Grave Possession (Wraith 3) (29 page)

“Art. Inspiring, don’t you think?” I felt nothing at the sight of Ava and Christian, bound by their wrists and hung from a thick wire cord from the ceiling. Blood dripped down their arms where the metal sliced into their skin. The cuts were shallow, but enough for the blood to travel down Ava’s dress to her bare feet. “This is all part of a greater plan, Amber. I’m glad you’re here to experience it.”

In a small, strained voice, she said, “That’s fake, right? A set up?”

“Not fake – but yes, a set-up of sorts. Tony wanted to go out big.”

I left Amber wide-eyed and stepped through the confused, magically stunned crowd toward the podium. Tony gave me a smile as I approached. “I’m proud of you,” I said, taking his hand. “You’ve done all of us a great service.”

He glanced down at his hand and I felt the surge course through me into him. “What is this?” he asked, shivering from the rush of cold. Ultimately, he was just a pawn. One that was no longer needed now that Jane’s body was under command.

“You’ve been an outstanding vessel, but this body is spent. You’re not Shadow Bound like Jane. The spirits can only live inside you for so long. It’s time for you to release the spirits to new homes.”

I placed my other hand on his chest and his blue eyes rolled backward before he stumbled, falling against the swaying bodies. He landed on the floor with a hard thud. He wasn’t solid anymore. The energy I took from him worked from the inside out, causing his body to deteriorate
on the platform. Black wisps rose from his body and burst through the room, seeking new homes in the guests that filled the gallery.

“Jane?” Ava choked out my name. “Help me.”

“Sorry,” I said, not feeling any such thing. She offered a weak struggle and I poked a finger into Christian’s hip, which elicited a flinch. They both had to die.

“What did you do with my friend?” she asked through gritted teeth.

“She’s gone.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“Believe it. Whatever’s left of your friend is buried deep.”

I turned to find Darius staring down at his son’s decomposing body. Pain flickered across his face, but then vanished. He said, “Five minutes. The crowd is confused. Dulled by the souls entering their conscious. Like we were before. When the ritual is complete, they’ll remember nothing. ”

Darius turned to manage the crowd behind me. The spirits fought against the souls inside each person. A duel that would continue until the sacrifice was complete.

I faced the hanging bodies, annoyed that I needed courage to do this. I couldn’t wait to get rid of this conscious once and for all.

Reaching behind my back for the gun, I stood next to the Ava’s hanging body. Christian had either passed out or was dead. Holding the gun level, I finally looked her in the eye. Blood trailed down her arm, smearing across her cheek. I expected a sob or pathetic cries for help, but instead she gave me a hard glare.

“What?” I asked, despite myself.

“I’m not afraid of you. Or death,” she said. “Why would I want to live in a world with evil? I know there’s something on the other side. Jane showed me that. I’m not afraid.”

The crowd behind me surged with restless energy and the iron grip over my mind slipped. A rush of emotion ran through me and my hand wavered, making the gun shake unevenly. “I really am sorry,” I said, the words coming out despite my resistance. Ava’s resolve crumbled and our eyes met. A shout from the floor brought me to my senses and I glanced back at the surging crowd. People pushed and fought with one another, raging with negative energy.

I tightened my finger on the trigger and swung around to finish the job, only seeing Ava’s foot as it crashed into my face. She screamed as the wire tore through the skin on her wrists.

“Screw you!” she shouted, using all her energy to come at me again.

I stumbled, falling off the platform and into the crowd. I lifted the gun and, going against the faint warning voice in my head, pulled the trigger.

Bang
.

*

Screams collided with the gunfire, sending the room into chaos. The noise sounded muffled, a result of the blast. Both Ava and I jerked backward. She’d managed to kick me once more, but it didn’t matter. The impact of the bullet slammed into her body, jerking back before going limp. I held the gun over my head.

