Page 1 of The Unbound Witch
1
KIRSI
There was life and death and then there was somewhere fucked up in between, and that's where I was sitting. Or not sitting, but hovering, because my soul was ripped from the afterlife and plopped back into this lukewarm existence.
Shored up on the mysterious border of the human lands, after one night only, I'd kill to feel the white sand between my toes, to leap into the cold autumn water and be able to feel it chill me to the bone. But as a wraith, that would never happen. The only thing I could feel was the overwhelming presence of sorrow deep within my gut. Haunted. Which made sense, because that's exactly what I was. Haunted by the reality of my future. Missing my familiar; the tie to Scoop had been completely severed by an unknown hand.
Whoever had killed me deserved a fate worse than death, and I'd be the one to deliver justice. For as much as Raven was responsible for disturbing my afterlife, so was that person for damning me to it.
Slipping away from Grey and Raven for solace, I hovered above the ground, my ghostly being a far cry from graceful as I swooped low, curious to see if I could manipulate the sand. I couldn't. Not a trace left behind as I wandered away from my gloomy companions.
Again, I tried. Descending to the beach in a frantic dive, the world became dark as I crossed the barrier of earth with nothing but silt around me. Twisting back and forth, panicking, I shoved myself out of the ground and thought only of catching my breath, of clutching my chest as the fear subsided, but there was no breath. There was no heartbeat. Everything was different.
Frustrated, I plunged again, intending to claw at the sand I couldn't move, couldn't leave a single mark upon. But within my fury, I jostled the tiny hill, sending several grains tumbling sideways.
It was nothing, really. It was the saddest victory of my existence, but the only one I had now. So, nestled close to the ground, making myself invisible so no one could watch my shame, I tried again and again and again.
As if my body were entirely numb, the rough texture of the sand nonexistent, I shoved my arm toward an abandoned sandcastle, sheer will and cold determination driving me forward. Nothing.
I crept closer to Grey and Raven, both content to brood in silence on the beach. She'd condemned me to this ethereal body. Letting anger swell within until I managed to grasp a small rock, I paused, tumbling it through my fingers, pretending I could feel the bit of lichen on the side, the cool temperature of the stone.
My mouth twisted as an idea sparked in my mind. I was invisible. Long gone, as far as Grey and Raven were concerned. Pulling my arm back, the pebble floated in midair. I chucked it forward, pelting Grey right in the thigh.
“What the fuck?” He jumped to his feet, whipping around, as he rubbed the spot where the rock had hit until it dawned on him.“One day in and you've discovered how to be a dick in a different form. That has to be some kind of record.”
“It's a skill.” I flicked his ear, but my finger passed through, not making any sort of contact.
Damnit. I'd have to practice.
I sighed. “Are we going to sit here and stare at this water forever, or are we actually going to do something?”
Grey lifted one massive shoulder, content to speak to me though he couldn't see me. “We have no magic. How do you propose we do that?”
Raven sat hunched, holding her knees to her chest, those black curls of hers blowing in the wind. She'd killed the Dark King and had to live with it for the rest of her life. Maybe that was punishment enough.
I reappeared before them. “There are these things called ships that float on water and carry you from one place to another.”
“Oh, hey. Glad to see the smart ass came back from the afterlife as well as the asshole,” Grey answered, finally looking at me.
“They only let me pick two attributes. I felt like those were key.” If I’d had it in me, I might have smirked, but it wasn't there. Only the haunting sorrow and the rage burrowed deep down. I didn't want to be here. I'd seen Raven begging me to live before I was taken, but I'd accepted my death on that castle floor.
The ocean waves roared as they tumbled forward, stretching as far as they could toward Grey and Raven before retreating, as if they were afraid of the witches upon the shoreline. I couldn't be sucked into the lull of the tide, couldn't just stay here.A line of trees, painted in a thousand different shades of autumn, created a barrier between us and whatever lay beyond in a land with no magic.
“How am I here?” I asked quietly.
Raven stiffened, turning to glance at me with red ringed eyes. “Because I made a mistake. Because I thought I couldn't bring you back, so I was careless with my words. You were only supposed to answer the question and then return to the afterlife, but Nikos killed the deja before she could send you back.”
“Careless? That's the lightest word I'd use, but that's not what I meant. Are wraiths not magical? If there's no magic here, how am I?”
Grey dusted the sand from his black pants as he answered. “They call them...er... you, ghosts more frequently here, but they exist all the same. Being a wraith is the nature of who you are. Just as a shifter can shift in the human lands, you can exist here. It's not magic. However, the rules work differently here. You have to conceal yourself like you were a minute ago. The humans question your existence, but most don't believe it.”
“How do you know that?” Raven asked, pushing herself from the ground.
“There're these things called books that people open and read for knowledge,” he said, imitating my earlier tone.
Her eyes lit with fury, but she did what she had always done. Held her tongue and kept absolute composure. She was nothing if not predictable when it came to conflict. Bastian Firepool was the only one I'd ever seen her stand up to, and that had ended poorly, to say the least.
“Don't be a dick, Grey.” The words left my mouth before I could filter them. I was infuriated with Raven, but deep down, I would always protect her. I loved her.