Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye by Imari Jade

advantage?”
    “Not much,” Isabella replied. She walked around the room, clearing her mind of all unnecessary thoughts. Blood began oozing from the walls.
    “What’s that shit?” Marc asked.
    “It looks like blood,” Clifton answered.
    Marc went back to setting up the equipment. “I’m so glad we brought in everything we needed.”
    “Are you trying to block me out of your head, Vanquisher,” the spirit asked Isabella.
    “Yes, I don’t like things reading my mind without my permission.”
    “Does that include Alesandro Roma?”
    Isabella stopped in her tracks. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    The lights flickered off and on again. “You lie, Vanquisher. His mind is linked with yours even as he slumbers.”
    “Funny.”
    “I grow tired,” the voice said.
    Irene started to choke.
    Isabella looked over in her direction. Irene’s hands were around her own throat.
    Collena moved toward her assistant. “Something’s cutting off her breath.”
    “I told you I was getting tired,” the voice replied.
    “Release her,” Isabella shouted. “She is an innocent.”
    “No,” the voice shouted back. “I will collect every soul here and then I will collect yours.”
    It attacked Marc next, strangling the breath out of him.
    “I said let them go,” Isabella shouted again. “Leave them alone. It’s me you want.”
    Marc and Irene recovered quickly and scrambled to their feet. Clifton turned on the battery operated scanner and began sweeping the room for demon signatures.
    “Show yourself,” Isabella told the voice.
    “As you wish, Vanquisher.” The lights went out and everything went dark except for the blue ray of the scanner.

Chapter Twelve
    Shane, the chauffeur, didn’t like what was going on inside the building. Lights were going off and on and he heard some scary shit over his radio. Shane stepped outside the navy blue Mercedes. He walked over to the door of Lincoln House and stepped inside. His action was met by screams somewhere inside the place. One of them sounded like Irene. He continued walking toward the sound until he came to the main ballroom. He pulled on the doors but found them locked. Shane tried to ram his shoulders against it to open it but the door wouldn’t budge. He tried again but he still couldn’t open it.
    Something lifted him from the floor. “What the hell?” Shane struggled but the force was too great and it threw him bodily toward the entrance of Lincoln House. His body slammed into the wall, knocking the wind out of him and sending pain through his body.
    Shane dropped to the floor and crawled out of the door. People walking by in the neighborhood stood and looked at him but no one tried to assist. He crawled to the car and pulled himself up. He opened the door and slid himself in behind the wheel. He reached for his cell phone and punched in the number.
    “This is Shane,” he told the party on the other line. “We need backup. Send Taj and Maestro to Lincoln House immediately.” He disconnected the call and slumped back in the seat. Whatever it was inside the building had the ability to do more than one thing at a time. He, on the other hand, knew his limitations.
    * * * *
    It was the ugliest thing she had ever seen in her life and Isabella had seen some doozies. It was big, light blue, with bulging eyes and tentacles. It looked much like a jelly fish/octopus combination, but had more layers. Something foul oozed from its pores. The others covered their noses with their hands…all except her.
    The thing reached for Isabella with one of its tentacles but Ernie stepped in the way. The tentacle caught him across the arm, slicing through the skin. Ernie howled and grabbed for the arm to stop the flow of blood. “It’s razor sharp,” he warned the others. “Stay away from the tentacles.”
    “You cannot stop me, mortals. I will have Isabella.” It reached for her again but Isabella ducked, escaping its grasp.
    The room shook around them. “Do