Page 108 of Divine Oaths

I pushed past him, following Vivian’s lead through the swamp.

Our plan was to return to the site of the deadly hazing—with all the horror that the slain students had experienced in their final moments, it was the likeliest place to commune with spirits. It had rained the night before, and walking was like trudging through quicksand, even as winter hardened the earth. Kasem walked slower than he probably needed to, playing the heroic knight. But really he was a dark sorcerer—charming until you realized you could never truly trust him.

“Do you want to try this one?” Vivian said, stopping in front of a tree. It looked familiar. But then again, all of the trees here looked identical.

“Sure,” I said.

I placed my hand against the trunk, channeling my powers. Images flashed, from day to night and back again. There hadn’t been much human presence here. But then I caught a glimpse of a masked figure rushing by, their shoulder brushing past the tree.

“Yeah,” I said. “We’re going the right way.”

It was like that for a few hours, us silent, stopping every few minutes for me to channel my powers. My head throbbed. But, to my relief, the nosebleeds didn’t start.

Eventually, we made it to a small thicket of trees. Here, the cold air was slicing, our breaths visible, as if a cold front had found shelter in this crevice. It was somber too.

I swallowed, recognition taking hold; my body thrust against the tree, the masked figures circling Luke, approaching me. Swaying, a force caught me before I could stumble.

Kasem. He pressed his hand to the small of my back, wrapping an arm around me, his free hand tracing circles in my gloved palm.

“Does that help?” he asked. “You looked like you were going to pass out.”

“I’m all right,” I said, but I didn’t move away from him, let the steady rhythm of his finger tracing doodles on my palm relax me. He was tense too, though. This place, after that night during rush, now held bad memories for the both of us.

A little farther off, police tape encircled the trees, along with a DO NOT ENTER sign.

“Can you perform the summoning yourself?” Angelica asked Honey.

“I’ll need some help with the incantation,” Honey said. “But if you can channel your affinities with me, it should be a little easier.”

They nodded and the three women formed a circle near the police tape. Whispering under her breath, Honey clasped her hands together, forming a circle with her palms. Reams of gold and silver light swirled within it as she channeled her affinity and chanted.

I’d seen a glimpse of it at Theta House, but not like this, not so concentrated.

“She has an affinity for currents,” Kasem said, leaning close to whisper. His mouth grazed the top of my ear, and I bit my lip, my heart pounding.

“So does this mean you’re not ignoring me anymore?”

“I wasn’t ignoring—”

“What kind of currents?” I said, cutting off his flimsy excuses. “Current of sound? Of electricity? Of water?”

He looked flustered. “All of it. But primarily dead currents. Currents that move away from nature when a living current moves forward. Currents that repel, electric fields, that kind of thing.”

The electricity churning in Honey’s palms sent sparks through the air. The hairs on the backs of my arms raised, and the moisture in the air thinned.

Vivian and Angelica started chanting too, channeling their own affinities for the invocation. All around us, insects and bugs retreated from their perches. Even the birds did too, until there were only moths, their gray wings fluttering along the lines of police tape.

With her telekinesis, Angelica drew the switchblade from my satchel, levitating it at the center of the circle.

“Oh, spirit,” Honey said. “Whoever here remains, speak to us. We are looking to send a message between the realms of the living and the dead. We search for the owner of this weapon. Tell us, spirit, do you know who it once belonged to? Answer this question, and in exchange, we will leave your loved one with a message from you.”

Angelica lowered her palm, and the switchblade returned to my satchel.

Again, she and Vivian began to chant, this time with Honey.

“Answer this question. Tell us who the owner of this weapon is. In return, we will leave a message on your behalf.”

At first, I didn’t think it worked. Sparks charged through the air and the moths hovered at the grassy underpass beneath the police tape. Yet still, nothing.