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  Zed laughed and dropped a kiss on Alex's head. "I'll try. How do you feel about zombies?"

  "At least someone would want me for my brains and not my devilish good looks."

  "Aha, so that's it. You're jealous that she wants me and not you."

  Alex laughed. "If I didn't love you, I'd say you could have her."

  "If you didn't love me, I wouldn't even be here."

  Alex placed his hand over Zed's, linking their fingers. "I do love you, don't ever forget that. And I'm not going to lose you to a ghost. Time for her to go. She's caused enough trouble."

  Zed nodded and squeezed Alex's hand. "Love you, too. Don't suppose you'd consider hiding out in the kitchen while we do this thing, in case she gets a bit... you know."

  "I don't want to. But... I seem to bring out the nasty in Opal."

  "Ha! I do that. You just score the resulting overflow." Zed sighed. "She doesn't want to hurt me, just kill me."

  "Oh, okay, if that's all she wants." Alex shook his head. "I'll be damned if I let her hurt you. She's caused enough of that already."

  Zed closed his eyes against the girly tears that were trying to escape. He bumped his head gently against Alex's and they shared a tender kiss. "I don't think I appreciate you nearly enough. But I love you so much," he murmured.

  "I know." Alex let his lips linger on Zed's. "Opal can try all she wants, but she can't come between us."

  "No." Zed inhaled deeply and wondered when it had become so hard to have a relationship with someone.

  Thad and Rhys arrived back and, with a last kiss, Zed stood up, ready to exorcise anything paranormal he could -- or couldn't -- get his hands on. "What do we do first?"

  "Point me in the direction of the pond." Thad pulled his tank top over his head and dropped it on the ground. He pulled a beach towel from the duffle bag he'd bought back with him. "I'll understand if you don't want to join me."

  "Pond's down there and, um... why would I need a dip? Why do you?" Zed couldn't help but admire Thad's torso -- he wasn't dead yet -- but he knew better than to do anything about it. Alex was all he wanted, and a damn sight more than he deserved.

  "It helps prepare me. Wash everything away, start fresh and ready to tackle a ghost." Thad headed toward the pond. "That good enough for ya? If not, I could go into a whole lengthy explanation."

  "Nah, I get it. Do you need my help with the exorcism? Do I need to cleanse; will it fuck things up if I don't?" Zed walked alongside Thad, willing to watch and ensure Opal didn't try to pull him under as well. Ah, the things we do... And looking was healthy. Pfft, Zed knew Alex looked at some of the guys -- and girls -- at the gym.

  Thad shook his head. "Might be better to keep you out of the water." He stopped at the edge of the water and stripped off his shorts. "As for the exorcism, I can handle that. You can observe if you like."

  Zed nodded as he watched a lean, tanned, and naked Thad disappear into the pond. Observe, yep I can do that. Swimming or exorcising; both would be a pleasure. Alex would enjoy it, too. And so would Rhys... Hmm, something clicked in Zed's mind regarding Rhys and Thad. "Thad?"

  The man turned. "Want me to rescue your shorts and car keys?"

  Damn, he had a cute smile, too. "Sure. And when you get back up, you can tell me about you and Rhys."

  Thad laughed and dived under the water. He surfaced a couple of minutes later and swam to the shore. A pair of muddy shorts was handed to Zed. "That them?"

  "Yep." Zed searched the pockets and found his car keys. A bit slimy, but he'd rinse them under warm water. "Thanks a lot."

  "Just for my curiosity, how did they get there?" Thad rubbed himself down with a towel. "Most people go skinny dipping after taking their clothes off."

  Zed opened his mouth to tell Thad, but wasn't even sure what had happened, himself. The water and pond weeds had conspired with Opal to strip him and help drown him. More than that, the silky water had turned him on so much that he'd almost felt violated. He shook his head, instead. He hadn't even told Alex, yet. "It's complicated."

  "That weird, huh? Was the ghost in the water?"

  Zed was right, Thad's eyes missed very little. "No, but she was controlling it."

  Thad nodded and pulled his cut offs on again. To his credit, he didn't ask any more questions that Zed would have trouble answering. Everything that had seemed so logical last night looked so stupid in the light of day, now that he thought about it. "C'mon, let's get back before they think we've eloped."

