“Is she a witch?” Angel asked.
“Not exactly. I wouldn’t know quite how to describe her. Kamaria is…Kamaria.”
There was a shout from my room, and a loud crash. I rushed to the door and opened it. Kamaria was standing there, arms overhead, and I could see a spirit bearing down on her that reminded me of an octopus with a human face. The tentacles were tendrils of mist, and the face was enraged.
“I will contain you,” Kamaria shouted at the spirit. Then, without even glancing my way, she added, “Get out and shut the door. I’m busy.”
I quickly retreated. “Cripes, she’s fending off something that looks like it’s out of a monster movie. I don’t know who I’m more worried for—her or the ghost.”
“I’d put my money on Kamaria,” Herne said. He glanced at me as I stared at the door, forcing myself to keep from running in. “I can see you want to help her. Why don’t you go outside and check on what Yutani and Viktor did? If you interrupt Kamaria, things could go very wrong.”
Reluctantly, I turned toward the staircase, but the next moment, my bedroom door slammed open so hard the door splintered and put a hole in the wall behind it. Inside, Kamaria was in midair, arms and legs stretched out as the ghostly creature held her, misty coils wrapped around her neck, ankles, and wrists. She was trying to scream, but the tendril around her neck was squeezing her throat.
I charged in, with Herne on my heels. The others were right behind us.
As I crossed the threshold, my head began to swim and I found myself beginning to float up toward the ceiling. I tried to recover my balance, but with my feet in the air, there was no way to steady myself. It was as though a giant cloud had formed beneath me and was buoying me up toward the ceiling.
I barely realized that I was heading toward the ceiling when I slammed into it. The cushion of air that had buoyed me up vanished and I plummeted to the floor, landing flat on my back. The thud shook the room.
“Fucking hell.”
I blinked twice, trying to shake out of the haze of pain that ran through my body. My next thought was to assess whether I was hurt. I shifted carefully, but nothing felt broken, just jarred. I started to sit up, wondering why nobody had run over to help me, but then I understood why. Yutani was trying to fend off a ghostly tendril intent on wrapping around his waist. Herne was trying to yank Kamaria out of the clutches of the spirit. Talia was trying to protect Angel, who was holding out her hands to ward off the creature. And Viktor was thrashing his dagger toward the mist and vapor.
I had a sudden idea. I didn’t know if it would work but right now, anything was worth a try. I rolled over and pushed myself to my feet, wincing as my back creaked. Sprinting for the bathroom, I slammed the door behind me and turned on the water full force in the tub, plugging the drain. As the tub began to fill, I sent out a call for any water elementals who might be riding the waves through the city water pipes. And sure enough, I felt the questioning touch of one as the tub filled. I dropped to my knees, plunging my hands into the icy water, and pushed all of my fear and need into an image of the creature that was in my bedroom.
We need to disrupt it. Can you help me?
The water elemental hesitated, then came the hesitant sensation that yes, it would help. But I got the clear impression it would need form to do anything. With a sinking heart, I realized what it was asking. It needed my body.
I had never been possessed—giving permission or not. I had never lowered my guard enough to allow anything to take over. The thought terrified me, and yet…the elemental could help if I conquered my fear. Fear warred with need. But a scream from the other room shook me out of my frozen state and I broke down, lowering the wall. I shut off the water and let out a long sigh.
Very well. You may use my body. Just please, help us.
A cool feeling began to trickle through me, as though someone had injected me with a steady flow of rain, filtering through my veins drop by drop. Like liquid silver it flowed, a wave of energy that spread through my body. Round and round it began to spin, creating whirlpools and eddies throughout my spirit. The elemental crashed against the sides of my veins, then oozed slowly into the capillaries. After a moment, a steady wash began to surge through my veins, saturating my muscles and joints. I began to retreat, stepping to the side as the elemental took the helm. I could still see through my eyes, but it was as though I were watching a film, observing from a distance.
