How to Kill a Ghost (17 page)

“I know.”

She drew in a deep breath and sniffled. “Silver is a weakness with vampires too. Come on.”

I followed her to her house, and she jogged to her bedroom with me behind. Searching her jewelry armoire, she found a length of silver chain and brought it out for me to see. I recognized it from Monica’s wilder style of dress years ago.

“This belly chain is sterling silver. Put it on.”

“What?”

She started to wrap the chain around my middle. “You’re going to have to stay solid so you can get it over to wherever he is. Keep it under your clothes, so he might not know you have it until the last second.”

“Thanks, but what if he finds it?”

She tapped her cheek as she thought. “My backpack. We’ll put a bunch of obvious crap in there, like a bottle of water, a stake, garlic.”

“Monica, a backpack will stick out. He’s going to get that off me right away, and what can a bottle of water possibly do? Maybe we can go to the church on Fourth for holy water.”

“We don’t have time, Libby. Listen to me.”

I fell silent and followed as she jogged through her house, grabbing various items.

“The backpack is a distraction. If he thinks you’re dumb enough to bring all that stuff in a tidy little bag, he might not search you. He’ll take away the bag and leave the chain. Then when he’s close, you throw it on him.”

“What will it do?”

“Weaken him enough to get the bag back.”

We stood face-to-face. I pictured it, and she probably did too. Jake’s and Mason’s lives depended on me fooling Tevin. I would do it no matter what the cost. Even if it meant he banished me. I would somehow free them first.

“Okay, tell me everything else you know about them.”

“What I know is from movies, so we don’t know if any of it’s true. Maybe we should double check with Isabelle.”

I hesitated.

“I know it hurt you to get others involved, Libby, but you have to get it right. Jake needs you, and that jerk Mason too, I guess.”

I sighed. “You’re right.”

We phoned Isabelle, and she confirmed for us all the weaknesses we were familiar with. I was glad to note Monica had been right about the silver and made sure I had the amulet around my neck.

“I can go with you, Libby,” Isabelle offered over Monica’s cell phone line.

I shook my head to Monica, and she relayed my sentiments to Isabelle.

“She says she’s doing it alone, and no one else is getting hurt on her account.”

Isabelle grumbled. “Stop being stubborn.”

I mouthed my response.
“I’m going alone. That’s final!”

Both women fell silent after Monica relayed my message. Isabelle gave me a few more pointers, and Monica disconnected the call. Monica and I sat side-by-side waiting as the sun moved across the sky. When the cell rang again a short while later, we both jumped. She checked the display, and I tensed at seeing my own name on the display. Monica answered.

“Hello, lovely lady?” came the deep, familiar voice.

All of Monica’s bravado as we readied for this meeting disappeared, and she stared straight ahead, shaking like a leaf in the wind. I wished I could take the phone from her hand and leave the room so she didn’t have to hear Tevin, but I couldn’t operate it myself. Nor could I speak without causing damage. I backed away but stayed within hearing distance.

“I’m going to assume our friendly neighborhood ghost is nearby,” he said. “So listen up, Libby. I have your son and your husband.”

The word
ex
trembled on my lips, but I held it in.

“If you want proof, here you are.”

Mason came on the line, demanding to know what was going on and what kind of lifestyle I was leading that men like Tevin would kidnap
him
to get to me. I ground my teeth together and clenched my fists at my sides.

“If this kind of thing is happening, Libby, I should have taken Jake from you long ago.”

I wished Tevin would keep him.

“Mom?”

The silver chain dropped to the floor, along with the amulet and the backpack. I sank down after it, but I focused on the phone. “J-Jake,” I whispered. The phone crackled.

Monica’s hand shot out toward me.

“Mom, are you there?”

With my eyes, I pleaded with Monica to speak for me. She cleared her throat and scrubbed an arm over her eyes. “She’s here, Jake. Are you okay, baby?”

“I’m fine, Aunt Monica. Can you put Mom on?”

“She can hear you. Just be brave, sweetie. We’re coming to get you.”

Jake disappeared from the line, and Tevin came on again. “No one comes except you, Libby. Unless you don’t care about these two.”

I rocked and shut my eyes.

“You don’t tell my brother, and you don’t call the police. You got it?”

