Chapter 15
Fifteen
Winter couldn’t sit around his loft any longer, waiting for someone somewhere to provide the information he needed.
Three nights had passed since his family had descended on his place.
They were still waiting for Rafe or Aiden to hear from Zelda.
They were also waiting for Rafe’s secret contact to cough up some information on either Damon or the prophecy.
Normally, Winter would be out, interrogating ghosts and lurking around other vampires while invisible to the living world, but he was hesitant to leave Fox at his loft alone.
It wasn’t that he believed Fox would do something to betray him or his family while he was away.
It was more that he didn’t understand what Fox’s role was in all this insanity.
He didn’t want to be away from him in case it came to protecting his family or Fox from Damon.
But at least there was one thing they could do while they were stuck waiting.
Well, more than one thing. They were already having sex, and it wasn’t really accomplishing much—other than keeping a smile on Winter’s lips.
In the past week, he’d laughed more with Fox than he had in his entire two hundred years.
Winter had no desire to let that go, but it was important to understand what he was coming to think of as the Fox Effect.
Why did this witch block out the voices and the visions of the ghosts that had followed him for years? There had to be a reason for it. And even if he couldn’t uncover the reason, he could at least figure out the limitations.
And that meant a little scientific testing.
He almost wished Bel were there to help.
The vampire had a mind for science and could go about things in a more organized fashion than Winter could, but he refused to tell Bel more about his secrets.
At least, not while they were in the middle of dealing with Damon.
Turning off the SUV’s engine, Winter glanced over to find Fox frowning out the front window at the park he’d selected for its typical cluster of ghosts. His hand was on his seat belt, but he wasn’t removing it.
“Are you sure it’s safe? No vampires around?” Fox asked softly.
“None that I can sense at the moment,” Winter said, though he didn’t volunteer that his ability to sense other vampires was a tad less developed when compared to his brothers.
After being around his brothers for years, it was quite clear they were very good about sensing when other vampires were in the area.
Winter could feel when his brothers were near, but when it came to other bloodsuckers, they had to be within a few yards of him.
Not very helpful. He’d always wondered if the ghosts interfered with that sense.
Reaching across, Winter placed his hand on Fox’s tense shoulder and squeezed, drawing the man’s wary gaze to him. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. This won’t take long, and then we’ll go back to my place.”
Fox drew in a deep breath and nodded a couple of times, though the stiffness didn’t leave his shoulders. Winter couldn’t blame him for his nervousness. His every step for over a week now had been hounded by vampires. He couldn’t possibly feel safe when the sun was down.
They both unfastened their seat belts and climbed out of the SUV. Winter grabbed the sling bag he typically carried on his covert missions from the back seat as well as a long length of rope. Fox groaned at the sight of it.
“When this is all over, I swear I’m going to be in therapy for months to get over my twitch whenever I see fucking rope,” he grumbled.
“No one is getting tied up this time, I swear,” Winter said.
Fox nodded, seeming to breathe a little easier. “It’s a sad day when I can’t even make a kinky rope joke.”
“I have faith that you have plenty of other kinky jokes stored up.”
“Oh, ha. Aren’t you just a witty bastard? What’s the plan so we can get somewhere safe again?”
Winter led the way to one of the winding sidewalks that were part of the walking trails through the parks. Massive trees dotted the park while lamps rose up at regular intervals to beat back the darkness. There were cute metal benches here and there, but the park was empty except for them.
“I want to measure the distance of the Fox Effect as well as its ability to block out the voices. I also want to know if it changes when you use magic,” Winter explained.
Fox skipped a couple of steps so he was ahead of Winter, tilting his head a little to the side as he smiled at last. “The Fox Effect?”
“I thought it was a good name. You got a better one?” Winter asked, hating the faint heat growing in his cheeks.
“No! I like it. I’m glad you didn’t make it sound like a disease.”
Winter snorted and stopped by the first bench that was under one of the lamps. “You just stand here. I need to slip away to check to make sure ghosts are actually near.”
