Page 85 of Deceiver

Farnsworth seems to study me for a moment. “Ah. It’s about time.”

Then he’s gone in a flash.

“What the hell was that?”

“That was Farnsworth. I mentioned him before. He heads the Society of Soul Chasers. Anytime he visits in person, it’s important.”

“Is he dead?” I ask.

“No,” Talon says. “Not exactly. Frozen might be a better word. Wilder would know about that, right?”

Wilder nods. “He’s like me, only much, much older.”

“Whoa. He can just pop in and out like that? Can you?”

Wilder nods. “I can. It takes practice for it to be a smooth ride though.”

My head spins. I’m still trying to wrap my head around living for eternity, and now there are people who can pop in and out of the underworld?

“We should get on this,” Talon says. “I don’t have a lot of strength.”

A realization hits me. “That’s why you were attacked. To keep you from helping.”

Talon offers a soft smile. “Most likely, yes. Water under the bridge.”

Nodding, I unlock my door and the three of us step inside. I choke almost immediately, waving my hands in front of my face.

“What is that smell?”

“It smells like death,” Wilder says, a concerned look on his face. “I’m going upstairs.”

“We’re going with you,” Talon says, right behind him.

Reluctantly, I join them. Facing whatever is up there has to be better than staying down here alone.

The stench worsens the higher we climb, until it’s nauseatingly bad right outside my bedroom. Wilder glances over his shoulder at us, then opens the door.

I stumble backward, nearly toppling over from the sight and the foul odor we’re blasted with. Talon shivers but stays planted, and Wilder, who apparently fears nothing, walks right into the room.

There’s a body on the floor, crumpled and decomposing, with flies circling it. Behind it is a glowing shape, large enough to be a man but not detailed. It’s clear that the blob is interacting with the body in some way.

Wilder, using his foot, moves the body so it’s on its back, and the sight is too much for me. I crumble to my knees, tears stinging my eyes.

“Dad.”

“The body is your dad,” Wilder says, right beside me now. “The thing behind it is not.”

My bottom lip quivers, then my teeth chatter as the air around me turns frigid. My ears ring so loudly I can’t hear anything else. I’m vaguely aware of Talon next to me, but I can’t take my eyes off the glowing mass in front of me.

“I knew you’d come,” the thing says. “We can be together now, Keagan. It’s so easy.”

I open my mouth to refuse, but no words come out. It’s like I’m trapped in a space where Wilder and Talon aren’t, but I can still see them fussing around me.

My head tilts back sharply, held in place by an unseen force.

“You will give me a piece of your soul to revive my body,” the voice explains. “We’ll be tied together as long as you live. All you have to do is say yes, son. Say yes.”

“N-n-n-n?—”