Page 116 of Grave Beginnings

“Fine,” I said, taking a big bite of the sandwich, unable to taste anything more than cardboard for a few seconds as my taste buds seemed detached from my senses. After three swallows, the flavor of spicy cheese, and chicken with onions and peppers awakened my tongue, and I choked as the spice hit full force,tongue burning. I gulped down an entire bottle of water. Angel looked completely unrepentant as he handed me another.

“Oh, was it extra hot?” he asked. “Wonder how that happened?”

Wade laughed, and Bobby grinned as he typed out something on his laptop.

I ate every bite, happy to be rewarded with sweet treats as they cooled the heat, and dreading the next body. “I think this is a case of getting what you asked for,” I murmured, staring at the empty food containers.

Angel raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

I exhaled slowly. “A thousand times, I looked over a body and thought, 'Tell me who hurt you.' Now they can.” I swallowed hard. “And it’s not pleasant.”

A beat of silence stretched between us.

“Murder never is,” Bobby finally said.

I rubbed a hand over my face. “It’s not just seeing it. It’s being there. It’s drowning in it.”

“Maybe it’s control,” Wade suggested. “You’re new to this. You might need more practice to separate yourself.”

Bobby tapped his keyboard. “And since Angel’s bound to you, maybe he can help.”

I glanced at Angel. He didn’t flinch from the weight of it.

“We’ll figure it out,” he said simply.

And somehow, I believed him.

I downed two snack cakes, the sugar, meds, and time giving my head a break.

“Ready for the next one?” Angel asked.

“Sure.” What’s the worst that could happen? It’s not like the next one can be more dead, I thought, immediately regretting the jinx.

“We’ll have to establish a limit for him,” Wade said, adding a few more notes to his file. “Better to know how far is too far before we push him.”

“I’m okay,” I promised. The first body had been mostly intact with its spirit still semi-attached. Would the next one? I really hoped I didn’t upchuck lunch.

Angel got up and took my hand, his grip warm and grounding as he led me to the door. “We’ll figure it out,” he murmured. “If it’s overwhelming a second time, we stop. You’re already fighting a migraine.”

I blinked at him. Had he sensed my pain?

He tapped his nose. “I can smell it.”

“Me too,” Wade muttered, shutting down his computer before opening the door for us. Victor stood in the hallway outside the viewing room, arms crossed, posture stiff. He looked like a statue, his aura radiating‘fuck off’in a way I’d never felt before. A shiver ran down my spine.

I hesitated.

Victor’s gaze flicked toward me, then he stepped aside, his power receding as if he had stuffed it into a box. “Keeping the norms out,” he said without preamble. Then, his eyes locked on mine. “Not much left of this one. Fragments.”

Fragments. Of bones, memories, or both? I was about to find out.

Bobby opened the door and headed to the corner to set up a camera. Wade took his place by the viewing window, and Angel guided me to the front. Inside, someone from the ME’s office stood near the gurney, wrapped in PPE gear, hovering over the remains.

The body—what was left of it—lay beneath a cloth, but there wasn’t even an outline. Just a barely-there shape. That meant there wasn’t much left at all.

“Does he need to see it?” The person behind the glass asked. “It’s pretty gruesome, and our ME hasn’t had a chance to process it yet.”

Wade turned to me, silent, waiting for my answer.