Page 82 of Death Raiser

“I already knew that.”

“There’s more. See this here? Depending on how you translate this word, the meaning changes. One way to interpret this is that the blood has to be a gift.”

Silence answered Hudson’s proclamation.

In the meantime, I remained frozen, my heart beating so rapidly, so hard, I worried it would give me away. I was a descendant of Morcant. This wasn’t a coincidence. And I’d nearly given Levi my blood earlier to finish healing me.

“She has to be willing,” Hudson continued. “That’s the piece you were missing. That’s why it didn’t work before.”

Before?

Levi grunted.

My hand flew to the pendant I’d tucked into my shirt.

Before.

Guess I didn’t have to wonder about the fate of my family member who previously wore this pendant—I just needed to figure out which family member Hudson referred to.

“She’ll never do it,” Hudson said. “I don’t know much, but I know that.”

“Why don’t we ask her ourselves?” Levi said. He raised his voice. “What do you say, Lark?”

I stiffened. No running away now. Levi had already detected my presence.

With a deep sigh, I walked over to the doorway to the library and stepped inside. “It was my racing heartbeat, wasn’t it?

Levi dipped his head. “Among other things.”

I scowled. Not much I could say to that. At least nothing that would help me leave this place. “So what devious plans are you attempting to concoct?”

“I’d like to form a portal to the living realm.”

“You can already do that.”

He shook his head. “I can form a gate for you to leave the veil and return you to your previous location in the living realm. I can’t open one for you to come here if you’re on the other side, nor can I travel through the portals. Nor can I pick a location.”

That was probably for the best. I clamped my mouth shut and bit down on my snarky response.

“And you need my blood?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Freely given?” I asked.

“Yes,” he answered.

“Does this have anything to do with why I grow talons and my eyes turn black in the veil?”

His smile slowly spread across his face. “No. That’s just an added bonus.”

“Do you know why this happens to me?”

“I have my suspicions.”

“Will you tell me?” I asked.

“Will you help me?” he countered.

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