A Strange There After (30 page)

“Fine, but I’m going to tell you what no one
else will. Jason has feelings for Catherine. You have to see it.
Somewhere along the way, he’s blurred the lines between you and
her.” He reached up, grazing my chin, leaving a charge where his
finger touched. “All I see is you. And it’s enough.”

I shook my head, not sure if I was denying
what he said about Jason and Catherine or about him saying me being
enough. Boone sighed sadly and walked away. I wanted to call out to
him, demand he give me time to sort through what he said, to come
to terms with the fact he actually did matter more than I cared to
admit. A hot lump formed in my throat, and I had to swallow
multiple times to force it down.

Plenty of drama to worry about later. For
some reason, I knew I was going to need my body to deal with this
new battle, the battle for my heart. Straightening my spine, I
wandered into the house. Please let Kalfu come soon, I prayed.

Jason was in the kitchen, dabbing at his
bloody lip with a wet paper towel. Instinct told me to keep going,
but I stopped instead, concentrating on touching his elbow. He
jerked his arm and shied away.

“Quinn?”

Holding onto my concentration I flicked the
lights once, falling back into our primitive way of communicating.
It was a good thing all I had was ‘yes’ and ‘no’ because I wasn’t
sure what I’d actually say to him if I had the chance.

“I’m sorry about hitting Boone. The guy just
knows how to push my buttons. I’m here for you, Quinn. No one
else.”

It was so similar to what Boone said and
confused me more than ever. Instead of furthering the absurd,
one-sided conversation, I pivoted and left him alone. As I walked
out of the kitchen, I couldn’t help but think it felt like I was
walking out of Jason’s life forever.

Chapter
Thirty-Three

Somewhat dejected, I trudged up the stairs
slower and paused outside the door to Catherine’s room. A muffled
thump came from the other side and caught my attention. Curious, I
stepped through the wood and gaped at the scene before me.

Catherine flitted frantically around the
room, tossing random clothes and shoes into an open suitcase, so
focused on her actions she failed to notice me standing there. For
the life of me I couldn’t figure out what she was doing. When the
realization hit, I spoke up.

“You think you can escape in the middle of
the night undetected?”

She jumped, dropping a cute ballet flat on
the floor. Her face hardened with determination. “Yes. I do. And I
am.”

“Um, no,” I said with surprise.

Propping a fist on her hip, Catherine jutted
her chin out. “You can’t babysit me every minute of the day. Sooner
or later I will leave this cursed house and go somewhere no one can
find me or knows who I am.”

Her voiced cracked as she finished her
statement. A chuckle slipped from my lips. She didn’t like
that.

“I should have done this earlier, but I
didn’t want to leave him. Not yet.”

“Kind of pointless to cling to Jason now that
he knows the jig is up.”

“Who said anything about Jason?” she
snapped.

Whoa, I wasn’t expecting that. “Jackson?” I
said.

She didn’t have to answer for me to know the
truth. Itching to fully understand her, I opened my mouth to ask
more, but another voice spoke.

“How it warms my heart to see my two kittens
together.”

We both startled at the sound of Kalfu. Sure
enough, he appeared out of thin air wearing a triumphant grin on
his face. He snapped his fingers, and the lock on Catherine’s door
engaged. I didn’t have to test it to know it wouldn’t budge. No one
could get in. Or out.

“What is the meaning of this, Kalfu?”
Catherine demanded, fists clenched at her sides and a trace of
panic lacing her voice.

“Quinn and I have an arrangement.”

She smirked, but it lacked the usual bite.
“Oh, I know all about it. She banishes Cora to a happier place, and
Quinn gets her body back. Don’t forget. I had a deal, too. I
provided you with souls for your little collection.”

“Wait. What?” I asked out of confusion.
“Who’s collection?”

“Catherine.” Kalfu muttered her name with a
warning. His face hardened, darkened somehow, and finally I began
to see glimpses of the formidable loa I’d been cautioned about.

Catherine plowed right on. “I know you and
that annoying ghost hunter did some research into all the
mysterious deaths in this house. Did you really think it was all a
coincidence?”

