One Grave at a Time

Six

I stared at the cardboard box Tyler returned with.

“A Ouija board? That’s how you intend to prove we’re dealing with a murderous Heinrich Kramer instead of Casper the Friendly Ghost?”

If this was his method of identity verification, five bucks said Tyler’s idea to dispatch Kramer would involve playing “light as a feather, stiff as a board.” Or calling forth Bloody Mary from a mirror to send her after the witch hunter.

“When used properly, Ouija boards open doors to the other side,” Tyler replied, setting the box on his desk. “All we have to do is knock on the right one.”

He began to clear things off to make room, humming the whole time. I looked at Bones, surprised he hadn’t offered an instant objection to this tactic, but all he did was tap his chin thoughtfully.

“Spade said his demonologist mates spoke highly of Tyler, so we’ll trust that he knows what tools to work with.”

Or Spade is just paying us back for exposing Denise to what he considered “dangerous circumstances” recently, I added, but didn’t say out loud. Might as well see where this led us, though a session with a Ouija board in a flower shop was hardly the way I imagined we’d summon a potentially evil spirit. Holding a séance in a graveyard at midnight with some ancient relics seemed far more appropriate.

Tyler had the board opened up on the desk, its symbols looking more hokey than supernatural, heart-shaped planchette pushed to the side. Then he disappeared into the main part of the shop before returning with some fragrant potted plants and a box of matches.

“All right, ready,” Tyler declared, giving us both an appraising glance. “Bones is a vampire, and I’m guessing you are, too, but who’s more powerful?”

“She is,” Bones replied at once.

I was about to argue since Bones was a damn sight stronger and faster than me, plus had centuries more fighting experience; but with a start, I realized he was right. With Marie Laveau’s control over the grave still residing in my body, I was more powerful than even most Masters.

Until that borrowed power wore off, anyway.

I cleared my throat, feeling a stab of uneasiness as I realized for the first time in our relationship, I ranked higher than Bones ability-wise—and he knew it.

“Are you okay with that?” I blurted, forgetting for a moment that we had an audience. Bones had never been the insecure type, but an abrupt shift in a couple’s dynamic had caused rifts in lots of relationships before ours.

His amusement wafted through my emotions even before he started to grin. “The last thing you need to fret about is my feeling emasculated, Kitten; but talk is cheap, so I’ll be sure to show you later.”

His voice was rich with so many undercurrents, I grew warmer just listening to him. Then Bones’s expression became serious, and he leaned forward to brush my hand.

“I’ve watched you barely escape death several times, and each instance killed me a little inside. They may be dormant now, but we have enemies both cunning and cruel. Knowing you possess the power to defeat most of them doesn’t threaten me, luv. It relieves me to my very core.”

Bones also knew that power wasn’t permanent, but as he’d pointed out in the car, the present was what mattered. For the present, I had these abilities. For the present, things were good. That was what I’d dwell on.

“So honest and sure of yourself.” Tyler licked his lips. “You get sexier by the minute, sugar.”

“Ahem.” I pulled my gaze away from Bones to give Tyler a pointed look. “Mine, remember?”

Tyler waved a hand. “Yeah, yeah.” But I’m having GOOD dreams tonight, he mentally finished.

I rolled my eyes. Bones just snorted. “Can’t sleep until you finish with us here, Sandman, so let’s get on with it.”

Tyler scooted his chair closer to the edge of the desk, the Ouija board between me and him.

“Put your fingertips on the planchette, Cat,” he instructed.

I copied the placement of his fingers on the small device, noting that my nails could use some attention, but a manicure had been way low on my list of priorities. Even though I didn’t exert any pressure, the planchette jerked beneath my light touch, causing Tyler to cock his brow.

“Lots of juice in you, hmm?” he noted.

I wasn’t about to explain the reason behind it, so I just shrugged. Tyler started to recite a series of invitations to any spirits who were nearby. Crackling energy filled the air as the planchette began to edge around the board in irregular circles, powered by something other than our touch. Bones sat back, watching us with a hooded expression, his gaze flickering between the board and the rest of the room.

A drawn-out, keening noise made me jump before I realized that it came from the canine underneath the desk. You’d think since I lived with a ghost and had dozens more camped around my house, engaging in a séance wouldn’t rattle me, but it did. Maybe because it felt like I was trespassing somewhere that I didn’t belong instead of just having some unusual friends or visitors.

