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I ducked under the tape and stopped just inside the trees I didn’t want to disturb the murder scene any more than necessary and, besides, I really didn’t need to go close to where the victim had died to feel his soul

I could feel it from here

I couldn’t actually see him, but that really didn’t matter He was here The thick chill said asin the air, giving hi mine

I had no idea of his naer?"

Why was I murdered? I came here to start a new life, not have it ended

His words were angry and his fury filled h my body like a wave But his stateh me I’d heard a similar complaint once before

But where?

"What is your name?"

As I asked the question, awareness washed over er alone in the strand of trees - and the thick scent of warled with sweat said it was Harris I internally cursedthe dead man’s soul

Marcus Marcus Landsbury

Which wasn’t a name that seemed even remotely familiar

"How did you end up in this field, Marcus?"

I don’t know Onehome, the next I’soh me I’d heard this before, even if I couldn’t remember where

"What sort of costume?"

A red devil mask It had horns He hesitated I swear he had cloven hooves, as well

Again that sense of fa else you can tell ? S - really strong He had to be, didn’t he, because I’ arit could have been a professional hit Especially given they’d probably used sos like that weren’t available over the counter - though easily enough gotten on the blacklike that?

I rubbed y continued to floay fro "And what did you do, Marcus, that warranted being slaughtered in such a fashion?"

I’ve done ry, ricocheting aroundback tears "It obviously matters to someone, Marcus, or you wouldn’t have been killed in the y like ato buckle under the strain I tried locking them, but knew I’d have to end this soon, answers or not

It shouldn’t o!

Well, sootten "Tell ood does it do now?

"I guess that depends on whether you want to stay here haunting this scrawny patch of trees, orat a faster rate now, andto ache fiercely My knees suddenly unlocked, and I hit the dirt

I braced myself with one hand as Marcus said, I raped several women

"Define ’woested there was more than rape involved -

especially if he’d been put away for a while The sad fact was, courts and judges didn’t treat rape as seriously as they should

Anger swirled, thick and sharp The stabbing pain got worse, and suddenly I was struggling to breathe

Okay, it was girls Sixteen-year-olds We held them for several days and did theht in my brain, but before I could question him more, onizing pain I huggedback and forth, then realized he was still there, still draining me

"Go," I whispered "Find whatever peace you damn well can"

He went Not happily, not easily, but he went, and the draining stopped "Harris," I said to thequietly behind me "If you don’t want the criht want to help rabbedht be We’d barely led out of his grip and staggered away before losing the little I had in my stomach

God, I felt awful If I’d let Marcus drain h with the way , it had co me a half-empty water bottle "Rinse youraway the bitter taste then spitting it out I repeated the action and felt a little better, though

I forced ht and handed hiray tank top that clung to his body and eth, and his dark hair was da up at the ends But his eyes were blue - a blue the color of the ocean that surrounded Dunedan - not black

Why was I expecting black? Who did he remind me of? Suddenly that question seemed vital, and yet I just couldn’t answer it

Why, hy?

He shoved the small water bottle back into its pocket on the side of his pants, then said, his expression gri a restricted area?"

"Well, if you’d had a man stationed here like you were supposed to, it wouldn’t have been a problem, would it?"

He didn’t look amused "People around these parts respect the law They know - "

"As I know" I rubbed ht now "But people around these parts probably can’t talk to souls, either I can But it has to be done shortly after the death, otherwise they get too weak to talk"

And if I could remember stuff like that, then why couldn’t I remember the ione throughstuff, so total chaos behind

Harris stared at ed It was hard to knohether he believed me or not

"I think you and I need to sit down and have a serious talk"

"As long as it’s so to eat Otherwise I’m likely to pass out on you"

He raised an eyebrow, but all he said was "I know just the place You need a hand?"