by Deanna Chase
Tightening my grip on the microphone, I swayed back and forth, letting the music move through me, and then opened my mouth, crooning, “Midnight, soft light, you’re under my spell tonight.”
“Oh no, Pyper! Stop.” Ida May put her hands over her ears and gave me a look of sheer horror. “Don’t ever do that again. Do you want fairies to die or something?”
I might have been compelled to sing, but Xavier’s magic hadn’t done anything to help my voice. I sucked in a breath and continued. “Candlelight, silent night, you’re the one who makes everything all right.”
The music stopped abruptly, followed by Xavier standing. He glared at me. “Are you singing like that on purpose?”
“If you are, it’s sort of hilarious. If not, it’s tragic. You should never sing.” Ida May clamped a hand over her mouth, giggling.
I sighed. I’d always known singing wasn’t exactly my calling, but I never imagined it was that terrible.
“Your voice isn’t anything like Vienna’s,” Ida May pondered. “You’d be better off singing like Amy Winehouse. Sultry. Not soft and flowery.”
She had a point, though I was miles from the soulful tone of the blues singer. Not that any of that mattered. Xavier wanted Vienna. Not an Amy impersonator. “No. I was a dancer. Not a singer.”
Xavier’s lips twisted into a snarl, then he reached over and slapped the play button on the MP3 player. “Do it again. Try harder this time. Let the music come from your soul. Make me feel it.” He placed his hand over his heart and closed his eyes as if he were imagining how this was supposed to go. His eyes flew open, then narrowed. “Make me believe you. Otherwise your time here will come to an end. And it won’t be pleasant.”
Anger shot through my veins at his threat.
He glared at me, then started to pace. “I’m waiting.”
“Well, he’s a prickly pecker, isn’t he?”
I turned my attention to Ida May, intending to tell her to shut it. Instead, I clamped my mouth shut when she started to sing Vienna’s lyrics in a surprisingly delicate tone. Her voice was beautiful, breathtaking even.
She finished the first line of lyrics and winked at me. “Like that. Now it’s your turn.”
I shook my head, knowing I’d never sound like that.
“Sing!” Xavier ordered. “Put feeling into it, like you mean every word.”
I cleared my throat.
Ida May hummed for a moment, then started to sing again. She stopped abruptly and in her own demanding tone said, “Do it with me.”
Her sweet voice filled me as I closed my eyes and did my best to sing with her in harmony. It sounded better to my ears, but maybe it was just because I was hearing her. When we finally got to the end of the song, I opened my eyes and found Xavier leaning forward on the couch, still sneering at me.
“That was… I can’t even express how awful it was. I was this close to stabbing myself in the ear.” He got up and paced in front of me. “This isn’t going to work.”
I froze. What did that mean? Surely he wasn’t going to let me go, not now that I knew who he was.
“You are worse than useless. Now you’re a liability.” He stomped around, tugging at his hair with both fists.
Liability. Crap on toast! That wasn’t good.
“Say something!” Ida May urged. “Tell him you’ll practice. Otherwise that psycho is going to feed you to the fishes.”
I wanted to ignore her, but geez, she could be right.
He was mumbling to himself now and kicking at the couch.
I glanced at Ida May. She shot around the room, just as agitated as my captor. “Calm down!” I cried, not sure which one I was talking to.
They both froze.
Xavier recovered first. He squared his shoulders and moved toward me, determination in his focused gaze.
“Whoa!” I held my hands up. “There’s no need to be hasty. I can try harder. Singing just isn’t something I’ve done much of. I know if—”
He snaked his hand out and gripped my neck. Hard.
Can’t breathe. Can’t breathe. The words played over and over in my head as I clawed at his hand, trying and failing to dislodge his iron grip.
His eyes turned from dull blue to obsidian, and then he leaned in and kissed me.
21
Unable to move and horrified to have the monster pressing his chapped lips to mine, I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to fade away into the back of my mind. To divorce myself from my current reality.
