Soul Seducer (5 page)

~*~

Any doubt that Audra was losing her mind was now totally erased. She was most definitely insane. Otherwise, why on earth would she agree to accompany Jaxon to the mall on a Friday night, two weeks before Halloween?

He’d convinced her to come with him to help pick out a costume for the hospital Halloween party. After being jostled by more people than even
lived
in Boon Springs, they’d made it to Spencer’s Gifts and were now sifting through costumes.

Jaxon turned to her, holding a black-hooded robe in front of his body. In his hand, he held a white mask and a semi lethal-looking scythe. The fact that that the weapon was made of plastic lessened its intimidation factor.

“What do you think?” he asked.

She smiled. “The Grim Reaper? I get it. It’s ironic because you actually
save
lives.”

“Bingo.”

He replaced the costume, choosing another and holding it up for her inspection.

“Elton John?” Audra laughed. “Not quite as ironic.”

“Guess not,” he said with a rueful grin.

Jaxon continued to peruse the costumes, intermittently presenting one for her opinion.

She groaned after what had to be the tenth costume. “Come on. You better pick something quick, or I’ll die of starvation. Don’t forget you promised me a giant pretzel.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He sighed. “Let’s just go with the gladiator.”

“Good choice. Makes you look sexy. Tonya will be all over you.”

She’d tried to say it lightly, but the truth was, it made him look
extremely
hot. With his sun-tanned surfer-boy handsomeness, the touch of gold in his sandy brown hair and the warm glint in his brown eyes, he was the epitome of a warrior hero come to life.

He rolled his eyes. “Maybe it’s not the best idea.”

“Hell, you could wear that.” Audra grinned and pointed at a giant baby costume, complete with over-sized diaper and baby bottle. “And she’d still be all over you.”

Jaxon grunted and snatched up the gladiator costume, heading to the register.

Once he made his purchase, he put a hand on the small of her back, guiding her through the throng of people to the food court. The place was a teeming mass of bodies. Nearly every one of the food stands circling the tables had a line as long as a football field.

“I’ll find us a table.” Audra took the shopping bag from his hand. “You find me a pretzel.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Jaxon saluted and made his way through the crowd toward Sweet Annie’s Pretzels.

Audra scanned the seating area. At one of the long tables, two sullen teen boys sat at one end, while the remaining chairs were empty.

She limped over and raised her voice to be heard above the din. “Mind if I take these seats?”

She got an almost shrug from one and a disinterested stare from the other, so she took it as permission and plopped her purse and the bag on one of the chairs, then dropped into the one next to it, giving a long, relieved sigh to finally be off her feet.

Glancing over to the pretzel line, she spotted Jaxon. He’d moved surprisingly far in a short amount of time. Good. She was starving. And thirsty. Had she also told him she wanted a Diet Dr. Pepper? Surely, he’d get her one, he knew—

A crash and a scream sounded over the noise of the crowd.

Audra shot to her feet and stared in the direction of the commotion. At a Gyro stand near where Jaxon stood, a small group of people had started to move frantically, some in one direction some in the other. Between the sea of bodies, Audra glimpsed a toppled chair and the prone figure of a man.

A male voice shouted, “Give him room, people. Back off. Someone call 9-1-1.”

Jaxon rushed over to the source of the uproar, and Audra grabbed their belongings, heading to join him as quickly as she could, although her progress was slowed by her limp and the rush of people. Several had vacated their seats and were also moving toward the action, trying to get a glimpse of what was taking place.

Keeping an eye on her target, Audra was pushing her way closer to Jaxon and the hubbub when she spotted the blond ghost. She halted, her breath stalling in her lungs. What the hell?

He was closer to whatever was happening than Audra was. She peered through the mob and, just as she feared, the dark stranger was there, too. He moved through the crowd easily, which was no surprise. After all, ghosts weren’t hindered by mere solid objects. Anger contorted his face, his dark brows drawn over his piercing blue eyes. Forgetting the potential victim for a moment, Audra changed her course and headed toward the dark man, who was nearer to her than the blond. Once and for all, she would get some answers.

When she was within earshot, she shouted, “Hey, you!”

He whirled at the sound of her voice, his eyes momentarily widening in surprise, then he turned away and continued his course.

“Stop!”

Some of the people nearby cast her puzzled glances, probably wondering who she spoke to, but most of them were focused on the drama unfolding next to the Gyro stand.

She was almost upon the man now. “I said stop. You have some explaining to do.”

He barely spared her a glance. “I can’t talk now,” he bit out, still striding toward where Jaxon was administering aid to the ill man.

Before he’d covered half the distance, he came to a sudden halt, his fists clenching next to his sides. “Son of a bitch!”

Audra followed his gaze, and her brow creased in confusion. Through an opening in the crowd, she saw Jaxon crouched next to the fallen man, giving him chest compressions. The blond stood just behind Jaxon, his arms outstretched. Even from this distance, Audra could see an expression of complete rapture on his handsome face.

She looked back at her companion. Unlike the blond’s, his expression held abject despair, his shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered again.

“Someone,” Audra whispered next to him, “had better tell me what the hell’s going on.”

He didn’t answer. Instead, his attention riveted on the scene unfolding near the gyro stand. When Audra looked again, she saw the blond man reach out his hands in a beckoning gesture, a white-toothed smile spreading over his face.

She shifted her gaze back to the dark one, whose features tightened in a mixture of revulsion and grief so intense, she could actually feel those same emotions move over her flesh, through her body. She shuddered as she turned her attention to the tableau unfolding nearby.

Still, all she could see was the gorgeous, smiling ghost, reaching out as if welcoming a long-lost loved one into a hug.

