Living with the Dead
Page 107
"And I mean it, Hope. I'm here for you, no matter what. I always will be. You can never do anything that will scare me away. No matter how hard you try."
She laughed, the tears jolting free. He wiped them away.
"You're right," he said. "You have decisions to make and I shouldn't be a part of that. I don't need to be. You'll make the right choice, and whatever you decide is fine with me... as long as it doesn't involve handing back my condo keys."
"It won't."
"Then, I meant what I said the other day. I'm just along for the ride. Council, Cabal, mercenary, I don't care. I come willingly, and it's not about following you or protecting you. I enjoy it. You aren't the only one who's finding that what satisfied those 'uncivilized urges' in the past isn't doing the job the way it used to. So consider your options, make your choice and call me home."
"I will."
FINN
No one thought it would work.
Hope Adams had put Finn in touch with a necromancer named Jaime Vegas. Finn thought the name sounded familiar, though he wasn't sure where from.
She'd promised to walk him through it over the phone, but warned him the task was difficult enough for experienced necromancers, let alone one who'd never actively practiced the art. As Damon would say, he didn't have the juice.
From what little Finn had learned so far, most necromancers saw ghosts all the time, not sporadically at murder sites. Of course, no one – not even Damon – suggested Finn lacked the power to pull it off. They were just very, very cautious in their optimism.
Finn had passed those warnings on to Robyn and she'd been quicker than anyone to assure him that she understood, that if it didn't work, that was okay. Which wasn't true. Yes, she'd understand. But it wouldn't be okay. Not for her. Not for Damon. Not for Finn.
They tried it in Robyn's apartment, just the three of them: Finn, Damon and Robyn. He'd followed the ritual and then... A flicker of images, like a film strip on fast forward. It lasted only a second or two, and when his vision cleared, he was in a strange apartment, sitting in a leather beanbag chair.
Finn touched the chair. He could see his fingers make contact, but couldn't feel the leather. He poked it. His fingers passed through, the leather still smooth.
From the other room, he heard... his voice. Singing. A song he didn't recognize, in a timbre he didn't recognize. A sob. Then a cry that he knew – even if he couldn't make it out – was Robyn saying a name. Damon's name.
He pictured Robyn leaping from her chair, her face...
The apartment next door went silent, and he imagined her throwing herself toward him. His arms outstretched.
Robyn in them. Robyn kissing him. But not him. Not really him.
He imagined it and...
He stopped imagining it.
As he sat there, trying not to eavesdrop, an idea wriggled up from the deepest part of his brain. It had been burrowing there since he'd first realized he might be able to let Damon into his body.
It wasn't so much an idea as an impulse. One that if he decided to follow through on, he knew he couldn't think too much about. Do it or don't.
He pushed to his feet. At the door, he reached for the knob. His fingers passed through. He paused a moment, staring at it. From the next room came a chuckle, then a snuffle – a laugh breaking off in a sob. Finn squared his shoulders and stepped through the door.
Down the hall. He paused outside the elevator, but had no idea how that would work, and wasn't about to shimmy down elevator cables. To the stairwell then. To the lobby. Out the front doors.
He stopped in the doorway. Did he want to do this? It felt like the right thing to do, and he supposed that was what counted. As for what he wanted, he honestly didn't know anymore. It had been too long since he'd considered it.
He did know one thing. He was tired. Tired of being in Los Angeles. Tired of solving cases no one seemed to care about. Tired of the whispers, the looks, the laughs. Tired of being different. Tired of being alone.
A shoe squeaked behind him. Before he could turn, a man walked through him, striding down the sidewalk, briefcase swinging.
Finn made it a dozen steps before a voice called, "And where do you think you're going?"
Finn turned. To his left was an abstract sculpture. A woman in jeans, boots and a T-shirt sat on it, reclining against a curved piece of steel, her face in shadow.
"I'm talking to you, Detective," she said.
She stretched and stood and, for a moment, Finn saw the girl from the photograph in Sean Nast's office. Nast's little sister. But this woman was older – at least Finn's age, with dark eyes, not bright blue. Still, the resemblance was uncanny.
"I asked where you think you're going." The woman walked toward him, her foot passing through a discarded soda bottle. A ghost.
"It's okay," he said, because it was all he could think of. A polite nod, then he turned to head on his way.
"Actually, it's not okay." The woman walked in front of him and turned around. "You can't leave Damon in your body. An insanely noble gesture, Detective Findlay, but you can't. The Fates let you pull off the body switch, but it's temporary. I'm here to make sure of that. And neither of us, I'm afraid, has any say in the matter."
Finn stepped to the side. The woman put out her hands and murmured something. The air between her hands glittered, then shimmered, a sword taking form. A huge one, with glowing symbols etched into the metal.
"Pretty, huh? Being a necro, you know what this is, right?"
Finn shook his head.
The woman sighed. "It's the outfit, isn't it? I know, they keep trying to make me wear the uniform, but those wings are just so damned uncomfortable. Have you ever tried sitting with wings stuck to your shoulders? And the halo? Does nothing for me."
"An... angel?"
"Don't sound so skeptical. You'll hurt my feelings." She lifted the sword. "Point is, this baby has a point. A very sharp one. And you do not want to feel it. So we're doing this the easy way. We let Damon and Robyn have their reunion, and you go back into your body, and nobody gets hurt. Got it?"
Finn said nothing.
"Damn, you're stubborn, aren't you?" She stepped closer. With the boots, she was almost as tall as Finn. "You're going back, Detective. That's not an option. If you get away from me, I hunt you down and introduce you to the sword.
