Fucking Cian. Why couldn’t she just enjoy being with Jeff without comparing him to the vampire?

Jeff started to let her slide out of his arms, but then changed his mind. He dragged her back and kissed her.

It was the sweetest kiss she had ever experienced. His fingers cradled her face as his lips pressed lightly to hers for a few tender moments. Gently releasing her mouth, his eyes peered into hers. “No more. Don’t let him stand between us anymore. Time is too short and too much could go wrong.”

Samantha nodded, her heart beating hard inside of her chest. “You’re right.” Her lips tingled from the kiss. Tiny tremors of delight were spiraling through her and her spirit felt lighter, happier.

Jeff’s solemn expression disappeared into a bright smile. “Good.”

Tilting her head, Samantha gazed into his warm eyes and touched his cheek before kissing him tenderly. It deepened gradually into a more intense kiss than before. Jeff enfolded her in his arms as she buried her hand into his hair. Slowly, they both became aware of their very public display and drew away reluctantly. She giggled as she wiped her pink lipstick off his lips and he kissed her fingers. Exchanging smiles, they held hands as they continued to the footpath.

It didn’t seem as ominous as before, much to Samantha’s relief. Jeff drew her to the side of the path to watch the few people under the footbridge make their way to the other side. There wasn’t anyone following close behind, so he waited until the last person left the bridge before opening the plastic bag and dumping the spell bag onto the ground.

“Oh, God! Are you sure it’s not the smell that keeps them away?” Samantha gasped, her nose on fire.

Jeff pulled a small bottle from his bag. Wincing, he was obviously trying not to smell, or breathe in the noxious fumes from the woven bag. Unstopping the bottle, he motioned to Samantha to move past the spell as he also stepped back.

“We want to be inside the radius when it pops,” Jeff informed her.

Once they were in position, he poured three drops of brown liquid onto the bag.

Samantha jolted when an audible bang went off and the air shimmered around her.

“Whoa! That was hardcore. Aimee really knows her shit,” Jeff said in awe.

“That was kinda scary,” Samantha admitted.

A jogger was coming up the path swiftly, but within fifteen feet of the footbridge, he stumbled to a stop. Looking warily at the bridge, he started jogging back in the direction he had come.

“It’s working! We got ten minutes!” Jeff grabbed Samantha’s hand and drew her along the footbridge.

The long expanse was empty now that the spell was in effect. The long walkway lined with metal railings appeared normal and not at all daunting now that Samantha was actually there. The dark water lapped up against the concrete pylons as the sounds of the city created a soft soundscape to the scene. It was peaceful and Samantha began to wonder if she had even seen the ghost of Cassidy Longoria.

“Do you sense anything?” Jeff asked. He had pulled a small device from his pack and was staring at it intently.

“What’s that?” Samantha pointed at what looked like an archaic cellphone.

“EVP. It reads cold spots and stuff like that,” Jeff answered, sweeping it back and forth. “Why don’t you start walking down the path?”

Samantha sighed. “Okay.”

“Try to relax, I guess. She contacted you once, she’ll do it again.”

“Are you sure?”

“No, but I’m hoping.” Jeff gave his watch a wary glance. “And hopefully in the next nine minutes.”

“No pressure at all there, Jeff,” Samantha said under her breath.

Slowly, she walked forward. She took small steps, her hands slightly held out from her sides, palms outward, trying to feel for any cold spots. If her memory was correct, she had been near the center of the walkway when she had first heard Cassidy calling out to her. With the sun shining brightly and the sounds of the traffic rumbling overhead, she wondered if the ghost would actually appear. The previous morning a thick mist had provided enough of a spooky element to compel a ghost to reveal itself.

“Samantha.”

“Yeah, Jeff?” she answered.

“I didn’t say anything,” Jeff responded.

Samantha flung a startled look over her shoulder toward Jeff just as she felt a cold wisp encircle her ankle. “I think I found her.” Swiftly kneeling, Samantha held out her hands, skimming them over the cement. There was a distinctly cold area in just one spot and it seemed to be growing in size.

“It’s a cold spot,” Jeff said excitedly, joining her. He waved his EVP back and forth, watching the results excitedly. “It’s growing, too.”

