“What’s wrong with me?” she whispered, for the first time really scared—of herself.
Purson shook his head, his face serious. “I don’t know for sure. That’s what Will and Aidan are doing, talking to someone who probably does know. As you’ve no doubt guessed by now, there’s more than meets the eye to us and this situation. I’m good at finding stuff out but this goes beyond even my considerable abilities and experience.”
“Where’d they go? Am I blacking out? Is that why they look like they disappear and reappear?”
The men exchanged a glance. Gery finally spoke. “Sure, that’s it, honey. You keep blacking out. Just try to relax. Want me to change the channel? We’ll watch whatever you want.”
* * * *
Ryan still watched the game. Will stood to the side, clenching his fists.
“All right, so she’s a virgin,” Will said. “What do we do? Tell me how to get rid of the wraith.” He’d dealt with a lot of things before, but it had been centuries since he’d dealt with a wraith. Even that one had been easy to get rid of, like any other possession. Not deep like this.
Ryan glanced at Will, then Aidan. “Full moon’s in seven days. If the wraith isn’t taken care of by then, it takes her over permanently, becomes fully embodied, and at that point there’s only one recourse left.”
The other two men knew exactly what that one recourse was. Aidan paled. “Dude, quit screwing around. Please tell us how to take care of her and fix this.”
The game was in the top of the ninth, and the pitcher worked to strike out the second Marlins’ batter. “I know it’s been a while since you’ve dealt with one,” Ryan snarked, “but how much do you gentlemen remember about wraiths?”
So not in the mood for this bullshit. Will didn’t say it. Instead he said, “Short version, please.”
“A wraith can possess someone of weak spirit, but it can be ousted in various, common ways. Can’t get a grip. Wraiths can’t latch on to a child because there’s no desire, no hormones or sexual tension for them to wrap around, you know that. If a wraith latches on to a pure adult soul, however, someone who has never been intimate, shall we say, it can take over and take permanent form, become embodied. Once it spends a full moon in residence, you can’t remove it, and the person must be killed. As is, it can only take control at night while the moon is out.”
Will exchanged a worried look with Aidan. “Okay, so we have seven days to get rid of it. How do we get rid of it?”
The second batter struck out and Ryan pumped his fist in the air. When the network went to commercial, Ryan headed for his kitchen and returned with a glass of merlot.
“Want some?” The other men shook their heads. Ryan returned to the couch. “Well, as you are well aware, standard methods don’t work when a wraith attaches to a pure soul. You need a lot of power to oust it. What’s more, you have to make sure the wraith can’t return to the host once it’s been booted.”
Will thought strangling Ryan looked like a pretty tempting option. “How do we do that?”
Ryan sipped his merlot. “How do you make sure the wraith can’t return?”
“All of it. Return, get rid of it, everything.”
“The wraith can’t return if she’s not a virgin, so that part’s fairly straightforward, I should think.” He glanced at Will. “Or has it been so long you don’t remember how that works?”
Will lunged. Aidan stepped between them. “Will, settle down.” He turned to Ryan. “Don’t be a dick. We get it. Just tell us how to get the wraith out of her in the first place.”
Ryan set his wine glass on the coffee table. “You’ll actually take care of two birds, so to speak. The wraith can be driven out by an archdemon, certainly, but only a powerful one.”
“So you’re saying we need to get one of the guys to sleep with her?” Will was grateful Aidan said it, because he was too busy trying to not choke Ryan.
Ryan’s eyes flicked from the TV, where the Braves had struck out the third batter, back to Aidan. “Not just any of them, Aidan.” He looked at Will. “Only a very powerful archdemon can drive the wraith out. He has to be willing to give her his heart, bond with her permanently. Become her soul mate. As a result, obviously, he must be one who doesn’t already have a soul mate. If it’s not done by the full moon, she has to be killed by an archdemon before the wraith can fully take control of her. We can’t very well have a permanently embodied wraith running around loose on the planet now, can we?”
