Possess Me Please

by S. K. Yule

  “Ah, you know me too well.”

  Traceor sipped from a golden-jeweled chalice one of the scantily-clad women had handed him. Cyrus had no doubt the liquid was the finest brandy available. Traceor had a weakness for brandy, and if it wasn’t the best, he wouldn’t have it. The man was full of himself.

  Cyrus remained silent, not willing to make anything easy on the smug ass.

  “Yes,” Traceor admitted. “Yes, I do want something. But it’s nothing, I’m sure, that will come as a great burden to you.”

  Yeah, and it wouldn’t burden him if someone cut his balls off either. “What is it?”

  “Bring me the girl.”

  Anger swirled through Cyrus. “What girl?” he said, choosing to play dumb.

  “You know what girl I’m talking about. The delectable brown-haired, brown-eyed piece you’ve been banging.”

  Cyrus, barely able to keep from clenching his fists, fought to stay calm and maintain an appearance of indifference. “Why?”

  “It is not your place to question me. You do as I say, and I say I want the woman.”

  “I don’t understand why. You haven’t called upon me for hundreds of years, and now you summon me for a mere human.”

  He hated referring to Izzy as such, but he’d never play up her uniqueness to Traceor.

  Traceor stood and walked to Cyrus. “Don’t patronize me, demon. I know what she claims to do. I also know that there has been no other human in existence who can do what she does. I am intrigued to say the least. I want her. It’s as simple as that.”

  But it wasn’t as simple as that, and Cyrus would do everything in his power to make sure Traceor never got his hands on Izzy. He’d kill her first himself if it came to that. Death would be much easier than living under the thumb of Traceor.

  Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. “Fine. I’ll bring her to you if you will at least grant me a few more days with her.”

  “Why?”

  “I haven’t entirely satisfied my curiosity yet. Besides, I don’t think she’s as distinctive as you think. I haven’t seen her pull off what she says she can do.”

  It was a blatant lie, but he was sure Traceor was only going on gossip here.

  Traceor’s lips curved in a tight smile. “You have three days. If she isn’t here by that time, I’ll kill you both.”

  And there in front of him stood the one thing Cyrus had failed to tell Izzy about.

  The only creature in existence that did have the ability to kill him.

  * * * *

  He’d been gone for over an hour now, and when Cyrus appeared behind her out of nowhere, Izzy spun around and let him have it. “Where the hell did you go?”

  He put his hands up in surrender. If the tables had been turned, he’d have been crazy with worry and probably mad as hell. “I can explain.”

  “I certainly hope so. I was worried something terrible had happened to you.”

  He grabbed her and yanked her to him. He was squeezing her too hard, but he couldn’t help it. He could never let Traceor get his hands on her. That ruthless bastard would use her as a plaything until his amusement wore off. After that, she’d be disposed of.

  “Cyrus? I can’t breathe.” She wiggled in his embrace until he loosened his hold. “Where did you go?”

  How was he supposed to explain to her that the one who’d created him had summoned him to the underworld and demanded that he bring her to him in three days? “I’m sorry. I’d rather not talk about it at the moment. I promise I will soon. Okay?”

  She raised a brow at him. “That’s all I get?”

  He framed her face and kissed her lips gently, drinking her in, tasting her, then groaned and pulled back. “Please trust me. Right now, I need to hold you.” She started to protest, and he pressed two fingers against her lips. “I swear to you, I’ll tell you everything later.” He rested his forehead against hers. “Just give me this one, okay, Izzy?”

  She sighed. “Okay, on one condition.”

  He nodded. “Anything.”

  “No more secrets. When you say you’ll tell me everything, that means everything. As in, you do not omit any of the details.”

  There was no choice in the matter now, anyway. The whole game plan was going to have to change. Backup Plan B was no longer an option. Hell, Plan A was no longer an option, for that matter. In fact, there was only one option, one shot to save them all.

  But he had to have Izzy’s cooperation to do it.

