Page 36 of Captivating Magic

“Nah. You were human.” She knocked into his shoulder with hers. “Besides, Ebba’s like a fine wine aged to perfection. If you’d have partaken too soon, you probably wouldn’t have appreciated the flavorful notes.”

“We must find a way to reverse all of this, Liz. She’s too important to us.”

“That goes without saying.” With a rub of his arm and a clearing of her throat, she nodded. “We still have time. Not much, but some. Maybe Isis will come around. She’s never let us down before.”

“Al said he had one other source. I’m hoping he’ll pull a rabbit out of his hat.”

Liz laughed. “He will. He always does. The man’s a world-class magician.”

“Truth.”

“Okay, we’re off to disturb Nash’s dinner. It should make him appropriately salty since Ryanne’s expecting and insisting on three-star Michelin dishes for every meal.”

“He’s spoiled,” Rafe added with a deep chuckle that turned evil. “I’m going to enjoy eating his dinner while he searches for the artifacts.”

“This is why you fit in so well with my twisted family, Rafe.” Lo laughed, though he didn’t quite feel like it. They were trying for levity, and he’d allow them their illusions.

Thirty seconds later, it was Lo, the two Ebbas, and Spencer, the hitchhiking pig-fucker. Never had he wished a man had a physical form as badly as he did then, to beat the fucker bloody.As it was, Spencer had selected the perfect vessel to hide in because Lo would never lift one finger against Ebba.

“What’s next?” Spirit Ebba asked.

“We conjure herbs and wait for Liz to return with my magical security blanket.”

She gestured him to the corner of the room away from listening ears and asked, “What do those objects do?”

“The four mirrors are placed in the room’s corners, facing the bed. They’re intended to confuse his spirit and trap it in place.”

“Like a fun-house room?”

He smiled at how fast her mind grasped the concept. “Exactly.”

“And the rest?”

“If she can find it, there’s an enchanted sword. It helps to sever the soul’s link to the Earthly plane.”

Dark eyes wide, she met his. “You intend to stab me?”

His laughter escaped.

“Well?” she demanded.

Lo laughed harder.

“You’re a jerk.”

“So you’ve said.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her close, happy she’d gathered energy to solidify again. His lips brushed hers once, then twice. On the third go, her mouth opened under his, and he tasted heaven.

“Uhhh!!!!!” Spencer screamed from the bed. “Stop! I feel that shit, too, and it’s like tasting shoe leather!”

“That’s news to me,” Lo told Ebba in a hushed voice. “I’ve never known the spirit and body to share an experience when separated.”

“I’ve been feeling everything my physical self does up to now. I assumed it was normal.”

He looked at her sharply. “Even in the cafe this morning?”

“Yes. I’ve been unable to leave the apartment, but I’ve always known what my body was doing when it left.”

“Weird, but good to know.”

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