Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 83353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
“Oh, no!” Hanna said with real horror. That was definitely one of the dangers of living in Florida—there were pools, ponds, and lakes everywhere—not to mention the ocean on three sides. Her parents had made sure that she and Sam got swimming lessons almost as soon as they could walk, to avoid this kind of tragedy.
“Is she dead?” Wraith asked quietly and Hanna repeated the question.
“That’s the thing—she’s not. She’s on life support but she’s hanging on—barely,” Aunt Luna said. “I think her spirit may be hovering around her body, unable to find its way back in. But if the little girl’s spirit hovers too long without finding its way…”
“She’ll make her way to the afterlife,” Hanna finished for her.
“In all probability, yes.” Aunt Luna nodded. “I’m going to go down to Earth to see if there’s any way I can help, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to. I have only a tiny sliver of the Gift you and Sam have, of seeing and speaking to Lost Spirits. I’m afraid I won’t be able to find the little girl and help her back into her body.”
“What about calling Sam?” Hanna asked at once. Her sister was so good at helping Lost Spirits get where they needed to be, she had a whole YouTube channel devoted to it.
But Luna shook her head sadly.
“I thought of that, of course. But she and her Kindred are on another planet right now—he wanted to take her to Ogi’o Prime because they have an extensive culture devoted to life after death. It’s in a closed system and you need special permission to go there. She’s going to be unreachable for at least another week. And by then I’m afraid it will be too late!”
“I’ll go then,” Hanna said, though she could feel her stomach fisting into something that felt like a chunk of ice as she spoke the words. “I can speak to spirits too—I just generally try not to, because most of them are so unpleasant. But I can do it when I have to—maybe I can find the little girl and bring her back.”
“Hanna, no!” Aunt Luna exclaimed. “I don’t want you going back down to Earth—you’re happy here. And safe. The Dark Entity hasn’t bothered you since that first night when Wraith drove it away!”
“Your aunt is right, little one,” Wraith said quietly. “You won’t be safe on Earth and I can’t go with you. I am bound to the Mother Ship and I cannot leave it, no matter how hard I try.”
Hanna felt even more frightened, but then she pictured the young mother standing beside her daughter, seeing the tubes and hoses and the almost lifeless little body in the hospital bed and she knew she had to go.
“I’ll be fine,” she said, lifting her chin. “The Dark Entity has only ever bothered me at night—he can’t stand the daylight. So we’ll go during the day—I’m sure that’s when the hospital has visiting hours, anyway—right? And then we’ll be sure to come back up to the Mother Ship before it gets dark.”
Aunt Luna blotted her eyes on a tissue.
“Are you certain you want to try this, Hanna? It’s no light thing to intervene between death and his prey.”
“I’m sure,” Hanna said firmly, even though her insides now felt like a solid block of ice. She turned to Wraith. “Please—try to understand.”
“I do.” Putting an arm around her, he dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “I understand that you have the heart of a warrior, little one. I know that you have to try and help if you can.”
“Thank you.” Hanna felt a rush of gratitude. She’d been afraid he would be upset with her for wanting to put herself at risk. But he understood her—he always understood. It was one of the best things about him.
Aunt Luna blotted her eyes again and blew her nose.
“If we’re going to go, we need to leave at once,” she said. “Bruin can fly us down right away and we should make it during daylight hours.”
“All right.” Hanna nodded. She’d been sitting on the couch but now she stood on shaking legs. “Let’s go.”
“Wait—before you do…” Wraith stood as well and took her in his arms. He kissed her deeply and looked into her eyes. “Just be sure you’re back before darkness falls, little one,” he murmured. “I couldn’t bear to lose you.”
“I…I don’t want to lose you either,” Hanna whispered. “Don’t worry—I’ll come back before dark. I’ll be aboard the Mother Ship, back in your arms before you know it.”
She had no idea how wrong she was.
19
HANNA
The hospital had a sterile, chilly smell—the smell of disinfectant and death, Hanna thought. She usually avoided it as much as possible—in fact, she hadn’t been to a hospital since the death of her parents, many years ago when she was only thirteen.