  Cyrus was torn between the urge to rip Traceor apart and wanting to bury himself so deep in Izzy he’d forget all the shitstorm that had just been stirred up. He chose the latter…for now.

  As he tugged Izzy toward the bedroom, he prayed to whoever might be listening to let things work out. He also hoped Nina was an extraordinary witch. She’d have to be better than mediocre if they were to have any chance of saving Izzy from both Stephen and Traceor.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Three nights later…

  Cyrus and Isabelle stood with Nina in the dark, abandoned warehouse, the one that had been the site of their steamy picnic.

  The plan to get rid of Stephen two nights ago had been delayed, since the best alternative plan they had come up with was one which involved corresponding spells that would deal with both Stephen and Traceor at the same time.

  When Isabelle and Nina set candles in various places on the floor and lit them, the soft light gave an eerie glow to the dusty building.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Nina said, taking Isabelle’s hand and giving her the don’t-lie-to-me stare.

  “I can’t see that I have a choice in the matter if I want to live. Yes. I do want to do this. At least this way I have a shot at a normal life. What are my options if I don’t do this? Becoming a plaything for a creature-creator who resides in Hell? Um, no thank you.”

  “This will work, right, Cyrus?”

  Nina’s pursed lips were evidence of her displeasure over the situation.

  “In theory, yes.”

  “In theory?” Nina screeched.

  “I will do everything in my power to keep Izzy safe, even if it means giving my own life. I will not hesitate to do what is necessary for her protection.”

  “Nina, it will be okay,” Isabelle murmured. She glared at Cyrus. “And you will not be giving your life for me.”

  When he started to protest, she shook her head and he remained silent.

  She turned back to Nina. “This is what your vision was about. Remember when you told me something profound was going to happen at my session with Scarlett?”

  Nina nodded.

  “This is it. When I met Cyrus, the wheels were set in motion. My life was set on this path, and nothing either you or I did could have changed that. Even if I hadn’t gone to Scarlett’s, I would have eventually ended up right here under the same circumstances. You and I both know that.”

  “Maybe, but I don’t like it,” Nina mumbled.

  “I don’t think any of us like it, but we have to deal with it.” Cyrus pulled Isabelle in for a hug. “We’ve argued the situation to death over the past few days. We have to try to make it right.”

  Isabelle nuzzled against his chest, letting his warmth heat her chilled skin. She wasn’t afraid of dying, which was one possible outcome of tonight’s events, but she was scared beyond explanation of ending up in Traceor’s clutches. Even after three days, she hadn’t fully wrapped her mind around what was about to happen, but she’d do whatever it took to stay with Cyrus.

  “You have everything you need?” Cyrus asked Nina.

  “For the hundredth time, yes. Do you know how many times you asked me that on the drive here?”

  Nina flipped a black cloth over a bare spot on the floor, then started setting out small bottles of what appeared to be different colored oils and liquids, along with a lighter and a rolled-up piece of paper stuffed with something that resembled a giant joint.

  “Everything has to go exactly as planned,” Cyrus said.

/>   “I know. She’s my best friend, you know? We’ve practiced this a gazillion times in the past few days.”

  “Hey, hey guys. Let’s all calm down and take a deep breath.” Isabelle looked at Cyrus, then Nina, then back at Cyrus. “You both need to promise me something.”

  “Let’s not go there again, okay?” Cyrus pleaded.

  “If something happens, I—”

  “Nothing’s going to happen,” Nina interrupted.

  Isabelle raised her hand, cutting off any further protests. “If something happens to me, you both have to promise, right here, right now, that neither will blame the other. My soul will never be able to rest if I know the two people I love most in this world blame each other, or themselves. Whatever happens…happens. Period. After tonight, we will move on, no matter if that is all of us, or us minus a player…or two.”

  She swallowed hard.

  Cyrus cupped her face with his hands. “Izzy…”

  “Promise me, Cyrus.”

  She looked up into his handsome face. He closed his eyes for a moment then nodded.

