Vampire Memories #5 - Ghosts of Memories Read Free Page B

the church?”
    Wade shrugged. “I was outvoted.”
    “What did Eleisha say?”
    He stopped smiling, filled the bowl with water, and set it on the floor. “She didn’t say anything once Philip piped up…and Philip likes the idea of a big dog around the place.”
    They both fell silent for a moment. But Mr. Boo made loud sounds, licking every inch of the plate, and then he looked up at Wade in hope.
    “Oh, for God’s sake,” Wade said, dumping the rest of the hamburger onto the plate. There went the meat for his dinner.
    Rose still seemed at a loss for words when the air beside her shimmered and the final member of their group materialized into view.
    “A dog?” he said in a heavy Scottish accent—only he sounded excited. “You brought home a dog?”
    “I most certainly did not,” Wade answered, turning to Seamus.
    Seamus’ body was transparent, as always. Though long dead, he looked like a young man, his brown hair hanging to his shoulders. He wore a blue and yellow Scottish plaid draped across his shoulder and held by a belt over the black breeches he’d died in. The knife sheath at his hip was empty.
    He was Rose’s nephew, and he’d been murdered the same night she was turned, but he’d come back as a spirit, forever tied to her. He comprised a key component in the success of their missions. Once Wade found reason to suspect a possible location for a lost vampire, he sent Seamus to investigate. As a ghost, Seamus could zero in on a vampire—or anything undead—once he was in the general vicinity. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stay too long, as his spirit was tied to Rose, and the longer he stayed away from her, the weaker he became.
    But still, the group would be lost—blind—without him.
    Mr. Boo looked up and blinked. He’d shown no aversion to the vampires, but he did seem somewhat put off by the sight of Seamus. At least he didn’t growl. After a moment, he lowered his head and lapped at the water.
    “What about Tiny Tuesday?” Rose finally asked, clearly uncertain about this decision having been made without her input.
    “He won’t hurt her,” Wade said, trying to sound confident. “Maxim promised.”
    Thinking of Tiny Tuesday, Wade knew she was probably sleeping in her kitty bed up in his office.
    “Rose,” he said. “I need to get to work. Can you find Mr. Boo an old blanket or something and make him a bed? Now that he’s eaten, I think he’ll want to sleep. I have a feeling he’s been on the road awhile.”
    Just like many of them.
    But now the dog had found a home. Suddenly Wade didn’t mind the thought of one more lost soul thrown into the mix.
    “Mr. Boo?” Rose asked.
    “Yeah, that’s his name.”
    Rose seemed to read Wade’s face—she was good at that—and nodded with some hesitation. “Yes, you go on upstairs. I’ll find him…something.”
    Grateful, he moved past her, leaving Seamus to watch the dog in fascination. Seamus had liked horses and dogs when he was alive. Perhaps those penchants never changed.
    Wade walked through the living room of the apartment and headed for the stairway leading up to the two rooms behind the sanctuary. He had furnished one of them into a home office for himself, and Rose was using the other one as her bedroom. His long legs took the stairs two at a time. He’d always considered his own appearance somewhat mundane in comparison with those of his housemates. Tall and slender, he was in his early thirties, with narrow features. The only element about him that truly stood out was his white-blond hair, hanging below his collar. He’d just kept forgetting to get it cut, and now it seemed easier to wear it longer.
    Emerging from the stairwell, he headed for his office. It was probably his favorite room in the church, with books and maps spread out all over the place and his computer waiting for him on the messy desk.
    As he pushed the cracked door farther open, a small gray and white cat raised her head from a cushy kitty