Secret Worlds (396 page)

The following, crushing kiss pulls me away from the insanity whirling around the mist inside my head. How does he do this? Does he know or just presume he’s so hot I can’t resist throwing myself at him? This time, his hard lips don’t stay on mine long; he pulls my head away.

Alek’s heart thumps against mine, and I look into his pale face. He runs his tongue along his bottom lip and inhales sharply.

“Sorry.” I climb off him, heat of shame replacing my sudden desire.

“This is a new experience for me.” He sinks back onto the floor again and wipes a hand across his face. “I’m not used to people reacting to me like this, not recently.”

The last few hours shifted everything in my world and I’m lost in a craziness I don’t think will change soon. If I stay in this room and share the desire I see in Alek’s eyes, I suspect my dignity will be the next thing I lose. I can’t cope with anything else, not now. Without another word to Alek, I leave the room.

The first place I have to visit at work the next morning is the morgue to drop some files off. This means I’ll see my new friend Tom Jones. I groan inwardly, but maybe he’s the most sensible of them all.

“Hello, Miss Rose,” he grins through a mouthful of chocolate.

I shove the trolley full of files toward him. I’m on a tight schedule, but he might be able to help. “You can see ghosts, is that right?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Are you trying to be funny?”

“Are you really a psychic? Can you see ghosts?”

“I can see people doing weird stuff. Things I don’t think they should be.” He taps the side of his nose, and I decide my recent conversations with Alek have addled my brain. Standing in the relative normality of my workplace, the events of last night seem less real; today is what’s real. Normal. Although, I’m unsure Tom fits into the ‘normal’ category.

“What do they do?” I ask.

He sinks back in his chair. “I can tell you all about what’s happening, if you like. Just not here.”

“Where then?”

“I like beer.” He grins broadly, showing me chocolate-covered teeth.

“Fine. I have a lunch break around one o’clock. How about you?”

“Luckily enough, that’s my lunch break, too!” He sounds too delighted to me.

“Can you meet me at the Kings Arms around one then?”

“It’s a date!”

“Um. No, it’s not.”

***

The pub is almost empty, apart from other hospital staff taking time out. I position myself in a dark corner, as far from the door and bar as I can, to wait with a glass of Coke and a pint of beer on the table in front of me.

On time, almost to the second, Tom arrives. I’ve only seen him sitting, so his tall and skinny frame is a surprise. He reminds me of a giraffe with his red hair and long face. Certainly there’s no resemblance between him and his singing-star namesake; I can’t see women wanting to throw their underwear at him. Tom waves and approaches the bar. I point to his pint but he waves a hand at me. When Tom comes to the table and sits on the leather stool opposite me, he has a packet of crisps in his hand. I suspect his diet is why he looks as pasty in here as he does in the depths of the hospital.

The packet crinkles as he rips it open, unashamedly stuffing crisps in his mouth. “Working down there makes me hungry,” he says through a mouthful.

“All that sitting on your backside must be tiring.”

He frowns at me. “The ghosts and the other... people, they suck the energy out of the air around them.”

A shudder trips down my spine. Alek.
Me
. “So, you’ve seen ghosts?”

He ignores me. “Did you know there were other people like you working in the hospital?” he whispers.

“Like me?”

Licking salt from his fingers, he studies me. “Have they found you yet? Are you working for them?”

“What
are
you talking about?”

Tom leans over and pulls a notepad out of his rucksack. He flicks through it and comes to a list of names. I crane my head. “Why have you got my name in your book?”

“Your story was in the news; the girl who died for half an hour, and then came back to life. Nobody can die for half an hour and then live. You were all over the internet.”

“Because of the sex tape?”

His eyes widen. “What?”

“I’m joking, Tom! Why the hell am I on the internet?”

Tom sits up straight and smiles proudly. “I’m a paranormal investigator; there’s a few of us. We monitor the internet for reports needing to be investigated, and then gather information to share. That’s how I found you.”

Great, he’s a looney tune.

“Are you stalking me?” I ask him slowly. “Because I’ll go to the police.”

