Page 87 of Omega Sanctuary

He kissed my nose, the ghost of pressure. "I have to leave now."

"You have lots of research to do," I said. "In addition to your other jobs."

"Yes," he said, growing fainter." He paused like he wanted to say more, but he was disappearing before my eyes. He settled for, "Goodbye."

I sighed. Sex like that was more incentive to get better at spirit magic.

Iopened my eyes on the lonely road.

I called it the Ghost Road, even though there were rarely ghosts here. Mostly the odd spirit or two, caught in the space between worlds.

I walked forward, only glancing back once to see the bright beacon of light that was Zara's energy here. She was like a lighthouse in the storm, only I was helpless to stop myself from throwing myself against the rocks.

I shouldn't have made love to her. No matter how needy she was, no matter how much she wanted it. She was bright and beautiful and innocent, and I was none of those things.

The empty, gray wasteland spilled out in front of me like ink in cloudy water. Air shifted in currents, pushing me harder than usual. I'd used most of my energy manifesting into the mortal realm as long as I had.

It had been worth it. Pleasure sparkled over my body, even now, and I soaked it like fresh rain over the desert. It had been so long since I felt more than muted despair and shame, I'd forgotten how pleasure could make everything feel like I was made from starlight.

I sighed, turning myself to the direction of a large temple. In the spirit lands, it stood erect and tall, as perfect as the day we built it. Each stone had been quarried from the sacred circle. We were sure, this time, it would be the edge we needed to redirect the power of the land.

We were wrong, of course, but it set us on the path that eventually lead to victory.

Even if the cost was almost too much to pay. Even if I was still counting it every day.

But that was my fault, for not making better decisions. I would pay the price, and try not to count the cost.

I entered at the entrance to the temple, the tug easier to follow than usual.

Odd. It should have been harder in my current drained state.

I slipped off the path between worlds, and fully entered the spirit world.

Everything came into sharp focus.

Stone rough and crumbling under my hands, the scent of grass sweet on the wind, the sky so blue it almost hurt.

Sometimes the alter helped me recharge. I headed to the back of the temple, but stopped.

Something snagged my awareness.

I scanned the field around me. Save for some spirit ravens following me wherever I went, there was nothing.

I took a few more steps, and energy snagged at me. Magic saturated the area.

I froze. Along the wall of the temple, something white flickered in and out of the world.

Flickering usually meant it was in the mortal realm but strong enough to make an impression in the spirit world.

I dropped into the mortal realm, wincing at the pressure. I was still too weak for this. Time flashed before my eyes, and when I blinked, the temple was in ruins.

Most of the stones were gone, entire walls open. Large stones scattered in the grass, overgrown and covered with moss. This temple had become ancient in the present time of the world.

On the side of the largest remaining wall, a string of runes stood out white against the gray stone. I approached, energy pushing against me like I was going upstream.

I ran my hand over the runes. They were fairly recent. Someone had come and etched runes for redirection of power.

I turned around and faced the new direction of power. We were in the middle of nowhere, the Shrines leagues away.

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