“Hardly.”
“Lisa, get back in the hangar,” Asa yells.
Good idea. I take a step but she blocks my path. “I don’t think so.”
“Hal.” I want him waiting to take Emiko because I’ll probably not get a second chance. The pink light expands and within seconds the door opens. “Get ready.”
I don’t look at him but I hear his muttered curse. Dread washes over me. If he’s concerned then I certainly should be way more so. I bolt toward the hangar but before I go three steps I’m lifted off the ground and tossed several feet. I hit the gravel and roll. Pain ricochets through my body. Rolling to my side, I glare at Emiko, trying to catch my breath and not whine. “You.” Gasp. “Did not just do that.”
“Lisa, are you okay?” Asa’s voice sounds frantic. “Don’t let her touch you!”
I push to a sitting position and glance at him. He’s pacing along the edge of the shadow and I know he’s going to run out and to try and help if I don’t stop him. My body protests when I ease to a stand. “Yeah, I’m all right.” I hold up a hand. “Do not come out here. I want you whole and healthy for later.”
Luckily the bitch of a ghost tossed me closer to where he prowled. I back toward him as she stalks me.
“I wanted Vivian’s pet wolf but had to settle for taking what I wanted from this one.” She flicks her head toward Asa.
“What do you mean?” I want to keep her talking. Maybe I can get the advantage—somehow. “Taking what?”
“Don’t listen to her, Lisa. She’s a lying cunt.”
Normally I hate the C-word, but in this case it’s fitting.
“You won’t be disappointed, reaper. He’s a good lay. I think he liked it, even though he fought it ‘til the end.”
That draws me to a stop. Sometimes I’m not the brightest bulb in the string of lights but her meaning is perfectly clear. “You raped him?”
“Lisa!” Anguish fills Asa’s cry. “Do not listen to her.”
Emiko shrugs. “I take what I want because I’m more powerful and there’s nothing anybody can do about it.”
“Really?” I’m super pissed now. Not just irked or angry. A red haze settles over my vision. “Because it looks like somebody took care of you and now it’s my turn.”
Her fangs extend and she hisses. “I’d like to see you try.”
I’m suddenly very calm. Rape my temporary vampire boyfriend and think you’re going to get away with it? Oh, I don’t think so. Energy ripples through my body and I dig deep, focusing on what I am—an angel of death.
I hurl toward the ghost just as she attacks. All my training races back to me. We collide but instead of holding onto her with my hand, I wrap my arms around the ghost and press her against my body. Instead of her possessing me, I take command of her spirit.
From what seems like a long distance I hear Asa and Hal yelling at me, but I’m completely focused on Emiko. Even though she tries to fight me, her efforts are useless. A part of me I’ve not acknowledged before, the scary part of being Death’s deliverer, pushes through my fear. A black ghostly essence extends from me and wraps around us, making Emiko and me one. I feel her hatred and evil, but I also sense her years of empty existence.
The blackness flows around us, her screams seemingly locked inside me. I walk to Hal. My mind is not my own. Something beyond Lisa Carron is controlling my actions. A few feet away, the energy holding Emiko disconnects from me. Still encased in the black ghostly shroud, her spirit is whisked into the elevator. Unlike the other ghosts, she descends and within seconds she’s gone.
I stumble away from Hal, gasping and in a daze. He’s staring at me with an expression I haven’t seen before. Respect? Maybe fear? I don’t want—am unable—to analyze what just happened. Turning, I walk to Asa. “Gold.”
He drops a coin in my hand. Numbly I return to Hal and toss the payment to him. He catches it, but doesn’t lower his hand. “It seems we are in for very interesting ride, Lisa Carron.” He tucks the gold in his vest pocket. “Very interesting.”
With that the elevator compresses into a pink line of light and disappears. I stand there for a few seconds, still trying to wrap my head around what I’d just become. Slowly I turn and face Asa. “Well, that’s never happened before.”
His mouth is hanging open and his body sags at my words. “Holy shit. I don’t think you ever really needed me.”
My footsteps move toward him. “Oh yes, I really need you.”
I’m on him in five long strides and throw myself at him. Our mouths lock, devouring each other. After a few breathless seconds, and before I start peeling off his clothes, I pull back. “That’s it right? No more ghosts?”