Captivating Magic (The Thorne Witches #14)

Chapter 7

7

“ S omething’s wrong with her, Liz. I can’t stand by and do nothing,” Laszlo growled.

“Shut up and look at her. Really look , Lo.”

He followed his sister’s pointing finger. A ripple started under Ebba’s smooth skin as if a parasite traveled beneath the surface, and a gray haze filled the air around her, clouding her aura and causing her standard glow to dull.

Until that exact moment, whenever he witnessed her shine waver, he’d assumed it was from the memory of the accident and Spencer’s death. Now he knew differently. She was under a psychic attack!

“Ebba! Get in here!” he shouted, calling her spirit self.

Liz and Rafe stared at him like he’d lost his ever-loving mind.

“Yeah, you missed that part, but I don’t have the time to explain.” To the ghostly Ebba, he said, “Start talking. What the hell is going on? No bullshit.”

With a grimace, she floated to the bed to watch herself.

“I’m not sure, but if I had to guess, I’d say my body is possessed.” The large doe-like eyes she turned on him held sorrow. “Whatever it is, it’s hurting my physical self. I’ve been trying to chase it away, but it’s stealthy, hiding out and feeding negative thoughts. Making it seem like they’re my own.”

“When did this start?”

“I can’t recall with any certainty. The days fade in and out. But the first time I remember something being off was when I appeared in a hospital room about twelve hours after my body was admitted. Liz was talking to me, her, er, my body. Fucking hell, this is confusing.” With a shake of her dark curls, she focused on his sister. “She said I wasn’t allowed to move on because she wouldn’t know what to do without me. I’ve been fighting to get back into my body ever since.”

Consternation drew his brows together, and he nodded slowly before facing Liz. Facts needed to be verified, but first he wanted to know what she had done to secure Ebba’s spirit to this plane.

“Liz, I need you to think back to the day of Ebba’s accident when she was admitted to the hospital and you spoke to her.”

“How did you…? Never mind. I can guess.” Waving her hand, she dismissed her previous question and asked, “What specifically do you want to know?”

“Did you use magic to tie her to this plane?” Her sharp inhale was followed by a coughing fit, and it was all the answer he needed. “Okay, that’s a no. But her spirit is present, and she said you called to her. What exactly did you say?”

Frowning, she glanced at the bed, likely trying to recall the words she’d uttered in her worry and grief. “I told her she couldn’t leave me, and I wouldn’t know what to do without her.”

Her gaze was stark with remembered fear. “Ebba was so fragile, lying there, Lo, and the doctors weren’t confident she would pull through. But I remember, in those early hours, it was like she wasn’t there. Like her body was a shell of itself.”

“It’s all right, qalbi .” Rafe wrapped an arm around his wife and kissed her temple. “She’ll be well soon. We’ll make it so.”

A charming mix of Maltese and French, Rafe was a woman’s wet dream. In addition to his dark good looks, he had the whole ex-spy thing going for him, lending him an air of mystery. But he only had eyes for Liz, and she for him. After a holiday fling and a four-year separation, they ran into each other again. Rafe took his mission to make her the happiest woman alive seriously, and from what Laszlo could tell, his brother-in-law was succeeding. He’d promise her the world and do his damnedest to fulfill that promise.

“I love him for her,” Spirit Ebba said, releasing a hearty sigh. “They are true soulmates.”

“Yes,” Lo agreed, letting the others assume he was responding to Rafe’s comment.

What was it like to find your one true love? Castor and Alastair had busted his balls earlier, but he wasn’t in love with Ebba, as they suspected. He didn’t have the capacity to love fully. Charlotte had seen to that. Perhaps it was for the best that Ebba had rejected him. If he did anything as stupid as seducing her, there would be no way she emerged unscathed. Her heart was too open and giving. If they became involved on more than a friendship level, she’d end up in a world of hurt.

He ignored his cynical internal voice, laughing its fool head off.

Heaving a weary sigh, he approached the bed. All he wanted was to curl up beside her and take a nap. Maybe cuddle her in the process. He smiled at the lovely picture she made, but it quickly morphed into a scowl as another ripple passed beneath her skin.

