Or screams.
The men stood at impasse for a moment before Aidan cleared his throat. “Guys? Can we please focus?”
Will’s expression turned angry as he jabbed a finger at Aidan. “I’ll deal with you later. You knew he was behind the network all this time and didn’t tell me?”
Ryan waved him off. “Aidan didn’t know anything about what I had set up. He wasn’t involved in any of this. He thought I simply wanted a way to keep tabs on you. He had no idea what I had planned.”
Kal tried to follow the conversation and felt dizzy. Other questions were now annoyingly forcing their way to the front of her mind once more. Like where were they, and had she blacked out again? She still tried to remember how they’d reached the apartment. It was like they…
Like they just appeared there. Out of thin air.
She closed her eyes and took a few deep gulps of air to steady herself.
“Where are we?” she asked again once she felt she wouldn’t yak in front of them. She opened her eyes.
The three men looked at her. Ryan smiled.
Cheezus, he has a cute smile.
“Atlanta. It’s my base of operations, so to speak. I’m sorry for the little charade but yes, I am in charge of the network, not just one of the executives. And even more than that. However, we can wait for all of those details. I do not wish to overwhelm you.”
“Too late for that, buster,” she snarked. Then her brain finally processed his answer. “Atlanta? You mean Atlanta, Georgia?”
“We’re certainly not in Kansas, Dorothy,” Ryan playfully quipped.
She looked at them, then realized why the skyline appeared familiar. Turner Field was clearly visible through the windows. She’d seen aerial shots of it on TV. Another wave of dizziness hit her. “But…we were in Gainesville. That’s like six hours away! What is going on? What have you done to me? What’s happening?”
Will guided her to the couch. “You need to sit down.”
He stepped out of the way once she was seated. Ryan took his place.
“You’re going to find a lot of what I’m about to say very difficult to believe, but I need you to hear me out.” Ryan perched on the coffee table in front of her and held her gaze while fingering a dark red garnet amulet that hung on a chain around his neck. “Kal, I’m sorry to say you’ve been possessed by something called a wraith.”
“Will told me. How do we get rid of it?”
Ryan reached out, touched her shoulder, and left his hand lightly resting there. Suddenly, Kal felt okay about listening to him.
Maybe he’s hypnotized me. She felt a lot like she had that day in his office when he first pitched the job to her.
“I need to tell you a little of our history first.” Ryan glanced at the other two men. “We’re demons. Contrary to popular belief, we aren’t evil. To be more accurate, we’re archdemons. We are in charge of the Underworld, according to mythology, but in reality that encompasses the planet Earth.”
She crossed her arms and smiled. His revelation had stretched her credulity to the breaking point. “Riiight. That’s a good one. Can I go now?”
Ryan’s face hardened. Kal realized he wasn’t bullshitting her. She didn’t know how she knew, but it suddenly seemed very important that she listen to what he said. She focused on his intense green eyes.
Very familiar eyes, although despite having met with him in his office, she sensed she knew his gaze from somewhere else.
“Kal,” he said, “this is the truth. I have known you for many years. Followed your progress and kept tabs on you, although you didn’t know me. The Firm has been involved in most aspects of your life until now. You are special. I dare say singularly exceptional.”
“What’s so special about me?” The fact that someone—other than her father—had possibly been pulling strings in her life terrified her. Even someone as cute as Ryan.
“That doesn’t matter. You are very special. As Will said, he’d retired from The Firm after…a tragic, unfortunate incident. If he chooses to tell you more, that is for him to decide. A series of events were put into place to bring you and Will together. I’m sorry I was forced to do this, because it absolutely was my last and final resort. I did not wish to put you through this. Now you are possessed by the wraith, and it must be removed from you.”
“All right, fine. You can make me feel normal again?”
Ryan nodded. “Absolutely.”
