by S D Hegyes
The moment Simon entered the office, he sneered at Sorsha. “Told you we’d meet again, little phantom.” He moved toward her, but before he could get too close, Frank grabbed the back of his neck in a grasp that left him gasping for air.
“My apologies for his manners, Miss Phantom.”
“No need. He was just as rude at our first meeting. I punched him.”
Frank chuckled even as Simon squirmed in his grasp. “You were the one who broke his nose. He wouldn’t admit who did it. Thought he’d angered a parent or something. Didn’t think twice about it honestly.” He gave her an apologetic shrug and then said, “He has a habit of doing that to people.”
It was her turn to shrug. “You can release him.”
“Not worried he’ll attack you.”
“He probably will.”
“That confident in your abilities?”
“Actually, I’m surprised I didn’t make the connection about his possibly being Gloria’s killer before now. I have a file on him at my house, and it probably states that he owns an ice cream truck somewhere in it. I just haven’t spared him a second thought since he left my place last time honestly.”
The vampire lord gave her an enquiring look, his eyebrows arched with a curiosity he didn’t voice.
“He’s weak,” Sorsha clarified, meeting Simon’s gaze as she spoke. She knew she was goading him on, but if he had killed Gloria, she felt no sympathy for him whatsoever. “He couldn’t kill me if he tried.”
“So how are you planning on finding out if he’s the killer?”
Instead of answering him, Sorsha opened her purse and pulled Gloria’s card from her spirit deck. She allowed her power to ripple through her. “Gloria Murphy,” she whispered to the card. She knew those around her couldn’t see Gloria, but they could see the way the vapors around Sorsha’s arms flickered orange as Gloria formed before her.
The little girl blinked at Sorsha. “I thought you said you wouldn’t call me?”
It took everything in Sorsha to ignore the wave of disappointment and betrayal that emanated from the spirit. She nodded. “I could use your help.” She tipped her head toward Simon. “Is this the man who drove the ice cream truck?”
Spinning around, the spirit’s form remained colorful only for a few seconds before her entire form turned scarlet. At the same time, Sorsha knew her eyes turned crimson as the power inside her engulfed her in molten lava. Wisps of smoke jerked like angry red snakes around her arms.
“Well,” Sorsha said. “I guess that answers that question.”
Simon snorted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He jerked himself out of Frank’s grasp and sent the older vampire a glare.
Sorsha narrowed her eyes at Simon. “You don’t? How about I remind you?” She stretched her hand out to Gloria who seemed to know exactly what she had in mind.
The spirit sank inside her without resistance, and Sorsha closed her eyes, shuddering at the cold chill that enveloped her before the spirit settled.
“Hello again.” Simon and Frank both shrank back at the change in Sorsha’s voice as she opened her eyes. There was no doubt the voice belonged to that of someone much younger than her.
“What is this?” Simon demanded to know.
“This is a phantom’s power,” Larz said behind Sorsha. He stood and joined her, narrowing his eyes at Simon.
“You killed me,” the child said through Sorsha. “Why?”
Simon paled, eyes wide with terror as he stared at the phantom. He glanced at Frank.
The vampire lord had schooled his expression once more, and he gave Sorsha an amused grin. “Nice trick,” he said.
“Trick?” Simon sputtered, anger flickering across his face. “What is this to you? Some sort of game?”
Frank grinned. “Of course.”
Simon gestured to Sorsha. “She’s a phantom. We’re supposed to kill her on sight.”
“So we are. And yet, she lives.”
“So let’s kill her!” Simon snarled, his eyes burning with ruby hatred.
The vampire lord looked at Sorsha, studying her expression. “Be my guest,” he said, gesturing toward her.
Simon leaped toward Sorsha, but the red vapors around Sorsha’s arms pulsed as her fingers twitched. She moved with lightning speed, surprised that she had control of her physical body.
What’s going on?
I can’t fight him. You can, Gloria reminded her.
Instinct and training made Sorsha crouch down out of Simon’s trajectory so that he flew over her. She spun around to face him while still near the floor.
