Page 69 of Malice

“Are the house spirits gonna be okay?”

“Yeah. They just can’t be seen or use their abilities much until they can replenish their strength. Of course, the Horror could attempt to drag them to the Below, and they really don’t want that.” He reaches out to clap my shoulder, a sensation I can almost feel. “They need you. That’s why they’re helping.”

I nod. “I understand. Let’s get to work then.”

“Okay. Let’s go back downstairs. We’re not sure how much the Horror can hear.”

“Sounds good. I’ll meet you after I get some proper clothes on.”

I head back to the bedroom and pull on my discarded jeans. Hudson, lying on his side, opens his eyes.

“What’s going on?”

His sleepy, somewhat worried voice draws me back and I slide in next to him, lean down, and kiss his cheek. “Keepsleeping, gorgeous. I’m just gonna work on some stuff. Nothing’s wrong.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” I brush his hair from his face. “You look so damn good right now. It’s killing me not to spend the day in bed with you.”

He chuckles, nuzzling my hand with his lips. “You can make it up to me later.”

“Deal.”

Forcing myself from the bed, I grab my shirt and pull it on, glancing back at Hudson as he burrows deeper into his bedding. A growing sense of determination blooms inside me. If I want a chance at this life with him, I have to get rid of this stupid Horror.

The thought I just had replays in my head.

Wait. Do I want a chance with Hudson? A meaningful one? Should I even be thinking about that right now?

The love bond rules flash in front of my eyes like pages in the wind, and I nearly stumble on the steps. Maybe it’s the matchmaking spirit fucking with me and not anything real. That could be the case, right? I like Hudson, obviously, but we’re in a stressful situation, which isn’t always a good foundation for a relationship. Probably. I think I’ve heard that before.

Shaking those thoughts from my mind, I finish my descent and find Crash and Otto rolling around on the floor together. It’s so wild to me that my dog can directly interact with the spirit. Crash laughs joyfully while Otto playfully tugs at his sweater sleeve. It’s a damn shame the world is missing out on Crash’s energy.

He looks over at me, pulling himself upright and rubbing Otto’s head. My dog sees me and prances over to be picked up. I settle into an armchair, cuddling him.

“What do you have for me?”

Crash hovers in front of me, cross-legged as if sitting on a chair. “Okay, so one of the people I visited was my favorite grumpy Chaser. His name is Wilder. He’s been doing this for decades and has dealt with some really nasty Horrors.”

“Got it.”

“In addition to getting the Horror’s Below name, which you know about, he said you need to do something to bait it. You gotta get it so worked up it has no choice but to show itself. Then, when you’ve got it backed into a corner, you can use this technique called ‘strangle,’ which basically is the equivalent of choking the Horror until it spills the info you want.”

“Strangle. Okay. How do I implement this technique?”

“It’s not easy. You have to take on your Afterlife form, which is very taxing.”

“What the hell does that mean? I have an Afterlife form?”

Crash shakes his head. “Not real good at retaining information, are you, buddy?”

“The handbook?”

“The handbook. Page fifty-seven.”

After blowing out a breath, I mentally call up the book and flip through the pages.

Are you serious?

---