Kal struggled to focus as the dark heaviness in her soul rolled again. There was definitely something wrong with her. She knew in her heart it had started when she fainted on the shoot. She could deal with the other crazy bullpucky later as long as they helped her get rid of this nasty feeling. “What has to be done?”
“Only a powerful archdemon can force the wraith out.”
“I said fine. Do it. Whatever.” It didn’t hurt to play along with them as long as this creepy feeling went away.
* * * *
Will watched Ryan shake his head. “I can’t do it.”
“Why not? You just said you can fix this!”
Will grudgingly gave Ryan credit for not trying to pass the buck on this one. You’re a fucking bastard, Ryan.
Ryan’s gaze never strayed from Kal. If Ryan heard his thought, he gave no indication. His focus never wavered from Kal. “Only a very powerful archdemon can remove a wraith embedded in a pure soul,” Ryan continued. “You have a pure soul.”
* * * *
Kal thought her father would be happy to hear that—from the head demon dude. Yeah, riiight. “And your point is? Or do you have one and you’re getting your jollies stringing me along?” The darkness rolled inside her again.
“Will is the only archdemon powerful enough, and who isn’t bonded to a soul mate, who is available to do this.”
“You said he’s retired.”
“He was. He has returned to The Firm so he can do this. Believe me, he hasn’t willingly returned. I needed him back. This was the only way to make him return.”
She glanced at Will. He stood looking at the floor, his arms crossed. Not a defensive posture this time, almost like he was hugging himself, trying to comfort himself. Whatever had to happen, he wasn’t very happy about it.
And that didn’t comfort her.
“Answer me,” Kal demanded, tired of Ryan beating around the bush. “What has to happen?”
“You have to bond with Will as his soul mate.”
The dark, evil feeling rolled in her gut again. “Fine, whatever. Do it.” She just wanted whatever it was gone.
Ryan shook his head. “You must completely understand what this means. You must sleep with Will and become his soul mate. The two of you would then, from there on, be bonded. Together.”
“What, like one person?” Eww!
Finally, a hint of a smile from Ryan. “No. I mean a marriage you cannot get annulled, if you wish to look at it in those terms. Till death do you part, literally.”
His meaning finally struck. “I’ve got to sleep with him? As in I’ve got to have sex with him?”
Ryan nodded. “That will not only evict the wraith but prevent its return.”
Numb, she stood and backed away from the men as his words sank in. She shook her head. “You can’t do this to me!” she angrily said. “There are laws against this kind of thing. It’s called rape in most places, if you weren’t aware of it!”
Ryan didn’t move from his perch on the coffee table, although he’d turned to watch her. “No, Kal,” he said. “It must be totally consensual on your part. You must willingly ask to be taken as his soul mate.”
She glared at them, her mind spinning. “What if I say no?”
Ryan’s steady gaze chilled her. “The wraith becomes completely embodied within you at the full moon. That’s in a few days. If it’s not removed before then… Well, I cannot allow an embodied wraith to roam the planet. It will not happen. I would have to choose the only other option, which I’d rather not resort to.” His tone softened in volum
e while hardening in strength. She didn’t have time to contemplate how he managed that little trick. “I guarantee that you would not wish me to.”
She wouldn’t ask. She didn’t want to know. It had to be horrible.
Or fatal.
Ryan continued. “There is only one option for you to rid yourself of the wraith, and that’s to become Will’s soul mate. You don’t have to say yes today, you have a few days to ease into the notion. Until you do offer your consent, you must be restrained at night, from moonrise until dawn, so you don’t injure anyone. You are easily capable of killing when the wraith is in control.”
Kal looked at her bruised and sore knuckles. To think she’d already hurt three people… Her stomach rolled again. “All right. I get a few days though?” Reason tried to break through, to tell her they were feeding her a line of garbage. Then she looked into Ryan’s eyes again and felt the truth of his words. It didn’t matter that it didn’t make sense. It felt like the truth.
