A Ghoulish Midlife (Witching After Forty #1) - Lia Davis Page 0,25

has daughters, the gene isn’t passed. If a mother only has sons, they are just human.”

Interesting. And still nothing I’d ever heard of. “Should I be worried?”

“Yes, that’s what I’m trying to tell you.”

Just then, the front door opened. I turned in panic, worried about who would be walking in and see the ghoul standing in the living room. But it was William and Penny’s daughter, Crystal.

“Crystal here was the only one of our children to inherit the necromancy gene, and it’s very faint in her. That’s why you must take Alfred.” Penny pleaded. She didn’t want the ghoul any more than I did.

I glanced at Alfred, who was still standing beside me as if waiting for me to direct him. Great.

As Crystal and Penny embraced and began to cry, I stood and motioned Alfred to follow me out of the room. “Well, we’ll just go. Please, call me later. And if you figure out anything more about this witch hunter, let me know. I’ll do some digging on my end.”

Apparently, I had some homework to do in Ghoul 101 and an Introduction to Witch Hunters.

Chapter Eight

“Stay here.” I eyed Alfred and thanked my lucky stars there weren’t any lights in the diner’s parking lot. No need for the locals to see an undead creature roaming the parking lot. Good grief, what did I get myself into? It wasn’t like I could take him back to Philly with me.

“I’m getting some dinner.” I reached for the door handle and paused while watching him. “Do not move.”

This was unreal. By the time I’d actually managed to get out of Penny’s house with Alfred, who I still couldn’t believe I was taking home, it had gotten pretty dark. It worked out for me since the last thing I wanted was for anyone to see Alfred. Not that there were a whole lot of people who lived around Auntie’s house. But Alfred was pretty scary looking. I was still a little freaked out by him and he had to do what I said. So far, he had.

I paused again as I got out of the car, then looked back at the ghoul. “Um, do you eat?”

He looked at me with his dark eyes and shook his head. His facial expression didn’t change, but somehow, I knew he was sad. “You want to eat?”

Nod.

“But you can’t?”

Nod.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Can you smell food?”

At least that was a head shake. He pointed to his eyes.

“You can see how good it looks.”

Nod.

Well that sucked a big one. “I’m sorry. If I can figure out a way to get you out of this existence without it meaning you dying, I will. I just know nothing about ghouls.”

He shrugged and turned to look out the front window.

With a light shudder, I slammed the car door shut, then pressed the lock button on the key fob twice. I didn’t want to risk anyone accidentally opening the door. I probably should’ve taken him home first and then come back for food, but I was almost inside now.

I ordered my meal, a big greasy burger with extra fries, and sat at the counter while I waited. Every so often I glanced out to my car. Should I have cracked the windows? I knew ghouls were undead, but I didn’t know if they needed to breathe. However, it was October in Maine, so Alfred didn’t have to worry about heat stroke.

A feeling inched over me like inky fingers, something I’d never felt before. And even though I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt I’d never had this experience before; I also knew it meant another necromancer was nearby. His or her magic, even though it was somewhat contained, called out to me. A familiarity begging for my attention like an old friend I hadn’t seen in forever.

Fear spiked through me as I tried to surreptitiously look around. Penny said a witch hunter was responsible for William’s death, but I would cast out the idea that another necromancer could have also done it. When I glanced toward the diner door, he walked in. I knew what he was even before I noticed his grey witch mark on the side of neck, telling me he was a necromancer.

His long, black hair hung down in his face, stringy and a little oily. Pale, slightly scarred skin made me think he had acne problems when he was younger. His face was dry, which didn’t help hide the scars. Ugh. Poor guy. A little moisturizer would’ve