To save her ghost-hunting career, psychic Kayde Foster must confront an evil and darkly attractive entity that has taken up residence in her uncle's business.
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Kayde prides herself on being fearless. Ghosts? Crumbling buildings? Scary legends? No...
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It was quite easy to scare the little witch out of Tales Untold.
Using a powerful gust of wind, I propelled her out of the front doors. She landed in a bush, cursing me, cursing the land—and vowed to find Kayde and make me pay for the audacity. She knew she wasn't getting her friend back. Darby had failed, but oh, she was quite funny to watch, too.
Her threats were idle; as far as I was concerned, the worst she could do was let Chris know I imprisoned his niece.
That should go over well. Everything is falling into place.
It was simple, really. If he wanted her back, all he had to do was remove his protective talisman and pay the debt that he owed me. He owed me his fucking life. He had summoned me twenty years ago, and it was finally time for him to pay his debt.
For it was him who I granted a wish for—the first wish I had granted in nearly one thousand years. To have fame and fortune. Because once, I had been a man with nothing left. My imprisonment left me aching and hungry for my throne, for my power—and Chris had somehow summoned me. The prince of the Reach. Breaking me out of my prison by doing so.
I should have thanked him, but he turned around and stabbed me in the back by keeping me bound to Tales Untold. Handled like one of his objects in my weakened state. If I were at my full power, he'd be done for because of his betrayal.
Jinn could not refuse a summons. The mighty wards in my prison proved no match for the irresistible magic when he called my true name. My brother destroyed the artifacts and ways of summoning me—effectively keeping me in darkness forever. Somehow, someway, Chris had found a shattered artifact and pieced it back together.
But he also left me only to roam his business, only able to leave for short periods of time. I could still venture into other realms with ease, but it was Earth I wanted to explore. So much had changed while I was imprisoned—so much freedom, resources, and technology I wished to learn.
And he stole it from me.
It was time to reclaim what was mine.
The spirts were restless, floating through the walls, leaving sparkling globs of ectoplasm the living could not see. It coagulated in the corners, pungent enough in energy that it damn near peeled the wallpaper back. The ectoplasm wasn't harmful, but it produced a variety of different effects for a human—chills. The feeling of being watched. Cold drafts. Nausea.
Observing its impact on humans was quite fascinating. But for now, the doors were closed.
From the vantage point of the third floor, I peered through the windows, fixating on the paved road that provided access to this place. Usually Chris would come check his establishment on the weekends—that, or the employees. It was a wise decision on their part to not show up. Cowardly as well? Certainly.
