Curse the Dawn (Cassandra Palmer 4)

There was only one thing left on the agenda, but Pritkin wasn’t making it easy. “If you want this to happen, you have to drop your shields!” I told him, exasperated.

“You are certain this will work?” he asked for maybe the tenth time.

“Yes!” I put as much confidence into my voice as I could, but he didn’t look convinced. “This was your idea, remember?”

Pritkin had vetoed the idea of Billy possessing his body, even for a moment, so we’d opted for Plan B. The idea was for Billy to slip inside my skin and nudge Pritkin out. And as Pritkin’s body would be the only one in the room that wouldn’t be shielded, his spirit should have no trouble finding its way home.

It ought to work. It would work. But not if Pritkin refused to lower the shields he’d placed around my body.

“He’s afraid of opening himself up like that with a hungry ghost hanging around,” Billy said with a grin. He was clearly enjoying this. “He’s probably wishing he’d been nicer the last time we met.”

“Billy!”

“What? What did he say?” Pritkin’s head whipped around, his eyes wild. And, okay, maybe he wasn’t taking this better than me after all.

“You remember,” Billy said, “when we were in Faerie and I had a body and he slapped the crap out of me?” He was glowing with the power I’d loaned him and it was making him sassy.

“He didn’t say anything,” I told Pritkin.

“I mean, I could live with it if he’d punched me, but a slap—”

Pritkin broke and headed for the stairs. He’d have made it, but Marsden had been stationed there for just such an emergency and he blocked the way. “Drop your shields,” I said soothingly, motioning Billy over as casually as possible. “It’ll all be over in a second.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Pritkin muttered, glancing around. His voice held the little crack it got when he was really disturbed and trying to cover it, the one that made me want to duck because usually it involved someone shooting at us. I glanced around nervously, but no one was there.

Marsden punched Pritkin on the shoulder. “You’re a war mage, man! Buck up!”

And to my surprise, after another moment, Pritkin did. Billy stepped inside and I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this would go okay, after all, I thought. Right before Pritkin started convulsing.

“John!” Marsden grabbed for him, but Pritkin jittered out of reach. A flailing fist took out one of the banister railings and knocked the phone off the wall before Marsden’s hands managed to lock on his shoulders.

“Take it easy! You’re in my body,” I reminded him. He obviously didn’t hear me. His eyes were unfocused, he was pale and sweating, and his knuckles were shining white where he’d dug his fingers into Marsden’s arms.

I’d never

seen him so out of control. Pritkin usually took things in stride that would send others into raging fits. “Billy—hurry up!”

“I can’t do this if he keeps fighting me!” Billy said, sticking his head out of Pritkin’s chest.

“He’s fighting the possession,” I told Marsden.

“John, listen to me!” Marsden shook him. “You have to let go!”

Pritkin didn’t answer, just thrashed against his hold like a man possessed by something a lot scarier than a failed card shark. And he was doing more than struggling physically. Portions of Billy kept shooting out of him at odd places—a foot stuck out of a thigh, an arm poked out of his chest and Billy’s head reemerged from a shoulder.

“Some help here,” Billy gasped. “I’m losing him!”

“I can’t leave this body until he’s free!” I reminded him.

“If you don’t he’s not gonna get free. Distract him long enough for me to push him out, and then you can guide him back.”

I didn’t like the idea, but I didn’t have a better one. And if we didn’t do this now, I had a feeling it would be a very long time before we managed to talk Pritkin into another attempt. “We’re changing the plan,” I told Marsden. “I have to help Billy.”

“I thought you said that John’s body will die without a soul!”

“Not in a few seconds. And I’ll return if it takes any longer than that.” I stretched out on the floor so that Pritkin’s body wouldn’t collapse when I left. “Ready?” I asked Billy.

“And waiting!” he snapped, struggling to hang on.