“Ghost, look at me.”
The Empty Wind obeyed, dropping his head to reveal the void of his true face once again. It was impossible not to flinch, so Marci didn’t try. She just focused on his glowing eyes, glaring into them until she was positive she had the spirit’s full attention.
“I know you,” she said sternly. “I knew you were a face of death before I knew your real name or heard the words ‘Mortal Spirit.’ That’s always been a little creepy, but it’s never changed what you are to me. You’re my cat, my spirit, my partner, and my friend. Always were, always will be. And if you think for one second thatanythingis going to change that, you haven’t been paying attention.”
The Empty Wind stared at her for a long time. Then, at last, his glowing eyes closed in relief. “I knew I was right to choose you.”
“Like there was any doubt,” Marci said, holding out her hands so he could help her up. “We’re a power team, remember? Not even death can break us up.”
And speaking of death...
“Where are we?” she asked as he hauled her to her feet. “Amelia said my death was at the bottom of the Sea of Magic, but I don’t—” She stopped, hand shooting to her shoulder. Or where she assumed her shoulder was. “Where’s Amelia?!”
“She’s here.”
“Where?” Marci asked, getting more alarmed by the second. “I can’t see anything but you and dark.”
“That’s because I had to close your eyes again,” the Empty Wind explained. “This isn’t your world. I didn’t want you to have to deal with it and me at the same time.”
That was thoughtful of him, but Marci didn’t have time to be coddled. She couldn’t actually remember who’d taught her the trick of opening her eyes the first time, but she was already working on doing it again, blinking rapidly until, at last, the dark was replaced by something infinitely more terrifying.
If the blackness before had felt like endless nothing, this was endlesseverything. All around them, things were in motion, spinning and colliding and bouncing off each other like debris in a tornado. It was still too dark to see clearly what was happening, but just the impression of so much movement was enough to make Marci’s stomach lurch. An impressive feat considering she didn’t technically have a stomach anymore.
“Whatisthis?” she asked, grabbing Ghost before she fell into the chaos.
“Magic!” cried an excited voice above her.
The cry made her jump, and Marci looked up just in time for Amelia to land on her head. “We made it, Marci!” she cried, sparks flying out of her mouth in her excitement as she craned her long neck in every direction. “This is the Sea of Magic! We’reinsidethe primal power that drives everything magical that happens in the world!”
That would explain why everything looked so crazy. But while Marci was definitely excited about being inside something she’d previously assumed was a metaphor, she mostly felt like she was going to hurl.
“It’s okay,” Ghost said, pulling her tighter against the wall of his mercifully still chest. “Humans never can stand it here. Every soul I’ve rescued hates this part of the journey.”
“Journey? You mean we’re moving?” Because with all the other swirling, she couldn’t tell.
“We’reflying!” Amelia said happily, tail twitching. “Your spirit is a freaking jet! I’d always thought they’d be slow and pokey since they were so big and chained to their vessels, but this is something else.”
“I don’t see why you’re so surprised,” he said grumpily. “Serving the forgotten requires speed, and Iama wind.”
The little dragon’s eyes grew huge. “Wait, you mean literally? I thought that was just part of your name!”
“Spirits are always called what we are,” the Empty Wind said authoritatively. “That’s how we know our names without being told. I can’t remember anything from before I woke this time, but I know I’ve always been the Empty Wind. The only one who’s ever called me anything different is Marci, and only because I wasn’t large enough to know my name when she bound me.”
“You’re definitely more ‘wind’ than ‘ghost’ in this place,” Amelia agreed, leaning out as far as she could off Marci’s shoulder. “Can you go any faster?”
“No,” Marci said. When they both looked at her, she swallowed. “Please, I can barely take this much. I just want to get back on solid ground.”
As if it were trying to prove her point for her, the churning chaos chose that moment to lurch in a brand-new nauseating direction. Marci turned back to Ghost with a groan, squeezing her eyes shut as she squashed her face into his freezing skin. “Where are we going, anyway?”
The answer rumbled through the spirit’s chest. “The Gate of the Merlins.”
Her eyes popped open again. “What?”
“That’s a real thing?” Amelia said at the same time.
“Of course it’s real,” he said, looking down at Marci. “Remember when you were dying, and I told you I could see what we’d been looking for? The way to becoming a Merlin? That’s where I’m taking you.”
“Wait,” Marci said, still confused. “It’s a place?”
