Page 6 of How the Necromancer in the Gold Vest Saved My Life: Disaster 2

“Wait! Wait, Sky!” Grammy called out as he opened the door. He looked over his shoulder to see her frantically pointing toward the kitchen. “Don’t you want to take some bread with you?”

Chapter3

Nolan Banks

The ring of the doorbell, followed by a brisk knocking on his door, jolted Nolan awake. He didn’t even remember drifting off to sleep. It must have happened the moment Christoph stepped outside.

With a grunt, Nolan shoved upright and stumbled over to the door, his brain still too sleep-fogged and sluggish to wonder who was on his porch. At least he knew it wasn’t the damn vampire. Christoph would have simply walked inside.

He jerked the door open and stood there blinking at Sky in confusion as his brain struggled to catch up with the gut feeling of panic and fear swamping him. A voice in the back of his mind was screaming that Sky wasn’t supposed to be there, that it wasn’t safe for him, but there was another feeling rising from deep within his chest that was just so happy to see the witch.

And why wouldn’t he be happy to see Sky? It had been days since he’d last set eyes on him. That was probably why he looked so pissed.

“Who’s that guy?” Sky demanded, his words coming out sharp and tight.

“What guy?” Nolan replied. He gazed past Sky toward the empty street, half expecting to see the man Sky was referring to.

“You know! The guy who left here two minutes ago. Tall, rich, and handsome. That’s the second time I’ve seen him over here. Who is he? Why is he allowed to see you, but I can’t?” That question ended in a sharp gasp and Nolan jerked his eyes to Sky in time to see him slap both his hands over his mouth, as if he wasn’t supposed to say that out loud.

“That guy…” Nolan repeated, and an image suddenly slammed into Nolan’s tired brain.

Christoph.

Sky had seen Christoph leaving Nolan’s place.

Christoph, the vampire who said that he’d kill Sky if Nolan dared to talk to him. Christoph, who had no problems getting through Sky’s wards. Christoph, who was terrifyingly powerful.

“No! You can’t be here!” Nolan stumbled back and grabbed the door with both hands. “You have to go home. Don’t come over here ever again!” Nolan tried to slam the door shut in Sky’s face, but the witch was both stronger and faster than he’d expected. Sky pushed, holding it open long enough to sneak in through a narrow crack.

The door slammed shut, but Sky was on the inside, seeming a mix of angry and triumphant. Part of Nolan wanted to pull Sky into his arms and hug him so fucking tight. The other part wanted to seize his arm and shove him outside.

“You can’t be here. You need to leave now,” Nolan barked. His hand kept wanting to sneak up to his neck and cover the fresh bite mark, but he couldn’t risk bringing attention to it. His hoodie and messy hair would be enough to hide it as long as he got Sky out of there quickly.

“I’m not going anywhere until I know what the hell is going on.” Sky didn’t wait for Nolan to answer. He continued through the house, peeking into each of the rooms as if searching for whatever or whoever he thought Nolan was hiding.

Nolan trailed after him, desperate to clean up this new mess. “Nothing is going on. No one else is here. It’s just me, and I’m running behind on my latest book. I’ve got a deadline, Sky, and I can’t afford to miss it, especially after all the money I’ve shelled out on Owen.”

Sky narrowed his eyes on him as he walked past him in the hall, heading to the living room. He plopped down on the center cushion of the couch with a bounce and folded his arms over his chest, giving him a very implacable glare. Nolan stood over him and a thought slapped him hard. Sky wasn’t wearing one of his beautiful vests today. He was in a bulky navy-blue sweater with dragonflies covering it. Each one was a unique kaleidoscope of colors, and it made Nolan want to smile. His witch was always full of colors.

But Sky wasn’t his witch. Couldn’t be his witch. Or Christoph would hurt him.

He shook his head hard to clear it. Maybe it would be a good idea if he packed up his computer and a bag of clothes. He’d do the same thing he did with Owen—buy a ticket on the first flight heading out of Hartford. He could figure out the rest after he put a couple of thousand miles between himself and the vampires.

“Nolan, please, tell me what’s going on. Let me help you.” The wicked little witch had switched tactics now that he was in the house and was going with a gentle touch to wear Nolan down. Like that was going to work.

Fuck, it probably was.

He was so fucking tired, and he didn’t know what to do next. How the hell did someone get free of a vampire?

“You look exhausted. More exhausted than you were when we were trying to find your brother. You’re pale and the circles under your eyes are so dark,” Sky continued, and Nolan turned away from him, pacing to the other side of the room. It was better if Sky didn’t see any more than that. A cold, clammy sweat broke out across his skin and he clenched his hands into fists to keep them from shaking.

“Who’s that man?”

“He’s none of your business,” Nolan snapped, refusing to turn and face Sky.

“Every time I mention him, you get more anxious and defensive. Grammy seems to think that he’s a vampire, but I know he can’t be a vampire because of the wards I put on your house. My wards are damn good, Nolan. There’s no way I’d take a risk with your safety. I double-and-triple-checked them. No vampire could come in here unless…”

Sky’s voice drifted off and Nolan tried so fucking hard to not flinch.

---