Love & Ghosts: Crescent City Ghost Tours

by Pulkinen, Carrie

  Sighing, she stepped inside and dropped to her knees again. She ran the salt along the baseboards, under her clothes and around the corner. When she reached the section of built-in shelving, her heart kicked up in a little sprint. That stupid box sat at eye level, taunting her. Things were going so well with Sean right now, she couldn’t risk him knowing she hadn’t chunked it yet.

  As soon as he left tomorrow, she’d toss it in a dumpster and be done with it. For now, it would have to be covered. She ran her hand across the top of the box.

  Or she could keep it. Who was he to tell her what she could or couldn’t have? It was her apartment. Her box.

  She yanked her hand away and tossed a t-shirt over it. It was going in the trash tomorrow. End of story. She lowered herself to the floor and spread the salt in front of the shelves.

  Rising to her feet, she moved to step through the door but ran smack into Sean’s chest. She squealed, and he laughed.

  “How’s it going in here?”

  “Oh, fine. It’s all done. Time to move on.” She grabbed his hand and tried to pull him away from the closet. “Come help me with the living room.”

  “Hold on. I need to smudge every room.” He stepped into the closet, and she held her breath as he turned in a circle, releasing smoke into the air. “This space is for the living. All entities are now banished. You are not welcome here.” He turned to her. “Repeat what I just said. You’ll need to say it in every room.”

  Her palms went slick with sweat as she recited the words, and Sean stepped toward the shelves and peered at the floor underneath.

  “I promise I was thorough.” Hopefully he didn’t hear the hint of panic in her voice. She did not want to get into an argument over a stupid chunk of wood.

  He pointed to the ground. “You’ve got the salt running in front of the shelves. Make it go all the way to the baseboard in back. If something resides in the walls, we don’t want to give it any wiggle room.” He stepped out of the closet, and she let out her breath.

  “Right. I did that in the bathroom. I’m not sure why I didn’t here.”

  “It’s okay.” He grinned and kissed her cheek. “We’re almost done.”

  She vacuumed the salt from in front of the shelves and poured a trail along the baseboards beneath them. Then she followed him through the house, reciting the words to banish the evil spirits, and he helped her finish salting the living room and kitchen. By the time they were done, her knees were bruised, and her back ached from crawling on the floor.

  She plopped onto the couch as Sean opened a bottle of wine. “Vanquishing evil is hard work.”

  He laughed. “It is. But it’s done now. I don’t sense that low vibration I felt earlier.”

  “So we’re evil-free?”

  “It seems that way.” He gave her a glass of wine and snuggled up next to her on the couch. “How’s your head?”

  “It’s fine.”

  “And I don’t feel like punching anyone, so I think we’re good.” He clinked his glass to hers and took a sip. “Movie time?”

  “Sounds great.”

  * * *

  They spent the entire day in her apartment, and Sean couldn’t think of anywhere else he’d rather be than wrapped in Emily’s soft embrace. As the last movie in their marathon ended, she sighed and rested her head on his shoulder.

  “Everything okay, sweetheart?”

  She slid her hand up his inner thigh, and his stomach tightened at the intimacy of her touch. “Everything’s perfect.” She lifted her head and placed her other hand on the back of his neck. “I love you.”

  His heart raced at her words. The sexiest, smartest, most amazing woman alive was in love with him. How did he get so lucky? “I love you too.”

  She flashed her seductive smile and flicked out her tongue to moisten her lips as she trailed her fingers from his leg up to his stomach. His jeans grew tighter across his hardening groin, and when she slipped her fingers beneath his waistband to brush his tip, he shuddered. “I think it’s time for bed.”

  “I agree.”

  Taking his hand, she led him into the bedroom and slowly undressed for him. Never moving her gaze from his, she let each article of clothing drop to the floor until she stood before him, gloriously naked, and ran her hands down her own soft curves.

  His fingers twitched with the urge to touch her. To take her in his arms and caress every inch of her luscious body. But the look in her eyes told him she wanted to take the lead this time, and he was happy to oblige.

