Beyond Her Final Breath (Book 1- Shadowland Duology) | Wattys2015

.Chapter Twenty-Two.

Vanilla scented smoke, thin and gray, drifted through Sage's bedroom. Tendrils of it escaped out the open window, while spare wisps lingered over a bowl of water.

Evelyn gazed at it hovering above the water in front of Sage. Doubt and uncertainty mingled with the smoke. Sure she knew what they were hoping to do, but...

"Are you sure about this?" Nate sat in an old rocking chair in the corner, hands clasped under his chin and a frown resting on his face.

Sage shot a glare up at him from her spot on the floor. "Do you want to do this yourself?"

"No," he mumbled.

As soon as he had gotten home from the counselor in a fit of rage, he stormed into Sage's room. Her bedroom door slammed against the wall, pulling her out of her studying.

"I'm done doing nothing," he had told her, arms crossed and foot tapping. "We have to do something! Time is running out for her."

Sage looked at him from a variety of books sprawled open on her bed. Spellbooks.

"Don't worry," she said. "I have a plan."

Sticking a pen in a knot on her head, she got down to business. Bowls were filled, candles lit, and salt scattered on windowsills.

Now there they were, on an otherwise ordinary Wednesday afternoon, with Sage in the middle of it all.

She ran a finger over the text in a book almost her size. The pages were thin and yellowing, the black ink now a faded brown. It all looked like gibberish to Nathan, but it seemed to make sense to her.

He wondered, idly, how she had even gotten her hands on the books. They were ancient and big: too big to hide in dresser drawers or hidden among books on a shelf.

"Evie," Sage spoke up, "I need you to sit right here." She tapped a spot close to her.

Evelyn settled on the floor. Her image faded like a photo left out in the sun too long. She flickered in and out, and, Nathan realized, to the flickering of the candles.

"Nate, I need you, too."

He eyed the ceremony warily. "Are you sure you need me?"

"Get your ass over here."

Nathan gulped at her tone and sat across from Evelyn. Heat from the candles warmed his arm.

Sage closed her eyes, sighed, and grabbed a handful of salt. Words, foreign and exotic to both Nate and Evelyn, filled the air. The salt sprinkled onto the floor, grains of white falling into the cracks in between wooden planks.

Finally, the three of them were connected by salt, forming a triangle around the bowl.

Her chanting stopped.

Sage opened her eyes. "I don't know if this is going to work." She blinked slowly, as if in a trance. "But I need you, Nate, to think about Evie. And Evelyn, I need you to try your hardest to remember your life."

She grabbed Nathan's hand and offered her other, palm up, to Evelyn. She hovered her hand above Sage's, surprised when she felt some warmth in her fingertips.

Sage inhaled deeply, her chest rising. And then she exhaled.

A shiver crawled up Nathan's arms, working its way to the back of his neck.

The water in the bowl ripple outwards, like something had been dropped into the middle.

Nathan leaned over. His face paled, his eyes widened. Resting on the bottom of the bowl was a single brass bullet. Blood rose off the edges, clouding up the water.

And then...

Something stirred on the surface.

Sage waved a hand over the top, and the image cleared.

Tall pines towering high above, reaching their green fingers to the sky...

Flash!

The sky beginning to fade to twilight, and the first star coming to life...

Flash!

A flash of blonde hair...

And then a familiar voice. "Guys, it's getting late. We should start heading back."

Another ripple disturbed the image and the three of them sat back. Shock masked all their faces.

The voice was distinctly Nathan's.

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"That was the last moments of her life, Nathan, and obviously you were there!"

Sage's ears were pink with rage, hair falling in strands from the knot on top of her head.

Nathan swallowed hard. "Maybe you just got the magic wrong-"

Sage stabbed an angry finger in his chest. "Don't insult my magic," she snapped. "All the evidence is against you right now."

Nathan turned his back, hands clutching his hair.

"First of all," she continued, "you can see her!" An angry point in Evelyn's direction. "And now this?!"

Nathan took a deep, calming breath.

"Who are you? I don't even know you anymore." Sage whispered the last part. "And I think you killed her."

Everything inside of Nathan: fear, confusion, doubt, anger- welled up inside of him. And then he burst.

"You don't think I haven't wondered the same thing?!"

He whirled around, teeth clenched and hands in tight fists.

Wide eyed, Sage took a step back from her brother. "Nathan-"

Wariness descended upon him, resting on his shoulders like wet wool. "No." He held up a hand, the other pinching the bridge of his nose. "Stop. Don't apologize or anything like that."

He inhaled deeply.

"Let's just... find out if I'm the murderer. And if I am- don't hesitate."

Sage nodded, numb.

"No. That's not good enough. You have to promise me."

"I promise," she whispered. She felt like someone had stabbed her in the gut, twisting the blade in her until she became scrambled in the inside.

Nathan nodded and left, leaving to blow off pent up emotion.

Tears gathered in Sage's eyes, and she hastily wiped them away. She locked herself in the bathroom, and the gentle shhh of running water filled the otherwise quiet house.

And Evelyn, still sitting in the middle of the ritual, could not tear her eyes away from the bloody bullet at the bottom of the bowl.

A/N: Please comment below on what you think will happen next! Is Nathan the killer? Aeron? Blake? Sandra? Or someone we haven't seen yet?

Vote/comment/follow!