SORRY for the wait! I had exams . . . then my party, then I was sick for almost a week - still am. Haven't eaten properly in days, lol. A blessing and a curse.

Well, in honour of my sickness, you have been granted with another chapter. We get to hear a speal from Rhys Miller, here. He's a bit more . . . articulate.

Finally.

Love Lolly!

P.S. ITALY (and Christmas) in FOURTEEN DAYS!

'CeeCee.'

I held my breath. It was all I could do to keep my voice from cracking and dying. I was freaking out as it was. Everything was weird . . . I felt sick to the stomach, and I wanted to throw up. That man that Cee had just told me all about was a murderer. He wasn't just a killer, though. He . . . destroyed girls. He first tricked them, after killing them, he MULTILATED them.

And just knowing that he'd stuck his tongue in my mouth yesterday, was more than I could bear.

I mean, okay, so it was more PAUL'S tongue and not so much HIS, but . . . you get the point.

'CeeCee,' I said, 'Is there any more? Read more. I need to know – '

'What?' CeeCee sounded a little panicky. 'You're acting funny, Suze. Cool it, okay? It's all right. Just - '

'Read more. Then get me to Father Dom's office,' my voice sounded far too loud for my ears to handle. 'I need to talk to him.'

Angrily.

He had to have known all of this about Rhys Miller. I mean, from the first time I mentioned him, he probably would have had the intelligence to research him. I knew he knew. And he didn't TELL me any of this.

So yeah, the priest and I needed to have WORDS.

'Um,' CeeCee said fearfully, rifling through pages, 'Er . . . I didn't read this bit . . . okay, basically Rhys Miller's what criminal profilers call an anger-excitation rapist. That means his type is considered to be the most dangerous and elusive. They reckon that type of guy exhibits antisocial personality disorder. He's often perceived as charming and intelligent, which makes him rather difficult to catch.'

I bit my lip – hard.

'The anger-excitation rapist,' CeeCee said weirdly, ' may or may not choose his victims selectively. Often sadistic, he will often murder his victim to prevent her from identifying him, or for his own self-gratification. Yeah, that sounds like our Rhysie-boy, huh. I didn't know they had types of rapists. Wow, that's creepy – '

The most dangerous and elusive . . .

Sadistic . . . self-gratification . . . Rhys got OFF on killing girls . . . oh, God . . .

'Are you sure you don't want to go get a drink or something?' she sounded nervous, and a little forceful. 'Or eat something with sugar in it? Suze, have you even eaten breakfast this morning?'

This wasn't important at the moment!

I shook my head vaguely. 'I wasn't hungry.'

'Suze!' CeeCee sounded pissed. 'That is so not healthy. Come on, I've got some fruit in my locker - '

'No,' I tugged my arm from her hand, gripping my stick very hard. 'I don't need food. I need to talk to Father Dominic. Just - ' I broke off, and took a deep breath. Why didn't people just take me where I wanted to go? Why did they always assume they knew what was best for me? Why didn't they just let me do what I wanted? Shouldn't I have that right? After so many of my OTHER rights were stricken from me at birth?

Did people have to question my EVERY request as well?

I gritted my teeth. 'CeeCee. I'm acting like a complete freak at the moment. I am completely aware of this. I don't need something to eat. I don't need anything else, but to go to Father Dominic's office. There's something really important I need to tell him.'

'Is it about what I just read you?' she asked sharply. 'Suze, he's dead. He's not going to - '

'You don't understand!' I hissed.

'Then make me!' she begged. 'Please, don't leave me in the dark, okay?'

'When you're in the dark, believe me, you'll know about it,' I said very bitterly.

'Suze, I . . . I didn't mean it like that.'

Somewhere inside of me, I knew she wasn't the enemy. But here she was, stopping me from getting to where I needed to be, with her ignorant arguments. She didn't understand. She never would. How could she?

She wasn't a mediator.

