Page 76 of Only Human in Strangeville

I wasn’t sure what freaked me out more, the hand shifting thing, the fact that Oliver apparently understood Nimbus enough to get angry at the ghost, or that the ghost had done something to piss off both the dog and the man.

Sitting on the bed, waiting for Oliver to return, I addressed my dog. “What was that all about?”

Nimbus huffed and flopped down on the bed next to me. I buried my fingers in his hair and wondered how I could get more fluent in the cloud dog language. Twister had spoken to me in the transitional place I’d gone to a few times, but Nimbus never had. Was it because he no longer had a body and Nimbus was still alive?

Oliver finally came back. “The ghost will not bother you again.”

“Great. Thanks. What did he say?” I gestured toward Nimbus.

“He, rightfully, does not like that the ghost touches you without your permission.”

“Oh.” That got my eyebrows to rise. “Well, thank you both for protecting me.” I had no idea what else to say. “Are you busy, Oliver?”

“No.”

“Could you hold me for a while? After being surrounded by people for several days, my apartment feels very empty.”

“Of course, Hannah.” Oliver’s eyes lit up with a smile and he scooted over next to me. After a short, awkward moment, we got ourselves arranged. I lay on the bed spooned between Nimbus and Oliver. The warmth chased away the darkness that had been trying to overwhelm me.

“Hey, you said you’d explain later. If you’re still up for it, what was all that with Drake?”

“Ahh.” He shifted as if uncomfortable but squeezed me tightly in reassurance. “Yes, I should explain that. You don’t know the lore and it is important. Especially if we are to be bonded mates, or even just lovers.”

“We are lovers,” I protested.

“Well, yes.” The press of his lips against my neck soothed me. “And as such, you need to know some of my history, and as the years go on, you’ll learn more, but the relevant bits I’ll share now. Shades are guardians. I don’t know if you would call us a guardian spirit, or a guardian creature, or some sort of fae, but we are tied to a bloodline as guardians. If that bloodline ends, we are set adrift and have no purpose. Drake is tied to Vito’s bloodline. Drake has been bound to that creature since before he was a vampire. I don’t know if Drake was always evil, but he certainly is now. My bloodline died out. I believe I mentioned that once I had a mate and I lost her. She was tied to the other side of the bloodline. She and they were massacred. I only survived because I wasn’t there. I should have been, but we thought one shade was enough and I’d gone off for the evening.”

He fell silent, and I gripped his hand, squeezing tightly.

“A mistake that haunts me to this day. I no longer have a bloodline to guard, but this apartment complex is a substitute. It gives me purpose. And now, so do you.”

“Oh, so you like me because I give you purpose?” I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

Oliver chuckled. “No, dearest. It’s just a side benefit.”

“Okay.” I brought his hand up to my lips and kissed his knuckles. “So you’re a guardian spirit. Nimbus is a super powerful magical dog. Davin is a golden retriever with bite, and Katsuro is… Uh.” I lost the thread, unable to come up with something.

“Super powerful,” Oliver filled in. “And Bridger. Yes, we’ll have to think of descriptors for those two. Super powerful doesn’t quite cut it for Katsuro, either.”

“I need to find Bridger. I think he’s avoiding me.”

Oliver nodded. “That would be wise.”

Before I could continue, someone knocked on the door, startling a bark out of Nimbus as we all sat up. There was something ominous about that knock, though I wasn’t sure how a fist against wood could sound ominous. Angry, yes, or tentative, but foreboding just didn’t seem to fit. Still, it did.

We went to the door, and I opened it. Bridger was on the other side, brow furrowed, mouth tight.

“Hey, come in.”

His gaze darted to Oliver for a moment before he nodded, and we all went to the small kitchen and sat around the table.

“So, Drake escaped,” he blurted out after a short, awkward silence.

And there went all my good feelings from earlier. I knew it wasn’t going to be that easy.

“Well, fuck,” I said.

Oliver and Bridger nodded in agreement.

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