Page 13 of Soulbound Shadows: Part 1

“Neither do I. Rock, paper, scissors?”

“It’s fine,” I said. “We’ve got this. It’s just a statue. A really, really creepy statue.”

I took a deep breath and moved toward the statue, picking my way through the tall wildflowers. It looked even worse up close. There was a band of metal I hadn’t seen at first wrapped around the center of its lower edge like a chunky lip ring. The light coming from the statue’s eyes glinted across the surface, highlighting the words carved into the metal in a language I didn’t recognize.

“I think I found the prophecy,” I called over my shoulder. “We’re going to have to climb up the statue to get a proper look at it.”

I tried to figure out the easiest path up to the statue’s face. Maybe if I went up one of the arms, I could use the over-sculpted muscles and arm bands as handholds? It was worth a try.

Isabella had come up behind me and was staring up at the statue’s mouth. “Want me to try it? I’ve got a longer reach than you.”

I shook my head. “I’m a better climber. I started going to a rock-climbing gym after that job at the abandoned clock tower. Spot me from down on the ground?”

Isabella nodded. “Be careful,” she said. “Want a boost?”

I wiped my hands on my pants and nodded. Isabella bent, and I put a foot in her hands, letting her hoist me up enough so I could pull myself into the statue’s lap. I jumped onto one massive stone forearm and walked up it until I hit the elbow. The stone was weathered enough that it was pretty easy to get a good grip, and I clambered up to the shoulder quickly.

Now for the risky bit.

I picked my way around the sculpture’s face, first grabbing the inside of an ear and then swinging myself to the jagged curve of one of the mouths. The fangs were thin enough that I didn’t trust them to support my full weight, so I was forced to put my hand inside and use the lip to hold myself up. I inched down the curve of the horrible mouth until I could drop and land safely in the statue’s raised palm.

I breathed out a sigh of relief when my feet hit the solid stone. The inscription on the metal band was a lot more complicated than it had looked from the ground. Leaning forward, I traced my fingers along the unfamiliar runes.

As soon as my skin touched the cold surface of the dark metal, the statue’s huge stone hand closed around me.

6

GABRIEL

Something was wrong—very wrong. The vibrations of the ley lines, usually subtle and barely there, were suddenly impossible to ignore. It was like the difference between someone gently pressing a piano key and someone throwing an anvil directly onto the wires. It felt close, just on the edge of vampire territory.

I made a split-second decision. Something in my gut was telling me I had to investigate, and I had to do it quickly. I ran, legs pumping furiously as I tore through the trees in the direction of the disturbance. It was like I was being pulled forward by an invisible chain anchored behind my ribs.

Soon, I came up against the barrier where the woods changed into something darker and more twisted. I’d come across the Ravening Vale a few times before and tried to avoid it whenever possible. But then that feeling in my chest tugged at me again, and I braced myself and kept running. I pelted through the woods, ignoring the ghoulish scenery and the branches that tried to snare me.

I burst out into a clearing filled with flowers the color of a barely risen moon. On the other side of the clearing, a massive statue was unfolding itself, clambering to giant stone feet. Clutched in one of its hands was a woman with a familiar head of chestnut hair.

It was a good thing I didn’t technically need to breathe, because it felt like my breath had been knocked out of me.

“Evangeline!” a woman yelled from the base of the statue.

Evangeline didn’t reply. She’d gotten one hand free and was tracing a complex pattern in the air. As she did, the tiny waterfall trickling down from the cliff above began to flow toward her, wrapping around the statue’s gigantic stone fingers. Then Evangeline clenched her own hand into a fist, and the water froze solid, expanding enough to force the stone hand to loosen slightly.

It was just enough for the witch to squirm free. Unfortunately, she was several stories up in the air, and as soon as she managed to free herself from the statue’s grip, she plummeted down toward the unforgiving ground, sparkling with fragments of ice.

I moved without thinking. In a split second, I was across the clearing, arms outstretched. The witch fell into them, and she blinked up at me in surprise.

She was very warm, and I watched the line of her throat move as she swallowed.

“Thanks,” she said as I set her down carefully.

Before I could reply, she shoved me hard. Too surprised to resist, I stumbled backward, barely keeping my balance. A massive stone fist crashed down right where I’d been standing.

“Have you lost your mind?” I had to shout to be heard over the sound of stone on stone.

The woman with Evangeline swore loudly and fired a bolt of something bright green at the statue’s leg. If it did anything, the statue didn’t let it show.

“Sane as ever!” Evangeline said, and I watched with absolute dismay as she pulled herself up onto the statue’s wrist and began waving her arms in the air. The statue’s glowing eyes pivoted to look at her.

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