“I’m going to eradicate you,” he promised the other entity haunting her.

Lo wasn’t prepared for it to strike back, and the forceful shove sent him into the nightstand. The corner impacted his hip.

Sonofabitch!

“What the hell?” Liz ducked as objects began to fly, and Rafe bent to protect her from the debris.

A shard of glass caught Lo just below the eye, and he swore under his breath. “Go! Get out!”

Two more figurines crashed into his shoulder and head as he ushered Liz and Rafe from the bedroom and slammed the door.

“We’ve got a serious problem,” he told them.

Ebba was suffocating, or at least it felt like it. The weight on her chest made breathing a struggle, and with each inhalation, the pressure grew. Her skin felt too tight for her body, and it itched as if fleas were biting her torso. The desire to scratch was strong, but her extremities wouldn’t move.

“They think you’re crazy, Ebba,” the voice inside her mind taunted, and the sneering sound made her stomach ache. “You have to get out of here. Escape.”

Escape.

Escape.

Escape.

The word drummed through her head without relief, allowing no other thought but to do as instructed. The instant the pressure on her chest subsided, she jumped up and ran for the window. After she inched it open, she glanced down.

“Two stories isn’t high,” the voice assured her. “Lower your body over the edge and hang on with your hands. Let your feet dangle as far as you can, then let go.”

She nodded, but doubts assailed her. Twenty feet was a long way to fall.

“Ebba.”

Lo’s voice was calm, but there was an edge of urgency.

“Don’t look at him. Jump,” the voice inside demanded. “Do it, Ebba, or they’ll lock you up. Do you want to be locked up for being crazy?”

The room turned cold, and her quick, panting breaths produced visible puffs of air. Fighting the urge to face Lo, she rubbed her arms against the chill and wished the decision to jump wouldn’t risk a broken ankle or two.

“Ebba, Sweet, listen to me, not whatever is urging you to go out that window.” Lo eased closer, and she rebelled against the phantom voice to glance at him. The confidence in his eyes and the hesitant smile screamed trustworthy. He knew she wasn’t crazy. Hadn’t he already said he saw the ghost?

When he was less than five feet away, the drumming started in her mind.

Escape.

Escape.

Escape.

She swung a leg over the ledge. Anything to ease the relentless noise in her head.

“Ebba, please don’t. I can’t help you if you jump,” Laszlo said, taking another step closer.

And she did need his help, didn’t she? Wasn’t that why she’d gone to see him in the first place?

Then he was there. His solid hands were warm on the freezing skin of her arms, hauling her back into the room as the window slid shut behind her without the aid of human contact. The lock was engaged for good measure.

“For what it’s worth, your spirit self didn’t think jumping was wise either,” Lo assured her, wrapping her in a bear hug. Tangling his fingers through her short hair, he eased her head back, and she met his worried gaze. “Whatever that other voice says, don’t listen to it. Ever. It doesn’t have your best interests at heart and only wants to retain control of your body. Do you understand?”

“It’s so loud in my head,” she croaked. “It’s screaming and swearing, warning me to stay away from you. I’ve never heard it before, but I think it’s always been there.”

“It’s because whoever’s in there is going to get their sorry ass ejected, and they know it.”

Instantaneous rage overcame her, and she shoved his chest. When he didn’t budge, she curled her fingers into claws and aimed for his face. As if he’d anticipated the move, Lo captured her wrists in an instant.

“Your days are numbered, fucker,” he muttered.

Helpless tears welled, and Ebba blinked to clear her vision.

Concern for her was evident in his eyes, but his grip didn’t ease. “We’ll get this sorted, Sweet Ebba. I promise.”

“Help me, Lo,” she cried. “Please.”

“I intend to.”

“Don’t put me away. It says you will. Don’t lock me in an institution.”

“Never!”

His fierce promise eased the panic building within, and for the moment, she was able to suppress the voice. The strength drained from her, and she sagged against him when the fatigue made it too difficult to stay awake.