Page 21 of Ghostly Touches

Viktor’s soul straightens before turning to me.

“Thatwas a Sliver,” I explain as I hurry over to the window to peer outside the house. I don’t see any movement, but I know we’re about to have trouble. And while I would normally just throw the demon back into the Realm of the Dead, I can’t really do that with the Ghosts present. A typical necromancer wouldn’t be able to do that. If they start asking questions about my powers, I’m going to have to make a quick getaway.

I’ll help these guys as long as my secret remains safe.

“What’s a ‘Sliver’ and what was it doing here?” Theo demands.

“A Sliver is a soul that’s been in this realm too long and lost all of its humanity. They want to live again, so any time there’s a chance to possess a living being, they’ll take it. Viktor’s empty body is exactly what it needed.”

The temperature in the room begins to drop. As does my stomach. I can feel more Slivers approaching, along with the horrible, foreboding chill of the demon closing in. My heart slams against my chest as I scan the area below.

In the reflection of the glass, I see Theo moving closer to Viktor’s body. “I thought you said it was safe here. Where did it come from?”

“Someone tried to possess me? I’ll kill them!”

“What are you looking for?”

Kwil’s question causes me to turn around to face the Ghosts. My expression must have tipped him off that something is wrong because he moves towards me quickly as one gloved hand dives into his cloak and re-emerges with a sword.

Asword. How archaic. Does the Ghost Brotherhood not believe in guns?

“What is it?” Kwil demands as he comes to tower over me. “What’s wrong?”

“We’re about to get some really nasty visitors,” I whisper, afraid they’ll hear us.

A loud, hard thud on the roof causes my heart to skip a beat. We all look up at the ceiling. I laugh. It sounds a bit hysterical as it’s followed up by three more thumps as more and more join us.

“You think Jonah looks like a monster? Wait until you see what’s here,” I tell them.

Theodon pulls out his own sword from beneath his cloak. His eyes lock on the ceiling as he draws closer to us.

“What’s here, Willow?” he asks.

“Demons.” I move away from the window and add, “Viktor, more Slivers are here. I can feel them making their way through the house now. You’re going to have to help me keep them away from your body. They’re hard to remove once they latch onto a person.”

Viktor pulls out his ghostly sword and nods.

The window I was just standing by explodes. A large body shoots across the room and takes down Theo with ease. I try not to scream as the demon rears up with its large claws and dives towards Theo’s face. Somehow, Theo manages to skewer the thing in the abdomen with his sword. The demon leaps back and stumbles away from him with a terrifying shriek.

It’s just as terrifying as the one I saw before. With a body shaped like a bull, long muscular legs and arms, it is certainly a thing of nightmares. Its tough skin is cracked, and a red glow pulsates through it. When it screeches, the ceiling by the door caves in, and two more join us.

Kwil steps in front of me as they lunge for us.

Like a choreographed dance, both Theodon and Kwil begin to move with grace and speed in the tight space, slicing through the creatures like they’re nothing. Limbs fall, blood splatters, and screeches fill the room. Meanwhile, Slivers pour into the room from all sides. There has to be at least thirty of them coming through the walls and up from the floor.

They all converge on Viktor’s body.

“No!” Viktor snarls.

He grabs one of them and throws it away from his body. In the next breath, he swings his sword through the mass of spirits all vying for possession of his body. Quickly, he realizes that his sword is useless.

With so many Slivers, and with Kwil and Theodon locked in battle with three demons that need to be removed from this realm, I only have one choice. And leaving them to deal with this isn’t it. A chill races through my veins as my power begins to rise. Maybe, if I’m lucky, they’ll just leave after this and not ask any questions about what I’m about to do. As my fingers begin to tingle, I begrudgingly realize the Ghosts are just one of the many groups of people I’ll have to worry about. I’m sure I’ll be getting a visit real soon from the Elders after this next move. My power ripples through the room and a dark, gray mist appears, swirling just by the door.

As it grows darker, I yell, “Send the demons into the Realm of the Dead!”

I hope the two fighting Ghosts hear me because I don’t have time to yell again. With a deep breath, I refocus my power on the Slivers in the room. I’m not sure where they came from, but I do know where they’re going. Without wasting a second, I pull the Slivers towards me. One by one, I throw them through the Veil. Viktor is fighting tirelessly to keep them from taking over his body, but there are too many. I duck out of the way of the demons and Ghosts as I try hard not to let the Veil drop, while at the same time trying to rip the Slivers out of the air.

A howl captures my attention.

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