Haunted
Page 100
It was far from a complete plan, but before we went a step further, we needed to subject it to the acid test.
"That might work," the middle Fate said slowly.
"Might?"
"There are many variables to consider, Eve, not the least of which is the danger posed to Jaime's life."
"We—"
"You will take every precaution to avoid endangering her. Yes, I know that, and I believe that you will carry through with that intent. Given the danger the Nix poses to the living world, we have agreed that some slight risk to Jaime, however repugnant to us, is unavoidable. Even if you do nothing, and the Nix attacks Lucas and Paige, Jaime's life would still be in danger, assuming they would fight back."
"Good, so I can—"
"The other concern is that Trsiel may not be able to capture her."
Trsiel stepped forward, eyes blazing. "I'm perfectly capable of doing that. I'll be there, waiting, the whole time she's on the other side."
"I'm not questioning your competence, Trsiel," the Fate said. "However, consider the circumstances. Had the Nix entered Jaime by demonic possession, or through the spell she used with the Marquise, then I have no doubt you could capture her. But necromantic possession is different. The Nix has entered Jaime, not as a demon, but as a ghost. Once Jaime's body dies, the Sword of Judgment should work, but while the Nix is trapped between worlds… it may not. No angel has ever been sent to retrieve a soul under those circumstances."
"What if I was on the living side?" Trsiel said. "We could see whether the amulet works on me. I could leap into Lucas Cortez and—"
"You couldn't pull it off," I said. "Not in front of Paige and Savannah. You don't know them well enough."
I looked at the Fate. "So we don't know for certain that Trsiel can trap the Nix from this side. But we can still try, right? At worst, we'll scare her out of Jaime—then Paige, Lucas, and Savannah will be safe, and I'll just resume the hunt. We'd be no worse off than we were before she leapt into Jaime."
The Fate hesitated, then gave a slow nod.
Next they transported Trsiel, Kristof, and me to Paige's office, where she was hard at work answering e-mails. She looked like she'd be there for a while, so we teleported to the ghost-world version of her office to say our good-byes.
Trsiel promised to stay at my side after I crossed over, ready to help me end this. Then he handed me the amulet, and left Kristof and me alone.
When Trsiel was gone, Kris took the amulet from my hands and put it around my neck.
"Looks good," he said with a wry smile. "Just don't get used to it."
I answered him with a kiss, my hands going to his hair, letting the silky fine strands slide through my fingers. His arms went around me, rib-crushing tight, and I pressed myself against him, getting as close as I could. After a minute, he pulled his head back.
"I trust that's not a good-bye kiss," he said.
"You know it isn't. I'm coming back, and when I do, it'll be for good. Both feet planted on this side finally."
We kissed again. When we finished, he slid his hands to my cheeks, holding my face within kissing distance of his.
"Trsiel won't be the only one at your side," he said. "I won't be able to do anything. But I'll be there. I'll always be there."
"I know you will." I squeezed his hand, then touched the amulet. "Let's try this thing."
There are many ways to activate an amulet. Most require an incantation, usually the one conveniently inscribed on the piece itself, as this one was. As fluent as I am in Hebrew, the first time I ran through the spell I knew it wouldn't work. I didn't expect it to. With a new spell, you need at least a few trial runs to get the gist and the cadence of it. By the fourth try, I knew I had it right. Yet Paige continued to click away at her computer, fingers flying over the keyboard.
"Maybe I need to be closer," I said, stepping up behind her.
"It's only your fourth try. Now, if it were me, we'd be here all day, but even you might need a few—"
Kristof went quiet.
"A few what?" I said.
My voice had taken on a deep contralto pitch, and an accent I'd lost a decade ago. In front of me was a half finished e-mail message.
"Holy shit," I muttered.
As I spoke, there was an odd catch to my words, vibration in my chest. It took a second to realize what it was, and when I did, I couldn't stifle a laugh. I was breathing. I looked down at my hands, still resting on the keyboard, awaiting commands. I saw fingers decorated with silver rings and a white-gold wedding band. Each nail was a quarter-moon sliver, kept practical—short and unpolished.
A car started in the drive below. I jumped up and almost tripped as my knees caught the fabric of a skirt.
I looked down. A casual A-line dress, beautifully tailored from soft cotton, and oh-so-feminine. I laughed again. For Paige's third birthday, I'd bought her the cutest little pair of jean overalls… and the horror on her face had been priceless. After the party, I'd slipped the overalls from the neatly folded pile of gifts, taken them to the store, and exchanged them for a red wool coat with a fake-fur collar and matching muff, and earned myself a heartfelt hug and a grin I'd never forget.
I hurried to the window and looked down just in time to see Paige's car pull from the driveway. I couldn't see the driver—presumably Lucas—but when the passenger glanced back toward the house, my heart skipped—and for the first time in three years, I felt it skip.
"Hi, baby," I whispered.
I pressed my fingertips to the cool windowpane. Savannah glanced up, attention caught by the motion or the figure in the window. She squinted up through the car window, then smiled and waved.
"Alone at last," said a voice behind me.
Arms wrapped around my waist and swung me in the air. I twisted, right hook at the ready, then saw my attacker.
"Lucas," I said. "What—uh—" I wriggled out of his grasp and stepped backward. "I thought you were—
Good to see you."
He arched one brow. "Good to see you, too."
"Sorry," I said with a tiny laugh. "You just caught me off guard. I was thinking."