Nausea twisted Will’s gut, along with something else he didn’t want to name but which relentlessly bubbled to the surface—jealousy. He didn’t want Kal to die, couldn’t let her die. Yet the thought of someone else sleeping with her…
“Why does it have to be an archdemon who sleeps with her?” Will asked.
The baseball game kept pulling Ryan’s attention from them. It pissed Will off. At least it was almost over.
“Basic physiology. A powerful, unbonded archdemon, one strong enough to drive the wraith from her soul. You have some poor Joe Blow sleep with her, she’ll rip his balls off as soon as the wraith breaks through at night, you should know that. Her soul must be bonded to an archdemon. Once she becomes an archdemon’s soul mate, the wraith is driven out. Of course, by default it can’t return.”
“And she’s The Firm’s newest spousal dependent whether she likes it or not,” Aidan snarked. He dropped heavily into one of the matching chairs in front of the sofa.
“Yes. The catch is, of course, she has to do this of her own free will. You can’t simply drug and date rape her. She must willingly agree to it and be an active participant so she can bond and become a soul mate. That means it has to be someone she wants to sleep with, someone she’s attracted to. It has to be someone who’s attracted to her, too, obviously. Someone who will take her as a soul mate and love her.” He fixed his pointed stare on Will.
Will closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, trying to stave off a tension headache. “So what’s the bottom line?” There had to be a way around this. There always was. He just had to let Ryan have his say. Ryan was like his old man in that way, giving the worst-case scenario first so when he presented you with the alternative, no matter how unappealing, it looked a lot better than the original idea.
Ryan couldn’t be saying what he thought he was saying.
“The bottom line, Will?”
Will nodded. “Spit it out and cut the bullshit.”
Ryan took his time arranging his long legs. “Either you fuck her, or Aidan kills her.”
Aidan leapt to his feet. “What?”
Nonplussed, Ryan turned his gaze to Aidan. “You heard me. Either Will takes her cherry and takes her as a soul mate, or you must kill her. I say you because I know there’s no way Will would wield the sword. There’s no other way to get rid of the wraith.” Ryan casually sipped his merlot.
Nope, this was definitely worse than Will thought. His face reddened with anger. “You can’t do that. You can’t let that happen! You have the power to fix this.”
“No, you have the power to fix this. I can kill her. You can save her.”
“I can’t sleep with her! I don’t love her!” Even as Will said it, his body betrayed him. The thought of loving her fiercely battled with the pain in his soul and his years of dedication to Abby.
His dedication to dying to be with her. Or, at the very least, to no longer be in pain without her.
Ryan arched an eyebrow. “Really? Why not? I thought you were rather fond of Kal.”
Will wouldn’t give Ryan the satisfaction. “I barely know her,” Will growled through clenched teeth.
“Ah, Will, but you do. You not only know her, you love her.”
* * * *
Aidan’s jaw dropped. “Oh, shit!” he whispered, awestruck. “You’re a fucking miserable bastard, Ryan. You know that?”
Will was too angry for bullshit and turned on his cousin. “What is your problem? You know I won’t let her die, she’s an innocent. This is my problem
, not yours.”
Aidan, still stunned, slowly shook his head. “Dude, he planned this. You’re not getting it.” He looked at Will. “You’re really not getting it. Do the math.”
Confusion slowly displaced Will’s anger. “What?”
“Will, do the fucking math. What’s Kal’s birthday?”
Horror replaced confusion in his expression. “She was born about nine months after—”
Aidan nodded. “Dude, she’s Abby.”
Ryan’s smile broadened, but for once he said nothing. He took another sip of his merlot.
Will’s eyes flashed blue, then black. He let out an enraged scream and lunged at Ryan. Aidan barely managed to catch him and pull him back. Apparently unconcerned, Ryan never moved and continued nursing his merlot.
“I have to admit,” Ryan said, “it was rather inspired. Father said he’d never been so proud of me. It marked the moment he decided it was time to turn the reins over to me once and for all, put me totally in charge of The Firm.”
