Home > How to Live an Undead Lie (The Beginner's Guide to Necromancy #5)(12)

How to Live an Undead Lie (The Beginner's Guide to Necromancy #5)(12)
Author: Hailey Edwards

After I scrubbed until my skin turned pink, I emerged from the shower smelling like Linus. No complaints there. I dried off then wrapped the largest towel around my torso to keep me modest while I scrubbed the contents of my pockets clean of bronze powder then went exploring.

The upstairs apartment was all pine heart floors and elegant period details, lovingly restored. Whoever had lived here sank a substantial amount of time and money into renovating the living area. Too bad the economy couldn’t support many boutiques or galleries long term, even if their unique offerings charmed the tourists. I hated imagining the previous owner sacrificing this labor of love to salvage their finances.

The first bedroom, the larger of the two, caught my eye. Well, the king-size bedframe made from twisted wrought iron did. Foam wrapped the elegant posts, and a plush mattress still in its plastic sleeve leaned against the wall. Sheets in their zippered bags and pillows stuffed in boxes filled the far corner.

The prickling awareness I was being watched brought a smile to my lips, but when I turned, I was alone.

“Bathing here I get,” I called, figuring Linus must be in the hall. “But do you really need a bed?”

No response.

“Linus?”

No answer.

Proving I could learn, I didn’t investigate. I darted for the bathroom and the knife I had left to dry on the sink after its cleaning.

Quiet pervaded the space, and I almost convinced myself the noise had been the unfamiliar building settling around me, but a sixth sense warned me I wasn’t alone. I didn’t waste time wondering. I sliced open my index finger and drew protective runes down my arm then set myself in a protective circle.

A soft chuckle echoed up to me from the stairwell, and then the heavy presence retreated.

I counted the seconds by the pounding of my heart until I heard the front door click shut.

Clutching my towel, I lowered the seat on the toilet and sat down to wait on Linus.

Four

Linus arrived ten minutes later dangling a large paper shopping bag from his fingertips. He held it as far away from his body as the length of his arm allowed to avoid contaminating its contents. It hit the floor when he spotted me sitting in my magic bubble on the toilet.

“Have any luck?” I indicated the toppled contents spilling across the floor. “I’m getting chilly.”

“What happened?” He righted the bag, but his eyes never left mine. “You’re in a circle.”

Using the edge of my towel, I rubbed off the sigils. “I sensed a presence and called out, but they didn’t respond except to laugh at me before they left.”

Thankfully, he paid me the courtesy of not asking if I was certain my mind hadn’t played a trick on me.

The vampire archers hadn’t attacked since the incident on River Street, the truce with my grandfather appeared to be holding, and the Marchands hadn’t left their sprawling family estate in Raleigh since the night of my ball. A necromancer pressing their case was a possibility, but why would he—and the laugh had sounded masculine—flee after cornering me in a vulnerable position?

The lull in activity was one of the reasons Linus embraced me joining him on his patrols. All the trouble we found was someone else’s drama. A refreshing break from the insanity that was my own life.

“I want to hold you.” He lingered in the doorway. “But you’ve showered, and we don’t have much time.”

“You can make it up to me on the ride home.”

I eased around him, gathered the clothes, and carried the bundle into the master bedroom. I left the bag with its contaminated handles on the floor. We would have to come back later and clean up after ourselves.

A flicker of black near the tall window startled me.

“Oh, Cletus.” I exhaled with relief and waved him in. “It’s just you.”

This building wasn’t warded against wraiths, not yet, so he drifted through the glass and joined me.

Hopefully, this meant Hood and Lethe were safe and not that Cletus had abandoned the gwyllgi for me.

“Turn around, please.” I sorted my clothes from Linus’s. “This won’t take but a minute.”

The wraith faced the window, the wisps of his cloak more substantial than the first time we met.

I pulled on clean underwear, each piece taken from a padded hanger, and slid a floral sundress over my head. A pair of classy flip-flops, a thing I hadn’t known existed, had been wrapped in the material. The dress would have been too small if not for its trapeze cut, and the toe thong pinched the top of my foot, but all in all, he did good.

“All right.” I started finger-combing my hair. “Let’s clear out and give Linus the room.”

I bumped into him in the hall, and I wish I had bumped him a little harder, maybe copped a feel in the bargain.

A large towel wrapped his hips, and the intricate tattoos branding him were on full display. I pretended not to gawk. It didn’t go very well. Despite the number of times I had seen his bare chest, I couldn’t get used to the sight.

