It felt like he had been gone for hours, and she knew that she wasn’t that far off, because Jordan kept looking towards the trees, where Ryan had disappeared. Obviously the tiny woman was growing more anxious by the minute, and Leanna, though she had stopped actively fighting against Jordan, given that it was pointless, was also growing more agitated.
“You can’t last much longer,” Leanna said, breaking the silence that had reigned for the entire time that Ryan had been away. “The connection is fading. It won’t be long before I’m not here anymore. There’s nothing you can do about it either.”
“Be quiet,” Jordan said to the woman, still looking at the trees. “Ryan knows what he’s doing. Don’t concern yourself with that.”
Angela appreciated Jordan’s faith in Ryan. She felt the same way, but it didn’t stop her from wishing that he would reappear sooner rather than later. Every minute that ticked by was precious. She didn’t know how many minutes she had left before she lost control completely to Leanna or before the police came to arrest her for a murder she hadn’t committed.
“Oh yes, the great Ryan Minton,” Leanna sing-singed. “He hasn’t done much so far.”
“He’s prevented you from burning down your ex-husband’s house,” Angela said, risking infuriating the woman again. She didn’t care though. She was getting desperate for something—anything—to happen.
Leanna sneered at her. “He’s off playing with his childhood friend. Shows how much he cares about you. His friend can’t help you and neither can Ryan. You might as well accept it. I control your fate.”
“There he is.” Jordan cut Angela off as she started to respond, pointing towards the trees. “Ryan, you asshole! Get over here.”
Ryan jogged towards them, the world shimmering around him as the tenuous connection they had built continued to fade. Angela was on her feet in seconds, running towards him. He smiled when he saw her, and when she threw her arms around his neck, he picked her up and kissed her hard.
“You were gone for the longest time,” Angela said, sweeping her fingers through his hair as she stared up into his handsome face. “I was worried.”
He kissed her again, pulling her close. “Everything is going to be fine now. I got what we need.”
“You did?”
Ryan released her, but kept her hand in his as they walked towards Jordan and Leanna. “I did.” He looked over at Jordan. “Let her go. We’re done with her.”
Jordan stood up, releasing Leanna. “You got what you need?”
“I did.”
Leanna looked wary as she too got to her feet. “You didn’t.”
“You’re irrelevant now,” Ryan said, looking her dead in the eye. He pulled Angela up with him, so that she was standing close to Leanna. “See this woman? This is a woman who is about to be free from you.”
“You’re a liar.”
Ryan got into Leanna’s face, his voice ice-cold. “Your revenge plan—it’s over. You need to start getting used to that. And when I rid you from Angela’s body, I’m not going to send you back into the spirit world to imprison someone else with your toxicity. I’m going to banish you.”
“You can’t do that.”
Ryan ignored her, turning back to Angela. “Do you think I can?”
“Absolutely,” Angela said, without hesitation.
“Not only is she prettier than you, Leanna,” Ryan said, sliding his arm around Angela’s waist. “She’s smarter than you, too. We’ll be seeing you soon.”
Before Leanna could react, the world around them began to fade. It was gradual, not like the first time that their séance had been interrupted by Ryan’s panicked reaction to James. When they reentered the real world, Angela felt dizzy for a moment, but quickly got her bearings as she looked around Ryan’s living room.
“That’s not what I thought a séance was,” she said, sweeping her hair off the back of her neck to cool herself off. She was suddenly extremely hot, as though the world that she had been in was a break from Louisiana’s oppressive humidity and her body was protesting returning to the thick, heavy air. “The movies really get this wrong.”
“The movies get a lot of things wrong,” Ryan said, getting up and going to the kitchen. He returned with several bottles of water, handing one to each woman. “Rehydrate. Existing within the connection really takes a toll on your body, even if you don’t feel it at the time, and we’ve been in and out of it a lot lately.”
“Just twice,” Angela said, taking a long draught anyway.
“Feels like more.” Ryan turned to Jordan. “I know where we need to go for the cleansing ritual. James showed me. He showed me a lot of things, actually, but we’ll talk about that later. We need to get into the agency, get what we need, and head there now. Leanna is going to be frantic. If she can take over Angela again, she will. She’ll try to take her over and run her out of town to get her away from us.”
Angela’s relief dissipated. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
“If we expel her from you, best-case scenario for her is that she has to start over and build up a connection with someone else,” Ryan said. “She’s got a very strong hold on you right now. When she’s in control, she can make you do pretty much anything, as she showed us last night by murdering someone. That kind of connection takes a while to develop, and with some people she might not be able to do it at all. That’s best-case scenario for her.”
“What’s the worst-case?” Angela asked, gripping her water bottle tightly, the plastic crunching under her grip.
“What I threatened her with,” Ryan said. “Expulsion. See, when a person dies and becomes a spirit, if they’ve lived a good life with no outstanding grudges—significant grudges that is—and no tasks left unfinished, then they pass straight through the in-between place we’ve just been in, and they go to a happier resting place. They’re gone, and they don’t interact with us. Those who have unfinished business stay in that in-between place until they’re able to finish it or let go of it. But—they can also be expelled. It’s not an easy thing for a person to do, but you can expel a spirit. When that happens, the spirit doesn’t pass on, and it can’t stay in between. It basically ceases to exist. That is the worst thing that can happen to a spirit.”