“Yes. Before the full moon. If you have not decided by then, I shall have no alternative.” He stood. “In case you wondered, no, Will did not have any knowledge of this. Neither did Aidan. The planning was mine alone, and they were not participants. I do think if you are willing to give this a shot, even though right now it is a rather unsavory situation for you to be in, you will realize it’s in everyone’s best interests and a not entirely unpleasant outcome.”
She didn’t think anything else he said could shock her.
She was wrong. “You’re telling me I’ve got this horrible monster inside me, I have to sleep with a guy who hates my guts and won’t even look at me much less talk to me, and I’m supposed to thank you? Are you freaking crazy?”
* * * *
Will’s head snapped up in shock and surprise at her words. Hate her? She thought he hated her? A wave of guilt swept through him. He’d thought Aidan was exaggerating every time he’d scolded him about how he’d treated her. No, he didn’t hate her. He just wanted to keep his distance from her, not make her think he didn’t like her.
Now he hated himself—although not as much as he hated Ryan—for making her feel bad. He gave Kal credit, she handled the news better than he expected. Better than he did, that’s for damn sure. Ryan had to have used more than a little of his powers on her to keep her calm and accepting of the facts.
“No, not thank me,” Ryan said. “I rather expect the three of you will be charter members in the ‘We Hate Ryan’ club by nightfall. I can accept that. My job is to protect and to serve, and I will use whatever means I have to achieve that. You and I can have further discussions on this topic later, once we’re past this and things have settled. My job is to protect this world and I will do that. The lives and general well-being of billions of humans are more important to me than the lives of one or two here and there.”
She shook her fist at Ryan. “If you start quoting Star Trek movie lines to me, I’ll deck you, you son of a gun!”
Aidan laughed out loud. Even Will felt a smile attempt to conquer his lips.
Ryan did smile, this time in amusement. “Well, I’m more of a Star Wars man myself, but as you wish, love.”
* * * *
Kal, Will, and Aidan returned to the motel. She closed her eyes and didn’t want to know how they did it. Kal remained silent for the rest of the day, refused to speak to the men, even Aidan. Aidan stayed with her, keeping an eye on her while the others went to set up for the shoot. As the day lengthened, Kal felt tremors upending her soul, fleeting rages, and fought the urge to race out of the room.
Whatever it was, it grew stronger and she couldn’t deny it.
By dusk she noted Aidan carefully, silently watching her every move.
After one particularly frightening roll of her gut, immediately followed by an almost uncontrollable urge to rip out Aidan’s throat with her bare hands, Kal used the bathroom. Then she returned to the bed, lay down, and stretched her arms over her head.
“Go ahead,” she whispered, while trying not to cry.
He tried to be gentle, tightening the handcuffs only enough that she couldn’t get free, not enough to hurt her.
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry, Kal. I’m so sorry, sweetie. I never knew anything like this was going to happen.”
She took a deep, shuddering breath as the wraith—might as well admit it, she thought—tried to take control. “I know. I appreciate it.”
As her vision faded, she watched Aidan back away from the bed and start the video camera mounted on the tripod so it could film the room.
* * * *
Early gray light streamed through the curtains as Kal opened her eyes. Will leaned over her and unlocked the cuffs. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments before he looked away. A pleasant heat, definitely nothing like the wraith, coursed through her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
They were alone in the room. Kal nodded as she sat up and rubbed her wrists. “Yeah. Where’s Aidan?”
“He’s eating breakfast with the guys. Then he’s going to take a nap.”
Her stomach rumbled in reply, and she realized Aidan wasn’t the only hungry one. “How bad?” Did she want to even know?
Will looked away. “It’s getting stronger the closer we get to the full moon.”
The video camera was still set up. She pushed Will out of the way and found the footage, watched less than a minute before switching it off. She bolted for the bathroom, dropped to her knees in front of the toilet, and barely made it before her stomach upended.
