place or person and narrowed your focus, you ended up whisking yourself off to that destination, as long as you had been there before or met the person you were thinking of. I’d spent a lot of time scrambling all over the place when I was first learning to channel my abilities. Once I’d ended up peeking in on the neighbors when they were humping like bunnies. Thank the gods they hadn’t noticed me hovering over their bed, so embarrassed I couldn’t figure out how to get out of their house.

  After gathering my bearings, I began to seek for the pathway leading into the Aether. It wasn’t easy to find, and only bone witches and necromancers could navigate their way in without help. It wasn’t that we were the only ones who could contact the dead—not at all—but we were the best suited to enter their realm while still living.

  The Aether was separated from the etheric realm by portals of fine purple mist. They could be found all throughout the etheric realm, but you had to know what to look for. To most of the world, the portal would be invisible, simply a chill sensation of dread, but to those of us used to working with the shadowed magic of the netherworld, they appeared as a vortex of lightning, surrounded by a fine purple mist that exuded a somber, yet comforting, aura.

  I narrowed my focus, searching for the mist that surrounded the portals. As I began to walk through the etheric forest, I caught sight of it—the portal was right at the end of the tree trunk. No wonder I’d felt something there. But it was odd. While I had sensed the portal in the physical realm, it hadn’t felt like an entrance into the Aether. Something was definitely askew.

  Approaching the mist, I stared at the lighting shards that rattled across the vortex. It was circular, spiraling like a camera lens aperture. There was nothing I could do other than either cross through it, or walk away and forget it. There was no way I could look inside the portal without crossing over.

  What the hell, I thought. Whoever was on the other side needed help and while I was no philanthropist, I couldn’t just turn away. I steeled my nerves and plunged through the portal, into the Aetheric realm.

  On the other side, I was immediately faced with a deep sense of claustrophobia. This was unlike any other visit I’d made to the Aetheric realm. I found myself in a tightly enclosed cavern—or what looked like a cavern. The ceiling barely skimmed my head, and the walls felt like they were mutable and could close in at any minute.

  As I steadied myself, a noise to my left alerted me. I turned, only to see three misty figures there. Two men and a woman, and they were staring at me like I had two heads, or horns and a tail. Their faces were clouded with fear, and the woman stepped in front of one of the men as if to protect him, spreading her arms wide.

  “Who are you?” I asked. Speaking in the Aetheric realm was like a mirror of talking in Talamh Duine—the land of mortals, though the mechanics were quite different. Even though I seemingly spoke aloud and could hear, it functioned on an energy process rather than a physical one.

  The woman paused, tilting her head to the side. “My name is Elise. Who are you?”

  I studied the three of them for a moment. They seemed in no hurry to go anywhere, and the woman’s voice registered as familiar. I realized she had been the one I heard screaming.

  “My name’s Raven. What are you doing here? I heard someone screaming so I came to find out if you needed help.”

  She seemed to relax—the mist that gave her form spread out a little. “Then you aren’t working for him?”

  I blinked. “Him who?”

  “The man who trapped us here.” Her voice trembled and once again, her shape contracted with the sensation of fear.

  I glanced at the two men. “Who are they? And who trapped you?”

  She motioned to the spirit standing next to her. “This is Templeton, and the man behind me is Gordon. They’re my brothers. I don’t know who trapped us, but I think we’ve been here for a long time. No one has ever heard us before.”

  I frowned. Trapping spirits, unless they were causing havoc, wasn’t good form for any bone witch or necromancer, though there were a number of shadier types out there who specialized in catching spirits and feeding off their energy.

  “How long have you been here? And how did he—whoever he is—trap you?”

  Elise faded in and out for a moment, then said, “I don’t know when we were trapped, to be honest. Time passes slowly here. The last I remember, it was 1932. We were exploring the park and something happened. There was some sort of…accident, I think. For a while, everything was blurry, and then Gordon and Templeton and I were together again and we couldn’t find our way out of the park.”

  I suddenly realized that Elise and her brothers might not realize they were dead. “Go on.”

  “We asked a lot of people to help us, but no one would listen. And then one day, a man in strange clothing stopped. He actually noticed us. We begged him for help, and then…again, I can’t remember. Then, we were here, and he was laughing, and he said he’d come back for us but he never did.” Her voice took on a mournful quality. “That seems like so long ago.”

  So some necromancer or bone witch had trapped them in the tree trunk and either deliberately left them or forgot about them. They were probably lucky, given what he could have done if he wanted to feed off them.

  I thought about ways to free them. Normally, I’d just exorcise them and they’d go on. But there was something different about this place. The necromancer had deliberately trapped them, and from every tingle of energy, it felt like they had been cursed. Whether he had done so as part of a bigger spell, or just out of spite, I wasn’t sure and probably would never know. But that also meant that if it was a curse, I probably couldn’t exorcise them.

