AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I think it’s gone,” I whisper, almost as if I’m afraid to break the moment.
“Jayce? Jayce, are you okay?” Raven asks frantically as her hands rove over him to check for injury. Or more likely, to reassure herself he’s fine.
His head pops up, “What happened?”
“You don’t remember?” I question this time. He looks up at me in confusion and I’m almost relieved he has no recollection. Though, when he found out, he would be more than a little disturbed. Who wouldn’t be?
He shakes his head no, “I thought I heard Raven, but she sounded so far away. It was almost like I was half asleep.”
So, this wasn’t like the time Iris had talked through him. Which means we have to be more careful calling on spirits with him around. We can't risk it escalating further than it already did.
“An evil soul took over you. He didn’t want to leave,” Raven chokes out.
“Raven told you to fight him and I guess you did somehow,” Lucien comments. “You did good.”
“Next time, we need to set up a video camera. That is something I want to see,” Jayce says as he shudders and looks around. “I can’t believe I wasn’t aware. That’s fucking terrifying.” His words trail off as he tries to process it all.
Raven wipes the tears from her face, “Seriously, I thought I was going to lose you and you want to do it again? Asshole.”
“Why didn’t we think of that before we started?” I question, tapping my finger on my chin. It was stupid and reckless and could have cost Jayce his sanity or possibly his life. We didn’t know the depths of what we’d walked into. It couldn't happen again.
Raven gives me a stern look but I just give her hand a little squeeze. She’s in full ‘attack’ mode now. The ghosts have stepped over the line and she isn’t going to take it nicely.
“We need to figure out who that was and what happened here. I know that the old house is sketchy but there may be a few clues in there,” I offer up. “If a team of us went in, maybe we could search. Maybe the lighter of us four?”
Jayce squirms in his seat when he realizes who I’m talking about.
“You want to send Raven and me in there?” he asks.
“Well, the last time we went in there, I fell through a table, so I’m out. Plus, the floor probably won’t hold my or Lucien’s weight,” I explain. Sending him into battle again so soon isn’t the best-laid plan but what else can we do? We need answers.
“Let’s sleep on it. Why don’t we clean up and settle in for the night?” Raven queries as she stifles a yawn. “Jayce needs to rest.”
“Are you sure that you want to stay here?” Lucien asks, breaking his silence since the seance started.
“Yes, they aren’t going to run us off. This is our home now, the spirits will have to share or leave,” Raven states.
Determination was one of the qualities that drew me to Raven. I asked her out on a whim. Being a jock, the goth girl thought I was being mean or trying to trick her. She was wrong about me, but I knew how the other guys treated the girls at the school. Sure, I was a top ball player but I wasn’t the asshole most people thought I’d be. Once I proved that to her, the rest was history.
I sigh, “Whatever the lady wants.”
Her face beams as she starts to gather up the crystals and Jayce blows out the candles.
“Are you okay with us leaving the protection charms here?” Lucien asks. “I know that it didn’t stop that one from taking over Jayce but all in all no one was permanently harmed.”
“Yes, I think that’s smart. I need to make more for the house. I forgot to grab the sage before we left the apartment. Remind me to add that to the list of stuff we need at the house. I want to smudge it in and outside,” she tells all three of us.
Jayce roots around in the bag that he brought out with us, “You mean this?” he asks, holding up a smudging stick.
“Always prepared,” she teases, taking it from him. Raven doesn’t waste time lighting the sage, blowing it out, and waving the smoking bundle around in front of her as she walks through the house.
When she finishes, she comes back and makes Jayce to stand with his arms out and creates a tornado of sage around him until they’re both coughing and she’s forced to put it out.
“Okay, I think it’s safe to say we need some sleep,” I tell her as I lead them to the sleeping area Lucien had created for us.
“Let’s just hope we can actually sleep,” Raven says as we all climb under the covers. There is no talking or words of encouragement, just pure silence until the others are snoring. Only then, do I finally drift off with them, trying not to think about what lurks outside.
Jayce