“You mean go into the dead world. Can I go? Please. The last time we were kind of running for our lives. Didn’t really get to enjoy it.”
Winter had zero defense against Fox’s wide, hopeful eyes and childlike wonder.
How was he supposed to say no to that? Changing the rope he carried to his left hand, he extended his right to Fox.
The young man squeaked and pumped his right fist into the air while grabbing Winter’s hand with his left.
He was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet as Winter tapped his powers and parted the veil.
As they stepped inside, Fox tightened his grip on Winter’s hand, moving close enough to press their arms together.
There was only a small shift in his vision as the world around them seemed to take on a new glow.
Winter smiled to see all the ghosts filling the park like it was a sunny summer afternoon.
There was a jogger heading toward them and a couple sitting on the grass not too far away like they were having a picnic.
A few more were strolling through, and another appeared to be taking a shower.
He could never quite understand why some appeared to be well aware of their surroundings while others were not, as if they’d been picked up and moved from wherever they’d died, then remained trapped in their last moment of life.
“This is so cool,” Fox said in excited but hushed tones as if he were trying not to draw their attention. “Is this what the world looks like for you when I’m not around?”
Winter’s heart sped up a little as bubbles of joy popped in his chest. He’d never been able to talk about his ability with anyone, never shared it quite like this.
He’d brought Bel into it once, but it was better to not let his brother ask questions.
They’d never stop and would lead to more uncomfortable questions.
But with Fox, it wasn’t complicated or dangerous. It was so very freeing.
“Not quite. There are some ghosts that I can only see when I’m here.
There are a few who can appear in both worlds.
I have no idea why some exist in both. I once thought it had to do with how long they were dead, but I’ve seen the newly dead only appear here and never in the living world.
” He didn’t need to go into the fact that he’d made those people the newly dead.
“Can you hear voices from both or just those in the living world?”
Winter shook his head. “No, I hear both. I can talk to both, though it’s far easier to talk to those in the dead world while I’m here.”
Fox leaned his head on Winter’s shoulder and grabbed his arm with his right hand, cuddling as close as he could.
Winter wished he wasn’t still holding the damn rope.
Otherwise, he would have wrapped Fox in his arms and stood there all night, letting him watch the ghosts move about.
It was sort of like watching fish in an aquarium.
“Can they hurt us?”
“Not that I’ve ever experienced. They’ve given me headaches from their shouting and moaning, but that’s about it.”
Fox turned his head against Winter’s shoulder, worried eyes looking up at him. “But this is tiring, isn’t it? You’re using magic right now.”
Winter hesitated. It was true. The longer they stayed there, the more drained he was getting, but he didn’t want to admit to it.
He didn’t want to end this moment of wonder and excitement for Fox.
It seemed like such a small gift to give him after everything he’d already been through, but Fox was a unique person in his life.
Other than Aiden, he was the only one who knew his darkest secret.
He didn’t want to keep any secrets from this man or start telling lies.
“Yes, it does get tiring, especially when I’ve got someone with me,” he admitted softly.
Fox rested his head on Winter again and gave a little sigh. “Then we should go. Your ghosts are here.”
Winter turned his head and pressed a kiss to Fox’s forehead, his heart swelling. “We’ll do this again soon. I promise.” Hell, he’d bring Fox to the dead world every night for visits if that was what he wanted. He’d do anything to see that light in his eyes and hear that excited laugh.
Calling on his gift again, he parted the veil and they stepped into the world of the living.
Fox dragged in a deep breath and gave a little shudder while he loosened his hold on the vampire.
Winter immediately missed the warmth of his touch, but it was time to focus on what they’d set out to do in the first place. Winter needed answers.
“What’s the plan, Mr. Science?” Fox teased.
Winter smirked and slapped the braided white rope into Fox’s open hands. “Hold that, smartass.” He pulled his sling bag around and pulled out a pair of walkie talkies and some handcuffs.
“I take it back. You are the kinky brother,” Fox muttered.
Winter winked at him as he snapped the handcuffs carefully around Fox’s wrists. “You’re the one whose magic demands locks. These just happened to be handy.”