  I thought for a moment. There might be another way. First, I had to come clean with them. I wasn’t going to do anything without their permission, given they hadn’t done anything to me.

  I glanced at Templeton. He seemed to notice me, but was staring off into space. “Elise, are Gordon and Templeton all right? They haven’t said a word.”

  “They’ve been quiet for a while. Templeton talks to me sometimes, but Gordon hasn’t spoken in a long time.” She paused, then asked, “Are we dead?”

  I met her gaze. Th
ere was a plaintive feeling about her, and I wanted to make sure she was all right. “Yes, Elise, I’m afraid you are. And someone trapped you in here. I might be able to get you out, but I don’t think I can free you in the usual way.”

  “If you can help, please do. If we stay here too long, I’m afraid I’ll forget who I am, like Gordon has. And then I won’t be able to watch over him or Templeton.”

  I thought about the runes and what they had told me. The action was transformation, on a physical level. That meant…I wasn’t sure what. But an idea struck me. If I could bind them to me, at least temporarily, maybe I could pull them out with me when I exited the Aether. Then I could talk to someone who might be able to help.

  “I’m going to try something. Don’t fight me. I promise it won’t hurt.” I could take spirits home with me, that much I knew. If they were stubborn about leaving a place for their next phase of life, I could bind them to me and carry them home where I could use stronger measures to send them on their way. I had bound two to me at once before, so three couldn’t be that much more difficult.

  Elise murmured a soft “Okay” and took hold of Gordon and Templeton’s hands while I knelt on the bottom of the tree trunk and began to trace a large circle with my finger. The energy rippled out of my hand, charging the circle, and then I added the runes for binding spirits, pushing all the extra energy into them that I could. Finally, I stepped back. This was much easier when the spirits were cooperative.

  “All right, take Gordon and Templeton with you and step into the circle. It will bind you to me and help me free you from here. I don’t know what will happen, given the fact that you were cursed when you were trapped here, but it’s worth a shot. At worst, nothing will happen.”

  “Thank you, whatever the outcome,” Elise said. “It’s been getting harder and harder to focus and I don’t know how long I can keep my wits about me.”

  “I understand. I’ll do what I can to help you.”

  As they stepped into the glowing circle of runes, I felt an immediate increase in my power. When I bound spirits to me, it added to my own energy for as long as they remained strapped to my aura. I had a pretty good idea that the necromancer who had trapped them had meant to come back, bind them to him, and feed off their life force, but something had prevented it.

  Once they were all within the circle, I began to move toward the opening of the portal, hoping that I would be able to bring them through with me. First, I had to get them into the etheric plane, and from there, I could ascertain further how to proceed.

  I glanced over my shoulder. They were following me, still all holding hands.

  “Here we go. If I vanish, I’ll try to figure another way to come back and free you, all right?”

  Elise nodded. “Thank you, again.”

  There was nothing left to do now but exit the portal. Either they would come with me, or the curse would stop them.

  I straightened my shoulders and plunged through the portal, pushing through the purple mist and lightning shards. The electricity surged, and I felt a great deal of resistance, but I forced my way onward. Summoning up every ounce of energy I could, I gave one more giant push, and stumbled out into the etheric plane. There was a sucking sound behind me, and I turned to see Elise and the men standing there, looking around in wonder. It had worked. I had managed to bind them to me.

  “All right, stage one is over. At least you’re out of that trap.”

  Elise gazed around her. “Where are we now?”

  “You were in an Aetheric trap, which was bound to the realm of the living by an anchor object. In this case, it was that tree trunk. Now, we’re in the etheric plane. I need to transfer you over to the mortal realm, because if I unbind you out here, you may end up wandering around and get lost.”

  “All right. Are you sending us to heaven?” She sounded hesitant. “Are you an angel?”

  I blinked. “Um, no. Not an angel. Far from it. I’ll tell you later, but right now, let me see what I can do about getting you over to the mortal realm.”

  Gordon wrinkled his nose, as though he were sniffing something and for a moment it made me think of a friend’s ferret. Troi had a white ferret named Tomers who was a real piece of work. Tomers made a rambunctious dog look lazy.

  The next moment, I realized we were standing outside Troi’s house, still in the etheric plane. Crap. I hadn’t meant to drag us there. Still thinking about Tomers, I focused on where my body was in the Grove of the Patriarchs, and another whoosh and we were standing beside my form.

  “Aren’t you scared to be out of your body?” Elise asked.

  I shook my head. “No. I’ve done this often enough, so I know what I’m doing. Hold tight now, I’m going to try to bring you through to the mortal realm. You won’t be able to feel the world around you as much, not in spirit form, but I can work easier from there to free you from whatever hex you’re under. I’ll take you home with me.”

