She really was in Hell. It boggled the mind.
“Is that clear?”
She turned back. Murmur stood by the door all high and mighty with one eyebrow raised. He’d really mastered the sass, hadn’t he?
“Don’t disturb you. Got it.” She added under her breath, “As if I’d want to.”
“Do not enter the top floor under any circumstances, unless I explicitly permit it.”
“I think you overestimate the pleasure of your company,” she replied with a sneer. “I have no desire to spend any more time in your presence than necessary.”
“Then we are in accordance. Now give me back my coat.”
She was still wrapped in the thing like it was her favorite comfort blanket, wasn’t she? Scowling, she set her cargo on the bed, removed the heavy coat, and held it out to him.
But he was all the way across the room.
He stayed where he was, holding out one of his creepy long-fingered hands and gesturing for her to cross the room and give it to him.
She didn’t move.
His eyes narrowed. She set her jaw.
It was a battle of wills. Neither of them wanted to be the first to give in. Well, it certainly wasn’t going to be her. He’d captured and half starved her; she wasn’t going to make things easy for him.
“Give me the coat, Suyin.” His voice was low. Full of warning.
“Come and get it,” she replied, holding his stare. So what if her palms were sweating?
They glared at each other.
And then … he smiled. The chilling curve in the corners ofhis mouth caught her off guard, and she suddenly got the feeling he’d just changed the rules of their game. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to play anymore.
But it was too late to back down, and her pride wouldn’t let her anyway.
The smoke that danced at his feet began to churn with increased agitation. She swallowed. The shapes rose higher and seemed to thicken. Or … solidify.
And then the ghostly mass began to move. It crept across the floor, and she swore she saw the faint outline of hands, clawing their way across the wood planks, dragging their ethereal bodies toward her.
A wave of chills swept down her spine. The temperature felt like it had dropped several degrees.
Before her, a column of smoke rose from the floor, higher and higher, until the roiling black mass was equal to her height.
From the hazy gloom, a shape formed. Shoulders. A head. A … face. Sunken eye sockets, hollow cheekbones, strips of flesh hanging from an empty skull, rotted lips giving way to a mouth full of blackened teeth.
The specter stretched out a skeletal hand. Long bones, spindly fingers, decaying flesh clinging to it like cobwebs. It reached toward her. Closer, closer …
The hand curled around the coat still dangling in her trembling grip.
Instantly, she released the garment. Her blood felt like ice in her veins. The specter tightened its grasp on the fabric and actuallyheldit. A ghost was holding onto a solid coat.
She watched the spirit drift back across the bedroom floor toward its master. The master who was giving it the power to do this and controlling its actions at the same time.
Murmur curled his fingers around the coat once it was within his reach. He shook it out and donned it, and thespecter dissolved back into smoke. The dead face vanished, and all that remained were the faint churning wisps at Murmur’s feet.
With a flash of that cold smile, Murmur spun and swept out of the room, coat billowing behind him. The last she saw of him was the tip of his barbed tail.
Alone, she stood frozen in place for several minutes, her heart pounding so hard she was amazed she hadn’t passed out. She couldn’t help but think, with an entire army of souls like that, he was essentially impossible to defeat. How could someone fight a ghost?
