The Sunken Tower
Page 25
“Just a few more questions, then. You've given me a lot of good information. When is the last time you saw them in person?”
“I went home for Yule.” Elise jogged down the last few steps and opened the heavy wooden door that led to the main floor.
The dogs ran to the front door, tails wagging. Hagatha must have arrived. Jett and Raid knew the sound of her car.
“And you didn't notice anything strange, then?”
“No.”
Tallon chuckled. “Normally when someone describes a life that sounds as great as what your parents have, I suspect there're all sorts of things below the surface, but, knowing you, I can almost believe your parents do have that life.”
Elise glanced at the vampire. “I'd say the biggest disruption was finding out I was a necromancer and having to send me off to boarding school. They still don't know all the details.”
“I won't fill them in. How much of our world do they know about?”
“I've never mentioned vampires to them. I suppose we should probably let Mom know what you are, if you're okay with it. They've been out to visit enough times that they're comfortable with the ghosts and Hagatha, to some degree. I've told them enough to keep them from wondering too much, but not so much that they'd be considered a danger.”
“As long as you think your mom won't have a problem with it, I don't mind if you tell her what I am. It will make matters easier.”
The front doors burst open as Hagatha barged inside. “Who do we need to fry?” Her long curly white hair, that often made people think her years older than her actual thirty-two years, looked windblown and wild. Today she sported more utilitarian clothing than her normal mash of the styles of the ages. Jeans and a light sweater resembled Elise's own preference for flannel shirts and jeans. Her violet eyes flashed, and she held her hands out in front of her as if she thought the enemy might stand in that room.
“Oh, hi, Tallon.” She lowered her hands and grinned at the vampire.
Tallon smiled back. “Hagatha.”
“Seriously, Elise, who would hurt your dad? What is going on?”
“I don't know. Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
“Let's go, then.” Elise knelt and hugged her dogs. “Slade, please take care of Raid and Jett.”
The ghost appeared next to her with a suitcase. “Of course, m’lady.” He touched the brim of his hat before patting his insubstantial leg. The dogs followed.
Elise led the way out of the tower into the sweet-smelling spring air. “Let's go talk to Mom.” She gestured and a shining slit opened in front of her, slowly widening into a portal. Joining hands with Hagatha and Tallon, she took a deep breath and stepped through.
About the Authors
J. A. Campbell
When Julie is not writing she’s often out riding horses, or working sheep with her dogs. She lives in Colorado with her three cats, her border collies Kira and Bran, her Traveler-in training Triska, and her Irish Sailor. She is the author of many Vampire and Ghost-Hunting Dog stories the Tales of the Travelers series, and many other young adult books. She’s a member of the Horror Writers Association and the Science Fiction Writers of America and the editor for Story Emporium fiction magazine. Find out more at http://www.writerjacampbell.com.
Rebecca McFarland Kyle
Born on Friday 13, Rebecca developed an early love for the unusual. Dragons, vampires, and all manner of magical beings haunt her thoughts and stir her to the keyboard. She currently lives between the Smoky and Cumberland mountains with her husband and four cats. Her first YA novel, Fanny & Dice, was released on Halloween 2015. Her vampire short story collection was released in 2016. She's working on both short and long fiction on her own and with co-conspirators. Find out more at http://rmkyle.abckyle.com.
Other Works
By J.A. Campbell and Rebecca McFarland Kyle
Necromantic Shenanigans
The Macrow Necromancers
Nothing But Necromancy
Nothing But Nemesis
Necromancy By Necessity
The Justiciariate Magus
Sunken Towers
The Cursed Knife (forthcoming)
By Rebecca McFarland Kyle
Walking on the Weird Side
Weirder Every Day
Fanny and Dice
By J. A. Campbell
The Clanless Series
The Legends of the Travelers Series
The Tales of the Travelers Series
Brown Ghost Hunting Dog Vol 1 and Vol 2
Into the West
Necromantic Shenanigans
From building Towers of Solitude in Colorado’s mountains to freeing a bestiary held captive by a demon-possessed Scottish Laird, Elise and Hagatha Macrow are on the case.
Necromantic Shenanigans is a lucky combination of thirteen stories detailing the escapades of two necromancers, who fight crime and normalcy without ever donning a cape.
When Dallas Homicide detective Kevin Tallon wakes up in the ER with no memory of who put him there, he’s grateful he’s alive.
Except he’s not.
He quickly learns that crime scenes are no place for a vampire. But he’s determined to continue fighting crime. Being as he’s stuck with a permanent night job, he’s definitely walking on the weird side.
Taken from her people as a foal, Saga is plunged into a world completely foreign to her. All Travelers know other worlds exist, but they don’t expect to actually experience them until they are adults. Saga must learn to adapt to her new surroundings if she wants to survive until she’s old enough to be able to Travel among worlds and return to her people.
Jarl is the son of the Vanir High Mages and heir to the throne. Though young, his parents entrust him with the care and training of the captured Traveler foal. However, none of the Vanir understand just how intelligent the Travelers are and they may have given Jarl more than he can handle.
When Saga escapes, the High Mages decide she is too much trouble and has to be killed. Jarl defies his parents and goes after her. Will they remain enemies when Jarl finds her, or will they form a bond of friendship strong enough to save Saga’s life?
“I’m leaving Hell for good, Eurydice…”
When she heard those words, Eurydice had a choice: remain in Hades’s realm or escape to Earth with her kinswoman, Persephone.
She knew the Earth wasn’t what they’d left. Demeter hadn’t summoned Persephone to bring Spring for quite some time…and the last dead crossed the River Styx many years before.
She hadn’t expected to arrive in a world where trains rode across the prairie on metal tracks instead of chariots and men settled disputes with six guns instead of swords...
Have a ghost problem? Brown is the dog for the job. Normally used to herd sheep, her Border Collie Eye works on ghosts, too. Follow her adventures as she and her human, Elliott, hunt ghosts all over the old west. They find their first real ghost in a saloon in Miller, Colorado, and from there her nose leads her to more adventures. Brown fights ghosts on trains, boats, and in old mines. She discovers that some ghosts are friendly when she and Elliott need extra help fighting a magical construct. There may be friendly ghosts, but there are no friendly Martians, and Brown has to take the ultimate adventure to save Elliott from their nefarious clutches, meeting new friends along the way. Packed full of adventure, this weird western anthology contains seven short stories and one never before published novella.