over-cooked peas. Then she tossed it aside. The beads clicked and skittered across the floor before coming to rest against the far wall.
Caruthers jerked back as if singed.
Truman slinked backward another couple steps.
Then Jessie sat straight and eyed Lockman. “You aren’t taking very good care of my body, Mr. Lockman.”
“Not yours anymore.”
She smirked. “Ah, yes. This is my body now.” She ran her hands down her chest and over the tops of her thighs.
“That one isn’t yours either. You’ve over-stayed your welcome. Time to get out.”
“Where would I go? Back to you?”
“I don’t give a damn where you go. To hell would be the best choice.”
She turned her attention to Caruthers. “Did you hear that? He wants to condemn me to hell. I though only the good Lord could do that.”
Caruthers stammered. The sheen of sweat on his brow and the pasty cast to his skin suggested he had never really expected to speak with Gabriel. Apparently, the father’s faith had a few chinks in it.
Lockman crossed over and grabbed Caruthers’s arm. “Get a hold of yourself.”
Jessie snickered.
Caruthers wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, took a deep breath. “I’m fine.” He dipped his fingers back into the holy water and flicked some drops in Jessie’s face.
She flinched, but the water had no effect on her skin. Her tongue snaked out and licked at a drop by the corner of her mouth. “Refreshing. Better if it were blood, though.”
Lockman wanted to physically strike out at Gabriel, but that meant attacking Jessie. The evil man sat protected within his host and hostage.
“Get him out, Father.”
He made the sign of the cross and mumbled a prayer under his breath that started with the plea, “Lord, give me strength...”
Jessie smiled wide enough to show her fangs. “I think I’ve seen this movie,” she said. “It didn’t end well for the preacher.”
“The Lord works through me. His power is my power. I command you, spirit, leave this body.”
“Well, since you asked so nicely...no.”
Gabriel had managed to take over Jessie so thoroughly, she had nearly become him. Lockman’s desire to grasp her throat and squeeze grew despite his knowing he would be hurting her more than he would Gabriel. Which raised the question—where was Jessie now? Was she in there, muscled out of her own rightful spot in her consciousness by Gabriel because of the priest’s summons?
Why the hell did I agree to this?
The father seemed to gain confidence. His prayers had given him strength. He puffed up his chest and bellowed, “Out with you, demon. The power of Christ demands you leave this innocent body.”
Jessie threw back her head and laughed. Her whole body shook with it. “Innocent body? You call me the demon, but this body is a vampire. This dear girl lost all hope of innocence when she drank her own regurgitated blood and left the mortal world behind.” She reached out and grabbed Caruthers by the throat, pulled him down so she could look him straight in the eyes. “This girl’s body is lost to you.”
And then she tore the father’s head off his shoulders.
Chapter Fourteen
Kate had clothes again, but what helped most with staying warm was the absence of the ghost. She sat alone in a room furnished to look like an average living room you’d find in any suburban house right down to the HDTV and shelves with knick-knacks on the walls. The only thing that ruined the impression was the steel door and the two-way mirror built into one wall.
She assumed she was in the same building as the last room, but because of another dose of Mica’s pixie dust, they could have taken her anywhere while she was zonked out. All sense of time had blown to pieces for her as well. For all she knew, they had her in an underground lair in the South Pole two months after Mica had grabbed her from her apartment in New York.
The where and when didn’t matter, though. Not anymore. She had agreed to help. She
Caruthers jerked back as if singed.
Truman slinked backward another couple steps.
Then Jessie sat straight and eyed Lockman. “You aren’t taking very good care of my body, Mr. Lockman.”
“Not yours anymore.”
She smirked. “Ah, yes. This is my body now.” She ran her hands down her chest and over the tops of her thighs.
“That one isn’t yours either. You’ve over-stayed your welcome. Time to get out.”
“Where would I go? Back to you?”
“I don’t give a damn where you go. To hell would be the best choice.”
She turned her attention to Caruthers. “Did you hear that? He wants to condemn me to hell. I though only the good Lord could do that.”
Caruthers stammered. The sheen of sweat on his brow and the pasty cast to his skin suggested he had never really expected to speak with Gabriel. Apparently, the father’s faith had a few chinks in it.
Lockman crossed over and grabbed Caruthers’s arm. “Get a hold of yourself.”
Jessie snickered.
Caruthers wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, took a deep breath. “I’m fine.” He dipped his fingers back into the holy water and flicked some drops in Jessie’s face.
She flinched, but the water had no effect on her skin. Her tongue snaked out and licked at a drop by the corner of her mouth. “Refreshing. Better if it were blood, though.”
Lockman wanted to physically strike out at Gabriel, but that meant attacking Jessie. The evil man sat protected within his host and hostage.
“Get him out, Father.”
He made the sign of the cross and mumbled a prayer under his breath that started with the plea, “Lord, give me strength...”
Jessie smiled wide enough to show her fangs. “I think I’ve seen this movie,” she said. “It didn’t end well for the preacher.”
“The Lord works through me. His power is my power. I command you, spirit, leave this body.”
“Well, since you asked so nicely...no.”
Gabriel had managed to take over Jessie so thoroughly, she had nearly become him. Lockman’s desire to grasp her throat and squeeze grew despite his knowing he would be hurting her more than he would Gabriel. Which raised the question—where was Jessie now? Was she in there, muscled out of her own rightful spot in her consciousness by Gabriel because of the priest’s summons?
Why the hell did I agree to this?
The father seemed to gain confidence. His prayers had given him strength. He puffed up his chest and bellowed, “Out with you, demon. The power of Christ demands you leave this innocent body.”
Jessie threw back her head and laughed. Her whole body shook with it. “Innocent body? You call me the demon, but this body is a vampire. This dear girl lost all hope of innocence when she drank her own regurgitated blood and left the mortal world behind.” She reached out and grabbed Caruthers by the throat, pulled him down so she could look him straight in the eyes. “This girl’s body is lost to you.”
And then she tore the father’s head off his shoulders.
Chapter Fourteen
Kate had clothes again, but what helped most with staying warm was the absence of the ghost. She sat alone in a room furnished to look like an average living room you’d find in any suburban house right down to the HDTV and shelves with knick-knacks on the walls. The only thing that ruined the impression was the steel door and the two-way mirror built into one wall.
She assumed she was in the same building as the last room, but because of another dose of Mica’s pixie dust, they could have taken her anywhere while she was zonked out. All sense of time had blown to pieces for her as well. For all she knew, they had her in an underground lair in the South Pole two months after Mica had grabbed her from her apartment in New York.
The where and when didn’t matter, though. Not anymore. She had agreed to help. She
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