I stood and raised one hand, looking at it with wonder. My skin sparkled with a blue luminescence. My form felt malleable, shifting and reforming with every step as I reached out and unlocked the door.
The elemental sharing my body was curious and yet concerned. It felt my concern and worry and reflected them till they echoed around me, amplifying my emotions. If it could amplify my worry, I wondered, could it amplify my power?
My focus began to narrow into action. I had to destroy the spirit. I zoomed in on the thought: Drive the spirit out. Disrupt it.
The elemental responded.
As I reentered my bedroom, Yutani managed to free himself. He halted, staring at me, wide-eyed, then slowly began to back away. Talia stiffened as I approached the center of the room, and then she pushed Angel out the door.
The spirit’s attention was on Kamaria. It wanted to hurt her, and I could feel the waves of her fear and pain. I nurtured my rage. This spirit didn’t belong here. It was out of sync. Around it, a nimbus writhed, jammed with the forms of sub-demons, of psychic leeches, and all things that fed off of the living.
The elemental let out a growl, and the growl echoed from my throat. I raised my hands and channeled the raw power of Mother Ocean, the raging force that drove her gales and hurricanes across the surface of the world. The elemental brought the power of the storm raging in and the blast tore into the spirit.
Kamaria began to fall, but Herne caught her. He was staring at me—at us, for the elemental and I were one—and yet he didn’t move. Warily, he handed the unconscious medium to Viktor, who carried her out of the room to safety.
“Get out,” I said to Herne. “Now.”
He retreated with the others.
When they were out of range, I let go of that last little barrier inside, and the elemental took over completely. As the full power of the Ocean Mother began to boil and twist, the spirit let out a long howl. The vortex I—or rather, the elemental—was creating tore its vapors to shreds. With a shriek, a waterspout caught up the spirit, and I found myself staring directly into its face. It reached out, trying to mark me, but then another wave crashed over it, and it split asunder, its cords to the house severed. The water washed it away on the current of sparkling magic. I watched it go, impassive, and then the elemental began to retreat.
The next moment, the world went black, as I tumbled into the void that it left as it withdrew from my body.
Chapter 7
THE CEILING HAD a scorched look to it when I opened my eyes. I blinked, my entire body feeling like a live wire.
What happened? Why was I flat on my back, staring at an octopus-shaped soot mark?
I sucked in a deep breath and found out that breathing hurt—though not in the break-your-ribs kind of hurt. I winced, carefully prodding my stomach and chest, trying to ascertain what kind of damage I had taken.
It was then that I realized I was soaking wet, as though I had jumped into a swimming pool. The floor beneath me was wet. Frowning, I brought my fingers up to my nose and took a shaky breath, inhaling. It was fresh water, that much I could tell. I didn’t smell like brine.
I moaned and the next second, Herne was kneeling over me.
“Ember, are you all right?”
I struggled to sit up. “Yeah, I think so.” My memory was still fuzzy but as I spotted Kamaria, lying prone on the hall floor outside the bedroom, it all came back in one giant info dump. I thought I could hear sirens, but I wasn’t sure.
The elemental. The spirit. Being a walking representation of the
Ocean Mother.
“I don’t feel so hot,” I said, rubbing my head. As Angel smoothed Kamaria’s hair off her face, I realized that the medium was seriously injured. “What’s the damage? How is she?”
“Whatever that creature was, it hurt her bad. She has at least two dislocated joints, if not broken bones. And it siphoned energy off of her. Her breathing is shallow and her pulse is way too rapid,” Angel said, staring down at the woman. “If you hadn’t stopped that thing, she’d be dead by now.” She glanced up at me, her eyes somber. “That was no ordinary ghost.”
“No, it wasn’t. I’m not certain what it was, but it wasn’t the spirit of any human, I think. Whatever it was, it was old and hungry.” I held my hand out and Herne pulled me to my feet.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” He stroked my face.
“Yeah, I think so. How’s everybody else?” I glanced around.
