Tuesday Tales: From the Word GHOST

Hello. I hope you all enjoyed Labour Day, the last official holiday of summer although we have two weeks until fall arrives. This week, the Tuesday Tales authors are writing to the word prompt, GHOST. I’m continuing with The Bonds Of Time, my romantasy.

What did a spy do when he couldn’t be a spy anymore? He became a consultant, living with the ghosts of his mistake, and to Foxfire the fourteen months he’d spent in that wheelchair had been a lifetime. Now those months of lecturing and dealing with high finance and corporate crime paid off. Thanks to them, he’d recognized that whiny voice.

Nathan Vickers! He’d been taking care of his uncle’s estate since the old boy’s accident several months ago. He was slick, pat with his answers, and far too condescending. Vickers cared nothing for the people or the land; he had his own agenda. The man was slime, pure slime. He’d met his kind too many times before, and finding out that he was mixed up in something underhanded like smuggling should’ve come as no surprise. What was that scum up to now? There were too many questions and not enough answers.

While he would report everything he’d seen and heard tonight, until he knew more, Foxfire would keep a closer eye on Sir Nathan and Lord William. If that woman were serious, His Lordship’s accident may not have been an accident at all; now it looked as if his health might be about to take a turn for the worse.

Foxfire finished collecting his gear, picked up his pack and headed towards the car he’d hidden about a mile down the coast. A strange sound from the bushes ahead stopped him. He stared into the blackness towards the reeds that marked the river’s edge until he identified its cause. A large, black cat stood outlined against the marsh.

“Well! It seems I’m a little jumpy tonight, kitty,” he said softly and shrugged his shoulders. “What are you doing so close to the water? Out looking for mice or maybe a fat frog or two? Well, best of luck! It looks like I have a few rats of my own to catch.”

Resettling the bag on his shoulders, he walked past the cat and started towards the car when a second sound stopped him. Pain exploded in his head. Suddenly, there she was.

“Dearest one,” she whispered cradling his head in her lap. “You’ve taken a nasty bump on the head this time, but don’t worry. Be brave. It won’t be long now.” She kissed him and everything went black.

Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.