The Bewitching - Blurred Lines - Book 3

Chapter 8 - Threads of Life

Elyssa's eyes slowly fluttered open, and as they did a dizziness crept over her that made it hard to focus on her surroundings. Something felt wrong, but she wasn't quite sure what it was. She struggled to push herself to a seated position. She felt so weak, and yet her body moved forward as if it was as light as a feather. It was the most disorienting feeling she had ever had.

She sat there silently for several moments waiting for her head to clear and her eyes to push away the haze. When they finally did, she was surprised to see herself sitting in the very same room she had died in. She turned to her side, and noticed Annette sitting silently beside her.

"Did it work?" Elyssa asked to no response.

"Annette?"

Again, her question was met with silence. Before she could try for a third time, a crash startled her from out in the hall followed by the sound of footsteps racing towards them. A split second later Dantes appeared in the doorway, his face twisted in worry and concern.

"...Dantes, what's happening?"

He too seemed oblivious to her as he took one final look into the room and then closed the door. She heard a loud click as he locked it behind him, and then the sound of his footsteps disappearing back down the hallway.

Without thinking she jumped from the table and rushed to the door to stop him. Her hand grabbed for the knob and to her surprise it passed right through it along with half of her forearm. Bewildered, she pulled it back and then stared at her hand in disbelief.

"...What is going on here..."

Carefully she pushed her hand up against the door again, and just as before it passed right through. She watched as she pushed further and further until her whole arm was no longer in sight. She wiggled her fingers. She could still feel them, she just couldn't see them. Next, she closed her eyes and leaned forward letting her head pass through the door.

When she reopened them, she was looking down the hallway while the rest of her body was still on the other side of the door. She was like a ghost, resembling those odd moments when they begin to pass through objects and only a portion of them is visible.

Dantes was nowhere to be seen. Wherever he had run off to, he was in a hurry. She pulled herself upright, her head returning to the other side of the door.

"Annette, what is going on?" she asked again as she turned around and then froze. Annette was still sitting where she had been. She hadn't moved an inch. What scared her was what she saw on the table. Lying motionless beside Annette was her own body.

She again looked down at her hands in disbelief. The spell had worked, just as Annette said it would. She wasn't like a ghost, she literally was one. She could go anywhere she wanted without the fear of being seen. The hunger she had been almost constantly experiencing was also gone.

She realized her whole feeling of being was different. She felt free in a way she had never felt before. All the worries and stresses of life were gone. It was like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She wanted to explore and experience this new adventure to the fullest.

Her thoughts were suddenly stopped by a tinge of pain in her hands. She glanced down to see that her new etheric body was shimmering, as if it was struggling to hold its form. She looked up towards Annette, and caught what appeared to be a pained expression upon her face. Moving her eyes to Annette's arm, she realized the wound had grown in size. Annette's magic was weakening.

Whatever you do, do not get distracted when you're there.

Elyssa had almost forgotten Annette's warning. She only had so much time to accomplish what she was sent here to do before Annette would have to pull her back. Something wasn't right though. This was supposed to be some form of the spiritual world, and yet it looked no different than the real world. The threads of life that Annette had spoken of were also nowhere to be seen.