I scrambled to understand her meaning, to
circumvent the horrible possibility that I knew exactly what she
was implying. “You killed all those people?”

Guilt flashed in her expression for a split
second. Then her bravado returned. “Not all of them. Some died of
their own hand. I merely provided the extra push.”

“Like with my mama,” I whispered. “So as long
as you provided him with souls, he...what? Let you possess the ones
he didn’t want?”

Kalfu answered this time. “I let her live.
Granted, most times it was through someone else, but little did I
know she learned a few tricks of her own.” He stared at her with
disdain. “Appropriating Quinn’s body was not in the agreement.”

“I’ve done everything you asked!” Her shriek
bounced off the walls.

Kalfu actually laughed at her. The sound sent
chills racing up my spine. One day, I’d be her. Standing before
him, quivering in fear, helpless to stop what came next.

He stroked his mustache. “Yes, you’ve done
everything and more. It’s the more that nullifies our agreement.
I
choose who you terrorize.
I
tell you when you can
act.
I
am the one who gives you the illusion of life.”

Though the words were soft, malice dripped
off each one. Catherine hunched into herself, the most beaten I’d
ever seen her. I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

“I can still help you! I’ll bring you more. I
was just settling in before I took it up again. There are so many
people in this city!” she babbled.

He pointed a long finger at the bed. “And the
suitcase?”

“Just a quick trip. Why limit our games to
Savannah? I can find powerful souls for you.”

“Enough. Already Quinn has done what you
could not and set me free. Cora is gone. It’s the beginning of a
new era. One I cannot allow you to share in. I promised Quinn to
get you out of her life, and you know I always keep my word.”

Catherine rounded on me full of fury. “You
can’t just get rid of me! How dare you! No one in your pathetic
life missed you. What do you have to go back for? You need me! I
can tell you all about his collection and his weak—”

“I think I’ve had enough of your incessant
yapping.”

Once more Kalfu snapped his fingers, and her
mouth slammed shut. As hard as she tried, she could not open it.
Her mumbles turned to muted screams, and her eyes bugged out so
badly I thought they’d pop from her head.

“Alright, love, are you ready?”

Fear froze me in place, its icy fingers
clutching my insides and squeezing tight. Not wanting Kalfu to see
it, I nodded curtly. Gold glinted in his smile as he reached into
his coat and extracted something enclosed in his fist. Stalking
toward Catherine, he opened his hand. I saw a sparkly powder
nestled in his palm. My brows snapped together. What was that?

“It’s been educational, dear Catherine, but
your time has come.”

Without further ado he blew on the powder,
much like Meena had done to me. The substance hit Catherine in the
face. Her eyes rolled back in her head. With a groan, she slumped
to the ground, twitching once before falling still.

“What did you do?” I asked, rushing forward
to kneel beside my body. My eyes raked over it, and I let out a
sigh of relief when I noticed the rise and fall of the chest.

“Don’t worry, love. It lives. The physical
vessel can live for a while without a host. Although, I don’t
recommend testing that theory.”

“No!”

The breathy gasp brought me to my feet. I
turned to see Catherine standing near the bed, staring down in
horror. This was Catherine as I remembered her, from the visions
she’d shown me before. Rich brown hair, beautiful face, bowed lips.
She stared at her arms, fingering the material of her old-fashioned
dress. A single tear slid down her cheek, but when she lifted her
head to look at me, murder shone from her eyes.

“I’ll find a way to make you pay for this,
Quinn.”

Old habits die hard, so I retreated a step. A
comforting hand landed on my shoulder.

“False threats. She can’t hurt you anymore. I
am a man of my word.”

“She’s still here,” I grumbled, shocked at
sounding like a spoiled kid who didn’t get her way.

“Easy enough to remedy.”

Catherine’s eyes widened as Kalfu snapped his
fingers once again. She vanished. Just like that, she was gone.
Shocked and confused, I stared at the spot where she stood only
seconds before. I’d expected wrath of God kind of stuff, thunder
and shaking ground and such. It was so...simple. I wanted to feel
relief, but it never came. Was that good or bad?

“Now what?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, putting you back is not as
easy. See, the body adapts, learns to accept and obey its new
master. It might be a tad unpleasant.”