He eased back against the file cabinet. "About what?"
"That might work," the middle Fate said slowly.
"Might?"
"There are many variables to consider, Eve, not the least of which is the danger posed to Jaime's life."
"We—"
"You will take every precaution to avoid endangering her. Yes, I know that, and I believe that you will carry through with that intent. Given the danger the Nix poses to the living world, we have agreed that some slight risk to Jaime, however repugnant to us, is unavoidable. Even if you do nothing, and the Nix attacks Lucas and Paige, Jaime's life would still be in danger, assuming they would fight back."
"Good, so I can—"
"The other concern is that Trsiel may not be able to capture her."
Trsiel stepped forward, eyes blazing. "I'm perfectly capable of doing that. I'll be there, waiting, the whole time she's on the other side."
"I'm not questioning your competence, Trsiel," the Fate said. "However, consider the circumstances. Had the Nix entered Jaime by demonic possession, or through the spell she used with the Marquise, then I have no doubt you could capture her. But necromantic possession is different. The Nix has entered Jaime, not as a demon, but as a ghost. Once Jaime's body dies, the Sword of Judgment should work, but while the Nix is trapped between worlds… it may not. No angel has ever been sent to retrieve a soul under those circumstances."
"What if I was on the living side?" Trsiel said. "We could see whether the amulet works on me. I could leap into Lucas Cortez and—"
"You couldn't pull it off," I said. "Not in front of Paige and Savannah. You don't know them well enough."
I looked at the Fate. "So we don't know for certain that Trsiel can trap the Nix from this side. But we can still try, right? At worst, we'll scare her out of Jaime—then Paige, Lucas, and Savannah will be safe, and I'll just resume the hunt. We'd be no worse off than we were before she leapt into Jaime."
The Fate hesitated, then gave a slow nod.
Next they transported Trsiel, Kristof, and me to Paige's office, where she was hard at work answering e-mails. She looked like she'd be there for a while, so we teleported to the ghost-world version of her office to say our good-byes.
Trsiel promised to stay at my side after I crossed over, ready to help me end this. Then he handed me the amulet, and left Kristof and me alone.
When Trsiel was gone, Kris took the amulet from my hands and put it around my neck.
"Looks good," he said with a wry smile. "Just don't get used to it."
I answered him with a kiss, my hands going to his hair, letting the silky fine strands slide through my fingers. His arms went around me, rib-crushing tight, and I pressed myself against him, getting as close as I could. After a minute, he pulled his head back.
"I trust that's not a good-bye kiss," he said.
"You know it isn't. I'm coming back, and when I do, it'll be for good. Both feet planted on this side finally."
We kissed again. When we finished, he slid his hands to my cheeks, holding my face within kissing distance of his.
"Trsiel won't be the only one at your side," he said. "I won't be able to do anything. But I'll be there. I'll always be there."
"I know you will." I squeezed his hand, then touched the amulet. "Let's try this thing."
There are many ways to activate an amulet. Most require an incantation, usually the one conveniently inscribed on the piece itself, as this one was. As fluent as I am in Hebrew, the first time I ran through the spell I knew it wouldn't work. I didn't expect it to. With a new spell, you need at least a few trial runs to get the gist and the cadence of it. By the fourth try, I knew I had it right. Yet Paige continued to click away at her computer, fingers flying over the keyboard.
"Maybe I need to be closer," I said, stepping up behind her.
"It's only your fourth try. Now, if it were me, we'd be here all day, but even you might need a few—"
Kristof went quiet.
"A few what?" I said.
My voice had taken on a deep contralto pitch, and an accent I'd lost a decade ago. In front of me was a half finished e-mail message.
"Holy shit," I muttered.
As I spoke, there was an odd catch to my words, vibration in my chest. It took a second to realize what it was, and when I did, I couldn't stifle a laugh. I was breathing. I looked down at my hands, still resting on the keyboard, awaiting commands. I saw fingers decorated with silver rings and a white-gold wedding band. Each nail was a quarter-moon sliver, kept practical—short and unpolished.
A car started in the drive below. I jumped up and almost tripped as my knees caught the fabric of a skirt.
I looked down. A casual A-line dress, beautifully tailored from soft cotton, and oh-so-feminine. I laughed again. For Paige's third birthday, I'd bought her the cutest little pair of jean overalls… and the horror on her face had been priceless. After the party, I'd slipped the overalls from the neatly folded pile of gifts, taken them to the store, and exchanged them for a red wool coat with a fake-fur collar and matching muff, and earned myself a heartfelt hug and a grin I'd never forget.
I hurried to the window and looked down just in time to see Paige's car pull from the driveway. I couldn't see the driver—presumably Lucas—but when the passenger glanced back toward the house, my heart skipped—and for the first time in three years, I felt it skip.
"Hi, baby," I whispered.
I pressed my fingertips to the cool windowpane. Savannah glanced up, attention caught by the motion or the figure in the window. She squinted up through the car window, then smiled and waved.
"Alone at last," said a voice behind me.
Arms wrapped around my waist and swung me in the air. I twisted, right hook at the ready, then saw my attacker.
"Lucas," I said. "What—uh—" I wriggled out of his grasp and stepped backward. "I thought you were—
Good to see you."
He arched one brow. "Good to see you, too."
"Sorry," I said with a tiny laugh. "You just caught me off guard. I was thinking."
He eased back against the file cabinet. "About what?"
