Darkness filled the home Consuela once saw filled with light. The stark white walls and white furniture did nothing to keep the shadows at bay. The more Consuela considered Erik’s warning, the more she realized the grave error in her judgment.
“Don’t let him send me away,” Everaud snarled, his eyes glowing red, as they did more often since she’d confronted her brother with the truth.
“You’re not the one speaking.” Consuela looked away, blinking back tears.
“Of course I am, sister dearest.” A hiss laced the sweet endearment, which had spoiled on his lips while he was still alive.
Everaud’s soul had been fused with a demon before his death two hundred years ago. She foolishly punished him, torturing his spirit for things he couldn’t control. If only she’d met Erik decades before. Without him, she may have never known, and had she forced Everaud to move to the next world, he would have been damned to hell without properly separating his soul from the demon’s.
On the tragic night of his death, Everaud had crept into her room and climbed into bed with her. She’d been twelve years old at the time. She woke to him pinning her down, moving her nightgown out of the way while he tried to kiss her. She’d been so terrified she’d screamed and shoved. The ghosts that had always followed her, pulled him away from her and chased him out of her room. He fell down the stairs, to his death.
When his spirit stayed on, their mother helped her bind his ghost to this world with his ashes without Father’s knowledge. In a way, she understood why their father didn’t hate Everaud, and why their mother had lost any and all respect for the boy. Mama had been through hell before her father brought her and her brother to New Orleans where he freed them both. Soon after he married her mother and started their family. Her father had provided her mother a better life, but that didn’t erase the hell she’d been through prior to him.
“I don’t want to leave you,” Everaud murmured, moving closer.
She pushed her hand out, and he slid back with the force of magic. “I want you to leave me.”
“Don’t you love me? Isn’t that why you’ve kept me around? It’s only what society would think that made you fear my advances,” he purred.
“What you wanted was wrong.” And there was the biggest question of all.
Was it Everaud who’d wanted to steal her innocence? Or Alkirran, the demon residing within? She didn’t know, and thinking about his motives scared the hell out of her.
Either way, she’d tormented Everaud far too long. What he did was wrong, but she’d spent two centuries making him pay.
Soon, Erik would help her end both their suffering by separating the demon from her brother so she could send him to the afterlife and banish the demon.
A month of living with a mistake that had lasted centuries. Consuela had stopped taking calls, unless it was Erik with an update about when he’d be there. She didn’t want to see anyone, or do anything—she wanted to shut out all the voices in her head that continuously blamed her for everything.
The only person who reached out to her was Declan, a vampire she’d met while helping to clear Erik’s name. From the moment they set eyes on each other, there was a connection. He’d been a Dreamwalker in life and kept his ability to visit dreams after becoming a vampire. And he came to her every night. She didn’t have the strength to send him away, and he eased the suffering.
And every time she woke, the pain rolled back in. She deserved the agony, the doubt, the misery.
“Soon, you’ll be free, Everaud.” She was ready to let him go.
Erik Mortale had finally finished the case he’d been assigned to by the Diverse Special Forces of the Silver Council, and he should be there shortly to help her finish this.
Consuela’s talents were a strange combination of medium, voodoo priestess, and Crimson Witch. Her gift with voodoo was enhanced by both types of inherited magic. However, she’d never attempted to separate fused spirits.
So much guilt. Even before Erik told her his suspicions, she’d started to question her morality and why she’d tormented Everaud so long.
Consuela continued to spiral downward ever since the phone call. There had been signs. She’d seen things with her own eyes that should have clicked over the years. Maybe not when she’d been a child, but since then.
Everaud’s eyes burned with unholy fire. “You’ll send me away? Years of punishment and you mean to throw me out now that I’ve found love?”
And yes, his spirit had fallen for another ghost, one of Erik’s ghostly friends. However, this was another ploy for the demon to attempt manipulating her.
“I have to let you go, and you need to move on without the evil tainting your soul.”
He stepped closer, reaching toward her with a cruel smile. “You never let me become your lover.”
She flung her hand back and Everaud was pushed farther away. “That’s not you, Ev. I’m sorry I’ve tormented you for so long. But you’ll finally be free.” I’ll be free.
She’d heard stories of Deathcallers falling prey to the demons. She’d seen people who’d become possessed. She learned caution against such hazards when she was a child. Yet, she ignored the signs in her own brother.
There was one small plus to keeping him around. Had she banished him sooner, the demon and her brother would have been fused forever. Without help, she would doom her brother to hell. Maybe this way, she could learn to forgive herself, eventually.
The bell rang and she jumped.
“Don’t let them take me from your side,” Everaud pleaded.
“I’m freeing us both from our mistakes.” She walked past him and opened the door.
Erik stood there with a duffle bag of what she assumed were the tools he would use to deal with the demon and Everaud. A woman with long blond hair stood behind him. She smiled pleasantly.
