Restless Spirits
(A Raised Novel)
SHARON STEVENSON
Copyright
Sharon Stevenson asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
Copyright © Sharon Stevenson 2015
All rights reserved. Thank you for buying an authorized edition and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning or distributing any part of it in any form without permission of the author.
This book is a work of fiction set in an alternate reality independent Scotland ruled over by a monarchy. This book contains strong and frequent adult language and sexual references.
Cover Design by Your Next Book Crush
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Formatting by Polgarus Studio
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To Graham
Table of Contents
One – Nine/Britt
Two – Pete
Three – Kit
Four – Mickey
Five – Nine/Britt
Six – Pete
Seven – Kit
Eight – Mickey
Nine – Nine/Britt
Ten – Pete
Eleven – Kit
Twelve – Mickey
Thirteen – Nine/Britt
Fourteen – Kat
Fifteen – Kit
Sixteen – Mickey
Seventeen – Kit
Eighteen – Pete
Nineteen – Mickey
Twenty – Kit
Twenty-One – Nine/Britt
Twenty-Two – Pete
Twenty-Three – Kit
Twenty-Four – Tim
Twenty-Five – Nine/Britt
Twenty-Six – Pete
Twenty-Seven – Kit
Twenty-Eight – Mickey
Twenty-Nine – Nine/Britt
Thirty – Pete
Thirty-One – Kat
Thirty-Two – Tim
Thirty-Three – Nine
Thirty-Four – Pete
Thirty-Five – Kit
Thirty-Six – Mickey
Thirty-Seven – Nine/Britt
Thirty-Eight – Pete
Thirty-Nine – Kat
Forty – Mickey
Forty-One – Eight
Forty-Two – Tim
Forty-Three – Pete
Forty-Four – Eight
Forty-Five – Pete
Excerpt: Limitless Magic
Also by Sharon Stevenson
About the Author
One – Nine/Britt
The way he stared at me should have been unnerving. His kiss had left my lips warm and tingling. He’d moved back quickly, leaving me to catch my breath. Those dark blue eyes were so intense. It was as if they were daring me to show him everything I had. He’d want whatever I decided to give him, he was waiting for me. I felt my shoulders shake as a shiver passed over my naked body. The water wasn’t warm anymore, but I couldn’t seem to care. I didn’t want to move. Not as long as he was staring at me like that.
Eight’s usual warnings flashed through my head. You don’t know what he wants, Nine. Be careful.
She was wrong. I did know what he wanted. He wanted into my thoughts. He wanted to dig around inside my head. There was something I knew that he wanted to know.
I bit at my lip. He already knew I wasn’t Britt. What harm could it really do to let him see everything? I mean, I was used to letting Britt check my thoughts, and it wasn’t like it had ever bothered me. It’s not like it ever really hurt.
But she had been my master. She was allowed to take whatever she wanted from me and I’d never stopped to question that. Why would I? I only existed because she had made me.
Things were different now. Timmy had shown me that.
“What is it that you want?” I asked because I had every right to know.
He smiled. It was a sexy kind of smile, sly and slow in blossoming. “I’m interested in spending time with you. You don’t display typical behaviour for a clone.”
I felt my face flush. Again, Eight’s voice invaded my thoughts. That wasn’t a compliment. He thinks he has you figured out. You’re not that easy, Nine. Don’t let him mess with you.
It was a sterner talking to that I was used to from the girl I hadn’t even known was a friend until it was too late. And, oh yeah, I knew it wasn’t really her. Duh. It was like my conscience or something. I hadn’t known I had one of those, was all. I realised he was still watching me, waiting to see what effect his answer had on me.
“Liar,” I told him, sipping at my champagne and putting the empty glass down on the side of the bath tub. “Tell me the truth, and maybe you’ll get somewhere.”
“Fine. I’m attracted to you,” he said, sliding forward again and sloshing water over the side of the tub.
It still felt like a lie, but I silenced Eight’s voice before she could tell me to be careful again. I’d been with enough men to know what desire looked like. I could hear it in his voice, husky and warm. I felt it between my legs when he pressed up against me. It was in his eyes, making them seem darker as he gazed into mine.
“Britt was a bitch,” he said, breathing quickly as his gaze fell to my chest. “I never once thought of her like this.”
I believed him. It’s why I kissed him back when his lips pressed against mine. It didn’t take long to let my guard down. He moaned as he moved against me. His slow, teasing movements were a distraction. I felt him inside my head suddenly, a foreign presence whispering through my thoughts. I pushed him away when I realised what we were doing.
Confusion clouded the desire in his eyes. “I thought you wanted this.”
“You were inside my head again.” I tried to sound pissed, like Britt would have done, but I didn’t have it in me. I wanted him too much. I couldn’t deny it.
He blew out a breath. “You don’t understand.”
“This just isn’t going to work,” I said it quickly, before I could have time to regret the decision. I stood up and climbed out of the bath, steadying my feet with magic when I slipped on the wet floor. I cursed under my breath. Stumbling around naked in front of a handsome King was so embarrassing. This would have never happened to Britt.