She sobbed as each wave hit. The horrible, disgusting taunts coming from her mouth, the sick look on poor Aidan’s face as he was forced to sit there and endure it…
Another bout of nausea hit her, and she felt a comforting hand on her back. Will knelt beside her on the bathroom floor, holding her hair away from her face and saying nothing, but supporting her.
She gripped the toilet, her eyes squeezed tightly shut, awaiting the next wave. When it hit he steadied her. Twenty minutes later, when she nodded that she was done, he brought her a wet washcloth to wipe her face, then helped her to her shaky feet.
He’d remained silent but the worry, regret, and anguish washing off him felt unmistakable.
Kal rinsed her mouth and made it as far as the closest bed before her legs gave out. She heavily sat, Will’s strong arm still around her.
As much as she didn’t want to give in, she cried in his arms.
* * * *
She finally persuaded Will to leave while she took a shower and changed clothes. He stood guard outside her door with her room key in hand in case she needed him. The others had already finished eating and were packing equipment. They’d leave for Tampa after Aidan had a chance to rest. Ryan handled making the excuses and changing the production schedule without Will or Aidan getting involved.
Will ate alone with Kal and didn’t try to break their uneasy silence.
Kal wasn’t particularly hungry after viewing the footage of her overnight personality transformation, but knew she had to eat. She felt drained, beyond exhaustion, more like her energy reserves had been used. Of course they had, the wraith spent hours struggling and thrashing in the bed, and the resulting bruises around her wrists wouldn’t go away in the next day or two.
And the horrible things she’d said to sweet Aidan…
She closed her eyes and tried not to think about that. “Can I ride back with Aidan?” she asked.
Will watched her, then nodded. “If it’s okay with him.”
Maybe it wouldn’t be. “I need to talk to him, I think.”
“He knows it wasn’t you. He doesn’t take it personally. The wraith was in control.”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I take it personally. I need to talk to him.” She finally had all she could stomach and pushed her plate away. “He’s my friend.”
Another long silence settled between them. Will eventually broke it. “I don’t hate you,” he softly said. “I ne
ver meant to make you feel like that. I’m sorry. You’re good at your job, and I didn’t want to get involved with you. I just wanted to keep my distance.”
She nodded but didn’t respond.
“I had my reasons…” He stopped, his voice momentarily sounding choked. “Maybe at some point it won’t hurt so bad to talk about it. I can’t right now. But it wasn’t you, I swear.”
“Thank you.” Normally, she would have thrown back her head and thanked God for the revelation. She sensed he was telling the truth, and combined with his reaction when she fainted, she felt vindicated.
All the other events, however, tempered her relief. Especially her anguish at how she’d treated Aidan while under the wraith’s control.
They finished breakfast. Kal gathered her things and quietly helped sort and pack equipment. When Aidan emerged from his room two hours later, he wore his dark sunglasses and wouldn’t meet her gaze. They were the last to load up. On the far side of the van, out of eyeshot of the others, Kal grabbed Aidan’s arm and waited until he looked at her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, fighting the tears. “I know it wasn’t me saying that stuff, but I feel awful about it. Can you forgive me? I didn’t mean any of it. I love you like a brother.” She hadn’t meant to say it, but as soon as she did, she knew it was the truth. He did feel like a brother to her.
He shook his head and wrapped his arms tightly around her, sniffling. “Sweet cheeks, you don’t have anything to apologize for. If I’d known what Ryan was up to… This is my fault. I’m so sorry, babe. I never knew anything like this was going to happen. I’m so sorry.”
They blubbered on each other’s shoulders for a good five minutes. She wondered why Ryan didn’t use Aidan instead of Will for this purpose. He was obviously willing to be friends with her.
Then again, she didn’t feel the aching, visceral attraction for Aidan that she did for Will, and sensed that lack of sexual attraction was mutual. He slipped his sunglasses on top of his head, then cupped her face in his hands and wiped her tears with his thumbs.
Good Will Ghost Hunting: Demon Seed [Good Will Ghost Hunting 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 11