Eternity's Invitation: Book 2 of Ghostly Travels
Page 8
James glanced up at his wife, accepting the icepack she handed him. “I don’t think it’s broken, but best to get a proper medical opinion, anyway. I’ll see if the doctor is able to do a house-call.”
Ben grimaced, but resigned himself to his fate and leaned toward Rachel to distract himself, trying (and failing) to look flirtatious. “Sorry, we weren’t introduced. I’m Ben.”
Tina considered pointing out that he might have better luck with Joshua, but decided not to, and made the introductions, as well as their abilities. It wouldn’t shock Ben too much, and the gifted wouldn’t need to spend half their time censoring themselves. Ben perked up, nearly falling out of his chair again as he returned his attention to Rachel. “So, if you were to call upon Captain Kidd or Long Ben…”
Tina rolled her eyes as Rachel frowned. Clearly, it wasn’t the first time she’d been asked that question. “While I’m impressed that you picked two pirates known to have been wealthy… No, I can’t ask pirates where they buried their glittering horde of treasure! Think about it for a few minutes!”
Seeing the number of confused faces from people who obviously hadn’t considered it before, Lizzy took pity on them and quietly elaborated. “One, despite legend, many pirates did not die wealthy. Two, regardless of how much you like Pirates of the Caribbean, pirates were criminals, and either were caught and hanged as a warning, or retired and changed their name. Three, pirates who were caught were either given to universities for medical students to study, or buried in an unmarked grave.”
Thomas looked disappointed. “So, not as much treasure as stories would make you think, and not easy to find their graves and ask, then?”
Rachel sent him a look that was very close to a glare. “No. Besides, the ones who did amass a fortune either left it to their descendants, or aren’t willing to give it away just because a random woman asks nicely! Even if they were, I am not summoning anything that I don’t absolutely have to for at least a month!”
Madge leaned over and sympathetically patted Rachel on the hand, stifling laughter and leveling a stern look at the boys. “By and large, this area has a comparative shortage of horrible deaths, and a wealth of storytellers, if you’re ever in the mood to talk about less-touchy subjects. All of you are welcome here at any time.”
Valerie leaned back in her chair. “I’ll be staying at least a few days, then. A lack of gory deaths makes this a better place than most if you’re still available for that date, Tina.”
Tina managed to keep the girlish squeal of delight mostly internal. She beamed at the other woman as Joshua his a smirk behind his teacup and Rachel pinned him with a glare, “I’m available whenever you are.”
Epilogue
Tina walked through the airport, hand in hand with Valerie.
Despite being more than ready to get away from the abundance of the Supernatural, she wasn’t quite so ready to get away from Valerie. Lizzy and James had managed to survive a long-distance relationship before they settled down, but statistically, they were a rarity.
Still, finding a way to slip her phone number into Valerie’s purse wouldn’t be too hard, right?
Valerie forestalled Tina’s efforts by steering them off the main path to a VIP area, letting go of the blonde’s hand to show her ID to the Security guard.
Once they were scanned through, Tina reached for Valerie’s hand again. “What’s all this about? I’m very sure that I don’t have enough frequent flyer miles for an upgrade like this.”
Valerie’s eyes sparkled with humour. “Call it a bonus for services rendered. Your legs are going to hate you if you try to put them through twenty-six hours of Economy Class, so I convinced my boss to pull a few strings and get you upgraded.”
Even on top of her burgeoning feelings, Tina felt a surge of deep and profound affection. “How much would you object if I tried to kiss you right now? Or would that count as harassment of some kind, if you assumed that I was doing so because you got me an upgrade?”
Valerie leaned forward and pressed her lips to Tina’s. “It’s only harassment if the action is both unwelcome and unsolicited.”
The blonde psychic could feel a silly grin taking over her face. “Good. I realise that the timing is lousy, but I’d like to keep in touch. Meet up if your work ever takes you Down Under.”
Valerie’s blossoming smile matched Tina’s as she handed over a paper ticket, a mobile phone number written on the back. “I can volunteer for diplomatic protection detail. I don’t know when that will be, but…”
Tina cut her off. “I can wait as long as I need. You’re almost worth staying on this on this spirit-infested island.”
