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“I’ll leave you and Sky to eat. Don’t worry. My boy will keep you safe from the vampires,” Grammy stated. Sky glanced over his shoulder as he was pulling supplies from the fridge to see the ghost fade from sight.
“Is she…is she really gone?” Nolan asked after several seconds.
“Yep. She’s probably gone for a walk. Or more likely, gone to gossip with some of the other ghosts that haunt nearby.” Sky mentally rolled his eyes at the idea of her bragging to the other ghosts that her grandson had someone living with him now.
“She seems nice.”
Nolan’s tight tone brought Sky to the table. He sat in the chair next to him, turning so that their knees were touching. Wrapping the hand Nolan had resting on the table in both of his, he squeezed, trying to infuse some of his warmth into Nolan’s icy fingertips. “She’s very nice, and yes, she likes you. I know this is overwhelming.”
Lifting his free hand, Nolan held up his thumb and forefinger, spaced an inch apart, to show a bit.
“But I promise it’ll get easier. Plus, she rarely appears during the day. Most ghosts spend the daylight hours sort of recharging. You’ll hardly notice her around.” Sky’s smile was stiff on his lips.Was he convincing at all?
“Ghost or living relative, I still want to make a good impression. She’s your family.”
Warmth spread through his chest and thawed the stiffness from his lips. “Really? Like…wanting to make a good impression because we’re going on a date?”
“Maybe…” Nolan paused, one corner of his mouth quirking higher. “My little grave gremlin.”
A loud groan erupted from Sky and he jumped to his feet, heading to the counter to finish making their salads. “I can’t believe she said that. She hasn’t called me that since I was young, but she just had to throw it out there.”
Nolan’s laughter flooded the kitchen, and it made the flash of embarrassment entirely worth it. Sky finished making their salads, paying particular attention to load Nolan’s up with chicken and baby spinach.
After they ate, Sky made a quick call to Winter Varik, giving him a recap of everything that had happened with Christoph Sandor. The good vampire promised to pop by to have a look at the bite on Nolan’s neck, but he didn’t sound hopeful. It didn’t matter. Sky would fix this Sandor once and for all, even if he had to dig into his bag of nasty magic tricks.
While they waited for Winter’s arrival, Sky pulled Nolan over to the sofa, grabbed his softest blanket, and cuddled with the man as he introduced Nolan to the wonderful world of Thai BL dramas. And he was starting with the fluffiest, sappiest thing he could find. Nolan needed to forget about real life for a few hours, and Thai BL shows were great for that.
The third episode was just beginning when a screech of tires screamed on the asphalt outside the house. Both of them jumped from their comfy pile on the cushions and rushed to the front window in time to see Christoph leap from the back seat and stomp toward Sky’s place. Well, that answered the question of whether Nolan’s house was being watched. It had taken longer for Christoph to show up than Sky had expected, though.
“Sky…”
Nolan’s choked whisper reached his ears as he started for the front door. He spun on his left heel and returned to Nolan’s side in the blink of an eye. “You have nothing to worry about. Christoph can’t reach you. None of his vampires can get inside. I swear. I’ll keep you safe.”
“But I don’t want you to get hurt. This is all my fault. I should be the one going out there.”
“I won’t get hurt. Let me handle this. If you want to help, can you go into the fridge and get the dark-blue jar on the second shelf? Be careful that the lid doesn’t come off.” Nolan’s brow furrowed, and the muscle in his jaw flexed as though he was clenching his teeth. Sky smiled at him. “There’s nothing scary inside. Simply a rare type of pungent pickle. I don’t want the smell spreading through the house. It’ll take forever to air out.”
Nolan nodded and ran to the kitchen. What Sky didn’t bother to mention was that there were a few minions at his disposal that liked those pickles and would eat anything that had that smell.
He strolled to the front door and opened it with a wide grin. The vampire in question was starting up his driveway while the driver was standing beside the rear door he’d closed.
“I’d stop right there,” Sky called out.
“Witch,” Christoph snapped, in such a way it sounded as if he were trying to make the name sound like a curse. He needed to try way harder than that. “You have Nolan. Give him back this instant!”
Sky stepped out onto the front porch and folded his arms over his chest, glaring at the bastard. “No. Nolan doesn’t want to be your pet. He doesn’t want anything to do with you.”
“He doesn’t belong to you!”
“Ha! He doesn’t belong to you, either.” A light came on at the neighbor’s house, and Sky rolled his eyes heavenward.Lovely.This was what he got for living on a quiet street in a tiny neighborhood. “And please keep your voice down if you don’t want the neighbors involved in this.”
Christoph didn’t even bother to peer about to see if they were gaining spectators. He simply took another step toward the front walk. Sucking in a deep breath, Sky tapped into the buzz of energy that lived within his chest and pushed it out with a wave of his right hand. He sent the energy into the various wards he and his friends had carved into the porch, doorframes, window frames, and even the foundation of the house. To the casual observer, they appeared to be intricately carved decorations and random patterns, but they formed a tight web of protections. No one was getting inside this house uninvited.
Behind him, the front door creaked open and Christoph’s eyes widened. Keeping his gaze locked on Christoph, Sky held out his left hand. “Did you find it?”
“Y-yeah. S-second shelf,” Nolan stammered. A chilled two pounds of ceramic suddenly weighed down his hand. From the corner of his eye, he could see the dark-blue glazed jar Red had made for him to hold their nasty concoction. There was a special ward inscribed on the bottom that kept the contents from eating through the fired clay.
“Nolan! Come here at once,” Christoph ordered.