“Does that mean Dexter has to pee?” I muttered, as the dog’s whine grew into a loud bark.

“No.” Tyler’s voice was tighter than before. “Animals can sense the supernatural better than most people. It means someone’s coming.”

Right after the words left his mouth, I felt the shift in the air, like a freezer door had abruptly blown open. Icy needles ran along my skin, prickling me with power that wasn’t of this world. Someone wasn’t coming—he or she was here.

The planchette spun around the board the same time as a hazy figure materialized behind Tyler. He shivered.

“I think someone’s here now,” Tyler whispered. Then louder, “Who is with us? Tell us your name.”

“Beth Ann,” the cloudy figure replied while the planchette raced to land over the letter “B,” then “E.”

“Someone’s definitely here,” Tyler said under his breath as “T” was the next letter highlighted.

“She’s right behind you,” Bones replied.

Tyler jerked around in his seat, his face level with the midsection of the ghost. From her high-necked garb and long, wide skirt, she wasn’t a newbie. That style had gone out well over a century ago.

“I don’t see anyone yet,” he mused.

“Really?” I asked in surprise. The ghost had manifested fully, even revealing slight pockmarks on her cheeks along with salt-and-pepper hair.

“It takes mortals longer to see us, even the gifted ones,” Beth Ann replied, looking back and forth between me and Bones. “Not so with those of your ilk.”

Her disdain for vampires came through crystal clear, too. Most ghosts who were drawn to me because of my borrowed power seemed not to mind the fact that I was a vampire, but this one obviously did.

“Hey, sorry if we bothered you, but there’s no need to be snippy.”

“Did she tell you her name?” Tyler asked low.

“Yeah. It’s Beth Ann, and she’s a little grumpy.”

Tyler leaned forward as if to see better. It put his face squarely at the apex between Beth Ann’s legs. She jumped back, incensed, even as I struggled to stuff back a laugh. Evidently he still couldn’t see her yet.

“Filthy reprobate!” the ghost spat.

“Beth Ann, give us a sign of your presence,” Tyler said in a commanding way, oblivious to what had just happened.

The ghost slapped his face, her hand passing right through. Tyler frowned.

“I felt a cold breeze just then. Did she do something?”

“She gave a sign of her presence,” Bones replied, his lips twitching.

“Normally it takes longer for one to appear and interact with us,” Tyler said, sounding bemused. His gaze slid to me. “You must be the wild card.”

If he only knew. “Okay, well, now what?”

Tyler replied, but it was drowned out by Beth Ann’s loud, indignant response. “If you presume I will do anything for a group of disgusting ruffians such as yourselves—”

“Shh,” I told her, trying to make out what Tyler was saying.

She quieted instantly, her eyes widening in shock. Damn, I’d just taken away her ability to speak. Guess shushing her was the same as giving her an order to be silent.

“—that the door’s open, we can attempt to summon your witch hunter,” Tyler finished.

“So Beth Ann doesn’t need to stay?” I asked, feeling guilty as her mouth opened and closed in a series of futile attempts to talk.

“No. I’ll send her away—”

“You can speak again, and feel free to go back to where you were before,” I told her with an apologetic wave.

The ghost vanished after snarling out a sentence that raised my brows. Well. She’d certainly learned some colorful phrases in her time.

“Prim-looking ladies always were the dirtiest,” Bones commented, chuckling at my expression.

Considering his former occupation, he should know. I shook my head, answering, “Yep” to Tyler’s question if the ghost was gone.

“All right, let’s try for the main event.” Tyler sounded enthused. “Keep touching the planchette, Cat.”

I put my fingertips on the device again, feeling the pulsating throb that came from it. Maybe that was why it was shaped like a heart. Symbolism for what it felt like when it was properly activated.

“What’s the witch hunter’s name again?” Tyler asked.

“Heinrich Kramer.”

“Heinriiich Kraaaaaaaaamer,” Tyler drew out in dramatic fashion. He even lolled his head back and closed his eyes. “We summon you into our presence. Heed our call, Heinrich Kramer. Come to us now. We summon through the veil the spirit of Heinrich Kramer—”

Dexter let out a sharp noise that was part whine, part bark. Tyler quit speaking. I tensed, feeling the grate of invisible icicles across my skin again. Bones’s gaze narrowed at a point over my right shoulder. Slowly, I turned my head in that direction.

All I saw was a swirl of darkness before the Ouija board flew across the room—and the point of the little wooden planchette buried in Tyler’s throat.