That’s when I saw it. The black silky form gliding across the floor toward Arianna’s turned back.
A strangled cry escaped my throat.
She whipped around, seeing the thing immediately, and threw a blast of icicles at it. It flinched back, scooting up the wall and above a shelf. She continued to shoot ice, following it as it hopped along the displays. Glass jars full of small animal skulls and who knew what else crashed onto the floor. Loose papers flew.
When it came to our side of the room, Laurence muttered a spell the same time it threw its tendrils out for me. I shielded my face into his chest, expecting the worst, but when nothing happened, I peeked out to see the blackness stopped by an invisible wall again.
“I got you,” he said close to my ear.
As if the spirit was annoyed, it vibrated and darted across the ceiling. Arianna resumed shooting spells at it, chasing it around the room.
When I looked at Rhys again, I was shocked at what was now happening on the table. From the bowl, the muddy combination of bone fragments, dirt, salt, and Holy Water was moving, rising, and stretching. Taking the form of a human body. With every second that went by, the more distinct the features became.
It was horrifying.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I thought back to the figure I’d seen forming on my grandmother’s table during my channeling. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t get rid of that image. And something told me this one would haunt my nightmares right along with it.
When was this going to be over?
The blustering wind knocked against me, strong enough to teeter me over. When I opened my eyes again, the poltergeist was drawing closer to Rhys, and Arianna was struggling to keep her aim steady with the chaos raging around us.
One black tentacle lashed out, piercing Rhys in the side with enough speed and strength, it went clear through to the other side. His eyes widened in shock and pain, and the moment it withdrew, he gasped before collapsing on the ground.
At the same time, Marc’s body that he’d been reconstructing folded into itself and crumbled, the magic holding it together suddenly gone.
Chapter 11
Forgetting about the danger around us, I crawled over to Rhys as fast as I could. Laurence’s shouts echoed behind me, but I ignored him and looked Rhys over. Tugging his coat aside, I could see the blood right away. It had stained his sweater and was growing in size by the second.
I had to stop the bleeding or he was going to die.
Rhys grunted, his hands shaking as they pressed against his wound.
“You’re going to be okay,” I told him. I hoped what I was telling him was a lie.
He only stared at me, brows pinched as he tried to combat the pain.
Laurence and Arianna started hurling ice spells at the spirit in unison, working together to keep it away from me and Rhys. Not knowing what else to do, I placed my palms over his and glanced around for anything that could help. I found nothing. Only debris from the fight and winds.
Then I remembered my grandmother’s rosary. If there was ever a good time to call the guardian angel, this seemed like it was it.
Clutching the cross with bloody fingers, I said, “I’m praying to you, Elijah, Guardian. We really need you down here right now. P-Please, come help us.” Not sure if what I had said was enough, I added, “Amen,” and hoped my sad-excuse for a prayer would work.
Peering down at Rhys’s pained expression, I wished I hadn’t had to call him for this. Why hadn’t I just left those college kids alone and minded my business? Then, Rhys wouldn’t have gotten hurt.
No, but one of the kids might have. Or all of them.
But still…
It was just before Christmas, too. He’d said he had a wife back home, who was waiting on him to see family for the holiday. And a grandson named Paulie. I couldn’t let him die. I had to do something. But what?
“You have to finish the ritual,” Rhys’s strangled words were hard to hear over the commotion around us. “You have to finish it before it’s too late. It won’t stop. It’ll kill us all.”
I leaned in closer. “What do you mean?” I shook my head frantically. “I can’t—I’m not—I’m just a Medium. I don’t know anything about this stuff.”
Actually, I wanted to avoid it at all costs.
He sucked in a sharp breath, and I glanced at the door, hoping that at any minute, Elijah would come burst through to save us all.
Of course, he didn’t.
I must have said the prayer wrong.
I was about to reach up and try again, but Rhys’s bloody hands clamped around mine and held them tight. “Listen to me. You have to finish it. And you can. You may think you’re just a Medium, but you’re stronger than that. You’re like me.”
