Ghost Light

Chapter 17

Thankfully we didn’t have far to go. A few people scowled and gave me a wide berth, but we stuck to the shadows and made it to the bridge without incident.

The bridge where Marvin had taken up residence was small, a single stone arch over a burbling stream. Homes and apartment buildings sat on a ridge where the land rose above on either side. The bridge itself sat low, hovering over the stream where a river had once cut its way into the earth.

As we approached, I heard snores echo from the shadows. The kid was asleep.

I made sure my booted feet hit every rock on the narrow trail that led down to the bridge. When we were only a few yards away, I called out to Marvin. The bridge troll had been attacked in his previous home and I didn’t want to frighten him.

The snores ceased and the kid rolled to his feet, a baseball bat dwarfed in his huge hands. Marvin had been sleeping armed. I wasn’t sure if I should be proud or cry.

“Hey, Marvin,” I said.

“Poison Ivy?” he asked.

“Yeah, it’s me and Ceff,” I said.

“You stink,” he said.

“I sure do,” I said.

That was one thing about my troll friend. He got right to the point. And when a troll thinks you smell bad, you know that you seriously stink. I started to laugh and gagged, again. I’d been doing a lot of that since Stinky busted a gut all over me.

Normally, the only thing that comes between me and the contents of my stomach is a return trip to my body after a particularly nasty vision. But rotten ghoul gunk was a whole new can of maggots. I covered my mouth and tried to calm the churning in my belly. I didn’t want to foul Marvin’s new digs any worse than I already was.

When I caught my breath, I told Marvin about our visit to the vamp’s lair and the exploding ghoul. He was still chuckling as he led us downstream.

“Clean here,” he said.

“Thanks,” I said. “I promise to bring a housewarming gift next time.”

“Don’t stink,” he said.

That was a gift I could manage—so long as no more ghouls exploded on me.

Marvin flashed a gap toothed grin and I smiled. There was something about being around the orphan bridge troll that made me feel comfortable, like coming home. We’d become each other’s surrogate family since the each uisge attack. I was glad to see that even though Marvin’s injuries were healing and he was moving on, we had managed to stay friends.

“Ready?” Ceff asked.

I nodded, stepped into the stream, and tried not to blush. My skin had tingled the first time Ceff pulled water from the air. What would happen when he tapped into an entire stream?

Ceff lifted his hands to chest level and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his eyes shone bright green in the darkness of the streambed. Water rushed from the ground to Ceff’s hands where it spooled into a large sphere.

I stood, mouth gaping, as he wove the water using his kelpie magic. With a flick of his wrist water rose from the sphere to cascade over me, my own private rain shower. I snapped my jaw shut and tried to remain still, but it was hard not to fidget. The water pouring over my body made my skin heat and left me breathless.

I met Ceff’s glowing gaze and he winked. A flush ran up my neck and face and I bit my lip. I think we just discovered a way to get past our inability to touch. Too bad we were too busy to explore our options further.

Ceff lowered his hands and the water returned to the stream. I sighed and shook off, shedding water like a dog. Fun time was over. It was time to bag some bad guys.

I looked over my clothes and frowned. I’d need to wipe excess moisture off my leather jacket and give it a rubdown with mink oil, but it was salvageable. The t-shirt and jeans were soaked through. I pulled at the clothes, but the shirt stuck to me like a second skin and the jeans chafed as I stepped out of the stream. There was no way I could run or fight in these clothes.

And I still smelled like ghoul guts.

If I was going to make a trip to Club Nexus tonight, I needed to keep that appointment with my shower and a bar of soap. I sniffed my hair and winced. Make that a case of soap and bottle of shampoo. I turned to Marvin and waved.

“Thanks, Marvin,” I said. “We have to run, but I promise to bring some honey next time I stop by.”

“Find children?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “I gotta stop by the loft for a change of clothes, then a trip to Club Nexus. But we’ll find them.”

Marvin nodded and I turned to leave. When Ceff and I made it to the top of the hill, I turned to see Marvin ducking under his bridge. It was then that I realized he was still holding the baseball bat.

A lump formed in my throat.

“I won’t let bad things happen to any more fae kids,” I whispered. “Not in my city.”

I tightened my fists and dug the wet toes of my boots into the scree that covered the embankment. I was going to find those kids and I wouldn’t let anything get in my way.