Free Bone Dry: A Soul Shamans Novel (Volume 1) by Cady Vance Page A

both of the runes carved into Brent’s floor. Laura squatted next to me, twirling her nose ring.
    “You were right,” she whispered. “Two spirits. I can feel them, too. It’s cold in here.”
    “Me too.” I wished I’d brought a sweatshirt.
    “How do you want to do this?” she asked.
    “I’m going to try to banish both of them.”
    She stared down at the runes and shook her head. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Maybe we should both astral project and each take down one.”
    “Do you guys need me to do something?” Nathan asked from the doorway.
    “No,” Laura and I said in unison.
    “I can’t be an anchor, or whatever, like you guys are talking about?” he asked.
    “It doesn’t work that way. You have to be…well, it’s a long story.” I looked up at Laura and saw eagerness in her eyes. I didn’t like what I was about to say, but it was the best way to take care of this. “You take the weaker one, and then pull back to anchor me. Don’t stay.”
    “Got it.” Laura grabbed her own sheathed dagger from her backpack, and even though she seemed totally game, I could see the smallest twitching of her fingers.
    “Which of these was here first?” I asked, turning my attention to the open door where the guys were watching, expressions still a mixture of confusion and awe.
    Brent pointed at the rune closest to the door.
    I nodded to Laura. We both pricked our thumbs and dragged our blades across the runes, me taking the newer one, and Laura taking the older one. From what Brent had told me, the newer one was a lot stronger than the one who had come first.
    After crossing out the runes’ power, Laura and I sat across from each other, black candle for the banishing spell sitting between us. We both sang the shaman song, dropping into our magic and pushing ourselves into the next realm. It felt like we were forcing our way through a wall of jell-o. I felt Nathan’s eyes on me, and I knew without looking he was smiling. And as my skin tingled and my hearing intensified, my heart seemed to throb at the mere thought of him watching me. I could picture the way his grin took over his face, the way his hair fell across his forehead, the way his shirt shifted over his muscles. He knew all this crazy stuff about me, and yet here he was, enjoying every minute of it. My skin sparked with the urge to stop the shaman song, stand up and experience the sensation of his arms around me…to feel his lips on mine.
    I shook my head, opened my eyes and snapped my thoughts away from Nathan. Right now, I needed to focus on banishing spirits. The world around me was dark and smudged. I was in the Borderland, Laura with me. Her face was calm and expressionless even amongst the whirling shadows and icy breeze. I felt pride surge through me. Laura had never done this before, but looking at her, you’d never know. She radiated confidence, and I smelled no hint of fear in the room.
    I gave her a nod before turning to take in our surroundings. Glancing from one foggy corner to another, I was surprised when I saw no trace of the spirits even though I could feel them. Watching us.
    “Behind you,” Laura said in a soft whisper, clear and steady even though there was an undertone of uncertainty I could hear, only by knowing Laura so well and being bound to her by our shaman magic.
    Her words sent a sudden gust of frost through the room. My hair rose from my shoulders and swirled around me like russet ribbons, and the round, fuzzy rug sitting next to me slid across the floor. The shaman supplies didn’t move an inch. Even the flame of our candle stayed strong and steady, as if there were no wind at all.
    “Go,” I whispered back.

CHAPTER 9

    L aura and I linked hands over the flame, and I looked over my shoulder. Two spirits hovered a few feet in the air, their tall, thin frames writhing and weaving like snakes. Their dark mouths were wide in silent screams, and in an instant, I knew our plan wouldn’t work. Not with