life at Wiccan Haus. He was a weretiger. Cyrus, Cemil, Sage, and Sarka were all magic users of various persuasions. Myron was precognitive, and the deck of cards served as her tool of choice.
“Myron was the one who told us where you’d gone and that we’d better hurry after you,” Rekkus said. “That manticore is a cranky bastard on a good day.”
“Manticore?”
“Well, technically a sauroleon, a subspecies of manticore. One of many exotic animals that have found refuge in our wilderness preserve. Usually the cliff face is plenty of barrier between the forest and the rest of the guests on the island.” Rekkus eyed him sharply and frowned. “We’ll have to be sure we keep a closer eye on any other ninja warriors who show up here. Which brings me back to my question. What the hell were you doing?”
“Losing my mind, apparently,” Josh said. “Now I’m walking back to a haunted castle with a guy who’s part Englishman, part panther.”
“Welshman and black tiger, thank you very much.”
“Whatever.” Josh waved his hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter because I have clearly lost my fucking mind. I am probably drooling out of the corner of my mouth in the brain-trauma unit at Mobile Infirmary Medical Center.”
“How does that explain anything?” Rekkus said. “How does it explain how real everything feels? How does it explain how bad that gash on your shoulder hurts? I know it hurts because it’s bleeding like a son of a bitch.”
Josh kept walking.
Rekkus stopped him with a hand to his arm. “How does that explain how you feel about Adriana? How could she possibly be a dream? How could she ever be something you just made up?”
Josh squared off against the big part-Welshman part-black tiger. “Then tell me what is going on with Adriana. Tell me why you won’t let her touch me.”
“You ever heard of a lamia?” Rekkus asked. “Maybe read Coleridge’s poem ‘Christabel’ in college?”
“No time for college. I got my GED results while I was at the X-Games—finished high school early so I could skate full time,” Josh shook his head. “So I never heard of a lamia.”
“Well, they don’t like this label, but it probably is the easiest to understand. Lamia are like energy vampires. Instead of drinking blood, they drain life through their touch. That’s how they survive, by exchanging energy with their host.”
“So you think Adriana is trying to drain my life?” Josh asked in disbelief.
“We think she’s doing everything she can to keep from draining your life. As long as she can keep the contact under control, she can exchange energies back and forth with her host without hurting either of you. In fact, there are huge benefits to being a host. Lamia exchange life energy for creativity and inventiveness. Some of the world’s most productive and influential people have been lamia hosts, even though most had no idea they were.”
Josh frowned. “Adriana’s last boss was Tom Bridges. He pretty much fits the bill of inventive.”
“Tom Bridges had been Adriana’s host for nearly ten years. He was her first assignment out of finishing school,” Rekkus said. “His death was very hard on her. She came to Wiccan Haus to recover and try to find a way to exist without taking another host.”
The path turned to follow the beach, complete with boat docks in the distance.
“Did she love him?” Josh asked.
“I think he was like a father or a mentor to her. Like most hosts, he never knew what she was or that he was also providing an anchor for her energy needs. He also never knew that the incredible innovations he’d given to the computing world had been sparked by the creative energy she boosted back into him.”
“Can anybody be a host?” Josh tried not to sound too curious.
Rekkus walked out onto the sand and gazed out over the ocean. “The lamia and the host have to be compatible. From what I’ve seen, you two burn like a house fire. Compatibility is not a
“Myron was the one who told us where you’d gone and that we’d better hurry after you,” Rekkus said. “That manticore is a cranky bastard on a good day.”
“Manticore?”
“Well, technically a sauroleon, a subspecies of manticore. One of many exotic animals that have found refuge in our wilderness preserve. Usually the cliff face is plenty of barrier between the forest and the rest of the guests on the island.” Rekkus eyed him sharply and frowned. “We’ll have to be sure we keep a closer eye on any other ninja warriors who show up here. Which brings me back to my question. What the hell were you doing?”
“Losing my mind, apparently,” Josh said. “Now I’m walking back to a haunted castle with a guy who’s part Englishman, part panther.”
“Welshman and black tiger, thank you very much.”
“Whatever.” Josh waved his hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter because I have clearly lost my fucking mind. I am probably drooling out of the corner of my mouth in the brain-trauma unit at Mobile Infirmary Medical Center.”
“How does that explain anything?” Rekkus said. “How does it explain how real everything feels? How does it explain how bad that gash on your shoulder hurts? I know it hurts because it’s bleeding like a son of a bitch.”
Josh kept walking.
Rekkus stopped him with a hand to his arm. “How does that explain how you feel about Adriana? How could she possibly be a dream? How could she ever be something you just made up?”
Josh squared off against the big part-Welshman part-black tiger. “Then tell me what is going on with Adriana. Tell me why you won’t let her touch me.”
“You ever heard of a lamia?” Rekkus asked. “Maybe read Coleridge’s poem ‘Christabel’ in college?”
“No time for college. I got my GED results while I was at the X-Games—finished high school early so I could skate full time,” Josh shook his head. “So I never heard of a lamia.”
“Well, they don’t like this label, but it probably is the easiest to understand. Lamia are like energy vampires. Instead of drinking blood, they drain life through their touch. That’s how they survive, by exchanging energy with their host.”
“So you think Adriana is trying to drain my life?” Josh asked in disbelief.
“We think she’s doing everything she can to keep from draining your life. As long as she can keep the contact under control, she can exchange energies back and forth with her host without hurting either of you. In fact, there are huge benefits to being a host. Lamia exchange life energy for creativity and inventiveness. Some of the world’s most productive and influential people have been lamia hosts, even though most had no idea they were.”
Josh frowned. “Adriana’s last boss was Tom Bridges. He pretty much fits the bill of inventive.”
“Tom Bridges had been Adriana’s host for nearly ten years. He was her first assignment out of finishing school,” Rekkus said. “His death was very hard on her. She came to Wiccan Haus to recover and try to find a way to exist without taking another host.”
The path turned to follow the beach, complete with boat docks in the distance.
“Did she love him?” Josh asked.
“I think he was like a father or a mentor to her. Like most hosts, he never knew what she was or that he was also providing an anchor for her energy needs. He also never knew that the incredible innovations he’d given to the computing world had been sparked by the creative energy she boosted back into him.”
“Can anybody be a host?” Josh tried not to sound too curious.
Rekkus walked out onto the sand and gazed out over the ocean. “The lamia and the host have to be compatible. From what I’ve seen, you two burn like a house fire. Compatibility is not a
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