His hand landed on my shoulder as I reached for a towel. I fought the urge to shudder. Something brushed against my neck; his hair, it had fallen forward as he kissed his way down my spine.
“Holy Hell,” I whispered.
“Tell me to leave and I’ll go,” he told me, his hard body pressing against mine from behind. His arms closed around me as his lips brushed against my throat. “You’ve never been with another User before, have you?”
I shook my head slowly, not wanting to move. If this was how he could make me feel before we even did anything, I didn’t want him to ever leave.
“When we lose control, it’s not just physical. I can’t stop the magic from opening you up to me. If you were feeling what I am, the same would be happening to you. You’d be inside my head as much as I was in yours. I’m fighting it right now, but it’s taking everything I have.” He sighed deeply.
I closed my eyes. This was so messed up. I couldn’t do this. Could I? The heat of his body so close to mine was totally clouding my judgement. “Can’t we do this without magic?”
“We could,” he said. “But I want all of you. The magic is a part of you. It’s a part of me. It binds us together in deeper ways. We’re not like other humans. We’re more than that.”
I opened my eyes and he moved away. “Don’t leave,” I said, biting down on my lip as I realized how desperate I sounded. I wanted him and now he knew it.
“Relax,” he told me, picking up my champagne g
lass and handing me it. “I’m willing to wait. You want to make sure you understand. I want you to know what you’re getting into.”
I drained my glass. Eight would tell me he was smooth-talking me to get what he wanted. I looked at him as I put the glass down. I realised I didn’t care if he was only telling me what I wanted to hear. I was entitled to some fun. I smiled. “I know exactly what I’m getting in to.”
Two – Pete
“I don’t have time for this,” I snapped. The woman who’d killed me was really starting to piss me off.
Angie smirked. “You’re dead. What else are you going to do? Give it up, Pete. You owe me one.”
I thought of my flat and attempted another teleport. That weird feeling of being pulled through space stalled as I was swiftly yanked back in the opposite direction and I was left staring at Angie again.
She folded her arms. “You know the definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting the teleport to actually work the hundredth time, right?”
“I owe you nothing,” I told her, starting to walk. It didn’t matter if I wasn’t sure where we were. I’d figure it out. Walking to Nick’s flat was better than having that murderous bitch laugh at whatever the hell was wrong with my supposed ability, or lack thereof, to teleport.
“I’m dead because of you,” she called after me. “This is your fault! You think I actually wanted to die? I didn’t kill myself.”
I stopped walking. She had to be joking. But when I turned to call her on it, I knew she wasn’t making this shit up. Groaning, I walked back towards her.
“Okay,” I said. “I’m willing to hear you out. I just have to…”
She rolled her eyes. “You actually think that fat barmaid is in danger? She has one of those charms on that deflect magic.”
I frowned at her, suddenly wondering how she’d known I was a ghost before she called on me. “Hey! You’ve been spying on me.”
She shrugged. “It’s not like I’ve got anything better to do.”
“Like that’s any kind of excuse!” I couldn’t believe this. Not only was she guilt-tripping me, now she was creeping me the hell out too. “Anyway, I don’t care what you think about it. I just want to check in on them. We can get back to your stupid problems once I know they’re okay. Right?”
She rolled her eyes again. “Whatever.”
When she touched me, we teleported. It felt weird going together, all claustrophobic and tingly. The feeling brought me the awful idea that we’d somehow merged and uncoupled again at the other end. There was a nasty taste in my mouth that I couldn’t properly identify. For one horrifying second, I imagined that we might not have unmerged fully. I shuddered.
Angie narrowed her eyes at me, but she didn’t say a word.
I glanced around; we were in my flat. Mickey was slumped on my couch drinking beer and watching his favourite TV show. Kit was next to him, concern in her eyes. I waved my hand in front of her face, but she didn’t see it. She was wearing that necklace again. What was it Angie had said about a magic-deflecting charm?
“Satisfied?” Angie waved her arms around.
“The magic I set loose killing Nick,” I said, examining Mickey as thoroughly as I could with just my eyes. “Where’d it go?”
She shrugged. “Magic comes, and where it goes who the fuck knows. We’ve got things to do, Pete. No more stalling.” She grabbed my arm again and whisked me away via another creepy, merging teleport. I figured out where we were and where she’d brought me the first time. I could hear the harsh wind whirring by even though it didn’t seem to be affecting us. A thin sheen of death magic coated everything up here.
“We’re on top of the castle.” Everything was a little bit blurry as if the night sky was merging with the castle. It had to be a spell. The sheen of the sparkling blue magic was all that gave the game away.
“No shit, Sherlock,” she snapped. “Now, where was I before you so rudely interrupted?”
“You were spouting some rubbish about not wanting to die,” I told her.
“You really think I’d kill myself. Over you?” She snorted. “Get real.”
“I pissed you off enough to kill me.”
