Twenty-Seven

"Jordan," a voice echoed around me. It sounded so far away and came in waves like water touching the shore. With a whoosh of wind, I was on my back. "Jordan!"

"Bran?"

"No, it's me." I opened my eyes to see Justice standing over me with a worried look. He looked so different here, not solid and real, but he glowed with the power that came from his spirit the same as Edith had. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so." I stood and looked around. Once again, I was in the thick forest where Edith had brought me. "It's not far from here," I said, and started to walk in the direction of the barrier. It was then I noticed the cord that extended from me to Justice and the other end that I knew led directly to Bran.

"Don't worry, Bran made sure you can get back," Justice said. His voice was also different here or maybe it was the fact I'd only been able to hear and see him for a short amount of time. I wasn't sure, but I was incredibly thankful to have him with me now.

"Let's go where we can see the veil." We walked through the thick forest for a while. Neither of us spoke, both too focused on the spirits streaming over our heads toward the barrier. When we were close enough to see, we found a rocky outcropping to stay out of sight. I didn't expect any of the spirits here to harm us, but I wasn't sure what could happen if the wraith knew we were here to try to stop it. Or at least wound it enough to slow it down.

"Look there," Justice whispered, and pointed near where the glowing barrier met the ground. Many spirits were gathered there, and most were moving through at a steady pace. One spirit stood out. It glowed bright, and I wondered if the spirit knew they had power when they were alive, or if they were only aware of it once they'd died. My thoughts were interrupted when the spirit stopped just before it would pass through. It raised its arms and took a few steps forward so they were as close to the barrier as they could get before pushing through.

I knew what would happen before it began, but seeing it was even more shocking than seeing the aftermath. The glow that had stood out among all the other spirits started to flicker and fade, as the wraith fed on this spirit from the other side. As its light was drained, it started to change. What had once been a spirit of light was slowly transforming into a human shaped pilar of ash.

"What's happened?" Justice whispered, just as another spirit brushed up against it and it crumbled to nothing but dust.

"The wraith drained its energy. See the hole in the barrier? That's going to be our opening to get to the wraith if marking the spirit doesn't work." I hadn't talked to Bran about this, but one way or another we would hurt the wraith today. "We need to get a little closer so when we find another spirit that glows the way that one did, we can mark it."

Justice nodded and we made our way under cover of the underbrush and rocks closer to the glowing boundary. More glowing orbs floated around nearby before disappearing into the wall while a steady number of spirits walked straight toward it. Most of them passed through without hesitating, but a few stopped just before they would have entered, and wandered off on their own or in small groups. Then I saw it. One of the spirits that had just emerged from the forest glowed bright. I pointed it out to Justice and the two of us started to make our way toward it.

The other spirits that were waiting to pass through didn't pay any attention to us, but also didn't move out of the way to let us past them. I noticed then how different we looked from them. Both of us were transparent while they were solid. They didn't give us any notice as we ducked around one after another trying to reach the one that glowed so bright.

Finally, we were close enough to reach it. I stood in front of it but instead of stopping, it passed right through me and was within a few more steps of crossing through the veil. "Wait," Justice shouted. The spirit stopped and turned to face us.

"What is it you want?" it asked.

"Only to offer you some protection as you cross over," I said, and hoped it worked. The spirit didn't spare us another glance as its eyes were straight ahead, but not focused on anything other than the barrier. I stepped closer and was surprised to find a silver rod in my hand where on the other side I held the vial Janis had given me. The skin of the spirit was not skin, it was made of the same glowing material the veil was made of and I hoped once more that this would work. I touched the silver stylus to its arm and tried to control my shock as liquid energy swirled around but maintained the shape of an arm. Making the mark in the liquid, I hoped it maintained its shape and didn't melt off and disappear. As soon as I finished the last stroke the mark ignited and glowed even brighter than the spirit.

"It's working," Justice whispered. The spirit continued on in the direction of the wall without any hesitation and crossed through. "Did it work?"

