Arielle Immortal Awakening Read Free

anxiously.
    “The Twixt.”
    “What the devil is that?” Gabrielle asked suppressing a frown.
    “That’s the place between the spirit world and the living world—and there I can talk with my father and other spirits.”
    “What in the world are you talking about?” Gabrielle’s voice sounded almost like a squeak. “What spirits?” Her eyes were wide with interest.
    “Just…spirits,” Eva murmured. Her hands were now clasping Arielle’s wrist to the point that Arielle felt pain.
    “Do you mean the dead?” Gabrielle cried out, terror in her eyes.
    Eva was silent for a short time. Arielle tried to close her mouth, which she suddenly realized was hanging open in astonishment. Eva gazed back at both of them anxiously and started to grind her teeth uneasily. All the blood had washed away from her face, turning it translucent and making her eyes look dark and distressed.
    “How did that happen?” Arielle asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
    When Eva answered, her voice was low and she sounded scared.
    “When I lost my father I thought I had lost my whole world,” she said. “He was my fountain of strength and self-confidence. I needed to talk with him. I needed to see him. That’s when I bought all the spell books and decided to spend time learning how to use my powers and how access the spirit world. I wanted to learn how to create a portal so I could bring him back. I made frequent visits to the cemetery, and during one of those visits I fell on my knees beside his grave and closed my eyes as I wished him back using my will along with a spell and he…well… he… came… back…” She spoke these last three words with extra emphasis, as if to stress that this was a matter of fact.
    Gabrielle and Arielle both gasped and looked completely stunned. They were trying to breathe normally, but they were having a hard time keeping their bodies from being taken over by fright.
    “Stop it, Eva!” Gabrielle shrieked. She was short of breath and had a wild look in her eyes.
    “Eva…” Arielle murmured, “what do you mean he came back?”
    Eva closed her eyes and pressed her lips together as if it hurt her to explain.
    “He came back and he was standing there in front of me. We talked and he helped me understand that he is still here, just not easy for others to see. He told me that he will be here for me any time I need him, and he will always help me through difficult times. I know that every time I need him I can bring him back.”
    This is wild…this is totally unbelievable, Arielle thought to herself, as she searched for the words with which to respond. Gabrielle was frozen in place, and Eva was sobbing again, asking them to try to understand.
    “Eva, we’re trying to understand, but you must admit this is a lot to absorb.” Of course Arielle was not completely surprised by Eva’s confession since she herself had kept a secret of her own dreadful gift for many years. Her thoughts were drifting along when Eva’s next statement hit her like a ton of bricks.
    “That’s not the scariest thing I have done, even though it’s pretty unbelievable,” she said slowly and carefully. She had their complete attention as they held her hands and gazed into her eyes, full of dismay. She was looking at them, a pleading expression on her face, her translucent skin strained. She wanted them to empathize with her, but she saw that they were afraid.
    “There’s more?” Gabrielle now practically screamed. Arielle put her hand over her arm, trying to keep her quiet, as Eva nodded.
    “What else is there, Eva?” Arielle asked, trying to restrain her fear.
    “I followed some of the spells in the books to see what I could do, mostly out of curiosity, and I got myself in way too deep.” She sighed as she murmured the last words, her lips twisting in distress.
    “How? What did you do?” Gabrielle asked again.
    “Spirits appeared before my eyes each time I summoned them, but there’s one in particular that has