Walking Shadows (42 page)

"I haven't had a phone since Mum died," he said, "I haven't had anyone to
call." And he smiled at me, revealing the faintest hint of fang. He caught Kate looking at him
and pressed his lips self-consciously together.

Kate said: "I'll give you my number too. In case you need to tell me to come get her out of
trouble again." It was only half a joke, but he relaxed.

As we passed the alley that lead to the Gold Bug, Gary paused.

"I, ah, I said I'd report
back. Make sure they know it's over."

Kate's expression might have stripped paint. I got it, though. We did not want Magdalene and
Mundy causing trouble all over town simply because they didn't know they weren't fighting for their
lives any more.

"I'll come with you," I said.

"No you won't," said Kate, at the same time Gary said, "I'd rather you
didn't."

"How about I wait outside?" I offered.

So the three of us walked together down the dog-legged alley and Kate kept me at the door with
the power of her disapproval. Gary stepped cautiously down the flame-damaged stairs and paused
because two people were ascending from the basement.

Gary backtracked to join Kate and me in the alley. Kate held my hand so tight I thought she'd
crush it. Apart from the brief encounter with Magdalene and Abe at the Diamond, the only vampires
that Kate had ever met were Gary and our own mother. This old one, with Magdalene, was something
else entirely, and Kate seemed to understand that.

Mundy's expression was stony cold and he looked at Gary with unmistakable hatred. Magdalene's
expression was more of black amusement.

"And what have you been up to, Gary?" she asked, threat inherent in every syllable.

"Taking care of business," he said firmly.

"The story I heard was that you had turned on us."

"The story you heard was wrong," said Gary. "Abe's dead. The other one's left the
country. Without Abe, he's harmless."

"You seem to have done very well on your own."

"That shouldn't surprise you, Magdalene. Between you and Mundy, you've taught me a lot in
the last 40 years."

"Remember your betters, Hooper," snarled Mundy.

Gary drew himself up taller and glared defiantly at Mundy. "You're not better than me,
Mundy. You're just older. And deader. I agreed to meet you today to make two things clear. The
slayers are dealt with. It's over."

"And the second thing?" prompted Magdalene, an icy glint behind the sweet tone.

"I don't do things for either of you anymore. If you need errands done, do them
yourself."

"Look at it," sneered Mundy, "a little blood and he thinks he is in
charge."

"I'm not in charge of anyone but myself," Gary insisted. "And if you don't like
that and try to cause me trouble - you should think about how much practice I've had in dealing with
certain problems."

It's a beautiful thing to see two hardcore asshats do a double-take when a former lackey takes a
stand. It certainly did my heart good to see it.

"If you come near me or Lissa, or anyone she knows, I'll know what to do about it."

"Come, come, Gary." Magdalene had recovered more quickly than Mundy. "No-one is
making threats. We are very grateful,"
- now that word hadn't come too easily - "that you
have successfully rid of us this danger. If you really have done so."

"It's done."

"I'm the one who killed the boy," muttered Mundy darkly.

"Never mind him, Gary," Magdalene said, and made a shooing motion at the old vampire.

Mundy shot her a poisonous look.

"That's all," said Gary. "I'm going now."

He turned and I led Kate ahead of him down the alley. I didn't think it would be smart to be
standing between Gary and those two.

Back in Little Bourke Street, Gary paused, stunned.

"Well done," I said with a grin.

"Um. I didn't know I was going to say all that. How was it?"

"Very satisfying, from where I was standing."

Kate looked startled, mainly. "Was that wise?"

"Um. Maybe not. But it was necessary. Right Lissa?" Gary didn't sound convinced.

"Absolutely right," I reassured him. "Come on. Let's play pool."

Mez, Casey, Tina and Drew were already there when we stepped out of the lift.

Casey and Drew played on one table while we played doubles on another. Kate and I teamed up
against Gary and Mez. Gary took his time to show Mez how to play. Then Drew insisted on being next
in line for tutelage, forcing Tina to take third place. Casey didn't seem to care that she didn't
play well, and retired between turns to fill her sketchbook with pictures of her friends at the pool
table.

While she was taking her shot, I leafed through her pictures. She had drawn Gary standing beside
Tina. She had captured that dazzling flirting-with-you smile on Tina's face, and Gary's utter
obliviousness to it.

