The cold rush of air squeezed my lungs and I fought to breathe.
“I won’t keep you long,” he said.
“I think that’s great because your wife is about to torch the house.”
“She’ll wait a few minutes. She knows I need to apologize for the rude welcome I gave you. I also never intended to invade your body the way I did. I guess we were both surprised because I didn’t know I was capable of such a thing.” Roger smiled sympathetically. “And you seemed convinced you weren’t a medium.”
“I’m not,” I replied. Denial sounded like a safer option right now. “You’re able to possess people. That’s a tempting gift, so you may see me again. Though, I hope not for the reason of stopping you from harming others.”
Crossing paths with his type of spirit obliged me to report it to the Council, but since they’d tried to kill me several times during the last few days, I was going to keep this to myself.
Roger shook his head. “I would never dream of putting you in such a position. You helped save my wife and made me realize who I am. Thank you for sealing the ley line near my grave and severing any connection I had to the demonic. It’s why I’ve been able to return to her. I’m bonded to her now. If I need any reason to possess someone, she has offered me her body.”
“I hope you two are finally able to live a happy life together.” The details pertaining to Roger’s influence in all of this were still my personal speculation, but I believed he’d not only caused the rift, but also opened a gateway to the demonic via his house. His conjuring a demon had caused all kinds of havoc with the patches because he’d left the door open a crack and eventually other things found out.
When he returned to Carleen as a ghost, the demon manifested a few doors down at the Prevette house. I’d checked a map of the local area, and it made sense. After I killed it, another tried to use Lavie to come through. Luckily for the world, Lavie was far stronger and more together than she looked.
Roger sighed. “We will now. My devotion is to her and nothing else. It’s too bad I didn’t realize until after death. But anyway, it’s time to let you go, Sierra. We’ll meet again, I’m sure of it.”
It was strange to realize that Roger’s intrusion ultimately made my blood strong enough to seal both the tear and the gateway. Stepping into his office less than half an hour ago still made chills run down my spine, but everything was now closed. My index finger stung after I’d had to slice it open again.
No more demons or spirits could slip through.
Oren said it was all because of my power, which I was getting a little tired of hearing about. Apparently my blood could open and close all kinds of weird and wonderful things now.
Must be my witchy side.
I took a deep icy breath and let it out in the hot living room of the Hocking house. The flames now engulfed the curtains and rose towards the wooden window frame.
Carleen grabbed my arm. “Let’s go.” She led me out of the living room into the larger foyer and out the front door. The eeriness inside the gates still lingered. I felt a chill at the thought of how unclean this area was—even after all the measures we’d taken.
“Come on,” Carleen urged, “hurry.”
We quickened our pace, leaving behind the creepy house. Carleen and I practically ran down the sidewalk, her high heels tapping away while my sneakers squeaked with every thumping step.
The sun was slowly disappearing into the horizon up ahead and a small breeze cooled my skin as we moved along.
Sirens sang in the distance when we rounded the corner where both our cars were parked, as per Carleen’s instructions. The bitter, scared woman had morphed into a happier, more dominant version. Her blonde hair hung loose past her shoulders in a straight cascade, and she wore subtle makeup. The gloves, long sleeves and pants still concealed the demonic seed trapped inside her.
“Well, this is it,” Carleen said with a smile. “I’m finally free of this nightmare. Well, almost. There’s still the whole demonic seed thing.”
She’d told me they’d already started to multiply, and I told her finding a cure was on top of my priority list. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll find a way to help both you and Lavie before it’s too late.”
“Of course. Now”—Carleen dug around inside her handbag, pulled out a thick yellow envelope and held it out to me—“here’s your payment, in cash. No checks.”
“But we didn’t invoice you yet.”
She shook her head, shoving the envelope under my nose. “I don’t need an invoice. Just take it. I think what I’ve included should cover all the costs you incurred.”
I took the envelope—it was heavy. I dared a peek inside. Every note was green, a thick wad of hundred-dollar bills. I couldn’t accept this much.
“Carleen, this is way too much.”
“It’s nowhere near enough for what you went through.” She switched off the alarm and unlocked the driver’s-side door of her car. “There’s a smaller portion held together by a rubber band at the back. That’s for Ebony. Please pass it on for me. I’m on my way to see Lavie. I’ve put a few things aside in storage for her.”
I nodded. “Okay, thank you, Carleen.”
“No, thank you. If you ever need anything—anything at all—please don’t hesitate to call. I left my cell number in there too.”
“No problem.”
Carleen climbed into her expensive BMW, slamming the door behind her. She waved from behind the tinted windows.
I headed to my car, my head in a spin about the crazy payment we’d just received. There was enough in the envelope to finalize my Council debt forever. I also wanted to do something to help Papan. Now that he was on the run and couldn’t return to his home or office, I was going to get his office repaired. It was the least I could do after he helped at the cemetery.
That’s what I’d been telling myself. Of course, the real reason went a little deeper. I wanted to make sure that everything was back to normal when he returned.
As for the rest of the money, Ebony and I were going furniture shopping. As soon as I was debt free, it was time to liven up the office and pay IKEA a visit.