“This is my mother, Tyra. She knows what we need to do to separate the demon from Everaud. Mom, this is Consuela.”
Tyra held out her hand and Consuela shook it. Then Tyra said, “I’ve heard many rumors, but I’m glad to see they aren’t true. And it’s a pleasure to meet someone who helped my son in a difficult time.”
“Thank you. The pleasure is mine, though I wish the circumstances were different. Come in.” She stepped aside, hoping Tyra’s assessment was accurate, but fearing she was wrong.
Erik walked in and arched a single brow at Everaud, who slipped into the elegant gentleman he was raised to be. All an act.
“He’s behaving.” He turned to Consuela. “Don’t worry, Alistair filled me in on his antics earlier. Either way, I see the signs of possession. We’ll set him free, but that means he’ll leave this plane.”
“For the best. I’d only screw up trying to find forgiveness.”
Tyra touched Consuela’s shoulder. “This earns you forgiveness. We all make mistakes. There’s strength in admitting our faults.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“She’s right, you know. And it’s not like it’s easy to spot a demon’s corruption. You were so young and probably hadn’t fully come into your powers.”
“Two centuries.” She sighed. “Wish I’d met you forever ago. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt so bad if I had resolved the problem early.”
“No, because you’d still wish you could have changed things. But while alive, he was the only one who may have had any luck to remove the demon, if he sought help.”
Everaud stalked toward them. “Never needed help. Alkirran made me stronger. Pulling us fully into existence would correct the wrongs,” he snarled, prowling closer to Consuela.
She lifted a hand with a sigh. A sparkling ring of protection rose around Everaud.
“Impressive. Please don’t take offense when I fortify the circle with our own magic.” Erik opened the duffle bag and sprinkled salt.
“Same thing I’d do,” she answered. “I simply want him to move on without the hitchhiker. Leaving him in this plane makes him susceptible to other demons, and I wasn’t sure I could force him away on my own.”
Tyra froze.
Erik’s brow pinched. “You’d pull him fully into this realm?”
She shook her head. Reanimating his body and shoving his spirit inside could be permanent under the right circumstances, however, the demon would control the body, not her brother. The demon would wreak too much havoc to ever consider such a thing. “No. But I’ve been searching for ways to separate the demon from his soul without banishing him. Only that requires a sacrifice I will not make, or leaving him open to other spirits.”
“A wise decision. Pulling the demon into yourself is too dangerous to attempt. You’re as likely to be stuck with a demon as he was, even a lower one. Though Alkirran is a high demon, and far more dangerous than the average.”
Consuela wrung her hands. “I learned that too. Which is why I have been patiently waiting for you to arrive. Temptation is a powerful thing, but so is willpower.”
Erik placed several candles, lighting them as he went. “Shouldn’t blame yourself. Monique’s mother was ridden by a demon, and until Mom sent Vivian away, none of us had any clue.”
“She was only around a week. Everaud was with me for ages.”
“It’s hard to see the signs when it’s someone you’re close to. And it can go decades before it’s noticeable to others,” Tyra assured. “We can fix this.”
“I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
“Release me!” Everaud screamed, the demon’s voice bleeding through his own.
“We shall,” Consuela answered.
“No, from my prison!” He slammed his hands against the shield and the glass in the house shook.”
“Have you bound Everaud in some way?”
“In a manner of speaking.” She closed her eyes. “I have an altar with his ashes. I plan to burn it.”
Tyra rubbed one arm. “I see. Where is this altar?”
“Basement,” Consuela answered. “I told Erik, I’ve done horrible things to my brother through the years. He had—or I believed—I may have been wrong.” She dropped her head, staring at the ground. “Tell me how to fix this.”
“Burn it now, while the shield holds strong. Erik can keep Everaud trapped within. I’ll come with you to cleanse the fire.”
“Thank you.” Consuela had no other words. Guilt weighed heavy. She led Tyra downstairs and into the cellar. She walked past racks of wine, to the small room at the end. Bowing her head, she stepped through the door and pulled the light switch.
His urn was surrounded by dried flowers and pictures of him growing up. A thick layer of dust coated the table.
“You haven’t been down here in years,” Tyra stated.
“No. I guess I haven’t.”
Tyra nodded. Light shone in her eyes. “Then you haven’t fallen as far as you believe. Yes, you made a mistake, but it’s one that can be fixed. And no permanent damage has been done.”
“Do we need to do more than burn it?”
“No, burning the altar will ease his passing. Can you contain the fire within a shield?”
“What about the smoke?” Consuela asked.
“I brought something to deal with that and the ash.” She pulled a clear bottle, half-filled with pale lavender liquid. She set it at the base of the table and nodded to the altar. “Create the fire, then the shield. Then repeat after me.”
“That’s it?” Consuela asked.