Talia was nowhere in sight, and Viktor appeared in the doorway, carrying a clean painter’s cloth. He handed it to Angel and she gently tucked it in around Kamaria.
“Okay, we’ll be fine.” Herne paused as the sound of sirens grew louder.
“The sirens—an ambulance?”
Herne nodded. “Talia’s waiting downstairs for them.” As he finished speaking, voices echoed on the stairway and Talia appeared, leading two paramedics who were carrying a stretcher between them. I recognized them as shifters right away. She pointed to Kamaria.
“There she is.” Talia stepped aside.
Angel backed away as they approached.
“She’s human?” one of the paramedics asked.
Angel nodded. “Yes. Some sort of spirit creature attacked her.”
It was then I realized why Talia had called a SubCult emergency team. Even though they knew all about us, as well as ghosts and other beings, most human hospitals weren’t set up to treat injuries on the psychic front.
As they set to checking her blood pressure and heart, I turned to Herne.
“Whatever it is, it’s gone now.”
“I think it was attracted to the pain and violence left behind by the murders,” he said, lowering his voice. “I wish we would have recognized what it was earlier—I’ve encountered creatures like that on occasion. They’re a form of astral demon that feeds on life force, pain, and anger. It must have set up home here and has been feeding on the residual energy left behind by the killer and his victims.”
“Or maybe it even attracted him here. I thought it was his spirit, to be honest.” I glanced over at the paramedics. “We should pay her medical bills. I will, if the agency can’t. I hope to hell she’ll be all right. I feel responsible for dragging her into this situation.”
“Don’t. She’s dealt with worse. But yes, the Wild Hunt will pay for her expenses and for any time she loses due to recuperation.” He paused, then tapped me on the arm and motioned for me to follow him out into the hall, away from the paramedics working on Kamaria. Once we were there, he took hold of my shoulders, staring down at me. “What did you do in there? What happened? You weren’t you.”
I caught my breath. I had been waiting for the question. “I’ve never done this before. I didn’t even know I could, but I guess my work with Morgana has been preparing me for it.”
“My mother has a way of working subtly behind the scenes, and then boom…big changes. But what happened?”
“I summoned a water elemental, called it by filling the tub with water. I asked if it could help and it said yes, but only by taking possession of my body. So I allowed it to take me over.”
He froze, his eyes searching my own. “Your magic is evolving. I think you need to visit my mother to talk to her. I’m certain she didn’t mean for this to happen without her being involved. Are you feeling all right? Did it leave you, or is there a chance it’s left a cord in you, to plug back in when you might not have your boundaries up?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, but I don’t sense it anywhere. It left an aftereffect, though. I feel as though I can sense more. The moisture in the air, the water in my own body…I’m more aware of it all. I don’t know how to explain it, but as the power of the Ocean Mother moved through me, she left behind a part of herself.” I stopped, struggling to find the right words. There was no way to fully explain the sensation that I was feeling. Finally, I shook my head. “Leave it for now. Let’s go check on Kamaria.”
“All right, but when we get her settled and taken care of, I’m calling my mother.” He followed me back to where the paramedics were lifting Kamaria onto the stretcher. Her arm was no longer splayed out at a wrong angle, but her left leg was in a splint, as was her right wrist.
“How is she?” Herne asked.
“She’s stable, but she’s sustained multiple injuries. She has a shattered kneecap, her tendons and ligaments in her leg are bruised, if not torn, and her wrist seems to be fractured. She’s still unconscious, so we need to find a shaman who can enter her mind to see if there’s been any damage to her life force.” The paramedics adjusted the stretcher, raising it up to carry it down the stairs. “Do you know her family? They should be contacted.”
Herne glanced over at Talia. “Do we have a contact for her?”
Talia shook her head. “No, but I can try to find one. I’ll go with her to the hospital.”
“Good,” Herne said. “Meanwhile, we’ll take care of matters here.”
Talia vanished with the medics.