I wanted to be storming the priest, at the moment. I wanted someone to scream at, for letting this situation get this far. I wanted to blame someone. I needed someone to take the responsibility for the faults in my reality. The mistakes. The flaws. The hardships.

I was blind.

I had the dead constantly trying to kill me.

I was in love - YES, IN LOVE, with someone who I couldn't be with.

I now had a murderer tailing my ass.

Why did these things HAPPEN? Who was even responsible for this shit? Why couldn't I yell at the person who was? I needed to get it out. I needed to scream, and ask why.

I couldn't think of who I could ask, though.

And it killed me.

Although, I had a pretty good idea. And Father Dominic, the priest, the guy closest to Him, was a pretty good start.

'Please,' I breathed. 'I'll explain later. Just please, Cee, trust me at the moment.'

She sighed. 'Okay . . . I've got your stuff. Come on.'

Our footsteps were quick. Loud. Constant, undisturbed by other noises that I'd suspected. Maybe I just blocked the other noises out. I felt cold, and angry, and shaky and terrified. Cee's hand clasped mine. My hand was clammy in hers. She was probably grossed out by this detail, but I couldn't help that.

'We're in the Mission reception, Suze,' she whispered to me, and then changing her voice to a happy, enquiring one, she asked, 'Excuse me, is Father Dominic available? Suze here wanted to see... speak with him.'

Another voice - obviously the receptionist, replied, 'Oh, Suze. Hi, honey. I'll just go get him. I'm sure he's back from the - '

However, on the loudspeaker, Father Dominic's voice rang out across the PA system.

'Could CeeCee Webb kindly bring Susannah Simon to my office please? Thank you, and God bless.'

I tensed up.

'Oh, look at that,' the receptionist lady said smilingly. Look at that? Boy, I'd love to . . . 'He's just called for you. Well, that was a coincidence.'

'Certainly was,' Cee laughed. 'Come on, Suze.' She gently tugged me in past a wooden desk, to Father Dom's office. I ran my fingers along the desktop, accidentally knocking over something light and paper; a tissue box, maybe?

'Sorry,' my apology was half-hearted, but I heard no reply.

'Ah, Susannah, that was fast,' the priest's voice sounded very pleasant.

I swallowed.

'Hi, Father,' CeeCee was polite.

'Hello, CeeCee. Thank you for bringing Susannah here. I'm sorry to disrupt your learning.'

'That's cool. I'll go now,' she hurried out. 'See ya, Suze.'

What thoughtlessly selfish words I had to live with. They didn't bother me, though. Not now.

The minute the door closed, the priest dropped his happy act. 'Please sit, Susannah,' his voice now sounded rather empty. Fumbling behind me, I located a chair and sank into it. My anger was draining out of me at lightning speeds. I felt scared, still. And very cold.

'You look like you know what this is about,' he stated tonelessly.

I blinked. 'I - I know . . . what happened with Paul yesterday. It was really bad. And - that was actually what I wanted to talk to you about, Father. I mean, I - '

'Oh,' he sounded pained. 'You were going to tell me, then?'

I felt confused, and oddly even more fearful. I mean . . . his voice was ominous. Was there something ELSE that was happening? Had Miller done something else, God forbid?

'Yeah,' I said, 'Of course. I - hey, wait a second, this is TOTALLY a case of you not telling me,' I argued suddenly. 'This crap that's happening with that murderer guy . . . you totally knew. I mean, you would have had to, the minute I told you. So, I ask, why did no one stop to TELL me what was going on?'

'While this is important, this was not what I wanted to talk to you about,' Father Dominic now sounded a little harsh. 'Jesse?'

I heard materialisation, and Jesse responded with a despondent, 'Hola.'

'Jesse asked that I do not talk to you of this,' Father Dominic was unbearably quiet, 'But considering that you have both gone behind me back to do this, I believe that it is best that I deal with both of you now.'