My heart hammered against my ribs. “No, I’m not. I’m really not—”
“I noticed it the moment I saw you,” he whispered, pain contorting his features. “It’s your aura. It gives it away.”
I paused. My aura?
I remember the strange glowing colors I’d seen after the spirit had grabbed me. Could they be auras? The energy every person or thing radiates? And mine… I had seen white wisps along my skin. Was that what he was talking about?
“You’ve seen it, too. Haven’t you?” he said. “You have to stop blocking it. It’s who you are.”
I didn’t know what to say. What he was proposing—it sounded ridiculous. Me, a necromancer? I could barely handle my Medium gifts. Raising the dead? No thank you. That wasn’t for me.
Blasts of icy air kept gusting overhead as Arianna and Laurence continued to throw spells the poltergeist’s way. When a black arm lashed out again, they jumped out of the way, and it collided with a stand of herbal teas, knocking them all off the table.
My heart skipped. That was way too close.
“You have to finish this,” Rhys said, his voice firmer. “My power won’t be able to manifest with me so weak.”
“I…”
“I’ll help you through it.” He tugged my hand, urging me to stand. “Go!”
Leaping to my feet, I moved closer to the table with the bowl and other various ingredients Rhys had set up for the ritual. Looking over them all, my gut clenched with uncertainty. I didn’t have a clue what I was supposed to do here.
“You need to tap into your magic. It’s who you are. Don’t fight it. Let it go,” he instructed. “Relax yourself to open up to it.”
With an evil spirit loose in the shop and my boyfriend and friend battling for our lives, how was I supposed to just relax myself? It was impossible.
“Do it!”
I forced myself to close my eyes. Drawing in a few shaky breaths through my nose and out my mouth, I thought back to the night before, when my vision had changed and the glowing colors had appeared. I had just been touched by the spirit, some of my life’s energy drained… Maybe in my exhaustion and weakness, I’d been able to let my walls down so my power could expand? At least a little.
Was that why the poltergeist had let me go then? Because it had sensed the necromancer part of me coming to the surface? In that moment, I’d sworn I’d felt the bones trembling, too.
And the similarities between the start of the ritual and my first attempt at channeling were undeniable. Had my grandmother recognized the signs back then and known what I was? Had that been why she’d stopped me so fast and never pushed me to channel again?
Could Rhys be right?
“Katherine…”
My head snapped up at the familiar female’s voice. As my gaze fell upon the short, plump woman with a floral spring dress, apron, and graying hair, I almost fell over.
“Gr…Grandma?” My voice broke at the sight of her in spirit form. After all this time of not being able to see her, there she was. Right there on the other side of the table, staring at me. I couldn’t believe it. She looked exactly as I remembered her, down to the rosebud shaped mouth and lines around her eyes and mouth. Around her ghostly form, a pale-yellow light p
ulsed.
Her aura.
I glanced down at Rhys, who was staring at me intently. His glow ebbed duller by the second, telling me his time was running short. Glancing over my shoulder, I could see Laurence’s surrounding aura was a dark blue, while Arianna’s was fiery pink in color.
Oh my God…
It was true.
I looked back at my grandmother. There was so much I wanted to say to her. So many questions I had. Years’ worth. But my words stayed frozen in my throat.
“I know, my dear.” Her smile was sad but one of relief all the same. “I know you’re scared. But you need to listen to me. There isn’t much time.”
I nodded meekly.
“This is who you are. Who you’ve always been,” she said, her tone calm despite the chaos still raging around us. “You’re stronger than your mother. And me. You always have been. You just have to allow yourself to be you.”
“Put your hands in the bowl!” Rhys shouted. “Into the mixture!”
I hesitated.
Grandmother Abigail pointed to the mud-like stuff in the large vessel. “Listen to him, dear. You can do this. I’ll be here the whole time.”
Doing as Rhys said, I sank my fingers into the muck. Instantly, something took hold of me. Sparking energy traveled up my hands and along my arms. Coldness radiated over my skin, and my entire body trembled. Wind began to surge and whip around the room again as the power rose.