“You’ve already killed me, Simon,” Gloria said through Sorsha.
“Not the phantom.” Another growl and the vampire went after her again.
Sorsha narrowed her eyes and struck with the viciousness of a viper against its prey. Her hand slammed into Simon’s throat.
He choked and gasped for air, dropping down to his knees before Sorsha. She gasped and her body jerked as the spirit took away all her control.
“Sorsha?” Larz asked behind her, concern in his voice.
“I’m not Sorsha,” Gloria replied through Sorsha’s mouth. The red vapors wrenching around her arms solidified into scarlet ribbons of smoke and snapped in the air before they wound around Simon’s neck. Simon’s body twitched as the ribbons lifted him into the air and dangled him a foot off the ground. “Was it fun to kill me? Did you like it?”
Sorsha knew her eyes were as crimson as the vampires’ around her. She trembled with the raw power rippling through her, saw in conjunction with Gloria how the others’ shuddered at the display of her abilities.
Two more ribbons of smoke cracked the air like whips on either side of Simon’s body. Sorsha could hear Simon gasping for breath, could feel the vampire struggling to tug the smoke ribbons wrapped around his neck even as his hands slid through the vapor without ever catching hold. She didn’t know if he could die from suffocation since he was already dead.
She’d promised to help find Gloria’s killer, and she had. Did that mean the vampire deserved to die? It didn’t matter. She couldn’t let Gloria kill him. She couldn’t.
Gloria, stop.
“Why?” the spirit asked aloud, not seeming to care that the others stared at her in horrified confusion. “Why should I stop? I have the power to kill him through you. I can take his life as he took mine.”
But can you live with yourself if you become him? Sorsha didn’t know if her words were getting through to the spirit. Can you handle it if you do kill him? Can you live with that regret? That remorse?
“You killed people. You’ve said so yourself.”
When I was ordered to. It’s not the same. Trust me. Taking his life won’t bring yours back.
Gloria growled, and the grip on Simon’s throat tightened.
Gloria, Sorsha tried again. Will you be able to look your parents in the eye if you kill him?
That seemed to get the child’s attention. For a moment more, Simon gargled on air, struggling and failing to tear at the ribbons.
Then the vapors were gone. One second, they were there, and the next, they disappeared, as if they’d never been there to begin with. Simon collapsed to the ground on his back, sucking air into his lungs in dry heaves.
Sorsha felt Gloria step outside her body. She gasped and snapped her eyes shut, her breath coming out cool in the air before her, even as she sank to her knees, trembling.
“Don’t touch her,” Larz snarled at someone.
Sorsha could only think it was Frank, and she was glad for Larz’s watchful eyes. She was weak from fighting with Gloria, even if only mentally, and knew the vampire lord could probably kill her at the moment if he wanted to.
Panting, she looked up at Simon, even as he turned over on his stomach and stared at her in horror. Ligature marks marred his neck where the ribbons had bound him.
“What are you?” Simon asked, his voice raspy and low. He broke into a coughing fit and curled up on his side.
Slowly, Sorsha found her feet. She rolled her shoulders back before looking down at the vampire once more. “I’m a phantom, Simon. I’m the monster in the dark that you should fear. Now, my understanding is that your kind are not to touch me. Is that right?” She glanced at Frank for confirmation. He nodded.
Her glare narrowed on Simon. “If I ever hear of another child murdered, you’ll know Simon. I’m watching you. Watching all the children in your care, Frank.” She narrowed her eyes at the other vampire, letting him know he was to relay the message to the rest in his care. “If anyone in this town comes to me as a spirit, you will be answering to me. I have no desire to kill you, but I will. As Gloria pointed out, I have killed before. Do we understand one another?”
Frank nodded. Message received.
She crouched before Simon and grabbed his jaw, twisting his face to meet her gaze. Red vapors enveloped her hands, making his eyes widen with fear. “Do we understand each other, Simon?”