I opened my eyes and stared at Monica.

“She’s got it.”

Jake came on again, his voice cast low. “Mom, don’t let him know you’re a ghost, okay? I don’t think he’s like…uh, human.”

My son wouldn’t know that no matter how quietly he spoke, Tevin heard him. I didn’t know how he figured out Tevin wasn’t human, and it began to make me wonder if he knew about Ian. After Monica had encouraged Jake a little more, Tevin returned and described the house where he holed up. Monica and I knew which one right away. Of all places, he had chosen Luis Riley’s home. No one lived there, and Luis didn’t have family, so the property had returned to the state. Apparently, that allowed a vampire entrance.

“She’ll be—” Monica began, but the line went dead. Tevin had said all he had intended.

“He sounded tired,” Monica said.

I looked up from gathering the items I had dropped. “What do you mean?”

“Well, vampires have to rejuvenate during the day, don’t they?”

I agreed. I knew it was true for Ian.

“He might not have gotten any rest if he looked after them all day. I don’t know if it will help, but he might even be weaker.”

I perked up a little. “Let’s hope so. You can’t imagine how strong they are without even trying.”

She looked sick, probably recalling Ian and Tevin’s fight at Nessa’s. I didn’t want her to see any more than she already had, and I prayed Tevin had behaved himself with Jake and Mason. For Jake’s sake rather than Mason’s.

I stood up and walked over to Monica. I knelt down to where she sat on the couch and hugged her tight. After a kiss on her cheek, I hugged her again. An aching need to cry came over me, but Monica did enough for the two of us.

“This isn’t good-bye,” I said. “I’ll return with Jake, and everything will go back to normal.”

She gave a humorless laugh. “Normal left a long time ago, Libby.”

I straightened and headed out then ran as fast as I could down the darkened street. The one positive thing to being a ghost, other than willing myself wherever I wanted to go, was that there was no physical exhaustion. My muscles wouldn’t become fatigued from movement. However, I could run low on energy to stay solid. That’s why I hurried since I had to remain in that form to keep hold of my weapons.

Monica had placed an old broken chair leg in the backpack, which she had found in her garage. The club of wood would serve as a stake, although I felt sure it would be among the first things Tevin took. If I could get the silver chain on him, I could get the stake back and pierce his chest with it.

Hopefully.

I had never killed anyone before, human or nonhuman. I had never wanted anyone dead, including Mason. Could I follow through? Who knew, but I would face my enemy.

At last, I arrived at the house and stood outside gathering my courage. All the windows were boarded, even the attic window where once Luis had placed a high-powered lens on a camera to spy on Summit’s Edge citizens. The door creaked open, and I braced myself to head inside. The slam once I had crossed the threshold put me on edge, but I held my form.

I scanned the area around me for holes where I might be able to expose Tevin to daylight. Small cracks let through narrow beams of light, but they were hardly enough to do real damage. A bark of laughter distracted me, and I spun this way and that to spot him. He stood in a far corner with just the dullest of lamps illuminating his face. If the effect was set up to scare me, it worked. I lost the ability to move.

Tevin chuckled again and waved a hand in my direction. “What is that?”

I raised my chin and tugged on the straps of the backpack. “My defense.”

“You seem to think you have the upper hand here, Libby, or that I’m joking. Don’t fool yourself into believing I won’t kill your loved ones.”

“Where are they?” I shouted. “Where’s Jake?”

“Take it off,” he grumbled in response. “Throw the bag over there. The amulet too.” He gestured, and I hesitated. He took one step toward me, and I felt his power radiating off of him. He wasn’t joking, but I never believed he was.

I removed the backpack and the amulet and tossed them a couple of feet from me. Tevin sneered. His movements were a blur, and he disappeared, and then returned just as quickly as he had gone. Long fingers encircled Jake’s little neck, and my heart leaped into my throat. I extended hands toward him, palms down. “Please. I’m here, okay? Don’t hurt him.”

Tevin’s slow grin surfaced, and he let Jake go. My sweet little boy sank to the floor, lashes brushing his cheeks. All sound left the world. Tevin brought it back with his next words.

“Don’t worry. He’s not dead…yet.”

“What do you want?” I demanded.

