Page 1 of Ignited Spirits (Haunted Magic #3)

IZZY

“ I love you, too, sunny boy,” I choke out as Archer’s lifeless body hits the rocky floor, my voice breaking.

My knees buckle underneath me, and I slowly slide to the ground as my vision blurs with the tears streaming down my cheeks. Bishop’s arms are still wrapped around me as we kneel together, but even his touch can’t comfort me or make anything about this okay.

I hear quiet sobbing from my left. Turning my head, I see Luca is also on his knees with tears dripping down his face and splashing onto his jeans.

His chest shakes as he cries, but he can’t tear his gaze off his little brother.

Cain is on the floor, too, and has his arm slung around Luca, offering what little comfort he can.

As badly as I want to go over to Luca, I don’t know if he wants anything to do with me. Lua Mater wanted me. Archer only ended up there with her because he was pushing me out of the way. While I’m not the one who ripped out his heart, I am just as responsible.

“ Sagana . We have to hurry,” Cer rasps in my mind.

I shake my head mutely because I can’t do anything right now, with the all-consuming pain of having just watched Archer die consuming me.

Even if the world is on fire, I don’t have the will to do anything other than kneel here and watch it burn.

I don’t really want a world without Archer in it, anyway.

“Please, sagana , we need to go before his soul leaves,” Bear pleads.

The mention of a soul is what finally breaks through to me. I try to look for any souls hanging around, but I can’t see very much at the moment with tears obscuring my vision. Through hiccupping breaths, I ask, “What do you mean, before his soul leaves?”

I guess it’s not a surprise that Archer’s soul didn’t cross over. Everything with Lua definitely qualifies as a traumatic death. If he is still here, I know I need to cross him, but I don’t think I can handle that right now. Not when I just lost him.

“His soul is still here, so we can put him back together! Once his soul leaves, we can put him back together, but he won’t be quite right.” Russ’s face twists in disgust at the mention of what I’m pretty sure is a zombie.

“What do you mean, we can put him back together? He’s—” I break off as I struggle to get the words out.

It somehow feels more real if I say it out loud, and I’d give anything for it not to be real.

I’d happily trade my life for his, but that’s not how it works.

Swallowing roughly, I finally manage to whisper, “He’s dead.

A shifter can’t heal from a ripped-out heart. ”

“A shifter can’t, but your magic and the River Styx can. If you wish to let him go, that is fine. But if you want to save him, we need to hurry.” Cer’s gravelly voice holds no judgment, supporting whichever path I choose.

I’m pretty sure my heart stops beating when I hear that I can heal him. Time freezes and the world around me goes silent for a beat as I process it before everything comes roaring back.

“What do I need to do to bring him back?” I ask as I angrily swipe the tears off my cheeks and clear my vision. Whereas heartbreak and hopelessness were close to consuming me, now I’m filled with a steely sense of determination. I’ll do anything I have to in order to bring Archer back.

“You have to hold on to his soul and get him to Infernus first. Then you can heal him with the sacred water!” Russ practically shouts in my head. I wince at the volume but nod my thanks for the information.

“Sweetheart…” Bishop trails off uncertainly. Even though he can only hear one side of the conversation, he still understands what’s happening. “You don’t know what the consequences of messing with the natural order are.”

As much as I hate to admit it right now, Bishop is right. I desperately want to bring Archer back because I need him so damn much. But it’s not fair to him to bring him back as a shell of his former self. If I’m going to do this, I have to make sure that all of Archer will come back.

Blowing out a harsh breath, I glance over at Cerberus again. “What does reviving him mean for Archer?”

Bear’s head tilts back and forth as he thinks, a surprisingly human gesture for the hell dog. “His innate magic will be altered by contact with the Styx. He might have another animal form, new cura powers, or… he might never shift again.”

Fuck.

That’s a hell of a spectrum of consequences. Archer will either get cool new magic or have none at all, making him practically human.

I sigh. “Will there be any other consequences?”

Cer shakes his head. “There should not be, but there is no guarantee. This is not something that is often done in Infernus. Cura simply do not die frequently enough for this to be a well-documented situation.”

That doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy about the whole thing. It also makes me wonder how Cerberus knows about it if it’s not common knowledge, but that’s a problem for another time.

Shoving my hands through my hair, I try to think it all through as quickly as I can. We don’t have much time here.

I wish I could ask Luca what he thinks his brother would want, but he’s in no shape to be making any decisions right now. Not that I am, either, but I don’t have a choice.

Archer always tries to live life to the fullest, even when it’s hard and he feels like he’s failing everyone else. All he wants is to be there for the people he cares about and avoid causing them unnecessary worry. He has an unerring knack for finding joy, even in the worst situations.

I have to hope that he will still be happy, with or without his animal anymore. I have to hope that he’ll find some way to live a full life, despite any unexpected complications from this. I have to hope he doesn’t hate me for making this decision for him.

Already knowing what my choice is, I wordlessly push to my feet.

Bishop’s arms fall away, and he makes no move to stop me.

Looking around the shiny black rock cave, it takes me a moment before I spot Archer’s translucent ghost crouched down by his body.

The spirit is huddled up in a ball, which must be why I missed him earlier.

Without conscious thought, I open a portal to the ledge Archer’s on.

Stepping through, I don’t even try to fight the tears that start up again when I see the mangled and bloody mess of Archer’s chest. I drop to my knees again and cradle his head in my lap, brushing his sweaty blond hair off his forehead.

His face looks surprisingly peaceful despite all that happened.

