Page 23 of The Unseen Hour

Pellix’s head appeared, looking over the stones at me.

“It’s all right. I’m just nervous. I’ll be fine,” I reassured the stallion. With a snort, he went back to grazing. I took a few deep breaths, then reached into the satchel and took out the container with the Thipp’s. As the first gong of the Unseen Hour sounded, I said a small prayer to the gods I wasn’t even certain existed.

“Please let this work. Please let me find my father.”

I tipped the container back, sending the minced Thipp’s to the back of my throat. It tasted a bit like bitter ginger as I swallowed it down.

My racing heart began to slow, and the edges of my vision went hazy within moments. I couldn’t run from my decision now, but I still took a few steps forward, my body responding to what it perceived as a threat.

I stumbled against a wall, sliding down to a resting position.

“At least it’s warm for a winter night,” I mumbled, staring at the sky and the fog beginning to descend.

I started to send a final prayer up to the gods, that my family wouldn’t find me frozen in the morning. Maybe they were finally answering, or maybe I was dying and my mind was playing tricks on me.

I could hear singing—the most beautiful voices calling me home.

My thoughts went black as the twelfth gong sounded.

CHAPTER 13

Acacophony of noises woke me—wailing, urgent whispers, even a few screams. Above all the rest of the noise rose a singular voice. Smooth, male, and authoritative.

“Everyone form up over here. Quickly now!”

Though his tone was harsh, the words had an almost melodic quality, soothing and welcoming.

I shook my head, moving to push myself off the ground.

“Bloody ghosts!”

I was already on my feet. Had I been sleepwalking?

The last thing I remembered was the Thipp’s root, the clock’s warning, and music. I felt along my arms, chest, and neck. There was a steady pulse. Not dead, then.

And most certainly not in Emrys.

The ground underneath me was grass, but tinted blue instead of green or the dried-out beige of winter. Staring overhead, I saw that the moon might be partially responsible for the shade. Instead of a stark white, it had a bluish tint as well.

An orb of light floated by me with no discernible means of staying aloft. I jumped backward, throwing a hand out to catch myself. My nail beds had a bluish tint similar to the grass. Was I dead after all, then? Had I miscalculated?

I glanced left and right, my hair loose and slapping at my shoulders. Where had my brother’s top hat gone?

Were hats disallowed in the afterlife?

A hysterical giggle worked its way up my throat, and I slapped a hand over my mouth to suppress the sound. I needed to calm down. To think. I’d swallowed the Thipp’s just as the Unseen Hour had begun. That meant that, unless I was in some sort of medicine-induced stupor, I’d been Taken as intended. As for the hat, it had probably tumbled off my head when I’d stumbled in the ruins. My gait had been wildly unsteady.

I jumped again when I heard the sound of a woman wailing and the authoritative voice repeating his instructions.

I was not in Emrys, and I was in who knew what level of danger.

Around me, other men and women were throwing confused looks at one another. Several had tears running down their faces. If my own heartbeat hadn’t been enough, a good look at those around me would have convinced me that I was in a much different state than the other people here.

All the vibrancy had leached from the hair, skin, and eyes of those around me. When I looked closer I saw that they were all swaying to and fro as they moved. Their feet trailed the ground, but just the toes.

They weren’t walking; they were floating.

I choked down a scream.