Page 13 of Ghoul Kisses

As Eric gives me a tour of the mansion, I realize how big the place is. We tread from floor to floor, and I count thirty-five bedrooms and thirty bathrooms. The servants live on the second floor. The mansion has a modern theme to it, lace drapes, expensive furniture. When I picture a king, I think of castles and dungeons. When I think of ghouls, I think of the movie-The Addams Family. The staff is nice; he employs fifteen servants to keep the place running. Eric informs me that not all ghouls have powers. When I ask him why, he says it’s caused by a mutated gene. We stride to a check-out desk in the basement. A ghoul sits at the desk with his arms propped on the edge. When he sees us, he stands up.

“Welcome, King Eric,” he says, pushing his glasses higher on his nose. “What can I do for you?” he asks.

“I’m here to show Sarah the training room,” Eric says.

“Of course.” He hits a button on the wall and a pair of metal doors open. We stroll downstairs.

“Why do you need warriors, if ghouls are living in human society?” There’s confusion in my voice.

“We can’t rely on human policemen to protect ghouls from vampires,” he answers nonchalantly. We stop in front of a glass door. I watch ghouls workout on the treadmills. A ghoul blows ice from his mouth freezing a mannequin solid. It’s amazing. I tear my eyes from the room and glance up at Eric.

“What are your powers?” A smile tugs at the corner of his mouth as he places his fingers on the side of my temple. I flinch.

“Don’t move,” he orders. Closing my eyes, an electric current flows through me. Pictures flood my mind. Pictures of him picking me up the night Pete attacked me, bathing me, and convincing his brothers to let me stay. My cheeks flush at the thought of him looking at my body. I feel him releasing my temple, and I open my eyes.

“Memories,” I mumble.

“What else can you do?” I ask as Eric opens the glass door.

“I run at a faster rate than others and hear things that others can’t.”

We walk to a group of ghouls. They look like they are in their late teens or early twenties. They are dressed in blue uniforms and black boots.

“What do you mean?” I ask him.

Eric takes off, my eyes unable to keep up with his speed. He stops in front of me.

“I can hear the dishwasher on the top floor and a conversation David is having with Jack about his mate Odessa.” I bet he can hear everyone’s conversations. It has to be annoying to hear things you don’t want to hear.

“Fascinating,” is all I manage to say.

A guy with summer-blonde hair walks towards us. He bows his head at Eric. They are quiet for a minute, and I study the tattoo on the left side of his neck; a tattoo of a dragon’s head peeks from under his brown shirt.

“Mac meet Sarah,” Eric continues. “Mac trains my warriors.”

“Hello, Sarah.” I wave back at him. Mac is hot. The way his hair shines like the sun is stunning. He is leaner and more athletically built than Eric. And I thought Eric was sexy. Are all the ghouls unrealistically beautiful?

“Thanks for the compliment.” He winks at me. I look at him and Eric.

“What are you talking about?” I raise my right eyebrow.

“You think I’m hot, and you think Eric is attractive too,” Mac deadpans. I can’t get my words out because I am so embarrassed.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” he soothes.

“Mac has a rare trait; he can read minds,” Eric murmurs.

“Cut it out; it’s rude!” I scream. The male ghouls don’t have any boundaries. Jeez!

“Sorry,” Mac says.

“It’s getting late. We need to head back to Sarah’s room,” Eric says, easing the awkwardness.

“Wait, I’m not done, I have so many questions to ask you.” I am eager to learn so much about the ghoul race.

“Sarah, we will finish this later,” Eric states.

Eric follows me to my bedroom. I rush into the bathroom, and pull my black Slipknot t-shirt over my head. When I flop on the fluffy bed, Eric sets up a Mac laptop on the dresser.

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