Grave Possession (Wraith 3) (27 page)

My mind slipped, pushed out with one final blow, and everything turned black.

I woke shivering and cold, feeling trapped – caged. Heavy weights lay across my arms, holding me down. I struggled to move, pushing against restraints. To my alarm, they tightened instead of letting go. I relaxed my muscles, closed my eyes tighter and breathed deep. I considered my options.

How do I get out of this prison?

Something soft brushed against my neck. Tender, but boiling with an emotional fire. A shiver ran down my spine and I lunged against my chains, breaking free. I swung around to face my captor. I don’t know what I expected, but I exhaled in relief when I saw Connor with wide, confused blue eyes sprawled across the bed. Shirt rumpled and his hands grasping at air.

“Hey, you okay?” he said, stifling a yawn.

Yes,
I heard echo in the back of my mind.

“Yeah,” I replied. “Weird dream.” I crawled back in bed under the covers seeking warmth. Connor wrapped his arms around me and I tucked my head under his chin.

“You’re freezing.”

“I think you stole all the covers.”

“What was the dream about?” he asked. Worry lines creased his forehead.

Flashes of the dream came to mind, hazy and dark. Evan’s face morphing into a monster, the feeling of emptiness. I opened my mouth to speak, to tell Connor everything, but my thoughts were tainted by an echoing voice, whispering in my brain. “
Lie. Convince him
.”

I fought against the command, but found the lie easily on my tongue. “Just a bunch of crazy stuff. It didn’t make any sense. One of those you can’t shake even though you can’t remember anything. I think maybe Jeannie was quacking like a duck.”

He laughed against the top of my head, chest vibrating with relief. I twisted away, afraid to meet his eyes. I felt his lips blister against my ear. This sparked a shiver, still cold despite his heat. His touch provided no warmth other than the too hot kisses. The dead stirred in my chest and brain, forcing me to swallow the urge to fight against him. Things were about to get interesting.

*

It was noon when I left the dorm and walked home. The sun was out, bright enough to wear my sunglasses for the first time in weeks. Close to my building. I spotted the tell-tale blue tint of a ghost sitting on a bench. Feeling generous, I approached her.

“Hi,” I said, sitting next to the pretty woman. Her long blonde hair
hungfell stick straight down her back. Bright red lips and heavily painted eyes. So often these ghosts had a creepy, distressed vibe. This one looked like she came straight off the pages of a fashion magazine.

Whatever was going on with her, she didn’t seem to hear me. I tried again. “Hey, I’m Jane.” A bird swooped and landed on a nearby statue with a loud caw. Her eyes flicked in my direction. She did hear me. Shy maybe? “What’s your name?”

She turned slightly in my direction and narrowed her eyes. “You’re the one?”

“I am?”

She looked over her shoulder nervously and inched away. “I think there’s been a mistake.”

“No mistake. I’m here to help.”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

“What do you mean? Do you have questions? Something you’re confused about.”

“No, thanks. I’m fine.” He fingers twisted in her lap.

No thanks? Can a ghost say “no thanks” to me?

“You don’t need help? You’re not lost?”

She stood up, looked me square in the eye and whispered, “Stay away.”

I hopped up, prepared to follow her. “But…”

Walk away.

I glanced over my shoulder as if I could find the source of the voice outside my own head, but I knew better. The voice was as familiar as my own. The woman gave me one last look, fear etched into her pretty features. She quickly walked across the street until she shimmered and disappeared.

*

I was so rattled by the woman outside that I struggled to fit my key into the lock. Thankfully, the door swung open before I flung the keys down the hall.

“Ava,” I cried in relief.

She still wore her pajamas even though it was past noon. “Jane,” she said, cheeks flushed. “Trouble with your key?”

“Something like that.” I stepped past her and noted the boy in her bed. Shirtless with the sheet pulled just past his navel. My eyes darted away from the defined muscles of his chest.

Ha,
the voice chuckled.
Not as innocent as we appear
. The words battered against my skull, pounding at the bone. “Have a good night?” I asked, ignoring it.

“Sure,” Ava said, slipping back under the covers. She pulled a blanket higher up Christian’s body. Too bad. “How about you guys?”

“Nothing too exciting. I figure I’ll go visit Jeannie before the show tonight.” I walked to the closet and opened the door. I needed something to wear. Something appropriate for the next couple of hours. I found a pair of jeans and a dark blue hoodie and tossed them on my bed. I stripped off my clothes and they dropped to the floor with a light sound. Christian averted his eyes and Ava’s mouth gaped.

“Oh shit, sorry,” I said, pulling the door to partially block their view.

I changed, ignoring Ava’s stunned reaction. And Christian? Well, his eyes flicked over my body, remembering what he’d just seen. Satisfaction overwhelmed the humiliation.

I hooked my fingers into a pair of shoes on the way out the door. I turned and winked. “See you at the show tonight,” before walking out.

*

“What’s wrong?” Jeannie asked the instant she saw me outside her hotel door.

“Nothing.”

She frowned and squinted. “Something’s off. Your aura is a mess.”

Stupid psychics. What would jumble my aura? Love and drama. That should work. “Nothing. Connor and I had a fight. Here,” I said holding up a paper cup, “I brought you a coffee.”

“Stop distracting me.”

“Stop analyzing my disastrous love life.”

She waved me in and the heavy hotel door closed with a loud click. I followed her into the small room where she moved stacks of papers and books off one of the small chairs. “One day and this place looks like a tornado ran through it.”

I sat down and scanned the materials strewn about the room.

There.

I spotted the Shadow Bound book and said, “Find anything interesting?”

