Pelham,” I answered as I smiled and waved at the ghost in question.
Ah, you have decided to return and grace me with your beautiful presence
. I could only hear Pelham’s voice in my head.
“Hi, Pel,” I said with a warm smile.
Christa glanced at the staircase, back to me, and back to the staircase again before letting out a deep sigh. “Spooky. Anyway, Jules, why don’t you tell your invisible friend that we were in the middle of a conversation before he interrupted us?” She folded her arms againsther chest and tapped her fingers on her elbow as if she was irritated.
“He can hear you,” I said and threw her a frown.
Pelham just smiled at me and tipped his head as if to say yes, he could hear her and he apologized for interrupting us.
“I’ll come and visit soon, Pel,” I announced.
Very well. I have missed you
. Then he just disappeared into the stairwell.
“Do you still want to see Rand?” Christa asked.
“Yes,” I said and followed her down the hallway to the kitchen, which, in turn, led to the back garden area.
“There’s your man,” Christa said with a smile as she pointed at Rand, who stood beside Odran and Trent. All three of them were staring at a piece of paper on a picnic table. I assumed the paper in question was the ledger of names of the dead soldiers who needed to be reanimated.
Behind them, as far as I could see, were the tents of our legion. The glow of their campfires cast shadows and flickering lights against the tents, making it look like a campsite of ghosts.
“Thanks, Chris,” I answered with a grin before starting forward. The three men were probably twenty feet or so from us, all hunched over the table, scrutinizing whatever was on the sheet. At my approach, all three looked up, but it was Rand who smiled first.
“Is everything all right?”
Christa mumbled something about it being too cold outside and returned to the house but I didn’t turn to watch her leave. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Rand. I smiled and nodded even though the answer to his question was a definite no. If anything, it felt like my world was crumbling down around me and it was all I could do to grab hold of a loose brick or two.
“Yeah, I just wanted to find out when you thought we should start the reanimations,” I said.
Rand nodded and glanced at the sheet of paper in front of him, flicking it with his long index finger as he stood up straight and beamed at me. “I think we’re ready.”
“And I am quite certain the dead soldiers would thank you if they could.”
All four of us turned to the sound of Sinjin’s voice as he stepped out from behind a massive pine tree. My heart leapt into my throat and I wasn’t sure if it was because Sinjin had just appeared out of nowhere and scared me half to death, or because he was standing in front of Rand. The two hadn’t seen each other since the battle and whenever they came within a few feet of each other, it was a prescription for conflict.
“Sinjin,” I said without realizing I’d spoken his name.
Sinjin bowed and smiled, his fangs reflecting in the moonlight. He was dressed, as always, in black, and he looked as elegant and handsome as ever with his longish black hair curling over his ears in gentle waves, in contrast with the iciness of his piercing blue eyes.
“Greetings,” he responded, his tone dripping with sensuality.
It was like slow motion as my gaze shifted from the vampire to Rand. And Rand’s expression was not a happy one. His eyes were narrowed and his lips were tight, his jaw even tighter. The color had completely drained from his face.
“You bloody bastard,” Rand started and before anyone could stop him, he lunged forward, pulled back his fist, and delivered a clean blow to Sinjin’s cheek. The vampire took a step back and appeared to be slightly off balance. For a split second I thought he might fall down, but he regained control and stood stock-still.
“Blooody ’ell,” Odran exclaimed while
Ah, you have decided to return and grace me with your beautiful presence
. I could only hear Pelham’s voice in my head.
“Hi, Pel,” I said with a warm smile.
Christa glanced at the staircase, back to me, and back to the staircase again before letting out a deep sigh. “Spooky. Anyway, Jules, why don’t you tell your invisible friend that we were in the middle of a conversation before he interrupted us?” She folded her arms againsther chest and tapped her fingers on her elbow as if she was irritated.
“He can hear you,” I said and threw her a frown.
Pelham just smiled at me and tipped his head as if to say yes, he could hear her and he apologized for interrupting us.
“I’ll come and visit soon, Pel,” I announced.
Very well. I have missed you
. Then he just disappeared into the stairwell.
“Do you still want to see Rand?” Christa asked.
“Yes,” I said and followed her down the hallway to the kitchen, which, in turn, led to the back garden area.
“There’s your man,” Christa said with a smile as she pointed at Rand, who stood beside Odran and Trent. All three of them were staring at a piece of paper on a picnic table. I assumed the paper in question was the ledger of names of the dead soldiers who needed to be reanimated.
Behind them, as far as I could see, were the tents of our legion. The glow of their campfires cast shadows and flickering lights against the tents, making it look like a campsite of ghosts.
“Thanks, Chris,” I answered with a grin before starting forward. The three men were probably twenty feet or so from us, all hunched over the table, scrutinizing whatever was on the sheet. At my approach, all three looked up, but it was Rand who smiled first.
“Is everything all right?”
Christa mumbled something about it being too cold outside and returned to the house but I didn’t turn to watch her leave. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Rand. I smiled and nodded even though the answer to his question was a definite no. If anything, it felt like my world was crumbling down around me and it was all I could do to grab hold of a loose brick or two.
“Yeah, I just wanted to find out when you thought we should start the reanimations,” I said.
Rand nodded and glanced at the sheet of paper in front of him, flicking it with his long index finger as he stood up straight and beamed at me. “I think we’re ready.”
“And I am quite certain the dead soldiers would thank you if they could.”
All four of us turned to the sound of Sinjin’s voice as he stepped out from behind a massive pine tree. My heart leapt into my throat and I wasn’t sure if it was because Sinjin had just appeared out of nowhere and scared me half to death, or because he was standing in front of Rand. The two hadn’t seen each other since the battle and whenever they came within a few feet of each other, it was a prescription for conflict.
“Sinjin,” I said without realizing I’d spoken his name.
Sinjin bowed and smiled, his fangs reflecting in the moonlight. He was dressed, as always, in black, and he looked as elegant and handsome as ever with his longish black hair curling over his ears in gentle waves, in contrast with the iciness of his piercing blue eyes.
“Greetings,” he responded, his tone dripping with sensuality.
It was like slow motion as my gaze shifted from the vampire to Rand. And Rand’s expression was not a happy one. His eyes were narrowed and his lips were tight, his jaw even tighter. The color had completely drained from his face.
“You bloody bastard,” Rand started and before anyone could stop him, he lunged forward, pulled back his fist, and delivered a clean blow to Sinjin’s cheek. The vampire took a step back and appeared to be slightly off balance. For a split second I thought he might fall down, but he regained control and stood stock-still.
“Blooody ’ell,” Odran exclaimed while
Similar Books
