Page 20 of Edge of Wonder

Sebastian lit a few more candles to brighten the windowless room. The extra light revealed a series of cloth-draped paintings sitting on easels. Numerous paintings also leaned in rows against the wall and some were stacked on shelves next to tins of paint.

Each of the canvases depicted a series of wild, untamed landscapes, filled with bright colors and strange creatures. Giant mushrooms and hanging wisteria covered one canvas, and another showed an overgrown hedge maze dotted with roses and twisted thorns.

Sebastian lifted the cloth on one of the covered paintings, and I gasped, recognizing the young woman’s clothes.

“Is that me?”

“It appears so.”

I reached out as if I could touch the painting. “I don’t understand. Why would—?”

The sound of approaching footsteps drew my attention away from the painting as a wiry man in an olive green waistcoat and white cravat burst into the room. Holding up a lantern, he took in the scene. He glanced at Sebastian, and then as if in slow motion, his head swiveled and he focused on me. His eyes widened as he stumbled backward.

“It’s you,” he rasped. “No. No. No! This can’t be happening.”

“Sir!” I cried, recognizing the man who’d visited Julian’s cottage. “I know you can see me. My name is Alice, and I need your help.”

“Alice?” His face paled. “You can’t be here! I’ve had enough of your torment.” The man whirled and bumped an easel, knocking a painting to the floor. The sound startled him further, setting him into motion. He lunged for a shelf on the wall, grabbing a cylindrical device. Thin metal chains crisscrossed the surface, and the domed lid was adorned with a series of intricate symbols. They glowed faintly, surging in strength as the man twisted the cover.

I knew that device. It was similar to the one Sebastian had in his belongings. The one responsible for sucking a spirit out of the air. Nerves tightened my stomach as I recalled the two ways to deal with a spirit.An easy way and a hard way…

“Be gone, spirit! I release you!” The man raised the canister in the air and removed the lid.

“Alice, run!” Sebastian’s shout confirmed my fears. But there was nowhere to run to. I couldn’t cross through the walls or fly up through the ceiling, and the man was blocking the doorway. Even if I tried to make it through first, I’d be outside of Sebastian’s sight. I was trapped.

Fear froze any attempt at escape as shafts of blue light emerged from the vessel. They slithered across the room, forming into a skeletal hand. I remained motionless, my aura wavering as the wraith-like fingers inched closer.

“No!” Panic gripped Sebastian’s voice as he spun and tackled the man to the ground. They crashed into the wall, and the canister rolled across the floor, but the terrifying fingers kept coming. Faster now, slithering like a snake in the grass.

“Sebastian!” I scrambled backward, tucking myself into the corner. This was it. There was no escape. I was about to be taken by a demonic hand. And then, who knew what? But I was pretty sure it was called the hard way for a reason.

My vision wavered—a blessing. I really didn’t need to witness my own ghastly abduction. But then, through the haze of my eyesight, I spotted something on the floor.Wait!I blinked, forcing myself to focus on the scrap of parchment that had fallen out of Sebastian’s jacket.

The bonding spell.He’d written my name with his blood and then sealed it with wax. Hadn’t he said the key to breaking it was to melt the wax and burn the parchment? The same spell that was keeping me trapped might be my salvation.

A gruesome finger grazed my arm, and I screeched, pressing my back firmly against the wall.Damn it!If I can freeze a room, why can’t I set it on fire?

I focused all my energy on the scrap of paper as the deathly fingers clawed through the air and wrapped around my neck. A vicious tug ripped my ghostly form away from the wall, and I vanished into a swirling void.

Chapter 8

Sebastian

Spots pulsed in my vision.

The man I’d tackled moaned and pressed a hand against his head before he slumped to the floor. I fought through the tangle of limbs to search for the missing canister and spotted it within reach. Grabbing the lid, I thrust it back into place.

“Alice?” My gaze flew to the spot where she’d stood, frozen in fear. But I was too late.

Alice was gone.

The spirit cage slipped from my fingers and hit the floor. Numbness gave way to a wave of guilt and horror that punched me in the gut, making me double over. My mind reeled. I didn’t save her. Once a spirit was forced inside a spirit cage, they were gone forever. No second chances. No do-overs. It became their final resting place.

The device was supposed to be a ghost hunter’s last resort, but to the untrained and easily spooked, it was a first line of defense. My stomach churned at my colossal screw-up. I should have seen it; acted faster. Visions of her terrified face seared the back of my eyelids. This couldn’t be how it ended. There had to be a way to free her. I knew of none, but I’d find one. Whatever it took.

The devil on my shoulder cackled.Bring her back only to send her to the other side? What’s done is done. You were leaving anyway. Problem solved.

No—

---