Aidan maintained his iron grip on Will. “You fucking bastard!” Will sobbed. “You brought her back? After everything that happened, you brought her back?”
“I would think you’d be happy—”
Will screamed again, lunged, and finally fell to the floor, sobbing, with Aidan holding him. “How could you do that? You fucking bastard!”
“Yes, you keep calling me that. Still doesn’t bother me. It’s my job, you know.” He leaned forward, fixing his cold, hard eyes on Will. “It’s your job, too, Will. We need you back. You’re the strongest.”
Aidan eventually felt it safe to release Will but stayed close, watching his cousin’s despair, numb inside, his own conflicted feelings swirling. “That’s low, Ryan,” Aidan said. “Even for you.”
Ryan’s green eyes hotly blazed at Aidan, his gaze warning him not to push his luck. “Will is ten times stronger than you and Geryon and Purson combined and you know it.” He looked at Will again. “There’ve been rumors of some bad shit coming down, Will. I’m going to need you. I’m sorry I had to resort to this, but you’ve been rather unresponsive to my requests to return over the years. She was my insurance policy that if I had to force you back I could. Planning ahead, as it were. I need you. I never wanted this to happen, but this is your fault, your responsibility. Had you been reasonable and not turned your back on The Firm, I wouldn’t have had to do this. It’s your job. I have to look at the big picture and keep that in mind, no matter what you think of me for it, no matter what we’ve been through together.”
Heartbroken, Will looked up at him. Tears streamed down Will’s face at the shock of the news. “She’s an innocent, Ryan. How could you do this to her?”
“She’s your wife. Was, will be. You get the girl—again. Lovely one she is, too.”
“She’s a fucking innocent!”
Ryan smirked. “Well, she won’t be after you have your way with her, will she?”
Aidan barely managed to hold Will back as he lunged again from the floor with an enraged howl. Ryan apparently had more confidence in his handling skills than Aidan did because Ryan never flinched.
“Why can’t I do it?” Aidan asked, still struggling to restrain Will. “I don’t have a soul mate. I’ll do it. Why’s it got to be Will?”
“Because he’s the only one strong enough and without a soul mate who can do it. Just because his powers are dormant doesn’t mean he’s not strong.”
“And I’m sure you planned it that way, too, didn’t you?” Will bitterly yelled. He finally quit struggling against Aidan and shook his cousin’s arms off.
Ryan shrugged. “It took a little doing.” His sly, knowing smile transformed his lips into two harsh, red wounds across his face. “Besides, Aidan, we all know she’s not your type. Your heart certainly wouldn’t be in it, now, would it?”
* * * *
Aidan’s face flushed deep crimson as he studied the floor. He preferred his personal life be kept personal. The flirty façade he portrayed to the world was what he wanted people to see. Will didn’t care, but he hated Ryan even more for putting Aidan through that, for using their shared ancient history against Aidan.
Will closed his eyes and resigned himself to his fate. “You can’t tell her she’s Abby. I don’t want her to know who she was before. It’s bad enough you’ve used her like this.”
Ryan considered it, then finally nodded. “Fair enough. I can agree to that. I think it’s best she not know, frankly. It might somehow taint the bond with you in this life.” He held out an amulet.
Will had last worn it the day Abby was murdered.
Will stared at the amulet and tried not to consider the implications. “And you have to tell her what we have to do to get rid of the wraith. You get to prove to her we’re not crazy or just trying to fuck with her. You’re the boss. You want to mess with people’s lives? You get to do your own dirty work.”
Ryan nodded again, unsmiling. When he spoke, his voice sounded quiet and serious. “I accept that, too. You’re right. I need to be the one to tell her.”
With trembling fingers, Will took the amulet without touching Ryan’s hand. The cool obsidian immediately turned warm in his palm, the embedded amethyst center winking at him with iridescent purple light. The dark leather cord still felt supple and strong as he slipped it over his head. He felt the amulet’s power immediately, channeling the long-dormant energy within him and pulling it reluctantly to the surface.
