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If there’s any chance we’re going to get out of this, I can’t risk it.
“Vanessa,” I call hoarsely.
The woman stands and looks at me expectantly.
“Anderson says it’s time to start the ritual,” I say through gritted teeth.
She smiles brightly, and the man in the corner comes forward, book in hand. He looks at her carefully, they have a silent conversation and then he starts chanting.
“It’s done,” he says, which confuses me. I’m obviously still in my body.
But then I look at Juliana and realize he’s been doing a spell to put her soul back in her body this whole time. She’s fully alive again, just in time to be used as Anderson’s puppet. My anger burns inside of me, but I’m useless and helpless.
Vanessa walks over to me and sticks her hand in my pocket, producing the Lazarus stone I’d brought with me.
“You were right, master,” she says gleefully. “He brought the stone. Everything is ready.”
As the chanting man steps forward, I realize with sharp clarity why I know him. He was the man who pulled me out of the car the night my parents were killed. He was the one who stole my soul from my body.
And now he put it back. When he’s done chanting, I know I’m fully restored. The earlier pain finally subsides, and all that’s left is the stiffness in my body. The woman, Vanessa, did say I’d been kept in a coma for two months. No wonder my limbs feel so useless.
Hex watches me, panic on his face. For the last few minutes, he’s been talking to this spirit, this Anderson person, and he’s been saying horrific things. I vaguely remember hearing about Anderson Grey being arrested, but it didn’t matter to me at the time. He was just some rich bastard who’d been carted off to jail for extortion. That was nothing very exciting at the time.
As I examine Hex’s face, I see that he’s truly afraid of this man. From the sound of it, we all should be. He’s pure evil and he has to be stopped. There’s no way in hell I’ll let him touch me. There’s no way I’ll let him hurt Hex. It’s taken me this long to find him. I’m not losing him now.
“Anderson,” I call out, though I can’t see the man. All the eyes I can see in the room turn to me in surprise. “I remember you,” I lie. “I read about you in the papers a few years ago. I so admired what you stood for.”
“Juliana,” Hex pleads weakly. “Please don’t do this.”
I feel something rub against my face and push my hair behind my ear. This must be Anderson. The touch is cold and so light that it’s barely there. This must be how Hex felt when I touched him. I lean into the touch, pretending to enjoy it.
“It sounds like you want to use Hex’s body, but I think that’s a mistake,” I say with false confidence. “Men aren’t trusted anymore in our society. You should know that. You were probably in prison with a lot of creeps.”
“What are you doing?” Hex hisses at me.
I look at him with hateful eyes, showing the emotion I feel toward this Anderson person. I don’t want to look at Hex this way, but I have to sell this.
“No one is talking to you, Hex,” I tell him coldly.
“Anderson is,” he seethes back. “He says you’re different than what he expected. He’s intrigued by you.”
“Really?” I ask in a breathy tone. “I’m flattered, Anderson, I really am. I never thought I’d be able to catch the eye of a man as powerful as you. But you were a businessman, and I know you can’t walk away from a good deal.”
“He can’t,” Hex growls. “He wants to know what you’re offering him.”
I feel pressure on my face, as if something is squeezing me from both sides. Anderson must have his hands on my face. I look up, where I imagine his eyes might be, and smile seductively.
“I’m offering you my body,” I whisper, double meaning oozing off my tongue.
The feeling vanishes. He must have let go.
“He says he has every intention of having your body,” Hex growls viciously, a murderous look on his face. Anderson is getting to him, and I need him to calm down.
“That’s not what I mean, you dirty boy,” I whisper flirtatiously, trying to get the spirit’s attention. “What I mean is, you should possess me. Because who will suspect me of trapping women? Who will question me for any crimes when I’m so innocent and blameless? I’ve never even had a traffic ticket.”
Vanessa and the chanting man look between Hex and me, confused. I’m sure they’re waiting on instructions from their master, but Hex stares at me with pain. He looks betrayed and hurt, but I have to pretend it doesn’t affect me.
“Don’t look at me like that, Hex,” I tell him condescendingly. “Did you really think you’d be enough for me? I’ve been dead for months, and I miss my parents every day. This way, Anderson and I both win. He gets a body no one will ever suspect, and I get to move on.”
