The Devil's Cowboy (8 page)

“Just remember, darlin’, she can’t hurt you. No spirit of a person who has passed can. But the dark angel you saw—
he’s different
. It was him you felt right at the end. He’ll try to influence your mind again through her, since it worked before. He’ll fill it with darkness and despair, until you’re ready to act in ways you never dreamed you would. The devil feeds on human weaknesses. Fear, obscene lust, rage, and pain… they make him stronger. You need to remember who you are, who
we
are together and why we’re there. The only way I can protect you is if you stay open to me, trust in me, stay in the light.”

“I told you, Rafe, I don’t believe in the devil. I felt the dark energy in Adam’s room yesterday when I was alone in the house and I’ve felt what that woman’s spirit is capable of. I’m sure I can handle it better this time. I’ll be fine.”

* * *

It was after ten by the time they set up back at Melanie’s house. Rafe unpacked candles and sage and incense, sea salt and crystals, from the bag he carried. He brought out a small, well-worn wooden figurine about a foot tall, setting it in the center of the dining room table and surrounding it with lit votives. Traces of faded paint decorated the object here and there. A pair of wings ready to unfurl still bore a tattered layer of gold leaf. The statue looked as though it could have come straight from the altar of a medieval cathedral. It radiated peace and comfort. Ellen could tell it was a treasured object, endowed over the years with the positive energy surrounding Rafe.

“Is this your talisman?” Ellen asked.

“My patron saint,” he replied. “I was named by my grandmother. She passed when I was a little boy, but we still communicate from time to time. That’s Raphael. He’s an archangel, one of the seven. His job is to protect humankind from the spirit world. Granny said that was my job too, in this lifetime. She gave it to me years ago, said it’s been passed down in our family over the generations. I find it centers me, reminds me of why I’m doing this work.”

He pulled out a crystal flask filled with clear liquid. The stopper was silver, a simple cross surrounded by tiny holes in the base.

“Holy water?” Ellen was stunned.

“After a fashion. It’s pure water from my underground spring, water I blessed myself, imbued with positive energy. We’re going to sage the house and bless it, then sprinkle this water around and see what pops out.”

“See what pops out?” Her voice rose a notch. Ever since she’d walked back into the house, Ellen was becoming increasingly skeptical. Had this cowboy been stringing her along? Did he have any idea what he was doing? First his story of chatting with the devil himself, now this mystical water he was planning to sprinkle around like psychic flea powder.

She stared at him as though seeing him for the first time, then gave a shiver. The cold seemed to be creeping back into the room. The thought popped into her head that her sudden feelings of distrust and skepticism about Rafe might be a sign that she was slipping under the influence of the madwoman’s spirit again, but she dismissed it.
I can handle this,
she told herself.
I’m much stronger than she is.

Rafe gave her a sharp look. “Are you feeling anything… odd?”

“Not at all,” she replied tartly. Honestly, the man was infuriating sometimes. But then, all men were.
They’re liars, all of them.
Cruel and heartless. You can’t trust him—can’t trust any of them,
whispered a voice in her head.

She shook her head.
No, that’s not right,
she argued silently.
That may be what you believe, but it’s not true
.

He lit a bundle of sage, dropping it into a pearly white abalone shell and waving an eagle feather over it to disperse wisps of smoke around the room, all the while murmuring some incantation in a language Ellen couldn’t understand. It sounded like Latin, but then there were words that reminded her of Indian chants she’d heard when she attended a ceremony back on the Cherokee reservation in the mountains. She glanced around and frowned. The room was getting hazy and the smoke seemed to be clouding her vision, making her head hurt. She moved away a few steps.

“You’re right,” he said, as though hearing her thoughts again. “That last part was an old Indian blessing I learned from a Lakota medicine man I studied with a few years back. I’m not sure exactly how the dark force that’s here originated, so I’m calling on a variety of spirits to assist us.”

He circled the room slowly and methodically, waving the eagle feather over the smoldering bundle as he walked, sending the smudge into every corner.