  Isabelle turned to Nina. “You too.”

  “I promise, Isabelle, but don’t think I won’t be mad as hell about it.”

  “Fair enough.” Isabelle took a deep breath. “All right. Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”

  “You ready for the package?” Cyrus asked Nina.

  “Will be by the time you bring it in,” Nina said without looking up from the circle she was drawing on the floor with a piece of black chalk.

  Cyrus nodded, and made his way to the front door of the building.

  Isabelle watched until he disappeared, then turned back to her friend. “I mean it, Nina. If something happens, you don’t blame him, and you do not blame yourself. I love him, and you know I love you. I made this choice. I take all of the responsibility. No one is forcing me to do this.”

  “I know. No one is forcing any of us to do this. But I’ll be less stressed when it’s all over and you are healthy and safe.”

  Isabelle went to Nina and hugged her. By the time she stepped back, Cyrus had returned.

  The package happened to be an unconscious woman. Isabelle hadn’t liked it that part of the plan required a body, but she’d felt less guilty about it when Cyrus told her that this particular woman—he’d called her Cassandra—had murdered three of her small children in cold blood for insurance money and had gotten away with it. Cassandra was currently working on killing a stepson.

  Maybe it made Isabelle a bad person, but she had no guilt about what was about to happen to this woman.

  “Lay her in the circle,” Nina instructed Cyrus. “Make sure no part of her is outside of it.”

  Cyrus carefully arranged the woman’s body within the circle, double-checking that not one hair breached the boundary. Nina finished drawing a second circle next to the first, this one in white chalk, making sure the outer edges of the two touched at the edge of the perimeter in the middle. She instructed Isabelle to lie inside the white circle, then gave her a small vial of red liquid to drink. She took another vial full of black liquid, uncorked it, and tipped it up into the mouth of the woman in the black circle.

  Nina walked over to the pallet of trinkets she had laid out and sat down in front of it cross-legged. She looked at Cyrus. “Ready?”

  “I’m ready,” Cyrus said, his voice cracking. “Izzy, never forget how much I love you.”

  “I won’t forget. I love you too, Cyrus. Forever. Nina—”

  “No. You do not say goodbye. This is not goodbye.”

  Nina was adamant, and Isabelle held her tongue.

  “I’m going to begin now. It will happen fast, Cyrus. Don’t dawdle.” Nina lifted her arms, hands palms up, closed her eyes, and began chanting:

  “Tainted soul, I call to thee, rise above and show yourself to me.

  Tainted soul, I call to thee, rise above and show yourself to me.

  Tainted soul, I call to thee, rise above and show yourself to me.”

  Cyrus stood at the foot of the circles. It was do-or-die time. What he hadn’t told Izzy was that if she didn’t make it out alive, he wouldn’t either. Traceor would kill him. However, he had no plans to fail her tonight.

  He watched as Nina picked up a small dagger, slit the palm of her left hand, and let three drops of blood fall into the black bowl in front of her. When her blood hit it, the liquid inside hissed and a tendril of steam rose through the air, curling its way straight to the evil bitch in the black circle. Cassandra gasped, and her lips parted as the steam disappeared between her lips.

  Nina immediately started a different chant:

  “Soul of light, I call to thee, rise forth and shine for me.

  Soul of light, I call to thee, rise forth and shine for me.

  Soul of light, I call to thee, rise forth and shine for me.”

  She took the small dagger and slit her right palm this time, allowing three drops of blood to fall into a white bowl that was sitting next to the black one. There was no hissing sound this time, only a sliver of bright light that rose from the bowl, sought out Izzy, and seeped in through her mouth. Izzy gasped, then her eyes closed.

  Slowly, a dark cloud rose from Cassandra’s chest. Once it was free, it flitted around the circle, as if frantic, bouncing off the invisible barrier time and time again. Then a bright silver cloud rose from Izzy’s chest. It hovered quietly, serenely, waiting as if recognizing what its purpose was.

