Free Immortal Coil by C. I. Black Page A

She placed her palm on it and closed her eyes.
    So, about the hair thing?
    It’s comp—
    Don’t you dare say it’s complicated. I’ve already figured that out.
    The air around Jade quivered, like heat radiating from asphalt in summer. Anaea’s skin tingled.
    Hunter sighed. And it’s about to get more complicated.
    Jade chanted, her voice hushed. She wasn’t speaking English. Perhaps it was that strange language Anaea had spoken earlier when Pearl died.
    Jade never learned Sumerian. She spent most of her time in China , Hunter said, as if Jade not learning Sumerian lessened her somehow.
    Mandarin or Cantonese, maybe. Anaea’s Mandarin and Cantonese weren’t great and Jade was using strange phrasing, but now that Anaea knew what to listen for she could make out a bit of what she was saying.
    How did—?
    Linguist, remember.
    Light flashed across the wall and the air around them shook.
    What is she doing?
    Making a gate to our inter-dimensional sphere.
    A speck of black pierced the center of the concrete.
    You know you sound like a bad Star Trek episode.
    Hunter snorted. Think more like Lord of the Rings . Jade has the ability to channel the energy of the universe to create a gate between your dimension and ours.
    Dimensions? Energy of the universe?
    In the old days it was called magic.
    What do you call it now?
    Magic.
    Spirits, magic, other dimensions. Yep, she was losing her mind, but all of her senses told her the black void growing with every second was real. The darkness devoured the light and the wall until it reached the corners. Anaea couldn’t see anything beyond. It was a big, gaping nothing.
    Any more magic you need to tell me about?
    Not at the moment. Now, remember to do what I tell you.
    She felt the urge to step toward the black nothingness and Hunter’s intention that they walk through it.
    You want me to go in there?
    Where else would we go?
    She bit back her rising panic. There was no way she was going to walk into that thing.
    It’s the only way to get me out of your head.
    Crap. In for a penny, in for a pound, right? Besides, what did she have to lose? Her life? Hunter, more like it. And irrationally, she wasn’t sure she wanted to lose him. But then he’d die with her when the cancer had run its course and he didn’t deserve that. She hadn’t managed to save him, or rather his body, in the river, but she could save him now.
    She gulped in air and stepped into the black nothing.

CHAPTER 9
     
     
    The world twisted and spun. Anaea was weightless. The void pressed against her senses, plugging her ears and pouring down her throat. She gasped, struggling for air.
    Then her foot hit something solid. Her leg buckled and she fell. Hard, cold stone met her knees and hands.
    Hunter shivered in her mind. God, I hate that.
    Gee, I can’t imagine why. She glanced up. They were in a large empty chamber, with open archways on either side. Rough-hewn granite walls, floor, and ceiling surrounded them. There were no windows and no obvious light sources even though the room was as bright as where they’d just left. There also wasn’t a door or a black hole or anything else behind her.
    Welcome to Court.
    What?
    Our inter-dimensional sphere.
    Footsteps rushed down the hall to her right and she scrambled to her feet.
    Brace yourself , Hunter said, as a large man hurtled toward them. His name popped into her head: Grey. His name was Grey, and Hunter didn’t recall him being so large before. He looked like a Viking, all towering muscle with long, wild, blond hair. It struck her as odd that he was dressed in a modern suit.
    He looked furious and ready to bowl her over. She searched for a place to run or hide, but there wasn’t one.
    No, brace yourself and meet his gaze.
    But Grey stumbled to a halt. “Mother of All, Hunter. What the hell happened?”
    Grab him.
    You want me to what?
    Hunter seized control of her body, closed the distance between her and Grey and yanked the front of his dress shirt. He