Page 29 of Deceiver

“Unfortunately for you, if I’m the one to send you back, you’re going straight to the Below. No sorting process for you.”

It shrieks, elongating and then shrinking.

“Yeah, it sucks. Tell your friends.”

With my free hand, I reach into my robe pocket and pull out the final blow, a substance that took years, decades to develop, but it comes in handy. I dip my finger into the jar, holding it against my body while maintaining my grip on the spirit, then I smear the mixture over what should be a forehead.

The noise the spirit makes is piercing and spine-chilling. I watch it shrink away to nothing but smoke before being sucked through the floorboards back to where it belongs.

When I look up, Keagan is standing outside the door, barely peeking in.

“It’s safe now.”

He steps in, exhaling in a huff as his shoulders slump. “What the fuck happened?”

“Best I can tell, some of the spirits may have attached to you, which means they’ll go where you go. Hopefully it was the only one.”

“That wasn’t my dad, right?”

“No.” I walk over to him, offering my arm to support him. He leans against me, still shaking from his ordeal. “I left you down here as I didn’t want to wake you, but it’s safe in your room.There’s a protection spell. I’ll reinforce the rest of the house in the morning.”

“They can’t be in the bedroom?”

“They can’t. My apologies, Keagan. It’s not a problem I normally have, but I should have anticipated it with you.”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault, it’s mine. I just wish I knew why.”

“It’s not your fault. It’s how you were made or something you acquired. We’ll work on that too.”

He nods, still trembling. “Could that thing kill me?”

“It wasn’t powerful enough. I’m not even sure how it got through. It’s not the kind that usually does.”

“Great.”

“It could only scare you.” I squeeze his shoulder. “But try not to worry. I’ll lock down the house in the morning.”

“I’ll try.”

“Let’s get you upstairs.”

I walk with him, and once we’re in his room, he looks around then turns to me. “Um, this is gonna be weird as fuck, but can you stay with me?”

“Um…”

“Just tonight. I’m sure I’ll be okay tomorrow, but I’m really freaked out.”

I have to remember that most mortals aren’t used to interacting with the spirit world at this level. “Yes, I’ll stay.”

His breath hitches as relief washes over his features. “Thank you.”

“I need to put clothes on.”

“What?”

“I’m nude under the robe. It’s how I sleep.”

“Oh. Right. Um, I’ll come with you. I won’t look, promise.”