Page 24 of A Soul’s Awakening

Ren scoffed behind me.

“Theo’s right,” Nick smiled gently at Alex. “You have nothing to apologize for. You’ve suffered long enough at the hands of the Syndicate. You’re free now. Don’t let them continue to control you. Instead, work with Theo to make things right. Repair the veil, send those phantoms home where they belong.”

“So, what exactly are they planning to do with these phantoms?” Stella picked up a hard candy from a bowl on Nick’s desk and popped it into her mouth.

“Experiment, probably,” Nick answered. “Phantoms are unnatural creatures to begin with. Ghosts that become phantoms by acquiring magic as they pass through the veil? Now that’s something to take advantage of.”

“So … I’ll just use this magic against them. Right? If Alex and I have a connection to the veil … to these phantoms, then we just have to work together with them to fight back.” I gazed around the room. It was silent for a moment until Ivy spoke up. “Surely those phantoms don’t want to be controlled by the Syndicate.”

“Perhaps. But look at what’s happening on the news. When these phantoms pass through the veil, they’re not … normal anymore. The magic is corrupting them and they’re causing havoc across the city. You won’t be able to approach them with reason. They may already be beyond saving.”

“Then repair the veil first.” Alex finally spoke up. “Sealing the realms means no more phantoms come through, and no new phantoms for the Syndicate to exploit.”

“Kid’s got a point.” Stella crossed her arms as she picked a piece of lint off her sweater.

“It won’t be easy, though. The tear might be small now, but it’s growing bigger with each phantom that slips through. I can probably stabilize it a little bit, but Theo needs to be the one to stitch it together.”

My phone buzzed in my back pocket. I pulled it out, and the moment I saw my sister’s name, my stomach dropped. My eyes widened as I read her text message, dread sinking straight into my chest.

SOS. Mom’s in trouble.

“Theo, what’s wrong?” Ren stepped up behind me, peering over my shoulder, trying to read the message.

“I … I gotta go! It’s my sister and mom! Something happened!” My heart jolted and hands trembled, and suddenly I couldn’t pull in a full breath. Air came in short, frantic gasps.

“Calm down, Theo.” Ren caught hold of my arm. “Just wait a minute.”

“Don’t, Ren. Let me go.” I stared at him, anger surfacing in my words.

“I’m not trying to stop you.” He let go of his tight grip. “I’m telling you to wait because I’m coming with you.”

Stella, Ivy, and Alex grabbed their belongings to follow.

Nick was shrugging on his winter coat. “We’ll take my car.”

“You too?”

“Of course.” He zipped it up, grabbing a blue knitted scarf he wrapped around his neck. “You’re treading on thin ice, Theo. We don’t know what the Syndicate plans for you two, whether they even want you alive or dead. You’re a threat, but also a valuable asset to them. You’re like a son to me, Theo. I may have vowed that I was done with violence, but I still have a conscience. I won’t sit back and let the Syndicate take your life while they continue to terrorize innocent people.”

I snatched my backpack, stocked with candies and potions I’d planned to hand out to the residents staying at Emberheart Place, and followed everyone out to Nick’s SUV. The drive should’ve taken ten minutes, but with the way Nick tore through the streets, we made it in five.

We pulled up to the curved driveway of the assisted living home, and I practically jumped out of the car while it was still moving, running through the automatic sliding doors and into the chaos inside.

I felt it immediately; the suffocating cold that enveloped the lobby. My breath exhaled in puffs of white, my fingers numb. My gaze locked onto a phantom pinning a bald man with round glasses up against the wall.

“George!” I cried out, my hand already outstretched. The magic erupted from my hand in a flash of bruised purple light, the necrotic bolt a whip crackling with rot and hunger.

It hit the phantom square in the back. He flickered as a ghostly apparition, then dropped to his knees, grunting.

“George, are you okay?” I rushed over toward him as he scrambled away from his assailant.

“He … kept screaming at me, saying he was going to call the cops because I was abusing him.” The front desk attendant, a middle-aged man who smelled of nicotine, rubbed his neck where the phantom had nearly strangled him. He looked up at me with wide, unsettled eyes, both relief and disbelief flickering across his face. “I have no idea who this man is, Theo. W-what the hell is going on? I’m calling the cops. Those rift wardens will know what to do.”

He pulled out his phone and started dialing. Before I could stop him, the call had already connected.

The doors slid open, and others had joined me in the lobby. Loud noises and screams were echoing from beyond the hallway.

“We’ve got this.” Stella brushed me aside. “Go find your sister and mom.”