Page 14 of Ignited Spirits (Haunted Magic #3)

IZZY

I blink in confusion, wondering what just happened.

When I look around, it seems like I’m almost on the floor, which is strange. I was definitely standing a minute ago. Turning in a circle, I see myself cradled in Bishop’s arms, eyes closed and unconscious.

My eyes widen when I realize that I’m not in my body anymore. Glancing down, I can just see a brown furry body and weird little rat paws.

Oh shit.

The good news is that I figured out how I’m going to see through Cerberus’s eyes. I’m somehow in their body. The bad news is that my mates are freaking out that I just collapsed.

Luca and Bishop look like they’re ready to murder anyone and everyone. Archer and Cain are watching the whole thing worriedly, and Levi is shoving a hand through his hair in agitation. Aggie is pacing as she looks between my limp body and my mates.

I wish I could tell them what’s going on, but I’m currently trapped in a rat body with my three-headed familiar. That’s… not something I ever thought I would say, but that’s my life lately.

“You can tell them what is happening. At least the two you have bonded. You can speak through us into their minds the same way we speak to you, since you’re part of us right now and they are part of you,” Cer tells me.

It’s a little weird, thinking about speaking to them in their heads, but it’s pretty much the only way to stop them from freaking out.

Otherwise, they’re going to leave with my body, and I’m going to be stuck here as a rat.

If I’m stuck as an animal, I want it to be something cool, like an ostrich or emu.

Um, guys? I’m not sure if you can hear me, but I’m all good. I’m just chilling with Cerberus in this rat, so no need to be worried, I try to project into Bishop’s and Archer’s minds.

“Izzy? What the fuck? How are you in my head?” Bishop’s deep voice rumbles in my mind. His voice is infused with confusion, worry, and frustration, like he can’t decide what to feel toward me. “Also, you’re in big fucking trouble for pulling this, sweetheart.”

My mouth would drop open in surprise if I weren’t hitching a ride in Cerberus’s body right now. What? That’s not fair! I didn’t do anything. Cerberus is the one who did this.

I feel mildly guilty about throwing my familiaris under the bus, but it’s for a worthy cause. I’m sure they don’t mind.

Bishop chuckles in my mind, the sound dark and menacing. “We’ll talk about this later, when I’m not holding your lifeless body in my arms.”

I mean, that’s reasonable. Bishop being so quick to get mad at me over something that’s not even my fault, less so. I have the urge to reach up and rub my temples at the headache I’m getting from this whole day.

“Sunshine? You can talk in our heads now?” Archer asks, his voice holding none of the anger of Bishop’s. He mostly sounds confused.

Apparently I can borrow Cerberus’s ability to talk to anyone who has a bond with me while I’m in their head. Sure comes in handy when I can’t talk, because I’m a rodent, I guess, I project into his mind, still finding this whole thing crazy.

Cerberus was very casual mentioning that I can just talk in their heads for now. All the things cura and creatures from Infernus find normal is kind of mind-boggling.

Barking out a laugh, Archer shakes his head at me before his face turns concerned again. “So you’re okay?”

Yep, one hundred percent okay, just a little freaked out, I tell him, unsure if I’m just projecting my thoughts to Archer or to Bishop too.

“We need to go after her soon, sagana . Otherwise, we’ll lose her trail,” Bear chimes in.

Sighing internally at how much time I just wasted, I ask, Can one of you tell the others that I’m okay? We need to leave if we want to figure out what Lua is up to.

Giving me a nod, Archer turns to my other mates. “Izzy’s okay. She’s currently with Cerberus. Somehow. I’m still a little fuzzy on the details, but there’s nothing to worry about.”

Luca, Cain, and Levi launch into a barrage of questions that I mostly tune out as Cerberus takes off, following Lua’s trail.

“I swear to God, Isabel, if anything happens to you, you will not enjoy the consequences. Understand?” Bishop rasps.

Yeah, yeah, I know. Love you too, St. James, I shoot back as we cover ground faster than I thought our little rat form would be able to.

I don’t know if I’m out of range or if Bishop doesn’t respond, but my mind is blissfully quiet as we race over grass, paved streets, sidewalks, and a grimy back alley.

We come to a stop halfway through the dimly lit corridor. As the sun sinks low in the sky, the alley takes on a more ominous vibe. I search around the black-painted bricks and trash-littered ground but find no sign of Lua.

I start to panic when I can’t figure out where she went. We can’t afford to lose an opportunity to find out what she’s up to.

