Thick clouds darkened the sky above, then cleared again. The air smelled damper than before. In a few hours, rain would pour down on Morganefaire. I loved to feel the charged particles on my skin.
We walked in silence for all of a minute, Julie lost in her thoughts, me enjoying the feeling of oncoming rain. And then she started again. “You know, I’ve got a million questions. Could garlic keep you and your clan from devouring my friends?”
“I have no plans to devour your friends,” I said slowly, irritation creeping up on me.
She tapped a finger against her lips. “How did you become a vampire?” I opened my mouth to answer when her face lit up and she floated up and down, making me think she had come up with something meaningful to ask. “How about a large black cape? Do you wear one?” She tilted her head. “It’s kind of out of style now with vampires. Even though your wardrobe needs a little shape and color, you seem quite modern and you definitely talk like my generation.”
I groaned inwardly. “Seriously, that’s your important question? Asking me whether I’m wearing a cape? Why don’t you just ask me if I sparkle while you’re at it?”
“Sparkle? Since when do vampires sparkle?”
I waved my hand. “It’s a Twilight thing.”
She shrugged and then continued, “So do you think if I’m stuck in this world you could set me up with a hot ghost?”
“I don’t know.” My shoulders slumped. Why wouldn’t she just shut up? I was ready to start begging.
“You should be able to do that because you’re a necromancer and all,” Julie said, completely unaware of the effect she had on me. “Can you call a ghost any time you want?”
“I’m new to all of this,” I muttered. “Besides, I really doubt this gift was given to me so I can hook up people.”
“You mean you weren’t born with it?” She sounded genuinely surprised. “I don’t get it. How does the whole summoning thing work? Do you need candles? Do you want me to chant? Because I’m really good at it.”
“Julie—” I stopped in mid-stride, ready to talk some sense into her. Several people turned to watch the loony woman talking into thin air, but I didn’t care. It was a matter of keeping my sanity intact. “Look, I’m still trying to deal with it. It’s not been easy. So, please, can we talk about it another time? It’s a touchy subject for me.”
“Fine,” Julie said smiling. For a whole second I thought she sympathized with me…until her grin turned into a grimace and she opened her mouth again. “I’ve never met a necromancer afraid of ghosts. Although, I never met a necromancer before at all. How does one get that title and become a vampire at the same time? That’s so cool. I’d love to be a vampire. But I’m not sure about the whole sleeping in a coffin thing. Wait!” She slapped my arm, sending an electric jolt through it. I could almost see the metaphorical light bulb going on over her head. “How come you’re not sleeping in a coffin?” Her brows shot up. “Or are you? A coffin must be difficult to hide…unless it’s in the basement or the morgue. Is that why you ventured down there?”
“Julie, please.” I sighed exasperated. “Just shut up.”
“Fine, you don’t want to talk about it,” she said, taking off through the busy streets. I hurried after her, lest I lose her in the crowd and have to teleport home. Come to think of it, maybe teleporting with its nausea and weakening effect on me wasn’t such a bad idea compared to Julie’s rambling. “Let me tell you this funny story,” she continued. “There was this guy who sold animal manure and he had this hot son. I mean, flowing blond hair and smoldering dark eyes.” She started to fan herself. “I was hoping he’d ask me out to the Moonlight Dance at the harvest festival. So I was like...”
My hands clenched into fists. Counting the seconds, I bit my lower lip until the thin, protective layer burst. Drawing my own blood was a dangerous thing that could turn me into a rampant killer, but I had to do something that would help me tune out the irritating ghost.
Chapter 13
When we finally reached the front door, I breathed out relieved. Probably tired of her own chatter, Julie told me she wanted to sit on the porch…and think, God bless her. I breezed into the living room, expecting Aidan and Kieran to be sitting on the sofa, waiting for me. To my disappointment, I found Maya dusting the shiny cherry wood table. A plastic cleaning box with a bare minimum of cleaning supplies—an unlabeled bottle of clear fluid, paper towels and a rag— was sitting at her feet. She didn’t raise her gaze as I walked in.
