Page 20 of Captivating Magic

“Temper, Sweet,” Lo warned. “Save your energy for the transition. We’re going to attempt it soon.”

“Right,” she muttered.

Liz entered with Rafe on her heels. “How is she?”

“How does it look?” Spirit Ebba snapped. “Like she’s been possessed and unable to take advantage of a hot dude—oh, uh!”

If a ghost could blush, she would’ve. As it was, the look she cast him was decidedly uncomfortable.

Lo grinned.

“By your fool smile, I’m assuming she’s doing better,” Liz said, dropping to the edge of the bed and stroking Ebba’s dark curls.

“She’s not, but her spirit’s retained her snark.”

Liz laughed. “That’s why we love our girl.”

Love.It was the second time someone had bandied the word about him today. The cynical side of him laughed. Supposedly, Thornes only loved once, and he’d screwed that up royally with Charlotte. Or rather, she did. Her jealousy and accusations drove him mad until he couldn’t take another minute of the fighting. All because of his frequent quests to help others exorcise their ghosts. In the end, it had required a spell from Alastair for her to find him repellent and to sign the divorce papers to end their misery.

He prayed to the Goddess that Charlotte was happy now and could move on to have a loving relationship with someone else. Just not him. Whatever he’d once felt for her was nothing more than ash in his mouth. The proverbial bad taste transferred to his current mood, leaving him uncomfortable while holding Ebba. Easing her away, Laszlo sat up and covered her with a blanket.

“Whoever is possessing her isn’t going to make it easy to take her body back. It had her convinced to jump out the window,” he said.

“What?!”

Liz’s shock was mirrored by Rafe, and they shared a horrified glance before turning their attention back to Lo.

“She could’ve been killed!”

“Doubtful.” Lo snorted. “It’s only two stories, but she could’ve definitely been hurt. Still, it’s not something we can’t heal if it comes down to it.”

“That healing thing is badass,” Spirit Ebba said from her dresser perch.

He laughed. “It is.”

“What is what?” Liz frowned.

“I wasn’t speaking to you.”

“Oh.Oh!You mean Ebba’s spirit is here?Now?It didn’t register properly before.”

He nodded toward the dresser and grinned as Liz and Rafe squinted, hoping for a glimpse. With disappointment pulling her mouth down, his sister harrumphed her displeasure.

“What’s our game plan? Do I call Spring to see what spell she thinks would work, or should we raid the Thorne Industries vault for artifacts—Wait!” She had a lightbulb-went-off moment. “Nash had something similar happen with Ryanne. They swapped her soul for her sister’s?—”

Laszlo shook his head. “I remember Nash telling me about it, but this situation isn’t the same as his mate’s. Ebba’s not in stasis. This is more of a possession than a soul swap.”

“Right. Okay. What about Alastair? Surely he’s come across this before?”

“Already spoke to him. He’s checking to see what Nash and Spring might know.” He hated to leave Ebba, but he had his own source to suss out. “Can you stay with her and make sure the entity haunting her doesn’t harm her in any way? I have to talk to Clutch.”

McClutchin “Clutch” Adams was a long-time friend and colleague. He and Lo had met in the early days of their ghost-seeking careers. If anyone knew about possession and exorcism, it was the ex-priest turned hunter.

“Sure. We’ll keep her safe.”

“Please hurry, Lo,” Spirit Ebba urged. “This was the closest he’s gotten to harming her.”

Lo nodded, but before he’d taken two steps, he froze and spun back. “He?”

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