Dominion: Zoë Martinique Investigation, Book 6 by Phaedra Weldon Read Free Book Online

yet. I got this far before, and when I tried to pull
something out…"
    "Boom!" Mom said, and I jumped as she
laughed. "The whole thing came apart—shot stuff from here into the
nurse's station."
    "So, how do you do it?" I looked at
mom.
    "Time. Practice. Right now
his Veil is spinning fast, like you saw before. But after a few
days, his astral self will adjust and they'll sync. Right now he
really has no idea of what-all he's got in there. So I'd say…" She
looked at him. "In a few days, try and grab something. But before
you do it, try and see it."
    "See it?" Joe looked
bewildered.
    "They'll be shadows at first. But give
it time and you'll be able to know every item you have in
there."
    I leaned back against the doorframe.
"Is there a limit to how much he can stuff inside?"
    "Depends on how big he made the
space—and the density of the Astral Plane is a lot different than
the Physical."
    Joe rubbed his head. "Sort
of like the Tardis on Doctor
Who ?"
    Mom blinked. "The what?"
    I held up a hand. "I got the
reference. And I think that's what she meant, Joe. What happens
when you take everything out?"
    "It collapses." Mom held up her own
hand, and looked at me and then Joe. "It also collapses if you lose
consciousness. And that can be very dangerous. Also, if someone
else removes everything from that Veil, the jolt will knock you on
your ass for a while, Joe. And the longer you keep the Veil, the
harder its abrupt disablement will be."
    "I got it, I got it." He put his hands
on his hips and focused on me. "The theory is Zacharel somehow took
everything out of Rhonda's Veil and then jumped in. Maybe he took
advantage of her weakness when he did that."
    "That's my theory." Mom
nodded.
    "So, you think a disembodied spirit is
flying in orbit around her?" I chuckled. The image was kinda
funny.
    Joe must've picked up on the mental
image, too, because he laughed. "Yes and no. Like Nona said, the
Veils will slow down to a slow orbit and I'll instinctually know
where items are. Though, I think I'm going to be a bit…off balance
for a while."
    "Correction," Jason said as
he and Nick entered the room. Jason's voice was deeper, and his
eyes were black. Mephistopheles was large and in charge. "A lot off balance. I've
seen many magicians over the centuries who've attempted this spell.
It was used during the Inquisition to hide their books of power.
Grimoires and such."
    "Would have been nice to know about it
that day in Rodriguez's little lab of torture." Joe rubbed at his
chin. "Rhonda'd been hiding it in her Veil, but I'm sure Dags would
have appreciated not having that book shoved inside of him if she'd
just have kept it in."
    "Dags would not have survived if
Rhonda had not used the book, and the spell she wove, to save his
life," Mephistopheles/Jason said.
    Joe frowned and looked over at Jason.
"How do you know that? You weren't there."
    "The tale has passed from First Born
to First Born since the experience was shared, Joe." He
winked.
    I loved it when Mephistopheles was
out. Don't get me wrong—I adore Jason. But his First Born was
fun.
    "Exactly how do you expect to expose
Zacharel if he is indeed hiding within Rhonda's Veil?"
Mephistopheles/Jason directed his question to Nona.
    I looked from Joe to Mom,
and asked a question of my own. "I got one better. How did you figure out
that's where the Dominion is hiding out?"
    Mom looked at Joe. "I think Joe can
answer both of those questions better than I can."
    Joe ambled over to a hospital bed I
hadn't noticed before and sat down on it. A screen to his right
came to life and started feeding out readings, presumably of
Joe.
    Impressive.
    And a bit spooky.
    He looked at me. "Zoë, did Nick fill
you in on what happened here? With Rhonda and Dags?"
    I nodded.
    "Then you know I spoke to
Maureen?"
    Somehow, hearing that out of Joe gave
me hope. "Yes. And she told you to get me and work with Nona and
the Revenants."
    He nodded. "When I took
over the spell—which, incidentally, I didn't know