like that?” he said laughing.
I slapped him on the shoulder, shocked at how solid he felt to the touch.
“Don’t tease. I am pouring my heart out to a complete stranger with a Southern accent. The least you can do is be sympathetic.”
“Darlin, my accent is real,” he purred back. “I was born and raised in Tennessee.”
“In what year?” I asked, hoping he would tell me.
“All in good time,” he said. “Eventually, I’ll answer all of your questions.”
“Are you really a vampire?” I asked, wanting to firm up the situation.
He turned to look at me and asked, “Are you really a human who can size people up for what they truly are?”
“I am,” I said, pleased with his explanation for my gifts.
“I’m glad we got that all sorted out,” he said. “Now, what do you mean bad luck? In my experience, there is no such thing as bad luck. There is bad information, bad planning or bad execution. If you have one of those three, then you usually have bad luck.”
He did have a point. I suppose when you’ve been alive for as long as he has, you have the luxury of seeing things more clearly and separating out your own emotions. I guess in a way I did have some or all three of those in my basket. I had failed to use my gifts and missed opportunities in my work.
“I suppose you could say I had a triple whammy. Thanks to a demon unleashed on me by a competitor, I managed to get myself fired from a project. Then I tried to compete for another big campaign. I made a mess of the presentation and lost the work. At that point I got mad at myself and sort of let things go.”
William nodded, indicating I should continue.
“I got angry. Then I grew depressed. Around that time I began to have dreams with a great black panther in them.
And she seemed to want to speak to me.”
“Oooooh, now that is spooky,” William said. “Are you telling ghost stories up here on the mountain top? I feel like I am back home with my kinfolk.”
I slapped him again on his very solid, tattooed arm. I was growing to like him and his sense of humor. And there was no denying that he was incredibly sexy. There were worse ways to spend my time.
“Actually, I am telling a ghost story,” I said smiling. “I have a sort of ghost of my own. Her name is Elsa and ever since she arrived, she has acted as a kind of mentor and guide. I mentioned this awful night when I broke down. The next morning she was there, standing in my kitchen. Elsa was the panther. It scared the shit out of me. I won’t deny it. It’s not that I didn’t believe in spirits. I really never gave it much thought. Now, of course, I know that the world is really divided into parallel worlds, but it was a bit of a shock to see an ancient time-walker sitting in my home.”
I could see this story had actually shocked William, because he was now looking at me with a new appreciation for my situation.
“Where is she now?” William asked, sounding a little worried. “What happened to the demon?”
“The demon,” I repeated, realizing I didn’t know. “I don’t know exactly what happened. When Elsa appeared, everything bad that was happening stopped. Then she gave me this peyote drink and I ran through the woods and saw colors.” I was babbling a mile a minute, the same way a child would quickly try to tell a story. “Why do you care? Are you worried she won’t like me talking to you?”
William nodded emphatically. “She is here to help you accomplish something important, Olivia. Few humans in the world manage to catch the attention of a time-walker. You have what my dear departed mother would have called a powerful spirit.”
I laughed. “I don’t think Elsa will care. She…” I was about to say she works with vampires, but I wasn’t so sure I should tell William about the Council.
“Did you tell her you were going to go for a walk alone in the woods with a vampire?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t know myself,” I said, hoping this wasn’t the end of my evening.
“It’s none of her business,” I added, suddenly worried I would never see William again.
William shook his head to disagree. “This is powerful magic that should not be interrupted.”
“I don’t want to interrupt,”