The secret to redemption lies in their souls…
Nila’s head swam. The spirits unearthed by the quake swirled around the site, beating at her with their cold, non-corporeal fists and even colder energy.
She shouldn’t have come back. The bar exam was in two days. Two days!
What the hell was I thinking, coming home to this…this mess?
Thinking wasn’t part of the equation. That was the problem. At least she hadn’t been thinking about what she was getting into. When she’d heard the desperation in Rides The Wind’s voice when he phoned her, she’d responded the way any granddaughter would. She’d grabbed her one and only business suit, thrown a couple of sweaters and jeans in her duffle, jumped in her beat-up car and drove the hundred-and-twenty-two miles straight home, keeping the speedometer on her seventeen-year-old Nissan at ninety the whole way.
Now that she was here, though, every fiber of her being, every one of her six souls, screamed at her to run. Get as far away as possible. Go back to her apartment, pass the bar exam and forget she’d ever been a shaman. Forget she was the Fire Path Nation’s soul catcher.
Nila drew her psychic shield closer, tightening it against the wild spirits and nearly closing off her Sight—the sight that allowed her to see entities and spiritual beings on other planes as well as this one. If she couldn’t See them with her shamanic Sight, she could pretend she didn’t feel them either. Their energy, chaotic and angry, was understandable. These spirits were old, older than any she’d ever encountered, and they’d endured a trauma she couldn’t imagine. But even though a part of her wanted to help them, she couldn’t. Not after what had happened to Bil—
She stopped herself from thinking his name. Don’t go there. You can’t.
As a soul catcher, she wasn’t allowed to speak or even think the lost boy’s name. Souls who hadn’t crossed over to Mother Wolf were unbound spirits. Spirits who existed in the current plane, struggling to stay there instead of moving on to their next life. Even thinking their name could draw them to you, make them haunt you.
As if I’m not haunted anyway.
Nila rubbed the wolf pendant hanging at the base of her throat. Seven years and she still thought of the boy daily. Still wrestled with the grip the night of his death had on her. How could she ever hope to start over if she kept torturing herself with the past?
How could she not torture herself after she’d failed so miserably to put him out of his pain? To bring justice to his father?
The crack in her shield, no more than a tiny fissure after all this time, pulsed and swelled. The cold energy of the ghosts seized on it, slipping icy fingers under her skin and trying to pry it wider. Fighting against it, Nila lurched backwards.
Next to her, the anthropologist and his dog noticed her stumble and then right herself as she locked her knees. Dr. Hunter’s heavy brows banged against each other as he frowned. His face was handsome, prominent jawline hidden under a few days’ worth of beard. He was tan and lean, the hair under his cowboy hat weeks past due for a trim.
But his eyes…they were a clear blue. As clear as the Oregon sky on a sunny day, and Nila could see his souls, all four of them, vying for her attention.
Staring at him was far more pleasant than Seeing the spirits. His physical and mental souls were strong and bright, glowing like translucent rocks lit from within.
The other two, his emotional and psychic souls, were dimmer, more opaque. Obscured to her Sight as if someone had thrown a blanket over them. His aura flashed in fits and starts like a radio station fading in and out. Nila could barely get a read on him.
Which meant he was hiding something. He’d buried some type of painful memory deep within.
Haven’t we all?
Giveaway
GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
1 Ebook Copy of Soul Survivor
1 Ebook Copy of Soul Protector
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Misty Evans has two paranormal stories in upcoming anthologies, including Entangled, of which all proceeds will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Her Witches Anonymous series has garnered many 5-star reviews and was dubbed a Fallen Angel Reviews Recommended Read. Both the Super Agent Series and the Witches Anonymous Series have been on multiple Amazon Kindle bestsellers lists.
She is currently at work on the first book in her new Kali Sweet series. She likes her coffee black, her conspiracy stories juicy, and her wicked characters dressed in couture. When not reading or writing, she enjoys hanging out with her husband of twenty-two years and their twin sons. Learn more and sign up for her newsletter at www.readmistyevans.com. Like her author page on Facebook or follow her on Twitter.
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2 Post a Comment:
I looks interesting, though the excerpt is a little confusing. Still, it makes me want to read more to find out what exactly is going on.
Sounds like a fun read. Ghosts with ancient native American belief systems. Cool.
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Please, No Blog Awards. I'm honored to be nominated, but I really don't have time for it.