So much skin. So much corded muscle. So much ink.

“You can’t look at me like that when I’m only wearing a towel,” he said, water dripping from his damp hair. “Let me get dressed first.”

“The fact you aren’t dressed is what’s causing the problem.” I fanned myself. “I’m getting hot flashes.”

The wall kissed my spine before I saw him move, and then his lips were on mine. I took it as an invitation to explore his back with my fingertips, and I moaned into his mouth when he broke away to plant stinging bites down my throat.

Heat pooled low in my gut, but I startled when icy fingers brushed my shoulder. Weird. Linus was gripping my hips, pinning me to the wall, and he hadn’t sprouted a third arm that I had noticed.

The wraith faded through Linus until I was almost kissing the black hole of his fathomless cowl.

Recoiling from the grim visage, I gagged. “Cletus.”

A flick of Linus’s wrist ordered the wraith away. “I’ll try not to take triggering your gag reflex personally.”

“I like Cletus, but I’m not ready for that level of kink.” I laughed. “I still have my training wheels on.”

Linus made a pleased sound low in his throat as he rested his forehead against mine and shut his eyes.

“You sound happy,” I pointed out. “I didn’t just greenlight a threesome with Cletus, did I?”

“Ah, no.” A powerful shudder rippled through him. “Necrophilia isn’t a fetish of mine.”

Snorting at the comment that left me wondering where vampires fell on that scale, I smiled. “Glad to hear it.”

“And…” he kissed the tip of my nose, “…I am happy.”

Heart full to bursting, I jerked my chin toward the wraith. “What blew smoke up his cloak?”

“He’s concerned about us staying here.” Linus withdrew, but the pleasant chill of his touch lingered. “He shouldn’t be capable of worry.” He cocked an eyebrow at me. “He shouldn’t have emotions at all.”

“Oops?”

“Oops indeed.”

“Does the fact he’s back mean Lethe and Hood are with the healer?”

“Hood has finished treatment, and they were on their way to Woolly when Cletus left them.”

The wraith would have escorted them all the way home if he hadn’t picked up on Linus’s concern and come to investigate, but this latest evidence of Cletus’s independent thought process made me wonder.

Had the wraith come to me because Linus was rattled or because the wraith itself worried?

And how much trouble would I get in if the answer turned out to be the latter rather than the former?

“Get dressed.” I shoved Linus through the bedroom door then regretted putting my hands on him again. More to the point, I regretted not putting my hands on more of him. “I have to get home before Oscar and Woolly blow up the house. Plus, we need to check on Corbin.”

Fine, so she was the house. I doubted she would set herself on fire or allow Oscar to manifest near a box of matches, but I still didn’t trust those two. They were troublemakers, the both of them.

Linus dressed in the time it took me to work up the nerve to investigate the stairwell for signs of my visitor. No convenient footprints led the way, no lingering cologne perfumed the air, and there was no message written in the settled dust.

“See anything?” He examined the walls and steps as well. “I didn’t notice any oddities on my way in.”

“Nothing.” I rubbed the base of my neck. “I’m starting to wonder if it was a figment of my imagination.”

Yeah, yeah. Him doubting me was one thing. Me doubting me was—any day ending in Y, honestly.

“Don’t discount your instincts. You wouldn’t have raised that circle if you hadn’t been certain someone was there.” He took my elbow and guided me downstairs. “I believe you.” He held me close, and I suppressed a grin at the subtle protective gesture. “We’ll set wards before we begin rehabbing the building.”

Outside, I used his keys to lock up the place while he scanned the street for lurkers. “Who’s giving us a lift home?”

“You’ll see.” Having deemed the area safe, he escorted me to the curb to wait. “It’s a lovely night.”

“I hadn’t noticed.” I tipped back my head. “Clear skies. Bright stars. Quarter moon. Not bad.”

That’s when I heard our ride approaching with the clip-clop, clip-clop of hooves on asphalt.

Laughter bubbled up in me. “You booked us a horse and carriage?”

They were popular with tourists, and I loved watching them parade around downtown, but I hadn’t ridden in one since the year I begged Maud to rent one for my birthday. I was nine or ten, I think. I had fallen asleep on the bench seat, curled around Amelie, and Boaz had to carry me in before dawn.

Pleased with himself, Linus waved to the coachman. “I thought the fresh air might do us good.”

   
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