She thought it better to change the subject while he cooled off, “You said earlier about a woman that change everything for you before we bought tickets. Who was she?” The glare he gave her almost made Sally flinch, I’m batting a thousand today.
“Her name is Luana Seffrum,” He said flatly.
“You said is. Does that mean she’s still around?” Sally had started this new avenue to their conversation. She might as well see it through, besides Sally became curious about a woman connected to his past and still alive at that.
“Very much so. She would have been my wife before I died. The most luscious woman I’d ever met. Present company excluded of course,” he looked like he wanted to squirm out of his chair right then.
“Of course,” Sally replied a little sardonically. Finding her appetite returning, Sally reached for the large steak burger to occupy her mouth before she said anything more.
Bo sounded like was trying to backpedal from his comment, “Some in my village couldn’t compare to her. That’s not so true now that I’ve traveled beyond those limited boarders. You stand out among those women I’ve encountered.”
Around a mouth full of burger, as undignified as it was to talk like that, Sally said, “I had it on into your little black book? It must be a pretty big book if I’m being compared to centuries of ‘travel’ you’ve done.” She had to force the grin creeping up to stay away. His obvious discomfort and their conversation had eased worries of what would come soon. Playing with Bo like this relaxed her mind the most. It helped elevate her nervous twitch, too.
He gave out a hearty laugh at her goading. Bo was not falling for her ploy, “I have to give it to you. I almost saw the jealous streak running through you of Luana. She is deeply rooted in my past, but I plan to keep her there. She stirred my loins as a youth, but no more. I know her too well now to have that happen again.”
Sad that her game ended so soon, Sally asked directly, “You said she changed everything. Why?” She still wanted to know what she was to him if nothing else. I know so little about him; nevertheless, I trust him with my life.
Bo cocked his head to one side in thought, “Luana had been undead when I’d met her even though I didn’t know it at the time. Maybe it was fate or maybe luck on her part – in either case she was there to guide me when I became undead.”
“She took you under her wing as you did with me?”
“In a way. I tried to release you to the world when I had the chance, so what happened to me didn’t repeat itself,” he explained. “I only had her to rely on and teach me. I tried to give you enough guidance to find others of our kind and learn from them. I ended up relying on her for everything until I turn into a toy for her to use ruthlessly. I won’t bore you with the details, but I got the bitter end of what she plotted by being banished from the higher courts of our undead council for one hundred years.” Shame of his implied crime showed briefly, then vanished. “It’s where I first met Adelwin. He saw through her and had my ban lifted shortly after.”
“So you fell for her before turning and followed Luana around like a puppy waiting for her attentions? Doesn’t sound like you,” Sally doubted he could be so naive.
“Don’t you remember boys in school doing about the same thing? I was once like that, too. Boys are like that in every decade; it should be a given. What I learned from her outweighed my affections – real or benign,” Bo admitted. “Because of her betrayal, I’ve not seen Luana since. The council ordered her dismantled and buried. I don’t know what happened there after.”
I hope to offer this title in eBook, paperback, and this time in hardcover. Please check back soon to see where this will all end. There are two other books in the works for later this year. Check out an excerpt for one of those novels here.
