Dead Living (Spirit Caller Book 5) by Krista D Ball Page B

about it. I tried other phrases and things that had worked before, but nothing.
    “Why can’t I banish them?” I shouted through my opened window.
    “Powerful summoning. Requires a banisher,” Connie shouted back, thrusting two hands into two different spirits who’d turned their attention to the cabin.
    “Like those old Viking ghosts,” Javier shouted.
    An agonized, heart-wrenching sound escaped Jeremy. I snapped around to look at him, just as he screamed, “Get out of my head!”
    “What’s wrong? Jeremy, what’s wrong?”
    He continued to scream, falling to his knees and dragging me down with him. “I’m not listening! Do you hear me? I’m not listening!”
    “What? What is the matter?” I shook him. “Jeremy, speak to me!”
    “They…the voices…I’m not listening!” Anger like I’d never heard in him before rose up in his voice and he shouted, “I’m not afraid, you bastards. Do you hear me? I’m not afraid of you!”
    The tension in the air snapped. An energy that made the hairs on my arms stand up washed over me and, just like that, the spirits faded away. Gone nearly as quickly as they’d arrived.
    I brushed a hand across Jeremy’s tear-streaked face. “Are you all right?”
    Sweat beaded along his hairline. He was trembling, but he gave me a shaky smile. “They tried to get into my head and mess me up. But I’m not afraid of their bullshit.”
    I touched his face and wiped away his tears. “I sure am.”
    Jeremy laughed, a desperate, choked sound, and he hugged me to him. The others poured into the cabin, and he asked, “What happened? What are you three doing here?”
    “Five,” Dema said contemptuously. “Spirit Caller, please tell the Tall Man to learn how to count. Do they not teach that in your prisons?”
    “I think you mean schools, Dema,” Connie said.
    “Same thing,” Manny said bitterly.
    “We’re here to rescue you,” Javier said.
    I grasped for the blanket I’d lost in the fall and wrapped it around my semi-naked torso. Anything to cover me up was good. “Why do we need rescuing? And why is Connie here? And why does Isabella have a sword like Javier’s?”
    “Um…” Connie said self-consciously.
    “Well, see…” Manny began, but he stopped, motioning at Javier.
    “Connie is one of mine,” Javier said briskly. “She came to St. Anthony,” he pronounced it Saint Anthony. We all rolled our eyes. “I needed someone in Newfoundland.” He pronounced it it New-found-lund.
    “NEWF-in-land,” me, Jeremy, Manny, Connie, and Dema all said in unison.
    Javier chuckled and said, “ New-FIN-lund . Regardless, I sent her to look after Manny. I wasn’t expecting…this.” He gave them a knowing grin. “Young love never really changes, does it?”
    “Wait…so Isabella isn’t really your sister?” I asked Connie.
    “Oh, she is. She was here to check up on everyone.”
    “And Manny knows who you are?”
    Manny nodded. “Yeah. Sorry, Rachel, she said I couldn’t tell anyone.”
    I looked at Dema. “Did you know?”
    “The demon child threatened to banish me if I told you.”
    Connie rolled her eyes. “I’m a Banisher. Spirits without a true self-will are destroyed forever whenever they are near me,” Connie said. She nodded at Dema. “Javier has instructed me not to harm you. As long as you do not harm or threaten me.”
    Dema glared at her before rolling her eyes. “Spirit Caller, I am displeased with your choice in companions.”
    “And where exactly have you been?” I demanded of Dema.
    “Avoiding banishers,” she said, and I’m sure there was a hint of offense in her voice. “They know of me and sent hunters after me. I had to contact them for help.”
    “Dema alerted me to the situation,” Connie said. Her fun and frills were gone; replaced with a professional shrewdness I’d never seen before in her. “Isabella was returning to town for a vacation, and Javier was planning to join her. Manny and I helped hide Dema until we were sure