Page 116 of Séance

Determined to fight him, I clamp my hand around his wrist.

Will and intent.

Taking a deep breath, I focus on my jewelry. My rings burn into his skin, and a snarl of pure rage contorts his face.

When his grip tightens, my heart skips a beat.

“The jewelry!” Jameson shouts, his voice thunderous. “The jewelry she gave us can hurt him.”

He doesn’t wait for the others, throwing his fist as hard as possible. It cracks across the gangster’s face, leaving a burn mark on his cheek. The gangster’s face ripples, flashing the macabre image of what he looked like when he died, and the guys recoil.

But only for a second.

Then they all pile onto the gangster. Just as blackness threatens to fill my vision, the grip on my heart vanishes. I desperately gasp for air, and my lungs inflate for the first time in what feels like an eternity.

I catch myself on the coffee table before I collapse, but I don’t have time to recover. The gangster snarls, and a burst of energy swells in the room. He wraps his hand around Jameson’s throat, then squeezes.

He turns in my direction with a macabre smile, his partially eroded face revealing jagged teeth that has me shuddering. “I either take you or him—your choice.”

My eyes land on Jameson dangling helplessly in his grip. He claws at the ghostly hand, and the scent of brimstone fills the room as the ghostly flesh burns, but the gangster only increases his flow of energy, healing the wounds as fast as they are inflicted.

I could fight him, but it will be too late.

He’ll kill Jameson before I have a chance to break him free.

Resigned to my fate, unwilling to exchange my death with Jameson’s, I slowly rise to my feet, using the table for support when my knees threaten to buckle.

My hand brushes against the planchette, and I grab it, tucking it into my palm.

I always expected to die young at the hands of a ghost, but I never thought it would be this way. I’m almost at peace with the decision if it means Jameson will go free. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to him.

“Don’t.” Jameson’s voice is strangled, barely a breath of sound, his pale eyes pleading with me to say no. “Please.”

I realize in that moment that I love him.

Madly.

Wildly.

Completely.

I also realize that being with any of them is impossible. My abilities will always be a threat to anyone I love. The only way to keep them safe is to let them go. “Release him, and I’ll do whatever you want.”

A victorious smile crosses the gangster’s face, and he doesn’t even look at Jameson as he releases his hold, dropping him into a boneless heap on the floor. He crosses the distance between us, his legs swirling like smoke as they passed through the coffee table without pause.

He cups my face, his grip so brutal that coldness seeps into my bones. His eyes take on a manic gleam as he forces myhead back to look up at him. “You won’t regret your decision. I promise. I’ll make it quick. Then we can finally spend the rest of eternity together, just like I promised. We’ll finally be together again.”

“Like fucking hell,” Gunner snarls, his expression harsh. Despite knowing they don’t stand a chance, the rest of the guys nod with grim determination. Just as they take a step toward me, the gangster waves his free hand in their direction, never once taking his gaze from mine.

My attention slips to the guys, and my breath halts when I see that they are frozen in time. Jaceson is kneeling next to his twin, pulling him to safety, even as Jameson tries to shrug him off and come to my rescue. Ellis is frozen with one foot raised, Gunner hovers completely in the air like he took a running leap to tackle us, while Hicks is wrapping his necklace around his fist, a determined expression on his face.

“Don’t worry,” the gangster murmurs, a pleased smile curling his lips. “We’ll be together soon, where they can’t bother us anymore.”

Before I have a chance to protest, his grip tightens on my throat.

Knowing I only have seconds, I swing the planchette forward with all my might, gambling on a hunch. I focus all my energy on the compressed cardboard triangle. Already doused in my blood, it warms at my touch seconds before it thumps into his chest, then it sinks deep into his flesh. He gasps loudly, his hold loosening, and he gazes down at me with such betrayal that I step back.

“What did you do?” He seems confused, clutching at the wound, but he’s unable to pull the planchette free. It sinks deeper into his chest, and a light begins to glow around the injury. It spreads through his torso, creeping like vines throughhis veins until he’s lit from within. “We were finally going to be happy. We were going to be together again. Why?”

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