A swirl of gritty dirt fell off my shoes as I neared the sofa. Maya rolled her eyes and reached for a broom and dustpan.
“I’m so sorry. I’ll clean this up.” I hurried to help her but she shooed me away.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re our guest,” she said, finishing up. “Can I get you anything?”
She said all the right words but her tone sounded annoyed. I could see right past that fake act of hers. That eye roll said it all. “I’m fine, thanks.” I set my purse down and looked around.
“They’re not back yet,” she said. I could see that much so I nodded.
She pressed her mouth into a thin line. The silence between us became downright embarrassing. I hovered in the doorway, unsure whether it’d be rude to excuse myself and head upstairs. In the end I decided my mother had taught me better than that. So what if she was a bit shy? Maybe she had yet to warm up to me. In the last few weeks, I had met my share of crazies. If she turned out to be a bit crazy, one more was no big deal.
“Do you live nearby?” I asked, slumping onto the sofa.
Maya mumbled something that sounded like ‘yes’ and began to rearrange the cushions on the sofa, keeping a good distance between us as she worked her way around me. I wondered whether I looked like I had the plague or something. Ignoring her downright derisive attitude, I put on my brightest smile and continued, “Today I visited the market. It’s such a beautiful place.”
This time she didn’t even bother to answer. I fought back a frown and kept my smile in place even though my mouth was slowly beginning to hurt from the effort. But I wasn’t ready to give up yet. “We’ve never thanked you for taking such good care of us. So, thank you.”
She nodded, then started to polish the already sparkling glass cabinet. Her back was turned on me, but I could see her face in the reflection of the glass. The woman was about as social as my cupboard. I heaved a silent sigh and drummed my fingers on my thigh.
“I bought my boyfriend an awesome present,” I said.
Maya ignored me. I couldn’t tell whether it was just an act or whether she didn’t hear a word I said. Either way, I was bored enough to want to find out. I shuffled in my seat to get a better glimpse at her face. “On the way home, I was chased by giant demon dogs. And now you ask me...how did I survive? I pulled out my magic sword, jumped on their back and slayed them.”
No answer. Her expression remained the same. No twitching lips, no irritated eye roll. Heck, not even a shift in gaze. How could anyone switch off like that? Maya was creepier than I thought. She reminded me of a robot on automatic, continuing to polish the glass cabinet, which was already as shiny as new.
Okay, she didn’t want to talk. I decided to give up and turned my attention to my nails. I always did that when I was nervous: inspecting them, cleaning them, biting them. Something stirred in my line of vision. I looked up at the glass cabinet and noticed Maya staring at my reflection. Her dark eyes shimmered unnaturally bright. When she noticed me looking she averted her gaze, but not fast enough. In that brief second I could swear a shadow crossed her features and her eye color turned from brown to a dark shade of green.
The whole situation reminded me of what I went through only a few days ago around the time my bloodlust flared up. My heart beat so hard I almost shook in my seat. It couldn’t be happening again. Not after I just experienced a full-blown confrontation with a poltergeist and almost died at the hands of her werewolf pet. I couldn’t go through it again. Jumping up, I excused myself and dashe
d out the door, and only stopped when I reached the backyard. “Get a grip,” I mumbled, my feet pounding the grass. “You’re being paranoid.”
I took slow and deep breaths to steady myself. Only a few days ago, when I was possessed, my eye color had changed, which scared the crap out of everyone who knew me. But Maya showed no signs of being possessed. No screaming in horror and jumping out the window...like me. No rambling something about seeing blood pouring down the walls…like me again. Basically, I was a crazy whack job. It came as a surprise Aidan didn’t throw a straitjacket on me. But Maya wasn’t like that. The only thing that seemed strange about her was her unwillingness to communicate, but if an anti-social attitude is an indicator of ghostly possession, then half the world’s population might be haunted.