'Wait,' I stood up. I had a VERY bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. 'No. Hey, this is NOT important at the moment. This is right down the bottom of the importance scale! Damn, we have a seventeen year old at this school at the moment, who's possessed by a serial killer! So don't tell me that you're worried about - '

'Sit down, Susannah,' the priest ordered.

I sat quickly.

'Now,' his tone was soft, 'I doubt that either of you understand the seriousness of what you have both done. You've not considered the repercussions, and you especially, Jesse . . . I can hardly accept the fact that you went against my express wishes for you to not . . . involve yourself with Susannah.'

'Padre, I was just - '

'Let me finish!'

Wow. He was mad.

I straightened up in my chair, now holding onto my stick with a ferocious grip.

Jesse and I were screwed. Our secret was out.

I felt frustrated. This had not been the way it was supposed to go. I was meant to be the one doing the screaming and the tantrum-throwing at Father Dominic, NOT the other way around! He was the one that had fully betrayed me. I mean, ignoring the itty bitty detail that he'd kind of . . . you know, told Jesse and me to NOT get in a relationship of any description.

That was neither here nor there. THAT was not life or DEATH.

Rhys Miller was. Or at least, could be.

Didn't he see that? Both his eyes worked perfectly enough, so why didn't he see that the whole Jesse thing couldn't COMPARE to the Paul-possessed-by-killer situation?

'You cannot imagine how disappointed I am in the both of you,' Father Dominic's voice dipped low again, rumbling in a most foreboding manner. 'Jesse, I thought I could trust you to care for Susannah, not only in regard to her safety, but her emotional heath also. So why is it, that you have put her at risk of even more damage by these relations you are having with her?'

'Excuse me,' I tried plucking up the courage to offer a few words in Jesse's defense, but the priest overrode me.

'Jesse,' his voice was harsh, 'I needn't remind you that you are in fact, dead.'

The word echoed throughout the room. He hadn't even said it that loudly. It was just . . . hearing it from someone else's lips made it seem even more real than I wanted it to be.

'You act as if I do not know this,' Jesse sounded somewhat cold.

'You are acting as if you do not know this!' Father Dominic countered angrily. 'Jesse, you are a ghost. One day, you will move on. This attachment that exists between Susannah and yourself is not to continue, because when that day comes, Susannah will be miserable. Do you want to do that to her, Jesse?'

'Of course not - '

'Then end it. Save her from what is to come, Jesse. And know that you have lost my trust.'

'But Padre - '

I think that Jesse was more hurt by the last sentence from the priest than he'd been by the whole "YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!" thing.

I winced a little. 'You done?' I said a little rudely to Father Dominic.

'Susannah,' Jesse said in mournful warning, 'Leave it.'

'I will NOT leave it, Jesse,' I stormed, 'Look Father, buddy old pal, it's really great that you're trying to look out for my psychological/mental/emotional health, or whatever. But you know what? SO none of your business, okay?'

Father Dominic sounded mortally offended. 'I believe that it certainly is, Susannah. I owe it to your mother to keep you from - '

'You BELIEVE that, do you?' I spat. 'Guess what? You also believe that a crazy ass guy with a beard walked on water and multiplied fish and bread, and made incurably blind people see again. So I'm not really trusting anything that YOU believe in. I don't think that there really is a reason for all your religion crap. If there really was a God, would he really allow the birth of a psychotic rapist? So this whacked kid could grow up to apparently do the Work of God, and kill innocent young women by stabbing them to death? Do you really think your wonderful God would approve the rape and defiling of these girls? Is your God a sadist? Because at the moment, all the evidence is pointing to that! THIS is what your GOD lets happen. THIS is what you believe in!'

'Susannah - ' Jesse's hand came to my arm, but I pulled away.