  "And that reminds me," Zed said. "You and Rhys got something going?"

  "There's potential." Thad grinned. "Wouldn't mind spending some time with him one on one."

  "You drove up here with him."

  "Mmmhmm. He said you and him used to be an item."

  "Sort of, it was a casual thing." Zed shrugged. "I was never going to settle with anyone that wasn't Alex, but Rhys was great fun."

  Thad nodded, but said no more on the subject. He hung his wet towel over the back of a chair to dry and unzipped his duffle. He pulled out a bottle of oil, some white pillar candles, and muttered to himself while rummaging around for something. A couple of bags and a few incense sticks were placed on the ground and Thad looked up. "Tania said there was a sack of road salt in the storage room off the kitchen."

  "Yeah, hang on." Rhys ran into the house.

  "Salt?" Zed asked.

  Thad nodded. "It will protect us while I'm trying to get rid of her."

  "Hang on a sec... Us?" When Zed had asked if Thad needed help, he'd meant setting up, not actually being part of the ceremony.

  "I have a feeling you'll need protecting during the exorcism. If you're with me in a circle of salt you'll be safer than if you're not. She won't be able to touch you; the salt will protect us."

  "You're sure about that?" Zed wasn't that positive that a few grains of salt would save him from the wrath of Opal, once she figured out what they were trying to do.

  Thad just nodded, somewhat distractedly Zed thought. Following Thad's gaze, Zed saw that he was watching Rhys exit the house, a fifty pound bag of salt across his shoulders and muscles straining under his T-shirt. For someone who spent a lot of his time inside studying, Rhys really did have an admirable physique.

  The bag of salt was dropped at Thad's feet. "There you go. Will that be enough?"

  "Thanks. I owe you."

  "I'll remember that," Rhys murmured, his eyes locking with Thad's.

  Zed could feel the 'fuck, if only we were alone' vibes from where he was standing, two feet away from them. He was happy for Rhys. Thad was hot. And there was something about all this ghost hunting stuff that was a bit of a turn on. He thought of his own lack of power against Opal and revised that. A turn on if you weren't involved.

  "...Alex and get inside. Close the door and don't check on us. We'll tell you when we're done," Thad was telling Rhys. "I have a feeling this one could get nasty."

  "How nasty?" Zed muttered and went back to Alex. "Okay to walk, love? Thad wants you and Rhys in the house, out of sight."

  "And you?"

  "I'll be in the salt circle with him. Apparently I'm safer there."

  Alex nodded, as if it weren't news to him. "Hopefully he'll be able to keep you in that salt circle and you won't go wandering off." He held his arm out so Zed could steady him on the way up.

  Zed grabbed the offered arm, supporting Alex as he stood. Alex nodded. "I'm going to be fine. You... you just do as Thad says." His lips brushed Zed's, warm, soft and caring.

  Zed flung his arms around Alex's neck and pushed their lips together. Their tongues met -- caressing, not vying for domination. Stroking and twining around each other. "Just a sample of what I'm going to do to you when we get home," Zed mumbled.

  "Can't wait." Alex ground his pelvis against Zed. "Incentive. Get rid of her."

  "Consider it done."

  Alex followed Rhys into the kitchen and closed the door behind them. Hopefully, Opal would forget them if she couldn't see them.

  Soft wo
rds, spoken in a language Zed didn't recognize, came from his left. Thad had the bag of salt open and was running it through his fingers, whispering what sounded like an incantation. Knowing better than to say anything, Zed walked over to him and quietly stood, soaking up the peaceful ambiance.

  Thad stopped talking to the salt and his clear green eyes appraised Zed. "Okay? I need you to relax and try to keep your mind uncluttered. Don't worry about Alex and Rhys; don't worry about us. Try to stay positive."

  Zed nodded. This was exciting, in a scary way. Kind of what parachuting or bungee jumping must feel like. "What are you doing?"

  "Charging the salt with positive energy and tapping into its power. I'm going to do the same with the candles, the bag of herbs and the incense. It's a ritual that helps me."

  "And I just need to stay positive?"

  "Can you do that?" Thad gave Zed a cheeky grin.

  "Ha ha. To get rid of the lovely Opal, I can do anything."