Ellen stood alone, transfixed, as the smoke twisted and swirled. Shapes appeared and disappeared in the mist, becoming more distinct as she stared. She found herself caught up in the smoky haze, drifting outside her body above the room. She heard voices. Faint whispers carried on the smoke, promising savage pleasures to come that would fulfill all the wicked, secret desires she’d hidden deep inside for so long… if she would only let go and follow.

She was still aware of Rafe circling the room below, but the ceiling disappeared and she floated higher into a cloud of smoky mist. Then in the distance, Ellen watched as another Rafe materialized out of the fog. His form became more substantial and he came close, pulling her into a passionate embrace. He devoured her with kisses, left her breathless.

Ellen threw her arms around him eagerly, hungry for more. He backed away for a moment, his eyes smoldering with lust, then reached out and ripped off her shirt. She gasped as his hot mouth fastened on one nipple, sucking and licking, biting and teasing. The faint voices whispered in her ear, “This is how it can be when you let go and come to me. I’ll give you everything you’ve ever wanted, everything you hunger for when you’re all alone in your bed at night.”

The hands of the smoke-built Rafe unfastened her pants, pushing them down along with her panties to leave her standing naked before him. Some part of her rational brain was still functioning and she suddenly became aware of the wetness building between her legs in her real body as his shadow self drew her down and spread her thighs wide apart. Ellen gave in to the ravenous desire building inside. She opened her ethereal self willingly to him, desperate for his stiff cock to ram itself inside her and fill this sudden, frantic need.

Rafe smiled down at her lovingly… but then the smile turned hard and cruel and she felt an intense wave of cold flow through her. The earlier voice in her head whispered an urgent plea.
“Liar. Cruel and heartless. Don’t believe him. This is how it really will be.”

Suddenly she was pinned to the floor by unseen arms, unable to move. She watched in horror as the phantom Rafe waved his arm and conjured two faceless, naked hulks out of the mist. They flowed toward her, dark and forbidding. Each one had an impossibly huge penis, already throbbing with need. The creatures stroked themselves as they moved closer. She struggled, looking up at Rafe. His eyes glowed with lust as the two men came closer to her naked body. Now he was urging them to take her any way they chose while he held her down… and watched.

Ellen let out a strangled cry, desperately trying to force the images out of her head. She reached out blindly for something, anything, to ground her.

Rafe, the real Rafe, was by her side in an instant. He came closer, wafting the sage around her deliberately. He whispered under his breath, watching her closely.

Ellen shuddered violently as the smoke built up around her again. “Stop it.”

“I need you with me, Ellen. I need you to be fully present.” His voice rose, issuing a demand that echoed through the smoke-filled room. “I banish all spirits. Ellen alone dwells in this body. No creature of darkness, no other soul has dominion here.”

She moved away from him, muttering incoherently.

He put down the sage and grabbed the flask. “I command all other spirits to be gone.”

Water sprinkled down over her head. Ellen screamed, backing away. “Stop it! What are you doing?”

“Let this water protect and bless Ellen. Let her body and soul be here together, unmarked and unharmed by any dark entity.”

The water splashed over her again, burning like acid. With a harsh cry, Ellen struck out, dashing the flask from his hand. It shattered on the wood floor.

“You can’t trick me,” she snarled. “I know who you really are.”

Rafe grabbed her, pulling her tight into his arms again as he had earlier in the day.

“It’s okay, darlin’. It’s me. And you’re not
her
. I know they’re both strong, stronger than anything you’ve ever experienced. But you can do this. You can drive them out of your mind. I’m here to help.”

“Help?” Her voice rose into a shriek. “Like you
helped
all the others? I know what you’ve done. I’ll see you in hell first. Let’s go there right now—together.”

She caught him off guard, whirled in his arms. Grabbing a lit candle, she hurled it against the wall and narrowly missed setting the filmy white drapes on fire. Rafe let out a muffled curse, dragging her with him as he kicked the candle now lying on the floor and stepped on the wick to make sure it was out.

Never letting her go, his boot snagged the leg of a dining room chair and he pulled it close. He sank down on it and for the second time that day, Ellen found herself upended over his lap, one strong arm pinning her in place like an iron bar.

