Chapter 872

I do my very best to imitate my mother in this moment, trying to fall into that deep mediative state she uses when she heals people. Because I have to go into my soul now, and into Gabriel's, to try and help him. Ben – he's handling the physical healing of Gabriel's body.

But I'm here to concentrate on my new mate's soul, and his wolf.

When my inner eyes open, I see that I am indeed in the world of my soul, my body appearing there next to my wolf's in a way that it never has before, except perhaps in dreams. "Oh, hello," I say, laughing as she bounds over to me and gives my face a few happy licks. I run my hands quickly through her soft, pretty fur

- something that I've only done in pieces before, rushing a hand over it or grabbing it with my fingers.

Yes, here in my whole body for the first time, it's different.

A little whine makes me turn, and I laugh when I see Jackson's gigantic dark wolf standing there too.

"Oh, you're here!?"

He huffs and steps forward, his head lowered towards me, as if to say where the hell else would he be. I laugh and scratch his head too, smiling when he turns his face into my palm in the same wolfish way that Jackson does in the real world. He gives my hand a playful nip before bounding off after my wolf, heading towards the edge of my soul where she stands, her paws shifting anxiously, looking over the edge.

I follow them there and peer across the little soul bridge towards Gabriel's soul, seeing his wolf still there sunk into that pit of oil and tar, just his nose and his eye above the line of it like a crocodile. That is, if a crocodile also had pointy tufted ears that stuck out a little bit too.

My wolf whines and looks up at me, desperately wanting to help.

“I know,” I murmur, reaching over and patting her head. "I want to help him too."

I take a deep breath and step forward onto that bond, the bridge between our souls.

But Jackson's wolf wines and

my skirt with my teeth, pulling me back,

crying anxiously in his throat, not wanting me to go.

"I have to," I murmur, reaching out stroke a hand over his lovely, strong face. "I'’II be safe, I promise."

He whines again, doubtful, but then huffs and drops my skirt. I hate this, Jackson says, directly into my mind. I smile and lean forward, pressing a kiss to his wolf's face, but then turn to my wolf, who is already halfway across the bridge. And I follow.

The first thing I recognize when I stand on the steady ground just at the edge of Gabriel's soul, the last bit not yet consumed by oil, is that it is....so much colder on Gabriel's side, within his own soul. I glance

over my shoulder to where

Jackson's wolf stands, Sve

at

the bridge, clearly trying to see if he, too, can cross. But it's not his bond. Stuck, he howls softly, calling to us, and my wolf howls back to him even as we both turn to peer at Gabriel's wolf.

Gabriel's wolf gives a burbling sort of snarl that chokes him, even as he gives a last-ditch sort of lunge for my wolf, clearly wanting to pull her in. She steps away, lifting one foot up high and looking down at the oil in distaste.

"Save your energy, little wolf," I say to Gabriel's wolf on a sigh, going to my knees and already beginning to pull on my magics - on Luca's wind, and Jackson's fuel, and Gabriel's own spark. "We've got work to do, and we'll need your help on the other side."

The blue flame appears in my hands, burning and bright, and my wolf spins in eager circles, delighted by the sight of it. Gabriel's wolf shrinks away, floundering in the oil. I sigh and get to work, knowing that he might not have a great deal of time left.

I urge the fire to burn even hotter and then slowly reach it towards the dark substance that traps Gabriel's wolf.

It doesn't...quite burn, not really. It's not true oil after all, and it doesn't burst into flames or anything. Instead, it merely seems to shrink away, or to dry out, losing all of its power when faced with the

Goddess's heat and light, e

I begin to experiment when I realize how it works, my wolf staying close at my side, panting eagerly as the oil begins to recede. When I think that I've got a hold of it, I really let it rage, the fire burning wide and hot through the darkness.

Slow at first, but then faster and faster, the pit of oil in which Gabriel's wolf has sunk begins to recede, leaving a dry hole behind. Piece by piece his wolf's head appears, and then his neck and shoulders as he gasps for air. He snarls at the fire at first but then as the flame comes closer, and warms him, he gives the most pitiful little cry, reaching his

snout towards it. noveldrama

I reach for him too, leaning far out across the pit and taking his little snout in my

hands as the fire continues to burn, shrinking the darkness inch by inch.