Four-Letter Words by Evans, Gabrielle (top 10 books of all time .txt) 📗

Maybe it didn’t sound like much to Zasha, but the simple act of linking their hands together would tether Thane to him so that he could find his way back once he crossed the veil. “I promise there is nothing more to tell.” Settling into the recliner beside Mikko’s hospital bed, Thane patted the arm of the chair beside him, inviting Zasha to sit as well. “The moon will be cresting soon. We need to get started.”

They’d waited for as long as they could, hoping Mikko would regain some measure of strength in that time, but with the full moon just one night away, they were out of time. “I wish we could wait until tomorrow night.” That was out of the question, though. He couldn’t risk ripping apart the barrier that separated the physical plane from the spirit world.

“Why tomorrow? Can you draw more power from the full moon?”

“Well, yes, but that doesn’t really affect what I’m about to do.” If he was performing a spell or ritual, the full moon would be the ideal time. There were times when the veil was thinner, allowing him to move between realms more fluidly, but the moon had very little to do with his special gift. “It would be easier for Mikko,” he explained. “Shifters are drawn to the full moon. It wouldn’t make his body stronger, but it would give us a bigger push from the other side.”

“That makes sense.” Zasha bobbed his head twice and stopped, glancing toward Mikko’s unconscious form with a frown. “Okay, I think I’m missing something. How is Mikko a shifter?”

“Well, when a mommy and daddy love each other…”

“Asshole,” Zasha muttered. “When we talked about your brothers, you said your mom died after Mikko and Nix were born. Then your father married a female shifter.”

“Ah, I see.” Yes, when said that way, it could be a little confusing, especially since Zasha didn’t have all the information. “Well, see, we don’t talk about those kinds of indiscretions.”

“Oh.” Zasha pressed his lips together and ducked his head as a pink hue filled his cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” It had happened long ago. Thane didn’t know the whole story, and he didn’t want to, either. The memories he had of his father were good ones, and he didn’t want to sully them by digging into secrets that were best left buried. “All of my brothers know something doesn’t add up—even Nix and Mikko. We never talked about it, though. They’re our family, and that’s all that matters.”

“Agreed.” Zasha squeezed his hand and smiled. “Let’s go get your brother.”

“I might talk. My body may jerk or convulse. This doesn’t mean anything is wrong, though.” He didn’t want to scare his mate, but he needed to prepare him. “No matter what you see, don’t be scared and don’t let go of my hand. Okay?”

“Yeah, okay.” He didn’t sound like he meant it, though. “Thane, maybe Lynk should do this. I mean, you have a strong connection to him, and he actually knows what he’s doing.”

“It’s just holding hands. You’ve been doing it since you were a baby.”

“Thane…”

“I trust you with my life, lieveling.” There was no one he would rather have at his side right then.

“That’s what I’m afraid of. What if something goes wrong? I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to help.”

“There are half a dozen people just outside that door.” Someone—and Thane was willing to bet it was Torren—had been stomping up and down the hallway for the past ten minutes. “Nothing is going to go wrong, though.” Bringing Zasha’s hand to lips, he placed a soft kiss on the knuckles. “Ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Relaxing into his chair, Thane closed his eyes and imagined himself melting into the tacky upholstery. Crossing between realms was a bit like falling asleep. Mostly, it just felt like falling. The first time he’d crossed the veil had been the summer he’d turned fifteen. The entire ordeal had scared the piss out of him, and it had taken nearly a decade for him to voluntarily return to the desolation of Purgatory.

He was older now and had made the journey many times. That didn’t stop his stomach from twisting into knots or his heart from trying to climb up into his throat, though. While not as terrifying as it had been when he was a kid, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t hold a measure of anxiety about crossing between planes.

If someone asked him, Thane couldn’t explain exactly how he did it. He just knew getting into Purgatory was the easy part. Then all he had to do was search through the endless darkness and bitter cold until he stumbled upon the one soul he was seeking. Yep, piece of cake.

Purgatory was kind of what Thane imagined it would be like to fall down the rabbit hole and then get lost on his way to see the wizard. The cold seeped into him before the world had even stopped spinning, making his teeth chatter as he shook. Technically, there was no floor beneath his feet. There was no ceiling, not even a sky as far as he could tell. No walls, no trees or grass, not a breeze on the air or a single sound—the place was an utter void where nothing but blackness stretched infinitely in every direction with one exception.

With each step, an eerie blue light appeared beneath Thane’s feet, glowing just brightly enough for him to see the breath plume from his lips in a cloud of smoke. There had been times when he’d walked for hours with only those faint rays of light for company. There had been times when he’d wanted to give up, to turn back and never return.

More than the darkness or the biting cold, Purgatory was the loneliest, most miserable place he’d ever encountered.