Page 25 of Enchanting Her Monsters
Arran, Flint, and Maxum lose some of their tension.
“I know I’ve fucked up. Partly because I’m a reactionary asshat. Partly because my spirit was damaged, and I couldn’t think straight. I’m stronger now. Clearer.”
“You aren’t going to take off again?” Maxum crosses his arms.
“Not unless Jade wants it. She is also stronger. I don’t think I could just take over anymore, even if I wanted to try. But I don’t.”
“Did you have a message for us?” Flint tilts his head, studying us. He doesn’t like Osen possessing and talking through me—not at all. I don’t blame him.
Osen turns and smiles at Flint. “Always to the point. I never admired that enough about you when I was alive.” He sighs and looks at all of them. “Yeah, there are a few things. I’d like to talk with Calder. But I also was feeling cooped up and isolated. Jade’s been a gracious host, but it isn’t the same as having a body of my own. Speaking of which, I’d like to understand why my corpse hasn’t appeared to decay. We need to investigate what Galiana did to me when she killed me.”
“So it was her?” Maxum asks.
“Yeah. Jade and I had a memory of it. They seem to have cast a spell to pull out my magic and absorb it. Then they yanked out my soul and sent it to Jade.”
“That isn’t a normal death. Perhaps that’s why your body is hanging in a sort of stasis?” Maxum guesses.
Osen paces the room, something I sense he used to do when he was alive. “We know magic can be stolen, but this is a new method… it’s a different magic. It was as if they had used a supernatural being’s magic, but as a witch. That isn’t possible, is it?”
“Just because we haven’t seen someone successfully use it before doesn’t mean it’s impossible.” Arran motions to me. “Jade shouldn’t have both sorts of magic, but she does.”
Osen stalls our pacing, and our mouth falls open with the revelation. “It felt a lot like her magic. I didn’t realize before because her power was suppressed.”
“Perhaps they used the pendant to siphon my magic and wield it?”I suggest.
“Oh, shit.” Osen falls heavily into a chair. “Jade’s necklace was a two-way conduit. Sending souls to her and channeling her magic for Galiana and Rob to use.”
“Thank goddess we got rid of the cursed thing.” Arran looks about ready to shift and go seek vengeance for me.
My protective gargoyle frowns. “That’swhy they are after our mate. They’ve lost their power source.”
“Which means they won’t give up easily,” Maxum adds.
“Osen, did you remember anything else important?” Flint asks. “Like why you were in the alleyway that night?”
“I was on to them. I dug up some secret. Sounds like they killed my source,” Osen recounts. “Or they just lured me in to steal my shadows. Now that Jade and I are stronger, we might be able to see more from my last days.”
Flint grunts and then nods toward the door. “Go. Talk with Calder if you must, so I can have my mate back.”
Osen hangs our head in shame. “Sorry. It must be upsetting to see her like this.”
“Mostly because you have hurt her,” Flint interrupts, glaring at Osen.
Dang. I don’t enjoy being on the other end of that anger. Thank goodness it isn’t directed at me.
“I promise that’s over.” Osen raises my hands in surrender. “But if you need to, you can keep an eye on me while I talk with Calder. Just give me some space. Okay?”
“Fine.” Flint ushers us to the door. With a gentle hand, he stops us as we get to the threshold. “Jade?”
My consciousness moves forward so I can take the reins. “It’s okay, sweetie. I’m right here.”
His eyes soften as he gazes at me. “I’ll be watching.”
I sense Osen wilt with Flint’s distrust of him, unhappy he damaged his relationship with his pack.
“Prove to us you can be better,”I mentally say to my ghost.
Flint lets us go, and I don’t have to look to sense him flying over our heads, watching as we walk across the yard. Through our own special telepathic link, which sounds weaker than it has before, he tells me,“Calder is by the creek.”