“No matter what, don’t take them out!” Rhys commanded against the growing noise.
Gradually, the mixture in the bowl shifted, building on top of one another and rising out, forming two legs.
“That’s it, Katherine. Steady now.” My grandmother’s voice kept me stationary, even though I was shaking so much, my teeth were chattering. The body gained more form and mass before me. A torso, a chest, two arms… I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing—what I was doing—but it was happening.
Glass shattered, and I gasped, seeing a dark tendril flash nearby and knock over another store display—this time with blown glass ornaments for sale. Immediately, a frigid air blast rushed past me, making the spirit recoil.
“Don’t worry! We got your back,” Arianna shouted from somewhere behind me.
When I peered back up at the body, the head was in place and more distinct features were forming. I could make out eyes now and a mouth. Stringy long hair and a dimpled chin.
“Repeat after me!” Rhys said. “Ol-ha—petrice—viltire—alro—sah.”
I did, the unknown language making my lips tingle the moment they left them.
“Again!”
“Ol-ha—petrice—viltire—alro—sah.” I peeked up at the hovering spirit and noticed its inky color was draining away. In front of me, the naked body began to become more lifelike. The skin was pale, his hair, dark, and his eyes were a pale shade of green. They stared out blankly, still unable to see.
Without Rhys’s prompting, I repeated the odd phrase again, then watched as the spirit faded more and more.
“Keep going, dear. You got it,” Grandmother Abigail encouraged.
I said the foreign words again and again until nothing was left of the poltergeist. It had vanished completely. The body, though, looked as real as a freshly dead corpse—sickly pastel in skin tone and unmoving—except for the eyes, which had latched onto me and were glaring with pure hatred.
Marc Anders, Westwood’s serial killer, in the flesh again.
“You’ve forced it back into its body,” Rhys explained, pain edging his tone. The wind died down around us. “Quick, before he can move, take the candles and—”
Pain smacked into the side of my face and I was flying across the room. My back hit another table, and I fell, everything aching. It took me a second to realize I’d been slapped, and when my gaze shot up, I found the body of Marc Anders stepping out of the bowl, his bare feet still covered in muck. Its green eyes flickered to every face in the room as he leaped off the table and growled menacingly.
That’s when a baby’s wails crackled through the monitor on Laurence’s hip, and all my breath froze in my chest.
Zach.
The moving corpse’s head snapped toward the backroom, and a smirk stretched across its thin lips.
My heart plummeted. It was going to go after Zach.
Laurence was off and running, pushing through the beaded curtain and dashing up the stairs within seconds.
The corpse went after him, moving too fast for a partially living thing.
A blast of ice blew past me, aimed for it, but instead of making an impact, the magic bounced off. Ineffective.
Arianna’s voice rose with another spell—this time a fireball—but like before, it couldn’t touch the creature.
“Magic won’t work now!” Rhys yelled. “It’s not fully part of this plane!”
My grandmother stood there, horror on her face. For the first time in my life, she couldn’t offer me any advice, and that scared her.
The corpse hurried to the counter, about to push past the curtain.
Fury ignited within me, unlike anything I’d ever felt before. A raging tornado of fire trapped in a skin casing.
Not my baby, you bastard.
My hand shot out; my silent command for it to stop boomed in my own ears but never left my mouth. To my surprise, the corpse locked in place, with one foot still raised to take another step.
Had I done that?
My body vibrated as power pushed through me, but I kept my focus on Marc Anders, knowing that if I looked away for even a second, the connection would be severed.
“You did it!” Rhys’s laughter was a strange sound amongst the danger. “Hold it there! Don’t let it go!”
Sweat beaded on my forehead.
“The candles,” he barked to Arianna and pointed to the still-lit candles on the ritual table. “It needs to be cleansed with fire. It’s the only way to banish it completely.”
