Free Possessed by Kira Saito Page B

the way the china white bathtub glowed
as dozens of flames danced around it. In an otherwise dark room, it
appeared utterly haunting. As candle light illuminated Lucus’ mud
stained face, he was a vision that was ghostly but still undeniably
romantic.
    A lock of dark hair fell over his left
eye and rested on his cheekbone. He turned on the tap and examined
the ingredients that he had laid on the ledge of the tub. It looked
like such a normal, everyday thing to do, preparing a bath. I
wondered if he knew how to make iced coffee or change a flat tire.
Did he know how to drive? Did he like cupcakes? Lucus caught me
staring, our eyes met, and he gave me a slight smile. He scratched
his forehead and with uncertainty grabbed some red brick
dust.
    I couldn’t help but laugh. “You have no
idea what you’re doing, do you?”
    He glanced at me through lowered lashes
and there was a short silence before he responded. “No,” he
admitted reluctantly.
    “ You really are a mopey
prince who’s been locked up in a big old tower,” I quoted
Grand-mere as I walked over to where he stood and took the dust
from him and mixed it with the right amount of salt and oak leaves.
“That’s how it’s done,” I said playfully, as I threw it into the
water.
    He shrugged and turned towards me.
“I’ve always had everything done for me; sometimes I suppose I can
be a bit useless,” he said, as he placed his arms around me and
drew me close. I could smell hot peppers and rum on his
breath.
    See queen, even he thinks he’s useless
and worthless, why can’t you just see that already?
    “ I don’t think you’re
useless,” I said, as I tried to ignore Ivan’s rambling.
    “ That’s exactly how I felt
out in the cemetery. Powerless,” he said, as his glance held
mine.
    I shook my head. “If it wasn’t for you,
I’m pretty sure Sabrina and I would still be out there bitching at
one another. At least she’s semi-safe in the bedroom.”
    Murder/suicide is what I predict for
you two.
    He was quiet for a moment and his face
went dark and reflective. The sound of running water became
unbearably loud, and I instinctively braced myself for bad news.
“If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be here at all. You wouldn’t be
putting yourself in danger for my sake. What happened to Sabrina
tonight is my fault. Everything that is happening to you is my
fault.” He let out a low sigh. “I’ve realized that I’m being
awfully selfish by asking you to stay. I had no right to place you
in this position. My ghosts, sins and burdens shouldn’t be yours to
carry. You belong in the land of the living. Not here. Only the
dead and the damned belong here.”
    “ No. Don’t say what I think
you’re going to say,” I said.
    He took a deep breath. “After what’s
happened over the past few days, it’s clear that this is no place
for you. The spirits and ghosts are so much stronger here, and who
knows what they’re capable of doing, especially when a powerful
queen is around. I’ve interrupted your life and your friendship
with Sabrina. I never intended to do any of that. If Louis is
really bound in flesh and bone, I can understand why he would be
furious with me, but you don’t deserve any of his rage, you’ve done
nothing to deserve it. I think it’s best that you
leave…”
    Yes! See, I told you he knows he should
stay here and rot. Don’t be a self-sacrificing girl with low
self-esteem, queen.
    I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
In fact, it kind of made me more than a little angry. I pulled away
from him. “Oh my God! What the hell did you think would happen
here? For crying out loud, you’re under a voodoo curse!”
    “ But that was
before…”
    “ Before what?”
    He sighed. “Before I…” He went
silent.
    Frustrated, I decided to do the
talking. “Listen carefully. This is the first and last time we’re
going to have this conversation. You should have thought about all
of that before you invited me here and then begged