Epilogue
Seeing ghosts pays the bills.
Most of the time it’s still a struggle to make ends meet, sometimes it pays enough to barely keep the business afloat, but every now and then, it rewards you with a huge wad of cash.
Even if I had to go through hell to earn it.
I was six years old the first time one of them crossed my path. Twenty-six, when I realized how immense the power my grandmother had passed on to me really was. Thanks to her I’ve become one of the most powerful catchers in the country. According to Oren, it’s actually the world, but he likes to exaggerate.
I can’t even begin to grasp what else this gift will offer me in the future. At the moment I’m hoping it will help me find Papan.
It’s been a few days since the incident at the Bayview Cemetery and I still haven’t seen him anywhere. I’ve been looking high and low because I really want to see him.
One person I can’t seem to get away from is Oren. We’ve been getting along a little better. We have an understanding—don’t talk about our true connection and everyone will stay safe. At least, that’s what we pretend. I’m not an idiot, the others might think I spend time with him because we’re part of the group charged with keeping the balance between patches in their rightful spot, but they’ll work it out like so many had before them.
I still can’t stand Conrad. He’s too much of a skirt chaser, and now that Ebony’s dating him, I’m just waiting until the day he dumps her for someone else. It sounds cruel and a little heartless, but I don’t have much faith in Vamp Boy. And I don’t trust Vixen. I don’t think I ever will, not after what she did to Papan.
I’d make sure she didn’t get her hands on him by finding him first. Let her be merry with other werewolves, just don’t touch mine.
“Are you daydreaming again?”
I looked u
p to meet Jonathan’s brown eyes. He was staring at me from across the table and I was preoccupied with another man. Had I thanked Jonathan for healing my arm completely?
“I was just thinking about something.” It wasn’t a lie.
He nodded and smiled. “You usually are.”
“I promise, no more daydreaming…” Well, unless it’s about Papan. Until he came back, that was all I had.
“Haven’t we had this conversation before?”
“Yeah, Jonathan, I think we have.”
He reached across the table and softly touched my cheek but I flinched. It was still tender.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to heal this cut?”
I shook my head. Some battle scars had to remain.
A familiar couple caught my eye as they headed towards their usual table. I lifted a hand and waved. Mr. and Mrs. Wicker decided to change their direction to stroll towards our table.
“Uh-oh,” Jonathan whispered with a shiver.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Five minutes later we were strolling down the street.
“I don’t feel comfortable with you paying for our meal.”
“How very chauvinistic of you,” I teased, rolling my eyes. A lot of what Jonathan said to me nowadays came across wrong. He just wasn’t the same man I’d met at Prologue last year.
Things didn’t feel right between us anymore. I’d seen too many clues, heard too many snippets and direct admissions from the crazy Slevani brothers not to have it affect me. I couldn’t trust him. Yet needed to find out how this would all play out.
A huge cream-colored wolf limped out of an alleyway and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk in front of us.
We stopped too.
Jonathan tightened his grip on my hand, dragging me closer to his side. “Stay back, he could be dangerous.”
“He is dangerous,” I said with a nod. “But he won’t hurt us.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Papan, in wolf form, met my gaze with those familiar and amazing eyes of his, before heading back into the alleyway. Excitement coursed through my body.
He found me.
I yanked on Jonathan’s hand to follow Papan into the alley.
“What are you doing?”
“He wants us to follow.”
“We’re not following a huge stray dog into an alley.” He wouldn’t budge.
“He’s not a dog.” I forcibly unlaced my fingers from his and stepped into the alley. Several restaurant back entrances lined the narrow area but I was looking for light-colored fur. I found him slumped against a huge Dumpster. I didn’t hesitate. I knew Papan was still injured because of me.
When I reached him, I hunched down for a better look at his wound and placed my left hand over his fur. He winced. I pulled away and my fingers were covered in blood. “You’re still hurt from the bullet, aren’t you?”
Even in canine form, he nodded and made a few whiny noises.
Jonathan walked up behind me, taking his time. I caught a glimpse of his shadow on the brick wall and a ripple of fear washed over me. Had I just imagined it, or did his shadow appear to be over seven-feet tall and not at all the shape it should be. I looked over my shoulder.
It was just plain Jonathan staring down at the wolf and then back at me with a concerned look on his face. “What’s wrong with him?”
I held up my bloody palm. “He’s hurt, bleeding.”
“Let’s go,” Jonathan said. “We can call animal control, or a vet to come and collect him.”
I looked up and met Jonathan’s gaze, then shook my head. “We can’t leave him here. Besides, there’s no way I can let any animal organization get their hands on him.”
“Why not? He’s just a stray.”
He wasn’t going to like the answer, but he had to know. I sighed. “He’s hurt because of me. He’s bleeding because he got shot while trying to help me.”
“This dog tried to help you?”
“He’s not a dog, Jonathan. This is Jason Papan.” And I wasn’t going to let him bleed to death in a back alley. I’d been trying to track him down for days, and now that he’d found me, there was only one place he was going—home with me. It might be a dangerous prospect because of the way I felt about him, but Papan belonged with me.
