Greythorne by Crystal Smith

Author:Crystal Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780358246312
Publisher: HMH Books
Published: 2020-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

 15

“Shouldn’t we tell Kellan and Onal that we’re doing this?”

Rosetta, who had produced a wad of strange, silvery string from some hidden pocket within the ragged layers of her skirts, was laying it out in a wide, weblike arrangement, knotting and twisting it and tracing tiny patterns in the air over it, all according to the incomprehensible notes within Galantha’s grimoire. Her work lacked the boldness and immediacy of my blood magic, but there was definite power in the delicate intricacy of her art. Feral magic had, to me, always sounded wild and uncontrolled, when in fact, I observed, it was the opposite: it was rhythmic and methodical, a natural extension of the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

Without looking up, she said, “Do you think either one of them will be excited to have you go wandering alone in the spectral plane?”

I pursed my lips, imagining Kellan’s concerned, furrowed brow and Onal’s disdainful scowl. “You’re right. We can’t tell them.”

“If my hunch is right, walking the Gray will be easy for you; you may have already been doing it on your own, in your sleep. This way, you’ll be fully conscious in your spectral body, and better able to control what you see.”

“Is there any danger?”

Rosetta’s hands went still on her string, halfway through making another tie in the web. “If I said yes, would you be dissuaded from going in?”

I thought of Kellan and the bloodcloth. “No.”

“Then, yes. There is. According to Galantha’s writings, the initial entrance into the Gray should be quite painless. It’ll be like stepping into a mirror; everything is backwards, which might be a little disorienting. But she said it is also like wading into a river; the farther you go, the more powerful the currents, and the more likely you are to be swept away.”

“And what happens if I don’t make it back?”

She checked the green-bound book. “Your consciousness would be adrift in a dimension Galantha calls ‘the all-at-once.’ My best guess is that your subtle self would go mad while your material body wasted away and died. So try not to get too lost.”

I cringed, thinking of the Bleeding Dream. “I’ll do my best.”

“Now, here. You have to lie in the center of the spell.” She helped me step into the starry silver oval. With the green of the sombersweet leaves behind it, it resembled the facets in a vivid emerald. As I lay down in the center and settled myself into place, Rosetta took out a bundle of dried sombersweet and used it to draw another pattern in the air. It started to burn, giving off a rich, sweet-scented smoke that made my head swim.

“Keep in mind: What happens in the Gray is really happening. Or has happened. Or will. You are insubstantial, but what you’re seeing is not.” She forced herself into a soothing monotone. “Breathe the sombersweet in and concentrate. Separate your thoughts from the weight of the body that contains them. You are the you you see in a mirror.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.