Neon Blue by E Frost (best big ereader .TXT) 📕

“You know, I never know whether to be annoyed or worried with you. I know there’s a ton of stuff you’re not telling me.”

“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” I say. That’s kind of a lie, and I don’t like lying to Lin. She’s my friend and our partnership has been very successful, not just financially. I don’t want to blow her trust. But I don’t want her involved in this, either.

“That’s a lie.”

I wince.

“If you’re going to lie to me, at least lie well. Or lie consistently. You just told me you came in early—” A delicate snort. “To re-ward the office. You don’t haul yourself in here before ten to take that sort of precaution unless it’s much, much worse than it sounds.”

I wince again. “Okay, it is as bad as it sounds.” It could be worse, actually. Poltergeists can make life really miserable for the living. “I don’t want you to worry.”

“Well, I do worry. And I’d be a flaming insensitive bitch if I didn’t. So how bad is it and is there anything I can do to help?”

“Er, kinda bad, and no, I’m afraid not.”

Lin glares at her coffee cup. “I hate it when I can’t help.”

“I know you do. That’s what makes you a good doctor. And it’s why I don’t tell you everything. I know how frustrating it is for you to not be able to help.”

“If I was Kevin, would I be able to help? Do you want me to call him?”

I raise an eyebrow. As of last month, Lin was still resisting calling her younger brother by his Western name. I wonder what changed there, and why she didn’t mention it to me.

“Let’s see how it goes tonight,” I say. “If it goes badly, then, yes, I might take you up on that.”

Because where Lin only inherited some minor healing talent, her brother Wen-Long inherited the full compliment of their great-grandfather’s abilities, including necromancy.

I should be preparing for channeling my pissed-off ghost. Instead I’m cleaning my house. On my hands and knees. With a scrub-brush, rubber gloves and a bucket of bleach.

Why? Because Lilliwhite, who is perched on the kitchen table, overseeing my efforts with the linoleum, says the reason that the Squire has never accepted my invitation into the house is because it’s too dirty. And if he’s going to come tonight to guard me while I try to talk to this ghost, the house has to be spotless.

Damn traditionalist.

“There’s still some hair in that corner,” Lilliwhite says.

“Then why don’t you magic it away?” I grit. I don’t mind cleaning up to impress a guest, but this is ridiculous.

“He’d know if I helped.”

Right. I slide on my knees over to the corner and hit it with the scrub-brush. To give her her due, Lilliwhite’s right. Toby’s fur has gotten into every nook and cranny of the house. I rinse a hank of golden fur out of the scrub-brush and give the corner another swipe.

“Better?”

“Mmm. Now the tall box.”

“What?” She’s pointing at the refrigerator. “Oh, come on. I’m not cleaning out my ‘fridge. What’s he going to do, a white-glove inspection?”

“It smells.” Lilliwhite points her tiny noise in the air.

Great. I dump out the dirty water in the bucket, shake my head at the thought of all the corals dying in Boston Harbor because of the fae’s peccadilloes, pour in some more bleach, and trade the scrubber for a sponge.

Half an hour later, the sun’s nearly set. The Squire should be arriving any minute. I’m not showered or dressed. But my refrigerator’s cleaner than it’s been since Sears first delivered it.

“Satisfied?” I ask the pixie grimly.

“It’ll do.”

Picky fae.

“You’d better hurry. He’ll be here soon.”

“Oh, thanks.” I dump out the bucket, strip off the gloves and race upstairs to shower. I don’t have time for anything fancy, so I just scrub myself hard with a wintergreen salt scrub and hope that’s enough to count as purified. I leave my hair alone. I washed it this morning and I don’t have time to mess with conditioner, without which it becomes a static-frizz disaster. I dive out of the shower to Lilliwhite’s tinkling tones, “He’s here.”

“Well, I’m naked, so he’s going to have to wait a minute.”

“He wouldn’t mind. He likes mortal women.”

He does? I hadn’t thought of him that way. Given that I’ve never seen him without full armor and a helmet, I wasn’t even sure he had those . . . bits. All those nights we’ve been together, and it never occurred to me. The idea’s kind of . . . exciting. But then I remember Tam Lin and every other story involving a faerie lover. Bad idea. “Well, I mind.”

While I don’t like leaving the Squire waiting on my doorstep, I really do need to do a minute of preparation. Sweet almond and vanilla lotion first. And then the surgical tape.

Lilliwhite watches me from the lip of the sink with unblinking interest.

“Could I have some privacy here?” I ask.

“Why? I know what you look like.”

Yeah, but there’s a difference between being naked in front of someone and having them watch your contortions as you seal your genitals with surgical tape. “Fine.”

I try to ignore her avid interest while I carefully seal each orifice. I leave my face alone for the moment, but I’ll do the channeling blind, deaf and mute, with my nose full of protective steam. I’m not giving an angry ghost any chance to possess me.

Lilliwhite trails me into my bedroom, where I pick my ritual robe off the bed. I usually cast skyclad, which is how Lilliwhite has seen me naked before, and brew in jeans or something I don’t mind getting splashed, but for summoning and sympathetic magic, I wear silk.

It takes me a minute to get into the robe. The ties behind my neck and at my hip are kind of a pain to do without help, and I’m moving gingerly because of the surgical tape. For a moment I think of Rowena. We used to help each other into our robes. She loved