Page 34 of Baldr's Secret Mate

“Neither of those sound good…”

“If the stories are to be believed, they are no place for people.” Finally I saw the spell I was looking for and jammed my finger against the page. “Aha! Here it is!”

“To Call A Guide,” Mist read. “Is that what we need right now?”

“I think so. A spirit guide could get us out of these ruins and maybe back home to our own realm. At the very least, we can get some information out of them.”

“Alright,” he nodded. “What do we need to do?”

“All I need is a drop of blood and…” I trailed off for a second.

“Yeah? What is it?”

“I need a host.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means one of us will have to be the medium for the spirit to speak through… It’ll have to possess one of us.”

“Uh… is that safe?”

“It’s a temporary spell, so yes…”

“But?”

“But it’s uncomfortable to say the least.”

“I can do it,” Mist offered without a second thought. “That’s no big deal.”

“Actually, I think I should.” He looked confused for a moment and I felt a pang of hurt in the back of my mind. “It’s not that I don’t trust you to do it,” I said. “Or that I think you’re not capable. What I’m worried about is your magic and the stress of the possession.”

“Oh. That’s nothing to worry about! My magic is untouchable anyway.” There was a tone of disappointment in his voice. “And I’ve been through a lot worse.”

“Mist,” I said gently, placing my hand on his arm. “I need you to trust me on this, okay?”

He lifted an eyebrow. “What do you know that you’re not telling me?”

I took a deep breath. “I promise we’ll talk about it, okay? But right now we need to focus on getting home.”

It was clear that I was hiding something and Mist felt it keenly through the bond. There was hesitation in his voice when he finally said, “Alright. I trust you. But the way you’re acting right now… it worries me.”

I squeezed his arm. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.” It was a lie, but I did my best to cover that up. “Once the possessionbegins, you’ll only have five questions to ask the spirit before they return to the spirit world.”

I placed the book down in front of me, lifting a finger to pierce with my own canine, but I stopped halfway.

“Oh, and whatever you do, don’t tell the spirit my name.”

“Why not?”

“Because some spirits,” I said, my voice low and serious. “Are not from the mortal realm. And if they have my name, they may be able to use my magic against my will.”

Mist clamped his mouth shut, nodding furiously. “Okay. Yep. No names. Ever. Got it.”

I nodded, giving him a smile before I took a deep breath. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

Chapter Nineteen: Mist

By the time Baldr and I had agreed on what questions to ask, he was ready to start the ritual.

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