Page 83 of Séance

I pop to the surface after some thrashing, spitting out water and hacking. Not once do I take my attention away from my target. The men are cursing up a storm behind me, and I can sense them closing in on me, but I’m not willing to let my target go.

Despite knowing that I’m drawing the wrong kind of attention, I refuse to allow the spirit to kill.

Not when I can stop it.

The woman smiles evilly at me as she begins to row farther out onto the lake.

Jameson, either wanting vengeance or sensing trouble, jumps out after her and grabs hold of the boat.

“Stop that,” she snarls, her face twisting with hatred, then she beats his fingers with the oar.

His profanities blister the air, but he doesn’t release his hold, giving me time to catch up to them. I lunge toward the boat, reaching for one of the children, intent on getting them to safety.

And completely miss the oar flying toward me.

“Rue!” Ellis shouts in warning.

I have enough time to dive out of the way, but I refuse to give her a chance to escape. Instead, I brace my legs and don’t move.

When the oar whacks into my side with a solid thump, I grunt at the impact and grimace when I hear the sound of my ribs cracking. Unwilling to let her go, I grab the oar under my arm and yank, taking her by surprise.

She plunges into the water, which isn’t good since she’s a water spirit.

There’s no way in hell I am getting out of this alive, not unless I can force her to leave her human host. Possession is difficult at the best of times, it often leaves the spirit weak afterwards, but it might be my only chance to survive.

“Get the kids,” I yell at the guys, then I throw myself at the woman. We immediately slip under water. The pond is shallow,so we smack the ground hard. Used to pain, I ignore it and wrap my arms and legs around her before she can drag me deeper.

The action no doubt has my underwear flashing for all to see.

So much for the modesty that my mother tried to instill in me with harsh punishments when I failed to live up to her standards.

Vicious pinches to the soft skin of my underarms or sides of my breasts were often my punishment. Another favorite was yanking my hair so hard that bald patches would decorate my scalp. The ones I hated the most was when she made me kneel on rice for hours or force me to drink sour milk. I still can’t smell milk without puking.

The woman thrashes, almost breaking free and drowning me in the process. I barely keep my hold on the slippery little sucker. When I gain control, I’m sitting in the water, my head barely above the surface as she struggles to break free from my hold.

“Just let me go. You can’t have my children,” the spirit snarls, flailing her arms and legs to get at me, not caring that she’s half drowning me and her host.

Great.

She’s making it sound like I’m trying to steal her children.

If anyone believes her and tries to stop me, I’m going to be helpless to do anything when she inevitably takes the children and kills them.

Ellis is in the boat with the kids, while Jameson is pushing them to shore. Hicks is wading in our direction, the scowl on his face telling me he’s pissed. When he looks ready to tear us apart, I wave him away. “Don’t get involved. If anyone sees a man wrestling with a woman in public, they’ll arrest you and let her go.”

Hicks scowls, clearly not happy, but he sees my logic and stays back.

For now.

Distracted, I don’t see the fist coming for my face until stars explode behind my eye.

That’s going to leave a fucking bruise.

“You’re only delaying the inevitable,” she hisses, fighting like a wildcat to get free, but I only tighten my arms around her chest, keeping my legs around her waist so she can’t throw me off. “As soon as they arrest you, the children will be at my mercy, and there isn’t a fucking thing you can do about it.”

“Not happening, bitch.” Gritting my teeth, I lean down and whisper, “I won’t let you have them.”

My words must have triggered my abilities. My metal rings heat, burning her skin, and the woman goes rigid in my grip, a howl of anger, pain, and despair tearing free of her.

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