“I don’t care. Do it.”

I braced as he crouched over my prone body,
murmuring words too low for me to hear. A breeze appeared out of
nowhere, building in strength and ferocity. It whipped my hair into
my face, obscuring Kalfu’s actions. His chanting grew louder, as
did the roar of the wind. Instinct told me to back away, but I
couldn’t. I was so close to getting everything I’d lost.

A pinch caught my attention, like a hook
grabbed my stomach and yanked. It drew me closer to Kalfu. As soon
as I was next to the body on the floor, a sucking sensation began
at my feet. A painful sensation. Invisible claws latched onto my
legs, pulling me downwards. The painful heat made me hiss then
scream as it climbed higher. Unbidden, a voice in my head warned me
Kalfu had tricked me, but the agony cut it off. As the feeling
continued up, everything below it faded into nothing. Wind buffeted
me from all angles, pushing and prodding, mixing with the pain.

When it reached my neck, I panicked.

“Stop! No, please! Don’t!”

Kalfu ignored my cries, just carried on with
his strange mutterings. Then I couldn’t even scream. The pain
reached my mouth, forcing its way down my throat. It felt like I
was drowning in fire, suffocating on heat and agony. The last thing
I remember thinking was how the voice had been right. I’d been
played.

The world around me disappeared, enveloping
me in nothing. Blackness consumed me.

Epilogue

Warm. I felt so warm. Snuggling into the
pillow, I basked in the feeling, counting my heartbeats until I
reached a hundred. How long until I wasn’t constantly checking to
see if I still had a pulse? I stretched, nearly groaning in
pleasure as my toes curled, and the muscles joined me in a sigh of
contentment. Rolling over, I lifted my arm and stared at it,
bemused. Tanned? Since when? Oh well. I could live with a little
more color. Live. What an awesome word.

Last night seemed like a dream. Heck, the
entire past two months were a terrible nightmare I hadn’t been able
to wake from. But that was then. And Catherine was gone now. Back
in the land of the living, there was no one around to torment me
anymore. Sure, I still owed Kalfu three unknown favors, and I had
two boys fighting over me, but those were things I did not mind.
Not compared to living as a ghost.

Throwing the covers back, I jumped to my feet
and did a little victory dance. Wow. I missed being in my body so
much! Surveying my surroundings, I grinned. No more waking up in
the attic either. I was in Catherine’s room, the master suite, and
I couldn’t wait to rid myself of every trace of her. The closet
caught my attention. Okay, maybe not every trace. The girl had
pretty good taste in clothes.

As I glanced in the mirror, I frowned for the
first time. I hated the light brown color of my hair. Ugh. And the
blue eyes, which welled with unshed tears. I didn’t even recognize
myself. I looked like her. So much for being rid of Catherine. I
missed my black hair and purple highlights, the green eyes.
Wait...was that a beauty mark on my cheek? My chest heaved as the
floor tilted under me. The four walls pressed in close. Too
close.

“What have you done to me, Catherine?” I
muttered. So much for starting today with a fresh outlook.

Maybe Kalfu could do something about my
appearance.

I was about to turn away, intent on fixing
this new problem, when movement caught my attention. The reflection
in the mirror, which should have mimicked me, stared back with an
all too familiar smirk.

“It’s not possible,” I whispered, leaning
closer.

“Poor Quinn. Still hasn’t gotten your happy
ending?”

I stumbled backward, not expecting the girl
to actually speak. Not a girl. A menace. Catherine.

“What are you doing here?” I bit out.

She shrugged. “Sorry to ruin your mood.”

Reaching up, I shouldn’t have been surprised
when she just stared at me in insolence. My mind raced. She was
supposed to be gone, as in no longer in my life.

“I don’t understand.”

“Help me find a way to get me out of here.
It’s dark. Cold.” A tiny quiver of fear dotted Catherine’s plea,
and I furrowed my brows.

“Not gonna happen. If anything, I’ll do
whatever I can to send you wherever you should have gone.”

“I wouldn’t be too hasty, love.”

I nearly groaned. Kalfu. He materialized out
of thin air and sauntered up to stand next to me. Dread settled in
my stomach.