Zoe's Blockade (Destiny's Trinities Book 5) Read Online Free PDF Page A

his heart seemed to grow still while he waited for the answer, because part of him already knew what the answer would be.
    “To summon spirits,” Zoe said.
    Diego shook his head. “If I’m right, we’re dealing with way more than a simple spirit.” He lit the candle, let it burn for a few seconds, then dropped some wax onto the table in front of the photo. He mired the end of the candle in the hot wax and held it until it was standing securely on its own. “Hush for a bit,” he said, holding both hands around the flame.
    Then he removed his hands and let them hang by his sides and began to speak in a slow, deep voice. “ Spiritus esto animo ostendunt, spiritum vere venistis ad me, ut sciam quod!...Spiritus esto animo ostendunt, spiritum vere venistis ad me, ut sciam quod...Spiritus ….”
    The chanting went on. Diego didn’t move, apart from his mouth. He stared into the candle flame and spoke the gibberish with a slow, patient voice.
    Cole looked around the kitchen, battling conflicting emotions. It was ten in the morning on a cold October day, with the sun shining in the windows. The old clock was ticking on the wall. He could still taste a perfectly normal breakfast in his mouth and the coffee that only Zoe seemed to make properly. His always tasted like sludge, even freshly made.
    On the other hand, this man, this vampire, was speaking Latin to bring forth a spirit. To bring Declan back.
    Cole had managed to nominally accept everything Diego had told him so far. This, though…this was impossible. It would end up being the joke that brought the whole house of lies tumbling down.
    “Hey.” Declan’s voice, sounding mildly surprised.
    Zoe gasped, holding back the squeaky sound with both hands, her eyes huge.
    Cole turned on his chair, his heart trying to ram itself out of his chest. He gripped the back of the chair.
    Declan stood by the counter, just as he had a thousand times before. He was wearing faded jeans and the pale blue tee shirt he had professed was his favorite and wore whenever he could.
    Cole let out a breath that was more of a groan. He was shaking.
    Declan was frowning, looking around the room. “I was only gone a minute, yet it’s different….”
    Diego picked up the candle and blew it out. He pulled out his phone, thumbed a speed dial number and listened, while watching Declan.
    Cole didn’t dare move. He was afraid that if he did, this moment would shatter and be gone. He could see Declan. He looked whole and very much alive. Even his chin was dark with stubble as it nearly always had been. His black hair was falling over his forehead, the thick waves unruly and uncontrollable.
    “Hey, yeah…” Diego said into the phone. “So there is a third here, after all.” He listened for a moment. “No, not a vampire,” he said. “Try this on for size. It’s a ghost.”

Chapter Four
    Declan stared at the one stranger in the room. “Ghost?” he repeated.
    Zoe and Cole were both looking at him, their eyes large. Zoe was white. Cole looked as though he was going to collapse…or leap on him. His knuckles on the back of the chair were as white as Zoe’s face.
    “I’m the ghost….” Declan breathed as the truth gelled. He looked down at his hands, turning them over and over. “I don’t feel any different.”
    The swarthy stranger nodded. “You feel exactly as you felt when you died. Normal. Human. Only, you’re not.”
    “I buried you,” Cole breathed, his voice thick with pain. He glanced at Zoe. “We buried you.”
    Zoe hadn’t moved. A single tear rolled down her cheek. “We can see you. We can talk. We just can’t touch you,” she whispered.
    Declan shook his head. “I can feel. Look.” He slapped his hand on the counter…and his hand moved right through it. He could feel pressure and heat as it passed through, but nothing stopped his hand from falling back to his side. He did it again, then lifted his hand to look at it. It looked the same. There was even the little