“I’ve had just about enough out of you, ma’am,” Rafe was saying. “Ellen, I’m sorry you had to get caught up in this, but both of you ladies need to know I’m not accepting any more bad behavior—from either of you. Ellen, if you don’t like what’s about to happen, I suggest you fight harder next time this ‘dark soul’ as you call it decides to pop in for a visit. Maybe by the time I’m through spanking you, you’ll believe that evil exists… and you’ll choose to send it packing right from the get-go instead of lettin’ it creep into your mind.”

His hand descended on her upturned bottom. Ellen screeched. He ignored her outburst, raining down a volley of harsh smacks. She cursed and pounded on his thighs with her fists.

“I’m guessin’ a real live butt-burnin’ spanking will bring your mind and body back together right quick,” he was saying. “It’s hard to keep your head in the spirit world when your ass is being walloped in this one.”

She kicked and shrieked, struggling to get away. Rafe draped one leg over both of hers and grabbed a handful of pants and panties around her waist, yanking them both down at once with one swift tug. He stopped for a moment, as though taking in the sight of her quivering ass bared for him once again, then began spanking her in earnest.

The obscene images disappeared instantly. All other sensations flew out of her head as well, leaving only the vicious sting of his palm cracking down on her already aching bottom. She wailed, she screamed, she pleaded and begged, not even knowing what she was saying. Still his hand whacked her over and over. Her entire world narrowed, focusing only on the agonizing fire he was igniting on her backside.

Gradually, Ellen realized the frightening visions had vanished for good. The wild anger was gone and the bone-chilling cold that had invaded her body disappeared as well.

“Rafe, you can stop now,” she managed to blurt out. His only response was to shift her slightly on his lap, giving him a better aim at her well-padded sit spot.

“Rafe, stop! I’m back. It’s me, Ellen.”

“Good. ‘Cause Ellen’s the one I’m meanin’ to spank right now.”

“Rafe, don’t! Please don’t. You’re hurting me.”

“I’ve told you before, darlin’, if it doesn’t hurt, I’m not doin’ it right.”

Ellen realized no amount of begging or pleading would have any effect. She sagged against his hard thighs, defeated and defenseless, and gave way to the tears that she’d been holding back so fiercely. Once she started crying, Ellen let loose all the fear and frustration, the anger and pain that the horrible images implanted in her mind had conjured up. She sobbed as though her heart was broken.

* * *

Rafe held her firmly across his lap and kept up his rhythm, smacking her soundly over and over until he heard her voice crack with heart-wrenching sobs. She’d frightened him this time, getting sucked so deeply into that tortured mind that for a while he was afraid he’d lost her. Although her crying was hard for him to hear, he knew the tears were healing. All the negative energy she’d absorbed was being washed away and soon peace would follow.

He stopped spanking and moved his hand to gently stroke along her back, soothing her as he let her cry out the last vestiges of her ordeal. Eventually the gut-wrenching sobs subsided, leaving her lying limp and gasping for breath across his lap. Only then did he lift her into his arms, cradling her against him.

“Darlin’, I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” he whispered. “You’re safe now. I’m here.”

She clung to him, burying her tear-streaked face in his shirt.

“Oh God, it was horrible,” she whispered. “So much worse than before. She showed me how it was for her, but she did it by using you and me. He’s a monster. She loved him at first and he used that love, making her do depraved things, filling her with shame. I felt
him,
but it was you I saw in the vision. It was so real… and you were so cruel. The worst part of it all for her was even after it got so bad, at some level deep inside she still hungered for his touch.”

She stopped to draw in a ragged breath, then went on. “He began by seducing her… and he was so good at it. Her body responded to him and he stoked her cravings, while making her feel sinful and evil for enjoying them. Gradually he introduced her to every kind of perversion, forcing her to perform unspeakable acts. She’s racked with guilt for not being strong enough to leave him, for the fact that her body responded, became aroused in spite of herself. Eventually of course, she couldn’t leave. He locked her in that room upstairs and brought men in to take her any way they chose while he watched.”