After admitting it to myself I knew, it was the only thing to do.
“What do you mean, this is Papan?”
“I mean he’s a werewolf. He saved my life and now he needs my help. Please, Jonathan, you have to heal him.”
He shook his head, face clouding over with anger. “If he’s what you say he is, then why isn’t he healing all by himself? Was he shot with a silver bullet?”
“I don’t know. All I know is that he’s in pain, look at him. We can’t just walk away.”
Jonathan’s face reflected his internal struggle. His last memory of Papan and me together had been inside my dark office, caught in a compromising position. If he knew how I really felt about Papan, he would turn away without bothering to help.
I patted the top of the werewolf’s head. His eyes closed at my touch but I could see Papan was trying hard to stay awake. “I’ll take care of you, I promise.”
Jonathan sighed, kneeling down beside me. “He really saved your life?”
“Maybe one day I’ll fill you in on the details, but right now you have to believe me…it’s true. He saved me.”
“Yeah, I hope that one day you fill me in on a lot of the weird things going on in your life,” Jonathan said. “I love you, Sierra, and want to be a part of every aspect of your life, especially since this has happened to me. We’re both part of the same world now.”
I released a breath. How did you tell someone you’d lost your faith in them? Or that I don’t believe he loves me, but think he’s trying to get me to surrender to him by using love as an excuse.
I couldn’t tell him, so I said, “And maybe you can answer the questions I keep asking you.”
He clenched his jaw. “I’ve told you a thousand times, there’s nothing more to tell you about Troy. Besides, he’s gone back to Europe. I doubt I’ll ever see him again.”
I glared at him. “Has he?”
“Yes, on urgent business or something.”
I nodded and my heart dropped. Maybe he still hadn’t found out what had really happened to his new business partner, but I doubted it. He probably knew but chose to play dumb. Jonathan was lying to me.
I looked down at Papan and suddenly didn’t care about anything else but healing him and getting out of that dirty alley. “Hurry, help him. I know you two didn’t get off on the right foot but he’s a good guy. We’ve been friends for a long time.”
“And he really means that much to you?”
I nodded. “Papan will always be in my life.” If I had anything to do with it, we would one day finally cross the line of friendship we’d been toeing for so long.
Something crossed over Jonathan’s eyes, but he took a deep breath and lowered both palms across the bloodstained fur of Papan’s hip. The werewolf’s soft whining turned into a low growl, then a murmur before he passed out.
“Thank you,” I whispered, petting Papan’s head. He was such a beautiful wolf. Just as beautiful an animal as he was a man. Having these thoughts about someone else with Jonathan nearby struck me as odd, but it didn’t make me feel guilty. Whatever I’d felt for Jonathan had started to fade as quickly as my trust.
I couldn’t love a man who lied to me. One who’d partnered up with someone hell-bent on killing me so he and his ghost brother could suck me dry like a power milkshake. Having him become a healer overnight didn’t feel genuine, either.
Maybe Jonathan didn’t want to answer my questions but there were other avenues I could take to get those answers. Just as I intended to look up the mysterious Obscurus, whatever that was. I’d only heard the name once from Travis but something about it made my heart sink and I didn’t know or understand w
hy.
Too much had happened during the last few weeks, but I was still determined to use my catcher skills to track down both of my grandparents.
Things would never be the same again.
About the Author
Yolanda Sfetsos has always had a wild imagination, and often found herself making up stories in her head. When she was in her teens, she started putting some of those ideas on paper.
She loves to dabble in a variety of genres but especially enjoys writing urban fantasy, futuristic, and Sci-Fi tales—all with a dark, paranormal edge.
Yolanda lives in a suburb of Sydney, Australia with her small family. When she’s not writing, she’s either thinking about it, researching, reading, walking, or watching her favorite TV shows. Or maybe she’s on Twitter.
You can visit her website at: www.yolandasfetsos.com
Look for these titles by Yolanda Sfetsos
Now Available:
Recast
Wither
Clash
Coming Soon:
Sierra Fox
Split at the Seams
When revenge, secrets and lust collide, there can only be chaos.
Clash
© 2011 Yolanda Sfetsos
Recast, Book 2
Jenks Maine is dead, but the devastating effects forcing Recast to fight in the arena goes on. Half-Recast Ace Abu is determined to put a stop to it. All he needs is to get to the planet Fray, locate the concealed Clash Arena, and destroy it. But first he has to cross half the galaxy before the sound and smell of his partners’ nonstop lovemaking drives him mad.
By the time he parks himself on a barstool in the town of Grit, he’s more than ready for a few beers. Except the sexy singer on stage is only making him—and his inner beast—burn hotter.
Ely’Shea longs for the freedom Jenks stole from her. She’s his right-hand woman, but when the boss is away she steps out of her enforcer role and ducks into a remote bar to indulge her passion: singing onstage. The night she catches a glimpse of an alluring cowboy in the audience, he ignites a spark inside her she never thought she’d feel again.
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