“She’s inside! Don’t worry, we’ll catch up to her!” Russ practically shouts.

I wince from the volume of his voice as relief soars through me. At least this side trip isn’t for nothing. How do you know she’s inside?

“We can sense cura magic, and Lua possesses a large quantity of it. Perhaps more than any other cura we’ve encountered before.” Cer’s voice is thoughtful.

His words make my stomach sink. Lua being the most powerful cura ever is so not what we need right now. It was already almost impossible to defeat her last time, so her extra power is the cherry on top of this shit sundae.

I don’t say anything as we start running toward one of the brick walls. As we move closer without stopping, I brace for getting turned into a rat pancake against the unforgiving brick.

To my surprise, we don’t meet our untimely end and instead sail through a small crack I didn’t notice. Being so small has its perks.

After scampering through the crack for a few minutes, I can hear muffled shouting and see a faint light up ahead. As we creep closer and closer to the light, I begin to make out the words.

“This is not what I asked for, you incompetent fool!” Lua shouts at someone. Similar to the last time I encountered her, Lua’s voice is edged with insanity, like she isn’t all there.

“I’m s-s-sorry, my lady,” a shrill-sounding man stutters in the face of Lua’s wrath. “This is all they had available.”

When we reach the crack in the wall, we peer out into a dimly lit store with low ceilings, a rundown counter, and shelves full of herbs and what looks like other ingredients for potions.

It dawns on me that we must be in a mage shop, one that’s less than legal if all the human parts—eyeballs, fingers, and tongues—I see on the wall are any indication.

Lua’s back is to us, so I can mostly see the man she’s yelling at.

He’s lanky with greasy brown hair that falls to his shoulders.

His beady black eyes dart around his shop, like he’s looking for an escape route.

His stained white shirt and ripped jeans match the general unkempt appearance of the guy and his shop.

“All they had available?” Lua screams incredulously at the dude.

I would feel bad for him if he didn’t have human pieces scattered around.

I’m guessing he’s not exactly a standup guy, owning people bits shoved in jars and all.

“What the fuck do I pay you for? It’s certainly not to give me pathetic excuses! ”

“I sincerely apologize, goddess mother. I talked to every one of my contacts, and the soonest anyone can get it to me is in six weeks. I promise you will get what you want, it will just take a little while,” the man tells Lua, trying to placate her.

“Six weeks?” she screeches. “Unacceptable! I don’t have six weeks to wait. I need to cast the spell before my idiot sons can get their resources together.”

My hackles rise from Lua talking about Levi like that. He’s incredibly smart, and it hurts my heart hearing someone who’s supposed to love him unconditionally speak about him that way.

Hades, on the other hand, she can feel free to call him a dumbass. He certainly needs to be brought down a peg or two.

If I were in control of our rat body, I would definitely run over to Lua and bite her on the ankle. If I were lucky, I could even give her some disease, like the plague, with my bite. Alas, Cerberus is firmly in control and prevents us from doing anything rash.

The man holds his hands out in surrender, attempting to defuse the situation. “I will keep trying to get it to you sooner. I’ll follow up with all my contacts and figure something out.”

Lua lets out a bloodcurdling laugh, the noise sounding more like nails on a chalkboard than a true chuckle. “Oh, you think you’re getting another chance, do you? No. When people disappoint me, I have no use for them. And you have gravely disappointed me, Kevin.”

As Lua advances on him, Kevin scrambles backward until he bumps into the door to the shop. He fumbles around for the door handle but can’t find it before Lua is on him.

“No! Please!” he whimpers as Lua places her hands on either side of his head. She pulls up on his head until she rips it clean off his body. Blood sprays everywhere as Kevin’s decapitated corpse slumps to the floor.

Lua carelessly tosses his severed head to the side, all the blood and gore on full display.

Well, that wasn’t something I needed to see, but I can’t tear my gaze away from the macabre scene.

If she’s going to kill people in front of me, it’d be great if Lua would do something not horrifying, like snapping their necks or offing them with a spell. I don’t understand her need to murder people in the most gruesome way possible.

Nudging the body with her foot, Lua tsks at the prone form on the ground.

“You should’ve just gotten me the iron I needed, Kevin.

It’s not that hard to get rock from the planet’s core.

I am this close to having everything I need, and you just had to go and disappoint me,” she screams at him before composing herself.

She bends down to wipe her bloody hands on the man’s white T-shirt.