I was still feeling rough, completely raw and shell-shocked. The room looked like a war zone. All the new paint had been splattered with residue soot—at least it looked like soot—and right now the only thing I wanted to do was to get out of the house. I need to eat, and I needed to sleep away the massive hangover left in the wake of the elemental.
“I’m beginning to question the wisdom of buying this house,” I said, rubbing my forehead.
“Don’t,” Yutani said. “Wait till morning. We’ll come back and see how the dust has settled. Chances are, the spirits will have cleared out, after what just happened.”
I smiled him a faint thank-you, and we filed downstairs. Once there, Angel asked Herne to come back to the condo with us. He offered to drive me there, if she drove my car.
“I don’t think you should get behind a wheel right now.” He steered me out of the house as Angel locked up behind us.
Viktor and Yutani waved good night and headed off.
Angel seconded that. “I agree. And yes, I can drive her car back to the condo. I’ll see you there.” She headed toward my car. Angel and I had exchanged car keys when we moved in, so we had access to both our cars.
I let Herne bundle me into his car, still feeling rattled. As we pulled away from the house, I leaned my head back against the seat. I was feeling fragile.
“What are you thinking about?” Herne turned the ignition and pulled onto the street.
“Opening up. I’ve never let anything crawl inside me like that before. Hell, I have a hard-enough time letting people inside my life, let alone opening my psyche to a creature in order to let it control my body. But Kamaria needed help, and she needed it fast. I didn’t have a choice.”
“There’s always a choice. You had the choice to do nothing, but you decided to act instead. You stepped over the boundary of fear and into the unknown to help someone. That’s the definition of courage, in my book.” Herne flipped the turn signal, then changed lanes so we could make a turn.
I realized he was complimenting me, but right now I didn’t need a thank-you for what I had done. I wanted to understand it, to know how I had been able to create a path for the water elemental to enter my body. I wanted to be able to control it, so I could both do it again, if need be, and prevent it from happening if somebody else tried to force it.
“You said you’ll call Morgana for me? It’s so much easier than for me to try to reach her through a ritual.” Having a boyfriend who had a direct cell phone link to the gods was one perk I hadn’t counted on w
hen Herne and I had gotten together.
“I’ll do that as soon as we reach your condo.” He paused, then added, “Do you think that whatever is chasing you in your dreams might be trying to possess you?”
I shook my head. “No, whatever that creature is, it’s out for blood. It wants the Fae dead. Which is why I believe that my visions—dreams—whatever they are, have to do with the plague that’s sweeping through TirNaNog and Navane.”
I thought for a moment, not wanting to say what I was about to, but it needed to be said. “Listen, if by any chance I catch the iron plague—”
“You won’t,” Herne said, cutting me off.
“I hope not, but Herne, I am Fae. Full blooded, even if my bloodlines are mixed. If I do catch it and it turns out there’s no antidote, then I want you to help me. I don’t want to go out in pain. Do you understand?” I snuck a glance at him. I realized what I was asking, but he was the Lord of the Hunt, and his nature was both brilliant and dark. The Hunt was a force of death, as well as a force of nature.
“You’re asking a lot,” he said.
“I know. But…I am asking.” I held his gaze and he finally nodded.
“I’ll do what’s necessary. But you’re not going to catch it.”
WHEN WE REACHED the Miriam G Building, which housed my condo, Herne guided me to the elevator. Angel had already arrived home and by the time we reached the front door, she had opened up a can of soup and had cheese sandwiches grilling. Angel nurtured through food, and no matter what she cooked—whether from scratch or out of a can—it was prepared with love.
I eased myself into a chair. Not only had I been body slammed by the astral demon, but the elemental’s energy had left me aching and weary. The adrenaline rush had worn off and now I just wanted a warm bubble bath and a soft bed.
“I’m just grateful we figured out what was there before we actually moved in,” Angel said, setting our plates in front of us. She looked almost as tired as I felt.
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