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Apparently, I had a reputation.

The screen of Tyler’s phone showed details for a flight to Brazil leaving in a few hours. If we’d waited much longer, he would have been in the air.

“You really are a coward,” I said, although I remained between planes, meaning he couldn’t hear me.

He froze anyway.

After several seconds, he shook his head and resumed packing.

Possessing the doctor had been simple. He’d been asleep, his consciousness buried deeply enough that I’d slipped into his body without resistance. Tyler was wide awake. I’d never attempted to possess anyone in that state before.

It promised to be interesting.

I moved behind him as he bent over the suitcase. Entering another human required me to surrender my physical form, allowing myself to become little more than thought and shadow. My edges dissolved first. Then the rest of me followed, spilling forward and sinking into Tyler through his back.

His entire body went rigid.

The first sensation was noise. Not sound, exactly, but the frantic clamor of a consciousness that had been awake and in control one moment, only to find something else forcing its way in the next. Tyler’s fear struck me like a physical blow. His mind recoiled from mine, then surged forward in a desperate attempt to expel me.

His mouth opened.

I stopped the scream before it emerged.

Tyler staggered, one hand flying to his chest while the other braced against the wall. For a few seconds, neither of us had complete control. His right leg moved when I wanted the left. His fingers opened and closed without purpose. Our competing attempts to breathe left us dragging in a series of short, uneven gasps.

What the fuck?

The thought was so loud that I almost heard it as spoken words.

Get out of me.

I tightened my hold, spreading through every nerve and muscle until his entire body, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, belonged to me. Tyler fought harder, forcing one arm to jerk upward before I slammed it back against his side.

Sit still, I told him.

Rather than calming him, his panic intensified.

You can hear me? What are you? Get out. Get the fuck out of me.

You already know what I am.

I straightened his body and looked at our reflection in the mirror. Tyler’s face stared back at me. His eyes were wide, his skin pale and shining with sweat. Outwardly, he looked entirely human, but if I concentrated, I could see traces of my shadows moving beneath his skin.

I smiled with his mouth.

Tyler screamed inside us.

I told you to sit still.

He sent you. Rowan sent you.

I picked up his passport and dropped it into the bin, adding the cash. I slid the wallet into Tyler’s pocket, then closed the half-packed suitcase and left it where it was.

What are you doing?

Preventing you from going anywhere.

When I headed for the door, Tyler fought me with every step. His resistance wasn’t strong enough to stop me, but it made his body move awkwardly, one shoulder striking the doorframe as I forced him into the hallway.