Page 113 of Possess Me! (I Want You To)

“In a way, it was—is. In others, it isn’t. Creating a ghost is a difficult process. One that is protected with magic. The steps cannot be written down. It’s passed through generations of old hunting families, and even those that are aware of it aren’t willing to give the sacrifice required, or put in the years of preparation a single summoning takes.”

I eyed him warily. “I’m guessing that’s not all that goes into it.”

“No.” Prudence nodded. “You’re right.” He flashed me a grin that was anything but happy. “Most people aren’t willing to hack into the dead body of their loved ones to carve out a talisman.”

I jerked away from him, the picture he was painting so gruesome it made my stomach rebel. The cross necklace burned against my skin, as what he’d just admitted hit me hard enough I lost my breath.

I pulled the chain out of my shirt, the white bone cross catching the light of the flickering flames as I cupped it in my palm reverently, then raised my gaze to meet Pru’s. His expression was grim.

“You’re holding part of my thigh.” He pointed out, and instead of dropping the necklace, I just clutched it tighter, suddenly terrified of losing the only real part of his body left.

I had never been more horrified.

Not even when I’d realized I was dirt poor—

When I’d found out I was a has-been.

Or that Hunter had betrayed me.

I couldn’t believe that someone could take Prudence’s body and—no. No, no, no, no. I refused to think about it. I gripped the necklace tight enough my knuckles turned white. I had to keep it safe.

“I’m going to throw up,” I told him as my stomach lurched. I probably looked stupid, scattered markers around my knees as I sat in the dirt, his necklace clutched protectively to my chest. “So…Why?” The only way through this was forward. “I get the weapon thing—I do. But why make ghosts slaves? If the spell was created so people could resurrect their loved ones, why did they make it so you had to follow orders?”

It didn’t make sense.

“That’s how magic works.” Prudence stared at me, his eyes flickering with something…something I couldn’t name. “Everything has a price. You cannot bring something back from the dead and expect it to return as the same being it was before. It isn’t possible.”

“So the price…of your soul, was your freedom?”

“Yes.”

“And the hunters…”

“Were clever enough to build a failsafe into the spell. Their companions came back as servants, but through the generosity of their loved ones, they could use commands to give them back their humanity.”

Shit.

I thought back on every encounter we’d had since we’d met. Everything I’d done to make Prudence more comfortable—however unknowing at the time. Apparently I had been inadvertently using the spell exactly as it had been intended.

Accidental rule following for the win!

“So with the wrong host…” It hit me all at once. “Without those bits of freedom given back, what happens to you?”

“I get sucked into the void inside the talisman where my soul is trapped.”

“Jesus Christ.” How many times had he disappeared before I’d told him to stay? How many days had he spent suffering because he was terrified if I knew how to free him, I’d only tighten his shackles.

I scrubbed my hands over my face, catching my breath as I processed what he was saying. “That’s why I had to tell you to stay—” I whispered, my voice choked. “Because if you hadn’t…you’d…” God. The thought of him trapped in darkness was enough to make me—to make me—No. No. Now was not the time to freak out.

This was for Prudence.

Not for me.

I could sit through this, if he had been forced to live it. It was the least I could do. I swallowed the bile down and dropped my hands, shakily picking up my markers again as I reached for his arm. His skin was just as cold, just as solid, as it had been before we’d had this conversation.

“I’m guessing, Lydia didn’t want you to feel human again.”

“No.”

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