SEDUCTIVE SUPERNATURALS: 12 Tales of Shapeshifters, Vampires & Sexy Spirits (186 page)

She’d never imagined that she would ever get to live in a place that had a real library. Of course, it was all empty mahogany shelves for now, but one day, perhaps the real owner would fill these shelves with antique volumes of old paper books.

There was a cool spiral staircase that led from the back entrance of the master bedroom into the library, and it reminded her of stories she read when she was little about old homes with secret passageways. In this case, instead of the stairs leading to a secret room, they led to the very place she wanted to be right now—the master suite, alone with Jesse, naked with their bodies pressed close together in bed. But first…there was the little matter of needing to summon Lauren so she could use Evelyn’s shell to catch body-nappers.

Princess Leia peeked her nose in, dashed across the floor and plopped down by Evelyn’s side, then rolled to her back for a good scratch. When Evelyn had taken the Chihuahua to the vet, she’d learned that the shelter had been estimating Leia’s age by the condition of her teeth, but since Leia couldn’t chew bones or close her mouth all the way, her teeth were in way worse shape than they should have been for her age. In reality, she was probably only around five or six years old.

It had only been a week since she’d gotten her rotting teeth pulled and the mange vaccine, but she was already leaps and bounds better. Evelyn picked up her princess and held her close, kissing the top of her head. It was strange to be so happy in this fake and fleeting life with Jesse and their dogs in this house. She reminded her brain that beyond what she felt for Jesse and how he said he felt for her, none of it was real. Would she and Jesse even be allowed to date when they returned to the IB campus? Would they be allowed to remain partners if they were found out?

And what would become of Caesar and Leia? She knew she needed to start looking for a good home now for when the assignment was done, but after twenty years of wanting her own pet, she couldn’t think of giving her dog up quite yet. Maybe she could get Leia boarded for a while. After she’d been at IB for a few months, it was realistic to consider moving her family to a better place where they could have a pet, and then at least she would be able to visit all of them on the weekends.

It wasn’t easy to find someone skilled enough to help move a spirit from their final resting place—especially not a whole family—and the cost would be astronomical, but with all the spirit specialists she would meet at IB in the coming months, someone would likely have the name of someone reputable who could help her move her mother, the Getfields, and little Casey.

She heard Caesar’s claws against the wood floor before he and Jesse entered the room. Leia loved affection and treats—that’s how she and Evelyn had bonded—but Caesar loved the outdoors and Jesse was his savior for all the runs he’d been taking him on. Both boys had pep in their step when they entered the room.

“Sasha’s here,” Jesse said. He looked freshly showered and when he smiled at Evelyn, he held her gaze a few moments too long, letting her know with no words that he was wishing they were alone and naked, just like she was.

Sasha entered the room behind Jesse, wearing jeans and a loose fitting T-shirt with the name of her fictitious cleaning company on the pocket. She walked to the coffee table, giving Evelyn a little squeeze on the shoulder before sitting next to her on the rug. “How are you holding up? Jesse says you and Lauren have been having some trouble.”

Jesse sat on the burgundy leather chair near them, his knees splayed, and rested his elbows on his thighs. “Yeah. What can you add, Doc?”

Caesar crawled under the table and nuzzled Evelyn’s hand. She stroked his ears and shook her head. “Not much. I mean, I’ve been sensing some discomfort while Lauren is in my body, but I can’t do much about it. I have no idea how to help her, or even if the problem with her overheating is from her end or mine.”

Sasha cocked her head slightly. “What do you mean you’re sensing it? When you come to or what?”

Evelyn looked to Jesse, hoping he didn’t spill the beans about her experience with Casey, but his lips were pressed together as though he was waiting for her to tell the story. “No…I mean while her spirit is in me, I get a sense of how she’s doing. I can’t read her mind or anything. That’s not what I’m saying.”

“But you are saying that at least a small part of you is conscious during the possession.”

“I guess so. It’s been getting stronger lately, especially with Lauren. I think it’s because she’s spent more time in my body than any other spirit so far.”

A line formed between Sasha’s brows. “I haven’t wanted to pry about your past possessions because I know this is intensely personal for you, but I think we need to talk about it a little more.”

