Chapter 6 #2
Olivia pauses when only a couple of feet separate her from the ghost. Slowly, she reaches into one of the leather pouches hanging from her belt, withdrawing an even smaller cloth bag.
I move behind her in time to see that it’s filled with shimmering pale blue powder.
Ash cocks his head. Perched on a step of his own, tucked out of sight from the witch, Gus does the same. “What’s she doing?”
“No clue.”
Without warning, Olivia tosses the powder directly at him. It bursts across Ash’s chest in a glittering blue cloud.
Three things happen at the same time: Ash sneezes violently, Gus scurries down the stairs to stand protectively in front of him, and Olivia gives a triumphant grin.
I tap her on the shoulder.
She glances at me. “Yes?”
“What was that about? Can you see Ashton?”
“The ghost? Or soul? No. But I can sense him, and I have to say that I believe that Faith is on the right track. If he was a real ghost… a spirit from the beyond… that powder would’ve been enough to banish him to the other side.
Since it didn’t, this seems more like a straight-forward case of reverse possession. ”
What? “I don’t get it.”
“Neither do I,” offers Ash.
Gus chimes in with a clicking noise that sounds questioning.
I wave them quiet. “What does that mean? Reverse possession?”
“It’s when a supernatural soul leaves a body instead of taking one over.
In this case, your Ashton is an opossum.
” If only he was really my Ashton… “When he went catatonic, his hold on his soul was weak enough that something managed to draw it out of him. But now that he can’t get back, he’s presenting as a ghost. Invisible, untouchable…
except for those who might have a claim to his soul. ”
Behind me, Ash sucks in a breath. I wait for him to come to the same conclusion that I did—that it’s because we’re fated mates—but all he does is exhale roughly.
I pretend not to notice. Instead, focusing on Olivia, I ask, “How do we get him back in his body?”
Olivia looks around the room again. “Where is it? The corporeal form? I should see it and maybe I’ll have an answer for you.”
“Upstairs.”
“Lead the way, if you would.”
I go first. Well, no. Gus hops up the stairs, with me behind him. Olivia is next, with Ash floating behind her as we head for the second floor. Gus is waiting outside the door to the spare room when the rest of us finish climbing the stairs.
I gently nudge him aside with my boot and shove the door in.
There he is. Looking like Sleeping Beauty, how he’s laid out on his back like that, my stomach clenches when I see how dead he appears.
I stay in the doorway. Ash hovers next to me. Gus guides Olivia over to the bed as though he’s going to make sure she doesn’t do anything to Ash’s body.
One look. That’s all it takes. One look and she says simply, “Well, that explains it. He’s been cursed.”
For a moment, no one says anything.
Then I break the silence. “So… cursed sounds bad. I don’t think I like cursed. Is there a way to make him un-cursed?” When Olivia nods, I let out a rush of air, that’s how relieved I am. “Great. So can you do it?”
She shakes her head.
I mutter a curse of my own under my breath.
“But one of my sisters might be able to. There’s one in particular.
She’s got the gift of cursebreaking, and she belongs to the national coven.
” At my blank look, Olivia explains, “That means she travels all over the United States to help supes in need. If you petition her and she comes to Moonburrow, I’m sure she’ll be able to see this male and break the curse on him. ”
“That sounds expensive.”
I’ll pay. To bring my mate back so that he can become my mate, I’ll do what I have to.
And then Olivia says, “You have quite a few trinkets in your shop that have been touched by magic. Penelope won’t accept payment… most witches don’t for their born gifts like healing or cursebreaking. However, she would happily take a token of your appreciation.”
The look on Olivia’s face that follows says that she wouldn’t mind picking something out of my stash for her effort, either.
“Fine. Hell, I’ll let your whole Alpha damn coven get free pick of my wares if you can fix Ash. But,” I add when her eyes seem to light up, “not until this curse is broken.”
“That’s fair. Since you seem to be in a hurry, I’ll even make the request to the main coven myself. If it comes from a sister witch, we should be able to have Penelope here by the end of the week.”
Here’s hoping that Ash can make it that long. “Deal.”
Though it’s obvious she would’ve rather picked out a trinket of her own right away, I refuse.
Sorry. I’m a raccoon. I don’t trust that easily, and I watch her like a hawk the entire way out of the store.
Then, once I’ve locked up behind her, I dash up the stairs in time to find Ash staring down at his body with a bewildered expression.
I poke him in the back. “Hey. You okay?”
He turns to look at me, purple eyes wide. “Someone cursed me?”
I move into Ash, bumping my shoulder against him. “Look at it this way, Ash. It’s better than them trying to kill you, yeah?”