'God lets all this crap happen here on earth, while he sits up on his big cheesy cloud in the sky, laughing at his MTV channel that is earth,' I was REALLY mad by now. 'There's a serial killer on the loose, back from the dead, and one of God's TINY little followers is worried about his blind student's miniscule case of necrophilia? I love a dead guy! So what? It's a lot better than another of these dead guys getting up to his old tricks again. Shouldn't you be more worried about the safety of the female half of the population, than my EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING? '

I didn't realise that I'd jumped to my feet halfway through my speech. I was breathing heavily, and was glaring ferociously at the darkness. My heart was thudding in my chest with rapid vehemence, and by golly, I was scared.

I think the whole "necrophilia" thing had been a little over the top, but it was just something in the heat of the moment . . .

The priest seemed hesitant to speak after my spack attack. I heard several attempted sentence beginnings, before a very shocked sounding, 'Susannah . . . now, please, there's no need to - '

'I don't have to listen to this,' I shook my head. 'Stay out of my personal affairs, Father Dominic. Jesse and I aren't doing anything wrong - '

He let out a cry of outrage, 'I'd like to know your versions of right and wrong, Susannah! You are having s -'

'Yes,' Jesse had ignored Father Dominic, 'Susannah is correct in that regard. I'm . . . sorry, Padre. But we are not hurting anyone with our actions.'

'Not now,' he sounded rather defensive now, 'But in the future, when it is time to part ways, Susannah will be devastated. Do you not realise this, Jesse? She won't know what to do with herself after you are gone. She - '

He broke off, as if worried to say more.

I cocked an eyebrow. Little fragments of the conversation were buzzing around in my head. Then, after about ten seconds of quick deduction, I came to my far-fetched conclusion.

'What was her name?' I asked in a soft voice.

I heard a sharp intake of breath. 'Excuse me?'

I repeated my question, quieter this time. 'What was her name?'

Jesse didn't understand where I was going. 'Susannah, who are you - ?'

A tiny word came from the priest. I almost didn't hear it.

'Elizabeth.'

Oh, I love being right.

I sat back in my chair, sympathy emerging across my face. So that was why he didn't want me to get with Jesse. He'd had his own ghostly romance. It had ended badly; I knew that now. She - Elizabeth, must have moved on. Leaving a torn Father Dominic in her wake.

'I'm sorry,' I said gently. 'I really am . . . '

Jesse, who had not come to the realisation as immediately, was having trouble following. 'Do you both know this Elizabeth?' He was terribly confused.

Father Dominic didn't seem to hear him. 'I used to call her Bessie,' he let slip. His voice was now very soft, as if he was as ashamed of this tale as he was scared. 'She's . . . gone now.'

'Oh,' went Jesse.

Ah hah. The Jess-meister was finally at the train station.

Oh indeed.

'I'm sorry,' I said again.

Poor Father Dominic. He'd been a ghost-groupie too. We should start a Ghost Fan Club together. We'd just drink the night away . . .

I like this plan.

My heart started to soften a little, in regard to the priest. I mean, at least he had an excuse now for being all . . . prudish.

'I'm also sorry,' he sighed. 'Although, I simply must protest to the relations you and Jesse are having. I have heard they are of the . . . the sexual nature.'

Heh. He heard that they were of the - WHAT?

'WHAT?' I screamed, 'WHAT? JESSE AND I ARE NOT DOING IT!'

Jesse sounded just as alarmed. 'Padre, I never - I wouldn't do . . . you know me better than that. Susannah is not some common señora de la noche! I - we are not - I have not touched her in such ways!'

He was obviously forgetting the whole antibiotic cream incident.

'How the hell did you figure THAT?' I demanded hotly. 'I mean, that is SO - '

. . . Hey!

Jesse had caught on too. 'Slater . . .' he said murderously. 'He - he told you these lies?'

Father Dominic weakly replied, 'He said the both of you were sharing a bed, and that Susannah was . . . scarcely clothed, I believe.'

I felt my face grow hot. 'Um,' I swallowed guiltily, 'I believe a camisole fully constitutes as clothes.'

Uh oh.

