The Spirit Seducer

Chapter 8

Their voices faded, moving away from my prison. I opened my eyes and struggled against my bonds. With each movement, the ropes pulled tighter.

I needed out of my constraints. I had to get away from this place. I needed time to process that Layla took us to a location tonight that her mother suggested and Coyote just happened to show up moments later. I didn't believe in coincidences. Not this kind.

Soon I couldn't feel my fingers at all. I gritted my teeth, and tried not to let the tears of frustration pooling in my eyes fall. I couldn't maneuver my way out of the bonds just as I couldn't run far enough to forget my current problems.

I inhaled deeply, held the breath. Exhaled. Again. Freaking out wouldn't solve my problem. Time to look at this situation rationally.

I didn't have anything sharp, and I couldn't hold it in my numb fingers even if I did. I needed another plan.

I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity. I had spirits in my necklace. Spirits that did my bidding.

"Spirits?" I whispered.

A frigid coating slid over my chest then out away from me. Ghostly forms glowed softly in the darkness. "I need some help." I held out my hands, my fingers turning purple from lack of circulation. "And I also need one of you to lead Zeke here. To me. Can you do that?"

"Yes. We'll help. Keep your hands still."

"Can you tell me your names? Anything about why you're stuck in a necklace?"

"I speak," one of the spirits said. A man. He was stocky with a wide brow and thick-bridged nose. His eyes were transparent but his cheekbones were high and sharp as an eagle's beak. "I was called Honani."

"Nice to meet you. Thanks for being my spokesman."

He chuckled. "More your personal guardian. We chose to stay with you. It is an honor to serve Sotuk's child."

"Huh." Not my smartest response, but I had no idea what else to say. "Uh, how come I can understand you now but not before?"

"You had to learn us as we had to learn you. The bond between living and dead can be tenuous."

I winced when the bonds at my wrist tightened further, chafing my skin.

"We will release you from the ropes. Be still."

Two of the spirits shrank, turning into tiny and very forceful bits of wind. I flinched back as their mini-tornados blasted against the raw sores.

"Wait!" I said. Everything paused. "No, not you guys on the ropes. You're amazing. The one going to Zeke. Is there any way you can take something that will identify me to him? I mean, he doesn't speak spirit and if you have something of mine, then maybe he won't try to stab you."

Finally, one of the spirits slid forward.

"I'll go," Honani offered. "I can speak to him. What would he recognize?"

I sucked on my lower lip, uncertain how to respond.

The spirit ruffled through my hair then delved into my cleavage and down my shirt. I gritted my teeth, trying not to be annoyed by the smug pleasure the spirit took dipping into my top.

"I don't want to give up my necklace. Can you carry a shoe?"

"Too heavy to move through the dimensions," he said with a shake of his head. "Something small, light."

I sighed. This was why my mother didn't want me around men. Even the dead ones were after the same thing. "You want to take a piece of my bra, don't you?"