He whimpered pathetically but nodded.
Sorsha released him and stood. The vampire remained on the ground, as if afraid to stand. She gathered the file off Frank’s desk and smiled at the vampire lord. “If you don’t mind, I’d like a list of all the vampires in your care.”
She expected him to fight her on that, but he just smiled, his red eyes dancing with delight before he said, “I suspected as much.”
“Thank you. Merry Christmas, Mr. Thirst.”
“Merry Christmas, Miss Phantom.”
With a nod, she gathered her cards and returned them to her purse. She didn’t say another word as she left Frank’s office, not even sparing Simon another glance, Larz following close behind her.
20
Larz collapsed on the couch beside Sorsha with a heavy sigh. He’d gotten off work a couple hours before and gone straight to bed. The truth was, Sorsha hadn’t expected him up for another couple of hours. She looked up from the magazine she’d been flipping through and grinned at him. “Hi, stranger. Bad day?”
Neither Larz nor Sorsha brought up what had occurred in Frank’s office once they left. They’d both returned to work the following day and had been on opposite schedules once more, only seeing each other in passing it seemed until then New Year’s Eve.
He groaned. “Don’t remind me. You’d think holidays would be easier because everyone’s melancholy if they can’t see their loved ones or they’re at home visiting relatives, but I swear, the holidays are when everyone gets crazy.”
She chuckled and returned her attention to her magazine. “What’s it like during the full moon? You know, when all the monsters come out to play?”
Another groan answered her question, and he leaned his head back on the couch, throwing an arm over his face. “That’s a nightmare.”
“I’ll bet.” She put her magazine down and shifted in her seat to look at him. “Off tonight?”
He dropped his arm and turned his head toward her. “Yes, but I’m on call. Why?”
“We’re hosting a New Year’s party? Remember?”
Larz swore. “I forgot. I’m sorry. What time does it start again?”
Sorsha chuckled. She’d figured he’d forgotten. “I told everyone no earlier than six. I told Irene seven because she’ll show up an hour earlier to have a pre-party, as she likes to call it.”
“Need help with anything?”
She shook her head. “Not really. Ham’s in the oven and I’ve already made some sides. I started cooking about the same time you got home. There’s a couple meat and cheese trays as well as soda in the fridge. I told everyone to bring their own beer.”
“You cooked?” He gave her a dubious look.
“You don’t think I can?” she challenged.
If his frown could dip down more, it did. “No,” he said, deadpan.
She winced. “Ouch. Thanks for that.” She sat up straighter, dropping her magazine on the coffee table. “For your information, I can cook. I just choose not to. It was a requirement where I came from. A woman’s role was to cook and clean her home for her husband.” She shut her mouth and turned away. She and Larz hadn’t ever talked about where she’d come from.
“I know,” he said in a low voice.
Her head jerked toward him, and she had to wonder if they’d ever talked about that in the past, when they’d first met. It irritated her that she couldn’t remember him.
He grinned at her and changed the subject. Either he knew it was a sore point for her, or decided it wasn’t worth going into further detail about. “You say you don’t like parties, but I think you’ve got this one covered.” Yawning, he stretched out his arms on either side of him on the back of the couch.
“This is small compared to the shindigs Irene drags me to. This I can handle. There’s only going to be a small handful of people here.”
Sorsha hadn’t told him she’d invited his cousins. She didn’t want him to call them and tell them to stay away, and she knew he would. It was easier not to say a word. Even if it felt like she was lying to him.
He reached forward and ran his fingers through her hair with one hand, his fingers massaging the back of her head. “Yeah?”
“Yes.” With a moan, she dropped her head back in his hand. It felt good.
Larz chuckled even as white vapors drifted around her hands in lazy puffs of smoke. “That used to only happen when we held hands,” he mused.
“Really?” Twisting to face him, she leaned the side of her head against his hand and smiled at him. “Did we hold hands a lot in the past?”
He tilted his head side-to-side. “No. Doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it.” He winked at her.
