Give Up the Ghost
Page 26
That idea had me running back down to the creek, my breath coming fast and hard as hoping and wishing made me light-headed. As I grew closer, the ripple in the air became more pronounced. Something was definitely trying to get through.
Over and above the rumble of the barrier shredding, the wind whispered, “Wes.”
“I’m here!” I shouted.
A little farther. Just a little more...
“Wessss...”
The ripple was now definitely a tear. I could almost glimpse something trying to push through. Tears sprang to my eyes. Oh my god. Yes. Please. Come through.
A hand emerged.
A hand with stiletto claws.
Hope turned to dust and I staggered a step back.
“I found you,” Silvia purred as she forced her head through the barrier. She gnashed her teeth, then smiled, a huge, terrifying smile.
I tripped over something and fell, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the horror emerging out of thin air. Her nonclothes flowed around her collarbone and lower, giving the impression of softness that was an utter lie. I’d defeated her. How was she here? I didn’t want to be in the beyond, but I’d take my empty, lonely bubble over anything with a hungry revenant.
“Wessssleeyyyy...”
The whisper again—and it wasn’t coming from Silvia. Another threat? Something else coming for a fight? Oh, god, what if it was Not-Julia the demon looking for revenge too?
“You are going to be delicious,” Silvia murmured. Her smile widened as I scrambled backward. “Yes, run. Chasing makes the meat all the sweeter.”
I glanced up at Sentinel and Sparky, who was dancing near the tree but not running yet. Could I reach him? Fuck, this was my beyond—could I wish her away?
Maybe—if I could get past the gibbering fear that had my brain tied in knots.
“Wesley Taggart Cooper.”
My full name tugged at me...somehow. I didn’t understand it, but I could feel it in my chest, in my heart. I gasped and pressed my hands against my sternum, but the tug didn’t hurt, exactly. It simply felt weird.
Not evil, though. Not threatening. Unless the beyond offered some sort of clairvoyance to its denizens, only three people knew my middle name. And they were all on the living plane.
“Wesley Taggart Cooper.”
Silvia’s left side was completely through the barrier now. She reached out a clawed hand and almost caught the hem of my pants. “I thought you were going to run, little one? Run. Please run.”
“Wesley.”
Yank.
“Taggart.”
Yank.
“Cooper.”
And suddenly I was whipping through nothingness, flying through space, Silvia’s infuriated scream of frustration chasing me—until gravity grabbed me again and I staggered.
The first thing I saw was the pentagram etched into the floor, surrounding me. I stood in the center—which made no sense. I blinked at it, not comprehending why it was there. Then, slowly, I looked up—and my breath caught.
Hudson.
Chapter Twenty-Six
He stood on the other side of the pentagram, his hair disheveled and his stubble heavy, though not quite at the beard level. He wore one of his colored T-shirts, the ones that still threw me for a loop at their mere existence—but the turquoise shade of this one worked. There were dark circles under his eyes and his pants seemed to hang off his hips, as though he’d lost weight...and, taking him in from head to toe, I thought he had.
“Holy shit. It worked.”
Evan’s voice shattered the stillness and I realized that Hudson and I weren’t the only people in the room. Lexi was there too—without her sling—Evan, Iskander, Ben and Joelle, Rosanna and Darrell, and even Kee and Kat. And—holy shit—Ren?
“’Bout fucking time,” Lexi grumbled. “I have a headache.” Deliberately, she dragged the toe of her shoe over the edge of the pentagram—which had, apparently, been drawn in chalk—and jerked her head at Hudson. “Go on.”
I wasn’t sure who moved first, but his arms were around me, holding me close, holding me so tight I could barely breathe, and I loved it. I needed it.
I thought I’d lost it forever.
“How—” I hiccupped, my words and breath fighting for space. “How—”
“Shh,” he soothed. “I’ve got you. You’re here. Oh my god, you’re here.” He pressed a kiss to my cheek, to my nose, to my forehead and temple, and then finally found my mouth, where he kissed me so thoroughly, I had no doubt he’d missed me just as much as I’d missed him.
“I love you,” I managed when we parted to take a breath. “I’m sorry, I—”
“You had to. I know. I know. But god, Wes—never again. Never, never again. Please, sweetheart.” His voice broke on the plea, and I pressed my face into his chest as sobs shook both of us.
“You saved me. You all saved me.”
I don’t know how long passed before I felt a nudge and Hudson lifted his arm and I lifted mine to welcome Evan into our embrace. Then Lexi was there on our other side, then Iskander, and Rosanna. It was so wonderful, and so absurd, I started laughing through my tears.
“How?” I asked again.
“Hudson said Ren was the first person to mention you were a god, so Mom and I went to have a chat with him,” Lexi said softly. “He helped, Wes.”