  “Take your clothes off.”

  She didn’t need to ask him twice. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked it up, but she stopped him with a hand on his stomach.

  “Slowly. I want to watch you.”

  Oh, holy hell. The sultry sound of her voice turned his insides soft and his outsides rock hard. He slowly peeled his shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor. She raked an approving gaze over his chest and nodded.

  “That’s better. Now your pants.”

  He popped the button and slowly slid down the zipper, trying to give her the same sexy show she’d given him. She smiled appreciatively as his jeans dropped to the floor, but his shoes kept him from stepping out of them as easily as she had. Toe to heel, he kicked them off and nearly fell on his ass as he stumbled out of his jeans. “Sorry. I’m not normally this clumsy.” He winked as he mimicked her classic line.

  “Aren’t you though?” She covered her mouth and suppressed a giggle. “Continue.”

  He dropped his boxer briefs to the floor, and her pupils dilated as her gaze locked on his dick. Her breasts rose as she took in a deep breath and licked her lips.

  “Lie down.”

  “As you wish.” He moved to the center of the bed and lay on his back. Every nerve in his body tingled in anticipation as she crawled onto the mattress and straddled his legs. She didn’t touch him, but her gaze caressed his body as she looked him up and down.

  She walked her hands up the bed and rose into a push-up position, hovering over him. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders and onto his chest, the only sensation of touch she allowed him to feel. His entire body tensed in need as she leaned down to linger her lips a scant centimeter from his. If it were possible to die of anticipation, his sweet demise would be torturously slow. Her breath warmed his mouth, her soft hair tickling his skin as she parted her lips.

  “Where do you want me to touch you?”

  “God, Emily, anywhere. Everywhere. You’re killing me.”

  She grinned, lowering her knees to the bed and running a single finger down his chest. “Anywhere?”

  His stomach tightened.

  “What about…here?” She wrapped her hand around his length, and electricity shot from his groin to his toes.

  “Oh, god yes.” Reaching his fingers into her hair, he pulled her mouth to his. Never breaking the kiss, she guided him to her folds and took him in, and he shuddered as her wet warmth enveloped him. He couldn’t hold back anymore.

  With one hand supporting her, he rolled her onto her back and made love to her. Her nails dug into his back as he pumped his hips, pushing harder and faster until he lost control. The intense release made his head spin, and when she screamed as her own climax overtook her, he collapsed on top of her, panting with elated exhaustion.

  He pressed his lips to her ear. “Do you have any idea how sexy you are? That was incredible.”

  She glided her hands down his sweat-slicked back and squeezed his ass. “The pleasure was all mine.”

  * * *

  “Emmy. Emily, wake up.” The panicked voice sounded so much like her sister, Emily knew she was dreaming. She fought to keep her eyes closed and go back to sleep.

  “He needs you.”

  She rolled to her side and reached for Sean, determined to ignore the dream voice. But the bed was empty, the sheets still warm where he had lain. She pried her heavy eyelids open and waited for her pupils to adjust to the darkness.

  “Emmy, help him.” />
  The temperature around her dropped as if a freezer door opened in her bed, and she whipped her head around in the direction of the voice. Her heart jackhammered in her chest as she focused on an image of her sister. Jessica wore the same clothes she’d died in, but her face appeared normal, almost living.

  “Jessica?” This had to be a dream. She couldn’t see spirits. She squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, her sister wouldn’t be there. She couldn’t be.

  She was.

  “Save Sean.” She pointed to the double doors that led onto the gallery. One door hung open, the salt ring broken where it swept across the floor.

  Sean stood on the gallery, one hand clutching the railing and the other holding the wrought iron pole that led up to the roof. As he moved to hoist himself onto the rail, she sprang from the bed and ran to him.

  “Sean! What are you doing?”

  He stopped but didn’t turn around. “Go inside, Emily.” His voice was deep and gravelly like he hadn’t spoken in a long time.