Glancing over to the right, I see Archer’s spirit with his knees tucked against his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs.

He’s staring off into the distance blankly as he rocks back and forth, not seeming to have any idea that I’m right here.

I think it’s safe to say that Lua damaged his soul as well as his heart, based on the state he’s in. Fury burns like acid through my veins at the thought of the cause of all this heartache.

She made a massive mistake going after one of my mates.

Before, I felt like it was an obligation to stop her from destroying the world.

No one else was going to do it, so I had to.

Now, however, it’s fucking personal. I will hunt her to the ends of this world and every other one.

When I find her, I’ll tear her apart piece by piece until she can never hurt anyone again.

The only way I’ll stop is when one of us is dead.

Gritting my teeth, I focus back on the here and now. Helping Archer takes priority. My revenge can wait. “How do I grab his spirit?” I rasp, my voice roughened by my tears.

“Wrap your magic around his soul,” Bear whispers in my mind. “That will keep it from traveling to the next life.”

I blow out a breath, since I’ve never tried to capture a spirit before. Usually, I just pour my magic into a ghost, and it heals them without me having to do much. I have no clue how to lasso a spirt, but I guess I’m about to figure it out.

Stretching out a hand to Archer’s soul, I picture my power flowing out and gently wrapping around him. Swirling blue-and-purple magic shoots out from me to wind around Archer. His spirit doesn’t show any reaction to my magic. I’m unsure if that’s a good sign or a bad one.

“What are you doing?” Luca’s gravelly voice calls up from the cavern floor.

Swallowing hard, I gently lay Archer back down and stand. I make sure to keep my magic securely around Archer’s spirit. Walking to the edge, I peer over, expecting Luca’s face to be contorted in rage that I’m up here with his little brother. Instead, his expression is disturbingly blank.

My heart aches for Luca. I rub a hand over my breastbone, trying to make it hurt a little less. “I’m saving Archer.”

Luca’s eyes widen and fill with hope for a split second. Then he shutters his expression and narrows his gaze on me. “How? We all saw what happened. No shifter can come back from that.”

“My cura magic and the River Styx will be able to heal him. I just have to get him and his spirit to Infernus .” That’s easier said than done. I’m using a considerable amount of magic just keeping his spirit with us. I have no clue how I’m going to get all of us to the Styx, but I’ll figure it out.

Luca shoves to his feet, his hands balled into fists and his face set in a mask of determination. “If you really think you can bring him back, then I want to help. What do I need to do?” He lifts his chin, wordlessly daring me to try to keep him out of this.

I wouldn’t dream of it.

“I could use someone to carry Archer. I don’t want to risk my hold on his spirit.” Although, I’ll have to be the one to open the rift to Infernus . With Levi still passed out cold on the floor, I’m the only one who can do it. “And can someone carry Levi?”

“On it,” Luca growls. He starts scanning the cave for something, likely a way to get up to this ledge.

I’m about to open a portal for him when Bishop lets out a tired sigh, just about as done with today as the rest of us. “Here.” A portal ringed in Bishop’s blue magic springs to life in front of Luca.

Nodding gratefully at Bishop, Luca steps through the portal and out onto the already crowded ledge. I flatten myself against the rough stone wall as Luca bends down to carefully lift his brother into his arms. He turns and strides back through the portal to the lower level without saying a word.

I’m moving to walk back, too, when Cer rumbles, “You need to bring his heart. Creating a whole new one is much more difficult than repairing an existing one.”

My stomach lurches at the thought of having to touch a human heart, but I’m willing to do anything for Archer. Steeling myself, I bend down and scoop his mangled heart up in my hand. It leaks blood down my arms and squishes between my fingers.

I gag but forcefully shove down the bile that’s trying to come up. We don’t have time for me to be squeamish right now. I’ve wasted enough time as it is.

Shaking my head at myself, I pull on my magic containing Archer’s spirit. It easily lifts the ghost, who doesn’t seem to notice that he’s moving.

Going through the portal, I walk out on the main floor with Archer’s spirit floating behind me. Cerberus gives me an approving nod when they see that I have his ghost firmly tethered.

Cain has Levi slung over his shoulder. Concern bubbles up at the fact that Levi is still unconscious as I wonder if Lua did more serious damage than we can see. The thought of Lua also taking Levi from me is too much for me to handle right now, so I shove the worry to the back of my mind.

If Levi does have any damage, Infernus is the best place for him, anyway.

“Everyone ready to go?” I ask. I try to force my voice to be strong, but it sounds weak and thready, even to me.

“Ready to go, angel,” Cain responds softly.

“Ready,” Luca agrees.

Bishop nods. “Ready whenever you are, sweetheart.”

Blowing out a deep breath, I visualize Hades’s throne room and direct my power to create an interdimensional rift. I’ve never created a gateway between realms, but there’s a first time for everything, I guess.

I know there are no portals allowed within fifteen miles of Acheron, but I don’t think Archer has that time.

Our group is also too vulnerable right now to portal directly to the Styx.

In the state we’re in, someone could easily pick us off before I manage to heal Archer and Levi.

So, I just have to hope my weird magic and desperation can bypass the spells Hades has set up.

A pitch-black rift ringed in purple sparks opens directly in front of me. I momentarily feel excited that I actually managed it before trepidation creeps in. With it being a big black hole, I can’t see where we’re going. So, I might’ve opened a rift into Hades’s castle or a maximum security prison.

The only way to know is to go through. Blowing out a breath, I make sure my hold on Archer’s soul is secure and walk through the rift.