Free Shadow Reign (Shadow Puppeteer Book 2) by Christina E. Rundle Page A

can’t cast a spell! I’m not a witch.”
    “I’m a necromancer, I control the dead, but I also feel when something is dying. You aren’t necessarily dying, but you aren’t alive either. That empty piece of you is open for possession. You get a strong enough spirit, nasty enough to overpower you, it’ll be in control.”
    Now
this
was information worth knowing. It could explain why I wanted to kill people when I was training.
    “How do I protect myself?” I asked.
    She crossed over to my bed and sat down, looking tired. “You don’t know what you have to protect yourself from, stupid girl.”
    Anger stirred in me and it was that same dark anger that made me want to react without thinking. It was hard to push back down.
    “I think something is already inside me,” I said.
    Zephyr threw her head back and laughed. It was manic and full of mirth. “Stupid. I’ve never worked with someone so stupid. Rose, she’s smart. She knows the darkness around and within her. You deny it, but it’s there.” She pushed herself from the bed and started towards the beaded curtain. “Come, we finish your training before you face the Prism of Shadow.”
    I followed her, though I wish she had summoned me instead of coming to my room. I was too anxious. My stomach was so tight that I thought I was going to vomit the bread and tea I had earlier.
    Her training room was ready for our lesson. The black candle within the circle was lit and herbs burned in small tin cups around the room. It was a wall of mixed scents that made my nose itch. I’ve trained in this room for weeks now and still felt anxious that one day the obsidian mirrors would be on the walls.
    I took my place on the floor in front of the candle. The orange tip licked the air as lines of black wax dripped to the stone floor. This ritual startup for the ritual practice brought a great deal of comfort, though I was sticking to what I told her, I wasn’t a witch. I didn’t know magic like she did. My only ability was directing the spirits and I wasn’t good at controlling them.
    She hobbled to the other side of the circle, staying outside its perimeter. “Cast a circle to keep myself protected.”
    I mumbled the words she taught me. It made sense now, because we did this every day. It even slipped into my dreams, along with much darker, less comforting thoughts. The hairs on my arms rose in response, but nothing was happening. I couldn’t focus beyond the state of Amber’s wellbeing.
    “It’s not working.”
    “Maybe you need a stronger session in order to keep your thoughts together,” Zephyr said.
    I stood. “This is pointless. I can’t concentrate with all this pent up energy in me.”
    “You have bigger problems, Shadow Puppeteer. You have no idea how many shadows roam this earth, stuck here because there is no ruler in the underworld. You don’t just control them, you lead them and that’s what Kelaino wants; a ruler that
she
can dictate.”
    I stood frozen, listening to what she had to say. Kelaino wanted a puppet and Utan didn’t think I could be controlled. Playing her game would allow me to get closer. The shadows would make better weapons than anything Utan could teach me. As welcoming as the thought was it also terrified me. I wanted to use the shadows for destructive reasons.
    “What about Rose?”
    “Since you came along, she talks of no one else. She thinks you’re the Shadow Puppeteer, but I refuse to confirm it for her. You are untrained and too stupid. Due to your lack of experience you will fall prey to a strong spirit. It could push you out of your body.”
    Her admittance surprised me. She thought I was a Shadow Puppeteer too. She turned her back to walk over to the fireplace. The shuffle of her feet and the click of her walking stick echoed in the room. I took another breath of her incense, hoping it would clear my head. It bothered me that I haven’t felt the shadows since coming into the caves. What was more overpowering than their