  It was almost time for Cyrus to spring into action. Nina had to chant one more spell, and like clockwork, she began:

  “Soul of dark and soul of light, I command you both to seek shelter where the other dwells.

  Soul of dark and soul of light, I command you both to seek shelter where the other dwells.”

  Cyrus lay back on the floor, preparing for what came next. He took a deep breath and left his body as Nina chanted the spell for the third time.

  Nina was up in an instant, standing next to where the circles touched. Since Nina couldn’t see him in his demon form, the plan was that she would count to ten.

  He surrounded Cassandra’s black soul. She was strong, but no match for him. He held her until Nina finished counting down and broke the boundary between the two circles by running her finger through the black and white chalk, joining them as one.

  Cyrus dived into Izzy’s chest with Cassandra’s soul, then retreated and wrapped himself around Izzy’s soul. Instant love and comfort washed through him. It was as though she was caressing him. He guided her to Cassandra’s body and pulled her inside it with him. He didn’t want to leave Izzy, but if he fucked up one tiny thing, it would cost Izzy her life. Before he left Cassandra’s body and headed back to his own, he connected a piece of his dark blue essence to Izzy’s soul, where it would remain until one of them died.

  By the time he gasped his first breath, Nina had finished the next countdown and was closing the circles off from one another. Cyrus sat up and nodded to her as she sprinted back to her pallet and sat back down, cross-legged, palms up, as before.

  She chanted again:

  “Two souls, one of light, one of blue, seek each other,

  Merge as one, then live as two.

  Soul of light, accept the blue as part of you,

  Guard each other from danger lurking beyond.

  From this day on, both must thrive,

  For one will not survive when the other dies.”

  Step One of the plan had worked like a charm.

  Cyrus felt the instant connection to Izzy. It was as if their souls had suddenly entwined. The only downfall was that they were forever connected. A part of him had to be bound to her soul so that she could survive in another body. If he died, she did too. The reverse was true as well, but he didn’t care about that. They had agreed that no matter the cost, if one went, the other would. That’s how Izzy had wanted it, and that’s how he had wanted it.

  He supposed he should be thankful she’d wanted it that way, because it was the
best shot they had for her survival. Now she could live on, in other bodies, as he did. He’d have to rid any new bodies of their souls for her because she would not have that capability, but Izzy had been more than okay with that.

  They weren’t out of the woods yet, though. He stood and anxiously waited for the next part.

  Nina chanted another spell:

  “Soul of dark, I invoke you to dwell inside this new shell,

  The day this body dies, I release you only to Hell.”

  As Nina finished, Izzy began to come around. While it was strange seeing her in a different body, he understood what she’d meant when she had told him that she could see him. When her eyes—blue, now—opened, he still saw his Izzy in there. She smiled up at him, and he kissed her.

  “It worked,” she whispered.

  “Yes, but we need to finish,” he responded.

  She nodded and let him help her up. He guided her over to sit close to Nina. She clung to his hand, and Cyrus squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, hoping this wasn’t the last time he’d see her. Hoping he wasn’t about to kill them both.

  “Are you ready?” Nina asked.

  Izzy nodded.

  “Yes,” Cyrus answered. He released Izzy’s hand and went to lay by her old body.

  Nina chanted:

  “Wandering spirit of strife,

  I permit you access to Isabelle’s life.

  The one called Stephen Banks,

  Come and take that which you sought.

  Claim her as your own with no further thought.”

  Within seconds, the black and red cloud of Stephen Banks began forming over Izzy’s old body. They had been counting on the Havoc’s appetite for revenge, and he had not disappointed them with his well-timed appearance.

  Cyrus rushed out of his body and immediately surrounded the Havoc, not wanting to give him time to figure out what was going on. He pushed Stephen through Cassandra’s chest, then ripped at him, causing him to flee further inside to hide. Cyrus receded and sped back to his own body.

  He gasped again, sat up, and shouted, “Now, Nina!”

  Nina instantly began chanting the final spell: