Came Back Haunted (Experiment in Terror #10) - Karina Halle Page 0,116
for more Buffy than anything else. She’s wearing a black body suit with black yoga pants, with giant black Prada combat boots (of course), her hair pulled up off her face in a twist bun. She’s also added extra smoke to her smoky eye, creating these wings with her eyeliner that nearly reach her temple.
She looks older than her age, and her outfit leaves nothing to the imagination. I’m having one of those moments where I realize my little sister is all grown-up.
And despite everything that’s been happening with her and Jay and my father, tonight she’s lit up like a firecracker. She has been ever since I told her about rescuing Max. She’s treating this like not only is it her life’s mission, but that she’s being the ultimate rebel. Perhaps she is.
We left Portland this morning, the day after Christmas, telling our dad that she was going to come stay with us for a few days. I think we both felt bad about leaving him alone, but Uncle Al and the boys were going to drop by for dinner. Normally we would stay for that since it’s been a long time since we’ve seen them, but we’re all itching to get this over with.
Then we got back to the apartment and I sent Ada on an errand to keep her busy, so that Dex and I could have some privacy.
And by privacy, I mean sex.
It’s the only way I could get him to possess me again. We both know there’s no way I would get in that house again unless he’s inside me, and thankfully this time we didn’t have to delay any orgasms or do any blood rituals (thank god, because the cuts are only just starting to heal on me). No, it was a quick hard fuck, made with intention, and it did the trick.
Dex slipped inside me, literally and metaphysically, lying in wait.
Right now he’s in the passenger seat and I’m driving the Highlander, just in case. I’m the one stable in my own body, but he isn’t.
And he’s awfully quiet, even for him, just watching the buildings pass us beyond the rain-streaked windows.
You okay? I ask him.
His presence brightens inside me for a moment, like a growing flame. In response, he slumps a little in his seat. Yeah, this definitely isn’t a party trick. I look forward to not having to do this again.
I’m fine, he says from inside me. Just nervous.
I can tell. About Ada?
No. About Samantha.
You’ll be fine.
I’m worried about you, kiddo.
We’ll be fine. You’ve got this.
Of course, I’m naturally nervous too. I don’t want to see her or the demon again. Or Victor for that matter. Or Atlas or anything and anyone to do with that house. I just want to go in, get Max out, and leave.
Never step foot in or even look at that place again.
But for now, we have to face it head on.
I pull the car up outside the house and turn off the engine. I glance at the time. We’re supposed to meet Lana here in five minutes, which gives us just enough time to get ready.
“So, what happens next?” Ada asks, leaning forward and wresting her wrists on the backs of our seats. “When does he totally possess you?”
I twist to look at her. “When I want him to.”
“He can’t just do it?”
I probably could, he pipes up.
“I don’t want to test it,” I say firmly to the both of them.
“Shouldn’t you do it now?” she asks.
“I’ll do it when we’re ready.”
I’m ready.
I glance at him, his head against the window. He already looks like he’s sleeping. I wish we didn’t have to leave him in the car like this, but we aren’t sure yet how far he can be from his body and we don’t want to find out the hard way. Also, he needs to be able to get back into himself right away if needed.
I’m ready, he repeats himself.
“Okay,” I say. Jeez.
I close my eyes and lean back in my seat and feel that flame inside me getting brighter and bigger, the rest of me being pushed aside to make space. Such a weird otherworldly fucking feeling, I can’t fully describe it.
And there he is.
Hi, I tell him.
Oh hey, he says. I like what you’ve done with the place.
Shut up, I tell him but I’m smiling.
“Okay, what’s going on?” Ada asks. She leans further forward to peer at me. “Is he in you now?”