Page 78 of The Spirit Key
I could hear the hope in his voice. What must it be like to have an evil spirit inside and never know when it would come out?
“With my whole heart. If you don’t want us to continue doing this, that’s fine. I won’t push you, and I won’t do it either.”
He ran a hand over his ribs where Rachel had slammed into him. “I’m going to say something, and just this once, you have permission to remind me of it whenever I get bitchy. Standing there, watching the ghost wrap his fingers around Carter’s throat, begging for him not to hurt the kids? He laughed at me. I never understood what it was like to feel so helpless before. It got me thinking about the other people this… thing has taken over and forced to kill. I never want to be responsible for something like that.”
My heart thumped a little faster. “What are you saying?”
His eyes shone as he looked at me. “It’s not the ideal life I wanted for us, but if you’ll have me, I’m going to be your lock. But there’s a condition.”
“Anything.” I would give him anything he wanted.
He turned pleading eyes on me. “Help get this thing out of me.”
“Baby, you read my mind.”
Chapter Nineteen
THE NEXTfew hours were filled with explanations to Ryan and Karen, as well as Gavin and Rachel. We could see that earning back Ry and Karen’s absolute trust in Tim would take time, but for now, there was none.
Tim and I returned to George’s shop. When he saw Tim, he stepped back, his face gone white. It took just as long to calm him as it did to go through my whole life story, and in the end, he was wary, but not freaking out.
“I’m not sure I can approve of this.” George fretted as he flitted about the room, casting nervous glances at Tim. “You’re hurt, and we can’t know that Tim won’t fall under the influence again.”
“He’ll be fine. He’s got it back under control.”
“For how long? He changed so quickly last time, and we didn’t know it until it was too late.”
Tim stroked a hand over my shoulder. “George is right. I can’t be trusted to be here.”
I clutched his arm. “Right here is where you have to be. You said you were my lock, so stop being a wimp.”
Tim arched an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“Sit your ass down so we can do this.”
George stood, arms folded over his chest, his gaze locked on me. “This is dangerous, and I want you to remember I’m doing this under protest.”
I glared back at him, honestly getting sick of his attitude. “You were the one who said how important the lock and key were to the Romani people. Without Tim, there is no way we can help anyone.”
George sighed and reached for the kettle. “You’re right. This will take a few minutes, so why don’t the two of you relax a bit? Being in tune with each other is essential for this to work.”
Tim turned to George. “How do you know so much about this stuff?”
It struck me then that he seemed to know an awful lot when we were trying to find Tim. “What aren’t you telling us?”
There was a pink in George’s cheeks that hadn’t been there before. “I wasn’t completely honest when we met. I knew about you and Scott. I was your mother’s friend, and she taught me how best to help you and Beth’s child. Then when Beth’s husband died and it was obvious the line wasn’t going to continue, we all got together and mourned for the souls they’d never be able to help. And then Scott came, and your mother was so excited. I was leery, because there had never been anyone not of Romani blood who was to safeguard the people. I… I won’t deny, I should have stepped up sooner.”
“So what changed your mind? Or haven’t you…?”
George pulled a tin container from the cabinet, opened it, and dropped a teabag into each cup. “I admit, I was wrong. When you first arrived, I tested you to see if I shared your mother’s enthusiasm. She was right. Scott is the genuine article, and helping the two of you? I consider it an honor. And I’m sorry I’m being a dick about this.” He ran a hand over his throat. “I should know better. That wasn’t you who attacked us.”
Tim sighed. “Thank you. That means a lot. I’m not a violent person, and what he made me do? It was assault. He forced me to do something I didn’t want, and I couldn’t stop him.”
As he brought the cups back to us, George scowled. “I need you both to remember one thing: some spirits can’t be saved. They’ve given themselves over to the dark and are beyond redemption.”
I gave a terse nod. After the visions I’d had of the deaths of the children it had killed and seen firsthand the desire to continue? This thing, as the Ghostbusters said, was toast.
Tim gave me a look of absolute trust. “Are you ready to do this?”