The priest sucked in air. 'You mean . . . you are sleeping together?'

I shook my head wildly. 'No! No way! Jesse can't sleep!'

Yeah, way to get out on a technicality.

'Susannah was mot distressed last night,' Jesse said firmly, taking the floor. 'She had been attacked, Padre. My presence by her side was merely in solace. But I swear by el nombre de Dios, we did no such thing as - '

'Yeah,' I snapped. 'I was distressed. YOU try get kissed by a possessed Paul Slater!'

Or an un-possessed one, at that.

Well . . . the latter wasn't SO terrible . . .

Hey . . . actually, I think I'd be more sane if Father Dominic's lips didn't go ANYWHERE near Paul's, thank you.

'I see,' the priest said slowly. 'So, when you say you slept together . . . that's all it was?'

'YES,' I half-shouted, just to get my point across. 'Well, on my part. And not because Jesse is boring or anything! No, I really did just sleep. Completely innocent. Completely. Completely.'

One more 'completely' and he won't believe you, Simon.

Father Dominic sounded exasperated. 'All right,' he finally mumbled. 'I see now that I was . . . presumptuous. I still don't approve of a relationship between the two of you, mind - '

'We're not asking for your approval,' I explained sweetly.

'Susannah,' Jesse muttered, 'Stop it.'

The priest was getting grumpy again with my sarcasm. 'I shall talk to you two later of this matter . . . Now, I believe it's high time that we spoke of the Rhys Miller situation.'

'FINALLY, you've got your priorities straight,' I said. 'Okay, Dom, we have big issues. I don't know when Miller will show up at the school, but he could at any moment - '

'Actually . . . he's present at school,' Father Dominic said. 'I checked.'

'HUH?' My heart lurched violently. 'You're - you're not serious!'

'You allowed that creature to come in?' Jesse gasped in anger, 'After what he tried to do to Susannah?'

'I have no control over it,' he sounded very uneasy. 'I have no grounds to suspend him. Yet. I'm working on it. Jesse, you couldn't work on framing him for something, so I have a reason, could you?'

'I'll do it,' said another voice. It belonged to neither Jesse nor me. This voice was heard directly after a tinkle of materialisation.

'Hello, Paul,' Father Dominic sighed heavily. 'Oh, what a dire situation this is.'

'How do you want me to frame that son of a bitch?' Paul asked in a calm, yet furious voice. 'That asshole stole my body . . . and he tried to freakin' rape Suze - '

'Thanks for reminding me,' I said stiffly. 'I was trying to repress.'

Father Dominic interrupted with, 'Language, Paul. Frame him however you can. I don't believe that he has your mediator ability - '

'Wrong,' I muttered. 'He's got it.'

'Yes,' Jesse agreed. 'I was able to throw him across Susannah's room. Then again, perhaps that may have been the rage working . . . I thought it was Slater - '

'Hello?' I said loudly, 'Are you forgetting how he dematerialised out of the room? I think he's DEFINITELY got the mediator ability, also with some of his old ghostly ones -'

'Shifter,' Paul corrected.

'Huh?'

'Shifter,' he said. 'He's a lot more than just a mediator. I could materialise as well.'

'. . . Huh?'

'Can we FOCUS?' Father Dominic's voice soared over all of ours, 'That is not relevant at the moment. We need to know how we are going about this - '

'Can't we just exorcise the soul out?' Jesse inquired. 'This would allow for Slater to return to his own body.'

'Hmm,' Paul sounded worried about agreeing with Jesse, and seemed suspicious of Jesse's words of help, 'True. Then I could shift his sorry ass up to the freakin' Shadowland and dump him there - '

'Uh,' I said, 'Ghosts who've anchored themselves in new bodies are REALLY hard to exorcise. I mean, I had to get this one freak out of my friend Gina's body, but Gina's soul was still in there, so the ritual just expelled the soul that didn't belong there. But when a ghost gets comfy in a new body . . . he kind of refuses to leave. You'll need something stronger than exorcism.'