“Summoning a god is a lot like summoning a demon,” Ren said from beyond our group hug. “You need their true name, a worthwhile sacrifice, and a whole lot of will. The biggest difference, beyond gods being much rarer than demons, is that you generally don’t have to worry about them wanting to possess you. Can I get in on this hug?”
“No,” Hudson growled.
Ren sighed, loudly, but his eyes twinkled. I didn’t think he was put out by Hudson’s denial.
“What did you sacrifice?” I asked Hudson.
“Not me.” He looked over at Rosanna.
She brushed a hand over my head. “It was worth it.”
My stomach sank. “Rosanna, what did you—”
Lexi gave her mom a sad, soft look. “She sacrificed her magic.”
“No,” I croaked.
“Yes,” Rosanna said firmly.
I shook my head. No—her family had given me so much, I couldn’t—
“Stop.” She cupped my cheek. “It was worth it. You bring so much joy to Lexi and Hudson—and Evan and Iskander and everyone who knows you. It was worth it, Wesley.”
“You don’t understand. April—I owed her, so much, and I never repaid her. Or Vera, or you or Lexi and now—now this? Rosie, I can’t—”
“Rosie.” She smiled. “I haven’t heard that out of you in ages.” She made a shushing noise as I choked on the words I wanted to say. “It was mine to give, and I gave it freely. I don’t regret it, not one bit.”
I shifted until I was standing beside Hudson, one of his large arms draped across my shoulder, as Rosanna moved over to Darrell’s side.
“You’re still magical to me, baby,” Darrell murmured.
She blushed as she looked up at him.
“Great!” Ren clapped his hands. “Now, Wesley—Hudson filled me in on what went wrong before. With your—” he waved a hand “—godhood.”
And suddenly what Michael had told me in the beyond came flooding back. “I was getting my magic from the beyond, which caused the tears, when I should have been using energy from my, uh, worshippers. Except I don’t have wor—”
Hudson cleared his throat.
I eyed him. “What?”
“You’ve got me,” he said, squeezing me close.
“And me,” Evan said.
Iskander raised a hand.
“I already believe in a multi-deity pantheon,” Lexi said, grinning. “What’s one more?”
“Um, us too,” Ben said. Joelle nodded.
“See, that’s the beauty of actually knowing a god,” Ren said. “They don’t have to believe you’re the savior or will absolve all their sins or whatever the hell else the big religions want us to think. All they need is to believe in you.”
“Which means what?”
“I believe in the heart you try so hard to hide from the world,” Lexi said. “The heart that’s so big and so caring, it scares you.”
“I believe in your willingness to do anything for your family—none of whom are related to you by blood, but it doesn’t matter, because you’ve adopted them as yours,” Evan said.
“I believe in your ingenuity and cleverness,” Iskander whispered. “Figuring out how to live and thrive.”
“I believe in your goodness,” Rosanna said. “My grandmother gave you an unexpected, odd gift that you never asked for—and even though her motivation was colored by selfishness, you never resented it and you never wasted it.” Her eyes twinkled. “Much.”
“I believe in your willingness to help,” Kee said. “Thank you so much for everything you did, Wes. We’ve still got ghosts at Aurora House, but there’s something different now—they don’t feel as afraid and desperate as before.”
“I’m glad,” I managed.
Kat crossed her arms. “I didn’t know this was going to devolve into a circle jerk but whatever. I believe in your desire to protect people.”
Joelle said, “Ben and I—we believe in your ferocity when someone you love is threatened.”
“Is it my turn?” Hudson whispered. I couldn’t answer him, because all my concentration was going toward listening and not bawling my eyes out. “I believe in your joyfulness and your optimism and your acceptance. Your willingness to give second chances—and third and fourth ones.” He kissed my temple. “I love you.”
“Well, I believe you’re a pain in the ass,” Ren said. “But obviously one who’s well loved, so I don’t think you’ll have any issues with your magic now that you know the right way to go about it. Just don’t expect the unlimited power you had before.”
“That’s fine,” I managed. “That’s perfect. I never wanted unlimited power.”
“How about unlimited love?” Hudson murmured.
I nodded shakily. “That, I’ll take.”
* * *
I’d been gone for fifteen days. The streets and sidewalks were clear of snow—we were in the midst of a mid-February thaw, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be more snow on the way at some point. This was Canada, and winter storms in March weren’t unheard of. Hudson was still driving his rental since he hadn’t been able to focus enough to replace his beast of a muscle car, and all the streets we passed as he drove me from Lexi’s town house to my apartment looked the same and yet different. I found myself kind of missing the wide-open skies and prairie grasses stretching as far as the eye could see...but not enough to go back there.
Hudson pulled into a parking spot behind my building and turned off the car. “I, uh... I’ve been staying here.”
“Yeah? Iskander’s place wasn’t doing it for you anymore?”
He wrinkled his nose. “It never did, to be honest. I don’t mind being close to work, but I like to leave my work behind when I go home, you know?”