Obviously, the dark-haired guy was seeing a hell of a lot more.

~*~

Gaylen trembled with euphoria as he watched the man’s spirit writhe and twitch, fighting release from its body.

Chuckling, he stretched his hands further toward his victim. “Come,” he intoned softly. “You can’t win. Let it be.”

The spirit’s head jerked toward him and shook violently back and forth, the mouth stretching into a frightened grimace. Then, it lifted partially away from the upper body and doubled over, clutching its stomach. A keening wail screeched through the room, magnifying until it became a blood-curdling scream.

A tingle of electricity shot through Gaylen’s body. He shuddered, nearly crying out in joy.

Power.
This was power and ecstasy and
life
, and no one would deprive him of it.

Although his focus was on the man, he was aware of the people around him. Most of them had gone silent, watching and waiting while the doctor made a futile attempt to save the man’s life. From the periphery of the food court, voices rose and fell as oblivious shoppers went about their shopping. The doctor knelt beside the patient, muttering, “Come on, come on. Dammit, come on.”

Dimitri was nearby. Gaylen could feel him. But he was too late. Gaylen had gotten here first.
And this one is all mine, asshole.

Still clinging to its earthly body, the spirit rubbed frantically at his arms, his face, his torso, trying to rid himself of the pain, but he couldn’t. The pain was in his mind, part of the early exit program. The man would have to suffer through it. Every delicious second of it. In the meantime, Gaylen would simply enjoy.

Images flashed through Gaylen’s mind. Images of things the man would never do, never see. The birth of his first grandchild. The retirement he’d worked so hard for. The illness that would give his family a scare, followed by his survival that would make them all realize how lucky they were to have him.

Gaylen smiled as he flashed forward to the best one. The man’s thirtieth wedding anniversary. Only two weeks away. Even now as his dying body lay on the ground, a small jewelry box rested in his pocket. Diamond earrings for his wife. He’d been saving for a year.

Gaylen first saw the ‘would have been’ picture. The wife’s face as she opened the box, emotions chasing across her expression, a blending of surprise and love and gratitude at the many years they’d been together.

Then, the true picture. The woman holding the Zale’s box. Tears leaking from her eyes. Body shaking with sobs. Her children trying to comfort her, but there was no comfort to be had. The love of her life was gone. Forever.

Yeeesssss.
Gone forever. Because of Gaylen. Because of his power. He felt his face stretch in a blissful smile.

“Come!” he shouted, impatience making his voice harsher than it had been earlier.

The spirit turned its frightened expression to Gaylen, the eyes begging for mercy. Gaylen shook his head. There would be no mercy. Gaylen was hungry, weak. A shadow of his true potential. He needed this. Even now, he could feel himself growing stronger, feel the power of reaping a soul before its time reviving him, renewing him, giving him the surge of potency he craved.

Tensing, Gaylen concentrated with all his might. The spirit jerked again as if unseen hands yanked at him. Another wail, this time culminating in a pain-filled roar. The face contorted in agonizing despair.

Gaylen groaned with ecstasy. There was no feeling better than this, nothing else that could give him this pleasure, this satisfaction—with one exception. Audra Grayson.

Gaylen lowered his arms. His happiness was dulled by the realization that this man was a poor substitute. No one could ever measure up. She was so beautiful, so strong, so determined to conquer death.

He recalled that moment in the hospital when their eyes met. She’d seen him, he was certain. That made it all the sweeter. She would see him coming, see his power as he ravaged her soul from her body.

The most exciting caveat was that she would be bound to him forever. Audra had the rare gift of communicating with reapers. When a reaper took a soul with that gift before their time, the soul belonged to that reaper forever. Audra would be his eternal mate. He could only imagine...Audra by his side for eternity. What an astounding gift that would be.

First, he wanted the chance to taste her breath. It had been so long since he’d had the opportunity to enjoy the sweet elixir of human breath. And Audra’s would be the most delicious of them all.
Yes.
He would have her. Audra Grayson would be his. She was meant for him. He didn’t know when or how, but she would be his. Never before had he reaped the soul of a human he’d connected with. The thought brought a wave of heady elation.

Most satisfying of all, he would snatch her right out of Dimitri’s clutches. He would bring the smug bastard to his knees, once and for all.

Dimitri was besotted with the woman. He’d watched over her, coveted her since the first time they’d seen her. Gaylen should have had her then. Fucking Dimitri.

A thrill of awareness skittered through him. She was here. Somewhere nearby. He closed his eyes, savoring her presence.

Thoughts of Audra made this paltry substitution almost not worth his time.
Almost
. But an opening act was still entertaining, even if it didn’t have the star-power of the main attraction.

Tiring of the game—as much fun as it had been—Gaylen moved closer to the spirit and once more lifted his arms. Tendrils of electricity shot through him, warm currents of power and energy. The spirit cried openly now, sobbing, begging with his eyes. Against its will, it tore completely loose from the body. Moving toward Gaylen in a slow, pain-staking stumble, it shook its head. Its expression was that of someone facing execution.

Gaylen allowed himself another grin. If the thing had any idea what was in store for it, it would pray for a fate as humane as execution.

~*~

Audra’s gaze shifted back and forth between the blond and the man standing next to her. The blond appeared to be gleefully leading choir practice, while the dark-haired one acted as though he were watching a horror flick. He flinched and shook his head. Raising his hands, he scrubbed them over his face and shoved them through his hair.

“What’s happening?” Audra demanded, keeping her voice low. Whatever this apparition was, she was the only one seeing it. She didn’t want her fellow mall patrons to think she’d lost her mind.

The man shook his head, not bothering to look at her. He stumbled back a few steps, then turned, heading away from the food court.