Apparition (The Hungry Ghosts) (47 page)

Everything inside of him collapsed, he could barely breathe.

“Excuse me, do you need help?”

Ian glanced around at a dark-haired man in a tourist guide uniform.

“Are either of you injured?” the guide asked.

“No, we’re…” Ian got to his feet and helped Tess up.
“Javier?”

The man frowned, then his face softened and he took Ian’s hands in his own, fighting back tears. “Ian, Tess.
Dios mío.
” He threw his arms around them, hugging them tightly.
“Dios mío.”
Then he stepped back from them and looked at Charlie and Rina. “The twins. In the jungle … you were several months pregnant, Tess. Do you remember?”

She swiped at her eyes, whispered, “Yes. All of it.”

“There are others like us, people who left and remembered too late and couldn’t get back. We’re not alone.”

“But … how can that happen?” Ian stammered.

“Shamans tell us that reality split somehow,” Javier said, moving his hands outward, in opposite directions. “That Memory is key. All of us remembered too late. I don’t understand a lot of what they’re saying. But there are others.”

“How many?” Tess asked.

“Over two hundred of us now. We have places in Dorado where you can live. There’s plenty of work. The schools are great. I can take you there. Let me tell the other guide to go on without me. We need you.” He loped off to the group of tourists.

Charlie took Tess’s hand. “Mommy, it’ll be okay. It’s a new story.”

“New story,” Rina chimed, and clasped Charlie’s hand. “Let’s go to our new story.”

Ian slipped his arm around Tess’s shoulder. “Slim?”

“Clooney?”

They gazed out longingly over the ruin. “I’m game as long as I’ve got the three of you,” Ian said.

“We’ll make it work,” Tess said.

Javier trotted back over to them. “Ready?”

“Yes, yes,” chimed Charlie and Rina, and ran toward the car.

Ian glanced back just once. Afternoon light spilled across the ruin, a soft mountain light that varnished the ancient stones and crumbling paths so that for an instant, everything shimmered and shone. He thought he could see Esperanza as it had once been, the twisted streets, the old buildings, the parks, peaks, the old railroad tracks, even the Pincoya. For an instant, he could see the beauty and grandeur of a place called Hope.

Then a cloud drifted across the face of the sun, and a brisk breeze caused him to shiver. He turned and hurried to catch up with the others.

TOR BOOKS BY TRISH J. MACGREGOR

Esperanza

Ghost Key

Apparition

About the Author

Trish J. MacGregor was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and has an ongoing love affair with South America. She lives in South Florida with her husband, novelist Rob MacGregor, three cats, and a noble golden retriever. She can be reached through her website:
www.trishjmacgregor.com
.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

APPARITION

Copyright © 2013 by Trish J. MacGregor

All rights reserved.

Cover photograph by Knape/Getty Images

A Tor Book

Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

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New York, NY 10010

www.tor-forge.com

Tor® is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN 978-0-7653-2604-1 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-4299-4406-9 (e-book)

e-ISBN 9781429944069

First Edition: November 2013