‎A tall dome enveloped the area in the vicinity of the warehouse, sealing off the area and repelling mundane humans from the area.

‎On the downside, it also prevented Jeff and Aisha, as well as the reinforcements they'd brought, from rushing to Norvax and Alissa's aid.

‎Jeff stared at the ethereal dome with ill-concealed disgust, pursing his lips into a thin line.

‎Beside him, Aisha stood in a knee-length black long coat, expressionlessly staring into the dome.

‎The older woman stretched out a hand, placing it squarely against the dome. A violent surge of energy rippled across the dome from the point of contact.

‎Jeff turned to her, his mouth slightly opening in a comical expression of shock.

‎"Aisha, that's an unidentified artifact barrier; you'll get hurt," he said in a low voice.

‎" Jefferson, this much can't hurt me. Have the artifact specialists arrived?"

‎The barrier hummed with barely restrained energy, crackling violently with bursts of electricity, but the bespectacled woman barely flinched.

‎Jeff shivered slightly, inching back a bit.

‎" Damn, she's pissed."

‎He turned to the colourless barrier, crossing his arms across his chest, restlessly tapping his arm.

‎" Hold on, Norvax. Just a little longer."

‎Within the warehouse, Norvax was locked in a furious uphill battle fighting two irksome Talented alone.

‎Ordinarily, two Talented wouldn't be enough to hold down the Captain, but it was their powers that gave them a slight edge.

‎Limiting his movements and also bridging the gap in strength between them.

‎From what Alissa could tell, he was holding his own well for now.

‎" You know, if she catches onto you, you're as good as dead," a voice whispered, its voice floating through the air.

‎Alissa pursed her lips, frowning slightly.

‎In the ensuing chaos, the figure of a man, whom only she could see, materialized, staring at her with a curious expression.

‎You know, right now you're at your limit. There was truth to what the man was saying.

‎Frankly, Alissa was quite exhausted, and it was beginning to show. Using her ability put tremendous strain on her, both physically and mentally.

‎She was already pushing past her limits. In fact, her body had already passed its limit. She was barely hanging on as it was.

"You need to find a way to get out of here. Even though you're trying to help me, you dying here won't help me at the very least," the man said.

Alissa shot him an icy glare.

‎The man was Carlisle Van Fritz, one of the victims in question in the case they were pursuing. And currently, apart from being unquestionably dead, he was being a pest.

‎Because what better thing did he have to do?

‎"You know, thanks to your ability, I can hear some of your thoughts, and I don't particularly like what I'm hearing..."

‎"What do you think I'm trying to do? What do you think I've been trying to do?"Alissa snapped.

‎The man stared at her incredulously.

‎" I don't know, running around, scurrying behind crates."

‎In life, Carlisle must've been a loser because even as a phantom, his angular

‎face and proportionate face made for quite a sight.

‎If he'd been alive, maybe she'd have even fallen for him. But the man was now dead.

‎Proof of which was the ghastly hole in his chest where his heart should have been that rippled in a constant state of regeneration before reverting to the horrific sight she'd grown used to seeing.

‎His ghostly long hair fluttered endlessly in an eerie wind.

‎The grey suit he'd worn just before his death rippled in a continuous motion.

‎Alissa gritted her teeth, grinding them in frustration.

‎She bit back the urge to scream out loud.

‎"Why am I even bothering with you?"

‎The phantom smirked.

‎" Good question. Have you caught Jamil yet?"

‎Alissa rolled her eyes, crouching lower to hide from a Talented who was moving towards her position.

‎" Relax, with me around, they can't see you."

‎The man grinned ominously.

‎"Until you stop using your ability, of course. In which case, Candace will flatten you before you can even say hi."

‎Alissa frowned, crawling back the way she'd come.

‎" Who is that supposed to be?"

‎"Oh, she's just the witch that's leading these lunatics from what I can tell, and one of Jamil's direct subordinates."

‎A ghostly gust of wind blew past her, toppling a few crates.

‎Alissa cursed, quickly moving away from the scene of the disturbance.