Arianna rushed forward, but suddenly, a bolt of white light exploded, drowning the room in brightness. Disoriented, I shielded my eyes and stumbled back. When the light diminished, Elijah was standing there, bare chest and all, taking in the scene. His aura’s glow was dazzling, a brilliant halo of gold.
My prayer had worked. He came.
My gaze flew back to the body of Marc Anders, who had been freed from my hold, and was shoving past the curtain toward the stairs.
Reading the signs quickly, Elijah hurdled over the counter. At the same time, a gold spear materialized in his grasp, and he thrust the blade through the corpse’s back and chest. Right where its heart should be.
It reeled, growling fiercely, but Elijah flung the thing into the center of the store with little effort at all. It landed on its back, clawing at the floor like an animal caught in a trap.
Moving with lightning speed, he jumped into the air, spear raised, and plunged it into its middle, pinning it to the ground. No blood oozed, but why would it? The thing wasn’t alive. Instead, it snapped and snarled Elijah’s way. He held the staff firm, keeping it stuck in place.
“Fire!” Elijah bellowed, jutting his chin toward the burning candles. “It needs to be cleansed with fire!”
Arianna and I hurried to the ritual table and grabbed two white candles. Rushing over to Elijah, we quickly crouched low and touched the flames to Marc Anders’s waxy skin. As if it were made of newspaper, the body ignited in a burst of flame.
When it extinguished, all that was left was a black smudge in the shape of a body on the wooded floor and Elijah’s golden spear embedded in the middle.
He yanked it out and brought it back to his side, where it disappeared into thin air. “Is everyone okay?” he asked, his worried gaze scanning me over. Then Arianna.
The young witch gaped at him, never seeing a gorgeous, half-naked angel before. My reaction had been similar the first time Jade had brought him to my home. He was quite a sight to behold.
Turning toward Rhys, who was still laying wounded and bleeding on the floor, co
ncern nudged me. The soft white of his aura was dimming by the second.
“Help him,” I said to Elijah. “Please.”
He needed to see his family and that grandson of his for Christmas. He had to.
Elijah nodded once, understanding, and went over to him. He scooped him into his arms like he was a child, and strode toward the shop’s front door. The moment he stepped outside, there was another flare of white light, and they were both gone.
The sound of Zach’s playful coos had me spinning around to see him and Laurence standing there. Completely safe. I let out a held breath in relief and hurried over to them. I took Zach from Laurence and kissed him all over his face, squeezing him close. Tonight had been a whirlwind. So much could have gone wrong. I could have lost them both.
Just thinking about it made my throat tight. I loved them both so much. What would I have done…?
As Laurence’s arm wrapped around my shoulders, tears sprung to my eyes. I pushed those heart-wrenching thoughts away and focused more on having them here with me now. Everything had worked out. We were okay.
Peeking over at Arianna, I saw her standing there shyly, unsure what to do. I held out my arm, gesturing for her to join us in our family hug. Smiling, she sprinted over, and I brought her in close.
Zach giggled, happy to have her in our little family.
I was, too.
Grandmother Abigail’s spirit held her hand over her heart and smiled our way. Her silent way was telling me she was proud of everything I’d accomplished and would always be watching over me. Now that I had fully accepted the power I had been given and wasn’t blocking myself anymore, something told me I’d be able to see her more often. This wasn’t goodbye.
“I love you, too,” I mouthed to her. Then, she turned around and walked through the shop’s closed door, disappearing.
In that moment, as I clutched them all close, I realized I couldn’t have asked for anything more than this—the ones I loved right here, nearby and out of danger. No other Christmas present could compare.
Chapter 12
Christmas morning.
I’d had so many expectations for this day that when it finally came, my feelings toward it had shifted. Things like presents, cookies and milk, and holiday pajamas just didn’t seem to matter anymore. After everything we had gone through at Divine Magic with the poltergeist, I was happy to have the two men in my life with me, snuggling by the tree, watching the Hallmark channel, and drinking hot chocolate. Out the window, I could see flurries of snow beginning to fall from the sky, promising a white Christmas after all.
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