“I’ve made a little headway.”

I sat down and visibly shivered, running my hands up and down my arms. Jeannie frowned. “You cold?”

“I can’t warm up.”

“I have the thermostat up pretty high. Nina was freezing last night, too.” Her eyebrows furrowed and she gave me a funny look.

“What?”

“Maybe that’s what the weird purple ring surrounding both of you means. Excessive cold.”

“Is that a real thing?”

She shook her head and laughed. “Not until today. Maybe I’ve just discovered it.”

A persistent nudge pressed against my brain. I pointed to the book. “Tell me what you’ve found out.”

“The group Nina has gathered here should be effective in stopping the negative energy. I think together we can banish the spirits.”

Go on
.

“How so?” I asked.

She flipped open the book and pointed to a page. “This explains how unifying our talents can create a ward, pushing the demons back. Odds are that when they rushed out of the entryway, they searched for a new home. We just need to figure out who those people are.”

“What if they haven’t possessed anyone yet?”

“They will soon. Either way we need to get that doorway back open and seal them back inside.” She flipped open the book. “There’s a passage here about opening gateways. It seems that spirits gather in supernaturally weak areas…”

“Hotspots.”

“Sure, that name works, and then they wait to break through. This happened when you opened the doorway. The spirits searched for the closest human to possess, preferably someone vulnerable and malleable.”

“Someone weak?”

“Not exactly weak. Impressionable is a better term. Or compliant? Someone the demons can take control over and manipulate.” She lifted the book from the table and handed it to me. “Here, look for yourself.”

The instant the book touched my hands, a searing pain ran across my skin. I threw it on the table, scattering papers and other books in the process.

“Jane! What in the world?”

The relief was automatic. The pain disappeared. “I don’t know. It just…”

Lie
.

“The book,” I mumbled.

Lie. Or the possessions will come closer to home than you want.

I swallowed and rubbed my wrist. “I hurt my wrist this morning. I fell during a run and I guess the weight of the book was too much.”

“Do you need a doctor? Is it sprained or broken?” She reached for my hand and I twisted away.

“No, it’s fine, really. It’s just a little tender. I think I bruised it.” I flexed my fingers, still experiencing a tingling sensation from touching the book. That was weird. “Anyway, what you were saying is that we need to look for someone vulnerable. That’s who the spirits most likely possessed.”

“Right,” she said. “There’s also a passage that explains the timeline on the hotspot. Once you entered the zone, it’s almost like a clock started. We have until midnight to remove the spirits.”

“Why midnight?” I asked, the answer tugging at my memory.

“The spirits follow the moon cycle. We’re about to enter the new moon. At midnight, the spirits can take over the possessed entirely. The original souls will be displaced. I’m not sure,” she said, eyes wandering over the text, “but it looks like a sacrifice of some kind has to be made to fulfill the transformation.”

“Sacrifice?”

“A death. Most likely someone of importance to the possessed.”

“Okay. So, we need to find these people and then what?”

“Then we try to cleanse him or her. Stop this for good.”

“Everyone is on board with this? Nina and Darius?”

“Yes, plus Misha, you and Connor. We should be strong enough.” She paused and took a sip of her coffee. “Do you have any thoughts on who may already be possessed? Anyone acting out of the ordinary lately? Not even recently, it could have been going on for some time – the parasites have been leaking through for months. They would have attached on the most accessible person other than you.”

The voice whispered in my ear and I feel my head nodding on its own accord. “Actually, I do. I’ve noticed some weird behavior for a while from this guy we know. He’s acting sort of erratic. Disappearing for days on end. Completely absorbed in his work, which incidentally, is super-dark and creepy.”

She moved to the edge of her seat. “You know this person?”

“Yes, I’ve been curious about him for a while but didn’t want to make any crazy accusations. I think he’s already hurt someone, but there was no evidence. Now that you’ve explained the symptoms we should be looking for, it seems pretty clear.”

Jeannie smiled with relief. “This is amazing, Jane. You just cut our work in half. We need to call the others and find a good time to approach him.”

“I think we should do it tonight. Before the art show.”

“Who is it?”

I nodded and crossed my legs. The name hung on the tip of my tongue and I fought it, tasting the betrayal. The voice in my head overpowered my will. “Tom. Connor’s roommate.”

*

“The important thing is to act normal.”

Each member of our supernatural group nodded in understanding. “Don’t let him know we’re on to him,” Jeannie continued. “He needs to feel safe.” Again, we agreed. She had nothing to worry about. Not about Tom at least.

Madam Rosemarie’s was open for a cleansing. The subject should be here any minute, escorted by his friend and roommate. Tom was clueless, Connor said, and thought they were stopping by for a pre-opening party.

Nina managed to work up a festive vibe in the salon. Candles and music. Wine bottles sat on the counter. No one drank, though. It was all a ruse to make Tom think everything was fine. Poor boy had no idea what was about to happen. This was made even more obvious when the door swung open and Connor and Tom entered the shop, mid-conversation.

“Hi, everyone,” Connor said.

“You made it,” Nina said with a big grin. “Take off your coats and get a drink.”

“This is my roommate, Tom,” he announced to the group. “You know Jane. This is her aunt Jeannie.” He went around the room and pointed out Darius and
Misha. “Darius is Tony’s father.”

“Pleasure to meet you all,” Tom said, his accent soft like a purr. Jeannie raised an eyebrow in my direction. Yeah, there was something that made a British accent hard to resist. Even when you were twice his age and he might be a possessed sociopath. Connor left Tom by the drinks and walked over.