Page 13 of Ignited Spirits (Haunted Magic #3)
I try to suppress my shiver at his deep voice, but I don’t really succeed. Pretending that I’m not getting turned on at a super inappropriate moment, I tell him just as quietly, “It’s okay. Pretty sure we found where Lua is. Now all we need to do is figure out why she’s here.”
Before we can make a plan, Aggie appears in front of us. She looks around in confusion for a moment before her gaze lands on me. When it does, her eyes fill with relief before narrowing on me.
“What the hell, kid!” Aggie shouts at me. “Do you know how worried I’ve been about you? Do you know how worried your family has been? You can’t just disappear for five days and not tell anyone!”
While she has valid points, now really isn’t the time.
“Shh!” I hiss at her. I don’t know if all cura can see spirits like Levi can. I don’t want Aggie’s shouting to draw Lua’s attention and get all of us killed, so I gesture at the war goddess, hoping Aggie will get the memo.
She opens her mouth to yell at me some more when she finally looks where I’m pointing and jumps in surprise before looking at Lua in horror. “Who is that? And why is she leaving blood everywhere behind her?”
“That’s Lua, Levi and Hades’s mother. She killed Archer and came very close to killing the rest of us. How about we don’t draw her attention with all your shouting, Aggie?”
“She’s somehow more terrifying than tall, terrifying, and scary one and two put together.” She looks between Archer and me a few times before raising her eyebrows at me. “Uh, kid, I don’t think he’s a ghost.”
“I’m not, because Izzy brought me back.”
“What? How? When?” Aggie gapes at Archer. “And how can you see me?”
“I had to use water from the Styx to bring him back, and it must’ve allowed him to see spirits.” Turning to Levi, I ask, “Can all cura see spirits in this realm?”
He nods. “Yes. It is an ability that crosses realms.”
Well, there goes one plan I thought I had. It would be cool if Aggie could follow Lua without being seen, but I guess that option is out.
“Okay. Then, Aggie, with love, shut up.”
She huffs at me but doesn’t argue, thankfully. In a whisper, she asks, “So, what’s the plan?”
“I haven’t gotten that far.” I bite my lip as I try to think what to do.
We can’t just walk after Lua. She’ll catch us before we even get close enough to figure out what she’s up to. I need some way to hide myself so I can sneak after her without her knowing. But the question is, how?
Being her usually unhelpful self, Aggie retorts, “Well, don’t you think you should figure it out sometime this century, kid?”
I roll my eyes at her. “Nah, I was just planning on standing here until she ends the world. Way less work that way.”
Archer snorts at my response.
“So, anyone have any idea how we can sneak after Lua?” I ask, not having much hope that there’s a way.
I’m the one fated to take her down, so it feels like I should have all the answers. Unfortunately, I don’t.
Levi scrubs a hand over his face, looking exhausted, even though we just got up. With how calm he normally is, I used to want to see a situation that could ruffle him. Now that his mom is weighing on him so much, I’d give anything to fix it for him.
“I don’t have anything helpful to offer, little raven.
Lua is more powerful and more experienced than I am.
I’m afraid she’ll be able to sense whatever magic we try to use to disguise ourselves.
We may just have to wait until she’s gone and hope we can figure out what she was doing.
” Levi hangs his head, and his shoulders slump.
I hate how defeated he looks.
Walking over to him, I hesitantly wrap my arms around him. Levi is quick to hug me back. He squeezes a little too hard, like he desperately needs something to ground him.
“We’ll figure it out, screech owl. It’s not the end of the world if we can’t follow her this time. We can always think of a better way for next time,” I whisper to him, hoping I can reassure him at least a little.
“We can go after her, sagana ,” Cer rasps in my mind.
I jump at his voice, not having noticed my familiaris arrive. They’re in their rottweiler form and are staring up at me expectantly.
“Yeah, and you can even see through our eyes while we do! It’ll be cool!” Russ enthusiastically chimes in.
My eyebrows raise in surprise. I didn’t know seeing through their eyes was a feature that came with my familiaris . Then again, I didn’t know that familiares were really a thing.
“I appreciate the offer, guys,” I tell them gently, not wanting to make them feel bad. “But I think Lua’s going to notice a three-headed dog following her.”
Russ flashes me a doggie grin before Cerberus disappears in a flash of magic. When the black and red cloud dissipates, a slightly larger than average rat is standing in their place. I’m not even sure it’s them, because it’s a one-headed, normal-seeming rat.
“Can Cerberus turn into a rat?” I ask Levi to avoid talking to a random rodent like a weirdo.
“We can. In fact, we can turn into most forms, but our three-headed ones closest to our natural form are the most comfortable,” Bear informs me.
“How does the whole three-head thing work when you only have one?” I’m aware it’s not the most pressing issue, but I have to know.
Russ chuffs in my mind. “We still have three heads! You just can’t see them in this form.”
Now I feel dumb for asking. That totally makes sense.
“So, how do I see the world through your eyes?” I ask, wanting to get this show on the road. We’ve spent too much time talking as it is.
Who knows if Lua’s already finished what she needs to do, and the trail has run cold.
Instead of answering, Cerberus scampers over to me and bites an exposed section of my leg.
I hiss in surprise and pain. Before I can ask them what in the hell, it feels like the world drops out from underneath me. I’m falling for an eternity before I slam into the ground.