Page 46 of Dead Vengeance

But then Fabian asks, “Is the ghost hot?”

My eyes snap across, but he only walks on, throwing a grin my way. A weirdly cheeky grin.

I think he’s taking the piss. He must be taking the piss.

“It wasn’t bad looking, I guess,” I mumble out. “For a ghost. But I don’t know, I’m not used to judging ghosts by their looks. Or at all, I guess.”

“Was it all gnarled and dead and bloody and shit, or like…” He drifts off, circling a hand in the air to leave me to guess what he’s trying to get at.

“It was…” I attempt. “It looked alive, you know? Normal. Except the weird glow about it. And the floatiness. And the… I mean, you could tell it was a ghost. You could see right through it.”

“But good looking?”

“I mean. Yeah? He was pretty fit, I guess.”

“Hot.” His pace accelerates a little, like he’s actually excited to get there and see this good-looking ghost.

I stumble to keep up with him. “You… You like ghosts, then? It’s… an interest?”

“I’ve always wanted to meet a ghost,” he replies, very matter-of-factly, like it’s something he’s thought over a lot. “You know, they’re just so fucking ethereal. And I think… Fuck, imagine being dead that whole time, and then you meet someone, like, a human. And they just fucking get you. Because, like… you had no one else. And then you meet this human and they know all about the period when you died. And then it’s like…”

Again, he drifts off, but this time I can’t fill in the blanks at all. It’s as if he has some weird ghost romance going on in his mind, but that’s just bizarre. Who wants to think about people and ghosts falling in love with each other? Ridiculous concept.

On the other hand, it’s nice to think at least maybe he won’t fire his gun at any of them, like Raul did yesterday. Yet I have the weirdest, strangest worry about what else he might do. Random séance? Inviting them to follow us home? Calling them down into the living room when I’m trying to have pastries with Archer?

Pastries.

With Archer.

I’m all warm inside again, just at the thought of it. Part of me hoped Raul wouldn’t come today, and that it would just be the two of us.

It’s not that I’m not shit-scared of what’s waiting for me there. And of course it would be great to have backup, especially someone who has actual experience extracting spirits. But we didn’t see that really scary thing yesterday, so maybe won’t today either…

“And what’s the owner like?” Fabian pipes up. “Why’s he got a ghost?”

I get the urge to dodge the first question because it flares something inside. A little protective something. Like I don’t want him to know about, or see, Archer. Because it’s the second time I’m noticing this guy’s cheekbones. This guy’s nice neck. The fact that this guy is actually pretty handsome. And Archer was so nice to me yesterday, and I was so useless, and if this guy turns up all handsome with his overalls that fit and his ghost knowledge…

“He’s married,” I spit out. “Married. You’ll see the ring on his finger.”

Fabian scrunches his eyes up at me, like I’ve said something weird. Which I have. “And besides married?”

“Doesn’t know why he has ghosts. Assumes they died in the stables. Hay bales and shit.”

“That sounds strange.”

“That’s ghosts for you.” I shrug.

“Yeah, I guess. But ghostsssssss? As in, more than one ghost?”

“Yeah, apparently he has several.”

“Fuuuuuck, that’s so cool.” The emphasis on ‘fuck’ comes deep and throaty, and this guy’s beginning to annoy me, while he continues to worry me.

“Kraa!” comes a shout out of nowhere. There’s a flash of black and a flap of wings, and I stick my arm out by instinct as it heads straight for me. The talons curl around my wrist, and before I know it, there’s Edgar’s big beak in my face, that purring sound cooing at me.

I chuckle out a laugh at the surprise of it, at the way his beak dips against my wrist when I stroke him. “Good morning, Edgar.”

Fabian has come to a stop in the little laneway, staring hard at the bird with his annoyingly pretty eyes that I hope Archer doesn’t find pretty, but how could he not? They’re so blue. And he says, “That is so cooool!”