Page 92 of Possessed By Shadows

Chapter 29

Iawoke to the warmth of light surrounding me. Someone was tracing circles on my arm, a hand gripping mine. I had to blink a dozen times to clear away the cobwebs and dark shadows to find myself in what seemed to be the back of an ambulance. Micah curled up beside me, and Dion hunched over me. There was chatter near the end of the ambulance, but the voices were unfamiliar.

“Micah?”

He leaned over and kissed me on the lips. I sighed sweetly at his touch. He peppered my face with kisses. “I thought it took you,” he said.

“The yokai tried,” I said.

Dion smiled down at me. “You’ll be working on this?”

“Yes,” I agreed. “Not bad for a newbie facing down demons, right?” I wouldn’t tell her that it was memories of sex with Micah that had severed the tie to this ghost. But I really hoped it wasn’t tied to me permanently like the black-eyed kid was.

“I would recommend not facing demons again, ever,” she said.

“Wasn’t it you who told me I couldn’t turn this off?” I sucked in a deep breath and tightened my grip on Micah’s hand, happy he was there. “Where’s Lukas? Where’s Dad? What did I miss?” We weren’t arrested, which was good, but the ambulance wasn’t moving. And I could see activity outside the open door. Cops in droves.

“Lukas was taken to the hospital,” Micah said. “He was in pretty bad shape. Your dad went with him. And one of the Marshals too.”

“Marshals?”

Someone appeared at the end of the ambulance and looked inside. “He’s awake?”

“Yes,” Micah agreed.

Dion patted my hand. “I will talk to you in a few days. We’ll set up a schedule to begin some intensive training.”

“Yes, please.” I agreed.

She accepted a hand of help from the Marshal to step down out of the back of the ambulance. He got up into the bus with us and towered over me a bit, but his windbreaker was clear, US Marshal. He was an attractive older Black man, clean shaven, probably early forties, but in good shape. Wider through the shoulders than me, and taller, he didn’t have that oppressive presence some cops did. Though I had no doubt he could fuck me up if he wanted to.

“Alexis Caine,” he said. “I’m Marshal Drake. I’d like to ask you a few questions.” He looked toward the rear door of the ambulance. “If you don’t feel the immediate need to get to the hospital.”

I was still cold, but wrapped up in a blanket and gripping Micah’s hand, it wasn’t unbearable. Though I assumed if the EMTs weren’t moving me yet, it was because I wasn’t in immediate danger. “Do they need their bus back? I’m okay, I think. I can get up.”

Micah gripped my hand. “Not yet. The EMTs want to check your temp again in a few minutes. If it’s not closer to normal they will have to take you in for hypothermia.”

“Oh.” I guess that made sense. Marshal Drake crouched a little, which made him seem less like he was trying to intimidate me. “How can I help?” I asked him. How they would have ended up out here after us breaking and entering made me curious.

“Your brother has a habit of interrupting our investigations.”

“I don’t know anything about that,” I told him honestly. “Lukas hasn’t shared his work life with me.”

“But you found him. And per the video provided by Jason Clark, you also found a stash of pictures.”

“In the wall upstairs,” I said.

Marshal Drake nodded. “We found them. Did you know some of the clothes stored in the garage matched what those kids were wearing in some of the pictures?”

“I didn’t see much of the pictures. The few I did see were disturbing.” Naked kids, or partially undressed in a few.

“Yes,” he agreed.

“The clothes were taken out of the attic of the house my brother bought. The previous guy was a former cop,” I said, repeating what little I knew.

“We plan to get confirmation on that from your brother,” Marshal Drake said. “It sounds like he had all of that documented. What I’d like to hear from you, is what led you here? And to that access panel upstairs?”

“You’ll think I’m nuts,” I told him honestly.