Page 130 of The Haunting of Lockton

“Are you crazy?” Skyler growled, throwing an arm around Julian to steady him. “If Jules gives that prick control, what if he never gets it back? What if he’s lost for good? This may just be a goddamn experiment to you, but it’s my brother’s life hanging in the balance.”

“Sky.” Julian touched his arm. “It’s okay.”

Skyler’s bottom lip trembled as he faced his brother. “I can’t lose you.”

Though he looked moments from collapsing, Julian found the energy to smile. “You won’t. I trust Callum. I know this will work.”

A sound tore through Skyler’s throat as he hugged Julian. I knew where his mind was at. He was back at that snowy pond in winter. He was back in that moment of seeing his brother go through the thin ice and jumping in to pull him out, only to find him unconscious. Not breathing, skin ghostly pale and lips blue.

“I can sense Owen,” Julian said. “He doesn’t want to hurt me.”

“I hope you’re right,” Skyler mumbled into his brother’s hair.

Julian pulled from the embrace and clutched his head with both hands, taking shallow breaths. He softly cried out… andthen grew still. When he lowered his hands, a cold expression showed on his face. He glared at the towering building in front of us and balled his hands into fists at his sides. The animosity radiating from him was so strange.

As Alan had said, Julian had always seemed so gentle and kindhearted. But if Callum was right, he wasn’t Julian anymore. At least, not fully. He had given control to Owen.

“Jules?” Skyler went to touch him but withdrew his hand before making contact. “Are you still in there?”

Julian didn’t react to him. Dark circles rested beneath his eyes, and his skin had significantly paled over the past several hours. He took a step forward, the snow crunching beneath his shoes.

“Owen,” Callum said.

Julian stopped.

“I want your word that you’ll release him after this.”

“I don’t care what you want,” Julian responded. His voice wasn’t his own. It was too deep. “I’ll slit his throat if I feel like it.”

Skyler tensed.

“No, you won’t,” Callum said calmly. “You’re not the monster this place said you were.”

“We’ll see about that.” Julian—Owen—continued toward the asylum. The front door flew open as he reached it, not having been touched.

Telekinesis. The power Owen had while alive. The one that’d allowed him to escape solitary and tear through the asylum in an agonized, brokenhearted rage after he learned the man he loved had been killed.

“Interesting,” Callum said, head cocked. “Owen can use his powers while in a different body. I wonder if the opposite is also true.”

“Opposite?” Skyler asked, grabbing my hand as we advanced toward the entrance.

Callum mulled something over. “As in, can Owen, while possessing Julian’s body, use your brother’s power as well? If so, I think I know what he plans to do. It would explain the purpose behind all of this.”

“Care to enlighten the rest of the class?” Skyler tossed him a look. “This cryptic shit is getting on my nerves.”

“When Julian grabbed Owen in an attempt to protect you, his light magic temporarily repelled Owen,” Callum explained. “I believe that’s why Owen possessed him. He wants to use that power for himself and repel another spirit. But his intent won’t be to protect. It’ll be to finally get the revenge he’s craved for over a century.”

Understanding slammed into me. “He’s going after Samuel Howard.”

“The Hanging Man?” Skyler asked. “What is Owen going to do? How will finding Howard help him get revenge?”

“I suppose we’re about to find out,” Callum said. He seemed awfully eager despite the grave situation. Maybe Skyler hadn’t been too far off base when he’d accused Callum of using Julian’s situation as an experiment. His curiosity was sky-high.

We reached the front steps and took them up, entering the asylum moments later. The door slammed shut behind us. A low howl then sounded as a strong gust of wind seeped through the cracks. An eerie silence hung in the air as we stepped farther inside. I was thankful Skyler still held my hand because I needed it. Needed to know he was with me.

“Which way did he go?” Skyler glanced around the room. “Shit, this is fucked-up. I don’t feel comfortable with a ghost using my brother’s body for god knows what.”

“This is our only option,” Callum said. “Especially now that Julian has surrendered control. It’s in Owen’s hands now.”