But then instead of kissing me, he loosened his hold on my neck just enough that he sucked the remaining air from my lungs. The deprivation sent me into instant panic. My lungs seized as I frantically tried to reclaim my air, and my limbs flailed, striking out at him with surprising force. Pain radiated up my arm when my fist slammed into his surprisingly solid chest.
He let out a grunt, immediately tightening his fingers around my neck. Blackness creeped in around the edges of my vision. This was it. He was going to kill me right there in the barren room. No last moments with Julius. No chance of fighting back. No one to witness my death except Ida May, my inappropriate ghost.
Heck, maybe we’d become BFFs in my afterlife. The idea took root and I vowed to haunt the crap out of Xavier. He’d rue the day he ever touched me. I’d sing in his ear, hide his keys, junk-punch him in his sleep.
Air rushed into my lungs along with a cooling sensation. Xavier pushed me back, and released me.
My legs collapsed under me, and I fell on the wooden stage, gasping for air.
“Pyper!” Ida May cried. I glanced up at her and watched as she screamed in his face. “You’re a dead man. Touch her one more time and I’ll make it my mission to turn you into swamp food. Stupid, no-good piece of beetle dung.”
He didn’t even flinch. Of course he didn’t. He couldn’t hear her threats. “Get up,” he ordered.
My legs curled under me and I rose automatically. I stared at my limbs, hating the way my body responded to him against my will. “Is that what that kiss was about? Spelling me?”
He tapped the MP3 player once more. The music to another one of Vienna’s most popular songs filled the room. “Sing.”
Her words belted from my lips, sounding deeper and raspier than hers ever did, but my tone was infinitely better than it had been before.
The frustrated lines around his eyes smoothed out as he relaxed back into the couch.
As the music faded, my voice trailed off and silence filled the room.
“Holy balls,” Ida May finally said. “If he spelled you permanently, you could take that show on the road.”
I grimaced. Being spelled, or more likely cursed, was repugnant. My skin crawled just thinking about it.
“Stop scowling,” Xavier said, his tone cold. “The next time, act like you mean it. Move those hips and feel the lyrics. I want you to seduce me with the music.”
My stomach turned.
“Jeez. What a freak.” Ida May moved away from him as if even hovering near him would give her cooties. “I have got to get out of here.”
“You?” I said and immediately regretted it when Xavier turned in her direction.
“Who are you speaking to?”
The heat rose in the room a few degrees, and the lights seemed to dim slightly. I blinked and felt a profound sense of loss when I realized Ida May had vanished. It wasn’t as if she’d been all that helpful, but at least with her around, I’d felt less… alone.
“Tell him it’s me,” Vienna said from beside me.
I started and took a step away from her. When had she gotten there?
“It’s your only hope,” she added, already moving toward him.
“Ms. Rayne, speak.”
There was no holding back, not when he gave me a direct order, thanks to his curse. “Vienna is here.”
His jaw tightened and he glared at me. “Do not lie to me.”
I cut my gaze to Vienna. She stood right next to him, a scary look on her normally angelic face. “I’m
not lying. She’s here. To your left.”
She turned and met my eyes, fire burning in her gaze. “Tell him I want him to let you go.”
Xavier stiffened and reached out to Vienna, his hand going right through her transparent body.
She shivered, but her voice remained strong. “Tell him.”
I swallowed, certain this wouldn’t go well. “She wants you to let me go.”
His head snapped toward me. “I think you understand that isn’t going to happen.”
Vienna lifted into the air, and her body started to glow.
I sucked in a sharp breath when he lifted his head in her direction.
“She’s there isn’t she?” he asked.
“Can you see her?” My heart sped up and my skin prickled as nervousness shot through me. Something was about to happen, but I didn’t know what.
He shook his head. “I… feel her,” he said breathlessly, his face lighting up with incandescent lust.
