The rest of the Malake ha-Mawet were hanging out in the common room, a huge room with ugly red carpet, bookshelves and overstuffed armchairs. It must have been used for socializing after the services, and potlucks of course. I was sure this room had seen many potlucks.
They were sitting in the arm chairs drinking coffee and a few more were banging around in the little kitchen attached to the room.
"Steve!"
A slim man with short yellow hair and freckles jumped up when he saw us. He strode over and slapped Beefcake on the back. "Good to see you in one piece, old man!"
Aden waved, and the other two that had remained in their seats nodded back, a broad shouldered woman with flinty blue eyes and an extremely tall black man. The man was sitting, but he had to be at least six-foot-something, by the way he dwarfed the chair. He wasn't skinny either. He gave me a wide, white grin, like he could tell what I was thinking. Shit, I was happy he was on my side.
"Hey, losers! Come out of the kitchen!" Freckles yelled, and two more men walked into the common room. The taller one had full sleeve tattoos and a plate of scrambled eggs, and the other one, a short Latino guy, was stirring a pot of Macaroni.
"So this is him?" The short one shoveled a forkful of macaroni into his mouth and examined me critically while he chewed, and the black guy, who I ironically dubbed "Tiny" right there on the spot, grinned even wider.
"I'm Lucas," I volunteered, "nice to meet you all."
A few of them murmured a greeting back, and the blonde Amazon woman gave me a nod, but mostly they just studied me like some new and interesting species. I shuffled my feet and cleared my throat, and then Aden saved me from the uncomfortable silence.
"This is Morgan," she said, "and of course, you guys know the rest of us."
"Hi," Morgan waved cheerfully, and they all stared at her narrowly.
Amazon woman said, "And what's a Malake doing here? The location is no huge secret, but since when do we simply invite them in?"
"Relax." Aden held up a hand. "She's alright."
"So you say." Freckles stood up, glaring at Morgan and for a moment it looked like there was going to be trouble.
"Woah," I said nervously. "Guys, she's saved my ass about a million times so far. I think it's pretty safe to say she's on our side."
"Unless she's just doing it to gain your trust." Short Guy had his muscular arms crossed over his chest, and he studied Morgan suspiciously.
"Okay, okay," Beefcake said crossly. "Everyone just relax."
"Hey." The tall tattooed guy spoke around a mouthful of egg. "Didn't you have Ed and Dave with you?"
Ed, Dave, Steve...jeesh. My nicknames were way better.
"They'll be coming along shortly." Beefcake's voice sounded casual, but he and Curly exchanged another look.
Aden pulled Curly aside as he set down our luggage, and I could hear her murmur something to him about Kamloops. He nodded curtly,
"Alright, shouldn't be a problem. Keep your cell phone on you at all times."
"Okay, thanks."
I watched Curly turn and exit out the side door. When I looked at Aden hopefully she nodded, "He's gone to Kamloops to look for your friend. I gave him the address you told me and the description of the girl. Hopefully he'll find her."
"Thanks," I said gratefully. "Seriously, thanks."
Aden nodded and smiled. "Why don't I show you two the rooms. We'll get settled in." She pointed to the bags Curly had brought in. "Grab your stuff and follow me."
I threw my bag over my shoulder and followed Aden, who crossed the room to a side door I hadn't noticed before. We passed into a wide corridor. The floor was concrete, and our footsteps echoed back at us. Standing against the wall were three tall, double-sided cabinets. Aden glanced back and saw where I was looking.
"Confessionals," she said, and I nodded, feeling stupid. Of course they weren't armoires. I had the intense desire to poke my head past one of the half opened doors. What did the inside look like? Aden was already turning to leave though, and I hurried to follow.
Morgan grinned. "We'll have to explore more in depth once we're settled."
We took an impossibly long set of stairs, which eventually opened up into another hallway. This one was carpeted by the same ugly red stuff as before.
"These bedrooms used to belong to nuns." Aden pushed on the first door, and it swung open with a creaky protest. "So they're not exactly luxury suites."
That was an understatement. The bedroom was the size of my mother's walk in closet. It held a narrow bed with a flat looking pillow and knitted blanket. A thin set of drawers and an old fashioned stand and wash basin. Aden actually looked a little embarrassed.
"We haven't changed much since the nuns used them, actually. This place is just used as a fortress for situations like this."
"Which isn't often I take it." I looked around the room in dismay.
"Never," Morgan volunteered. "The Malake and the Malake ha-Mawet have never loved one another, but until now they've never been pitted against one another either."
Aden nodded. "It's sort of unheard of, but anyway, make yourself at home. I'll show Morgan to her room."
My stomach rumbled loudly just as they turned to go, and Aden grinned over her shoulder.
"Put your stuff away and we'll meet you out in the hall. We'll go downstairs to the kitchen."
I watched them exit the room, then tossed my bag on the bed carelessly. It didn't even bounce, which made me wonder. I strode over and jabbed finger into the surface of the mattress.
Man, those nuns must have had back problems. Maybe that was why they all left. I snooped around the room a little bit. There was a small, square window, and I pushed aside faded yellow curtains and peered outside. The view was impressive, a huge vineyard, complete with curling iron gates and a brick wall surrounding it. Even from here I could see large bunches of purple grapes and the sight made my mouth water.
"Ready?" I jumped at the sound of Morgan's voice and turned to see both girls regarding me with amusement.
"Yeah, yeah let's go." I followed them back down the dark hallway, and we descended the steep staircase. "I'm starving."
"We know." Morgan laughed. "Your stomach is making enough noise to raise the dead."
"Or make them want to flee to the other side," Aden joked.
I paused halfway down the stairs. "Wait. Are there actually ghosts? I mean, ones that stick around and haunt people?" They both turned to look at me, and Aden said. "You're shocked by this?"
I was shocked that maybe my idea about my sister had been right. Maybe she was with me. "I guess not." I tried to sound casual. "Any other fairy tales true? The Easter bunny? Santa Clause, maybe?"
"Nice guy, Santa." Morgan said to Aden.
"He is, but the tooth fairy is an absolute bitch-on-wheels."
I gaped at them. "No way, you're not serious."
They exchanged a look, and then Morgan's straight face twitched and she dissolved into giggles.
"Jerks," I muttered, stalking down the stair case between them.
"Ghosts we call spirits," Aden caught up with me. "And sometimes they're not ready to move on."
"So they hang out on earth," I looked around, as if I might see my sister materialize in front of me any second. "Can you see them?"
Aden nodded, but by then we had arrived in the noisy, brightly lit common room, and I couldn't bring myself to ask her the question I wanted to. If she had seen a girl hanging around lately, a girl with straight brown hair, big blue eyes and contagious smile.
MOAWR SOON! While you're waiting, you can check out the E. Latimer fan club by searching for it on facebook (just type in E. Latimer Fan club and it should come up). I give away awesome swag, do fun contests and sneak peeks of FROST 2! If you're not sure how to join just message me! x0x0x0x E.