Heat and desire rippled through her as her eyes drifted down to his mouth. She rubbed her hands on her jeans and rose. “Do you want coffee? I need some coffee.
Larz chuckled. “Can’t handle the heat, Sorsha?”
There was no use replying. The truth was written on her face, and if he couldn’t read it, that was on him.
Part of her felt bad about not being honest with her feelings, but what choice did she have? They were roommates. She liked him—more than she’d ever wanted to admit—and if things didn’t work out between them, she knew he’d leave.
The timer on the stove distracted her from the torrent of thoughts in her mind. She had a ham to finish preparing for the evening.
It was no surprise that Irene arrived first. When Larz answered the door, she shouted, “Larz!” loud enough it made Sorsha wince from the kitchen. She glanced at the door in time to see Irene wrap her arms around Larz’s neck, nearly hitting him in the head with a case of beer.
Meeting Sorsha’s gaze, Irene whispered conspiratorially in Larz’s ear. As it were, the words made her raise her brows. “Are you and Sorsha still pretending to be nothing more than roommates?”
Larz was as smooth about his answer to her as he’d been the first time he met her. He smiled as he said, “There’s nothing to pretend. We are roommates.”
“Yet you still haven’t banged one another?” Irene shook her head as she pulled away. “I swear, you two have the patience of saints.”
He chuckled, and Sorsha smiled to herself as she returned to preparing the rest of the dishes she’d made for the evening.
“Hi, Irene,” she said in a pleasant voice, pretending she hadn’t heard the entire whispered conversation.
“Hey, girl. Look what I brought. It’s that nasty piss you like to drink.” Irene rolled her eyes but there was a grin on her face.
“I know. I know. I have no taste buds.” Sorsha laughed. “You don’t have to remind me.”
“Need help with anything?” Irene asked as she sat the case on the counter and pulled a couple of beers to chill in the fridge.
“Everything’s done. If you’re hungry, feel free to make a plate. Mr. Church said he’d be here soon, and then there’s only a handful of other guests coming.”
Pulling her phone from her pocket, Sorsha checked her texts. Ella had already let her know the
y were on the way, but they were stopping to pick up some drinks. She smiled as she shoved her phone back into her pocket. Then she washed her hands and pulled out a knife to slice up the ham into easy-to-grab slices.
“Expecting a hot date?” Irene asked, closing the fridge door.
“Only if you consider Tanner a hot date, and I haven’t for a long time.” She chuckled and shook her head. “Did you invite anyone?”
Irene shook her head. “I was kind of hoping to leave with one of your guests. . .” Her words trailed off as she gave Larz a meaningful look. “But I think he has other plans tonight if that glare’s anything to go by.”
Sorsha’s gaze drifted to Larz, already sitting on the couch again where she’d banished him to when he tried to help her finish cooking. His arms were stretched out on the back, which was normal, but he pointedly kept his gaze away from the two women, even as his fingers curled into the couch.
“The couch doesn’t deserve your unwarranted jealousy, Larz,” Sorsha teased.
Irene grinned and winked at Sorsha. “Still want to tell me there’s nothing between you two?”
Sorsha sighed. “It’s. . . complicated, Irene. We’re roommates.”
“Pft. You keep saying that as if roommates never became lovers or something.”
“You know me.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Irene said with a snort. She opened a beer and took a sip. “You don’t do flings. You do relationships. That’s why you and Tanner didn’t work out. When’s he coming by the way? I can’t wait to meet him. Oh! And your other out of town friend. What was her name?”
“Charlotte,” Sorsha confirmed, watching Larz’s reaction as she said it. He didn’t react. Unsurprising.
“I knew Charlotte wouldn’t be able to make it. Thanks for the reminder though. I need to text her. As for Tanner, I haven’t heard from him today. He said a couple days ago he was on his way, but he’d been held up at work. So I don’t know if he’s going to get here on time.” She pulled down some plates and handed one to Irene. “Grab some food. Eat. I’ll not have you drinking on an empty stomach.”