I ran a hand through my hair as I sorted through my thoughts. Eventually, I decided there was nothing wrong with Maya. The eye color occurrence was nothing but a reflection of my own fears—and ever since entering Aidan’s world I sure had accumulated a lot of those. My mind was basically playing a trick on me. Yeah, that had to be the answer. Unless Maya was some new supernatural creature I hadn’t met yet.
I only realized it was already early afternoon when Aidan’s voice echoed from the house a moment before he appeared around the corner.
“Hey,” he said softly. The smile on his face disappeared quickly when he noticed my expression. Frowning, he gently grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I—”
He arched a brow. I took a deep breath as I decided to be honest. No more secrets between us. “Okay, there was something. Maya was in the living room when I came back from my trip with Julie. She was strange, and then I thought I saw her eye color change, which made me wonder whether she’s some supernatural creature I don’t yet know about.” The moment I finished, I realized how foolish I sounded. I almost expected Aidan to burst out in laughter and tell me I was behaving like a scared, little child, but he just continued to frown and remained silent.
“I’m pretty sure Maya’s just a witch, like everyone else in Morganefaire,” he finally said, hesitating, “but if she makes you feel uncomfortable I can get Blake to send a replacement.”
“That’s not what I meant. I told you it’s nothing, so just forget about it.” I took off toward the house. Aidan followed a step behind. I could feel his presence as though he was glued to me. “I wish someone could give me a giant handbook so I’m not constantly walking around in the dark,” I muttered. He shot me an apologetic look. Before he could say a word, I held up my hand and continued. “Yeah, I know that doesn’t exist.”
He smiled. “But it should.”
“Damn straight.” I nodded. “I’m going to write one.”
“Whatever you do I trust your instincts,” he whispered. “Maya doesn’t look dangerous, but you might be sensing her animosity toward strangers wafting from her. I don’t want you to be upset because of it so it might be better to talk to Blake.”
I turned to regard him. “No, let her stay. She might not like me very much, but that’s not a reason to sack someone.”
“Are you sure you want her around?” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. I nodded as I buried my head against his chest, breathing in his scent. A soft breeze ruffled our hair and caressed our skin, making me shiver.
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to give you.” My hand moved inside my back pocket to retrieve his present. I smiled as I watched him eye it carefully before tearing through the paper to reveal the black box beneath.
“What is it?” he asked.
I shrugged, amused. “Don’t know. You tell me.”
“Even though I’ve no idea what could possibly be inside, thank you.” Aidan’s words filled me with pride. My heart almost burst with love at the prospect of having removed one of his worries.
His fingers gingerly moved across the velvet cover and pried it open. The emerald stone shimmered in the daylight, catching my breath. A smile spread across my lips. I felt like jumping up and down, and hugging him at the same time. But when I raised my gaze to catch his expression, I realized he didn’t share my enthusiasm.
“Thank you,” he said again. “It’s beautiful.” His words were genuine but it wasn’t the reaction I had expected.
I frowned, suddenly irritated with him. “It’s the same ring you have. Don’t you recognize it?”
“Babe—” a pause, then “—it’s a replica.”
“How can you tell? It looks exactly the same.” I fought the urge to shake some sense into him because, the way I saw it, the ring couldn’t possibly be a fake. Or could it?
His expression softened even more, as though he felt sorry for my blunder. Deep inside I cringed at my own naivety and stupidity. Of course the ring couldn’t possibly be real. According to Aidan, it was one of the most sought-after objects in the paranormal world. So, why would it gather dust in a makeshift display in a witch’s meaningless shop with no security to guard it? Because, obviously, it was indeed worthless. I felt my face drop the way Julie’s had when I told her I couldn’t try the apple because I was a vampire.
“It’s a beautiful gift I’ll treasure forever because it came from you,” Aidan said. That about did it. I grabbed the box out of his hands and tossed it across the garden into the nearby bushes. A bird swooped over our heads and flew away, so I knew the darn ring landed somewhere. But where, I didn’t care. I just wanted it gone forever.
