Page 47 of Ghoul Kisses

My legs are draped over Eric’s lap as we sit in our hotel bed. We are staying at Le Pavillon Hotel. It’s in the heart of New Orleans. I turn on the television and try to forget what Meagan said. Every time I think about it I get so angry; not with her, but with my mother. If she was a black mage, she could have told me. No matter how hard I try to forget about my mom, she comes back into my life. Eric kisses my neck, but I am not in the mood for sex.

“You want to go out since it’s our last night here?” Eric says between kisses.

“Nah, I’d rather watch reruns of King of the Hill,” I answer.

“Sarah, what’s wrong?” he asks, gazing into my eyes.

I don’t want to repeat what Meagan said, if I do, it makes me think what she said is true.

I tuck my legs under my butt.

“She kept calling me a half-breed because I’m half human and half black mage.” It sounds stupid when I say it out loud. Eric rubs my shoulder.

“Do you think it’s true?” I ask.

“It’s possible. Actually, it wouldn’t surprise me,” he pauses for a minute. “If you are a half-breed, would you want to practice magic?”

I can’t picture myself waving a wand around like Harry Potter. I’m sorry, but that’s what I think of when I hear the word witch.

“I don’t know, Eric.”

What the witch said is hard for me to accept. I can accept that Eric is a ghoul, and I can accept that other paranormal creatures exist, but me being something other than a human? I can’t accept that. I won’t. I’m not going to tell Eric about the witch saying my mom wants me to protect the key. Who the hell would she want me to protect it from anyway?

“Would you be okay with that? If I was a dark witch?”

He stares at me for a few minutes too long, and anxiety creeps in on me.

“Why wouldn’t I be? You are who you are; I don’t want to change what you are,” he says. His words warm my heart, and I love him ten times more for saying that. Even though I don’t believe what Meagan says, I love the fact that Eric likes me for who I am no matter what.

“What are we going to do about the box?” I ask. Eric strokes my right arm.

“We’re going to break down the wards guarding the Dark Light Organization.”

Credits pop up on the television screen.

“I will need you to help me. I would need a witch to break down the wards,” he says with a smirk on his face.

“We don’t know if Meagan is telling the truth.” I hear the unevenness in my tone. To be honest, I don’t want to find out. I want to stay in my own bubble and believe I am a normal human being.

I don’t want to talk about witches anymore, so I change the subject.

“Can humans turn into vampires?”

“Vampires can use their venom to change a human, but most vampires don’t; they just feed off of a human until there is no blood left in the body.”

“Do vampires have super powers like ghouls?”

“Some do and some don’t. Why? Are you interested in replacing me with one?” He jokes as his crimson eyes light up.

“No, thank you; it’s unattractive to have sex with something that is dead.”

He nuzzles my neck and I feel him breathing on my neck, turning me on.

“Good,” he murmurs as he kisses his way down to my breast.

I kick off my shoes the minute I open my bedroom door. It feels good to be back at the mansion. I am worn out and exhausted from the trip to New Orleans. I want a stiff drink to calm my nerves and forget meeting Meagan. One of the servants strides in, nabbing my dirty clothes. I flop on the bed, grab my phone from the nightstand, and begin checking my e-mail. The transaction for the medical equipment has been confirmed, and the items will be here next month. Good. The only thing going right in my life is helping the ghouls with their health system. I receive an e-mail from Vanessa. I hit the open button.

Sarah

---