“Sure. It’s okay.”
“I didn’t think you would have a problem with it. It helped, staying somewhere that smelled like you.”
I gave him a sideways look. “In a good way, right?”
He chuckled. “Yes. A very good way.”
We walked up the stairs to my place and Hudson caught me up on inconsequential stuff—well, inconsequential compared to my stay in the beyond, but important to the business of Caballero Investigations.
“When you—when you...disappeared, everything went with you. Silvia, her hellhounds, everything. Except her brooch. It fell to the concrete.”
“Her anchor,” I said as we reached my floor.
“Exactly. I took it to Dennis and gave him all the history on Silvia we were able to dig up. Left out the part about her being a heart-eating undead monster, though.”
“Probably a good idea.”
“I encouraged him to melt down the brooch.”
“Also a good idea.”
I stepped into my apartment, expecting the same “familiar yet different” feeling I’d had driving through the streets. But my apartment looked the same as it always did—not super stylish, but mostly up to date and tidy. Probably even tidier than usual. I was tempted to head straight for the bedroom and reconnect with Hudson in the best way, but I had things I wanted to say first.
I waved at the couch. “Sit.”
Hudson raised a brow but did as I said. He leaned back, a bit insolently, but I wouldn’t have him any other way.
“Okay, first—I love you.”
“I know.”
“Thank you, Han Solo.” I smirked. “No, I mean, I really love you. You’re it, you always will be.”
Hudson held out his hand, and I couldn’t resist. I sat down on the coffee table, facing him, and entwined our fingers. “I know. Actually I—”
I pressed a finger to his lips. “I’m not done.”
He kissed my finger and grinned when I lifted it. “Go on.”
“I promise no more lies of omission. I’m going to be open and honest with you from now on.” I squinted at him. “And you’ve got to promise the same.”
“Open and honest. I’m one hundred percent on board with that.”
“Great.” I smiled, a huge, wide smile that probably gave me eye wrinkles to challenge Hudson’s. “I think we should move in together.”
He stared at me. I kept breathing, but it was a near thing as the silence grew. Extended.
Oh shit. Had he changed his mind?
“That’s my line,” he said finally.
“You said you weren’t gonna ask me again.”
“I did. But then I said I lied.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. I’m asking you now.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Oh my god, Hudson!”
“You can’t just swoop in and steal my thunder like that.”
“Fine. I take it back.”
He tugged on my hand and I jolted forward, off the coffee table, and climbed up on the couch to straddle his lap. “Oh no. You can’t take it back.”
I let out a low, mock growl. “Now you’re just being difficult.”
“It’s what I excel at.” He kissed my cheek and nuzzled my ear. “I’ll move in with you under one condition.”
“Uh-oh.” I leaned back so I could see his face. “What?”
“We get a house.”
“Are you kidding? Have you seen house prices lately?”
“Yeah. But if you sell your building...”
“What? I—No. I love this building.”
“I know, but this apartment is tiny, sweetheart,” Hudson said softly. “If you sell your building and I sell my now-empty lot, plus the money we’ve set aside, plus my insurance payout... I think we could get a really nice place. With enough room for our friends to visit and stay if they wanted.”
Because they weren’t friends, not really—they were family. Hudson’s band. And clearly he wanted them close by, as often as they could be.
“Let me think about it.” But I was pretty sure it wouldn’t take much thinking, or much arguing, for that matter, to get me to sway toward Hudson’s idea.
“Okay, good. Also...” He took a breath. “I think we’re mates.”
“We’re—” I blinked. “What?”
“Mates.”
“I don’t—”
“Bonded pair. My soul recognizes yours? You had
to have felt it.”
Had I? I thought always knowing where he was was due to my god magic—but that sense had been significantly stronger with Hudson than anyone else. And a few times it had seemed I’d felt what he was feeling.
“When you were gone...” His voice cracked. “It hurt. I ached. I’d suspected before—remember when I took you to see the light festival? I was going to talk to you about it then. But after you went into the beyond, I knew for sure. It’s...” He nudged my head until my forehead met his. “I loved you before. But this is something beyond love. It’s deeper.” He chuckled breathlessly. “Profound.”
“I still don’t understand. How does this even happen?”
“Magic?”
After all the fighting I’d done this past year with my magic, I wasn’t sure if I liked that answer or not. But...it would be nice if magic brought something wholly positive to my life for once.
“Ren said it’s the same sort of bond that happens between any two people in love—but with vampires, it’s more tangible. It solidifies into something unbreakable.”
“Unbreakable, huh?” I swallowed. “So...you’re never walking away again.”
“Never. You’re my mate. My love.” He pressed a hard, fast kiss to my lips, a fierce promise. “Come to bed and I’ll show you what I mean.”
He didn’t have to ask me twice.
* * *
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