“It’s done,” I said, facing the rowdy crowd. I allowed the words to settle in my brain, wondering if they came along with a feeling. For the first time that night, I experienced no trace of lingering guilt. No sadness or weepy emotion. I’d succeeded. Soon the girl would bleed out and the sacrifice would be made. I’d stay in this body forever.

Someone turned the music up and I allowed the crowd to swallow me whole. By fulfilling the ritual, the dead would claim the remaining soulless bodies and make them their own. “Well done,” I said to Darius, who I found drinking wine. I checked my watch. Three past midnight. “Perfect timing.”

“It’s been years since I’ve tasted something so good.” He offered me a plastic cup and I took an undignified gulp. His eyes darted behind me and he sighed. “We’ve got trouble.”

Connor and Jeannie burst through the doors, scanning the room. It only took them a moment to lay eyes on the dead bodies. They rushed across the room. Connor stopped cold over Tony’s body.

“Should we do something?” Darius asked.

“There’s nothing to do.” I shrugged. “Dead is dead.”

“Get them down,” Connor yelled.

“Jane?” Jeannie called over the music and noise. I ignored her. It wasn’t my name and there was no way I was sitting through some sort of vomit-inducing, hippie, feel good moment with this woman ever again.

“Jane!”

“For God’s sake, what the hell do you wan…” I said, spinning on my heel. For the second time that night, I was caught off guard. Once by Ava’s foot. This time by a cloud of ash. I coughed, waving my hands in front of my face. “What did you do?”

“The only thing I can to stop you,” she said. My throat filled with dry, caked dust and I fell to my knees. Through the dust, I was able to make out Jeannie’s hard, angry eyes before I passed out.

“Are the ropes tight?”

“Make sure that gag is secure.”

“Do you have the book?”

“It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

Their voices drifted in and out, male and female. My body ached, an interesting feeling, since it’d been so long since I’d felt pain. So long since I’d had a body. Pain was truly a luxury of the living.

“You have my permission to smack that smug look off her face if you want. She’s got it even while she’s passed out.”

“Don’t tempt me.”

The reply was close. Too close. I opened my eyes, acclimating to the dark. Slowly, my vision adjusted and I recoiled. I found myself face to face with Connor. Literally. He stood two inches away, his huge hands wrapped around my wrists. One, I noticed, was actually tied to mine. I lunged forward but didn’t move., 
Mmy feet were also bound at the ankles. I shifted, testing the ropes, but there was no give. He held on tight.

“You’re awake,” Jeannie said from across the room. She stood over the Shadow Bound book with a small candle. Connor’s angry blue eyes never left mine.

“Whatwizthwis,” I mumbled, the fabric chafing painfully at my lips. I searched the room for Darius, but the unpossessed were the only ones here. Did they kill him? Nina and Misha? It didn’t matter much.

“I’ll take this off,” Connor said, his tone even and hard, “but I swear to God, if you say one thing out of line you’ll regret it.”

I nodded and he tore the gag from my mouth. Obviously, Connor had no problem appreciating there were no traces of his girlfriend left. I arranged my face into a pout, “You don’t love me anymore?”

“You’re a monster and a murderer.”

“That was Tony, not me. I just finished what he started.” Connor’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t react. Always so stoic. “How long do you plan on keeping me down here? The sacrifices have been made, which means your girlfriend’s long gone. There’s no reason to keep this up. The two of you protected yourselves,” I nodded at the pouch around his neck, “which saved your lives. Your friends weren’t as careful.”

I saw the hard muscle in Connor’s jaw flex. He was pissed. Good. I needed him fed up so I could get out of here, but for some reason he stayed put, hand connected to mine. “What’s up with this? Can’t get a girl to love you on her own so you tie her up? Nice.”

He took a wary step back but stopped short. That was when I noticed the circle marked on the floor. Great. They’d bound us in here together. But why?

Connor swallowed and replied in a short tone, “Just remember, I’m doing this for Jeannie.”

“Doing what?”

To my horror, he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. His mouth felt disturbingly familiar. Repulsive, clammy and hot. I struggled away, turning my face but he moved with me, refusing to cease his assault. Anger boiled inside, igniting a blaze in my chest and I bit down,
tearing his bottom lip.

