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“You can’t kil it this way. You’l take down the building and us with it.” I shook my head.
“Fuck you, bitch!” He glowered, but then was back to himself as he ripped his energy out of the rol ing green mass of clouds that were headed our way. But the look on his face was one of obedience. He grabbed up Mocha as Shade pul ed me into his arms and, just before the ghostly vapor reached us, we flickered into the ether.
CHAPTER 9
Traveling through shadow was far different from moving through the Ionyc Sea. With Smoky and Vanzir, it was like we were in a protected bubble, but with Shade, I felt as though my body melded into the shadow, became smoke and mirrors, filtering through the hidden cloak brought about by light.
I’m dissolving, losing form, losing myself . . . a sweep of panic ran through me and I clutched onto Shade harder, but we were drifting. What’s my name? What am I? Another shot of fear raced through me as I realized I had no idea of how long I’d been like this, of what this real y was.
As we landed next to the police cruisers, stepping out of a nearby shadow, I found myself shaking. The ride had been rough, and I kept touching my arms, my stomach to make sure I was al back together. Shade gave me an odd glance, but smiled.
“Mistress Menol y, you are intact. Never fear. I wouldn’t expose you to harm. My journeys can be dangerous for the living at times, but for the dead—and the undead—they hold no threat.” He backed away as Camil e ran up to me. She looked tired, beyond weary, and I realized that she and Morio must have expended a tremendous amount of energy trying to protect us.
“Are you okay?” I drew her to the side.
She grabbed my hands. “Oh, Menol y, when that thing took possession of me, I almost kil ed you. That was too close, and I’m not sure how it happened. One minute we were focusing on a spel to drive the spirits back and the next, boom, I was standing there like a ventriloquist’s dummy with a ghost’s hand up my butt.”
“It’s okay. I wasn’t hurt. The only damage left is to my shirt.”
“You could have been, though. And what if that had been Delilah, instead? I could have kil ed her with that lightning bolt. I have to find a way to protect myself from that happening again, so I don’t accidental y let someone take over who can hurt you guys.” Pensive, she shook her head and turned to Chase, who was walking our way.
I wanted to lighten the mood, but there wasn’t much I could say. She was spot-on in her concerns. The lightning bolt would have fried Delilah to a crisp. So I turned to the detective. “Hey, Chase, how are they doing?”
He shook his head. “Lance Carver is dead. We can’t figure out what kil ed him—probably a heart attack the kid shouldn’t have had. Mocha Jervis is stil in a coma. There doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with her, not physical y, but she’s wal ed herself off inside her mind. Sharah is trying to figure out what’s going on with her.”
That wasn’t good. Wal ed off inside her mind probably meant that whatever the ghosts had done, it had been as bad as or worse than what we’d been through with them.
“Teri has a broken leg, two broken ribs, and a fractured pelvis. Leia managed to get away with some scratches and cuts, but she’s traumatized and can’t handle being alone—every shadow freaks her out. And Jack Riley’s suffering from internal injuries and swel ing in the brain, as wel as a fractured skul . He’s stil unconscious, too, and we don’t know the extent of his brain damage.”
“What the hel were they thinking?” I kicked the ground. “Out hunting for vampires and ghosts, not knowing what the fuck they were doing—not thinking about the ramifications. And we had to go clean up their mess.”
“Except we couldn’t clean it up.” Camil e’s lips were pursed. “We have a building fil ed with angry, volatile spirits, and there’s nothing we can do to stop them. I don’t even know who to cal to deal with this. But evil can spread like a disease.”
“We need an exorcist, someone who’s used to dealing with ghosts. Wilbur’s bound to know someone.” Or Roman, I thought. Roman probably knew everybody who was anybody. “Let me ask Roman first. He might be able to help us.” I moved off to the side, wel aware of how tired Camil e was.
Roman answered on the first ring. “Menol y . . . have you spoken to Wade?”
“I’m headed there after I finish up here. But we have a problem and I wondered if you could give us any help. I need someone specializing in ghost removal.”
He let out a snort. “You’re looking for the Ghost-busters?”
“No, I’m looking for somebody who can bust the bal s off some evil spirits that have been stirred up. You know as wel as I do that they won’t go back to sleep once they’ve been roused.” I quickly ran down what had happened.
Roman was silent for a moment, then cleared his throat. “I know someone who can help you. But you must tel your sister to go home and cast a protection spel before she heads into the field again. Camil e’s magic leaves her open to possession, and Earthside spirits who are soil-bound work differently than those in your homeland. She’s in danger every second she’s near the building until she invokes protection.”
I pressed my lips together. Great. Just what we needed. “Yeah, okay. So what should I do?”
“I am going to give you the phone number for Ivana Krask. She’s a gifted . . . psychic. She can take care of angry ghosts.” He rattled off a number and I repeated it, then motioned for Chase to give me a paper and pen because I wasn’t sure I trusted my memory.
“I’l cal her. Who is she?”
“As I said, she’s a gifted psychic. She is not human, but do not ask her what she is. That isn’t a question she’s prone to answer. If anybody can take the spirits down, she can. But she wil demand payment. Don’t have any kittens or dogs or children near you at the time. Offer her ten pounds of steak. Make sure it’s a prime cut. She wil help you for this, but she wil argue at first.
Ignore her counteroffers and just state again that you wil pay her ten pounds of steak and no more.
The third time, she wil accept the deal. Whatever you do, do not say thank you at any time.”
I stared at my phone. What the fuck kind of creature was she? But I knew I wouldn’t get the answer out of Roman. “I’l cal her and set it up for tomorrow night—”
