H. Mallory - Ghouls Rush In

“Yer soul would have priority ova yer body,” Lovie interjected. “It wouldn’t be as though the foreign spirit could control you.”

“Oh, yes, of course,” Christopher agreed. “All it really means for you is having an extra voice in your head.” I wasn’t exactly happy with the current voices I heard in my head.

“An’ you would also share his power,” Lovie added. “That could be a big benefit when dealin’ with the spiritual world.” She started to nod as if she were in the midst of convincing herself. “The other thin’ ta consider is that this spirit, Drake, has been protectin’ you from the malevolence o’ this house all along.”

Christopher nodded. “True, Lovie, true.”

“What’s the importance of that?” I asked, shrugging.

“His power must be strong, considerin’ how long he fended off the entity’s advances. If you allow him ta join you, he can continue protectin’ you, only now he’ll pull more strength from yer life energy, which will make his own power that much stronger,” Lovie answered.

Hmm, I couldn’t say it sounded too bad especially when I remembered when the entity had attacked me. If not for Drake, I probably would have become a member of the spirit world myself. So there were some pros to this possession thing buried in the cons. “The entity already attacked me but Drake was able to fend it off,” I said before taking a deep breath.

“It already gone after you?” Lovie repeated, eyeing me spearingly.

I simply nodded as she turned her attention to Christopher and both her eyebrows shot toward the ceiling. Christopher returned her knowing expression before resting his eyes on mine. He then closed his eyes and reached out to me, touching my arm. He was quiet for about seven seconds as he nodded and his eyelids started twitching again. When he opened his eyes, his mouth was caught in a straight white line. “Were it not for Drake, you would not be standing here now,” he said with certainty in his tone. Then he turned toward Lovie. “This possession needs to take place for her own protection. The entity is increasingly gaining strength and dominion over her and this house. If we do not buttress her defensive aura with Drake’s strength, this malevolence will most definitely be able to claim her.”

Lovie just nodded before they both faced me. “Is possession the only way to ensure that Drake doesn’t get killed, for lack of a better word, by this demon?” I asked, setting my own needs aside for the moment.

Both of them nodded. I felt a little sick as I quickly weighed my options. Drake was losing his battle with the demon. Even worse, if it did eliminate him, it would come after me. And apparently according to Christopher, the only thing standing between this demon and me at the moment was Drake. If his power could be enhanced by my life energy and he could better protect me, then why wouldn’t I agree to it? And, really, how bad could possession be?

Famous last words.

I took a deep breath and then exhaled it. “Okay, what do we need to do?”

Christopher inhaled deeply and then exhaled before he faced Lovie, his expression hard. “Are you ready for this, Lovie? I, for one, certainly did not prepare myself for a possession when I received her phone call.” He glanced back at me with a raised brow like it was my fault I hadn’t warned him that he might be possessing me with Drake’s soul. Then he returned his attention to Lovie.

She quietly nodded. “I attempt ta prepare mahself for all varieties o’ unexpected situations.”

“Do we have everything we require?” Christopher continued as he tapped his fingers against his other arm and glanced around himself as if expecting to find a list of useful items for possession on the walls of the guest bedroom.

Lovie nodded again. “I believe so.”

Christopher chewed his lower lip. “Did you bring Raven or Claude?” he asked, before cracking his knuckles. “I really hope you brought Raven.”

Lovie beamed up at him, apparently pleased that he would be pleased by her information, and nodded. “I got this feelin’ before we left that Raven would be our better choice.”

“Very good, Lovie, very good,” Christopher responded with a genuine smile.

“Raven?” I asked, glancing between the two of them. “Who is Raven?” I couldn’t say I was exactly thrilled by the idea that there might be one other witch, warlock, fairy, vampire, or werewolf to witness this possession.

Christopher faced me with the expression of someone who’d just remembered I was still in the room. “Raven is a human skull,” he answered matter-of-factly as my mouth dropped open in accordance. “Raven is the better skull to have brought with us for the purposes of your situation because her lower jaw is still intact as well as all her teeth, which means she is truly a necromantic skull and will be able to converse with us and your spirit far better than Claude could, owing to the fact that he’s missing his jaw.”

I reminded myself not to ask any more questions because I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to be prepared for Christopher’s responses. I was spared the need to say much more as Christopher immediately started for the hallway. Lovie was right behind him. He glanced back at me and called out over his shoulder, “We shall return momentarily after we retrieve our things.”

“Okay,” I responded as I wondered if I’d just gotten myself in over my head. Human skulls? Was it even legal to own a human skull and, furthermore, how in the hell had Christopher and Lovie procured one? I suddenly had an image of the two of them digging one up and hoped that scenario was as far from the truth as possible. And, really, there was no way I was going to broach the topic with the reluctant warlock so I figured I’d never know.

Christopher and Lovie were gone for maybe ten minutes before I heard the sounds of their footsteps on the pathway up to the front door, which Christopher had left open. I met them in the foyer. “Do you need help carrying anything?” I offered.

Christopher immediately turned his nose up at me. “We can manage,” he answered succinctly before glancing around himself. “You must direct us to the space where you believe Drake’s energy is at its strongest.”

“The master bedroom,” I answered without pause. Then I led them both upstairs and pushed open the double doors, watching them place their numerous boxes and bags in the corner of the room. Christopher rummaged through one of them and produced an oatmeal-colored, waxy, oblong piece of something that resembled soap. He handed it to me.

“While we are setting up, you need to wash yourself with this. Wash every inch of your body as well as your hair. Allow yourself to air-dry.” He bent down again and thrust his hand into what looked like a black velvet satchel, producing a white garment of some sort, which he then thrust in my direction. “When you have air-dried, put this on.”

I accepted the garment and nodded. “Why do I have to shower?”

“To ensure your body is clean before Drake takes possession of it. The soap is made with purifying and cleansing oils, and the gown is made of pure cotton,” Christopher answered before turning his back on me, which I imagined signified that our conversation was over and I needed to go “purify” myself in the shower. I didn’t say anything more but started for the double doors and headed down the staircase, feeling only slightly nervous about showering in the guest bathroom where only minutes earlier, I’d witnessed the Axeman’s message displayed across the mirror.

Hoping I was safer now that two witches were in my house, I decided to leave the bathroom door open as I turned the water on in my shower. Once it was warm, I hopped inside and was careful to lather myself with the cleansing soap from head to toe. Fortunately the soap had a nice scent to it—of rosemary or something similar. Wanting to be as clean as possible, I even repeated my ministrations a second time just to make sure I hadn’t missed any part of me that might taint Christopher’s ritual. Yep, Drake was going to have one hell of a clean host.