A tidal wave of raw, unfiltered terror slammed into him. If he had a physical body, he would have pissed himself on the spot. His entire being trembled, though his mind couldn’t grasp why he was so afraid. His energy scattered instantly like rats from a sinking ship, but it couldn’t escape the apartment, leaving him completely trapped. Whether he liked it or not, he saw the man appear out of nowhere by the window.

  “Hello, Alice,” said the man, his voice calm and melodic, his cold gaze fixed firmly on the ghost. “Surrounded by spirits again, I see.”

  “What the hell do you want?” she growled, forcing herself to crack one eye open.

  To Marcel’s surprise, those words earned her a flicker of respect.

  “To watch you, Alice,” the man said softly. “To see how helpless you still are, how weak. After all these years of training, you’re still pathetic. You’re the last witch in this world, the last being with real power, and yet you let yourself get drained by something so low and vile as a regular human being. How far you’ve fallen, Alice.”

  He chuckled quietly and pulled a cigarette from the inside of his thigh-length black coat.

  “No one invited you here,” she muttered, too drained to even feel anger anymore.

  “You’re wrong, Alice. Your subconscious did.”

  And as he said it, she knew it was true. The realization made her feel betrayed by herself, and she couldn’t even understand why she’d done that.

  “You see, Marcel?” she whispered to the frozen ghost nearby. “These are the times we live in. You can’t even trust yourself anymore.”

  What a damn joke.

  As she spoke, she began stealing life energy from him. He didn’t resist, still frozen, paralyzed by that cold, predatory gaze. Luckily for him, she didn’t need much—just enough to feel slightly more awake.

  “I see you did learn something after all,” the man said, lighting his cigarette.

  “Can you explain what the hell happened?” she asked, still sprawled in the chair but now at least able to open her eyes.

  “All living beings carry a set amount of energy,” he began. “Love, hope, joy. Those so-called higher emotions help maintain internal balance. Anger, hatred, fear, and bitterness are lower emotions. More violent. They burn through energy faster. The more you feel them, the faster you fade.”

  “I know. The more I lose, the more goes outward, and the weaker I get. But this has never happened before. My barrier…”

  “Your barrier was eaten through. You’ve never come up against such a strong energy vampire before. She’s been feeding off other people’s energy for years, and even though she does it unconsciously, she’s learned how to exploit people’s weaknesses perfectly.”

  Alice listened carefully, taking her time to think it over. The man stayed silent, giving her space to piece everything together. He didn’t just stand there; he finished his cigarette, walked into the kitchen, and made himself a coffee. When he returned with the hot drink, he sat on the old couch and passed a bit of his own power to Marcel. Jjust enough for the ghost to materialize. With quiet amusement, he gestured at the coffee table.

  “Push that closer,” he said.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Marcel obeyed, and for the first time in his ghostly existence, he felt like a stranger in his own apartment. Unsure what to do with himself, he went to make a second cup for Alice.

  “Goddammit,” she muttered. “I got played like a freaking idiot.”

  “There’s always a first time.”

  The Not-a-Doctor shrugged as Marcel set down the second cup.

  “Bring the chair closer too. Otherwise, she won’t reach.”

  “Of course.” Marcel nearly saluted, another wave of fear washing over him.

  “Jesus fuck,” Alice hissed as he dragged her chair forward with her still in it. “I can’t believe I got taken down by some blonde ditz. Thanks, Marcel. She’s gonna pay for that. That bitch.”

  “Don’t let her get under your skin again. Focus on keeping your barrier coherent. That’s all you need. She’ll try hard to provoke you, but the more effort she puts into it, the easier it’ll be for you to strike back.”

  A smile tugged at Alice’s lips. She wondered what kind of world this man came from and what sort of battles he’d fought to survive. She would have given a lot to learn even a few of his secrets, and even more to make sure he never told her all of them.

  “Thanks,” she muttered, finally sitting upright and reaching for her cup.

  The Not-a-Doctor gave her a smile that, paired with those cold eyes, looked more like a threat than comfort. He finished his coffee in a few minutes and vanished without another word. Marcel let out a long breath.

  She usually didn’t go to campus two days in a row, but this time was different. She’d spent half the night meditating to refill her energy reserves and the other half reinforcing her barrier. She wasn’t tired; her mind was sharp and focused. She was ready for the rematch.

  That evening they went for coffee at a nearby café. The blonde talked faster and louder with every passing minute, but this time it didn’t faze Alice in the slightest. This was a battle, and she planned to win. The thought made her grin and helped her focus because in war, losing meant death. After an hour, the other patrons were clearly sick of them, but that wasn’t their biggest problem—the blonde was starting to lose steam. Alice wasn’t about to waste the opportunity. She paid the bill and casually suggested they head somewhere else. The idiot agreed immediately.

  Even though she wasn’t doing this consciously, she felt the resistance, and that had never happened before. The more drained she felt, the more she needed people around her. Crowded places were good. Crowds were good. Even if they didn’t like her, she still felt better there.

  They walked into a packed club. The noise gave Alice’s ears a welcome break from the blonde’s screeching, but the girl wasn’t giving up easily. She yammered on for over fifteen minutes until, suddenly, something clicked. She realized there wasn’t a single man in the room.

  “Why the hell are there no guys in here?!” the blonde screamed into Alice’s ear.

  “I like this place!” the brunette yelled back, smirking. “You said lesbians don’t bother you.”

  A torrent of words poured from the blonde’s pink-lipsticked mouth, but Alice wasn’t listening. Instead, she studied the girl’s energy field. Just as she’d predicted, the club had thrown the blonde off balance and disrupted her energy flow, weakening her barrier. Alice could now start doing exactly what had been done to her not long ago—stealing life force. She had already started, and she didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty about it.

  The blonde felt a spike of irritation, an irrational and uncontrollable anger she couldn’t contain. She had never felt like this before. No one had ever thrown her off this badly. She wanted to scream, to lash out, to punch that smug brunette sitting across from her. Her whole body trembled. Something was wrong. She couldn’t focus or think of anything except the rising hatred churning inside her. She reached out toward Alice, wanting to grab her hair, claw her eyes, do anything to release what was boiling over inside her, but the brunette was faster. She caught her wrist, and everything went quiet. The blonde suddenly felt drowsy. So, so drowsy. She felt herself slipping, someone holding her up, and then everything went dark.

  Two powerfully built women helped Alice drag the girl out of the club and wake her a little. If not for all the witnesses, who knows how far Alice would’ve gone? Would she have taken even more energy, maybe even tried to devour the girl’s whole soul? Luckily for the screaming idiot, Alice still hadn’t mastered the art of handling the impulses she absorbed. Within minutes, she was overwhelmed by an urge to shout, jump, run around, and generally annoy everyone nearby.

  Her revenge wasn’t as satisfying as she’d hoped, but it would have to do for now. She left the dumbass lying on the sidewalk, shoved a beer bottle into her hand, and called the cops from the girl’s phone so they’d come take care of her. Then she set off on a long walk home, already planning to begin the painstaking process of purging the unwanted traits she’d absorbed. This time, she’d ask her subconscious for help.