Page 65 of Body of Echoes

NINETEEN

I steered, and steered, and steered through the powerful current of air and magic that was determined to reach Elizy. The den. The den. The den. I had to dig in and turn toward my last chance for a self-chosen path. I had to intervene. With clear intention to be rescued by the sorceress, her whisper sought me out, responding to my plea for help.

I am here.

Her voice caressed my ears with a gentle sweetness that crawled into my heart and calmed the tension I held.

Ripley.

Her raspy tone soaked through my soul, hooking me and dragging us closer to her. Her voice intoxicating, I released the control of the wind to her.

I will help you.

The promise spread through my veins with addictive compassion and trust and everything in between.

When we came together, her withered fingers were already wrapped around my arm.

“Hmm, this isn’t right,” Graff mused. “I think you’ve—Ripley!”

I was yanked into her den with such force that the speed left me dazed, the exterior of her stone-domed house barely registered in my vision. Despite the suddenness, I didn’t resist. I kept moving my feet as I descended deeper and deeper into the barren abyss. Until I arrived in the heart of the den. An expanse of endless black sand mixed with gravel surrounded me, seemingly stretching out into infinity. The lack of light in the distance shrouded the rest of the cave in mystery.

A solitary emerald fire added little warmth to the dry space as a lick of silver graced the top of each flame and illuminated a small area, casting hues of jade and obscure metallics onto my skin.

Graff’s screams of protest faded and deep silence enveloped me like a comforting hug. Though the eerie environment would normally cause discomfort and unease, I felt an overwhelming sense of calm wash over me, particularly when I gazed at the fire. A faint grin even touched my lips as I breathed deeply. Embers from the flames rushing up my nose and dancing in my lungs. With the addition of this tranquil energy in my body, I could feel all of my magic slowly dissipating, shrinking, and eventually disappearing altogether, until a sense of homeostasis was reached, in sync with the stillness of the den.

Blood rushed in my ears and thrummed to the beat of my heart as each pump brushed up against those embers I had inhaled.

The sorceress hobbled to the opposite side of the small fire and gazed at it with two milky white eyes that were glossed over with a sheen of green reflection. “Princess Ripley Griever,” she welcomed in a craggy and calloused tone, showing off her emptyblack gums. “Darling, you should have called me sooner.”

“I need help.”

Without teeth, the line of the sorceress’s mouth appeared abnormally long, and when she spoke, extra skin flapped around her deep-set wrinkles. “I can help with whatever your pretty heart desires.” Her foggy eyes glinted at me as a grin graced her face, scraggly gray hair sweeping the gravel by her overgrown toenails.

“I need to break my marriage bond to Graff.”

She opened and closed her mouth a couple times like she was tasting something sweet. “Done.”

Done?A touch of confusion swam on top of my syrupy calm as I lifted my brows and scratched the back of my head. I looked around, expecting something to come out of the shadows just beyond where the light of the viridescent fire touched, but nothing did. I didn’t feel any differently. Was I supposed to? I dropped my hands to my sides loosely. “That’s it? It’s broken?”

She nodded once, returning her bleary gaze to the flames that I now noticed licked frigid wisps on my hands. It was reaching out like it was attempting to tangle with my magic.

“Hmm,” I hummed, placing both hands on my hips.

All too quickly, a burning ignited below my collar bone, shocking me out of my stupor. The icy fire seared at my skin, and I instinctively slapped my hand over it, pressing to tolerate the pain. I let out a yelp when it intensified. “What the hell!”

Her gaping mouth opened as the crone let loose a raucous cackle, the sound of it reverberating across the expanse and returning in a staggered echo that sent my mind into a muddled confusion. My vision blurred and my brain felt as if it were made of a tangled mess of wires, each one sparking and fizzling with erratic energy. It sent me to my knees as I clutched my chest with one hand and braced myself against the cold gravel with the other. It was as if the very fabric of reality had been slashed apart, and my consciousness was caught in the crossfire.

When the echoes faded and the burn of the embers seeped away, I lowered the collar of my shirt and saw a small number two inked into my skin. Immediately, I felt Fletcher’s presence wrapping around me as I thought of his number ten in the same place. He had been here. He had bartered with the sorceress.

“What’s this?” My voice was barely above a whisper as I gazed down at the mark on my skin.

Two gray fingers straightened. “Two years.”

I got back to my feet, swiping away at my palms to rid the tiny rocks that had embedded themselves into my skin. “Two years of what?”

Her robes dragged across the floor as she took a couple steps around the fire toward me. “Your life.”

The words speared me, taking a chunk out of my heart. Fletcher had given uptenyearsof his life? He had said it was about me. He had given up ten years of his lifefor me?I was furious and curious and fraught in the same instant.

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