He ignores me. “Do you know any others?”

“Any other what?”

“People who should be dead.”

I wait for an amused smile but Tom’s serious. What’s worse is every word he says backs up what Alek said.

“Do you know Alek?” I ask.

“He’s one of you.”

“And what am I?”

“I’m not sure. But others like you are in the hospital. They…get rid of ghosts.”

“Oh, cool. I’m a ghostbuster...” I say, voice laden with sarcasm.

He slurps his pint, and then wipes the foam from his lips with the back of his hand. “People like you need energy. Not sugar and crap, but energy from people or ghosts. The ones like you at the hospital come into the morgue…to feed.”

He should have a low voice, be leaning forward and whispering secretly. But he’s practically announcing this to the world around him, and I’m relieved we sat where we did.

“I eat food,” I retort.

“Do you eat much?”

“Do I look like I eat a lot?”

“You look different to last time I saw you, not as ill. Did you feed on a ghost? Or are you feeding off people?”

“What the hell?” I make to stand and he puts his hand on mine before withdrawing it as if I’ve burnt him.

“Not on purpose; you can’t help it. You absorb it from those around you. That’s why people don’t really like you much.”

I open my mouth to retort and look back into his intent face. “Are you going to put this information about me on the internet?”

“No, I have the links about your... kind if you want to see.” He rips a corner from his notebook and scrawls a web address. “Thing is, Rose, I think something dark is happening. I’m not sure what, but more people are dying at the hospital than statistically should be.”

Statistically? Is he keeping count? “What’s happening?”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out!” he says, putting his pen on the table. “Will you help? And can I help you?”

“Help me what?”

“Stay out of it, survive.”

Finn.
The uneasy feeling he could be involved re-enters. “What do you know about Reapers?”

“Reapers. Ooh. What are they? Like four horsemen?”

Obviously not.
“It doesn’t matter.”

“Are they like you?”

This gangly, auburn-haired guy could be my only human ally; although, I doubt he’d be much use against an army of supernatural creatures.

“I have to go,” I tell him.

Tom glances around as if he’s a secret agent then pulls his phone out. “Can I have your number?”

“I don’t think so.” I picture a tribe of nerdy paranormal investigators stalking me.

“Okay, here’s mine.” He scrawls on a beer mat and slides it over. “If you need help, or more information, let me know.”

I gawk at his proud confidence. From what he’s told me, I don’t think he realises what he’s dealing with.

After meeting Tom, I take my confused self back to work and hope I can avoid Finn. I’m unsure if this is because I’m embarrassed about yesterday or because I believe Alek. Finn never denied anything and they said some weird things to each other. As each hour passes, the believability of this weird scenario increases. The work shift is a confused haze as I attempt to come up with a solution. The most sensible idea would be to leave the house permanently, but the more I think about the situation, the more sense some of Alek’s explanations make.

As I head toward the elevator, on my way home, my phone vibrates.

I ignore the text from Finn, heart thumping as I glance around in case he’s lurking amongst the hospital visitors. Then I decide this is stupid; I doubt he’s waiting to drag me off and kill me. My phone buzzes again.

The icy touch that shoots to my heart, the fog that comes when I’m near him–these aren’t positive connections to him. It’s six pm and the day darkens already. I never used to be concerned about what lurks in the shadows, but now I’m not too sure.

My phone vibrates for a third time.

Now, a text from Alek. How? I never gave him my number.

I text back.

I stare open-mouthed at the phone. I moved to this city and took on a new job to get away from people fussing after the accident and telling me what I can and can’t do. Now I have supernatural creatures pursuing me instead?

Alek doesn’t respond and I shove my phone back into my bag. He’ll have to find me first. I head for the bus stop, but the recent bad weather conspires against me. Halfway across the car park, the dark clouds open and rain falls. Well, not so much as falls but blows horizontally into my face, the kind of rain an umbrella would be useless for if I were logical enough to carry one. Pulling my jacket to cover my head, I run back into the hospital. I buy a cup of coffee and sit at a table near the window, waiting for the weather to clear.