Angela stood up, glancing between Ryan and Jordan. “That’s what we’re going to do to her?”
“Yes,” Ryan said. “I want to know that Leanna Bard is no longer a threat to you or to anyone else. But you need to know that it won’t be easy, Angela. It won’t be easy on you, specifically. Because you’re her host.”
“I want her gone,” Angela said. “Whatever that takes. I need her gone.”
Jordan stepped away from their conversation, checking her phone. Ryan glanced at her nervously, which made Angela nervous, too.
“What?” she asked. “What’s happened?”
“Barrett just texted. First mention of your name in the police station.”
“Shit,” Ryan said, swearing as he pressed the heel of his hand to his eyes. “Okay, we’re running out of time. We need to get out of here now.”
Jordan started gathering the objects from the séance. “Can’t leave this out,” she said, when Ryan gave her a questioning look. “Someone goes looking for Angela, they’re going to end up here eventually, and if they see this out—that doesn’t look good for her, now does it?”
“Hurry,” Ryan said, taking Angela aside and pulling her into the kitchen with him. When they were alone, he took her shoulders in his hands and made her look up at him. “You need to understand that what we’re about to do does come with a certain amount of danger,” he told her. “That was always going to be true. I won’t let anything happen to you—I promise. But I can’t not tell you that there have been people before who have suffered during the ritual.”
“Has anyone died?” Angela asked, already knowing the answer.
“Yes.”
She wasn’t surprised. Even knowing nothing about possession, other than what she had directly experienced, she un
derstood that the process of separating a spirit from her body was going to be a complicated, delicate, and dangerous thing to do.
And she didn’t care.
“There’s no choice,” she said, shaking her head. “Leave her with me, and I’m as good as dead. Take her from me, and maybe I’ll live.”
“You will live,” he said. “Death is very rare, but it does happen. It’s not going to today. What will happen is a lot of pain and maybe some unconsciousness.”
“I’m ready,” she said. “I know what I’m getting into, and I just want it done.”
Ryan nodded. He seemed to have more to say, but he hesitated slightly.
“What is it?” Angela asked, touching his arm. “You’re worried about something.”
“I talked with James,” Ryan said, the words rushing out quickly. “He said a lot of things. I’ll tell you about them later. But …it changed things, Angela. It changed me. And …I know that when all of this is over you’re not going to want to stay in Louisiana. Not after what you’ve been through. And I don’t blame you. But I want to go to Bristol with you.”
Shocked, Angela didn’t know what to say at first. “You …what?”
“You’re not going to want to stay here,” Ryan said. “At least, not at first. Why would you want to stay here? But …Angela.” He stopped talking, trying to gather his thoughts. “I don’t want this to end, just because it began like this.”
She was touched. More so than she would have thought she would be. Lifting onto her toes, Angela brushed a kiss against Ryan’s lips, her hand resting gently against his cheek. “You’re sweet.”
“Oh, God. There’s a ‘but’ following that.”
“No, there’s not,” Angela said, surprising herself with her next words. “I want you to come with me. If I go. Or if I stay …then I don’t know. But I agree. I want to see what could happen.”
Ryan smiled at her, lifting his hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. “I know that it’s insane, in the midst of all this, but that makes me really happy.”
“Me too,” Angela said, unable to keep from smiling back. Truthfully, she hadn’t thought about what would happen when all this was over. If it ever was over. If she suddenly was free of Leanna and if the police didn’t arrest her for murder, would she want to stay here in Louisiana, continue her work, and date Ryan?
Any sane person should say no—they would flee back to the safety of Bristol. But Angela thought she might like to stay, and the reason for that was more the man standing in front of her than the work she was doing there.
Ryan slipped his arms around her, bringing her in close and leaning his head down to kiss her. Leaning into him, Angela wrapped her arms around his neck, and the kiss quickly grew heated. There had always been a simmering desire between them. She’d felt a spark the moment that she’d seen him. But she hadn’t known that it could produce something like this—something that would make her want to stop everything and make love to him again, no matter how crazy the world got.
“Hey—you two.” Jordan stepped into the kitchen and snapped her fingers. “Let’s go. We can get out the back way. Hurry up.”
Chapter 34
Ryan
Avoiding the crime scene meant going the long way around to get to the agency, where they would find the materials needed for the ritual they were about to perform. They had to detour far to the north, then come back down, picking up the main road from a place miles from the house. But they managed it, and they got to the agency, collected their materials, and made it to the south side of the bayou without incident.
It was a good start to what was about to be an arduous process.
They parked the car near the beginning of a path that would lead them deep into the trees, into the part of the bayou where James had died so long ago. Ryan got out of the car, glancing over at Angela. She had been very quiet since they’d left the agency. In fact, he didn’t think she’d uttered one word, even though he and Jordan had done quite a bit of talking.
He didn’t blame her. She had to be nervous about what was to come. Rounding the car, he went to Angela and took her hand, lifting it to press a kiss to her palm. “It’s okay. I’m right here.”