With it, the pain in his soul sharpened, deepened, worse now than it had been in years.
The power wasn’t in the amulet itself, rather in its symbolism, rejoining The Firm. But without it, and without a soul mate bound to him, he was unable to tap into the strengths within. All the years of not using his powers and not having any sexual partners had weakened most of his abilities. Archdemons didn’t have to have soul mates to survive and maintain their powers. Even if they only occasionally slept with someone, the energy created from one encounter could sustain them for years.
Having a soul mate constantly fed an archdemon’s energy, made their powers flourish. Losing a soul mate…
It was worse than hell on earth.
“I’m not doing this willingly,” Will hoarsely said.
Ryan nodded. “I know. I don’t do this lightly, Will, and I take no joy in it. I’m sorry I had to resort to this to bring you back. I would not have done it if there were any other way. As you’ll recall, I have tried many times over the years to talk you into reconsidering.”
Will glared at Ryan. “I’m going to kill you one of these days, you son of a bitch.”
Ryan smiled, sadly and without humor. “I know. It’s in your nature.”
Chapter Nine
They would return in a few hours with Kal. The men couldn’t risk moving her until sunrise because of the wraith.
Ryan knew he wouldn’t sleep.
While he’d long ago accepted he wasn’t well-liked, and had to maintain sometimes unsavory positions because of his responsibilities, he did care what Kal thought of him.
Not that he’d ever admit it to anyone, including her.
She’d never believe he loathed putting her through this. There were so many things he couldn’t tell her because Will would have access to her thoughts.
Will could never learn certain truths.
Ever.
And if he had to lie to Will and Aidan to accomplish this, it was something he could live with in the grand scheme of things. What’s a little lying when compared to setting up an innocent to be possessed by a wraith so an archdemon would be forced to deflower her?
With a less than steady hand, Ryan poured two fingers of bourbon and returned to his sofa. Not that mixing grape and grain was ever a good idea, but fortunately for him the alcohol didn’t affect him the way it might a normal human. It just helped take the edge off for a short time.
No, Will wasn’t the only one powerful enough and without a soul mate who could take Kal. Oh, the irony. Will needed a soul mate
and didn’t want her. Ryan desperately wanted her…and couldn’t take her.
He’d kept a strict distance from her in Columbus, interacting with her only enough to ensure she would take the job and move to Tampa. He knew the more time he spent around Kal, the more difficult it would be for him to let her go. His feelings in the matter had no place or weight.
Will Hellenboek was needed and had to be brought back to The Firm by whatever means necessary.
Ryan spent the night staring at the Atlanta skyline and tried not to think about the past, about the three of them taking on the world, the two men he still loved like brothers even if they couldn’t stand him. He didn’t allow himself to hate the Universe for forcing this responsibility on him. He was the only one who could do this job, and he’d come to terms with that ages before.
It was easier to let them think he was a jerk and keep their distance. Then they wouldn’t pity him. They’d seen him at his worst, helped him move forward, but it didn’t change anything. It didn’t change the fact that despite all his powers he couldn’t save Chloe, and he hadn’t been able to protect Abby, either.
* * * *
When Kal opened her eyes, she found the four men staring at her, dawn visible around the outer edges of the drawn curtains and her hands free of the restraints. She sat up and rubbed her wrists.
“I’ll admit I don’t feel very good but what the heck is going on? How dare you handcuff me! Is this some sort of stupid trick to scare me and get me to quit, because if it is, it’s not going to work. You just wait until I call my boss and tell him about this. You guys are crazy! Absolutely flippin’ crazy!”
All four men shook their heads.
She stood and pushed through them to the bathroom, where she slammed and locked the door behind her. She didn’t feel like they’d done anything to her. She was still dressed as she’d been when she went to bed, just her wrists hurt where the handcuffs had chafed them. Faint bruises already shadowed her flesh, but wouldn’t she remember struggling against them?
Dalton, Tymber - Good Will Ghost Hunting: Demon Seed [Good Will Ghost Hunting 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 9
