Page 117 of Séance

“Because you’re hurting people,” I explain, rubbing my throat when it hurts to speak. “You’re dead. You no longer belong to this world.”

“But we were supposed to have an eternity together.” He looks truly baffled and utterly betrayed by my actions, and my heart aches for him. Souls can easily get confused after death. Their humanity gets twisted, turning someone bright and innocent in life into a monster after death.

A second later, his arms are flung open wide, his back arching at an almost impossible angle, as too much power permeates his form. He explodes outward in a shower of glittering dust. It settles on almost every surface of the room, the cold sting burning my skin.

My shoulder burns fiercely, like something is being etched into my skin. The pain steals my breath, and I wobble on my feet, barely able to keep upright. When I glance down, I’m unable to see anything but blood and black bruises covering my shoulder.

I’m distracted when the planchette drops to the floor with a clatter, the glass circle now opaque as if burned. Before I can investigate further, the guys unfreeze, whatever power holding them captive vanishing. They collapse onto the floor with a groan, and I know from experience that dealing directly with the dead can be exhausting.

As much as I want to go to them, I don’t move.

Too much has happened.

They’ve seen too much.

I never wanted to involve them in my world, never wanted to put them in danger, but it happened anyway. If I stay, it will only put them in more peril. That’s if they even want me anywhere near them.

Feeling like my world is crumbling around me, I step away from them.

“Pookie?” Jameson calls, his voice slurred.

I stiffen at the plea in his voice. As much as I should just leave, I can’t seem to make my feet move.

I’m too selfish.

The mangled remnants of my heart thumps hard in my chest, as if begging me to go to them, but I refuse to blindly drag them any further into the unholy mess of my life.

They deserve a choice.

“I need you all to do something for me. I need you to take tonight to think over what transpired.” I swallow hard, then force my shoulders back. “The dead won’t ever leave me alone. I can’t guarantee something like tonight won’t happen again. The more time you spend with me, the more tangled your lives will become with the dead. Being around me is dangerous. You each need to decide if my friendship is worth the risk.”

I drag my hair away from my face, my body aching from using so much energy in my battle with the gangster. Now that the excitement is gone, the tiny knicks from the glass sting like I ran into a swarm of wasps.

My throat hurts, every twist of my neck sending a jolt of pain through my body, and I’m more than ready to call it a day. My ribs ache like someone tried to pry my chest open, and I rub the spot, but it does little to ease the pain. Avoiding their gazes, not wanting to see their reactions, I head to the door. “Let me know what you decide in the morning.”

I escape before they can break my heart and tell me they don’t want to see me again.

I desperately need one more night of hope, one more night to believe that something good exists in the world, before my life crumbles to ash once more.

Chapter Thirty-six

JACESON

“Jace. Jace. Jace. Jace. Jace.” Jameson keeps repeating my name like a chant, nudging my shoulder each time and dragging my tired ass from sleep. I groan, lunging up to shove him off my bed, but he easily evades me. “It’s five o’clock. It’s technically morning. I want to go see my pookie.”

As much as I want to shove my head under my pillow, I force myself to roll out of bed instead.

Seeing that I’m up, Jace grins and skips out the door. “I’ll make sure the others are awake.”

“Don’t leave without me,” I yell at his back, but he only waves a hand in the air and disappears down the hall with a skip in his step. Without someone to keep James in check, I have no doubt that he will try to sneak in through Rue’s window and probably get arrested.

A moment later, James finds his next victim. Gunner’s curses blister the air, and I inhale sharply, praying for patience.

If I admit the truth, though, I want to see Rue just as much.

I didn’t like how last night ended.

I didn’t like seeing her walk away from us wounded, her shoulders slumped in dejection. I hated it even more that she disappeared before we could get to our feet and prevent her from leaving. By the time we had the strength to follow, her doors were locked tight. Gunner pounded on the front door for a good twenty minutes before Hicks hauled his ass away.

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