Novel & Cerita Crossing Lines

"Annie's dead." Jessica kept talking. "Yeah, I heard she died of some stomach cancer the same day I had my surgery. Cancer definitely has something to do with genes. Her mom died of it, now she's dead too. How sad. But it works out for us, right? At least she's not in the way anymore…" I raised my hand, wanting to slap her just like before, but my transparent fingers passed right through her face. The next moment, there was a crisp slap. It was Zach.

Inhaling through my teeth, my jaws tick as I wonder; “And how did you step past the pack line without it calling our names?” The pack's boundary line has a scent perimeter; no one can cross back and forth of it without it alert I and my brothers. It's something Nyall came up with, so it only works for us three. Cormac didn't cross the line, I'm sure of that. For some unknown reasons, he tends to bleed whenever he reaches just a few centimeters of the line. And it probably also gives him a hell ass of a pain because he's never tried crossing the line.

Cassius murmured, his voice tight with discovery. “There’s a spatial component. Look at the way these ley lines are layered. They aren't horizontal; they’re vertical. They don’t just map the earth; they map the gravity of the magic.” He shifted a glass lens over a specific section of the scroll. Under the magnification, the silver dust that had settled into the grooves began to glow. A network of lines appeared, shimmering like a spiderweb caught in moonlight. It was a map, but it didn't align with any modern cartography.

Easy peasy, right? But why can't I shake off the feeling that a line has been crossed?

The Crossbearer. Fuck.

He squinted, unsure. “It’s not finished yet, that’s why you don’t see it. We’ve only walked three points. But a fourth point would complete it.” She drew a straight line to complete the pattern. His jaw dropped as he recognized it. “A cross,” he said quietly. “We were meant to walk in the shape of a cross.” “Yes,” she said excitedly. “And if we follow the line, if we complete the cross symmetrically, it only leads to one place.” They both followed the line she drew.

It is not like he will be around much longer, as I have already unintentionally bridged him to his mate. That is correct, I make bridges. These are spiritual and magical bridges for others to cross to that which they sometimes want, need, or desire. I only found out a few weeks ago that I have this ability. Prior to that, I had thought I was cursed. You see, every time I get involved with someone, they find the woman they end up with. They break it off with me. Oftentimes, they just ghost me. It is rude and pathetic, but most people lack bravery and basic decency.

Then I sprinkle it across the smooth patch, not as cover but as instruction. Remember this, I think at the road. Not a command. A suggestion. I take my knife and score the faintest line through the smooth dirt, then cross it with another, forming an X no one will see once feet pass over it. X for crossing. X for closure. X for the place where something ends and is not allowed to reopen without my consent. The air tightens. Time notices. I keep my face calm. I keep my breathing slow. “I am not breaking your rules,” I murmur. “I’m doing upkeep.”

When Nicholas returned to the rental house where I had lived, he stared straight at the pile of newspapers on the ground. The dust all over seemed to be telling him how much time had passed here, and that no one had ever been here during that time. "Astrid... No, you wouldn't die..." His voice trembled as he slowly reached out and lifted a corner of the newspaper. A small, dried bloodstain appeared beneath it. "Ah!" Nicholas's legs gave way as he fell to the ground. He no longer dared to lift the remaining newspapers. He seemed to have stopped breathing as he stared blankly without any color on his face. What he had been afraid of and had always refused to believe had come true.

Ash’s fingers have joined his on her back and together they run over the intricate lines of the mark. It’s a cross of lines, like a plus sign but longer, with arrows on the ends of each line, with three small bisecting lines near the ends. A diamond over the centre of the cross and circles coming out from the central dot diagonally between the lines of the cross. And three sweeping curves that form a sort of triangle pointing down over the top of the diamond.