“Has Kalvoxrencol told you about my inner fire?” he asked in his steady voice.
“Yeah,” Seth said.
My head tilted toward him. It was nice to hear him speak in English. NAID translated Kalvoxrencol and Zoltilvoxfyn for Seth, but she couldn’t do the same thing for me, because no one knew I was here. I’d had to learn Drakconese, and trying to mimic the guttural noises was hard. Listening to English was achingly comforting.
As Zoltilvoxfyn explained in more detail about hismagicalgift that wasn’t actually magical, something about brain chemistry yada yada, and how it worked, I tuned him out and explored.
Two tall windows with sheer white curtains were directly across from the door. They led to a railless balcony covered in potted plants. Between the windows was an overfull bookshelf stretching to the high ceiling.
I wandered past the couch and around the cut-out wall carved with vines. An easel that had a painting depicting what appeared to be an outline of Seth sat on the other side. A low dining table framed by woven mats was near two doors. One bedroom was completely empty; the other was full of childhood junk like clothes, toys, and books.
Still ignoring the conversation, though my ears perked whenever Seth spoke, I went to the door on the other side of the apartment. This was obviously Kalvoxrencol and Seth’s bedroom. A huge canopy bed, with colorful vines coiled around the posts, stood in the middle. The three windows had the same sheer curtains as the living room. Clothes, books, and cat toys were scattered around.
There were two paintings of Seth, one on the wall and the second on an easel. The first was a portrait, chest up, of Seth done in shades of red. The other was also in shades of red, but it was a full-body painting of Seth. Naked. While it wasn’t completed, it showed exactly what Seth was working with.
I pushed my head out of the door and commented, “Seth, my man, Kal is obviously obsessed with you. Paintings everywhere. I would say it was a bad sign, besides the whole soulmate thing.”
Zoltilvoxfyn broke off mid-sentence and cleared his throat. Kal’s eyebrows lifted, clearly wondering why his brother had stopped talking.
I peeked over my shoulder at Zoltilvoxfyn who watched me. “Your brother is lucky as long as he didn’t exaggerate Seth’s cock. Nice and big.”
A strangled noise came out of his lips, which sounded suspiciously like suppressed laughter. Zoltilvoxfyn definitelyhad a sense of humor. He just needed something to draw it out. It would be the mission of my afterlife: Operation Make Him Smile. He needed it. Hell, he deserved it. The dude saw ghosts. It couldn’t always be rainbows, sunshine, and unicorn shit.
“What’s going on, Zoltilvoxfyn?” Kal asked. “I doubt you came to talk about your inner fire.”
“A soul recently came across my path.”
I snorted. I’d called him pretty to his face, but whatever. Sure, I’d crossed his path. Like a cat.
Seth sat up straighter, petting Lucy who continued to purr. “A ghost?”
“Yes.”
“Are they see-through?”
“No,” Zoltilvoxfyn said slowly. Obviously, Seth was working off Casper-type images. I looked like me, just dead.
Lucy nudged Seth, and he started petting her again, not meeting anyone’s eye.
At the thought of cats, I crouched in front of Lucy. Some animals saw me. Spiders did, which was terrifying. Images of genetically modified black widows the size of German shepherds came to mind. I shuddered, pushing it away. That had been a bitch of a nightmare to escape.
Cats were hit or miss for me. Some reacted, while others ignored me entirely. Cats were assholes, so it was hard to know one way or another if they all saw me or not. Lucy had ignored me back on the Admiral Ven, even when I’d rolled on the floor in front of her or tried to play with her. I’d even focused as hard as possible to throw one of her balls, and she’d ignored me. Though I’d paid the price by vanishing for a couple of hours.
“Hello, Chunky Bunky,” I said in a baby voice, wiggling my fingers right in front of her, then gave her a loud smooch. Lucy’s eyes grew wide. She arched and hissed before darting under the couch.
Seth started. “What the hell?”
“She can see me,” I yelled triumphantly. “What an asshole to ignore me for months. Do you know what I did to try and get her attention? Lots of things. Embarrassing things. She ignored me the entire time. I could’ve been playing with her.”
Zoltilvoxfyn released another cough, which made me grin. I moved to his side, and he tracked me the entire way.
“The ghost is here right now,” Kal surmised.
“Yes,” Zoltilvoxfyn replied.
Seth sat up straighter. “Here?”
“Yes.”
