I dropped my duffel bag. It was really him... The last few days had seemed like a strange, foggy dream but seeing him there, standing in front of me, made it feel like I had finally woken up.

He was looking rough. His long dark hair was stringy and unkempt and his usually prominent cheekbones had sharpened, making him gaunt rather than chiselled. Even so, my heart ached just looking at him.

There were deep shadows under each of his emerald eyes, which were gazing at me with deep focus. The spirit inside me seemed to uncoil, stretching out inside me. It seemed... curious about the man standing in front of me.

I didn't blame them. Even I couldn't take my eyes off him.

"You... Here... How...?" I sputtered, unable to string a sentence together. My brain was in pieces. He was here.

"I'm glad to see you're okay," he said finally. His voice sounded as tired as he looked.

My heart throbbed. "How did you know we'd...?" I said, finally managing to get a coherent thought out of my mouth.

"After I hung up on Tory," Luc said, taking a half second to aim a hard glare over his shoulder at his assistant. Tory shrank under his forceful gaze. "The first thing I did was read your cards. But the results were confusing, like two threads twisted up together..."

The spirit gave a thrash inside.

"...so I had someone else check my blindspots," he finished.

With a wave of his hand, his circular spirit board materialized out of thin air and landed beside him with a thump. It stood upright, on its edge without any assistance. Its carved winking eyes seemed to stare out at me.

"I was not pleased to find out, from that someone, that you were all conspiring to ambush me," he said, turning to level another glare at the rest of the group.

Polly's eyes flashed. She stepped forward. "What the hell were we supposed to do, you asshole?!" she shouted, jabbing her finger at him. "You fucked off when Rachel needed you most. Did you know that Rachel's been possessed? Did your fucking spirits tell you that?"

For a moment, Luc just looked at Polly. "I know," he responded, before turning back to me. "But that's recent development. You weren't possessed when we last saw each other."

I shook my head. "I don't t-think so."

"You weren't," Luc said, narrowing his eyes at me... not with malice, but inspection, like his green eyes could pierce right through me. "I would've known. The real question is... Who could get past my barrier?"

Speaking with him like this, so matter-of-fact—like he hadn't up and left and broke my heart only days ago—was strange. My own voice in my head was shouting a thousand different things—ranging wildly from kiss him to kill him—but the only thing that was clear was that I was happy he was here, as pathetic as I knew it was.

"Matilda said that it was because of my arm," I said, running my fingers over the raised flesh. "She said that the Beast had ripped a hole through me, a hole that that can let things through... and that no barrier can protect me."

Luc's green eyes widened. "Matilda?" he turned back to Polly. "You brought Rachel to Matilda?"

"I didn't have much of a choice," Polly said, still glaring at him. "Matilda dragged her out of here as soon as she realized what was going on. Not that she helped, much." Polly scowled, remembering what Matilda had done to us. "But what else were we supposed to do? You. Left. Her."

Luc's face remained flat, not rising to Polly's jab. He seemed to be busy thinking something over. "And how did Matilda try to help Rachel?"

"She tried to give her an exorcism," Polly said, crossing her arms.

"Tried...?" Luc echoed.

"She tried, alright," Polly added. "She almost killed Rachel trying."

"It didn't work, obviously," I added, "Whoever—whatever—is inside me wouldn't budge. She said it was very stubborn."

The presence inside me bristled, like it was insulted.

"Matilda always was way too intense," Luc said, shaking his head. "I had no idea this was happening. I would've come back if I had known."

"You would've?" I asked, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them. My face flushed as I realized what I had said, and worse, how it had sounded. My voice had been so full of hope...

Polly frowned, not with malice but... She looked disappointed. Even the spirit twisted up inside me, disgusted at how pathetic I was.

Luc looked at me. His brows pressed together, his green eyes shimmering.

I turned away, too embarrassed to meet his gaze.

"Well, you're here now," Polly snapped, looking doubly irritated. "So, are you going to help us get that thing out of her? Or are you going to fuck off again?"

"Of course I'm going to help," Luc snapped back.

The presence twitched.

