Darkness Unbound by Keri Arthur Read Free Book Online

uncomfortable but not exactly unpleasant.
    And yet it scared the hell out of me. Uncle Quinn was the most powerful being I’d ever met, but I might as well compare a bonfire to the sun.
    “Your father,” he said slowly, “is on a very dangerous mission.”
    “Well, that certainly explains everything.” Not.
    He didn’t seem to get the sarcasm, and continued in the same flat tone, “The portals, as I said, are set to open automatically for an approaching soul, but they can be temporarily opened via other means. Magic originating from this world has been the chief offender, but if enough power is gathered from the dark path, that gate can be opened by those on the other side.”
    I frowned. “How? I mean, hell is hell. You know, a place filled with suffering, pain, and all that. How would they even have time to gather such power?”
    “As I’ve already said, hell is a human term and not truly accurate. The dark path is more a place where the sins of a soul’s lifetime must be atoned for before he or she can move on, and that does not always involve suffering.”
    But sometimes did, obviously. “So all the souls who walk the dark path are redeemable?”
    “Yes.” He hesitated. “Those who are not are killed. That is another reason for the existence of the Mijai.”
    A chill crawled down my spine. It was a stark reminder that I was sitting in front of a man who could end not only this life, but every one of my lives, for all eternity. I rubbed my arms and said, “Once the souls are redeemed, are they reborn?” When he nodded, I added, “How?”
    “There is only one way in and out of the dark path, and that is back through the portals.”
    “Meaning the gates are two-way?”
    “Yes. Once souls are allowed back through the portal, we escort them across the fields to the light path.”
    “Are they instantly reborn there?”
    “Sometimes. Sometimes not.” He shrugged. “It depends on demand and how many souls are already waiting.”
    So what did the souls do if they weren’t reborn instantly? Float around playing harps? The thought made me smile, even though I recognized the foolishness of it. “So how does this relate to my father?”
    “Your father is a former priest. As such, he has some power over the gates and their locks.”
    My frown deepened. “I’m still not seeing the problem here.”
    “Your father,” he said, slowly and somewhat heavily, “is thought to be working on a device to permanently close the gates to all things that come through.”
    Confusion swirled through me. “But that would be a good thing, wouldn’t it? It would save you the hassle of hunting down the bad things that break through, at the very least.”
    He was giving me that look again—the one that suggested I was an idiot.
    “The problem with shutting the gates permanently is the fact that it would not only stop things from breaking through, but also prevent things from leaving. ” He paused, his oddly colored eyes searching mine and leaving a strange sensation of dread stirring in the pit of my stomach. “Which means no soul could move on. And that would be a disaster that could destroy us all.”

I STARED AT HIM FOR SEVERAL MINUTES, THE implications running through my mind.
    The dead permanently caught in this world? A flood of ghosts who were both angry and confused, never able to move on and not understanding why? That would certainly be hell on earth for those of us able to see and feel them.
    But a disaster that could destroy us all? Wasn’t that overstating it a little?
    “Your expression suggests you don’t understand the true danger,” he said. “But think on it. If souls cannot move on, they cannot be reborn into new flesh. Where would that leave the human—and nonhuman—races?”
    “Up shit creek without a paddle, if your expression is anything to go by,” I said. “But by saying that, you’re suggesting no new souls are ever created. And yet the population of the world continues to grow, so