Free Love Beyond Sight by Rebecca Royce Page A

They almost never knew they were dead.
    The ghost in front of him huddled in the corner, head down. She looked to be in her mid-twenties, which was such a shame because that meant she had died very young. Her hair, plastered to her head, looked like it had been dark brown. It was hard to tell. Ghosts faded out until they were almost all gray. The longer they stayed in that state, the more silver they became. This one didn't seem like she'd been dead very long.
    It was a good guess to think she had perished in the fire that must have run through this place.
    "I'm afraid I can't help you, ma'am." He hoped the woman spoke more English than just "help me". If she didn't speak French or English he wasn't going to be much good to her. What if all she knew how to say was help me? One time a ghost had screamed at him for two hours in German. That had been a bad day.
    "Please, the flames came."
    Well that answered his question as to whether she had died in the fire. "It's better not to relive it."
    Christophe didn't know if what he said constituted the truth. Maybe it helped them to discuss it. But it didn't help him to hear it. Not at all. He didn't have time for the nightmares the ghost's death stories would inspire in him. Back in his regular life, there were papers to grade, Ruby to woo, and Leonardo to find. No ghosts. No death. No time.
    "Can you help me?"
    He shook his head. This was the most frustrating part. "I can't. I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to do anything about your situation."
    "Am I dead?"
    He nodded. "Yes."
    The tingling in his fingertips was the only warning he had before he felt himself pulled out of the reality with the ghost, heading back to his own. He hated visits like the one he'd just had. Why couldn't the powers that be drop him off in a museum or a bar? Why did it always have to be doom, gloom, and kidnappings?
     
    * * * *
     
    One second he walked on the beach, the next he hit the ground hard. It felt like a million bolts of electricity had invaded his body and Drew had no idea from where they had come. When he could move, he raised his neck to look around. He couldn't feel the demon anywhere.
    What he could feel was the massive headache invading his mind. Something had happened. He raised himself to his knees. A sudden electrical storm hadn't come out of nowhere, struck him down, and then moved on without warning. There wasn't a cloud in the sky.
    Pain . It was almost impossible to think past it. A vision appeared before his eyes. Marina, she lay on the ground, unconscious. He blinked and it went away. Drew jumped to his feet even as his body protested the movement. Something had struck Marina down and he'd felt the residual effects.
    His heart beat wildly against his ribcage. Was she dead? He turned and tried to run for his house. It wasn't far. Gods, was she dead?
    He sent his consciousness out searching for her. Marina?
    His call received no answer and he wanted to fall to his knees and cry. No. She might not be able to hear him, period. He'd done that to them. That had been the point in moving so far away from her. They couldn't be connected this far over space. There was an ocean separating them.
    She might not be able to hear him even if she was back up and running around.
    Maybe. His heart plummeted into his stomach. She could be dead. Again. And this time it would be his fault because he'd left her alone. He loved her so much. Why was it that whatever he did he ended up causing her so much pain?
     
    * * * *
     
    Ruby had finally gotten the daisies and the garbage bags out of her apartment. She wiped the sweat off her brow. Why had the incidents started again? She'd been so careful.
    Ruby .
    She jumped, whirling around in the hallway outside of her apartment. Was someone calling her?
    "Hello?" No one was in the well-lit area. She could see from one end all the way to the other. No one could be hiding; no one could be playing a joke without her seeing who it was.
    Truth was—she had to be