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“Shit! Shit! That’s my bad! Sorry! I’m not accustomed to working with ghosts around vampires,” Sky apologized. Ryder pried open eyes he didn’t recall closing and watched as Sky dug into his bag. “Fox, do you remember that protective barrier I showed you about a week ago?”
“Yeah, I know it.”
Sky pulled out another grease pencil and tossed it to Fox. “Draw it surrounding Gideon and Ryder now.”
Fox dropped to his hands and knees near them, drawing a circle on the wood floor in red. Ryder winced against the pain still cutting through his head and drew a whimpering Gideon closer. As Fox added more and more strange symbols to the ward, the pain ebbed until it disappeared completely.
“Better?” Fox asked.
“Yeah, I’m good.” Ryder placed his finger under Gideon’s chin, lifting his head to reveal teary eyes and a fragile smile. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. I promise.”
Ryder turned his attention to Sky, who was looking pale, sweat glistening on his brow.
“I’m so sorry about that,” the necromancer said. “When I’m working, my customers are humans, like ninety-five percent of the time. The other five percent are other witches and the occasional shifter. I wasn’t thinking.”
A smirk lifted the corner of Ryder’s mouth. “We believe you.”
Sky seemed to be a genuinely nice guy. Not to mention, Winter Varik scared him to death. Ryder couldn’t believe he’d try something underhanded in front of Winter’s boyfriend.
“Thanks.” Sky sighed, his entire body slumping. “That was my power-boosted command voice. It’s focused on controlling the dead. Lesson learned: Don’t use near vampires. It will only hurt them and piss them off.”
“But the barrier will protect them?” Fox inquired, pushing to his feet.
“Yeah, anything I cast tonight won’t reach them so long as they stay in there. It’s just that your ghost is feeling cranky, but I think I got a handle on things now.” The witch turned his attention to the trunk. This time, when he knocked on it, there was a soft knock in return.
“Do you want to come out and tell me your name?” Sky asked in his normal, gentle voice.
Ryder’s eyes widened as he watched the lid of the trunk creak open about three inches. There was no misty white phantasm, but he heard a soft girl’s voice that matched the giggles that had danced about the condo.
“Elizabeth.”
His arms automatically tightened on Gideon as his heart lurched. It wasn’t so much that the ghost suddenly became real, but she became human. She had been a human child…and died.
“Why are you hiding in the trunk, Elizabeth?” Sky asked.
“I’m playing hide-and-seek with my brother. I’ve been waiting so long for him to find me. Why hasn’t he found me yet?”
Gideon’s gasp convinced Ryder they were having the same thought. Elizabeth had crawled into the trunk for a game of hide-and-seek and somehow she’d died in that trunk. Maybe she’d gotten trapped or maybe she had been a very ill child, but her eternity was waiting for her brother to end this innocent game.
“You’re too good of a hider. Why don’t you come out of the trunk and we can find some other fun place to play?” Sky suggested.
“I don’t want to play with you,” Elizabeth announced, and the trunk closed with a snap.
Sky sighed. “Yeah, I kind of figured it would go this way.” Sky turned to his bag of magic tricks and dug through it. “I’m going to need some better kid bait, and I never work with kids,” he muttered under his breath.
Fox walked over and kneeled next to him. “Do you think you’ll be able to get her to leave the trunk for good?”
Sky grunted. “She’s attached to it because it’s likely her final human memory, plus it seems to be a pretty positive one. Happy memories and powerful emotions give ghosts a lot of their energy. Get her away from the trunk, and a lot of that will fade. Make it easier for her to move on.”
“What you’re going to do…” Gideon started carefully. “It won’t hurt her, right?”
“Of course not. I want to give her a reason to leave the trunk. Or maybe a solid lure.” Sky frowned at his bag. “I’m just not one to deal with kids much when it comes to the dead. My interactions are usually with dead adults. But I’ve got someone who can help me.” Sky glanced at them and flashed a tense smile. “I need to call one of my assistants. Don’t freak out.”
“Why do I already feel the need to freak out?” Fox inquired.
“This is the thing that was attached to the hand, isn’t it?” Gideon mumbled, his voice sounding shaky.
