Black Ice Burning (Pale Queen Series Book 3) by A. R. Kahler

Author:A. R. Kahler [Kahler, A. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781503953925
Publisher: 47North
Published: 2016-10-25T04:00:00+00:00

Knowing that Penelope is out there, planning on crossing over to this realm, gives every motion a sense of urgency. After grabbing some leftovers from Roxie’s fridge—very stale pizza, very flat soda—I begin sketching the portal straight onto her wall. In permanent marker. Bitch deserves it.

I may not have the magic to use the marks I draw, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten what to do. I sketch the door and fill in the coordinates, shapes and numbers flowing from my fingers by rote. It’s the first time in a long time I’ve truly felt like myself. I even kid myself into thinking I can feel the power build with every marker stroke. It’s just the vibration of the nib against the wall, but still. It feels familiar. It feels right.

Pan still has to step up and do the honors. I move to the side and let him place a nubby hand to the sigils. He pauses and looks at me strangely right before stepping through the wall. I sigh and follow suit. Even after he saved me, having to rely on a statue for magic is horribly humbling.

For a moment, when I step through, I think I’ve done something wrong.

Snow whips sideways, and above, the sky crackles with lightning as consistent as a pulse. Everything is white and light and shadow, wails and howls, and even Pan is lost to the storm. Did I accidentally portal back to some tempestuous part of Winter?

Then a bolt of lightning strikes nearer, illuminating my surroundings, and I realize—yes, this is the right place. It’s just not the right weather. The urgency in my veins turns to dread. The mortal world is already changing fast. Too fast.

The derelict cotton mill pierces the snow around me, skeletal fingers pushing up through the white and doing nothing to slow the screaming wind. I bundle my coat closer and look at the wall from whence I came; the symbols I’d carved on it are obscured or worn away. I could be stuck here.

Nope. Not going to worry about that.

One of the shadows shifts, and Pan steps toward me.

“What are we doing here?” he yells. I still barely hear it.

I say nothing. He wouldn’t hear it anyway. But as I walk forward, making my way through the stinging snow, I curse myself. I came here because of the ley lines, because I need Eli as powerful as I can make him, but without magic or the ability to use my old kick-the-can method, I’m searching blind.

Which, I guess, really sums up the last week of my career.

Thankfully, I’ve been here a few dozen times to summon him, and when I reach a place that looks vaguely familiar, I figure that’s close enough.

In the back of my mind, there’s a small voice whispering incessantly. Mainly that this won’t work, but also that if I really wanted a powerful Eli, I could have gone to the theatre where Roxie had summoned Penelope. But even if the place is still standing, that’s not a memory lane I want to walk down for anything.

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