Page 70 of Ghostly Touches

Another glance around the space and I find I’m not in the guest bedroom I occupied the night before. Now I’m in a motel room. A disgusting one at that. There is another queen bed next to mine, an old dresser, a television set that looks like it’s seen better days, and a chair stained with… Well, I can’t tell, but honestly, I don’t want to know. The smell of cigarette smoke, stale air, and possibly mold piping out of the A/C unit doesn’t do anything for the pounding in my head or keeping my stomach settled. I turn slowly to gauge the distance between me and the bathroom.

I can probably make it.

Tentatively, I put weight on my feet and stand. The room tilts dangerously to one side. I reach out and brace myself on the dusty nightstand. My stomach rolls hard. Without wasting any more time, I round the bed and dart to the bathroom. I make it just in time. With my head in the filthy toilet, I throw up breakfast.

With a groan, I sit on the blue-tiled floor and lean back against the wall once I’ve emptied the contents of my stomach. My head hurts even worse now. Reaching back, I touch where the ache is coming from. The large knot is tender, throbbing, and ribbed with thread. Stitches. Great. All because of that asshole…

Anger flares up in my chest as I think about how he thinks he can treat me and Jonah. The fucking bastard has it coming. My hands curl into fists as fury ripples through me. I won’t tolerate this shit any longer. I’ve been nothing but understanding up until this point, but enough is enough. I have to get out of here.

My anger gives me the strength to get to my feet. I stumble forward towards the sink where I brace my hands on the side of it. I glare at my reflection.

My reflection glares back.This is your fault for sticking your nose where it didn’t belong.

Well, maybe I can fix this. Soul welding is permanent, or so I’ve been told. But has anyone actually ever tried to pull souls that have merged so fully apart before? My power surges forward as I force myself to stand straight. I have to separate myself from these psychos I’ve tethered myself to. The room grows cold as I reach up with one hand to touch my chest where a faint ache throbs and concentrate on contacting my soul. Picturing it, I call it forth. The contact is instantly repulsive. I shouldn’t be able to feel my soul. It’s not natural. I nearly yank my hand away before I remember why I’m doing this.

Gritting my teeth and pushing past the discomfort, I skim my power over my soul, searching for the pieces that aren’t mine. I find one immediately. I can’t tell who it belongs to, but I don’t care. My power wraps around it, and I try to rip it out of me.

The pain that flares up is agony and brings me to my knees. It feels like a blowtorch is tearing through me. My scream gets stuck in my throat as I fight against the pain to pull the soul out. When it doesn’t come free, I let up momentarily to get my bearings. Beads of sweat gather along my forehead as tears blur my vision. Before I can chicken out, I try again. This time I connect with a different piece. When I pull at this one, the only thing I achieve is feeling even more pain. Tears stream down my face as I fight through the fiery agony racing through me. When I can’t take it any longer, I stop, lean over, and throw up in the toilet again.

I shriek in frustration as my heaving comes to a stop.

One more time. I got this… Leaning up against the bathroom floor, I attempt one more time to pull out a piece of soul that doesn’t belong within me. This time the pain is so great that I black out.

“Willow!”

I blink as I sit up and look around the bathroom. It must have been only a few minutes since my last attempt to free myself from the Ghosts. With a sniff, I wipe away the tears and sweat from my face as I hear the footsteps coming towards the bathroom.

“Willow, are you okay?”

I scramble to my feet and lock the door before Kwil can open it.

“I’m fine. Get lost.” I turn and lean up against the door.

“I felt—” Kwil pauses. “We all felt something. Can I come in please to make sure you’re alright?”

“Get. Lost.”

This is so bad. So, so bad. I can’t do this with them. I have to get out of here. I’m not safe with these men around. And they’re going to be really pissed when they find out I’m not just a necromancer. What are they going to do when they realize I could pose a danger to this world, more than the monsters they chase down and kill?

Then there’s Jonah. I can’t leave him in their care. I wipe my hand over my face as I consider what to do. There’s only one person who I know will have my best interest at heart if I came to them seeking help. The only thing is, while the Ghosts may answer to their Brotherhood for their misdeeds, the one person I can trust to help me will also be the person who I’ll get the most grief from for what I’ve done.

“I brought food for you.”

My stomach growls.

Food does sound good… No, wait. I need to hold strong. At least for a few more minutes. I can’t hide in this filthy bathroom forever, but I just need some space. Pushing away from the door, I walk over to the shower and turn it on. When the water gets warm, I climb in. I take my time under the weak water pressure. The shower head shakes hard as it works with what little water does manage to make its way through the pipes. Once the dried blood has been washed out of my hair, I stand there and let the warm water rush over me until it runs cold. It happens pretty quickly. Disappointed that I didn’t have more time, I turn the water off and grab a flimsy towel off the rack.

By the time I’m dry, I’ve decided on my next course of action.

I tug on my old clothes since I have nothing else to put on and step out of the bathroom where I find Kwil and Theodon standing around, waiting for me. Disgust and hatred are hot as they flare up in my chest. When the two of them turn to face me, I brace myself for condemnation. When Kwil takes a step towards me, I place my hands firmly on my hips and glare, stopping him in his tracks.

“Where the hell are we?” I demand.

“About four hours from the last safehouse,” Theo says.

That means I’m about five hours away from my house. I reach up and rub my throbbing temples.

“Here, I have some painkillers,” Kwil offers up quickly, shoving his hand into his cloak. He pulls out a packet of generic pills and steps towards me.

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