'Wow,' Paul said under his breath, in my ear, 'You know your stuff, Simon. For a blind chick, anyway.'

I elbowed him.

The priest seemed to be rifling through one of his drawers. 'All right,' he said vaguely after a moment, 'I shall search my resources, and try to find something that will do the trick. Meanwhile, keep your eyes open, all of you - '

'Yeah,' I said sarcastically.

' - and . . . you know what I mean, Susannah - Jesse, watch her carefully. Paul, do your best to - '

'I'll do my worst,' Paul amended.

'Yes, yes. And Susannah? Make sure you are never alone. It seems he's taken an unhealthy interest in you, from what Jesse and Paul have told me. Please, be careful, I beg of you,' he stressed desperately.

'Whatever,' I nodded.

Inside, though . . . I was terrified.

- 8 -

As Father Dominic dismissed all of us from his office, the recess siren sounded. Jesse and I filed out, while Paul dematerialised all together. Father Dominic said I could have classes off today if I wished, but I was to attend them fully the next day, so people wouldn't question me. I was very grateful of this - I just wanted to spend the day with Jesse.

It was suggested that we were to go to the graveyard, which was just beyond school boundaries. This was so we - that is to say, I - wouldn't be subject to suspicion from students, and so I wouldn't be disturbing any of the tourists who came to look at the mission. I was perfectly happy with this suggestion, and allowed Jesse to lead me there without a fuss.

When we were outside, I breathed in a refreshing gulp of fresh, cold air. My forehead was hot, but the pleasant chill in the breeze was settling me down.

'We can deal with this . . . right?' I asked Jesse hopefully. 'We can beat him?'

'Of course,' Jesse said softly. He tugged my wrist with care, and pulled me down next to him, by a tree. I could feel the rough bark poking into my back. We were in the shade. I rested my head on his shoulder, and sighed.

'We can do this . . . '

'Yes,' Jesse reassured me. 'He will not harm you. You needn't worry, Susannah. I won't let him hurt you again . . . '

I smiled sappily. 'Are you like, my bodyguard?'

'Er . . . I - I guess I am,' he replied unsurely. His arm stretched around me, and he began smoothing his hand up and down my arm. It felt really nice . . . relaxing, ya know?

I giggled. I had a bodyguard. He'd be Kevin Costner to my Whitney Houston. I remember listening to that movie with Mum when I was thirteen. Except, you know . . . Kev and Whitney had an affair in that movie, by the, um, sounds of it.

I'd just hate to make Father Dominic all mad at us again, so unfortunately, Jesse and I had to deny our hormones. Sigh.

It was a comfortable silence, but still one I wanted to break.

'So,' I stabbed at conversation, 'You come here often?'

. . . THAT WAS NOT A PICK-UP LINE.

Jesse laughed softly. 'Seldom, these days,' he revealed. 'I much prefer to be around you, than my corpse.'

'Oh, you're buried here?' I said in surprise, touching his face affectionately. 'That's nice.'

'Hardly. Thank your Lord that you did not see the state I was in when I was dug up, Susannah.'

Heh. I guess there always are downsides to that sight thing . . .

'Where's your grave?' I asked.

Jesse smiled. My fingers felt it. 'It's just beside us.' He took my hand in his, leaned over ever so slightly, and placed my fingers against stone. I dragged my fingers over the rock, detected lettering, and traced them across the letters, spelling out words with extreme slowness.

'Here . . . lies . . H - Hec . . . Hector . . . Jesse de S . . . ilva,' I said. 'Haha . . . Hector. Poor you.'

'Make no mockery,' Jesse laughed pleasantly. 'I am hardly proud of it.'

I smirked. 'I wouldn't call my worst enemy Hector.'

Sounding slightly affronted, Jesse read the rest to me. 'Here lies Hector "Jesse" de Silva. Brother, son, friend. Regalo de Dios,' he finished, with a cough of embarrassment.

