Page 31 of When Bones Whisper
“You said there was a woman?”
“Yes.” She ran her fingers over Duke’s fur, his purrs calming the buzz pulsing through her body. “She had long dark hair and was wearing a white dress. She had bite marks on her throat. I think it was the ghost of one of your victims.”
“What did she do?”
“She attacked me.”
“Now, why would one of my victims do that?”
“I don’t know, but clearly at least one of them is trapped in this house.”
He glared at Duke, who tensed under Nathaniel’s stare, then flicked his eyes to meet hers. “Likely more than one. Whoever it was, she probably attacked you to get to me. Ignore them.”
“That’s your advice? To ignore them?”
“What would you suggest?”
“I…don’t know.” She looked back at Duke. At least the monster had done one good deed by retrieving her cat, not that it was out of the goodness of his bitter heart. She was reminded that everything he did was for his own gain, believing she would break his curse. So, she refused to feel any kind of gratitude toward him. Not that he cared enough to want any.
The light around him moved in shadows when he reached her and Duke. Her lashes flicked up when she met his stare, everything around him vignetting into darkness.
“I had to chase him,” he intoned, glancing between her and Duke, his eyes glinting with knowing. “He ran from me, and it took over an hour to find him.”
“Don’t feel bad,” Charlotte quipped. “I would have run from you too.”
His lips pulled into a hard line. “He shouldn’t have been able to evade me like that.”
She held Duke tighter, and his tail wrapped around her wrist. “He’s quick. It’s not the first time he’s been chased.”
“I am a vampire,” he said, stating the obvious. “It was only when I said your name that he appeared.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“That your pet is likely a familiar.Yourfamiliar.”
Her brows furrowed. She brushed her fingers over his fur, her arms aching from holding him. “I don’t think so. He’s not some demon shifter.”
“They don’t have to be.” The corner of his lip twitched, and he leaned over her, his shadow consuming her entirely. “They can be spirits, like a guardian acting as a go-between for the spiritual realm and you.”
“No, he’s not,” she spluttered, but the idea did cling to her. He’d come to her so many years ago, before she’d even considered using magic, and she’d never seen him shift or do anything out ofthe ordinary for a cat. Yes, he was intelligent and appeared when she was in danger, but didn’t all cats?
Nathaniel cleared his throat. “While you mull that over, I should tell you Katherine is waiting for you in the foyer. I gave her your grimoires.”
“Who?”
“The witch whom I asked to instruct you.”
A lump formed in her throat. The thought of being minded by another witch, especially one who kept company with vampires, made her shudder. “Will she be staying here?”
“Yes.”
She couldn’t hide her grimace as she placed Duke down when he finally let her. He stayed close to her feet, slinking between her legs.
“How many did you find?”
“Four.” He tilted his head, a wolfish grin curving his lips. “I also found the cursed mirror you keep in your attic. I thought you didn’t practice.”
She swallowed thickly. Did he know? No, he couldn’t see spirits. “I don’t.”