Something inside me died. This man had killed her because of his obsession. And with that realization my knees nearly buckled as I sank to the floor. How long had I been in this room? Hours? Was there really any chance he was going to let me go? I wasn’t Muse. And I knew what he’d done to her. My only hope was that he’d spell me to keep silent, but he had to realize I had powerful friends. Unless he was a complete idiot, I was likely to end up just like Vienna.
“I’m going to stop him,” Vienna said.
“How?” I asked, no longer caring what Xavier heard.
“How what?” he asked.
I ignored him as I sat on the stage, my head in my hands.
“Trust me.” She left Xavier and moved to hover near me.
“Were you talking to her?” Xavier whispered, cocking his head to the side as if listening for her.
I stifled a groan.
“Answer me!”
“Yes.” The word flew out of my mouth, but I clamped my lips shut, determined to not say any more than I had to.
“What did she say? Is she here to see me?” The hopefulness radiating from him made me want to hurl.
“Don’t answer that!” Vienna cried, but the words were already on the tip of my tongue. “No!”
She barreled into me, her ghost-self dousing me in ice water.
“Hey!” I cried out.
Don’t fight it, Vienna said in my head.
“What the—” My words cut off even though my lips were still moving. No sound, no words, no nothing. I was mute.
Relax, Vienna said. I’m visiting your body. I’m here to help you get out of this mess.
How? I’m not a witch. You shouldn’t be able to share my space like this. Hadn’t we determined Razer had invaded Julius because they both had magic?
You do have magic. A faint trace of it. I can feel it in your blood. Just enough to make a difference. That, along with the fact that you’re a medium, is enough.
Her words shocked me into silence. Magic? Me? How was that possible? No. You’re wrong. I don’t have magic.
Think about it, Pyper. Haven’t you ever done something you can’t explain? Something you brushed off as something else?
The recent memory of shouting at the same time the spell was neutralized in room 1538 flashed in my mind. But that was a coincidence, wasn’t it?
No. It wasn’t. Your magic isn’t strong. Probably not something you’d ever notice. But it’s enough to make a difference when you’re working with someone else. Now work with me so we can defeat this creep.
Her words gave me hope, but I was still skeptical. What if our souls merged? Panic raced up my spine. I’d been here before, and even though I was sure she was trying to help, I’d almost rather take my chances with the perverted man-witch than risk losing my soul.
Trust me. It was Jade’s idea.
Jade? You spoke to her? Relief washed through me at the thought. She wouldn’t rest until she found me. Neither would Kane or Julius.
No. But I did talk to Razer. This is the current plan. If you let me in, we can fight this bastard with my magic and save us both.
Save us both. Her words echoed in my mind, and all my resistance vanished. My limbs relaxed. My breathing evened out. And then I felt light, airy, as if I were floating.
“Vienna?” Xavier asked, his eyes wide.
I stared down at myself, or tried to, but my gaze was fixated on Xavier, Vienna’s hatred filling every corner of my soul.
“Xavier,” Vienna said. “It’s been a long time.”
“Ten years.” He reached for her hand, and to my surprise, she let him take it.
The sensation was extremely weird and totally foreign. I could sense him touching my hand, but at the same time, I had the feeling that I was living in a dream—present, but not.
His fingers laced through hers. Every muscle in my body stiffened, but Vienna’s tone was careful, devoid of any anger. “Is there somewhere we could go to talk?” She glanced around the stark room. “Somewhere that doesn’t feel like a dungeon.”
He tightened his grip on my hand and frowned. “But this is the safest place. No one will bother us here.”
“There’s no window. I want to see the ocean, feel the sea air as we reconnect.” The disgust she churned up as she sweet-talked him stayed in a tightly coiled ball in my stomach. Her acting skills and self-control were off the chart.
Xavier gazed at her like a lovesick puppy. He reached up and brushed the hair behind my ear, trailing his fingers down my jawline. “You know we can’t do that, love.”