‎"Aren't you supposed to be on my side? Are you trying to get me killed instead?"

‎She turned them frozen.

‎" What the hell?!"

‎Alissa raised an eyebrow in amusement at the ill-concealed fury on Carlisle's face.

‎" You have history with her?"

‎Carlisle turned, piercing her with an icy glare.

‎" Unfinished business."

‎The temperature around Alissa dropped, a layer of frost rapidly creeping across the floor.

‎Alissa groaned, grasping her head in pain.

‎Another wave of pain flared through her head, blinding her for a split second.

‎The light in her eyes flickered for a brief second with the abrupt strain on her ability.

‎"Hey, watch it!"

‎The angrier you get, the more power I have to exert to keep you here. It was also the reason why she was working with Carlisle.

‎ Most of the other souls that she had reached out to had been hell bent on obtaining their revenge, so much so that they were not willing to cooperate once they regained an incorporeal form, a temporary foothold in the material world.

‎Carlisle had been an exception, and that was why she was working with him.

‎Carlisle immediately inhaled, or rather, went through the motions of doing so. When he did that, it was almost easy to forget that he was only a phantom anoint an anointed living, breathing being.Wheree the hurdles that came with having such an obscure ability.

‎At times, it became a little difficult to distinguish the living from the dead. And that other times, Alyssa did not know whether she was still sane or a little mad. " Oh, by the way, " Carlisle said with a sheepish smile," for that brief second when your ability deactivated, you became visible, so if anything, Candace should be on to you."

‎Alissa was tempted to curse out loud once more.

‎" What the hell?!"

One of the quirks, and also the perks of her clairvoyant ability, was that it allowed her to use the abilities of the people that she came into contact with, provided that they allowed her to use them.

In life, Carlisle's ability had allowed him to seamlessly blend with his surroundings, a camouflage of sorts.

‎He'd been a neural Type Talented. By drawing the attention of the people around him away from himself or the objects around him, he was able to essentially become invisible and literally blend with his surroundings, which was the best camouflage, hiding in plain sight. Jamil and his cronies, a.k.a. the Crows, had only managed to get him after he exhausted his ability completely.

‎"Don't worry, he said gently.

‎"I actually know another entrance that we can use to escape this place and detect, but of course, that depends on how much of your ability you can use at this point. You'd have to keep hidden within my ability, and maybe then you would also be able to rescue your friend over there."

‎Alissa turned around so fast, she almost got whiplash. You knew all along we could escape this entire time.

‎Carlisle shrugged, nodding slightly.

‎"Of course."

‎"Then why didn't you tell me?"Alissa snarled furiously.

‎" Well, for one, I tried, but then you keep trying to ignore me, so I thought you probably had another way figured out, so I just woke up, just in case you didn't."

‎Alissa glared at him murderously.

‎" Idiot!"

‎"Well, we'd better get moving then, there's not much time left before they've finished combing this place."

‎Alissa let out a weary sigh.

‎" Fine, lead the way."

‎Carlisle quickly let us through a zigzagging pile of crates, gliding a few inches off the ground. Alissa gasped, clutching her head.

‎A white hot stab of pain flared through her head, turning her vision white for an instant.

‎"Are we almost there yet, she rasped. Carlisle shook his head. There is still a bit of a distance before we can get to the exit I'm talking about. Ironically I discovered it after my death. What bad luck, but I guess this works out for you. In the next moment, his expression darkened, and he came to a stop. I can feel our connection weakening. I think this is your limit.

‎ Alissa shook her head, biting back a scream. We need to get to Norvax first, then get out of here. Carlisle stared at her in silence, then sighed.

‎" What a stubborn woman you are. That stubbornness of yours will probably get you killed."

In the next moment, his eyes shone brightly, his form becoming slightly more visible, less ghostly.

The strain on Alissa's power increased drastically, bringing her to her feet.

" What the hell are you doing?"

Carlisle shrugged, turning his back to her.

" Saving your friend. Hopefully, I don't regret this."

A moment later, he disappeared from Alissa's sight.

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