Dark Summer (Book I, Witchling Series)

Chapter Seventeen

Decker felt the slap his mother said he'd feel when a soul went bad. He roused himself from his bed and sat, trying to identify the sensations in his head. Dressing, he pulled open the door just as his mother was getting ready to knock.

"This one is bad," she said. "You feel it?"

"I do. I still can't quite sort through all this stuff in my head," he said.

"Focus hard. You'll be able to identify which laws were broken."

He closed his eyes. The slap continued, the stinging sensations painting a blurry scene. He saw Light then Dark magick, heard screams.

"Necromancy," he said, surprised. "Death."

"Someone tried to raise something from the dead then realized it tears the soul in two," his mother said. "This happens almost every time someone uses magick with the dead, which is why it's forbidden even for Dark witchlings."

"So they panic and kill it using magick," he guessed.

"One Light Law, one Dark Law broken."

"The penalty is their soul then death." His mouth felt dry. "Lucky me. First time out, and I get a double whammy."

"Better than my first night out," she reminded him.

He couldn't forget what she'd done to her twin.

"Let's go," she said, stepping aside.

Decker swallowed hard.

"I'll take us, since you might put us on the moon." She offered her hand. "I'll teach you some things about teleportation tomorrow. You've got a lot to learn about your new powers."

"Assuming I survive this."

"You will. The first time is the hardest."

When it was over, he'd run straight into the arms of Summer. He'd intended to do that this evening, when an unexpected visit from Alexa interrupted the family dinner. Furious at her, he'd agreed to go for a ride to get her away from his family, where he could interrogate her at will about her involvement in trying to burn his house down.

He'd gotten nowhere, because he couldn't use the gift his mother had for determining truth yet. After an hour-long argument, he left Alexa at the school and came home.

"Let's do this," Decker said, drawing a deep breath. He took his mother's hand.

After the walk through family history, her ability to transport them elsewhere no longer caused him discomfort. When the black magick cleared, he stood in a field that looked too familiar. The slab in the center marked it as the one he used to rendezvous with Alexa.

Whoever had done these things, he probably knew them. He turned, catching site of Biji first. Sam lingered in the forest. Biji looked panicked, but she glowed with Light, not Dark magick.

"Biji?" he called. "What's wrong?"

Biji looked at him then past him. Decker turned and froze.

Summer stood a few short feet away, black fog billowing off her. Her face was marred by tears. He was first struck by the power that flowed off her. Sam said she'd be strong, and he was right.

It took a lot of magick to raise something from the dead.

Decker felt as if his body was stabbed with ice. Summer was as frozen as he was, as if waiting to see what he'd do. He couldn't believe she stood before him let alone imagine what happened in the hours they were apart that led them to this.