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.“Yes,” I said immediately.“We’ll help.”This was perfect to take my mind off things and I’d been curious to know where they got these humans ever since I arrived on this island.“Obviously, you are sworn to secrecy.”“Of course,” Erik said, following my lead.I was still surprised Isolde had asked us.I supposed that she knew we were all bound to this island and at their mercy, so it wasn’t like there was much we could do with this knowledge.And now that her regular companions were gone, we were as good as any.“I’m planning to leave tonight,” she said.“Meet me in the courtyard after the ritual.”“Is there anything we need to bring with us?” Helina asked.The witch stared at her.“Just your obedience.”Chapter 19: MonaWe returned to the castle early the next morning.As we arrived back in Rhys’ bedroom, he closed the door and turned to face me.“It’s time for me to give you your magic back.I think you’re ready.”I stared at him, my heartbeat quickening.“A-are you sure?”He smiled and nodded.“You’ve changed, Mona.I can sense when your mind is on other things, and now it’s not.I am your world now.”I couldn’t argue with his statement.I sat down cross-legged in the center of the living room and he held out his palms.I closed my eyes as a flash of light hit me in the chest, and my whole body began tingling as my powers returned to me.My knees wobbled as I stood up.I gripped the back of an armchair.I looked at him nervously.“And now what?”His eyes bored into mine.“It’s time to do what I’ve been preparing you for.We’ll leave in an hour.”* * *Rhys vanished us from his apartment.Once the wind stopped whirling around us, my feet hit solid ground.I opened my eyes.We were standing on a black pebble beach.A freezing wind blew against us.I drew my cloak closer.“Where are we?” I whispered.He didn’t answer my question and instead led me toward the foot of a cliff.There was a heap of boulders at its foot.We began climbing over the boulders and soon the entrance of a cave came into view.Rhys climbed up into the entrance and hauled me up after him.He gripped my arm, pulling me closer to him as we walked further into the cave.It was so dark now that we’d left the light of the moon, I was surprised that Rhys had a clue where he was even going.I stumbled over rocks even as he was supporting me.“Where are we going?”“Shh.”We walked along what felt like a winding tunnel until I could no longer see the entrance of the cave.Rhys stopped suddenly.Metal clicked and a door opened.A stream of light flooded out.We walked through the door and found ourselves in another tunnel—but this time lanterns hung from the walls.The air felt colder now that we were traveling deeper into the mountain.Rhys kept his grip on me.We walked forward for several minutes until we reached another old door.He gripped the rusting iron handle and with two hands twisted it open.The temperature fell yet again.I shivered and huddled closer to Rhys.He lifted up his cloak and closed it around me as I gripped his waist.I cast my eyes around the circular chamber we’d just entered.This chamber wasn’t as well lit.There were just four large lanterns, each casting flickering shadows along the walls.The floor sloped downward toward a pool of black liquid in the center.“What is that?”Rhys didn’t answer me as we neared it.It was thick, yet grainy like tar.I couldn’t imagine for the life of me what it was.The liquid parted.I screamed as a woman’s corpse emerged from it.At least, I had thought it was a corpse.The woman’s body shuddered as she drew in a deep rasping breath.The hall filled with a stench of decay.Rhys clasped a hand over my mouth and pulled me a few steps back.She reached a skeletal arm out of the water and brushed strands of black hair away from her face.My heart hammered in my chest.Bone protruded from the top of her forehead and her lips were shriveled.There were patches of skin missing from her nose, revealing bare cartilage.Her eyes were black as beetles, small and shrunken.“What is she?” I breathed.Even Rhys’ breathing had quickened.“Through us, the spirits of our Ancients live on.They still watch over us.Some more than others…”I gasped.“An Ancient? But I thought they were all gone long—”“As long as we remain loyal to them, they still live and breathe with us.Lilith is the last to physically remain with us.”Lilith.It was hard to wrap my head around this thing having a name.Rhys’ eyes remained fixed on her as he spoke.Strange words rasped from her mouth.Her voice was low and hoarse, so much that had it not been for her body, I would have assumed her to be a man.“Only those who wish to become Channelers are admitted entrance to see her,” Rhys said.“Otherwise, her existence is kept a secret.”The witch spoke in ancient witch tongue.Although Rhys had taught me to read it, I couldn’t understand it when it was spoken.I looked up at Rhys, bewildered.Rhys replied to her in the same tongue [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]