Embraced By Darkness

I kept the trigger depressed, the laser growing hotter in my hand. Branches, leaves, and gravestones filled the air —deadly missiles that crashed toward the women. I was never going to get all of them and I didn't even try, merely slicing through the biggest of them, the ones that could do the most damage.

Through it all, and no matter how many times they were hit, Marg and the other magi continued their chanting. The power they were raising grew so sharp it felt like thousands of ants were clawing and nipping at my skin and the air was so thick it burned my lungs.

Then there was another high-pitched scream, and the wisp that was Wilson's soul shot toward the open grave. The wood and rubbish in the air fell to the ground, and the night was suddenly quiet except for the thick and edgy sense of power.

The third magi quickly lit the remaining incense then completed the salt circle.

'He can't leave now,' she said, with a glance at me.

Her eyes were cat-bright in the night, and filled with a sense of power.

'He can still attack us, though.'

'Trust me, he'll soon have something else to worry about.'

She walked past the two women and reached into the small carryall that was sitting several yards behind them. What she drew back out looked an awful lot like a nail gun.

'What's that?'

'A nail gun.'

Which explained why it looked like one, I suppose. 'What do you intend to do with it?'

'Shoot specially made iron nails into his chest and his skull.'

'What?'

She glanced at me. 'The iron nails will pin his spirit to his remains and prevent him from leaving.'

'Really?'

She nodded. 'Iron has been used throughout history as a preventative or warding measure against demons and ghosts.'

'But… how? Why would something like iron—a real material from this world—affect a spirit, who is very definitely not of this world?'

'No one is really sure. There are some theories that the slow fire of the oxidation process has something to do with it, but no one has ever truly tested it. We just know it works.'

She sighted the nail gun and let off two quick shots. Almost immediately a scream ripped through the air, a sound filled with anguish and fury combined. A sound that went on and on, sawing at my nerves and making my ears ache.

I had no sympathy for the spirit that was Wilson, however. He deserved the pain he was in. Deserved the eternity of it he was now locked into.

The magi with the cat's eyes looked at me. 'You'd better call an ambulance for that poor fellow in the car, then you can go.'

I raised an eyebrow. 'Really? You sure?'

She nodded. 'He's pinned now. We'll just finish the binding, then add some extra protection around his coffin before we get it backfilled.'

'What happens if he gets handy with his psychokinetic skills again?'

'He won't. We have him totally contained with the salt, the incense, and the magic. This is one bad soul whose nights of destruction are over.'

Thank God for that. I walked over to the man from the car, checking that he was breathing, and that he wasn't likely to choke in his own blood. Then I called in the medics as ordered. At least I hadn't killed him outright. For that, I was grateful.

With that done, I got the hell out of there. Wilson was no longer my problem, but that didn't mean I'd finished dealing with the dead.

After all, I still had Adrienne to find.

Chapter Ten

Once beyond the cemetery gates, the tension that had been so much a part of the last few hours slithered from my body, and I was suddenly able to breathe easier, It wasn't just Wilson—and the knowledge of what he could have done—that had wound me up so tight. It was the awareness of all those other souls. The feeling that I only needed to open myself up a little and all their hopes, their dreams, and their anguish would be mine. That the sum of their beings could easily overrun me, until I was nothing more than a conduit for their pain.

I shivered. I mightn't be able to entirely avoid dead people given my job, but cemeteries were definitely off my list of places to visit in the future.

I slipped back into the flow of traffic and glanced at the dashboard clock as my stomach rumbled a reminder that it actually hadn't been supplied with sustenance in a while. It was nearly one, so most of the fast-food joints would be closed by now, but the restaurants near the Blue Moon would still be open. In fact, most of them ran twenty-four hours a day, just to make the most of the constant flow of patrons coming to and from both the Blue Moon and the Rocker. And the close proximity of the clubs meant I'd be able to case a deeper ache after filling my belly.

Except that I'd made a promise.

With a sigh that was only slightly filled with frustration, I dug my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed Kellen's number.

'Hey,' I said, when he answered. 'You feel like something to eat?'

'Rilcy, it's nearly one in the morning.'

'So?' I glanced in the mirror to check there wasn't a. cop car behind me. It wasn't exactly legal to be talking on a cell while driving—not without using hands-free, anyway—and while as a guardian I could probably get out of the fine, it would create a whole lot of paperwork. And that would only make me and Jack grumpy.

'So some of us do actually cat at regular hours.' Amusement lurked in Kellen's rich tones. 'Hell, some of us even keep regular sleeping hours.'

Which explained the sexy, just-woken-up tone I was hearing under the amusement. 'So you're not interested in coming out for a snack?'

'That depends on what else is on the menu.'

'Now there's a typical male response,' I said dryly, 'Won't come out for food, but will make the effort if there's sex involved.'

'Absolutely right,' he said. 'When and where?'

'I'll be at Eddie's in ten minutes,' I said. 'I'm feeling like a burger, and he makes the best.'

'Order me a coffee,' he said. 'And add lots of sugar. I've got a feeling I'm going to need the energy.'

'You surely will.'

He chuckled softly, and hung up. After a glance at the road to see what the traffic was doing, I pressed another button and dialed the Directorate. Naturally, Sal answered.

'What an unmitigated pleasure to speak to you again so soon,' she cooed.

Right. 'So Jack's in the room, huh? Why don't you just shag the man?'

'Because I, unlike some, have a little class, and I prefer to build up to a relationship rather than take the wham-bam approach.'

She might be a few hundred years old, but it seems her human prejudices had survived the crossover well. 'If class means remaining a frustrated old cow, then give me crassness any day.'

'Oh, you can be sure you have that market covered.' Her tone was still so very pleasant, even if her words held the familiar hint of snark. It had to be killing her.

'And with the sort of charm you're currently oozing, it's a wonder Jack isn't just falling at your feet in lust.'

'Oh, he surely will.'