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“Are you kidding? There’s back, front, and sideways,” Dee said, checking me out in the mirror while she slathered on the lipstick. “But your pretty friend there doesn’t look like he’s up to doing much running right now.”
I stared back at her, agony racing up my leg to my spine, and had to agree. If we had to outrun anyone else, I was toast. Not to mention the fact my foot in Pritkin’s boot was sliding on what felt like a lot of blood.
“Yes, well, there’s no other option at present,” Pritkin snapped.
Dee levered up her nine feet of satin and platforms. “There’re always options, sugar,” she said, and pushed him through the wall. “You, too,” she told me, pulling me up and copping a feel of Pritkin’s ass at the same time. “Ooh, nice,” she said, and pushed.
I expected a portal, but ended up merely falling through a ward that had hidden a small room. It seemed to be used by security. It was dark except for the light from a bank of televisions lined the wall in front of a small desk. Most of them showed the street outside, but one was trained on the stage. There was only one chair, and I took it.
Dee followed us in and turned the sound up. Licious was still in the spotlight, but she wasn’t singing. A handful of war mages had clustered around the stage and appeared to be trying to question her in front of the audience. Pritkin rolled his eyes. “Trainees,” he muttered, tugging at my boot.
“What was that?” Licious asked, bending over to push the microphone into the nearest mage’s face.
“I said, that sharp tongue of yours is going to get you in trouble one day!”
She laughed, a rich, full-throated purr. “Oh, but honey. It’s not sharp. It’s flexible.”
The audience roared, causing the man to flush angrily. He looked her up and down contemptuously, taking in the towering black wig, the sequins and the chandelier earrings. “Are you gay?”
“That depends. Are you lonely?” The audience erupted in jeers and catcalls. The man’s fellow mages jostled him out of harm’s way while Licious rose to her usual towering height. She whispered something to her pianist. “In honor of my new young friend, my last number tonight will be ‘I’m Coming Out,’ by Miss Diana Ross. And, baby, if you can dump your jealous friends, call me!”
Dee turned the sound back down. “I’m on next. Don’t worry; I’ll tell the girls to say they saw you run out a couple minutes ago. If you’d like to show your appreciation, there’s a charming pink number in Augustine’s window that would look divine on me.” She blew us a kiss and left.
“You have strange friends,” Pritkin said, finally wrestling my boot off.
I expected to see half the calf gone, judging by the pain. The khakis were soaked red to the knee, and slick streams of brilliant blood cascaded over the flesh of my bare foot. But when he pulled a knife out of my belt and slit the fabric, the actual wound was an ugly gash extending from the knee halfway to the groin.
“It’s a progressive curse,” Pritkin said grimly. “If left untreated, it will literally consume you.”
Consume him, he meant. “I’m sorry,” I gasped. “I hesitated. A mage came in the door and I didn’t jump in time—”
“You aren’t battle trained,” Pritkin said, dismissing it with a lot more composure than I’d have shown if the circumstances were reversed.
The wound was deep and bleeding heavily. He tried to hold it closed, causing me to bite the sleeve of his coat to keep from screaming. And it only caused more blood to well up between his fingers, the hot spatter soaking the front of his capris.
He stared at it for a long second, his hands gripping my thigh, and then looked up at me. “We have to switch back.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now! My body can heal this, but you don’t have the necessary knowledge and I don’t have time to teach you!”
“Have you forgotten . . . what’s circling this hotel?” I gasped.
“No.” He licked his lips. “But we have to risk it. You’re losing too much blood.”
I’d have preferred to wait until Billy Joe caught up with us, but that could be a while and I was already cold and shaky. I didn’t think this body had a while. “I’ll push you out,” I panted. “Just . . . don’t panic.”
Pritkin nodded, looking pale but relatively calm. I only hoped that lasted because as close as the Rakshasas were, we wouldn’t have much time if anything went wrong. I closed my eyes and let my head fall back, and the next moment, I was sitting up with Pri
tkin’s body beneath me.
I put a ghostly arm out and no shields were in evidence. My hand went right up to his chest, and a couple of insubstantial fingers slipped inside his skin. I felt him start at the intrusion, but he didn’t shy away, although I could feel him trembling. I could feel something else, too.
Unlike most ghosts, his spirit was warm and almost solid against my hand. I’d never thought to ask Billy how ghosts feel to each other. But now that I thought about it, the times I’d possessed someone who was still in-house, so to speak, they hadn’t felt like Billy Joe normally did. They’d been a warm, solid presence. Like Pritkin.
I started rummaging around in his chest, trying to get a grip, and he began to look very nervous. “Calm down. I have an idea,” I told him.
“Whatever it is, can you hurry up?”
