Page 24 of Captivating Magic

“No!” Lo stepped forward, blocking her from Death’s apathetic gaze. “Respectfully,” he added with a gulp, fighting against the threatening panic. Yes, he answered to Isis, but Death would always find a way. “This isn’t her fault, but Spencer can’t be left inside her body.”

“Who is this body-stealing Spencer?”

Ebba sidestepped Lo and approached the blonde. “His name is Spencer Barlowe. He’s an insurance broker from Greenville.”

Lo frowned. “Really? You went out with an insurance broker?Dude!No wonder you were bored.”

Both women scowled in his direction, and he mimed zipping his lip. Behind Death’s back, Clutch grinned like a damned fool, earning himself her elbow to his ribs.

“Behave, McClutchin,” she ordered.

“Your wish is my command, Queen.”

She rolled her eyes but warmed considerably after his endearment.

“You’re into necrophilia?” she asked Lo. When he sputtered his indignation, her brows arched, and her mouth curled in a mocking smile. “Surely you and Ms. James weren’t cheating on poor Spencer Barlowe while they were an item, yes?”

“Of course not!” he and Ebba denied in stereo.

“That means you—what’s the term, McClutchin—hooked up?” At his nod, she continued. “That means you hooked up after her demise, i.e., you are into the deceased.”

“We haven’t hooked up,” Lo ground out, sure his molars couldn’t take the pressure of his frustration much longer.

“Then you lied, Ms. James,” Death stated in a frigid tone, turning chilly eyes on Ebba. “You’re not ‘together’ as you claim.”

Looking terrified, Ebba cast him a beseeching look, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her.

“It’s okay, Sweet. It’ll be okay.”

“You can’t promise things of that nature, Laszlo Thorne,” Death countered. “Despite your gifts, you aren’t in charge of who stays and goes.Iam.”

Easing closer to Ebba, he nodded. “Understood, but if you could find it in your heart to?—”

“You have forty-eight hours to deliver the runaway souls of Ebba James and Spencer Barlowe to me. Here at McClutchin’s dwelling. Don’t be late.” With a wave of her hand, she rolled the scroll, vanishing it in a poof of smoke. She sauntered toward Clutch’s bedroom. Stopping at the entrance, she cast a coquettish look toward his friend. “Are you coming, lover?”

“Yes, ma’am!” Clutch said with a grin that didn’t reach his eyes. “Let me show them out, Queen, and I’ll attend to your every need.”

“You’d better.”

Clutch sobered when she disappeared through the doorway. “Look, man. I won’t make any promises, but I can talk to her, maybe change her mind, okay?” After crossing to his spellbook, he opened it about a third of the way, then flipped a few pages to find what he was searching for. “Here it is. I think this one could work.” He tore the page from its binding and handed it to Lo along with a baseball-sized sphere and a clay figure without any discernible features.

“I know I said it wasn’t a matter of Voodoo dolls, but it’s all I’ve got in a pinch. Use the doll to draw out ol’ Spencer, then shove him into this holding globe. Hopefully, it will keep him,but don’t count on it. Death understands a captured spirit is as good as a free one.” He gave Ebba a regretful look. “I’m sorry, girl. You’d have given Lo a run for his money, alright.”

“You sound like it’s a done deal,” she croaked.

He shared a long look with Laszlo, and they both understood what he left unspoken. By the time either of them was called and Death showed her ravishing self, it was a done deal.

“She rarely changes her mind. But I’ll try,” Clutch said.

With a quick hug for Lo, he rushed away.

Silence hung in the air between Ebba and Laszlo after his departure.

“He looks like he can show her a good time. Maybe there’s a chance,” she said.

The desire to laugh battled with his urge to throw the mother of all tantrums. To keep both reactions at bay, Lo merely nodded.

“How do we get home?” she asked.

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