  "Good. Just don't freak if things get interesting." Thad picked up the bag of salt and started pouring it on the ground, drawing a thick salt circle, approximately five feet in diameter, around them and murmuring to himself the whole time.

  Next, the four candles were each anointed with a few drops of scented oil, Thad still talking -- to them or himself, Zed wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to interrupt. The candles were placed at four points around the circle and lit, the flames barely visible in the bright sunlight of the day.

  Thank God they weren't doing this at night. Zed was already looking around himself nervously, which was counterproductive to staying positive. At night, he'd be jumping at every little sound and thoroughly pissing Thad off. He just had to believe this would work.

  Thad's hand on his arm startled Zed. He'd been so busy staying focused and sending his own brand of positive energy to the salt and himself that he'd forgotten Thad was there. Thad drew Zed back to stand next to him and stuck a couple of sticks of incense into the ground in front of them. They were facing north, towards the pond. Zed supposed that had some sort of significance.

  Once again chanting softly, Thad lit the incense and a pale green bundle of something that looked a little like an herbal cigar. Zed hoped they weren't going to get high, before he realized it was a bundle of sage. He'd read about that in a novel. The sage flamed for a few seconds and then just smoked.

  Zed coughed. He wasn't one hundred percent sure that what Thad was burning wasn't going to make him stoned. The smoke was thick and billowed around him: sickly sweet, acrid and heavy. Much like those joints he and Alex had smoked at Christmas.

  "What is that?"

  "Sage. A smudge stick, for purifying and cleansing and getting rid of ghosts." Thad turned in a circle, the pungent smoke trailing him. "Ready? Call her." He picked up a bag and put his hand in, mixing the herbs in it, and once again murmuring words in a foreign language.

  "Opal!" Zed called.

  After a few seconds, the ghost appeared.

  "Have you come to your senses?" Opal asked. "You'll come with me now?" She floated toward Zed, who was eyeing the salt line. "What's this?" She faded and flew back a few feet.

  Thad was standing behind Zed with the sage stick pointing in Opal's direction. "What's the matter? Is this hurting you?" Thad asked.

  Zed thought that Thad sounded as if he was having a pleasant conversation over coffee and cake. He very calmly murmured a few more incantations and threw a handful of herbs from the bag at Opal.

  She hissed and flew higher, but coming closer. "You dare try and hurt me again!" Dirt, bits of grass and stones swirled under Opal's feet, gathering momentum and funneling. "You really think you can stop me this time?" The funnel barreled toward them, dissipating against the invisible barrier the salt created.

  "Fuck, it does work." Zed would never look at a salt shaker the same way again.

  Thad laughed softly. "Watch this."

  He drew a handful of the herbs from the bag and waved the smoking sage sticks over them. Opal hovered, curiously, almost as if she was actually interested to note the direction her final demise would take.

  "Fod yn mynd, ysbryd."

  Thad threw the handful of herbs at Opal and spoke those words clearly. Zed had no idea what they meant or in what language, but Opal shimmered. She now definitely understood what Thad was doing. Her hands moved toward herself, looking like she was gathering energy.

  "You think that is going to stop me?" Opal shouted. The funnel cloud reappeared, with Zed and Thad right in the eye of the storm. The wind whipped around them gathering dirt and debris from the lawn. Zed tried to stay positive as the funnel grew, picking up tree limbs along the way.

  "Relax," Thad murmured and dropped his arm around Zed's shoulders. "It can't hurt us. We are safe as long as we're in this circle."

  The smoke from the sage singed Zed's nostrils, but he welcomed the human contact. Staying positive was becoming harder when ghostly tornadoes hurling real objects swirled around.

  Thad threw a small handful of herbs into the tornado. It disappeared, the dirt and debris falling back to earth, the stones pittering cheerfully. "Grab a handful of herbs," Thad told Zed. "When I say, throw them at her. Clear your mind, stay focused."

  "When are you going to realize you can not escape me?" Opal waved her hand over one of the fallen tree limbs. It hovered a few feet off the ground before spinning wildly. Her gaze fixed on Zed's. "Do you really think he'll stay with you? Love you forever? He won't! He'll never trust you, never love you the way I do. He'll leave you. He'll hurt you."

  "No. He won't," Thad whispered fiercely against Zed's ear. "Stay positive. He loves you. You love him."

