Read Online Apparition (The Hungry Ghosts) by Trish J. MacGregor - Free Book Online
Authors: Trish J. MacGregor
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seizing hosts elsewhere,” he said. “There are stories all over the Internet about possessions—but in other countries, not in Ecuador. So if Esperanza is their home base, then their leader isn’t going to screw that up by seizing locals. This Ricardo isn’t going to repeat Dominica’s mistakes. The ancient brujos have a strong grasp of history.” He glanced at her. “So what else did Charlie have to say?”
More than he has ever said, she thought, but not stuff that Leo needed to hear. “Not much. I hadn’t seen him for a while.”
“Do you ever wonder what chasers do? I mean, in their daily existence? Do they have routines? Do they have basketball teams? Schools? Libraries? I asked Charlie that once and he said he belonged to a chess club, had joined an acting group, worked in a bookstore, went skiing, coached other attorneys, had fifteen girlfriends…”
Lauren started laughing. “Yeah. And he spends his free time watching us.”
“I hope you’re joking.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
“Suppose the brujos are back, Lauren? Would you leave?”
“You forget, I arrived with the solstice battle. My existence here has been brujo -free. But yours hasn’t. Would you leave?”
He didn’t reply immediately. She already knew what his answer would be; they had talked about this when they’d first started seeing each other. “I’ve loved this city since I first arrived. My life here, even during the dark years of the brujos, surpassed anything I thought was possible when I left Argentina. I’ve been cancer-free for twenty-two years. This city cured me. But if you left, I would have to leave. I can’t imagine living here without you.”
A lump of emotion lodged in her throat and she raised his hand to her mouth and kissed each of the knuckles. “I’m not going anywhere. If I weren’t starving, I’d say let’s go home, build a fire, and get naked.”
She knew his neck wouldn’t turn red now. They were alone, just the two of them out here on the sidewalk. His low, husky laugh told her he’d been thinking the same thing. As he slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, their stomachs growled simultaneously. “Okay, food first,” he said, and steered her into Los Gatos, a vegetarian restaurant named after the two orange-striped cats, Simba and Cobre, who strolled about freely.
The cats were identical, except that Simba had celery-green eyes, rather like Maddie’s, and Cobre had eyes the color of the metal after which he’d been named—Copper. Lauren always wondered if they were spirit cats. And that was the thing, really, about Esperanza. You never knew for sure if what you were seeing was alive and real—or an apparition.
Both cats came up to them as they waited for the hostess to seat them and threaded through their legs, purring. Lauren leaned over and stroked her fingers across Cobre’s back. His fur was deliciously soft and felt ever so real. Then again, the smell of Charlie’s cigar had been real, too.
Los Gatos was crowded and the only free seats were near the bar. She had a full view of the TV from here and wished she were sitting with her back to it. But she faced the damn television, where Raúl’s video was now streaming across the screen. She forced herself to look away, to look at Leo, who held out a glass of wine.
“ Salud, Prankster.”
“Where’d this come from? We haven’t ordered yet.”
“Special order.”
“Really.” She clicked her glass against his. “ Salud, Leo.” She sipped and the wine tasted divine. “What’s the occasion?”
He reached into his jacket pocket, withdrew a small square box, and opened it. Inside was a gold ring shaped like a peace symbol, with a star sapphire gleaming in the center of it. Beautiful didn’t quite cover it. The ring was the most spectacular piece of jewelry she’d ever seen. “We just traded in the rest of our stock for precious stones?”
“For this precious stone,” he said. “I’m old-fashioned,
More than he has ever said, she thought, but not stuff that Leo needed to hear. “Not much. I hadn’t seen him for a while.”
“Do you ever wonder what chasers do? I mean, in their daily existence? Do they have routines? Do they have basketball teams? Schools? Libraries? I asked Charlie that once and he said he belonged to a chess club, had joined an acting group, worked in a bookstore, went skiing, coached other attorneys, had fifteen girlfriends…”
Lauren started laughing. “Yeah. And he spends his free time watching us.”
“I hope you’re joking.”
“Yeah, me, too.”
“Suppose the brujos are back, Lauren? Would you leave?”
“You forget, I arrived with the solstice battle. My existence here has been brujo -free. But yours hasn’t. Would you leave?”
He didn’t reply immediately. She already knew what his answer would be; they had talked about this when they’d first started seeing each other. “I’ve loved this city since I first arrived. My life here, even during the dark years of the brujos, surpassed anything I thought was possible when I left Argentina. I’ve been cancer-free for twenty-two years. This city cured me. But if you left, I would have to leave. I can’t imagine living here without you.”
A lump of emotion lodged in her throat and she raised his hand to her mouth and kissed each of the knuckles. “I’m not going anywhere. If I weren’t starving, I’d say let’s go home, build a fire, and get naked.”
She knew his neck wouldn’t turn red now. They were alone, just the two of them out here on the sidewalk. His low, husky laugh told her he’d been thinking the same thing. As he slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close, their stomachs growled simultaneously. “Okay, food first,” he said, and steered her into Los Gatos, a vegetarian restaurant named after the two orange-striped cats, Simba and Cobre, who strolled about freely.
The cats were identical, except that Simba had celery-green eyes, rather like Maddie’s, and Cobre had eyes the color of the metal after which he’d been named—Copper. Lauren always wondered if they were spirit cats. And that was the thing, really, about Esperanza. You never knew for sure if what you were seeing was alive and real—or an apparition.
Both cats came up to them as they waited for the hostess to seat them and threaded through their legs, purring. Lauren leaned over and stroked her fingers across Cobre’s back. His fur was deliciously soft and felt ever so real. Then again, the smell of Charlie’s cigar had been real, too.
Los Gatos was crowded and the only free seats were near the bar. She had a full view of the TV from here and wished she were sitting with her back to it. But she faced the damn television, where Raúl’s video was now streaming across the screen. She forced herself to look away, to look at Leo, who held out a glass of wine.
“ Salud, Prankster.”
“Where’d this come from? We haven’t ordered yet.”
“Special order.”
“Really.” She clicked her glass against his. “ Salud, Leo.” She sipped and the wine tasted divine. “What’s the occasion?”
He reached into his jacket pocket, withdrew a small square box, and opened it. Inside was a gold ring shaped like a peace symbol, with a star sapphire gleaming in the center of it. Beautiful didn’t quite cover it. The ring was the most spectacular piece of jewelry she’d ever seen. “We just traded in the rest of our stock for precious stones?”
“For this precious stone,” he said. “I’m old-fashioned,
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