  Trying to push Tomers out of my mind, I focused on my body and aimed for my crown chakra. Another flash, and I was sitting on the ground, against the tree trunk, with three ferrets on my lap. As I stared at them, I realized that the energy of the curse had been bent when I brought them off of the etheric realm. I had offered them transformation, all right. Right into ferret form.

  Chapter Four

  I stared at the ferrets, thinking about how long they’d been with me. Since then, I’d been searching for a way to break the curse on them, to free them to move on, but so far, my search had been fruitless. And they had thrived. Most ferrets lived to five to ten years, but the triplets had been with me for almost fifteen years and showed no sign of slowing down.

  Elise nudged me with her muzzle again and I kissed her on the head.

  “Whatever happens, Elise, you’re safe with me.” I stroked her fur and she let out a chook chook sound, then ran off to play with her brothers again. I shooed them back into their cage and then left the room, turning the light low so they could see, but so it wasn’t bright in their eyes.

  I was due at Lana’s at eight, but until then, I had a full day. I had promised to read the cards down at the Sun & Moon Apothecary, a magic shop owned by my friend Llewellyn Roberts. He was one of the magic-born and his husband owned my favorite coffee shop—A Taste of Latte. The two shops were side by side, which made it easy for them to help out each other when needed.

  I gathered my cards and a starry cloth for the table, then fed Raj and made sure he was okay.

  “You good? I’m going to go out for a while.”

  Raj was watching Wheel Or Deal, a new game show. Raj loved game shows. “Raj good. You leave snacks for Raj?”

  I laughed. Raj had a bottomless pit in his stomach. “You just had breakfast, silly boy. Okay, what do you want?”

  “Chips and dip?” Raj gave me such a plaintive look that I couldn’t resist.

  “Fine. I’ll leave you some corn chips and cheese dip. But I also want you to eat an apple and some beef jerky while I’m gone. And to drink some milk. You aren’t going to subsist on junk food alone. Deal?” I held out my hand and Raj took it softly with his own.

  He nodded, his eyes glittering. He couldn’t smile like we could—not in the same way—but when his eyes sparkled, I knew he was happy.

  “Deal. Raven love Raj?” His voice was low and gravelly, like most gargoyles’ voices.

  “Raven loves Raj,” I said, kissing him on the forehead. “I’ll put your snacks on the table. Don’t answer the door while I’m gone, and don’t disturb the ferrets.”

  I set a bowl of corn chips, a carton of cheese dip, an apple, a banana, and some beef jerky on tray on the table. I then added a single-serving carton of milk and, slinging my purse and tote bag over my shoulder, headed out, locking the door firmly behind me.

  It was pouring out as I parked in front of the Sun & Moon Apothecary. Located in downtown Redmond, in a two-story brick building on a corner in Redmond Town Square, it was a pretty shop. The brick was freshly washed, and flower boxes
bordered the front windows.

  I took a quick trip next door to A Taste of Latte, pushing through the doors. A bell jingled as I was overwhelmed by the aromas of coffee and cinnamon and yeasty goodness. The shop was bustling, as always, but Jordan saw me enter and waved.

  “Raven, love,” he held out his hands and I took them. He kissed me on both cheeks. “How are you? What can I get you?”

  I inhaled deeply, holding the fragrance of fresh cinnamon buns in my lungs. “A cinnamon roll, a chocolate chip cookie, and a triple caramel latte with whip.”

  “Are you reading at Llew’s shop today?” The tall, lanky blond with amber highlights slipped behind the counter. “And you have to try one of my butterscotch chip cookies. They’re new and they’re incredible, if I say so myself.” He handed me a cookie that was easily four inches in diameter.

  I bit into it, closing my eyes as the crumbly buttery flavor hit my tongue. It was the perfect blend of butterscotch and brown sugar. “Oh, those are fantastic. And yes, I’m headed over to Llew’s. I promised to read the cards for a couple hours there today.”

  Jordan bobbed his head, his shaggy hair swept back into a ponytail. His eyes were brown, and his skin a deep olive color. Jordan’s family lived in Greece, and he was one of the few members who had come over to America. A tiger shifter, Jordan had his own streak of magic.

  “Good. Here’s your latte, and here are your pastries. I bagged them so they wouldn’t get squashed.” He handed me the bag as I handed him fifteen dollars. I waved off the change, pointing to the tip jar.

  “Thanks, Jordan.” I glanced around, wincing. Ulstair and I used to come here a lot and we’d spend Saturday mornings here, lingering over coffee and croissants.

  Jordan must have noticed me staring at what had been our regular table because he placed a hand on my arm. “How are you doing, Raven? I know it can’t be easy.”