Angela looked up at him, offering a small smile and nodding. But he could tell that it wasn’t a real smile.
He didn’t push her, but he did keep her hand in his as they began to walk into the woods. Jordan walked ahead of them, getting the lay of the land and giving them some space. Jordan was insensitive about many things, but she wasn’t quite as immune to emotions as she liked to pretend. Jordan herself was uninterested in romance and feelings in general, but she clearly recognized such things in other people, and she tried to give them some space.
“You want a rundown of how this is going to go?” Ryan asked, trying to keep Angela’s mind active so that she had less time to worry. She was the kind of person who liked a plan. She needed to know what was going to happen to her.
Angela nodded, glancing up at him gratefully.
“This is an old ritual,” he said, walking close beside her. “People have used it for centuries, to rid themselves of spirits. So it’s time-tested, and it’s effective. We needed some information—we needed to know the right spot to go to first of all. The spot where Leanna first attached to you is the only place where this will work. That’s where we’re headed now. When we get there, we’re going to set up a circle, similar to the one that we used for the séance, but with different totems and elements. Those things will create a circle of power.” He looked over at her again, a bit uncertain. “Do you …want to know each item? Will that help?”
She shook her head, looking up at him as she waited for him to continue.
Ryan waited for her to say something more, but when she didn’t, he kept talking. “Once we get into the circle, there’s a chant that we have to complete. It’s a purifying chant. You’re going to start to feel a burn. I’ll be honest—it’ll feel like your body is coming apart from the inside out. When I get to the part where I repudiate Leanna’s task that she has to accomplish before passing fully to the other side, you’re going to feel like you’re dying. You’re not.”
Angela had stopped walking, and she put her hands over her face, her shoulders hunched over.
Concerned, Ryan stopped, placing a hand on her back and rubbing gently. “Honey? Are you all right? I know it sounds awful. But Jordan—she’s a blue dragon. She has healing powers. They’re not as strong as a witch’s or a warlock’s powers, but she can help take away pain, and she can heal minor injuries. She’s going to help you through this.”
Reaching for him, Angela let out a soft sob. Ryan’s heart broke for her, and he took her hands in his, drawing her into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, wishing that he could take away all of the pain and fear she was feeling. He would take it on himself, gladly, to spare her having to feel any of it.
“I know,” Ryan said, stroking her hair. “It’ll be over soon. It’s okay to be afraid.”
Angela let out another sob, pressing her face against his neck and her hands against his back. The way she was clinging to him made him realize just how terrified she was, and he held her closer, trying to shelter her.
“Honey, what’s happened?” he asked, growing more and more concerned. “I know that you’re afraid, but you were doing better …before. What’s happened that’s making you so scared?”
She whispered something against his neck, but he couldn’t hear her.
“What did you say?” he asked, kissing her hair to try to soothe her.
But when she repeated her words, his blood ran cold.
“I said—you shouldn’t have underestimated me, Ryan Minton.”
The words, spoken with a strong Southern twang, preceded the horrible, sharp pain that pierced through his back and radiated along his limbs. Ryan gasped with shock and pain, stumbling back from Angela and staring into her familiar face, knowing that it wasn’t Angela he had been caressing and reassuring.
“I told you,” Leanna said, Angela’s lips moving in sync with the sounds. “Don’t underestimate me. I can’t let you do this.” As she finished speaking, she quickly moved back, putting distance between them as Ryan sank to his knees, gasping for air.
Ryan called for Jordan, needing her able body to stop Leanna. “Jordan!” he called, shouting as loudly as he could between coughs and sputters. “Jordan!”
When he called for Jordan, Leanna, within Angela’s body, turned and ran in the opposite direction. She fled, moving with impressive speed, and Ryan was helpless, watching her as she ran. Leanna was stealing Angela from him, and he could hardly breathe, much less stand. The pain was so immense that his vision was blurry, and he sank into the marsh on his hands and knees, the weapon jutting out of his back cruelly.
In the distance, he heard Jordan rushing towards him.
“Oh my God,” Jordan gasped, pushing through the trees and stopping in front of him. “Shit!”
“Go,” Ryan managed, his voice rasping. “Leanna has her. She’s taken control back. Go get her. Bring her back.”
Jordan moved towards him, reaching for the knife in his back. “I need to get this out and help you heal first. That’s more important. We can find Leanna together, once you can move again.”
“No,” Ryan barked, moving away from her hands, the quick movement causing pain to radiate that much more sharply. “No—get her.”
“Ryan—.”
“Get her!” Ryan shouted. “Get her and bring her back here to me. Bring Angela back to me, whole and unharmed. And bring that bitch back to me, too. So I can end her.”
Jordan clearly wanted to argue with him further, but she knew that he wasn’t going to budge. She backed off, shaking her head with disapproval, but then she turned and ran in the direction Leanna had gone. In the distance, Ryan could still hear Leanna’s feet crashing through the bayou, and he knew that Jordan could hear it, too. She would catch Leanna in no time. Jordan was faster and stronger.
Rockwell Agency: Boxset Page 21