How to Worship a Goddess by Stephanie Julian

Author:Stephanie Julian
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2011-09-16T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Lucy held her breath as the blade slid cleanly through Brandon’s body until the hilt touched his skin and she knew the point had lodged into the wood beneath him.

Brandon went deadly still. With his eyes closed, he looked like a mounted butterfly.

In her head, she knew he was unharmed. But her heart beat like a trapped bird and her stomach roiled.

And even though she knew they wouldn’t answer, she began a silent prayer to the Involuti. The founding gods of the Etruscans had deserted their children years ago, but she couldn’t help herself. She needed to do something more.

Reaching for Catene’s hand, Lucy drew on the girl’s pure well of power, calling up the very essence that tied them together, the essence that made Catene the only person who could’ve provided Lucy with this much energy.

Soon, the day would come. But not yet…

Now, Lucy had to concentrate. Sal needed her strength and the power she channeled through Cat to help him.

With her free hand, she grabbed Sal’s and let the power flow through her, completing the connection with Sal.

Immediately she felt Sal begin to pull the power out of her and pour it into Brandon.

Brandon’s muscles began to twitch, his body jerking as if Sal had shocked him. The ancient iron blade, blessed by Nortia, the Goddess of Fate, made contact with the solid wood through Brandon’s body and allowed Sal to make that connection with Brandon.

Sal used her magic, boosted by Catene’s, to seek out what might be hidden.

Dragging her gaze away from Brandon, she watched Sal as he searched Brandon in the most intimate way. Through his blood.

Sal had closed his eyes, using his free hand to grasp the handle of the blade and filter the images passing through the iron and into his head.

Through her connection to Sal, she saw bits and pieces of Brandon’s life—family, friends, girlfriends, and hockey. Always hockey. From the first moment his parents put him on skates to his first win in high school to his first professional game.

His love for the sport never wavered, nor did his love for his family and friends. She caught glimpses of his parents, his sisters. He took after his father…

The images cut off as Sal began to focus deeper, looking for ancestral memories carried in the DNA.

Something that would give a clue—

A blast of power blew through Sal with no warning, throwing him away from the altar, away from Brandon.

“No!” Lucy cried out, ripping her hand from Catene’s and reaching for the blade. She wrapped her hand around the hilt, ready to yank it out but the blade was stuck, as if some force held it in place.

“Catene!”

The girl had fallen to the ground when Lucy had broken contact, her eyes closed, her face so pale in the moonlight.

“Catene! Oh Gods. Wake up. Sal, I need you. I command you! Get up.”

From behind her, Sal groaned. Catene stirred, her eyes fluttering open as she made an attempt to climb to her feet.

“What hap—”

“Catene, run and get Dane.

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.