“I was under a spell, you idiot,” she said with a sneer. “I didn’t mean to kill you. God! How did you ever talk me into going home with you?”
I snorted. “I think you’ll find it was you using your lips on me that made that happen.”
“I never fancied you,” she said, her lips set in a thin line. “So why the hell would I go home with you?”
“Bullshit! You came on to me every chance you got!”
She smirked. “I did that to get a reaction. You’re such a coward when it comes to women. It made me laugh to wind you up like that.”
I didn’t know what to think, and come to think of it, I didn’t care. “Is that all then? Because I’ve got better…”
“It took me a long time to figure this out, you know. It wasn’t until I was following you around that it clicked.” She folded her arms across her chest. She was still wearing the underwear she’d died in and nothing else. I had to wonder if ghosts really were stuck with what they’d been wearing when they died. Would Angie even try to cover herself up, anyway? I seriously doubted it. She narrowed her eyes at me. “Pay attention! Where was I… Oh, yeah. Someone wanted you dead so bad they had you killed. I wouldn’t have cared if this messed up plan to rub you out hadn’t included me as collateral damage. Someone had to want you dead pretty bad. This was all planned out. It had to be.”
What she was saying made a twisted sort of sense. Still… “Why the hell would anyone want me dead?” I may not have been perfect, but I hadn’t been that much of an arsehole. I didn’t think.
“Because you’re so well liked,” she said with a snort. “I don’t know who did it, but I’d take a long hard look at your cousin’s lover for this. He’s the King’s Recruiter and he hates your stupid, pathetic guts.”
“Okay, Piss-face did it, mystery solved. I’m going home.”
“You don’t have a home to go to anymore,” she said. “And where exactly do you think killers move on to? Because it sure as hell isn’t any place pleasant. But if you want to ‘move on’, go ahead, be my guest.”
I took a breath, about to argue that I wasn’t a killer. It would have been a lie. She was right. I’d killed Nick. I wouldn’t be ascending to any eternal reward. If Hell existed, a pitchfork would be getting toasted right now for my arrival. “Fuck.”
She smiled. “So. Who uses magic and wants you dead?”
Timmy was the only name that came to mind, his was the only face that fit. He’d never been much of a friend. I’d never liked the guy. What was Mickey doing going out with that creep? He could do so much better.
“You sound like you’ve got it all figured out,” I told her. “Why even bother roping me into this?”
“I wondered when you’d ask that,” she said. “Here’s the thing, Petie. I’m dead because of you. It’s up to you to make this right.” She started down what I assumed were a set of stairs, though it was impossible to see them, concealed as they were by the magic.
I sighed as I followed her along. I didn’t have much choice when it came down to it. Resting in peace was a long way off.
Three – Kit
It took a while for everything to really hit home. I touched my locket, wondering if I’d see Pete watching over us if I took it off. It hadn’t felt real, seeing him all glowy and transparent. He’d seemed so certain about what he’d done. He’d killed a man. He’d done it to keep me safe. I couldn’t take that in. That Pete was a ghost now was even harder to swallow. It didn’t matter if I’d warmed to him or if I agreed with what he’d done for me. He was gone.
I watched Mickey chug down another beer as if he was dying of thirst. He’d gone straight to the fridge when we left Nick’s flat, then he’d sank into the couch and proceeded to drink his way to oblivion. Asking him if he was okay had just earned me a grunt. He�
��d turned the TV on after he downed his first two drinks. I’d become aware of the Animate lingering at the living room doorway when I heard him wearing down the floorboards in the hall. I glanced up. He smiled ruefully at me. I squeezed Mickey’s hand and got up. The dead guy wanted something from me, and he was going to hang around until he got it. I walked past him and closed the door when he followed me out into the hall.
He ran his fingers through his long brown hair. His colouring was a little bit different than Pete’s had been; the lighter hair and eyes gave him a softer look. He had a pretty face, I supposed. I stared him down. “What do you want?”
“Uh, I’m uh, sorry about Pete.” He winced after he said it. His accent was clearly American. He had to have been one of Britt’s Animates. Why else would he be there? Nick must have claimed him before he died.
I sighed. “What’s done is done.” There was nothing more to say about it.
“It’s just, he freed me. I mean he must have or I’d be dead too. I’m grateful for that, really. I just…”
He took a deep breath. “I had a girl in Vegas, you know. I miss her.”
“What do you mean Pete freed you?” It seemed weird for several reasons, one of which I’d take his head off for if only for Mickey’s sake.
“He must have burned my contract. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here.”
So, this guy had signed with Nick then. And Pete had freed him. I frowned. “That makes no sense. Why wouldn’t he free himself if he took the time to free you? Why did he just let himself die?”
The all American Animate shrugged. “I don’t get it either.”
Anger swelled inside me. How could Pete have done this?
“I’m kind of stuck for what to do now,” he told me. “I know it’s not safe for me to wander around without an owner.”
He was right, it wasn’t. He needed a User. “What exactly did you want to do since you’re free?”
Restless Spirits (Raised Book 3) Page 1