AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know!” she shouted back. “Hang on.”
I squeezed her hand, and she drew a deep breath. “I will get us out of here,” Nadine affirmed under her breath.
The trembling came to a sudden halt, and the magic seemed to settle. The stairs began to shrink back to normal. The outline of an archway appeared before us.
“It’s working!” I exclaimed. Relief overcame me when I spotted Chloe and our cats on the other side. The long, empty hall beyond her felt so much like home. Chloe stood with her hands pressed to the wall, like she was trying to push through to the other side.
Tendrils of magic floated out of Nadine’s chest, then settled into the walls. The magic stabilized, and Nadine’s whole body sagged in relief. I caught her and pulled her into the hallway as quickly as possible.
“Thank the Goddess!” Chloe cried as the five of us came flooding out of the stairwell. Our cats meowed loudly.
Miles ran up to her. “You’re still here!”
“Of course I am,” Chloe said. “It’s only been a few minutes. I was worried sick! I was trying to send my magic through the wall so you could do the spell, but… you guys don’t look well.”
“Believe me, we’ve felt better,” Miles said.
Right now, I’d never felt more relieved.
Talia threw her arms around Grant, and Nadine and I embraced tightly.
“I can’t believe you did it!” Cooper said. “The spell really worked. The stairwell is safe again.”
I turned to him. “Which means your job is done. You can finally move on.”
I’d never seen a ghost cry. I didn’t even know they could. But the tears of relief on Cooper’s face were genuine.
A bright light shone through the hall, and I turned to see a portal blooming behind me. I reached out toward Cooper. “Are you ready?”
He nodded. I didn’t think he could find the words. I guided him down the hall, but Cooper paused. “Thank you. All of you. Use that Wand well, okay?”
“We will,” Talia said, looping her arm around Grant’s waist.
“I hope to see you all again,” Cooper said. “But not too soon, all right?”
“Let’s hope not,” I replied with a laugh. I guided Cooper the last few steps, and his ghost disappeared into the light.
“Wow, you guys must’ve gone through a lot down there,” Chloe said. “But you got the Wand?”
Talia held it up. “We got it.”
“We tell you all ‘bout it after we eat,” Grant slurred.
Everyone stilled in unison. This was bad.
“We’ve got to get him something to eat now!” Miles barked. “His blood sugar’s dangerously low!”
“I’ll be fine—” Grant started, but he never got a chance to finish. Talia screamed as she tried to catch him, but Grant was practically twice her size. Miles and I ran forward at the same time, but it was already too late. His eyes rolled back the same time his knees buckled. He crashed to the floor, unconscious.
I’d never felt my relief turn to horror so quickly. “Chloe, call the infirmary!”
Chloe scrambled for her phone, while I rolled Grant over to get him in a comfortable, safe position so he could breathe properly. Talia subconjured the Wand and choked back a sob.
Nadine went to her side to console her. “We’re getting help.”
Miles dropped to his knees beside me. “Check if he’s responsive!”
Miles shone the flashlight from his phone into Grant’s eyes, and I snapped my fingers near his ears.