Valerie stifled a laugh. “Compared to what your island is riddled with, of course? The tales of deadly plants, animals and insects can’t all be a joke on gullible tourists.”
Only about twenty percent of them, and those could usually be identified by how blatantly outrageous they were. Tina waved a dismissive hand. “Yes, but I rarely have to see the psychic results of that. Not unless someone has earned a Darwin Award by provoking the local wildlife, anyway, so as long as I avoid Historical Prisons and battle or massacre sites, ghosts are fairly rare.”
Valerie tilted her head with a non-committal hum. “It would be interesting to see how the native spiritual practices affect the population’s connection to the aether…”
She was about to say more when Tina stepped wrong, getting a flashback of an unfortunate Roman veteran on the wrong end of a sword wielded by a tall, imposing red-haired woman. Clearly, the woman had some kind of vendetta, because his ending set a new standard for her Top Ten Gory Deaths.
Valerie must have caught on, because she only looked amused as Tina threw up her hands in dramatic despair, trying not to throw up her lunch at the same time. “I take it back. I’m finding a deserted island that isn’t big enough for anyone to have fought a war over, building myself a shack, and moving there to live!”
Valerie laughed, a warm, full-throated sound that Tina wanted to hear more of. “Just make sure it’s big enough to host the occasional visitor, yeah?”
Tina kissed her again. “Maybe one or two.”
THE END
The Highwayman’s Legacy
Being a Psychic sucks.
It would probably be worse if Tina Barnes had to listen to every random thought that crossed people’s mind, but witnessing the death of every person who died in a spectacularly gory fashion is no picnic,either. Being on a tour of Historically Significant (read: haunted) locations isn’t really helping.
Oh, and did she mention the supernatural soap opera of two ghosts possessing random people in their bid for a Happily Ever After that usually ends with the hosts dying?
Because that’s happening, too.
In a chilling tale of ghostly romance, friendship and fed-up psychics, what was meant to be a normal holiday tour takes a potentially deadly turn into a race against time.
Available in Kindle ebook and Paperback
All You Can Be
Living With Aspergers, by Aspies and those who love them
Asperger's Syndrome affects different people in different ways, from Aspies themselves, to people who have friends or family with the condition.
This is a collection of stories and anecdotes, ranging from the good things about being Aspie, to common coping strategies, to media misrepresentation and how it affects people of all ages and backgrounds.
Being Aspie is far from being all fun and games, but there are definitely far worse things to be.
Available in Kindle ebook and Paperback
Cinderella Grows A Spine
Cinderella didn't know exactly what prompted her to break free of the cycle of abuse from her step-mother, but one thing was certain: nothing is ever accomplished by waiting for someone else to magically fix things.
After all, Cinderella was a pretty, educated young lady of high birth and good breeding, and her Step-mother didn't control the world, no matter what the woman thought.
>
It wasn't like she didn't have options...
In a delightful reinvention of the classic fairytale, Cinderella takes charge of her own destiny, and through the power of friendship, courage and liberal applications of common sense, finds her own Happily Ever After
Available in Kindle ebook and Paperback
Snow White Learns Stranger Danger
People in Fairytales are far too trusting. But what if they weren’t?
Snow White learned at a young age that not everyone has good intentions, and that being a Princess didn't mean that everyone loved her.
There were people who were kind without expecting anything in return, and there probably were old beggar-women who were happy to repay a good deed, but this one was far too insistent about being allowed into the house.
In a unique re-imagining of the Classic Fairytale, Snow White learns the value of friendship, sensible precautions, and a good cast-iron skillet.
Sequel to 'Cinderella Grows a Spine’.
Available in Kindle ebook and Paperback
Coming Soon, by the same author…
Stand Alone books
Two Sides of the Same Coin
To Take A Stand
The Writer’s Commandments
Timeless Tales, Modern Morals
Beautiful, Inside and Out
Red Riding Hood and the Stalker
The Ugly Duckling and Positive Body Image