Page 22 of Haunted Eclipse

The fourteen-card spread was telling.

“Oh dear…” I didn’t like what I saw. The eight of cups, the seven of cups, the prince of cups, the two of cups reversed, the five of swords, the Tower…

“What?” she said, leaning forward.

I took a deep breath, trying to ascertain whether she was the type of person who preferred her advice clear and blunt, or whether I should cushion it. I looked into her eyes and saw hope, but I also saw a clarity I seldom found in clients.

“He’s a psychic vampire, and he has you hooked,” I said. “I’m so sorry, but everything here tells me that he’s siphoning energy off of you. And when you move away, he’s got you glamoured to return to his side.”

Devon let out a long breath and touched her neck. “You mean, he’s an actual vampire?”

“Yes, in the sense that he feeds off your energy, though…” I leaned in, looking at her neck. “I don’t think he’s one of the traditional vampires, but I’m not entirely sure what heis. You have to ward against him. But first, we have to break the attachment, or he’ll continue to drain you until you have nothing left. He feeds on luck, too.” I found myself wanting to push her—to urge her to break this today. Something big was coming her way via this creep, and it wasn’t good.

She held my gaze for a moment. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

I nodded. “Yes, see the Tower? This indicates a shower of destruction in your life. You need to break this off now, Devon. And you need to ward up—to protect yourself. I assume he knows where you live?”

“Yes,” she said, her voice hesitant.

I wanted to urge her to move, but the truth was, if he lived here, he’d find her eventually. I thought about it for a moment. “All right, here’s what I want you to do. Rather than go home tonight, I want you to check into a hotel and don’t tell anybody about it. Meanwhile, I’m going to do some research and consult a friend. Give me Marcus’s address. Meanwhile, I’m going to call a friend over so we can figure out what to do. Marcus has planted cords into your third chakra and your sixth chakra.”

When someone corded into you, they hooked your energy and were able to draw off or to feed energy into you. Usually, cords were problematic. Some were fine—the ones our pets connected to us through, or the ones our loved ones connected to us that were more loving than draining. But most people who corded were looking for something—sympathy, help, or even themisery loves companymindset. And then, there were the psychic vampires, seeking life force and energy.

“Do you have any pets at home?” I asked. I didn’t want to leave them to his wrath, once he figured out she had vanished.

Devon shook her head. “No, I don’t.” She sighed. “I feel overwhelmed.”

“I know you do,” I said. “But your life depends on listening to me, and I’m not exaggerating. His energy is swirling around youright now. When we break that link, he’s going to be furious.” I sighed, sitting back in my chair. I never intended to be doing something like this, but Devon needed me. If Astra was home, she could help. But since she wasn’t, I’d have to handle this myself.

Devon leaned her elbows on the desk and buried her face in her hands. “I thought it was all too strange, but I love him,” she said, looking up, tears streaming down her face.

“I know you do, but honey…he doesn’t love you. He’s feeding off of you.” I thought about it for a moment, then decided to ask Crystal for her ideas. “I’m calling in backup.”

Devon nodded as I texted Crystal and asked her to come over. I wasn’t sure what I planned on doing about Marcus, but I had to dosomething. And with that, I decided to text Astra, too, asking her to come home as soon as possible.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Crystal poppedthrough the door in less than five minutes. I turned the sign to ‘closed’ and motioned for her to sit next to Devon.

“We have a situation, and you were the only one I could think of, besides Astra.”

I explained to Crystal what was going on with Devon.

“We need to find her a safe place to stay. I’m going to call my aunt and ask her if she can come home early. She said that Teran went to the chiropractor, and while that’s not a cure, it may have helped enough to where Astra can get free. If there is a psychic vampire in town preying on women, then we need to do something about it.”

Crystal frowned. She glanced at Devon, and then said, “Honestly? I wouldn’t suggest going to a hotel. For one thing, it’s too easy to figure out where someone is in this town. We don’t have to many hotels, and it wouldn’t take long to find out where Devon was staying. I do have another idea, though. I know the coordinator at the Midnight Point Women’s Shelter. They’re very low-key, and I can ask her if they have an open bed, so that Devon can stay there and safety. They have plenty of wards, and a few security guards on site.”

“Is he reallythatdangerous?” Devon asked.

I nodded. “From what I saw in the cards, he won’t hesitate to drain you dry, and that’s a death sentence. And then, he’ll go find his next mark. Psychic vamps live off of life force.”

“Really? What about food?” Devon’s eyes grew wide.

Crystal answered her. “Just like typical vampires need blood to exist, psychic vampires need life force to exist. No matter how much food he eats, it can only maintain him to a marginal degree. Psychic vampires usually don’t drain their prey, unless they’re in great need. They tend to keep them in a half-life state, exhausted and burned out.”

“I feel tired all the time,” Devon said.

“In some cases, that energy drain can be mistaken for something like fibromyalgia, or chronic fatigue. I’m not saying there aren’t any physical markers for those cases. There are plenty of people who actually have those conditions. But the symptoms of being under attack from a psychic vampire can easily mimic them. If you continue on with him, it won’t be long before you’ll be dragging through the day, barely able to handle your work.”

---