Gary leaned over my shoulder. "Why has she drawn Tina with that goofy face?"

"Who knows?" I closed the sketchbook. "How's it going?"

"Not bad. Mez is picking it up. Drew is too short tempered, and I don't think Tina's paying
attention."

"Sounds about right. So. Are you having fun?"

Gary thought about that. "Yeah. I am." He flashed a sudden, teasing smile. "It's
better than sitting through
Showboat
again, at any rate."

"Ha. For that I'm going to make you rewatch
Mamma Mia
."

"You're really cruel."

"Says the man who made me watch
Vampires Anonymous
."

His grin widened. He glanced around at the gang and leaned closer to me. "Which vampire
tried to eat James Bond?"

I could guess, but let him have his fun.

"Ghoulfinger," he announced, with such a flourish that it made me laugh anyway.

Then Kate arrived with a couple of beers, and we sat together to observe the cue ball action.
Drew called Gary back to the table for the next shot, and Gary went, a bounce in his step I'd never
seen before.

Contentment buzzed through me like a champagne high. There was no better thing to be doing right
now than this: kicking back with good mates, a beer, and my two best friends in the whole world.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

And to all those, without whom…

Writing a book is a bit deceptive. I mean, it's just my name on the cover, so it
looks like just one person did the whole thing. It's true that I did an awful lot of it. But just
like a racing car has one driver but a whole support crew, there are a lot of people on my back-up
team.

First of all, I would like to thank Lindy Cameron of Clan Destine Press, who
pounced at giving
Walking Shadows
a new home. I appreciate the support, Lindy, and thank you
for believing in me and this book. Thanks also to my CDP editor, Kylie Fox. You were a treat to work
with! And a shout out for CDP co-conspirator, Mandy Wrangles, who is an integral part of the crew;
and to our proofreader, Steph O'Connell.

Huge thanks also go to John Richards and Diane Waters, for invaluable early input
into the manuscript. Thanks also to Ron Serdiuk and Alex Adsett for their commitment to the first
book,
The Opposite of Life
.

Daryl Lindquist created a gorgeous cover for this book, and I thank him very much
for that. Thanks go to Heath Miller, too, who posed as a pseudo-Gary for some of the earlier cover
ideas. The pictures weren't used, but Heath and I spent an entertaining hour while he climbed indoor
rock walls, striking Gary poses while wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

I'd also like to thank the good people of Sovereign Hill, who answered a bunch of
questions on the two occasions I visited their gold rush era re-enactment town. I like Sovereign
Hill, and you should all visit it, if only for the excellent vanilla slices at the bakery.

My unending thanks go to Jehni Thomas-Wurth and Yvon Hintz for their support of
not just the manuscript (early, late and in between) but of me. Thirty years of friendship have
flown by, and I don't know how I would have done any of this without you guys.

And of course, my love and thanks, as always, to Tim Richards, husband, partner
and friend, who also helped with earlier versions of the book, was a sounding board for everything
from plot points to business advice and who generally keeps me sane, which is a much more difficult
job than anybody except him knows.

Finally: my thanks to all the people who enjoyed and supported
The Opposite of
Life
and took Gary and Lissa to heart, particularly Mary Borsellino, Audrey Fox and Julie
Salisbury.

Gary, Lissa and I are all quite fond of you too.

Narrelle M Harris

CLAN DESTINE PRESS

is proud to release

this ebook

and hopes you enjoyed the story.

http://www.clandestinepress.com.au

First ePublished in Australia 2012

by Clan Destine Press

PO Box 121, Bittern

Victoria 3918 Australia

Copyright © Narrelle M Harris 2012

All rights reserved. No
part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian
Copyright Act 1968 (The Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10
per cent of any book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by
any educational institution for its educational purposes provided
that the educational institution (or the body that administers it)
has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL)
under the Act.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-In-Publication data:

Author: Harris, Narrelle M.

Title: Walking Shadows

The moral rights of the authors have been asserted.

Edition: 1st ed.

ISBN: 978-0-9873419-1-4 (ebook)

Cover Design © R&D Studios, Queensland

Design & Typesetting Clan Destine Press