And, of course, one of my stalkers appears. Finn. I look away and stand to leave.

“No. Wait.” He holds a hand out and I step back before he can touch me. “I’ll buy you another coffee?”

“No, thanks.” I edge around him.

“Rose. Please let me explain my side!”

A couple of nurses passing watch us curiously and whisper; clearly, it appears we’re having a domestic. I shake my head and walk away. Finn catches up to me before I leave the building; we stand outside the gift shop.

“Please, let me talk to you. Then I’ll leave you alone, if that’s what you want.”

The normally-confident, smiling Finn has been replaced by a sagging-shouldered, paler-than-usual guy. If Finn is insistent on talking to me, then having the conversation somewhere public makes sense. Whatever Alek says, he’s not about to kill me in a crowded hospital.
How insane do I sound
?

If I don’t talk to Finn now he’ll keep hassling me. “Okay.”

We head back to the hospital cafeteria, the same as the first time we chatted, and sit in a quiet corner amongst the vacant tables. Finn brings me another coffee. Every person who enters the room I glance at, expecting Alek to appear at any moment.

“Were you okay yesterday after I left?” he asks.

I twist the cup around in my hands, unsure what to say to him. “I’m fine.”

“I hope Alek hasn’t hurt you? I worry about his mental state.”

Finn won’t meet my eyes. Does he think I didn’t hear their conversation? “You said some mad things, too, Finn.” No response. “About demons killing people at the hospital and about being here because of me.”

Finn sinks back against the chair and rubs a broad palm across his face before studying me. “Do you believe anything you’ve been told recently?”

“When Alek spoke about this the other night, I honestly thought he had mental health issues. Now you’ve said something, too, and I’m not sure anymore. It’s not as if you could be conspiring, since it’s clear you don’t like each other.”

“He’s the one with the problem. I don’t care enough about him to dislike him. I’m only bothered if he threatens you.”

“Why would you be bothered about me? I don’t want you to be!” I say harshly.

I can’t fathom Finn’s expression at my words. Although his face is as inscrutable as ever, his eyes betray much more. There’s a strange sadness in them.

“I don’t want to care either,” he says quietly.

This makes no sense. “Do you want to kill me?” I ask outright. “What are you?”

A muscle twitches in his jaw as he considers his answer. “A Reaper.”

“You forgot your scythe.”

“Ha, ha, Rose. This isn’t funny.”

“Oh, believe me, I don’t find this funny at all. Apparently I’m a half-dead vampire who sucks energy from people.”

Finn sighs. “Sorry, I screwed up. I let you live by mistake.”

“Okay…How did you do that exactly?”

He rubs his head, frowning. “I gave you your life instead of letting you die. I had to help you; I couldn’t leave you to your fate.”

The shock of his words and his proximity set off the buzzing in my head. I shift my chair away; as the familiar grey clouds my eyes at the memory of the night, I tense.
Go away. Everything.
“So, you need to fix your mistake and you’ve come to kill me?”

“No! Yes…kind of.”

“That’s a fairly noncommittal answer, Finn. Maybe choose one?”

“Okay, I’m supposed to, but I can’t. You’re here and alive, not dying by the roadside, or in a hospital bed like the others I help Over. I believe it’s wrong to kill you now.”

I inhale sharply at his admission; at least he’s conflicted about it. “Alek says you’re killing me every time we’re close.”

“He’s lying. I can’t do anything without touching you.”

My body remembers the dangerous cold of his touch as the cool edges into my veins, and I shudder. The consternation in Finn’s face isn’t that of a man who wants to kill me; he looks lost.

“What happens if you don’t do it?” I ask.

He shrugs. “No idea.”

I rub my face with both hands. “I’m not sure if that makes me feel better or worse.”

“It’s not me you’re in danger from.”

Oh, here we go.
“Alek?”

“As much as I’d like to say yes, no. Something else is happening in the hospital, and there’s danger around. People are dying when they shouldn’t, and I think your housemate is involved somehow.”

“I think you’re involved,” I blurt.

Genuine shock in his wide eyes, Finn says, “Me? I don’t kill people!”