Jeaniene Frost - This Side of the Grave

“Bones,” I breathed, long moments later when he lifted his head. “There’s something I want to do once this mess with Apollyon is over.”

The seriousness of my tone made him pull back slightly. “What’s that, luv?”

I whispered it to him, seeing his brows go up, his slight frown, and then at last, his nod.

“If that’s what you want.”

I stared at him, more of that tightness swelling up in my chest.

“It is.”

Fabian came toward me. He couldn’thave smiled any wider if I was holding out a plate of ectoplasmic cookies, which, of course, I wasn’t, because to my knowledge, such a thing didn’t exist. I smiled back, giving Fabian an abbreviated version of a hug, which pretty much meant I put my arms in a half circle around the general area where he floated. From my peripheral vision, I saw Vlad roll his eyes, but I didn’t care. I hugged friends when I hadn’t seen them in a while, and Fabian might not be solid, but he was still a friend.

“Save one for me, too?” Dave asked, appearing behind the ghost.

I laughed as I gave him a big squeeze next, this time feeling the person in my arms. Dave fluffed a handful of hair when he let me go, grinning as he took in my latest disguise.

“With the new black hair, dark eyes, and tanned skin, you almost look a little bit Latina. Juan would need to be pried off you if he saw you like this.”

I let out a snort. “I doubt it. Juan acts a lot more respectful since he became a vampire. Hardly tries to grab my ass at all now. Guess because Bones already killed him once, Juan doesn’t want to provoke him into a repeat.”

Just talking about Juan made me miss him, unrepentant pervert that he was, and that made me miss everyone else back at the compound, too. It also made me think of my uncle and mother with a fresh spurt of anxiety. It was a small offense compared to what Apollyon intended to do, but I hated him for more than just using me to attempt to provoke a clash between ghouls and vampires. I also hated Apollyon for robbing me of spending time with Don in what might turn out to be the last few months of his life, and for denying me more opportunities to talk sense into my irrational, death-tempting mother.

I shook my head, clearing that out of my thoughts before I started to endlessly stew over my stubborn family. Dave said hello to Vlad and Mencheres, then flopped onto the couch, looking tired. He didn’t have long before he had to get back, but he’d said this message was something he wanted to deliver in person.

“The meeting I went to last night was more like a rally and a seminar combined,” Dave started without preamble. “Apollyon wasn’t there, but the keynote speaker was a ghoul named Scythe who sounded just as fanatic. Preached about how vampires have been holding ghouls down for millennia, blah, vamps are evil, blah. Then he started on how you changed over but still had an occasional heartbeat, so you could still turn into a vamp-ghoul hybrid. And once that happened, you’d be leading the vampire charge to subject ghouls to slavery.”

“That’s such bullshit!” I snapped, unable to stuff it back. Then I got ahold of myself. Everyone here already knew that.

“Go on,” I said to Dave, in a less strident tone than before.

“I’m not sure how true this is, but Scythe said that the ghoul movement to ‘take back their rightful place’ was gaining ground all over America. That they’d start the war here, because vampires had a weaker hold here than in Europe. Then, once they’d thrown off the vampire shackles in the States, they’d move on to the rest of the world.”

“If Cat is still being used as the focal point behind this fang oppression rhetoric, you’d think more of his followers would question why Apollyon doesn’t just unite them together to kill her,” Vlad noted, as if he were discussing squashing a bug. If he hadn’t proved himself to be a good friend many times over, I’d be insulted.

“Oh, they have an answer for that,” Dave said dryly. “Scythe’s stating that if anyone kills Cat, then the vampire nation will know ghouls are on to them. Which is why ghouls have to rise up now, while the vampires least expect it and the scales are tipped in our favor. Then, Apollyon’s first act once he wins the war will be to kill Cat publicly. That way, it will have the maximum crushing effect on the surviving vampires’ psyche.”

Scheming murderous pricks , I thought in disgusted fury, but kept it to myself this time.

A low growl sounded to my right. I turned, surprised to see it was coming from Fabian.

“Not once did the question of what my people would do during all this come up for discussion, did it?” Fabian asked, his voice sharp.

Dave looked as surprised as I felt at that. “Uh, no, no one mentioned ghosts,” he answered, sounding both uncomfortable and apologetic.

Fabian’s transparent features were as angry as I had ever seen them. “We might not have the same abilities as the rest of you, but ghosts are not without power, and we. Are. Many,” he said, emphasizing the last three words.

“Remnants and wraiths I can see being able to tip the scales in battle, but what can the average spectre do?” Vlad asked, sounding a bit impatient. “Your species can provide valuable intelligence and carry messages before a conflict starts, true, but once the fighting begins, your usefulness ends.”

Part of me wanted to chastise Vlad for being so cold in his assessment of ghosts, but the other part guiltily agreed with him. Remnants? Scary. Wraiths? Scary. Ghosts? Not scary, unless maybe you were a human and you happened to glimpse one in a graveyard. Or you were a kid and one screamed, “Boogie woogie woogie!” while popping up from under your bed.

“There are those of my kind that are more powerful than others,” Fabian insisted. “Why do you think humans who aren’t psychic have been able to see ghosts? Why some are caught on film or voice recorder? Why some have even attacked people, leaving visible scratches and other injuries? Some ghosts are strong enough to manifest themselves into solid form, sometimes for several hours. Aside from that, when you have enough of my people united in a common purpose, we can manifest enough energy to turn it into an effective weapon.”

I was startled. Dave pursed his lips in thought. Mencheres’s expression was its usual hooded mask, but Vlad eyed Fabian with open challenge.

“If ghosts can do all that, why do you waste your time haunting old homes and cemeteries, or scaring humans with random strange noises and useless cold spots? You’re squandering your worth.”

“Vlad, enough,” I said shortly. Whatever his thoughts on ghosts’ peculiar habits, Fabian was still my friend. I wouldn’t just stand there while his whole race was being put down.

Fabian didn’t flinch under Vlad’s harsh analysis. “You have no idea what it’s like, existing between worlds,” he said, floating closer instead of backing away. “We are neither the living nor the undead. It takes years to cope with the fact that even though over ninety-nine percent of everyone who dies crosses over to the next place, you are left behind. Years to accept that everything you worked for in your life is gone, and the shell of memory is all that remains. Years to recover from hopelessly trying to communicate with loved ones, only to fail time and again because no one except the crazed, psychics, the undead, or other ghosts can see you. Years to accept—even if you don’t understand why—that vampires and ghouls will treat you worse than they do vermin, even though they are no more human than you are.”

Fabian advanced again, until his finger disappeared into Vlad’s chest. “I’d dare the strongest of your race or any other to say that they’ve conquered the same hardships my people have overcome. So think again before you question a ghost’s worth, or judge those younger ones who are still in the process of becoming tougher than anyone tied to flesh will ever be!”