I managed to snag a can of Raid and the long, extended lighter a split second before my ass connected with cheap linoleum flooring. I turned, got a visual, and aimed the spout of the flammable contents at my attacker. My hands remained steady while I placed the lighter in front of roach-be-gone and studied the possessed canine.
“Don’t make me do it,” I warned, flicked on the lighter, and prepared to press down on the plastic nozzle.
The dog charged and I went for broke. The flame created by my quick thinking was impressive. The demented beast yelped and backed away as fire scorched its muzzle. A part of me would have felt guilty if the damned thing wasn’t so eager to rip out my throat. The minute the dog backed away, I went for the gun tucked in the back of my jeans. The canine snorted several times, sized me up, and I knew only one of us would make it out of the kitchen alive.
“Sorry, pooch.”
When the raging beast rushed me again, I leveled my Ruger and squeezed the trigger. My aim was dead on, and I hit the large mutt directly between the eyes. It dropped to the floor and didn’t even twitch. There was a moment of silence before loud crashes came from the adjoining room.
“Rhiannon!” Goose screamed.
“I’m coming! I’m coming!” I yelled and strode past the dirt-napping puppy.
For the umpteenth time I questioned why I had agreed take this job with Goose. I knew it wouldn’t be easy. We were dealing with a ghost that wasn’t a ghost, but rather an entity that had taken up the entire house we’d been hired to exorcise. At the time the money was too good to pass up. Now, with bloody bite marks and scrapes on my arms, legs, and face, I was beginning to wonder if it wouldn’t have been smarter to pick up extra shifts at The Black Panther.
“Rhiannon!” Goose was really panicking now. His voice was closer, indicating he was hauling ass in my direction.
“Keep your panties on!” I snapped and rushed around the corner. Goose looked as bad as I did. His nose was busted, and his chest was covered in blood.
“It’s coming. Right now.” There was a sobering amount of fear in his expression, not that I blamed the poor bastard. He was the hook; I was the ace in the hole. “Do you have everything? Do you remember what to do?”
“I did my homework, remember?” I reached inside the holster pouch under my arm, retrieved the salt inside, and went for the butterfly knife in my pocket.
Something invisible barreled into Goose and knocked him back several feet. He hit the wall across from me, slid down the grimy wallpaper, and started to writhe and thrash. It was like a seizure, which I anticipated. The fucking entity was taking over the only person in the house who wasn’t blessed by the church.
Poor Goose. I could only imagine how it felt to be possessed.
When he went still, I rushed to him, snagged his arm, and dragged his heavy ass to the center of the room. I only had a minute or so before the entity took over completely.
The clock was ticking.
I grasped the knife, cut into the meaty portion of my palm, and made a fist. Blood oozed between my fingers and splattered on the carpet. I walked around Goose’s body, making a large circle. When that was done, I grabbed the salt container and poured a portion on top of my blood. After I finished, I released a shaky breath and put the salt in my satchel and the knife in my pocket.
There. It was done. I was about to banish the thing that wouldn’t die to the other side signed, sealed, and delivered. The entity completely took over Goose and sat up. It was frightening to see my partner and close friend’s face distort into an evil grin with drool streaming down his chin.
“Bitch, do you think you can contain me?” he asked and rose to his feet. I smirked until he stepped right past the barrier of salt and blood.
Oh shit.
“I’m going to kill you.” Goose leered, his sidelong glance malicious.
“You wouldn’t be the first to tell me that.” I quickly composed myself and tried to figure out what the hell to do. When Goose and I had planned this, there had been no warning that the damned thing would be strong enough to break a binding circle.