  “You can’t be out here naked. Come inside with me.” She reached for his hand, but he yanked from her grasp.

  “Go inside, or I will make you go inside.”

  “You’ll make me? Come on, Sean. This isn’t funny. What are you doing out here?”

  “I’m going to jump.” He pulled himself onto the banister and swung one leg over the edge.

  “Like hell you are!” She grabbed him around the waist and pulled. As his body weight shifted from the railing to her arms, she lost her balance and fell on her butt. Sean tumbled on top of her but shot to his feet as soon as he hit the ground.

  “I said get inside.” His eyes were dark. Too dark. The pupils dilated until his irises were no longer visible.

  She scrambled backward, crab-walking through the door and into her bedroom as he loomed over her, his face contorted with rage. “Sean, please. What are you doing?”

  “I’m not Sean.” He raised a fist to strike her when the air in the room turned frigid. Jessica rushed him, her spirit form passing through his solid body and making him stumble back. He curled his lip in a snarl and whipped his head around as if looking for the ghost.

  Jessica appeared next to her. “He’s the evil from the box. Get the box.”

  Sean grunted and stormed toward the gallery doors.

  “I won’t let you kill yourself, Sean!” She shot to her feet and grabbed him around the waist, but her strength was no match for his. He dragged her to the threshold, pried her arms from around him, and shoved her to the ground.

  “I will kill him, just like I killed Jessica. Like I intend to kill you.” The voice wasn’t Sean’s, but hearing those words from his lips was like a sledgehammer to her heart.

  With an icy hand, Jessica clutched her shoulder. “Put him back in the box, Emmy.”

  “The box.” That’s what she’d wanted her to lock. She clambered to her feet and darted to the closet. Yanking the t-shirt off the chest, she scooped it into her arms, grabbed the key, and ran to the bedroom.

  “Order him back inside.” Jessica’s form wavered, her spirit image becoming transparent.

  “Help me, Jessica. I don’t know how.” She choked on a sob and set the box on the floor.

  “I don’t have the strength, but you have the power. Order it into the box and lock it.” As her image faded, so did the chill, like the freezer door closed.

  “Get back in the box.” Her voice came out in a squeaky whisper.

  Sean looked at her and growled. With his hands clenched into fists, his veins protruding, he prowled toward her. Oh, god, what could she do? What would Sean say if he were himself? “Say it like you mean it,” she mumbled. That’s what he’d tell her.

  She straightened her spine and looked the evil square in Sean’s eyes. “I command you to get back in the box.”

  “No.”

  “Get out of Sean and get in the box. Now.” She opened the lid, and Sean’s face fell slack. A black shadow poured from his eyes and swirled toward the open chest. Another growl filled the room, but it didn’t come from her boyfriend. It seemed to resonate from every corner of the world, grating in her mind like a freight train squealing down the tracks. As the shadow disappeared into the box, the horrid sound ceased, and the lid slammed closed.

  Sean swayed on his feet, his face expressionless. She turned the copper key in the lock and raced to catch him before he fell. Guiding him to the bed, she lowered him onto the mattress.

  Kneeling over him as he lay on his back, her panic turned to resolve as she went into nurse mode. His pupils shrank to a normal size, and his pulse felt strong and only slightly quickened. She ran a hand across his clammy forehead and rose to her feet.

  “I’m going to call an ambulance. I’ll be right back.”

  “No. No hospitals.” His voice was thick and hoarse, but the venom she’d heard in his words earlier was gone.

  “Yes. I don’t know what happened to you, but you might need medical attention.”

  “No. Please.” He rose onto his elbows and squeezed his eyes shut before pushing himself into a sitting position. “What would you say if a guy came into your clinic claiming he’d been possessed?”

  She opened her mouth to insist he see a doctor, but she stopped. He had a point. “I’d check his vitals and suggest he see a psychiatrist.”

  “And how are my vitals?”

  She sat on the edge of the bed next to him. “You’ll live.”

