Evermore (Emily Chambers Spirit Medium Trilogy #3)(51)

But it was virtually empty. Aside from Jacob, there were only a handful of other spirits. Some were more transparent than Jacob, others mere outlines. They all looked terribly weak and weary.

Jacob held me as I spoke the final word. I'd done it! I'd said it perfectly, right down to the accent. I smiled up at him, relief flooding every part of me.

"It's over," I said. "We've caught Mrs. White and now you can cross. The Otherworld is safe."

Jacob pressed the heel of his hand to his forehead and stepped away. He doubled over as if in pain. One of the other spirits cried out and the faintest one disappeared altogether.

"Emily." Jacob shook his head but the action made him stumble. "Emily, you must go back."

"No. Not yet. I need to say goodbye to you properly."

"Emily...that wasn't the counter curse. They tricked you." He fell to his knees, clutching his head.

"Jacob!" I crouched beside him, my own head spinning, my stomach roiling. I wanted to be sick. "What have I done?"

He reached for me and held me close. "It's not your fault. Emily...go. How...?"

I shook my head, but that triggered a sharp pain slicing above my right eye. I buried my face in his shoulder and tried to regain a sense of myself, tried to think. It was so hard. Shards of ice ripped through my mind, tearing my thoughts out by their roots. All except one: Mrs. Stanley had double-crossed me. That meant she and Price were in on it too. There was no one except Celia to force Mrs. White to bring me back to life, and she could not to do it alone.

I was going to die.

A sudden blast of wind whipped around us, raking my hair loose from its elegant arrangement, whipping at my skirt with violent howls. It was so strong and I suddenly felt so weak. I would be blown away. More spirits disappeared, their cries lost in the tempest.

Jacob held my face in his hands and I knew how much effort that simple action took. I could hardly move. My head was a riot of pain and my body exhausted as I battled to stay.

"No, Emily, please not you." A single tear tracked down his cheek. "I don't want this for you."

"There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's not...your fault." He kissed me. His lips were light as air but for the first time, I could actually taste him. I had never tasted anything so delicious, like honey and chocolate, but better. He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against mine. "You are my soul mate, Emily Chambers. I love you."

"I love you too." I had to shout it. The wind was so strong, trying to drag me in all directions, trying to break me apart and scatter my pieces. "Goodbye, Jacob."

We held each other as the gale screamed and roared, blowing the last of the remaining spirits into nothingness. There was just Jacob and I, and we could not hold on for much longer. I closed my eyes and buried my face in his chest. His arms held me against him, but soon even they loosened. I opened my eyes and was shocked by how transparent he looked. But it was me who drifted away from him, not the other way round.

"Emily!" His voice was no more than a whistle of wind.

"Jacob!" I tried to scramble back to him but the force pulling me away was too strong. I was sucked into the bright whirlpool of light again, then everything went still, quiet. The wind stopped. There were no voices, no sounds. I couldn't see anything except the light above but even that grew smaller until it was a mere speck.

Jacob. Where was Jacob? I tried to call his name but my voice didn’t work.

Then suddenly even the light was gone. Snuffed out like a candle. I was surrounded by deep, blackest dark.

Nothingness.





CHAPTER 12





"Emily. Emily, wake up," Celia said. "Emily, can you hear me? Please, my precious girl, wake up."

"Here, let me try."

My body shook violently. It took me a moment to realize somebody else was doing the shaking. I opened my eyes, startling George who released me and stumbled backward.

"Emily!" Celia jerked me to a sitting position and threw her arms around me. "Be gentle," said Mrs. White. She stood behind me, but I recognized her voice. "She'll be weak for some time."

"Did you do it?" George asked, urgent. "Emily, did you speak the curse?"

I closed my eyes and held myself very still. I couldn't talk. If I did, I might break into pieces. I had delivered the curse that had destroyed the Otherworld. Destroyed Jacob. It was all so terribly, horribly wrong.

Someone in the corner of the room laughed. "You're too late." It was Price, but his laughter quickly ended. The sickening sound of bone smacking bone replaced it.

"Be quiet," growled Louis. "Do not give me a reason to shoot you."

Whimpering came from the same direction, out of my sight. It was a woman, not Price. Mrs. Stanley?

"Emily, you must answer me," George said. His face and clothes were covered with mud, his hair a wild tangle. He'd been riding, I remembered. He'd gone to the gypsy camp with my father. "Did you deliver the curse?"

"I did." My whisper raked down my throat like sharp nails. God, it hurt. Everything hurt. "Jacob..." I tried hard not to cry. I wanted Celia to comfort me, but she was suddenly not there anymore.

"We have to hurry," said George. "Mrs. White, are you ready?" He removed his jacket, waistcoat, and shirt, throwing them on the floor in a heap. I expected Celia to protest that he should not appear in such a state in front of me, but she was actually helping him.