Home > Midnight Truth (Shifter Island #4)(5)

Midnight Truth (Shifter Island #4)(5)
Author: Leia Stone

“Geoff said beach clothes, Than,” a young woman in a skimpy lavender bikini said, shaking her head, which made her shoulder-length curls fan out. She pointed to the person dressed like a ninja. “Why would you—?”

“I know what he said,” Than, the ninja-guy, snapped, waving his hand in a clear indication of dismissal. “But I wasn’t about to stop and change clothes again. Last time he told us to be ready, he didn’t show up for a dozen years—and then he came alone.”

“He’s not even here, Lucia,” another young woman said, this one in a black one-piece and sheer cover-up.

“His time is almost over,” another guy said, this one wearing bright green boardshorts with a white hibiscus print. He glanced at his watch and shook his head. “If he doesn’t declare his heir soon—”

“Hush,” the third young woman said as her gaze landed on me. Her white eyelet sundress reached her ankles, but the halter style V dipped almost to the base of her sternum, revealing the curve of her breasts just like a swimsuit would. She wore her silvery wavy hair pulled into a low side ponytail. Petite and thin, she was by far the smallest of the group and, by all appearances, the youngest. However, her icy green eyes were filled with intensity, and the group grew silent with her command. Still staring at me, she raised her hand and pointed at me. “She’s here.”

“Uh … hi,” I said with a lame wave.

The silence stretched into Awkwardville as they just stared at me like I had three heads. Lovely.

“My name is Nai. My grandfather, Geoff Drudner”—my stomach sank with the overwhelming sense of impossibility at what I had to accomplish, but I gritted my teeth and plowed forward—“sent me here to meet my ancestors—you, I assume. I’m his heir.”

The woman in the white eyelet dress wrinkled her nose and sniffed like my words smelled rancid. Then she turned her back on me.

Huh?

“Oh, Zia, stop it!” Lucia, the young woman in lavender, waved at the woman in white and then cocked her head to the side, and her brow furrowed as she studied me. “Where’s Geoff?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. He said he wasn’t coming this time or something.”

Fatigue made it impossible to recall his actual words, and these people didn’t look like they were expecting me, so this was uber awkward.

“Is he still alive?” Lucia asked, her eyes widening, and her lip trembled.

I freaking hoped so!

“Yes,” I replied, but her question sent a punch to my guts. “He sent me here just now.”

“Why wouldn’t he come too? How are you his heir?” Ninja-Than asked, pulling the black sock thing off his head. His eyes were the same color green as Zia’s. “I thought Elia was … before she died.”

I had no idea why Gramps didn’t come, but I’d already said as much, so I focused on what I did know. “Elia was my mother. Gramps said I had to meet you for some blessing or initiation before we could put my name in some scroll or a book.” Tension and exhaustion were making my brain mush. “Listen, it’s been a pretty stressful day—or week rather—so I might’ve missed some detail, but I am who I say I am. Can you help me?”

The young woman in black swallowed, and her eyes filled with tears, which she quickly blinked away. When she spoke, her voice trembled. “Of course we believe you. We just thought … all hope was lost. My name is Aine.” She pointed to the man wearing boardshorts. “This is Raiden.” She continued to point and introduce everyone. “Lucia, Than, and Zia.”

Each of them stepped forward to shake my hand—except for Zia.

Rude.

“So…” I offered them a tentative smile. “You’re going to teach me how to master spirit?”

Raiden checked his watch again and frowned. “We can start lessons tomorrow—after you’ve finished initiation.”

“You mean if she finishes,” Zia muttered, her back still to me.

I narrowed my eyes at the young woman but decided to ignore her passive aggressiveness—for now.

“So … what do I need to do for this initiation?” I tried to move this along. “I want to make sure I get back in time for Grandpa—”

“The initiation comes after your name is in the scrolls,” Than said, shaking his head. “You’re here for our blessing.”

Right. I was almost too tired to care.

Can we just get on with it?

Aine sighed and stepped forward. “Geoff must be very sick to not have accompanied you. I can’t believe he’s not here.”

Okay, they were legit freaking me out about Grandpa, and my patience was wearing thin. I pulled the black satchel out of my pocket. “He gave me these”—I shook the bag—“had me get in the hot spring, and then tossed a crystal into the water.”

All five of them flinched when I shook the bag of stones.

“Be careful with those!” Lucia grabbed my wrist with one hand and pressed the other to her chest like she might faint.

I winced. “Sorry.” I withdrew my hand from Lucia and then gingerly placed the bag back in my pocket.

Than shook his head. “Geoff has obviously told her nothing,” he muttered, his gaze jumping from one member of their group to the next. “The girl just shook our soul stones like they were dice.”

“Soul stones!” I gulped as the air whooshed from my lungs. Then, with an epiphany, my eyes widened. “Your soul stones?”

Wait a minute. Hadn’t the Keeper said something about soul stones … before he swallowed the stone my grandfather gave me to bargain my way out of the Realm of the Dead?

Oh mage.

Where did Gramps get it?

“All right,” Zia snapped, whirling on all of us. “Geoff clearly isn’t coming, so we best get a move on! The girl still has a deadline, and all this blathering doesn’t change it.”

Even though Zia was rude, she took initiative, which I could respect. The others nodded and then pressed in on me, hands outstretched.

“What exactly does this blessing entail?” I tried to back up and bumped into Raiden, who caught me around the upper arms.

“Think of it as a power activation,” Raiden said.

Aine grinned. “Plus, we’ll bind our souls to yours, so you can call on us when you need us.”

Bind their souls! Wasn’t that a bit overkill?

“This is…” weird. I glanced from one to the next, but what were my options? “Will it hurt?”

Hadn’t Gramps said this might be dangerous?

“Maybe,” Than said. “Maybe not. It depends on how much capacity you have.”

Capacity for what?

One by one, they laid their hands on me, and immediately, my skin buzzed and tingled. “You were born with a certain amount of power,” Aine said with kindness in her voice, “and our blessing will activate all the power of spirit in you.”

Zia still stood off at the outer edges of the circle, looking at me with a mixture of apprehension and dread. What did this chick have against me? And why were all of my ancestors thirty years old? And why hadn’t Gramps told me about any of this before shoving me into a pool with a bag of soul stones!

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