He narrowed his eyes. “I want to know what my brother sees in you?”

I shrugged. “We’re friends.”

“More than that.” He looked me up and down. “I don’t understand. You’re a ghost. Vampires don’t like ghosts. Or perhaps he fell for you before you lost your body. Is that it?”

I considered it and wondered if Ian had. He’d hinted that he’d used me for blood, but maybe we got to know each other, and he made sure I forgot about the exchanges, back when he could erase my memory.
Then again, you could be romanticizing it, Libby.
Either way, I knew Ian loved me. “Does it matter?”

“Oh, it matters. I want my brother to suffer. Did he? When you lost your body?”

“No.” I lied. Ian hadn’t shown much emotion in the beginning, but now that I knew him better, I was pretty sure my state shocked and upset him. “Tevin, why are you doing this? You’re a powerful being. You can do whatever you want and go wherever you choose.”

“From a weakling’s standpoint, you would think so.” He waved a hand toward the boarded windows. “Every day my home becomes a prison. Every night, my thirst drives me to kill.”

I frowned. “Ian doesn’t drink every night, and he’s never killed.”

He laughed. “My brother has made an art in denying himself, apparently.” His gaze raked me. “Imagine a girlfriend he can’t touch.”

I said nothing to this because it frustrated me also.

“Before my brother killed me, I had constant fun with my vampire friend. It amused him to entertain me, to let me do things a normal human wouldn’t get away with. He would cover it up, and not even Ian knew.”

I shivered, imagining the worst. Tevin seemed more depraved than Ian realized.

“After Ian killed me, I became a prisoner to my maker’s whims. He never let me do what I wanted. Oh, we had fun, but it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t go where I wanted, kill whomever I chose. He ruled me, and I had to submit. Eventually, I made him pay, and now it’s Ian’s turn.”

“Ian has suffered enough. He’s lived alone, away from everyone.”

“Not enough! It can never be enough!”

Tevin approached me, and I stumbled backward. I cast about in my mind for how to get to Jake without him noticing. Tevin pierced me with red eyes, filled with madness and revenge. I swallowed, almost unable to move. My thought processes slowed down, and it took every ounce of energy I had to keep my form. The fact that I hadn’t run out was a testament to Mason being alive somewhere in the house, because I felt his life force coming into me, holding me together. I wasn’t in the position to cut it off if I was to save both him and Jake.

As Tevin approached, I kept retreating. He neared the backpack and snatched it away from the amulet. Moving closer to me and farther from the protection, he rifled through the bag. His chuckles at discovering the stake and bottled water had me grinding my teeth. Tevin jiggled the water bottle. “Is this holy water? I don’t feel any power. You really are pathetic, aren’t you?”

“We didn’t have a lot of time,” I shouted.

My outburst must have set him off. He tossed the water bottle away and zipped across the room to me. In seconds, he held me by the throat and jerked me to him. My mouth went dry when he held the stake to his chest.

“Go ahead, Libby. Kill me. Right here. Drive it through my heart.”

I blinked. Fear gripped me in its spell. I could only stare at the stake, the jagged tip pressing to his shirtfront. Images of the point piercing his flesh sickened me. He snatched one of my hands up and forced my fingers around the stick. Moving back and forth, his hand over mine, he performed the motions for pushing the stake into his chest. I shook all over.

“What are you waiting for, Libby? I thought you came here to kill me.”

I thought of Ian, having done it the first time, facing the knowledge daily that he could at any time take a life just to sustain his own. I recalled how in the face of what he had done in the past, he found it difficult to do it all over again and murder his brother. For the first time, I understood. I had a choice to make, and I didn’t think I could do it.

“Please,” I begged.

“Please what?”

“Let them go. You can have me. Kill me if it will make you feel better. Let Jake and Mason go. Take me in place of Ian. You’re right. It will hurt him, but if it’s enough, he can live.”

Tevin howled and shoved me away from him. The stake fell to the floor, and I landed on my butt. Tevin dragged me up. I stared into his angry face, ugly from hate and malice, so unlike Ian’s now I wondered that I had ever mistaken one for the other.

“
Bioyino
,” Tevin whispered in my ear. I screamed because I recognized the beginning of the chant to banish me.