Nine Lives: A Paranormal Adventure (Bad Tom Series Book 3)
Page 18
His smile forms from mist. "You're as beautiful as the day we met," he says.
"And you can still lay it on with a trowel."
"You're spikier than I remember, though."
Natalie snorts. "You've been away a long time. Things change."
"You made me go. I didn't choose it. I told you I'd wait."
She turns back to her book, her body stiff. "I never thought I'd need the family magic again, especially this late in life. I'd turned my back on it so long ago that I'd almost forgotten what I am. The dark potential of the magic that lives in me. Where's that blasted incantation?"
"You know it wasn't me who did those things all those years ago," he says. "You've no reason to be afraid of me."
She doesn't look up. "That again? I don't know anything of the sort. Didn't we have this conversation just fifty years ago? I'm bored of it now."
She feels his presence close behind her. She's afraid to move, afraid his essence will brush against her, and she'll be forced to see something from inside it. That's the worst part—brushing up against the pain that lives inside all of the lingering dead.
"Great galloping goblins! Back off," she shouts. "Never get that close to me." The strong sense of him moves away. At least he still pays attention to what she tells him. He was always good for that. Always polite and attentive.
"You didn't mind when we were young."
"You weren't dead when we were young." She turns and he's back across the room, a safe distance away, hands in his pockets.
His voice is even, but his look is pleading. "You have a point. I can see where that might put a damper on the relationship. But I'm still here. Still waiting for you. You're precious to me, so live a long life. But when it's done, I'll be here, still waiting, so we can cross to the Summerlands together."
"Fine. But go wait somewhere else."
"For a while," he says, nodding. "To give you time to adjust." Then he's gone without further ado. A wisp that is no longer a wisp. She casts her senses out for him, but he isn't near now.
She knows she'll have to let someone in on her secret eventually. But who can she trust enough to help her with building a new ward? Her family's taint still hangs over this town every time the old ritual grounds are mentioned. Nobody wants to think about that kind of magic. Oh no, not that. Magic should be clean and sparkly. Doesn't matter that a person can't help what they're born with.
And a fresh corpse to charge a new ward? Difficult to lay one's hands on, but not impossible. It may, she mused, prove more difficult to find a suitable, sturdy handbag in fire engine red.
THE END
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Author's Afterword
The Bad Tom Series is at an end, but there are still plenty of stories lurking around the quaint town of Giles, begging to be told. I hope you'll sign up for my New Books Notification Newsletter at http://jillnojack.com/notify so you'll be among the first to know when I launch The Maid, Mother, and Crone Mysteries: A Witch Cozy Mystery Series. The books will be chock full o' magic, mystery, adventure, and peopled with the characters you've come to know through Tom and Cassie's story.
You can find my other books on the Jill Nojack Author page at Amazon.com or by visiting my website at http://www.jillnojack.com where I keep readers updated on all of my series.
This book would not have been possible without the feedback I received from fellow author Michele Hunt Keller, who is currently seeking a publisher for her Fantasy writing. You can read about her efforts and find out if she has any recent publications here.
And finally, if you decide to leave a review on the Nine Lives page, let me just thank you in advance. Reviews (even the critical ones) help readers like you and me sort through a sea of releases and find exactly what we're looking for. Just a couple of sentences about what you liked or didn't like can make all the difference.
Other Books by Jill Nojack
Fae Unbound Series (Young Adult)
Magic Unbound (2013)
Queen of the Fae (2014)
Dragon Tender (2015)
Wizard's Wrath (Coming 2016)
Bad Tom Series
The Familiar (2015)
Witch Risen (2015)
Nine Lives (2016)