Spellbound (Otherworld 12)

"Leah," he whispered.

"She's dead," I said. "Again. We sent her back to hell and she won't get out this time."

Silence. While it felt good giving him that message, I'm not sure how much it mattered to him. He was still dead. His wife was still in a coma.

"Do you know how she got out?" I asked. "Did she tell you anything? Was she working with any--?"

"Stop." An intake of breath, as if he was struggling to stay on the line. "Will talk. Wait."

A moment's rest, then he said, "Leah freed because connection." His words came in spurts. "With you. Knows you. Might persuade you."

The voice stopped, and I waited as long as I could before asking, "Persuade me to do what?"

"Help. Wanted your help. Leah's, too. Package deal. She reneged."

So someone decided Leah had sway over me because we'd known each other. This someone also decided she might be useful, meaning it would be doubly worthwhile to free her from her hell dimension. She'd played along, cozying up to me in Jesse's body, with the ultimate goal of ignoring her mission and instead using me to stay out of hell for good.

"Who freed her?" I asked.

"Don't know. Powerful forces. Not human. Demonic. Celestial."

"Celestial?"

"Angel."

"Demonic and celestial," I said. "An angel and a demon working together?"

He didn't know. I got the feeling he was as confused as we were. Leah obviously hadn't told him the grand scheme.

"Tell me everything she said," I pressed. "Give me all the pieces and we'll put them together."

"That's all. She was freed. Powerful forces. You're a target. Powerful ally. Tool."

What would happen when those powerful forces discovered that their powerful tool had lost her powerful juice?

A thought flitted through my brain, half-formed, and I tried to grab it, but it disappeared before I could.

"There must be more," Adam said. "Leah tormented you for weeks."

"And she loves to talk," I said.

He said, "That's all," but it took him a moment, and that pause suggested he was holding out.

"Did she tell you anything more about who released her?" Adam asked.

"No."

"Did she name any specific demons?"

"No."

"Did she tell you why they wanted Savannah?"

"No."

"Did she tell you what her rescuer's overall plan is?"

A pause. Then, "No."