Page 60 of Protected By the Wraith
“Fucking liar, give it to me!”
When I kept smiling, he rushed at me, hands fisted. I misted, and he moved right through me.
I loved this part. I waited for him to look all around and not find me, before materializing right behind him.
“Boo.”
He screamed, jumped, and turned around, swinging wildly. I misted again and reappeared behind him again.
I wanted to keep playing with him, but my hunger was starting to overwhelm me, and I wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer. I rushed to say the line I voiced every time.
“You’ll never hurt anyone again.”
Then I misted and enveloped him. As I ate him, I heard every woman he’d berated. I listened as he moved from words to violence. This happened every time I ate one of these people.
Being a witness to his history of cruelty didn’t make me sad, it was satisfying. My hunger fed on it, greedily consuming every evil thing he’d ever done, and all that was left of his body was what he was wearing.
I spat out his clothes and re-materialized to find Vie and Teo standing there. They’d probably been there the entire time, but I hadn’t noticed. When I was hunting or eating, I wasn’t able to sense other wraiths. Vie said it was always hard to do both, but I’d get better at it as I practiced more.
“I love watching you work,” Vie said, holding out his arms. I moved into his embrace, enjoying a hug after eating. At first, I needed him to comfort me after I consumed someone. Now I liked to be held simply because I was full and sleepy.
“Thank you for letting me watch,” Teo said. “It was very enlightening. I need to write down what I saw. Don’t forget the bread and cheese in your office.”
Teo misted and disappeared.
“You did a good job of getting Luna away,” he said.
I nuzzled my face into Vie’s neck. “I still scared her.”
“But you scared her as a human,” Vie said. “Last time, you had to pretend to be a vengeful ghost. That was probably more traumatizing.”
I chuckled at the memory. “I didn’t know what else to say. I couldn’t get that woman to leave before I ate her husband. I wish my hunger was easier to control.”
“It’ll get better, but you’ll never have absolute control,” Vie reminded me. “We are creatures meant to feed. There’s no denying that instinct.”
“I know,” I said. We stood holding each other until a car moving down the nearby ramp reminded me that we were in the spot that Luna would tell the authorities was the last place she saw Steve alive. It might take her a day or two, but she’d contact them. It was better if no one saw us.
“Let’s go home,” I said. “I’m craving our couch, mindless TV, and cuddles.”
Vie’s next words proved yet again that he was the most perfect man ever. “I want the same thing. Race you home!”
He might’ve challenged me to a race, but after turning to mist, he didn’t move away. He remained hovering over me until I misted and joined him. Rising through the parking garage, we traveled together through a perfect blue sky.
It was a scene right out of one of the urban fantasy novels I read, except I got to have a real life happily-ever-after.
I might be a deathly nightmare to abusers, but I was living in a fairytale, complete with the prince of my dreams.
