Page 56 of Shadow Scorching

As the Wheel ever turns.”

And lastly, to the west, she called:

“Spirits of Water, Hear me and take heed,

Attend me in my hour of need.

By nymph’s sweet grotto and river wild,

By lake and pool, and Ocean’s child.

Protect this space, and hold me firm,

As the Wheel ever turns.”

When she was done, the room felt vastly different. We were in a bubble, secure and out of reach. I kept a close watch, but I couldn’t feel the shadow man or the revenant. Hopefully, the others were managing to keep them at bay.

Penn picked up her dagger and drew a door, then set down the blade and—using her wand—ran the tip along the edges of the invisible opening. A faint purple line began to appear, shining around the portal that she was creating.

“Now, we lead the spirits here to us, then cross them over,” she said.

She stepped back from the opening of the portal and held out her wand, pointing directly in front of her. “Spirits of this house, all who wander lost…In the name of Hecate, Mother of the Night, I command thee to appear before me.”

Her voice was stronger than I’d ever heard it, and it was then that I realized I had never seen Penn in action. I’d seen her cast simple spells or ward things. But in this, she was different. She looked far taller than she actually was, and I could barely keep my eyes off her. She was powerful, commanding energy on a scope that I had never realized she had.

As we waited, the energy thickened around us. This was no ectoplasm, no greenish ooze, but an energy that reverberated, vibrant, alive, and beckoning.

Then, I saw them—a line of spirits forming in front of Penn. Men and women, children and a few animals—there were more of them than I expected. I was about to ask why there were so many, but decided to mind my own business until she finished the spell.

Softly, the spirits stepped up to her, one by one. Some were crying, some seemed off in a dream world, a few were resisting, but each one obeyed.

“You must all go to your rest, now,” Penn said, holding their gaze. “You are free, the Veil awaits. Let go of your fear and let go of your anger. You will not be forgotten. You will not be cast into the past, but instead, you go to visit your ancestors and then, to take your place on the Wheel, to be born again into the future. Come, follow my voice, go into the Veil.”

At that moment, I could see through the portal she had created. A great curtain swept back, revealing a road that led into a misty cloak of stars that covered the landscape beyond it.

One by one, the spirits stepped through the portal, looking neither at Penn, nor me. They walked through the opening and vanished. Each time, the house shivered as the energy beganto clear. There must have been twenty-five spirits in line, and they all obeyed Penn as she sent them through the Veil. Finally, the last stood in front of her. He turned to her, and simply said, “Thank you,” and then…he was gone.

Penn looked around, making sure there were no others, and then she closed the portal and sat back, staring at the tools on the table.

“That’s it, for them. The last one? He was the stockbroker who murdered his family.”

I sat beside her, taking her hand. “Are you up for the rest?”

“I have to be. Once you start an exorcism, you need to finish or it can strengthen those spirits you’re trying to release. The ghosts are gone. Now we have to take care of the shadow man and the revenant. And as cooperative as these spirits were, I guarantee you, those two will fight me.”

“What now?” I asked.

“We head into Jules’s bedroom, to fight the shadow man.” With that, she stood, and we headed toward the stairs.

We crept up the stairs.The others were still singing, though I could hear the strain in their voices. But we needed them to continue. We didn’t dare chance the revenant trying to break in while she took on the shadow man.

As Penn and I entered Jules’s bedroom, Lazenti was standing there, hands out, fangs down. A shadow skulked in the corner, biding his time.

Neither moved, like a frozen tableau created for the stage.

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but Penn gestured to me and I held out the dagger she had given me. It was enchanted, the silver blade glimmering in the dim light of the room.

Lazenti knew better than to touch it—vampires and silver didn’t mesh well.

---