Perception (Apparition Investigations #1)

Case #1: Villanova Apartments: Part 11

"Cyril! Oliver!" I shouted, running into the room.

The light stopped at the walls. As far as Noah could see. And where it stopped, it created a shimmering wall. Like a film covering everything Noah saw, shimmering with a light that didn't act the way light should.

Noah grabbed my arm, his fingers digging in. "Let me finish, Stella."

I tried to wrench free from his grip but it was like iron. Stupid frat-boy strength. "They were screaming, Noah. You had to have heard them."

"It'll be over soon. They don't need to be here."

Pounding came from behind me. Noah still had hold of my arm but I could turn toward the sound, toward the far wall of the apartment. The wall that separated the living room from my bedroom.

Then I heard Cyril shouting. "Stella? Are you alright?"

Oliver's voice chimed in and the pounding doubled.

"It's a ward," Noah explained calmly. "I can only purify what I can see. I'll have to move room to room. But considering ghosts are unable to cross the boundary of whatever abode they're haunting, my ward will push them to it."

"And squish them between that wave and the boundary?" I asked, horrified.

He must have heard the revulsion in my tone because he looked down at me. "They need to move on, Stella. Before they bring the monsters that come next."

I tried prying his fingers from my arm. "I'm not letting you do this—they were screaming, Noah! It hurt them!"

He ignored me and started dragging me through the living room, toward my bedroom door. His free hand went to cover his eye again.

I switched tactics. Instead of trying to get free, I tried to stop him. Digging in my heels, I pushed against his chest.

"Dammit, Stella," he grumbled, trying to fight forward while keeping one hand over his eye. "Just let me finish it."

"No freaking way," I hissed, grabbing his hand, trying to pry it off his face. To expose his eye. Stop him from charging up or whatever he was doing.

The pounding continued behind me, even louder than before. Desperation and fury were seeping into their voices.

With a swear, Noah let his hand fall from his eye. A weaker wave of energy went out, meeting with the ward he'd already placed and merging. With his hands free, he wrestled me backward until my legs hit the back of the couch.

I toppled backward while he kept his balance. He towered over me as I landed on the couch, and from his vantage point, he grabbed my wrists and yanked my hands away from him. "Dammit, Stella, just stop it!"

I tried kicking at his legs. My first shot caught him in the shin, yanking a choice word from him. Then he leaned forward, his knees sinking into the couch cushions, straddling me to protect himself from more kicks. With his hands still wrapped around my wrists, he moved to pin them up to the back couch cushions.

Trapped, I couldn't kick or use my hands to fight back. Flailing wasn't working either. His weight, position, and strength all worked against me, keeping me under him no matter how hard I tried to throw him off.

So I used my last option. I screamed. Full blown, I'm-being-murdered scream.

One hand snapped from my wrists to cover my mouth, muffling the sound. And even with my hand free, I couldn't pull his hand from my mouth. It'd clamped on, and no matter how hard I pulled, it stayed firmly placed.