Who By Water (Voices of the Dead Book 1)
Page 27
Gregor sat his cup on the edge of the chair. “I think you should definitely stay here for a bit. Then I think you need to get away for awhile and recuperate inside.”
She shook her head. “When I’m mobile enough, I want to go back to work. There’ll be too many questions if I disappear. Besides, there are dead people everywhere. It’s not like I ever get to escape that.”
“But Gregor’s right, Mom. You and Rok should go on one of your treks or something.”
She paused and looked up at Gregor. “About that.”
They both looked at her and waited.
“Rok isn’t exactly what he appears.” More layers. More tethers. With each new revelation, she had to wonder if she was tying or cutting them.
Faron cocked his head at her. “He’s not a vampire or something is he?”
“God, no. But according to Gustaf, on his next birthday Rok will be 371 years old.”
“What the fuck?” Faron blinked at her in the darkness.
“He probably would’ve moved on by now, but he’s attached to us, to me and you.” She nodded at Faron. “Or he was. I don’t know when or if he’s coming back.”
“You weren’t the only one keeping secrets.” His tone was wearier than a twenty-year-old’s should ever have to be.
“I wasn’t. But no more. I promise.” The things that happened, with her father and with Achelous, weren’t secrets exactly. They were just stories she wasn’t ready to share.
Gregor picked up his mug and they all toasted, though Faron didn’t look her in the eye.
Jo scraped her spoon through the last of the ice cream in her bowl. She was pillow-wedged between Vesna on one side, reading a book with her legs stretched across the chenille comforter, and Helena curled up on the other side, gazing out the window.
Jackie was grocery shopping. Gregor had failed to convince her that he and Vesna had the situation in hand until Jo was ready to go back to her flat. Jo wanted Jackie to stay, but it still bothered her to think about how much she hadn’t known. Maybe if Jackie had told her, she would’ve been able to do more. She had too many things to dwell on and not enough to distract her from them.
She licked ice cream off the back of her upside-down spoon. “I never got to ask you about the date with Igor. Spill.”
Vesna smiled broadly and laid the open book across her lap. “Nice. Lovely actually. He took me for a breakfast picnic in Tivoli.”
“And?”
“And what? We ended up spending the day together. We’ll see each other again when you’re able to go back to your apartment. He thinks you fell down the stairs because the stupid landing light went out again.”
“Convenient.”
Vesna nodded. “It doesn’t explain the scratches or that burn on your chest, but with any luck, no one will think too much about it.”
Jo brushed her fingertips over her sternum. It didn’t hurt now, but there was going to be a hell of a scar. “Well, no one will see the burn.”
Helena laughed at that.
“Should I make a complaint to my negligent landlord about the light, to make it official?” Jo put the spoon back in the empty ice cream bowl.
“I wouldn’t ask Gregor to play pretend any more than he has to.” Vesna thumbed absent-mindedly through the book.
Helena plucked a small card from the flowers on the bedside table. “Give him time. He loves you and you almost died. The supernatural stuff is merely icing on the cake, as you would say.”
“I wondered who sent those.” Jo tried to take the card from Helena. She supposed that all Vesna could see was the card floating about in the air.
Helena held the card out of Jo’s diminished reach for another second, then she relented and put the card on Jo’s lap.
Get well soon. – Matjaž
“You should call him when you’re more… mobile.” Helena’s mission was becoming painfully obvious, but hooking up with her brother, or anyone else, was a nonstarter. Jo wouldn’t be dragging any more innocent bystanders into her life.
Vesna got up and took Jo’s bowl. “You should rest. Want me to help you get situated?”
“I might read for a bit.”
“You should get her to leave, too.” Vesna nodded her head toward where she assumed Helena was on the bed then left, closing the door softly behind her.
“Yes, you should rest. I’ll play Girl Guide later.”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to dictate my life. You’re just supposed to help with the dead whisperer stuff.”
“Oh, honey.” She patted Jo’s thigh and the cold from her hand went to the bone. “There is so much you don’t know.”
Voices of the Dead Book Two
Look for Our Lady of the Various Sorrows - Voices of the Dead: Book Two coming soon from Griffyn Ink.
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The Zombie Church is Real
The Trans-Universal Zombie Church of the Blissful Ringing is a real organization and registered religious group in Slovenia. The church supports the rights of refugees and regularly works to combat the rising tide of white supremacist nationalism in Europe. They also run a pro bono clinic in Nova Gorica, Slovenia, that mostly serves patients with chronic illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure who can’t afford ongoing treatment but aren’t deemed ill enough to receive free emergency services.
You can support their work at the clinic by sending donations by mail to:
Hiša dobrot
Vipavska cesta 104
5000 Nova Gorica
Slovenia
Or by international transfer to:
SWIFT: BAKOSI2X
SI56101000053803567
Refrerence: CHAR
Banka Intesa Sanpaolo d. d.
Pristaniška ulica 14
6502 Koper
Slovenia
To learn more about the church go to their public, English language group page on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/705947819468540/
About the author
Victoria Raschke wrote her first short story at 10. Her mother said it was brilliant and pointed out she had written “cereal” instead of “serial.” She still can’t spell but did manage two creative writing degrees in poetry from the University of Tennessee and a Culinary Arts degree from Nashville State Community College. Extensive travels in Eastern Europe led to spending a year in Slovenia, where her daydreams and debut novel are set. Victoria lives in Knoxville with her cats and human family who really appreciate that culinary arts degree.