“This is the easy part. Sending your brother on the way will be a little more difficult. He’s been in this plane far longer than those who tend to move on.”
“Sending him beyond the veil is for the best.” Consuela waved her hand over the table, chanting the words to ignite everything. Then she pulled up the shield.
Tyra spoke old words Consuela didn’t know, but she repeated the syllables. The dark energy evaporated.
The spirits throughout the property let out a sigh of relief as Everaud went nuts, screaming and growling upstairs. The table and pictures fell to ash, much faster than she expected.
Tyra pointed to the bottle. “The potion helps to more efficiently burn tainted items.” The air cycloned within the shield, kicking up the ash and funneling the mess into the bottle. The room was empty, the energy gone.
“You can drop the shield now,” Tyra suggested.
The second she did, Tyra shoved a cork into the top of the bottle. “One step closer. The next one is the worst part.”
Consuela would endure to end the torment for her brother. Hopefully he’d find peace beyond this world. And she couldn’t be more grateful to the Mortales for their help.
She turned to Tyra and took her hand. “I hope someday I can do something as meaningful for you and Erik.”
Tyra smiled. “You did when you helped Erik clear his name and stop the mess last month.”
“He did most of that on his own.”
“Ah, but you did come to his aid and helped Monique find her way back to him.”
“Never looked at it that way,” she admitted. At first, Erik had wanted nothing to do with her. She did convince him she was on his side, but it took a little work.
Shaking off the doubt, Consuela took Tyra upstairs. They found Everaud hissing and spitting, attempting to break free of the shield. The magic held.
Erik watched patiently. One of the ghosts who followed him stood in front of Everaud, pleading with him to relax. It was no use. Alistair had been about the same age as Consuela’s brother when he passed. Both young men had died before the world could accept their desires. Before Everaud’s advances on her, he’d gravitated toward men.
She’d seen them together in the last few weeks. When Everaud was in control, they were lovebirds. However, Alkirran tormented Alistair when he took over, but Alistair’s love never swayed. Maybe they could find true happiness in the afterlife, if Alistair followed.
“Ev, lover, with Alkirran gone, you and I can be together.”
Everaud’s face relaxed a moment and love shone back before twisting with hatred.
Erik wove more magic into the spell. “Don’t worry, Alistair. You can go with him. He won’t have to struggle with the demon on the other plane.”
Alistair smiled at Erik. “Thank you, for everything, old friend.”
“You’re welcome.” Erik nodded to Everaud and blinked.
Reality hit Consuela. Erik had already said goodbye to Alistair, knowing the ghost would follow his lover. This would be the last time either saw someone who had been a large part of their lives.
She reached out, touching Erik’s shoulder. There were no words to express her gratitude. Tyra took her hand as Erik grasped her arm.
Tyra broke the silence. “Erik and I know the spell well. Lend your strength, and you can say goodbye.”
Consuela dipped her head.
Erik and Tyra wove the spell. Everaud screamed as he was yanked through the floor. He gripped the white boards, trying to pull his way back up.
His image morphed, shadows leached from his skin, rising up. The shadow version of Everaud had glowing red eyes and was yanked down, out of sight as Everaud pulled himself up and rolled to his side.
He climbed to his hands and knees, tears rolling down his face. He reached for the shield, placing his hands as he stared at her. “I’m sorry,” he cried. “Never wanted to hurt you. I couldn’t control him.”
“I wish I set you free from the beginning,” she whispered. “Forgive me, please.”
“Forgive me,” Everaud answered. Light shone through the ceiling and he rose into the sky, disappearing through the roof.
A weight was lifted from Consuela, but guilt threatened to drown her.
Voices she rarely heard in over two hundred years rose up, murmuring sweet words of encouragement as she backed toward the chair and sank into its embrace. The spirits of her childhood gathered around her, singing the song her mother once sang to her.
She closed her eyes, wishing the old lullaby still held comfort. It was all she heard for so long she thought Erik and Tyra had actually left.
A hand closed over her shoulder and Consuela looked up to find Tyra. Her expression was serene and full of warmth. “You both feel guilt. Both asked forgiveness. I’m certain he offers you the same. Take it, grant it. Let him go.” Such wisdom in her words.
Consuela wiped the tears away. “Trying,” she whispered.
“Don’t forget Declan. He asked me to give you this.” Erik handed her a long, thin jewelry box. “Don’t stay away too long. He’s missed you since you left.”
“I’ll speak to him soon.” Maybe only in dreams, but he would find her. He always did.
“Don’t dwell too long with the guilt. You didn’t know, and you set him free as soon as you could.” Tyra squeezed her hand. “We need to get back. It was a pleasure to meet you.”
“Thank you, both of you. I’m sure I’ll see you both again.”
“Call if you need a friend,” Erik offered before taking his bag and walking out the door. Tyra left a card on the coffee table and followed.