'What does that last part mean?' I frowned.

PaulSlater69: Sounding hesitant, he explained, 'Well . . . in Hebrew, my nickname, from my mother, means "God's gift." Or "wealthy," sometimes, but that one was hardly flattering. Regalo de Dios is the Spanish translation of that. My sister Josafina would tease me about this, and call me, "Regalo de dios a las mujeres." That translates to "God's gift to women." She was always ridiculing me in that I was too hermoso, handsome, and that I would be arrogant if madre allowed mirrors in the house. Josafina,' Jesse sighed, 'How I loved her . . . '

'God's gift to women,' I grinned. 'You realise that I'm not letting you forget that . . . '

'Dios,' Jesse muttered darkly, but then kissed me on the forehead.

'You're . . . ' I took a moment, tilting my head, 'Regalo de Dios a las Suze.'

'God's gift to Susannah?' Jesse laughed. 'If you say so, querida.'

'I do.'

I was just wriggling in closer to him, getting all comfy and the like, when I heard a long spell of materialisation. I felt Jesse's body stiffen very suddenly, and then his arms quickly pulled my body into his, as if he were trying to hide me. My breath shortened. 'What?' I asked frantically.

'Leave here,' Jesse's voice was dominant, and commanding. 'You will leave here, now.'

I heard a laugh. It was Paul's laugh, and yet . . . it wasn't. My blood stopped flowing as fast and as hotly – it seemed to freeze painfully, making my body numb with painful dread.

Jesse stood up, and swiped his arm beneath my legs, so he was carrying me. Feeling too scared to be humiliated by this blatant robbery of my feminist rights, I held onto him very hard.

It was him . . .

'Why do you protect her?' he asked rapaciously in that slimy voice of his. 'Tell me . . . I want to know. What appeal does a man see in a whore?'

'Get out of here,' Jesse growled, aggression seeping through his calm demeanor. His arms tightened around me. I blinked helplessly, terrified. He was . . . here.

And so was Jesse.

'No,' Miller said, by means of Paul's lips, 'I don't feel like leaving.' His laugh was chilling. 'I still can't believe how easy your whore's friend made this for me. He left this body so vacant. There was no effort in the possession – it was almost too simple.'

'Leave!' Jesse now shouted, jerking backward.

'Why?' Miller's voice was sly, curious, smirking. 'So I will not hurt her? You want her to remain the whore that she is? Sin-filled, stinking of the evil that offends our God? You said it yourself – you are God's gift. Such a prize of God would not wish to insult his Lord, surely, by associating with dirty women – '

'LEAVE!' Jesse's voice was now a roar so loud, my head rang.

Something about Rhys Miller's relentless voice made tears come to my eyes. It was purely from the fear – the hurt, even. He made it all seem so true, and so horribly frightening. My breath was shuddering against Jesse's neck, and my arms, sore from the strain, gripped him harder. I didn't want to be near Rhys Miller. He made everything bad seem so, so much worse . . .

I was shivering. I didn't realise it immediately, but when my fingers suddenly stung against the mysterious warmth of Jesse's skin, I knew how icy cold I'd become.

All Rhys Miller did was laugh softly. He was scornful of me.

'You hold her in your arms like you own her,' he spoke with disgusted amusement. 'How does that make you feel? Jesse, is it? Knowing that whenever you please . . . you can touch her . . . kiss her. Break her, hurt her, make her scream, writhe, pant, beg for you to stop – '

'You will leave,' Jesse spat, sounding angrier than I'd ever heard him, or anyone ever before, 'Or you will wish that your God had not even granted your birth – '

'Empty threat,' Miller called Jesse's bluff confidently. 'That would require you to leave her alone – something you wouldn't do.'

My voice had completely died. I tried to say something, but only a disfigured crackle came out.

