Page 72 of The Spirit Key
I knew Tim was strong, but this was beyond even him. The ghost must have absorbed so much negative energy from Tim over the years, it made him more powerful. Great. I was responsible for my own ass-kicking. There was no way I could beat him, but I sure as hell wasn’t about to leave George alone.
“George, get up. You have to move.”
He groaned and tried to pull himself up, but it was slow going. Meanwhile, Tim continued landing blows to every part of my body he could reach. I could imagine Dr. Jenkins taking a look at me and wondering what the hell kind of masochist I was.
George got to his feet, but he was unsteady.
“Run, George. You have to go.”
He opened his eyes wide, taking in the scene of Tim pummeling me. He put his arms in front of him and rushed toward Tim, hitting him in the back. Tim stumbled forward and had to catch himself on the counter. George grabbed my arm, helped me up, and moved us toward the door.
Tim chuckled. “I could catch you, kill you even. But I’m going to be generous today. I have others to look for. It’s been years since I’ve looked into the eyes of a child as I squeezed the life from them, and I want you alive to know that every one I choke the life from, it’s all because of you.”
We got outside, Tim’s laughter still echoing in my head. Seeing his eyes flash back to their normal color, I had to assume he was still in there somewhere.
I swore to the heavens above, I would rescue Tim or die trying.
Though I really didn’t want to die a second time. Just saying.
THE FOLLOWINGmorning, after a visit to the doctor—who thankfully wasn’t Dr. Jenkins—we stopped at the pharmacy and got my prescriptions filled. Afterward, we went back to George’s shop. Tim was long gone, but he left presents in the form of destroyed displays of goods.
George sighed when he saw it. “I just finished dyeing those scarves.”
“I’m so sorry.” I wheezed, my body aching. With my good arm, I lifted my shirt. Even my bruises had bruises. I would be feeling this for a while.
“Sit down and rest. I’ll get you some tea so you can take what they gave you for pain.”
No way could I take something that would knock me out. “I can’t. I’ve got to go find Tim.”
George scowled. “Why? So he can beat you again? A fractured arm wasn’t enough? The two chipped teeth? Oh, how about the bruising? You know, the doctor said he’d like you to stay in the hospital. He worried about some of the injuries enough that he thought you should be kept overnight for observation. But you want to go back out and find the man who did this to you? Why? Maybe so he can kill you next time?”
I spun on him, trying to ignore the pain that shot through my body. “What do you want me to do? Leave him out there to be found hurting someone and get shot by the police? That won’t kill the ghost, you know. It’ll just move to a new host body, but Tim will be dead. And I have to try to stop him from hurting anyone, because Tim would never forgive himself, even if it wasn’t his fault.”
“But—You can’t beat him alone. And I’m not going to be any help to you.”
“You have been a huge help, but this is something I have to do. I’ll be okay. I promise.” I limped out the door with George on my heels.
“You should rest. You’re in no shape to do anything but fall down right now.”
He was probably right, but I couldn’t take the chance that Tim would do something he couldn’t handle. Despite his bossy ways, he had a heart so soft, it bruised with nothing more than an off-the-cuff comment. What would he do if he discovered he’d killed a child?
“Look, I appreciate your concern, but—”
“Do you know how important you are? Do you even understand how much you’re depended on?”
“I’m not a key without a lock, remember? If I can’t help Tim, I’ll have to go back to Chicago just to stay sane.”
“It won’t help.”
That brought me up short. “What does that mean?”
“Once the two of you came together as adults, Tim opened your abilities to their fullest. You’ll see them now no matter where you are. Here in Milwaukee, you saw them because they were drawn to Tim, in hopes that you could help them. Now? They’ll start appearing everywhere. Slowly at first, but the more receptive they find you, the larger their numbers.”
“But Tim was nowhere near me when I saw my first ghost.”
George sighed. “Nothing about you and Tim follows any rules. Maybe it’s because you were so close? Perhaps it was Tim’s feelings for you. I don’t know.”
Then a thought occurred to me. “I was thinking about Tim when Jeff showed up.”