Leia shifted in Evelyn’s lap and looked up, seeming to sense her discomfort. “Well, it’s happened so many times. I’d say at least once a week, but I’ve had…really bad weeks before. Eight possessions in one week is my record.” She laughed softly, but she didn’t think she was fooling anyone. There was no way to have your body taken against your will and not feel victimized.

Sasha’s expression was an even mix of confusion and compassion. “I’m surprised, to be honest, that it’s so often. I mean, with your threshold, I see how the possessions happen. But you said that Lauren has spent the most time in your body, and she hasn’t been possessing you for more than two to three hours a day…”

“That’s because no spirit has ever stayed in my body longer than three hours, and I got the impression he was over a level seven. But they’ve been as short as ten minutes on occasion.”

“Holy shit. Why did you never mention that to me?” Jesse asked.

She looked over at him, her eyes stinging. “Because I don’t like to talk about it, Jesse. Sometimes you just wake up and you’re fine. And sometimes you wake up and…there’s some pretty fucked up shit that’s been happening to your body. You seriously think I’m going to tell the world about that?”

Jesse moved to the sofa behind Evelyn’s back and leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry, babe. I don’t mean to sound insensitive. I would smack down every one of those damned spirits if I could and lock them all back in Abaddon. I’m just surprised is all.”

When he reached for her hand, she gripped his fingers and held on, wanting to forget all this and be back in bed with her head on his chest. “What do you think it means, Sasha?”

Sasha sat there, her brow wrinkled, but the affection between Evelyn and Jesse wasn’t lost on her. “First of all, I want you to know how sorry I am for what you’ve gone through. Knowing your history makes this assignment even harder. But as for the time the spirits are spending in your body…it doesn’t make any sense to me. At a level seven, a spirit could possess you for weeks, months even. Why are they leaving so soon?”

Evelyn shook her head slowly. “I don’t know, but I’m never sad to see them go.”

Sasha gave her a sad smile. “I’m sure you’re not. At this point, when you guys tell me Lauren is ‘overheating’ in Evelyn’s body, I’d say it’s not Lauren, it’s Evelyn. That’s probably a safe guess. I’ll need to do research to see if there’s anyone else with a similar history to Evelyn’s.”

“There are reports about eight others that I’ve found so far.” She shrugged when they seemed surprised that she knew this. “I like to research and the university has access to higher level information that you can get on the internet.”

“Well, let’s summon Lauren. I know you guys need to get ready for that party soon,” Sasha said. “So you’ve been trying to reach her this afternoon, and it hasn’t been working?”

“Yeah. I tried twice.” And although she didn’t love Lauren or sharing her body, she was starting to feel bad that maybe there was something about her body that was hurting Lauren.

Leia stood, jumped off Evelyn’s lap, and walked toward the door, looking back with her “take me potty” expression. Crap. Now was not the time.

Sasha picked up Lauren’s totem bullet, and Evelyn felt Sasha’s power rise. She didn’t feel comfortable asking her how many joules she could channel, but it was a lot. “Lauren Marie Jacobs,” she said. “I call you from your resting place and invite you into this space. Join us, Lauren. We welcome you.”

They all waited, but when nothing happened, Sasha tried again, channeling even more energy into the summons. Evelyn’s stomach felt like it dropped to her feet. What if she’d done something to Jesse’s ex-partner?

Jesse released Evelyn’s hand and stood, pacing to the other end of the sofa and back. “What the hell is going on? Is Lauren okay?”

Sasha stood and put her hands palms-out. “Don’t panic. Maybe we just need to use the whole totem this time around. Hold on.”

When she walked out of the library, Evelyn stood and called Caesar. “Come on. Outside, you two. Time to go potty.”

The dogs followed her through the house to the French doors off the living room, and she let them out. When she got back, Sasha was putting her cleaning caddy on the table. She reached past the gloves and cleaning sprays and pulled out the .9mm. Evelyn and Jesse sat on the couch this time, side by side. If Sasha noticed them almost thigh to thigh, she didn’t say anything.

She put the bullet back in the gun, clicked on the safety, and smiled. “Okay, folks, let’s try this again. I’m going to put more energy into it this time. I know what I’m doing, and if it gets a little weird, it’s nothing to be concerned about.”

