I hadn't really thought about Femi leaving. Now that Raine's family didn't need her, she had no reason to stay. Probably go teach at Lavania's School of Magically Gifted Teens. From what Lavania had said, she wanted Raine and Ingrid to attend her special school. That meant Torin and Andris would leave, too. I was going to be left friendless.

At least, I'd still have Echo and his Druid Grimnirs now that they were back in his life. I remembered what I wanted to tell Raine, lowered the window, and called out, "Hey."

Raine turned.

"You want to hang out this evening? Maybe after dinner?"

"Sure. Or have dinner with us. We have plenty of food."

"Okay. See ya." I waved and took off. As soon as I pulled out of the cul-de-sac, I placed my cell phone on the front passenger seat. "You okay in there, Dev?"

"Hmm?" he sounded drowsy.

"Are you still napping?"

"Yeah," he said. "I haven't been able to do that in years."

I frowned. "Really?"

"Really. Souls, lost or dark, are always on the move, hiding from one place to another, always on the lookout for Grimnir Bounty Hunters."

"Who are Grimnir Bounty Hunters?" Echo hadn't wanted to discuss them.

"An army of specialized reapers who go after specific souls for the goddess. Echo was one of them until recently. They know where we hide, how we hide, and can sense us as soon as they walk through a portal. Then there are Witches with the ability to find us. Teenagers who've watched too many sci-fi movies and think dispersing us with iron is cool."

I winced. "Sorry."

"No need to be. You never sliced me. Just threatened. However, because of you, I've found peace, even though it's only temporary."

I hoped it wasn't. "How did you survive all these years? And how come you don't suck life out of living things."

He chuckled. "Suck life... You have a mean way of putting it. I stopped using humans as vessels. It had become an obsession, and I didn't like how I felt when I wasn't inside someone."

"Did you always possess people?"

"No-oo. At first, I hid in empty caves and forests, shying away from people, but soon I wanted to be around them and upgraded to storage facilities, abandoned homes, and office buildings. Then I heard of possession. Lost souls don't move in groups, but our paths cross and you hear things. I started by possessing wild animals, then domesticated ones. Mortals love their pets. It felt nice to be loved, but animals make terrible vessels. Chasing my tail, humping some stranger's leg, or obsessing with scents is not my idea of fun."

I laughed. "I'm sure you were a wonderful dog."

"I sucked. Dogs don't have the will to fight possession, and I felt bad for them. I went back to wild animals, but after centuries, I caved. The lure of Mortals was too great, and I was too weak."

I pulled up into the parking lot of Moonbeam Terrace Nursing Home, but instead of the leaving the car, I waited for him to continue. I still had seven minutes to kill.

"I tried a Mortal, and it was the most amazing feeling. To eat real food, feel, love. I didn't care that the women thought their husbands or boyfriends had changed. I hopped from man to man. I was more attentive and loving. I tried to stay away from men with families..."

He became silent.

"It took a long time before I realized what I'd become," he added in a sad voice. "I was going through a Mortal a month. When not using a vessel, I affected things everywhere I went. People. Plants. Animals. I hated what I'd become. In fact, it was a wonder I rediscovered my humanity. Um, you're going to be late."

"Don't worry about that," I said. "How did you change?"

"Rhys and Nara are here. In fact, they've been following us since we left your friend's house."

I hadn't noticed. They stood by the entrance of the nursing home. I hated waiting for answers, but I didn't want to be late. I reached in the back seat for the pie. "Promise to finish that story, okay?"

"Aye, aye, Miss Jemison."

I grabbed my phone, cradled the pie in my arm, and bumped the door shut with my hip. The shrill sound of an ambulance pierced the air. Ambulances came to the nursing home all the time, so I didn't pay it any attention. Old people had so many ailments and most of them could become fatal fast. Occasionally, we lost a resident.

By the time I reached Rhys and Nara, the ambulance was screeching to a stop behind me. I stepped aside as the EMTs rushed into the building. I glanced at Nara then Rhys, but something in their expression set off warning bells. Before I could ask what was going on, the other two Grimnirs I'd seen with them at school appeared. My chest tightened with dread.

"What's going on, guys?" I asked, forgetting I was the only one who could see them.

CHAPTER 18. SHE IS BACK!.

"Go inside, Cora," Rhys said.

I searched the parking lot, but there were no dark souls lurking around. "They're here?" I whispered.

"Just go," Rhys ordered.

"Oh for goddess' sake," Nara snapped. "Your friend is dying."

I gawked at her with round eyes. "What?"

"The old lady," Nara added impatiently. "She just had a heart attack."

Mrs. Jepson. Oh crap! I ran inside the building just as the EMTs rolled her into the foyer. She was so still and gray. I stood with the nurses and workers and watched helplessly as they wheeled her toward the main entrance.

The woman behind the desk called out to someone, "The daughter is not picking up her phone."

I pushed the boxed pie into the hands of the nearest nurse. "Give that to Captain G and Mr. Reeds." I shifted my attention to the two EMTs. "Can I go with her?"

"Are you a relative?"

"No, but I'm a close friend. Ask them," I waved toward the front desk. "She doesn't listen to anyone but me."

"Miss, that's no reason to-"

"I have Lauren's other number," I lied, my eyes locking eyes with Mrs. Hightower, the highest ranking administrator in the room. "She will take my call." Another lie. All I knew was her place of work and that her mother was proud of her. "I just want to be there for Mrs. J., so she doesn't wake up in a strange place and see unfamiliar faces." That part was true.

Mrs. Hightower nodded curtly and hurried outside after the EMTs. I followed and caught the tail end of her sentence.

"...she took to the girl. She might have a better chance at locating her daughter, too. We'll keep trying as well."

