Embers (Dark in You 4)

Keenan returned his flask to the inner pocket of his jacket. “And after the incorporeal has fulfilled its end of the bargain?”

“It can do whatever it wants,” said Knox, flicking a concerned look at his mate, who was still pacing. “Remain on Earth. Go back to hell. Whatever it likes.”

“Which means that the one we’re up against could be acting alone,” Tanner pointed out.

Knox pursed his lips. “Yes, but I don’t see what it would gain from trying to possess Asher.”

Harper stumbled to a halt. “Say that again.”

Knox took her arms and pulled her to him. “I don’t believe it was trying to snatch him, Harper. I believe it was trying to get close enough to possess him.”

The thought made her stomach roll and her knees buckle. “But why?”

“Exactly. Why? It’s not like an incorporeal would get any use out of a baby’s body. Asher can’t walk, and he relies on others to care for him. A baby would serve it no purpose.” Knox just didn’t get it. “He’s simply not worth the struggle it would take to possess him—assuming the incorporeal even could.”

“Does a person know they’re possessed?” Larkin absentmindedly toyed with the end of her long braid. “I mean, if the incorporeal is just hanging back, hitching a ride in someone’s body like it’s a cab or a train, will that person know?”

“Think of them as microparasites,” said Knox. “Like bacteria. A host wouldn’t feel the actual bacteria there. They wouldn’t even be aware of the infection until they experienced physical symptoms. Incorporeals can, as you said, ‘hang back’ and hitch a ride. The host won’t feel them. The incorporeals are a drain on the body as any parasite can be, so the host may feel tired and weary and have headaches. But unless or until the incorporeal takes control of the body, their presence won’t be sensed. Well, not unless they talk to the host, anyway.”

Tanner’s brows rose. “Talk? They can talk to them?”

Knox nodded. “For the host, it’s just like another voice inside their head,

which is why some often think they’re going crazy.”

“Is the host fully aware of what’s happening while the incorporeal is in control?” asked Larkin.

Pulling his mate closer, Knox slipped an arm around her as he responded to the harpy’s question. “Sometimes they’re partially aware. Afterwards, the host usually has no memory of what happened. They might assume they blacked out or went into a fugue state unless someone witnessed what happened.”

Harper rubbed her arm. “So I could be possessed right now and I wouldn’t even know?”

“If an incorporeal were to attempt to possess you, you would feel it.” He gently skimmed his fingers over her head. “Like sharp splinters trying to force their way into your brain. It’s highly unlikely that it ever happened to you, Harper. You have extremely strong psychic shields that can shred and mutilate a person’s psyche. In other words, you wouldn’t be a risk worth taking when the incorporeal can just as easily use a human.”

She swallowed. “You really think it meant to possess Asher?”

“Yes,” he said, hating the answer. “I just don’t see why. It could have been ordered to do so by the Horseman, of course. But there seems little point in it.”

Tanner stroked his jaw. “I’m guessing an incorporeal can use its own power just fine while possessing a host.”

“It can,” confirmed Knox. “But if you’re thinking that it was ordered to then strike at us while within Asher, I sincerely doubt it. He’s a baby. Limited with a baby’s psychic strength, the incorporeal wouldn’t be able to do a lot of damage, no matter how powerful it was.”

“But it could drain Asher, right?” asked Larkin.

Massaging Harper’s nape, Knox replied, “It could, yes, but that would take time. Months. The entire estate is encompassed by a protective shield that would prevent anything harmful from entering. Even if the incorporeal had managed to possess Asher while he was at Jolene’s house, it would never have gotten past the shield. Would have literally been spat out of his body the moment Asher returned home.”

“The incorporeal won’t have known about the shield, though,” said Keenan, but then he frowned. “Actually, I take that back. It’s pretty much common knowledge among demons that your home is shielded, so it’s unlikely that the Horseman ordered the incorporeal to try to possess Asher in order to drain him. That’s probably why the incorporeal had to make its move when he was off the estate.”

“It’ll try again, won’t it?” Edgy, Harper had to resist the urge to dance from foot to foot. “I mean, if it was ordered to possess him for some reason, it won’t stop trying until it does. Not if it wants to be free.”

Knox cocked his head. “That depends. If it was ordered to possess him and then reports back to the Horseman that Asher has a shield it can’t bypass, it might then be given a different order.”

But, whatever the case, they wouldn’t give up, thought Harper. “The Horseman seems determined to succeed where the others within his group failed. If that’s true, he’ll—and I’m feeling confident that it’s a ‘he’ after studying the footage—come at us with everything he has. Including an incorporeal demon.”

Levi folded his arms. “Jonas said that Alethea claimed to have stolen it from a private collector. Knox, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Knox looked at him. “If you’re thinking that Dion Boughton could be the collector then, yes, I am.”

Keenan’s eyes lit up. “He collects the unique. Keeps them in his own personal museum at his home. If anyone would have an incorporeal in their possession, it would be him. Hell, he could even be the fourth Horseman. It’s worth considering that Dion may have partnered with Alethea.”