  He stared straight ahead at the chest on the floor. “You said you got rid of it.”

  “I know. I meant to.”

  “Is it locked now?” He pulled on the lid. When it didn’t open, he took the key from the lock and set it on the nightstand. “Where did you hide it?”

  She took in a quick breath, prepared to insist she didn’t hide the stupid thing, but she did. She’d shoved it in the closet and covered it with a t-shirt. The very definition of hiding. “It was on a shelf.” Lifting an arm, she gestured toward the closet.

  He clenched his hands into fists. “And you ran the salt line behind the shelf, so the damn thing was inside the circle of protection the whole time.”

  “You told me to put the salt against the wall!” She’d done exactly what he’d said. How was she supposed to know the box really held an evil spirit? For most of her life, she’d convinced herself ghosts didn’t exist at all.

  “I didn’t know you had a conjure box.”

  “What the hell is a conjure box?”

  He grabbed his clothes from the floor and curled his lip at the culpable object. “The markings on the top? Black magic. Someone summoned a demon and trapped it inside that box. I should have told you exactly what it was from the beginning. If I’d known you still had it, I…” He shoved his legs into his jeans and fought to turn his shirt right side out.

  “You’d what, Sean? What would you have done?”

  He yanked his shirt over his head and looked her hard in the eyes. “I never would have stayed here. And I wouldn’t have let you, either.”

  She threw on a robe and cinched the belt at her waist. “You wouldn’t have let me? You think you can tell me what to do?” How dare he assume he had that kind of control over her? She was an independent woman; no one told her what she could or couldn’t keep inside her own apartment.

  His jaw clenched. “Why did you lie about it? Why did you hide it?”

  “I planned to get rid of it, but every time I picked it up to take it to the dumpster, I…changed my mind.” And changing her mind was her right.

  “Because it was affecting you. You started getting headaches after you opened it, didn’t you?”

  She forced herself to hold his gaze. “Yes.”

  “And you didn’t stop to think that could be the reason why?” He jabbed a finger at the box.

  Her teeth clenched, and she crossed her arms. “No, I didn’t. Until just now, the idea that an evil spirit could be living inside a box was ludicrous.”

  “Well, it’s not so lu
dicrous now, is it?” He picked up the box, shoved the key in his pocket, and marched into the living room.

  Panic surged through her chest. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to get rid of this.”

  “No!”

  He set it on the table and whirled around to face her. “No? The demon inside this thing has possessed me twice. I almost killed your ex-boyfriend, and I could have killed you.”

  Her jaw trembled, tears pooling in her eyes. “You tried to kill yourself. You only came after me because I stopped you.”

  “How did you stop me?”

  “Jessica. I saw her.” Oh, no. The evil thing said it killed Jessica. Her sister committed suicide. Sean was trying to throw himself over the gallery rail. All the pieces started clicking into place.

  “She told you what to do because she’s dealt with this demon before, hasn’t she? All this time she’s been begging me to help you, and it was because you wouldn’t get rid of this goddamn box.”

  Anger seethed in his words, and he had every right to be mad at her. She lied to him. She’d had plenty of chances to come clean. To throw out the stupid chest. But she kept it, and she lied about it because she didn’t see the danger. She was closed off to spirits, so it couldn’t affect her the way it had affected Jessica. It couldn’t get inside her mind so easily because her mind wasn’t open to the supernatural.

  Jessica’s was, and the evil entity had preyed on her weakness. Her sister hadn’t gone crazy. She was possessed. And the demon had possessed Sean too, because he was open to it. And as long as he kept himself open to spirits, he was open to demons. To danger and death.

  She couldn’t live like that. She’d spend every second of the day worried for his life. Every bad mood he took on, she’d wonder if a spirit was messing with his head. This was exactly why she’d closed her mind to spirits, and from now on, it would stay that way.

  “I can’t do this, Sean.”

  “You can’t get rid of the box?”

  “No, I can’t do this. Us.”