“Cassidy?” Samantha called out. “You there?

The coldness wrapped around her turned to ice, forcing a startled gasp from Samantha’s lips. Cassidy’s dead face emerged from the concrete as though rising out of water. Once her body was clearly visible, the dead woman’s eyes opened.

“Samantha,” Cassidy said, her fingers tight around Samantha’s leg.

“She’s here now,” Samantha informed Jeff, tossing a quick glance in his direction.

His widened eyes and open mouth said it all. He could see her, too.

“Jeff?”

“Sam, I see her. I can see her!” Jeff exclaimed.

“Stop geeking out. Help me! What do I do?”

Snatching up his bag, Jeff rummaged through it excitedly. “Talk to her.”

“Samantha, he hurt me,” Cassidy cried out. Her grievous wounds looked garish in the sunlight. Her flesh, tanned in life, was now gray and bloodless. “He hurt me so much. He wouldn’t stop.”

“I’m so sorry, Cassidy. I am,” Samantha answered. She tentatively forced her quivering fingers toward the woman’s wrist. The grip on her ankle was pretty tight, but didn’t feel like anything more than icy air. Curious if she could feel the ghost, Samantha laid her hand on the specter’s arm. To her shock, she felt substance. It didn’t feel like flesh, but it was almost solid. Wrapping her fingers around the dead woman’s wrist, she felt it gaining mass.

“Okay, let me snap a few pictures,” Jeff was muttering, raising his digital camera.

“No!” Cassidy lashed out at him, her hand impacting with the camera. It flew through the air, hit the cement walkway, skittered, then tumbled into the lake.

“What the hell?” Jeff gasped.

“No! Not like this!” Cassidy wailed. She continued to lash out at Jeff, flailing in anger.

“Cassidy, he’s not the one who hurt you!” Samantha grabbed onto the woman’s shoulders and tried to wrestle her back.

Jeff fell back as the ghost clawed at him. Intestines spilled out of her nearly empty torso to lie wetly on the ground as she crawled closer to Jeff, trying to gain purchase.

“You let him do this to me!” Cassidy wailed. “You didn’t protect me!”

Samantha tried to haul the dead woman back, but she was growing heavier and stronger with every second.

With a yelp, Jeff grabbed one of the ghost’s hands, trying to keep it from his face. Red scratch marks already marred his arms and his left cheek. “Samantha, let go of her!”

“She’ll hurt you!”

“Let go!”

Samantha let out a cry of frustration, releasing Cassidy. “Cassidy, stop hurting him!”

Cassidy wailed, striking out at Jeff angrily, but her body lost cohesion, misted, and sank away into the cold cement. Gasping, Jeff and Samantha stared at each other in shock.

“What was that?” Jeff cried out.

“Why are you asking me?” Samantha rubbed her arms vigorously. Holding Cassidy had felt like holding a block of ice. She was still shivering.

Gingerly touching his bleeding cheek, Jeff said in an awed voice, “She was tangible, Samantha! That never happens. She even scratched me!”

Samantha sat on her heels and tried to stop her teeth from chattering as she spoke. “It’s not my fault!”

“I mean sometimes entities manage to knock something over, maybe scratch you a little, but I felt her nails. I felt her body!” Jeff stared at the scratches on his body in amazement. “When you touched her, she became solid.”

Shaking her head vigorously, Samantha didn’t want to acknowledge that what he was saying was true. “No, no. No, that isn’t it.”

“Yes, it is. When you stepped into the area that she haunts, that gave her enough energy to call out to you. When you touched her, she gained substance. You did that! Holy shit, Samantha, you did that!”

Trying not to cry, Samantha whispered, “What does that mean?”

“You’re a phasmagnus!” Jeff stared at her in awe. “One of the most rare supernatural abilities around. You can call the specters of the dead, make them real, have them do your bidding.”

Wiping away a tear, Samantha continued to shiver. She felt a bit sick to her stomach and overwhelmed by what he was saying. But wasn’t it true? When she had let go of Cassidy and ordered her to leave Jeff alone, Cassidy had stopped her attack, lost form, and vanished.