  Zed nodded. "He won't leave me," he shouted. "He's mine; I'm his. That's the way it is... always has been." He swallowed nervously. What was the crazy, angry ghost up to? "He's already loved me forever."

  "But he doesn't trust you. See how easily he doubted you, thought you had strayed." Opal looked smug. "All it takes is one grain of mistrust and your whole life is shattered." The tree limb spun wildly and started to swing toward the salt circle and back to Opal, a horrifying display of a pendulum.

  "That was you. You causing trouble. You made him doubt me." Zed crushed the herbs in his fist, wishing he held a grenade.

  "I didn't have to try too hard. You're faithless, always have been. I'm the only one who will love you forever."

  "No." Zed shook his head. Stay positive, stay focused... believe. He glanced at the house. "Alex has saved my life twice. He... No, he won't leave me."

  Opal's smile sent a shiver down Zed's spine. The tree limb swung toward the circle and back to Opal and kept on going. The ground shook under Zed's feet as the backdoor exploded with a thundering crash. Splintered wood flew and landed several yards away. The bricks toppled around the door frame, revealing parts of the kitchen -- the kitchen where Rhys and Alex would be. "Think he can save you now?"

  "Alex!" Zed was horrified. He took a step towards the partially demolished kitchen only to be yanked back, Thad's grip on his forearm almost wrenching his shoulder from its socket.

  "Stay inside the circle." Thad held Zed close to him.

  "But Alex..."

  "She wants you to leave. Look, most of the damage fell outside. They'll be fine."

  Zed wondered how Thad could be so calm. He was shaking, with fear as well as fury; he'd lost focus but was more positive now than he had ever been. Positive he was going to send Opal packing and wishing it would be more painful for her.

  Aware that he had compressed the herbs in his hand into a lump by now, Zed threw them at Opal's laughing visage. A few pieces separated from the clump, but the main flew through the center of Opal's forehead, where Zed wished he could put a bullet.

  A shrill metallic screech was Opal's reaction. The herb mass flamed briefly and disintegrated. Opal shimmered and faded, her second screech fading with her.

  "Is that it?" Zed whispered, hardly daring to believe she was gone.

  "I doubt it. I can still
feel her malevolence." Thad let go of Zed's arm. "Sorry 'bout that."

  Zed rubbed at the red mark caused by Thad's grip. "No prob. I guess I should thank you for not letting me do something stupid. Again."

  Thad shrugged. "It's not like I had anything better to do." He kept mixing the herbs in the bag. "Rhys, Alex! You guys okay?"

  Rhys appeared at the destroyed doorway. "I thought this was going to be peaceful."

  Thad laughed. "Never said that, love. If there's more salt, make a circle round you and Alex. It won't be blessed, but it should help a bit."

  Rhys nodded. "I don't know what you're doing out there, but could you keep it down a bit, huh?"

  "Where's Alex?" Zed called.

  "He's fine." Rhys called back, then ran a hand through his hair. "He's injured, Zed, but he'll be fine. It was like Opal knew where he was."

  Before Zed even took a step towards the salt, Thad grabbed his arms. "Stay in the circle, for fuck's sake. Rhys is a doctor. Trust him."

  "But she's gone." Zed pulled against Thad's grip. "I want to see him, I'll be right back."

  "You'll be lucky if you even make it to the house."

  "She won't hurt me."

  "Maybe not before, but I think she will now." Thad tightened his grip. "There's nothing you can do to help Alex. He knows you're safe, and you know he's okay. And Rhys is fine." Thad's arms went around Zed and held him close, squeezing him tightly, then letting go. "Empty the negativity. C'mon, I need you with me if we're gonna do this. Don't let her get you."

  Zed took another handful of herbs from Thad's bag. Considering what the last handful had done, with the anger he'd poured into them, these should explode. He realized he was pacing and, in a circle as small as this, that was bound to annoy Thad and frustrate himself. "How long d'you think this will take?"

  "Not sure."

  "But you are sure she isn't gone?"

  "Uh-huh." Thad sank to the ground, sitting cross legged, and motioned for Zed to join him. "Ever meditated?"

  Zed sat, mimicking Thad. "Nah, me and sitting still don't often work well together."

  Thad smiled and nodded. "I get that." He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "Try to settle, then."