Sunset: Pact Arcanum: Book One Read Online Free PDF Page B

back!”
    Nick slumped and slid from Scott’s grasp. Falling to his knees on the floor, still holding the glowing cross in both hands, he continued to sing.
    Scott spun around and glared at Jeremy. “Damn you! What have you done?” Then he closed his eyes and yelled, “Ana, I need you! Come to me now!”
     
    * * *
     
    With a white flash of light, Anaba appeared on stage. Dressed as Scott was and holding a six-foot staff of crystal inscribed with runes, the Native American woman looked critically at the harsh white light streaming from the Daywalker’s eyes and from the cross he clenched in his hands. She turned back to the other Sentinel, her anger palpable. “You idiots shouldn’t have kept me away.” She glared at Scott, and her bronze skin flushed with rage. “What the hell do you expect me to do now?”
    “There’s no time. I need you to anchor me while I go after him.”
    Ana pointed into the heart of the light. “You can’t follow him into that! You’ll both die. Even if you don’t burn yourself out trying to reach him, he won’t come back willingly, and you won’t have enough strength left to compel him.”
    “With both of us working together, we might have a chance of forcing him to return,” insisted Scott. “I have to try.”
    “There’s no chance. None at all. You do this, and you’ll die. My soul alone won’t be enough to serve as an anchor. You’ll be swept away.”
    “Are you going to help me or not?” Scott screamed.
    Ana snarled in frustration. “If you’re dead set on suicide, we have to move fast—while he’s still close enough to reach. That’s the only chance you have.”
    Turning around, Scott got down on both knees in front of Nick. Ana knelt beside him and cast the spell under her breath. Her staff flared with a crimson light, which filtered over her body and enshrouded her in a scarlet haze. Reaching out, she placed her hand on Scott’s shoulders, and the red glow spread out over Scott, too. Scott wrapped both hands around Nick’s, which were still locked on the glowing cross. Immediately, Scott gasped, and his eyes shone with bright light. The Sentinel hunched over in pain and cried out weakly. Ana felt the psychic anchor stretch to the breaking point. Please, God. Don’t do this to me. The anchor shivered, on the verge of shattering.
    At that moment, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Shocked, Ana felt the presence of another Sentinel soul, and the anchor spell found extra purchase. The glow around the two kneeling Sentinels turned to scarlet flames. Scott’s head snapped up, and the light faded from his eyes. He drew a shallow breath.
    “Now, Scott!” yelled Ana. “While there’s still time!”
    Scott leaned forward, his eyes focused ahead of him, and shouted, “STOP!”
    Nick raised his head, breaking off his song. “Scotty?”
    “Forgive me, brother.” Scott clutched Nick’s hands tightly. Then the red flames washed over their interlocked grip and surrounded Nick as well.
    A shriek of denial split the air as Nick tried to pull his hands out of Scott’s grasp.
    “Nicholas Lawrence Jameson, by your true name I bind you.” Scott’s voice was perfectly synchronized by Ana’s as they simultaneously worked the binding spell. “I call your soul to my hand, and I command you—return!”
    Nick wailed as the light faded from his eyes. The white fire of the cross faded to silver, and Scott wrenched it out of Nick’s hands and cast it aside. He wrapped his arms around his friend, ignoring the tears of blood that wet his shoulder as Nick sobbed.
    As the red flames died away, Jeremy removed his hand from Ana’s shoulder and stepped back.
    Ana turned to look at him. He was young, in his mid-twenties perhaps, and dressed in casual, non-descript clothes. Apparently, terrorists and stagehands make similar fashion choices. “Thanks for the assist. Without another soul to draw upon, the anchor would have failed. I would have lost them both if you hadn’t been