"Okay, Mrs. Hightower," one of the EMTs said, helping his partner push the stretcher with Mrs. J inside the ambulance. He inclined his head toward me and murmured, "Hop in," then hurried to the driver's seat.

My eyes met with Rhys'. "I'm going to the hospital with her."

The EMT with Mrs. J assumed I was talking to him and looked up from adjusting Mrs. J's straps.

"I heard," he said, eyeing me curiously. "Get inside and close the door."

When I boarded the ambulance, Rhys and Nara hopped in, too. It was a tight fit on the narrow bench. If the EMT wondered why I sat close to his seat at the head of the stretcher when I had the entire bench to myself, he didn't show it. Accommodating invisible people while acting natural was an art I hadn't mastered yet.

I gripped the handle bar mounted on the wall and braced myself as we took off. Rhys and Nara didn't seem bothered by the motion of the ambulance. The EMT also seemed to have mastered the art of fiddling around with the machines while the ambulance careened around corners and barreled downhill toward town. Poor Mrs. J looked like she was already dead. Her skin was gray, her lips bluish. An oxygen-reading thingamajigger was on her finger, an oxygen mask covered her nose and mouth, and a blood pressure band hugged her arm.

"She's not going to make it," Nara whispered to Rhys.

"She will," I shot back.

The EMT assumed I was talking to him again and cocked his eyebrows.

"She will make it, right?" I improvised.

His expression gave nothing away. "What's your name?"

"Cora," I said.

"Are you studying to be a nurse's aide?"

"No. I'm a high-school volunteer," I said.

He nodded. "It's obvious you care about Mrs. Jepson, Cora, but with someone with her condition and of such advanced age, anything is possible."

"He's right," Nara said. "She's-"

"Shut up!" The EMT stopped whatever he was doing and studied me with narrowed eyes. "Uh, sorry. That's me saying, 'no way'." That was so lame. "She needs to talk to her daughter before, uh, she gets too sick, or they'll both regret it." I glared at Nara.

She smirked. "Why will they regret it?"

I ignored her, my focus shifting to Mrs. J.

"Is she one of your cases?" Nara continued. "I didn't know you helped Mortals, too."

"Is she breathing?" I asked, continuing to ignore Nara. Didn't she get that I couldn't talk to her without confusing the EMT?

"Yes, she is. You see this?" The guy tapped the sensor on her finger. "It's called the oximeter. It monitors..."

He pointed out various instruments around the ambulance and answered my questions without acting irritated. He was in the middle of explaining symptoms of a heart attack and how to deal with it when Mrs. J jerked as though having an epileptic seizure. Then she went still.

"What happened?" I screeched.

"Her heart stopped!" the EMT snapped and reached for scissors. He ripped Mrs. J's gown and bared her wrinkly chest. I never knew the woman had breasts. She was always hunched over in her wheelchair. Then he reached for the defibrillator and warned me to stand back. But that wasn't the reason I started to panic. Mrs. J's soul was separating from her body. Slowly as though doing a sit-up.

"Told you her time was up," Nara said.

I wanted to tell her to shut up again. "She's going to be alright. She has to."

The EMT ignored me and charged the paddles of the defibrillator. He pressed them to her chest.

Mrs. J's body jerked as the electric charge zipped through her. Her soul continued to rise from her body. She was at ninety degrees, sitting up. Looking confused, she turned her head and zeroed in on Rhys and Nara.

They didn't seem bothered by her scrutiny. Immortality and centuries of watching people die had probably made them numb to death and souls. At least, they didn't reach for their scythes. My humanity made me celebrate life and hate death. The EMT was performing CPR on Mrs. J.

Her soul didn't move. She was still studying Nara and Rhys.

"No, no, no, Mrs. J," I muttered. "Not yet. Go back."

As though she'd heard me, her eyes turned to me and widened in recognition. I knew the moment she decided something was wrong. Fear flashed in her eyes, and she looked down at her body.

"I can help her," Dev's voice reached me as though from far.

I yanked my phone from my pocket. "What?"

"Remember the reason I don't suck life out of everything? This is why." I had no idea what he meant, but he slithered out of my phone without explaining. The EMT was busy recharging the paddles. A flash of light at the corner of my eye and I whipped around to see Rhys and Nara pull out their artavo.

"Don't!" I yelled.

The EMT was about to zap Mrs. J again and assumed I was talking to him. "One more word out of you and I will kick you out of the ambulance!" he snarled.

Dev grabbed Mrs. J's soul and pulled the two of them back into her body. What the...? What was he doing? A quick look at Nara and Rhys also showed their shock. At least they weren't pointing their mini scythes at Mrs. J. Then I saw something that gave me hope, or a reason to freak out. Her eyelids fluttered just as the EMT brought the pads toward her chest.

"No!" I pushed his arms away.

He cursed. "Are you crazy?"

"Look at her. She's okay. She's coming around."

He glanced down at Mrs. J. Her eyelids fluttered again.

"See? She's okay." I wasn't sure whether it was Dev making her eyes flutter or Mrs. J. The EMT put his defibrillator away and checked her pulse. I wanted to ask if she was going to be okay, but I didn't dare. I'd already pissed him off enough.

I reached out and touched Mrs. J's hand with the tips of my fingers. Her skin was dry and thin, but warm. Before I could lean back, she reached out and grabbed my wrist.

My heart leapt to my throat. She tugged, a little too strong for someone who'd just had a heart attack. Twice. It was probably Dev. "What is it, Mrs. J?"

Her eyes opened, and her mouth moved. I inched closer.

"I saw you," she whispered.

Okay, so it was her, not Dev, speaking. What was he doing inside her? "Yes, I'm here, Mrs. J. I'm not going anywhere."