Instantly, my shoulders relaxed—I hadn't even realized the tension I had been carrying in them. He was going to help me. I really did feel better, even despite all our history. In my hurt, I had concocted this version of him that was evil and uncaring. In reality... He was still just Luc. Imperfect, secretive, but... he still cared.

"What are we going to do?" Tory said, finally chiming in.

"An exorcism is the only way to get an interloping spirit out," Luc explained, his gaze cooling again as it turned towards his assistant.

Another exorcism... My ease evaporated. Even the spirit inside me seemed to shiver with fear.

Luc noticed the change in my expression. "Don't worry," he said, his voice familiar and soft. "I don't use force like Matilda." His expression changed, falling slightly before his jaw became tense. "Though I imagine it will be unpleasant for you in a different way."

I chewed my lip. I really did not want to go through another exorcism, regardless of whatever method was used. And while the spirit inside me had promised to help me, I had no reason to put my trust in them.

So it had to go.

The spirit jerked around inside me.  It didn't seem happy.

"Fine," I said. "What do we have to do?"

Luc seemed suddenly distant, almost bashful. His sallow cheeks had turned a blotchy red. "I think you'd prefer if we did this in private."

"Oh hell no," Ethan snapped.

Polly joined in. "The fuck you will. I'm not going to leave you alone with her. I'm staying with you."

"Please, Polly," Luc replied. "I know I'm not your favourite person, but I'm not a monster. I'm not going to hurt her."

"You already have," she sneered.

He winced, keeping his eyes closed. "I know. But what's done is done. I won't hurt her again." He opened his eyes again, and it was as if the flame inside them had faded. "You called me here to help. You need to trust me." He turned me. "Can you do that? Trust me again, even if it's just for a little while?"

I gazed into those wounded emerald eyes. All I had ever wanted to do was trust him, but he had let me down one too many times. Would this time be any different? Could I really trust him?

Should I?

Did I have a choice?

I swallowed. "Yes, I... I can trust you."

Somehow this upset Luc more than encouraged him. His face tightened and he squeezed his eyes shut again. "Okay then."

With a deep breath, he turned and strode into the main room, crossing the floor to reach the big picture window. Once there he yanked the curtains shut, casting the room in an unnatural glow as the weak light filtered through the thick purple fabric.

"Everyone else should go upstairs," Luc said, his back still to us. "And leave me and Rachel down here."

"Why not use the apartment?" Tory asked.

"Because I doubt Rachel wants to go up there again," Luc said. "Especially with me. And I think it might make Polly feel more comfortable if Rachel and I were not behind a door with a lock."

Polly arched her eyebrows for a moment before narrowing her eyes. "You're not wrong," she huffed.

He wasn't. The idea of being alone with Luc in our old apartment, surrounded by the debris of our relationship, was particularly painful—regardless of necessity.

"Fine, then. We'll go upstairs," Ethan said. He looked at me. "But Polly and I will be waiting at the door, ready if you need us. Call for us and we'll be right there."

I nodded.

"And if you try to use magic to stop us," Tory added. "I'll fucking break down the damn door."

I blinked at him. Ethan's eyes went wide as he turned to look at his boyfriend. Even Polly looked a little impressed.

"Understood," Luc said, turning around. He was standing taller. He looked a lot more confident. "Now, shall we?"

With a last few hesitant looks, Polly and the others began to move towards the stairs. I stepped aside to let them pass, and each one of them gave me a look of worry as they walked by. I understood their concern. While I had said I trusted Luc there was something odd about how easily he agreed. I couldn't help but feel like I was missing something...

As I listened to them tromp up the stairs, Luc beckoned me forward. I took a deep breath, and stepped forward, into the dark.

My breath came heavy. It felt like the dark room was pressing in on me.

I came to a stop just in front of him, taking him in. In the dim light, it was harder to see the effects of stress on Luc's face. He looked more like his usual calm self, beautiful and magnetic. The dim light made his closeness seem almost claustrophobic. And I, unfortunately, couldn't pretend that I didn't like it.

"Now what?" I breathed.

The presence inside seemed to shudder... not with fear, but with something more. Something hungry.

"Rachel," he whispered, "I'm sorry."

Then he lunged.

🔮

😱 What do you think Luc is going to do to Rachel?

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