“Mother fu—,” he yelled, moving back. His fingers clamped down hard on my wrist.

“Serves you right,” I spat, trying to get his foul taste out of my mouth.

He wiped his lip on his shoulder, leaving a smear of blood across his white T-shirt. “We can mark that one off the list,” he spat. “She’s not Snow White.”

“I guess love doesn’t conquer all,” Jeannie said. She eyed me curiously. “Or does it?”

“What?”

“Kiss her again.”

“No!” Connor and I shouted at the same time.

“Do it,” she told him with a firm nod.

Connor shook his head, but squared his shoulders. I turned away, burying my face in my shoulder. He shifted both my wrists into his one larger hand, freeing his other one. He straightened my chin and, after a quick lick to his puffy, bruised lip, his mouth met mine. Again, I was overwhelmed by disgust, the heat and warmth coming off him. He hated it, too. I tasted it on his tongue. Connor hesitated, eyes closed, and gave me the opportunity I’d been waiting for, crashing my forehead into his. He stumbled back, almost pulling my arm from its socket.

“Ugh,” he groaned, rubbing his hand against his forehead. I laughed at the red welt already forming above his eyebrow.

I sneered. “You’re so pathetic. Weak. Useless. All you ever did was hold her back.”

His free hand came back in retaliation and I thought for a minute he would hit me. I braced for it. I wanted it. I wanted him to crack, prove he was no better than I was now. He balled his fist in the air and slammed it into the post behind me. Gritting his teeth as his knuckles crunched under the pressure. Jeannie gasped and shouted, “Connor, no!” She grabbed for his hand.

Connor pushed her back. “I’m good,” he said. “She’s messing with me.” Guilt weighed heavily on him for almost hitting me. I could see it in every feature on his face. Sucker. “This one wants me to stop,” he said, eyeing me warily. “But Jane? I’m not so sure.”

When he moved closer he didn’t kiss me, but used his free hand to push my hair off my forehead. He ran a finger down my cheek and I clenched my jaw, twisting my head away. I scoffed and said, “Jane’s not here.”

Connor raised his eyebrow and said, “I think you protest too much.”

“I think,” I whispered, luring him closer, “you’re still living in the past.” I wiggled with the small amount of room I had and sunk my knee in his crotch.

“
Oof,” he grunted, bending over, arm wrapped around his waist. Connor blinked back tears of pain, his face contorting in absolute rage and betrayal. “Would your girlfriend do that?”

He wiped his eye and stood, taking short, measured breaths. “My girlfriend? Totally. She’d kick my ass to the end of next week if I made her mad. She’d dump me in the middle of juvenile lock-up. She’d write me letter after letter even though I couldn’t send them in return – hoping I’d beat my demons. She’d lie about her safety, do everything she could for a friend. Whatever she needed to help someone in need. Dead or alive.”

I rolled my eyes.

“She’d never give up on me. Ever.” He stepped closer, a strong, determined look crossed his face. “I’m not about to give up on her.”

“It’s pointless,” I argued, bracing myself for another assault. But he simply stood before me, hand running down the side of my face, settling on my chin. His blue eyes pierced mine and he kissed me soft, barely grazing my lips. “What? Do you think love will bring her back?” I asked between tortured kisses.

He must have, because he didn’t stop, kissing me slow and gentle. His fingers stroked my hair and face, down the length of my arm. The room grew warm and heavy. My lips tingled from use, not desire. I lifted my arms to push him back but they fell limp, like they were tied with weights. My will to fight him diminished. “What have you done?” I asked in a groggy voice, looking for Jeannie.

“It’s not me,” he breathed. His fingers dug into my hips and his beard scraped against my chin. Closing my eyes, I sunk into the intensity of the kiss, my resolve caving. The anger that had filled every fiber of my being dissipated and my knees buckled, weak under the pressure. Connor took my breath away.