She laughed, the tears jolting free. He wiped them away.
"You're right," he said. "You have decisions to make and I shouldn't be a part of that. I don't need to be. You'll make the right choice, and whatever you decide is fine with me... as long as it doesn't involve handing back my condo keys."
"It won't."
"Then, I meant what I said the other day. I'm just along for the ride. Council, Cabal, mercenary, I don't care. I come willingly, and it's not about following you or protecting you. I enjoy it. You aren't the only one who's finding that what satisfied those 'uncivilized urges' in the past isn't doing the job the way it used to. So consider your options, make your choice and call me home."
"I will."
FINN
No one thought it would work.
Hope Adams had put Finn in touch with a necromancer named Jaime Vegas. Finn thought the name sounded familiar, though he wasn't sure where from.
She'd promised to walk him through it over the phone, but warned him the task was difficult enough for experienced necromancers, let alone one who'd never actively practiced the art. As Damon would say, he didn't have the juice.
From what little Finn had learned so far, most necromancers saw ghosts all the time, not sporadically at murder sites. Of course, no one – not even Damon – suggested Finn lacked the power to pull it off. They were just very, very cautious in their optimism.
Finn had passed those warnings on to Robyn and she'd been quicker than anyone to assure him that she understood, that if it didn't work, that was okay. Which wasn't true. Yes, she'd understand. But it wouldn't be okay. Not for her. Not for Damon. Not for Finn.
They tried it in Robyn's apartment, just the three of them: Finn, Damon and Robyn. He'd followed the ritual and then... A flicker of images, like a film strip on fast forward. It lasted only a second or two, and when his vision cleared, he was in a strange apartment, sitting in a leather beanbag chair.
Finn touched the chair. He could see his fingers make contact, but couldn't feel the leather. He poked it. His fingers passed through, the leather still smooth.
From the other room, he heard... his voice. Singing. A song he didn't recognize, in a timbre he didn't recognize. A sob. Then a cry that he knew – even if he couldn't make it out – was Robyn saying a name. Damon's name.
He pictured Robyn leaping from her chair, her face...
The apartment next door went silent, and he imagined her throwing herself toward him. His arms outstretched.
Robyn in them. Robyn kissing him. But not him. Not really him.
He imagined it and...
He stopped imagining it.
As he sat there, trying not to eavesdrop, an idea wriggled up from the deepest part of his brain. It had been burrowing there since he'd first realized he might be able to let Damon into his body.
It wasn't so much an idea as an impulse. One that if he decided to follow through on, he knew he couldn't think too much about. Do it or don't.
He pushed to his feet. At the door, he reached for the knob. His fingers passed through. He paused a moment, staring at it. From the next room came a chuckle, then a snuffle – a laugh breaking off in a sob. Finn squared his shoulders and stepped through the door.
Down the hall. He paused outside the elevator, but had no idea how that would work, and wasn't about to shimmy down elevator cables. To the stairwell then. To the lobby. Out the front doors.
He stopped in the doorway. Did he want to do this? It felt like the right thing to do, and he supposed that was what counted. As for what he wanted, he honestly didn't know anymore. It had been too long since he'd considered it.
He did know one thing. He was tired. Tired of being in Los Angeles. Tired of solving cases no one seemed to care about. Tired of the whispers, the looks, the laughs. Tired of being different. Tired of being alone.
A shoe squeaked behind him. Before he could turn, a man walked through him, striding down the sidewalk, briefcase swinging.
Finn made it a dozen steps before a voice called, "And where do you think you're going?"
Finn turned. To his left was an abstract sculpture. A woman in jeans, boots and a T-shirt sat on it, reclining against a curved piece of steel, her face in shadow.
"I'm talking to you, Detective," she said.
She stretched and stood and, for a moment, Finn saw the girl from the photograph in Sean Nast's office. Nast's little sister. But this woman was older – at least Finn's age, with dark eyes, not bright blue. Still, the resemblance was uncanny.
"I asked where you think you're going." The woman walked toward him, her foot passing through a discarded soda bottle. A ghost.
"It's okay," he said, because it was all he could think of. A polite nod, then he turned to head on his way.
"Actually, it's not okay." The woman walked in front of him and turned around. "You can't leave Damon in your body. An insanely noble gesture, Detective Findlay, but you can't. The Fates let you pull off the body switch, but it's temporary. I'm here to make sure of that. And neither of us, I'm afraid, has any say in the matter."
Finn stepped to the side. The woman put out her hands and murmured something. The air between her hands glittered, then shimmered, a sword taking form. A huge one, with glowing symbols etched into the metal.
"Pretty, huh? Being a necro, you know what this is, right?"
Finn shook his head.
The woman sighed. "It's the outfit, isn't it? I know, they keep trying to make me wear the uniform, but those wings are just so damned uncomfortable. Have you ever tried sitting with wings stuck to your shoulders? And the halo? Does nothing for me."
"An... angel?"
"Don't sound so skeptical. You'll hurt my feelings." She lifted the sword. "Point is, this baby has a point. A very sharp one. And you do not want to feel it. So we're doing this the easy way. We let Damon and Robyn have their reunion, and you go back into your body, and nobody gets hurt. Got it?"
Finn said nothing.
"Damn, you're stubborn, aren't you?" She stepped closer. With the boots, she was almost as tall as Finn. "You're going back, Detective. That's not an option. If you get away from me, I hunt you down and introduce you to the sword.
