Chapter 2

With a thudding heart, he whirled around to head back towards the city. Energy more intense than anything he’d experienced before smashed into him and he stumbled backwards. He’d heard tales of spirits trying to incapacitate the guardian to be able to roam freely in a region, but those were no ordinary spirits.

“Shit.” Eldred rubbed his heart. The area between his eyebrows burned despite the cold, and he flung out whatever energy he had stored to protect his aura.

Something was trying to force itself into his mind.

“Who are you?”

Eldred yelped, there was no better word for it. To his right, a dark, towering figure had appeared out of nowhere. He dug his hand into his pocket and threw a handful of salt at the fucker. “Into the white light!”

“Excuse me?” The figure spat on the ground. “I think it’s best if you leave my property.”

Eldred was sucking in breath after breath. He needed to cast a circle. He never should’ve gone alone.

“Are you all right, kid?”

“All right? Kid? Why are you here?”

The silence went on for a couple of seconds. “Because you’re on my lawn.”

Eldred looked down on the ground. The grass was neatly cut around him. When had he stepped off the meadow?The rain and wind were stinging his face, and he had a hard time thinking. He peered at the man, and it looked like a real, living, breathing man—exactly the way Eldred wanted his men. He was probably in his late thirties, maybe early forties. It was hard to tell. Eldred’s pulse quickened. “Did you call me?” The energy had lessened again. Could a living man seek me out with an energy call?

“Call you? No. Perhaps you should come inside for a while, just so you don’t freeze your balls off.” The man’s voice was gruff but not threatening. Eldred filled his lungs, held the air inside for a few seconds, and visualised how he was being filled with pure protective light. “Yeah, that would be nice, thank you.”No Luck in the World

MO STARED AT THE STRANGER. There was something not right with him. As he held the door open, the man drew a sign in the air, blew out a breath, and then crossed the threshold.

“Rough night?” Mo took in the soaked clothes, his reddish hair clinging to his forehead, and the wide hazel eyes. He was young, smallish, and entirely out of place in Mo’s cottage.

The man shrugged. “Not the best night for a walk in the moonlight.”

He had that right. “Do you want me to call a taxi for you? Or perhaps you have someone who can come pick you up...your mother?” How old was he?He could still be living with his parents.

“My mother? No thank you; I’m trying to avoid her at all costs.”

“Oh...” Mo tried to decipher the look the man gave him.

“You’re alive? I mean you’re living here?”

“Yes.” Mo crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t need some kid judging his home. It wasn’t much, but it had been in his family for generations, and he loved his cottage.

“What’s your name?”

“Mo Vin.”

“You’re moving?”

“No, my name is Mo...Vin.”

“Oh, there is no luck in the world, is there?” The kid grinned, and Mo ignored the way heat rushed to his groin. He was far too young for him anyway. “So Mo—Moses? Morris? Mo Mo Mozart?”

Mo uncrossed his arms only to cross them again. “No, just Mo.”

The kid shook his head. “Perhaps the world will be kinder in the next life.”

Mo snorted. “Yeah? So what’s your name?”

“Eldred Henstare.” He tilted his head to the side and watched Mo with unnerving intensity; then he shifted focus to the air above him.

“Eldred? And you talk about luck?” Mo went in through the narrow hall and towards the kitchen. He needed to get the kid out of here so he could crawl into bed. He’d been feeling a little off all day, and the roaring storm outside did nothing to help him warm up inside.

“Luck has nothing to do with it in my case.” Eldred hurried after him, shrugging off his jacket as he went. “Mother thought it a fitting name.” The jacket landed on one of the kitchen chairs with a wet thud, then Eldred pulled out another chair and slumped down. “Terrible weather.”

“Mmm...so who do you want me to call?”

“No one, I’ll wait it out.”

Mo stopped to stare at him. The weather wasn’t letting up anytime soon. “Perhaps best to call someone. I wouldn’t want you to walk back alone during the night.”

“It’s cool, I can wait.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m tired and would like to go to bed.”

“Oh...well I’ll just have a quick look around before I’m off then.”

Mo frowned. What the hell?

***

THE ENERGY WAS STILLthere. Eldred tried to pinpoint where it was coming from, but it wasn’t like with regular ghosts. He squinted at Mo—no, he was alive...unless he was some kind of poltergeist Eldred had never heard of. To test his theory, he jumped to his feet and charged right into Mo who stumbled backwards until the sink stopped the motion.