'She's trying to speak to me,' Miller sounded revolted. Angered, even. 'As if she'd ever have that authority . . . '

'Fuck you,' I choked out. 'You stay the hell away from m – '

My defiant speech, however, was cut short when Jesse and I were viciously thrown back against the tree behind us. We both crumbled to the floor, Jesse landing pretty much on top of me. I felt kind of winded from the rapidity of the blow, and winced sharply. Jesse quickly removed himself with a breathless, 'Lo siento – ' and got to his feet.

'Don't you dare speak to me, sinner,' Miller shouted. 'You're repulsive. You nauseate me. You all do . . . '

'Stay away from her,' Jesse snarled. 'Don't even entertain the idea of touching her, you sinverguenza! You will not – '

Miller laughed once more. 'I find no grounds for your desperation to protect her, ghost,' he said. 'I won't touch her . . . yet. I'm in a new body now, Jesse. God has seen it fit for me to continue His work, and has provided me with the most capable of bodies to do so. His will is mine, and I'm just getting started here . . . don't worry, sinner,' he added maliciously, 'Don't think I've forgotten you . . . I'll get around to you soon. I've never fought sin from the inside of a girl so drenched with God's hate . . . your blindness is your mark of Satan. The Lord spits on you, whore. I plan to enjoy your sin. I shall bask in you; dirt that God does not see fit to cure . . . dirt that – '

SMACK.

'Does he shut up?' Paul's voice demanded in frustration.

'When did you show up?' Jesse asked heatedly. 'Not that I disapprove of you . . . rendering him out cold, but I did not notice you – '

'You were busy listening to him prattle on,' Paul said savagely. 'What a shithead. Yo, Suze. Don't listen to him, okay?'

I stretched my arms out, located Jesse's arm, and pulled myself up so I was standing. My knees were shaking very badly. It seemed that however disturbed Miller was, his way with words was undeniable. He had the uncanny ability to chill every molecule of my forsaken body.

'This isn't good,' I stated. 'He's – did you hear him? He's going to attack other – '

'Nah,' Paul muttered, 'I won't let him, Suze. Okay?'

Jesse's arms were wrapped around my form, and I breathed heavily into his chest, letting him shield me from Miller's unconscious eyes. I felt dirty when he only looked at me, and I couldn't even know when exactly that was.

'You can't control him,' I said to Paul. 'He's . . . he's too powerful. He's going to use your reputation to get victims, Paul. And he'll – '

'What reputation?' he asked with some offense. 'What are you talking about?'

'The fact that every girl in the school thinks you're a hottie,' I snapped. 'Don't act dumb. Sorry for the inevitable ego-boost, but that's why he chose you. He could have possessed any guy he wanted at JSMA, but he chose you because you have the biggest effect on girls here.'

'Really?' Paul sounded flattered.

'He got full possession of you, because he knows that we all have the power to exorcise him if he's only sharing a body with you,' I babbled, 'and now all the girls at this school are in danger.' I turned to Jesse. 'I read that report . . . I'm sorry, I lied when I said that I wouldn't – that's not important. Jesse, this guy goes after chicks with brown hair. He . . . ' I struggled to remember more of his MO, 'He looks for . . . sin – he obsesses over it. He thinks he's a man of God, but he's really just this sicko fixated with sex and hurting girls . . . '

There was a sudden grunt that made me squeak in shock. I stumbled back – Jesse caught me.

Rhys had woken up.

However, he didn't have anything to say; with a slicing sound of dematerialization, he was gone from our presence.

'Susannah,' Jesse slid an arm around my waist, 'Calm yourself. All he has is words. I will not allow him to harm you.'

'Yeah, what he said,' Paul muttered. 'You're gonna be fine, Simon.'

I blinked in fast succession, feeling as though I had sand in my eyes. I frowned most definitely.

'This isn't going to turn out good,' I murmured weakly. 'Bad things are going to happen . . . and we won't be able to stop them in time.'

. . . But we sure were going to try.