"I'm not sure." I stepped a little closer hoping to hear or see something. "Do you—" My words were cut off as Justice's expression changed and all emotion was wiped from his face. With unseeing eyes, he turned and joined the other spirits in their walk toward the wall. "Justice!" I shouted and ran over to him.

Gripping his arm, I tugged as hard as I could, but it was like pulling on a statue even though his skin was now the glowing, swirling liquid like the spirit we'd marked. He was rigid and unmoving as he continued his silent walk to the other side. Then I remembered I could still contact Bran. "Bran, Justice is caught in the pull of the veil. I'm trying to stop him but he's not responding. I need your help."

"Jordan, I'm here," he immediately answered. I tried not to sag with relief, but Justice still had not slowed down his constant march to his very real demise. Bran's voice took on the strange tone it had when he'd talked to me across the expanse of the two realms. "Justice, stop!"

His voice boomed with power and command and as soon as Bran said the words, Justice froze. He still was under the spell of the veil, and I was worried he'd try again to walk through. If he did, there would be nothing I could do to help him. Slowly I approached, and noticed again how similar he looked to the others that were walking around us to the veil. They all wore the same expression, but it wasn't sad or without feeling. They looked happy, and at peace. For a moment I considered letting him go. But it had to be his choice, and the influence of the veil was so strong here it was hard to deny it.

"Jordan, give me the vial Janis gave you," Justice said through gritted teeth. Then I realized he wasn't at peace at all. He was fighting to stay here and not cross over.

I glanced down at my hand and what had just been a silver rod, was once again the vial. "We'll give it to another spirit to carry over," I said, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

With a considerable amount of effort, he forced his hand out. "Jordan. It's okay, having you two as friends has meant more to me than I could ever say. Give me the vial." He reached out his hand while his feet stayed immobile, and I wondered if Bran was still holding him in place. "He cannot force me to do his will. His influence isn't as strong here, I obey because he's my friend."

"Justice, no," I begged, and I knew then he meant as much to me as he did to Bran. He was a friend, and I didn't want to lose him. Just then one of the bright glowing spirits walked past us and slowly raised their hand toward the wall of the veil. I bolted and before they could put their hand through, I shoved the vial into their hand.

Justice's eyes widened as we both watched, and he continued to fight the pull of the veil. For a moment nothing happened. The spirit still glowed but its arm was hidden in the wall. A deep rumbling sounded, and the spirits closest to the wall were thrown back away. The spirit we'd used was also thrown free of the wall, but as soon as its arm was free the hole remained open. I rushed over and looked inside.

Howls of pain and screeches of anger filled the air as a creature even more horrible than what had been summoned by Sophia writhed in pain. Its face was covered by a black veil and its hands were only bones, but they were not human hands. Long talons curled and flexed as it tried to shake off the effects of the vial. It threw its head back as it roared, and I noticed one of its hands was black and mangled just as I was tugged away from the wall by the cord that was attached to Justice.

Suddenly he was pulled backwards too. His eyes were wide, and his arms reached out to me as he was dragged back to Bran by the silver rope we'd both been secured with. But a hand caught my arm stopping me.

"Let go, I need to leave," I pleaded as I watched Justice disappear.

The rope around my waist tugged until it was pulled tight, but I was held in place by the spirit who had carried the vial. It had a human shape but there were no defined details, just the swirling energy that most of them were made of. "Seer, you must know, this is only the beginning. You've only wounded the beast. It will return again. I suggest you prepare for that day." It transformed then into the shape of a woman. I didn't recognize her, but her energy was familiar.

"Who are you?" I managed to sputter out.

"It is from me your family was born. Never forget the greatest threat to us on both sides of the veil is the wraith. It will stop at nothing to inherit more power. Build your protections and make a plan, because it will return, and you will need to destroy it." She smiled then before fading into a glowing mist as I was ripped back into the world of the living.