“I think it’s capable of possession.”
Which shouldn’t be possible for a poltergeist—unless that wasn’t what it was, despite all the hallmarks of such a spirit. The anger and cold and moving of objects were aspects of a spirit in the midst of a haunting, something Spencer had dealt with plenty of times before. This just didn’t fit the usual parameters.
“You haven’t pissed off any demons lately, have you?” Spencer asked offhandedly.
“Unless any are holding a grudge from a couple of years ago, no.”
Air suddenly rushed down the hallway like it was a wind tunnel, the icy cold of it slipping beneath his clothes. The force of the hit had Spencer sliding back a few inches until Takoma’s arm wrapped around his waist and anchored him where he stood.
Spencer cast his mageglobe forward, sending it down the hallway, magic sinking into the walls, floor, and ceiling, anchoring him to this plane. He wanted to contain the poltergeist so it couldn’t flee before casting it out. Containment wouldn’t typically be a problem if the spirit was bound to a location, but this poltergeist wasn’t operating under typical rules.
It proved that when itscreamed, the sound otherworldly and hurting Spencer’s ears. He hunched his shoulders, resisting the urge to cover his ears as he continued to wrap his magic around the space where the poltergeist currently existed.
An invisible force rushed down the hallway toward them again, slamming into the shield Spencer hastily raised between them and the oncoming threat. Fatima passed through it with ease, racing toward the poltergeist, trailing edges of the veil behind her. The poltergeist flickered, dimmed, and brightened in a flash before it let loose a pulse of energy that reminded Spencer of a star going nova.
The eruption blinded him, and he turned his head to the side, vision sliding back to normal, filled with colored spots covering everything. The cage he’d been building around the poltergeist wasn’t complete. He sensed the way that roiling, hideous energycontracted—going tight and small, slipping through the veil before Fatima could get her metaphysical claws into the bastard. The cold disappeared, the pressure from an otherworldly presence fading as well. The haunting overlay snapped out of existence, leaving them alone in a hallway that had lost its chill.
“You certainly make my nights interesting,” Takoma said into the tense silence.
Spencer snorted. “Do I?”
He found himself shoved against the wall between one breath and the next, Takoma’s cool hand wrapped around the base of his throat, fingers and thumb pressed against his pulse. Spencer swallowed, staring into the master vampire’s faintly blurred face. Takoma was so close Spencer could feel the cool wash of his breath when he deigned to breathe to speak.
“You’re entertaining enough.”
Cool, dry lips pressed against his, a cold tongue sliding past the seam of his mouth to slip inside. Spencer sucked in a breath, let Takoma in, and found himself so thoroughly kissed he didn’t even mind when he sliced the side of his tongue against jagged fangs. Takoma licked the blood away, despite how bitter it must be on his own tongue. Spencer knew a magic user’s blood didn’t taste good to vampires and wasn’t the best for them to drink.
A door crashing open had Takoma pulling back, face in shadow cast by the distant mageglobe still floating halfway down the hallway. Spencer stared at him wide-eyed, trying and failing to ignore the way his half-hard cock pressed against the zipper of his pants.
“This is hotel security. Is everyone all right?” someone called from a stairwell down the far end of the hallway.
Takoma lifted his hand from Spencer’s throat, fingernails that were as sharp as claws skimming over sensitive skin. “I’ll be in touch.”
He blurred away, disappearing back down the hallway and darting down the stairwell. Spencer heard the hotel security personnel let out a surprised shriek from the master vampire passing by. He stayed pressed against the wall for a couple more seconds, trying to get his bearings.
Sucking face is not part of an investigation, Fatima informed him haughtily.
Spencer dragged the back of his hand over his mouth before collapsing his mageglobe. “At least it’s not his cock.”
Yet. I give it five minutes next time, knowing you.
Spencer rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Did you get it?”
She bared her teeth at him.What do you think?
When he slipped his sight sideways, he could see bits of energy clenched between her sharp teeth, straining to get free. Spencer blinked his sight back to normal and smiled at her. “That’s my girl.”
Fatima swallowed the piece of poltergeist she’d ripped from the entity and smugly licked her nose.
“Hello?” the hotel security guard called out. A flashlight darted around the floor before aiming their way. “Hey, are you all right down there?”
Spencer shoved aside his thoughts on if Takoma really wouldn’t mind if he went on his knees for the master vampire and focused on the task at hand. He headed toward the security guard, pulling out his badge as he went. “I’m fine, but I’m going to need to talk to your manager.”
If the hotel had a ghost or demon problem after this, he hoped they wouldn’t blame him.
CHAPTEREIGHT
“How is a poltergeist not a poltergeist?”Levi demanded. His voice came through the SUV’s speakers with a faint crackle from the Bluetooth connection.
