Page 148 of The Ghost and the Graveyard (Knight Games 1)
He walked up to me, his face grim.
"Do you need my help?" I asked.
"It's taken care of," he said. His jaw clenched. He looked away from me.
"Is something wrong?"
"I can smell him on you, Grateful. You've come from Logan."
"I tried to send him on, but it didn't work. There's something blocking his name. I could see everything about him but his name. It's like I wasn't meant to see it."
"Or he's blocking you. Don't be naive. He wants to stay. He wants you."
My first impulse was to tell him he didn't know what he was talking about, to deny that Logan would do anything to avoid his final journey. But some part of me knew Rick was right. After all, Logan had admitted to me that he was afraid to be sorted.
I placed my hands on my hips and sighed. "So, how do I send him on if he's blocking?"
Relief passed over Rick's face. He took a step toward me until he was so close his chest almost brushed against my breasts. "There is another way. With your permission, I can force his soul to move on."
"I'm not going to let you make a snack of Logan," I said firmly.
"No. This is caretaker magic. It forces the soul in one direction or another."
"But I thought I needed to decide which direction he was supposed to go?"
"With this spell, the soul decides. It forces the soul to judge itself."
I thought about Logan, about the balance of his soul. I was certain this spell would end well for him. Logan's soul didn't seem finished, but his lifetime was. I couldn't sit back and watch the great forgetting take him memory by memory. Something had to be done.
"Yes, Rick. I think you should do it. I give you permission."
To his credit, Rick kept his happy dance on the inside, although our connection made it impossible for me not to notice his gleeful anticipation.
"I learned something else tonight." I placed my hands on my hips and looked out over the graveyard.
"What?"
"I think a vampire is trying to buy my house."
Rick's skin began to bubble again, and his eyes turned black as coal. "Your house isn't for sale."
"A Mr. Helleborine contacted my father and asked to see my address. "
"Helleborine was what Marcus used to-"
"-Kill me. Yes, I know. And it doesn't grow in the cemetery which means someone on the outside was helping him."
"Someone who wants you to know, he isn't happy about Marcus's death."
"And isn't happy about my return. Do you think it was Julius?"
Rick shook his head. "I do not know. Julius is very old and very evil. But he could have killed you last night, and he didn't."
I narrowed my eyes. "Why didn't he?"
"That, I do not know, Mi Cielo."
That made two of us.
