My eyes fly open. I’m back in my living room.
“Oh my God,” I breathe shakily. Hunter is standing protectively at my side. “Ryan,” I say to Hunter. “The Harvesters were after him too!” I put my head in my hands, feeling terrible. Has he been trying to warn me the whole time? “I knew they were connected.” Hands trembling, I move to the floor, kneeling in front of the coffee table and opening my Book of Shadows, leafing through it to a spell about summoning spirits. I know the danger of casting a spell like this, especially for someone like me. I can alter it to make it safer, just to cover my bases.
Moving as quietly as I can, I pour a circle of salt on the floor and light four white candles. I mix lavender and sandalwood together in a small cast-iron cauldron and set it on fire, using a lighter just to be safe. The smoke wafts around me. Inhaling, I whisper my spell.
“Spirits of the in-between, I conjure thee to be seen. You’ve whispered to me in the night, now come to me, be in my sight. Appear before is my command, in my sight is where you’ll stand. When I tell you to depart, go at once and leave no part of your world that can do harm. And hurt no one with this charm.”
A big cloud of smoke blows into my eyes, making them water like crazy. When I open them, I see that an eerie grayness has been cast over the room. Am I dreaming?
I try to stand, but there’s tremendous pressure pushing down on me. It’s like moving through deep sand. The candles in front of me are still, the flames frozen in place. I put my hand over it and feel no heat. Everything is silent. Hunter is here with me, but in his shadow form. It’s the first time I’ve gotten a good look at him like this, and in the back of my mind, I know he should terrify me. He has no definite shape, and his golden eyes glow more of a burnt-orange color.
He’s terrifying, the stuff of nightmares, yet I know he won’t hurt me. I’m his witch and he’s my familiar, just like he’s been this whole time, patiently waiting for my powers to become unbound.
“It’s okay,” a voice echoes through the gray. I turn back and find myself a few inches from Ryan. I open my mouth but don’t know what to say. “Hi,” won’t cut it.
“Anora.” His voice is a little stronger than a whisper. “I’m so sorry for what I’ve put you through, but I can only appear here or in dreams. I’ve been trying to warn you.”
“I’m sorry too. I couldn’t piece things together until now. Where…where are we?”
“The spirit realm. I can’t come to you without alerting her. But you, you’re able to come here.” He looks at Hunter. “And your familiar too.”
If Ryan knows about familiars, then he has to be a warlock…or something.
“The Harvesters,” I say, knowing we don’t have much time, and he flinches. “What did they want from you?”
“My powers. I can magnify the powers of crystals.”
“It was you who healed Ethan, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. And that night when she was there—” He starts to fade.
“Ryan?” I reach out for him, but my hand slides right through his arm, feeling like I stuck my hand in an electrified rain cloud.
“I don’t have much time, Anora.” Fear takes over his face. “You are in danger, the same danger I was in. Asaroth collects powers. She hunts people like us and sends her Harvesters to collect them. There’s something special about you, Anora. She was very excited when she found you. She even sent out the Pricolici to make she sure got the right one.” He looks at me as if he’s expecting me to tell him why I’m so special.
I shake my head. “I have no idea what she could want. I’m not the chosen one or anything like that.”
“Don’t agree to the ritual,” he rushes out.
“I never would.”
“They can’t take your powers unless you say yes. Surrendering your will is the first part of the ritual.” He looks down. “For me, they promised to stop the torture. But here I am, more than ten years later…”
“They won’t let you move on.” I remember the dream where I got sucked back into total despair.
Ryan nods. “There are others too. She won’t let us go, and we can’t move on. An aspect of ourselves is locked to this plane.”
“The powers.”
“Right.”
“If she has your powers, then how did you heal Ethan?”
“We can still tap into them from time to time, but it’s risky. Asaroth has been too distracted with finding you. It’s like she has a vendetta.”
“I have no idea what I could have done.” Now would be a really good time for my memories to come back, though I don’t see how ten-year-old me could have pissed off a demon this badly.