“I’m such a moron,” I muttered. “I can’t believe I really thought I had solved that problem of yours after you spent hundreds of years trying to locate its whereabouts.”
Laughing, Aidan took off through the bushes to search for the ring. I could only hope he wasn’t going to tell his friends about his gift, or I might end up the laughing stock yet again. Slowly, I was getting used to my reputation— scaredy cat necromancer and newly turned vampire messes up big time...again.
“I forgot to tell you Kieran and I have joined the Night Guard,” Aidan called from under the bushes. I rolled my eyes and slumped onto the lawn to pout for a minute. A bit later he joined me, holding the box in his hand and still laughing. “You wanna come?”
“You guys want me around?” I sat up instantly, the box in his hands forgotten or, better said, ignored. “No begging, no arguing?”
He shook his head and brushed a stray strand of hair out of my face. “No begging, no arguing. In fact, we hope you’ll join us. You’ll make a hell of a private investigator.” His eyes sparkled and for a moment, I couldn’t tell whether he meant it or was making fun of me. I decided it was probably the latter, but I didn’t care. I had been dying to find out more about the Night Guard, and this was my chance.
“So the Council meeting went well?” I asked.
He cringed. “Not quite. There was a lot of talk about the coming war. Logan’s on our side, but Riley wants to keep Morganefaire’s allegiances open, meaning he thinks it might be wise to wait and see, and then kiss the winner—”
“Where the sun don’t shine,” I finished.
“I meant to say ‘the winner’s hand’ but I guess your interpretation is spot on,” Aidan muttered.
“That’s bad.”
He took a deep breath as his gaze swept over the blossoming rosebushes. “I talked to Blake.” I reached out to brush my hand through his hair, signaling I was there for him, no matter what. “He agrees that Julie was murdered, but he has no idea why.”
I nodded. “Thought that much.”
“There’s something else.” His voice lowered to a mere whisper. “Another body was found this morning.”
“What?” I inched closer, too shocked to form a coherent thought.
“She was only twenty and died in her sleep. Or so it seems. Blake’s found out that she was about to start an apprenticeship outside of Morganefaire in a few days. The Council has decided to keep her death a secret, but it’s only a matter of time until it leaks to the public.” He closed his
eyes and began to massage his temples the way he always did when he expected things to take a turn for the worse. “One death they might accept as a coincidence, two and they might think it could have something to do with us.”
“A furious crowd demanding answers,” I whispered. “Answers we don’t have.” He nodded. “Do you want me to visit her body and question her ghost?”
Aidan’s lips pressed into a grim line. “It’s probably too late. The reaper must’ve been here already.”
“You don’t know that for sure. Just look at Julie. There’s no sign of a reaper and she’s following me around like there’s no tomorrow,” I said, wondering why I hadn’t seen her in a while. “It’s worth a shot,” I continued quieter in case anyone heard us. The idea of having a second ghost following me around scared the crap out of me, but I offered nonetheless in case it might do any good.
“I appreciate it,” Aidan said. “But your hands are full with her, and one ghost is enough.”
I tried not to show my relief. Julie was manageable…so far, but I definitely couldn’t tune in to two ghosts at the same time. It’d drive me bonkers, not to mention the fact that they might just decide to possess me or something.
“Any clues as to what could’ve happened to them?” I asked.
“None. The Night Guard is our only chance.” He inched closer until our lips almost touched. I could feel his hot breath on my skin and it sent shivers down my spine. “At this point we cannot trust anyone.”
“Yeah, like they trust us.” I snorted.
“Not true. They’ll be wary of Kieran and me, because they think we have underlying motives. We’re ancient vampires with a bad reputation. But you’re a completely different story and could hide under the radar.”
“Because I’m super sweet, friendly, and never have shed innocent blood.” Well, except for one poor squirrel—may it rest in peace!
“My thoughts exactly. Everybody likes you—” he cringed “—except the help.” I slapped his arm playfully. “But, seriously, you could mingle with the guards, play the loyal girlfriend supporting her man by being there, completely bored by the politics.”