The Black Testament (Book of Shadows 4) by Michael Penning

Author:Michael Penning [Penning, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2024-06-03T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

ANNA STOOD BEFORE the decrepit well and stared down into the inky water. Her breath formed frosty plumes in the air, and her fingers quivered as they traced the worn grooves of the stones. The well’s rim was weathered and crumbling, while the water below mirrored the stars like a fragment of a distant galaxy.

Anna had left Cotton Barlow tied up in the blacksmith’s shop while she searched the village for something to use as a scrying pool. She would need to make a decision about him in the morning. She couldn’t possibly let him go. Could she simply leave him bound in the smithy? Or should she kill him before he harmed anyone else? It wasn’t an easy decision, and there was dark part of her that yearned for the simplicity of the second option. But first, she needed answers to the questions he had planted in her mind like malignant tumors.

The cold air stirred the scent of wet lichen and stagnant water as Anna drew a deep breath. Fear crept through the crevices of her confidence and her heartbeat pounded in her ears. The barriers between the living and the dead were fragile. Meddling with the spirit world was always perilous, especially with the ghost of Rebecca Hale waiting for her on the other side.

Anna’s skin crawled at the memory of her ancestor’s spirit invading her body, that horrifying sensation of pure darkness seeking to use her as a vessel to live again. Her stomach churned at the terrifying sense of utter violation, of feeling as if her entire being was on the verge of ceasing to exist. A whirlpool of doubts and what-ifs swirled in her mind.

What if Rebecca is there, lurking in the darkness on the other side? What if she is just waiting for me to open the door so that she might reach through the Veil to claim me?

For a fleeting moment, Anna could almost hear the echoed whispers of Rebecca’s wicked spirit, a siren’s call that promised unimaginable power while nurturing Anna’s most violent instincts. What if Anna was unable to resist her again?

But she had no other choice. Time was running out, and Gideon was her only hope.

Anna closed her eyes. There was a faint tremor in her voice as she began the incantation. The words flowing from her lips were a river of shadows, wrapping around her like a cloak.

Drawing the blacksmith’s knife from her belt, Anna drew the blade across her palm. The bright flash of pain grounded her in the moment. She extended her bleeding hand over the well’s edge, allowing the crimson drops of her offering to fall into the blackness.

Anna took another breath. She stood at the boundary between the living and the dead now. This was her last chance to turn away and let the words of the incantation slip into silence. Instead, she chanted in a serpentine language long forgotten by the living.

As her invocation grew in strength, the surface of the black pool grew unnaturally still, like a mirror awaiting its reflection.

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