Veiled Read Free Page A

oppressive feeling of doom hit
me in an almost physical way, one that I had never experienced
before.
    It was strange I felt both
lured and disgusted by it. The part of me that had common sense was
screaming “Leave, Tess! Leave!” But I am curious by nature so that
other part of me, the one that loved to explore and take off
without warning, was eager to know who and what was emitting that
vibe.
    Just then another wave of
that same feeling hit me again, and this time I listened to common
sense.
    “ We need to get out!” I
said while grabbing Alex by his robe and pulling him up.
    He looked puzzled, but
didn’t question me. “Come on, she is sensing something. Let’s go!”
Alex started pushing Dorian and Russell who were still laughing, or
laughing about something else now. Celeste had a pouty look on her
face, but quickly dropped it when she saw that we weren’t
kidding.
    We flew away together as
fast as our thoughts allowed us to fly, and even as we did so I was
more certain than ever that someone was watching us go—and that
someone was very displeased about it.
     
    * * * * *
     

Chapter 2
     
    Russell skidded to a stop
right outside the planet’s atmosphere and started laughing so loud
that it sounded like thunder. Dorian and Alex stopped too, and
Celeste and I could not help but join him. But the celebration of
our near escape from who knows what was suddenly interrupted by the
sound of several of our clan members. They were no doubt wondering
where we were.
    The calling stones are
handy, I have to admit to that, but they really annoy me too. They
are crystals fastened to our clothing right at the chest, and one
simply has to touch them and say the name of whomever you want to
get in contact with, and they respond by doing the same thing on
their end. To disconnect, you touch it one more time and the link
is severed. What annoys me is the fact that you have no control
over who calls you or when, and some spirits are very persistent.
But I guess there is no other way to communicate long distance—not
until we can all learn to communicate through the link like the
Eternals do.
    Valerie was calling me. She
was wondering where we were, and why we left so quickly. She
sounded annoyed—not unusual for her—when I told her where we were.
Then I heard Dane in the background telling us to stay put, and
that they were on their way.
    Our clan was one of the
smaller ones; we were only eight spirits, and we have been together
since we were given form. The first things I remember seeing with
my spiritual eyes were my clan members; and they are all I have in
this existence.
    This is why I am so worried
about the veiling. I want to live, I really do…but giving up my
memories of them would be like giving up who I am. I guess that is
at the root of the problem, I am lost without them—literally. The
Veil that separates this existence from the next will erase all the
knowledge I have accumulated for the past few millennia. Who would
I be without it?
    In the distance we could
see Henry approaching. He was holding some object that we had never
seen before. He was messing with it and was distracted, then…he
must have touched something because he disappeared and reappeared
inches away from Alex.
    “ What the…” Alex
complained.
    Henry was beaming. “Aha! I
knew it!” he said, holding the object up and waving it around.
“It’s a transporter of sorts,” he added and started touching some
more buttons.
    “ Where did you get it
from?” Celeste asked with wonder, and instinctively the rest of us
got closer to get a better look.
    Henry shook his head
solemnly. “No, no…I’ve been sworn to secrecy. But I will tell you
this much, the spirit world that has these devices is on the other
side of the universe!” Alex, Russell, and Dorian looked impressed,
but I was a little annoyed.
    Henry was always
disregarding the rules about spirit worlds. We weren’t supposed to
go to other spirit worlds and interrupt their