But the disclaimer itself was concerning. Evelyn had to admit that it was slightly thrilling to be this close to an animist at work. Many specialists could perform a summoning, but only an animist could give what had been termed the Kiss of Light and bring temporary mass and substance to the spirit’s own body. If an animist couldn’t bring Lauren back, there was a serious problem.

Sasha held the gun flat in both hands and closed her eyes. When her power rose this time, it made a breeze in the room, like wind but comprised of pure energy. Her dark hair began to float around her head like it was being exposed to super static, and when she opened her eyes, they shone with gold light. “Lauren Marie Jacobs, I call you from your resting place and demand your presence in this place. Come to me now, Lauren. I command you.”

Seconds later, a watery shape appeared, standing directly over Sasha’s shoulder. The animist didn’t turn, but simply smiled and held her hand out. “Sit next to me, Lauren, and take my hand.”

Lauren had no expression on her face, no smartass comments to make. It made goose bumps break out over Evelyn’s skin. She pressed her thigh closer to Jesse and he asked, “What’s wrong with her, Sash?”

She held a finger to her lips, the gold light of her eyes illuminating her entire face. Lauren floated to Sasha’s side and “sat,” which was really just going waist deep into the floor until she was at Sasha’s level. She reached out and took Sasha’s hand and immediately her image began to intensify, less watery and more substantial.

“Good, girl,” Sasha told her. “Now I want you to pull your legs up through the floor and sit like me. I’m going to be giving you some of my energy, and just in case something were to go wrong, I don’t want your body gaining flesh while you’re stuck between rooms.”

Evelyn’s eyes went wide. Although she had ample energy inside her, she would never be able to refine it and do the things that Sasha could do. Why had Clark even asked Evelyn to help out at the crime scene when he had trackers and an animist under his employ? Was it just to make a fool out of her or maybe to test her?

Jesse gripped Evelyn’s hand and when he squeezed, she doubted he was even aware of it. “You’re not going to use your gift on her, are you?” he asked Sasha.

Her eyes dimmed by half, but a steady current still flowed from her to Lauren. “No. I’m just trying to give her enough energy to keep her here. I don’t want to give her substance, or she won’t be able to possess Evelyn for tonight’s party.”

“What the hell is going on?” Lauren asked, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m just recharging your battery, so to speak,” Sasha said. “How are you feeling?”

It was amazing. With Sasha giving her energy, Lauren was looking less transparent than usual. “I’m fine, I think. What happened? Why do you all look so worried?”

“Evelyn was having trouble summoning you,” Jesse told her.

Lauren glared at Evelyn. “Your body…sucks. And I’m not talking about your height challenges.”

Jesse squeezed her hand and his body went tense, but Evelyn didn’t need other people standing up for her. She could imagine it was difficult going from being a six-foot-tall Sentinel fueled on vitriol and pride to a ghost who almost wasn’t strong enough to manifest. “I’m sorry it’s been rough. Can you tell me the symptoms you’ve been feeling in my body?”

Lauren frowned. She seemed to like it better when people rose to her verbal bait. “At first, it’s not so bad. But then I start feeling so overheated and exhausted and…claustrophobic in there. I don’t know how else to describe it.” She turned to Sasha, still holding her hand. “Is that how it’s supposed to feel when you possess someone’s body?”

Sasha shook her head. “Of course, it’s difficult for a level three spirit to stay in a host for too long, but Evelyn has been carrying your totem, and her possession threshold is super low. It probably shouldn’t feel much different than how Evelyn feels on a normal day, and when your energy starts to wane, you should just pop back to your final resting place. Have you tried drawing on her energy when you’re in her body, like I taught you?”

Lauren laughed. “Twice. Have you ever stuck your hand in a fly zapper? Yeah…well neither have I, but I guarantee you this is like that times a hundred.”

Sasha looked at Jesse. “Are you sure you want to try Evelyn hosting Lauren tonight for that party? There’s a definite incompatibility going on, and I think it’s probably from Evelyn’s massive amount of undifferentiated energy circulating in her body. There’s a reason spirits don’t stay in her long. We might need to find a new host.”

Evelyn felt like crap. The one thing she was supposed to be good for, she was screwing up, and they might not even need her for that anymore.