Page 59 of Signs and Wonders

Free, Cameron jackknifed up and grabbed the amulet that hung around Swain’s neck. He yanked it off and rolled to the floor, putting the altar between himself and the raging warlock.

Seth sent a streak of fire at Swain, forcing the witch disciple to hurl himself out of the way and distract him from Cameron. When Swain regained his footing, Seth clipped his shoulder with a runed bullet. The shot wouldn’t kill, but it would hurt like a son of a bitch, and the sigils would drain his energy the longer the bullet remained in his body.

Evan had freed himself and crawled toward where Cameron hunched behind the altar. He laid out several wooden disks then drew another sigil with the chalk. Evan spoke the words of power, and the runes glowed, followed by a fiery stream to keep Swain at bay. Evan murmured another word, and the chalked symbol flared, then several stones rose from the ground and flew toward the witch, forcing him to lose focus swatting the rocks away or be hit.

Above the stone table, the air crackled and shimmered with a deep green glow. Swain swung back to stare into the anomaly.

“Master—you’ve heard my call,” the warlock cried out as the glowing space grew larger and brighter, like a rip in a curtain that hid the sun. A man’s shape took form, Rhyfel Gremory’s tortured soul, trapped in a prison between life and death.

Evan and Cameron seized the moment to dodge from their hiding place.

Swain lunged, grabbing Cameron’s arm, fingers digging into the flesh of his bicep like claws, and pulled him toward the glowing rift.

“Let go!” Evan held onto Cameron and jerked in the opposite direction. Seth added his weight, knowing that none of them dared be pulled into that deadly vortex.

“Now!” Travis’s voice cut through the clamor.

The ghosts swarmed Swain, making him loosen his grip long enough for Evan and Cameron to jerk free.

Seth took a shot through the ghostly miasma and put a bullet in Swain’s chest.

The cavern began to tremble with wild energies, showering them with pebbles and rock dust.

“Run!” Seth told Evan and Cameron.

Swain stumbled toward the portal, pulled by his dead master. He clutched at Seth, missed him, and tore the gun out of Seth’s grip. Before he could turn it on Seth, Gremory dragged his disciple back into the maw of the vortex and vanished along with the rift. Seth nearly fell against the altar.

The portal’s disappearance didn’t slow the tremors, and larger rocks fell as fissures cracked the cave roof.

Ghosts shoved Seth back the way he had come. Part of the ceiling came down, blocking the entrance to the spa. Seth choked, and his eyes stung as the dust clouds filled the air.

“Come on!” Evan screamed from the back corridor where he and Cameron waited.

Travis dodged toward Seth, closing the last few feet between them. Travis half-dragged, half-carried Seth into the hallway. They took off running as the cave-in roared behind them, making the ground beneath their feet heave and buck.

“The shifter!” Seth said as they wound through the tunnel. “We have to get him out.”

But when they reached the off-jog the creature no longer lay where they’d left him.

“He’s gone.” Travis took a step down the side corridor in pursuit, but Seth yanked him back.

“He’s either managed to shift and run or dragged himself off. You can’t find him, and we don’t have time to look.” Seth hauled Travis back to the main path.

Slipping, sliding, and falling, they plunged through the darkness on their way to the hillside entrance. Evan fell, and Seth pulled him to his feet, staggering toward the light.

They cleared the cave opening seconds before everything collapsed behind them with a deafening rumble. The shockwave threw Seth, Cameron, and Evan onto the ground, and they lay gasping.

“We did it.” Travis coughed and choked on the cloud of dust that followed them out.

A horrendous roar made them all scramble farther away from the entrance. The hillside shuddered and crumbled as a huge sinkhole emerged that completely swallowed all traces of the lodge.

“Fuck!” Seth yelled as his heart pounded and his ears rang. He clung to Evan’s hand with a vise grip.

“What about the people at the lodge?” Cameron croaked. “Tyler—oh, God. Tyler!”

Travis took a few seconds to get his breath. “They’re okay. They got the civilians out. Danny told me.”

Seth had never been so happy to have a ghost spy on their side. He turned to Evan and then Cameron. “Are you okay?”

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