Eternally Yours 1 by Gina Ardito

Elders grant you the opportunity to see Rebecca’s future in full detail before you continue your journey.”
    Relief bathed her face like summer rain. This time, when Luc held out his hand, Kristin nodded and floated toward him. “What do I have to do?”
    “Close your eyes,” he replied with a softness that took Jodie by surprise. “I’ll do the rest.”

 
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
    By the time they returned to the Afterlife’s main contact site, angry confusion soared in Luc’s private stratosphere. What fresh hell had the Board visited on him now?
    While he’d hovered i nside the Esterby attic, attempting to talk sense to the overwrought Kristin, the strangest sensation had overwhelmed him. Barren desolation swept up from the ground, enveloping him. He had no clue why the sudden emptiness turned its claws on him. Hunger gnawed his insides; not for food, but for something more visceral—air. Pain seared his chest until he gasped for breath. Tremors racked him from head to toe, as if he’d contracted a high fever. An insatiable need to breathe nearly drove him to his knees.
    Meanwhile, t he argument with the stubborn Kristin Esterby drained his energy, depleting him, diminishing him, crushing him. At one point, his quickly disappearing senses swept the attic, but found no one to call upon for aid. His damned trainee had taken it upon herself to flit hither and yon, leaving him to the mercy of whatever devil delighted in tormenting him.
    Thank God he’d found the wherewithal to pull spare ions from the damp. cloying air. But even that attempt at survival hadn’t been enough to stem the tide of loss. Jesus, he’d grown so lightheaded, at one point he’d almost keeled over.
    Naturally, j ust when he thought his cells would go out like a pilot light, Jodie had reappeared. With her arrival came sustenance and equilibrium. To add insult to his injured pride, in five minutes’ conversation, she’d convinced Kristin to move onward. The idea he needed assistance—especially from someone like Jodie Devlin—burned until he tasted ashes.
    Now i n the Reception Room, he struggled to keep a civil tongue while introducing Kristin and Jodie to Samantha. He didn’t even break a smile when Samantha commented favorably on his t-shirt. Instead he growled at her. “I want to see Sherman.” She held up a hand, but he slammed a fist on her table forcefully enough to shake the pile of empty clipboards stacked on one side. “Now!”
    Leaping backward, Samantha let out a short shriek, and then took several gulps of air. “I’ll see what I can do.”
    She turned from her desk, but out of the corner of his eye, Luc spotted the diminutive spirit guide strolling across the crowded lobby. “Never mind. I’ll get him myself.” Before Sherman could disappear into the crowd, Luc took off after him. In three long strides, he managed to grab hold of his target’s sleeve and give one hard yank. “I wanna talk to you.”
    If Luc’s demand surprised Sherman, he certainly didn’t show it. His shrunken face remained impassive as he waved a hand in mid-air, ushering Luc to fall into step beside him. “Of course. Let’s take a stroll to my office.”
    They weaved their way through the throngs of glassy-eyed newcomers, past the double doors , until they reached Sherman’s private sanctum. Once inside with the doors closed, contrary to his normal habit, Luc sank gratefully into the nearest club chair. Exhaustion called, and soon he’d fall asleep. But first, he needed to confirm his suspicions regarding what had transpired on Earth during this last sojourn.
    “So ?” Sherman strode around the desk to sit in his high-backed ergonomic throne, clasping his hands on the desk blotter. “How did your latest hunt go? Did your new trainee work out all right?”
    “ Oh, the hunt went fine.” His tone dripped acid. “No thanks to the Board.”
    Rather than following up on Luc’s veiled hint, Sherman beamed like a harvest moon. “So your