Ugh. How was she just standing there, letting him place his hand on me? If I’d been in possession of my body, I’d have broken a finger or five. That is until he ordered me to be the good little obedient singer.
“You have the power to keep everyone away. Look at everything you’ve accomplished. You fought Razer and won. You kept Muse from spilling your secrets. And if our fight hadn’t been so passionate, I’m sure we’d have found a way to be together. You’re stronger than this. Xavier. Let’s find a way out of this room and into the sun, where we can begin again.”
A small smile turned the corner of his lips up as he let his gaze wander the length of my body. “You have no idea how much I’ve longed to hear you say those words. I’m sorry, Vee. I never meant to hurt you.” He leaned in, pressing his forehead to mine.
“I know,” she said softly, but inside, her emotions were a turbulent storm. Blood rushed through my veins, followed by something electric, something powerful, something so strong my insides vibrated with it.
Her magic.
It filled me up, consumed me, made me itch to use it.
Relax, she ordered in my mind. This is what is going to save you once he releases us from this room. If you try to syphon the magic from me, we’re both going to suffer.
I had no idea what she meant by both of us. She was a ghost and presumably could leave anytime she wanted. But if she was right and I stole her magic from her somehow, it wasn’t likely I’d escape the command spell he’d put on me. And since I’d had no idea how to wield magic anyway, I did as she asked, trying my damnedest to not interfere.
“Come,” Xavier said, tugging her toward the couch. “Sit with me for a minute.”
She hesitated.
Xavier’s eyes narrowed. “I said come.”
The spell he’d put on me flared to life, and everything in me ached to do as he said.
But that wasn’t the case for Vienna. She held the spell back, keeping her free will.
I wanted to do a fist pump and cheer her on. There was nothing better than a strong, clever woman beating back a small, entitled man who thought he could use people and take whatever he wanted. She… no, we were going to make this douche-bucket pay for his sins. Just as soon as we got an opening. She might have the magic, but I had the body, and we needed to work together to end this loser.
Do what he says, I said. Make him think he still has the upper hand. He’ll never leave this place if he doesn’t think he has control.
The tension in his shoulders eased slightly as he smiled at her, but made no move to pull me onto the couch. Instead, he wrapped an arm around my waist, tugging me in close to his rail-thin body.
She let him, even tucked my head against his knobby shoulder. He smelled of mothballs and stale coffee. The stench burned my nostrils, and I longed for the rich aroma of the mocha lattes I served back at the café.
You’ll be there soon enough, Vienna said. All I need is for him to release us from this room. Then all hell is going to break loose.
22
Xavier hugged me to his side, his grip strong and biting into my upper arm.
Vienna just gazed up at him, ignoring the pain I knew she had to be feeling. “Please, Xav? I’m ready to start fresh.”
He tilted his head to the side and studied her. “What about Ms. Rayne? She’s still with you, right? We’ll need to do something about her.”
“Yes, she’s here, but I’m a witch. I’m stronger than her. She has no hope of taking over, and before long, she’ll fade away entirely. It’ll just be you and me… forever.”
Her words about me fading away rang true. It was nearly impossible for two souls to share the same body for very long before one took over. Was she playing me? Was all of this to get a new lease on life? How far was she willing to go after her decade-long ordeal?
It didn’t matter. I didn’t have a choice. She had control over me. And if we escaped this dungeon, my chances of survival were infinitely better.
“You do seem to be getting stronger by the minute.” He lifted a lock of my normally black hair so it was in my sight. Only it wasn’t black, it was blond. Blond with copper streaks in it. Vienna’s hair.
Holy crow, even my appearance was being taken over.
“It’s because of you,” she whispered in his ear. “You have given me the strength to come back, to fight for what I want. But I want to be equals this time. Can we do that? Start over? Become the couple you always wanted us to be? Razer is gone. So are the pressures of my career. I can sing for you and only you.”