Vampire Memories #5 - Ghosts of Memories Read Online Free Page A

his séances are so intense that afterward, some clients are faint, weak, and dizzy.”
    That one line made his pulse race.
    Philip led the way through the main doors back into the sanctuary, while Eleisha and Maxim followed.
    “What will we do now?” Philip asked. He was in the mood for an action movie, something with guns and explosions. Lately, Eleisha had insisted upon trying to broaden his horizons, but one could watch only so many Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Wells films without needing a break. “Maybe we can get Wade to play poker?”
    Philip liked playing cards, too, but Maxim couldn’t quite grasp concepts like five-card draw yet, and Eleisha didn’t like leaving Maxim out—so Philip doubted she’d agree. Still, he had to ask. His favorite times were these lulls in between missions when they were all home and Eleisha lavished a good deal of her attention on him.
    “Before we do anything,” she said, “we’d better check on Wade and see if he needs help with the dog.”
    Maxim nodded. “Mr. Boo.”
    Oh…yes. Philip had forgotten about the dog. The three of them headed for the door behind the altar of the sanctuary, and Eleisha was just about to open it when Wade pushed from the other side and stuck his head through.
    “I thought I heard you,” he said. “Come and look at this.”
    All Philip’s pleasure at possible entertainments fled. He recognized the look on Wade’s face. Wade had found something.
    Eleisha hurried through the door and across the hall into Wade’s office. Philip followed more slowly, finding Eleisha and Wade already chattering away in front of the computer screen. As Philip entered the office, Maxim hung in the doorway. Tiny Tuesday sat perched on the desk, watching them all curiously.
    “The term ‘spiritualist’ caught my attention,” Wade was saying. “In the Victorian era, that was the term used for a medium.” He paused, pointing. “But this part about his clients being left weak and dizzy…” He trailed off.
    Eleisha kept reading. “Christian Lefevre,” she said softly as her eyes moved down the screen.
    As she spoke that name, Philip froze, and a dull roaring began in his ears.
    “What did you say?” he asked hoarsely.
    She looked up at him in surprise, followed quickly by concern. “Are you okay?”
    “What was the name?” he bit off.
    “Christian Lefevre.”
    The last name meant nothing to him…but the first name, Christian, was pounding in his ears, fighting to surface on the edge of his memory. He strode forward, moving in between Wade and Eleisha, and he read the entire story for himself. Nothing he read helped the struggling memory to surface, but that name meant something…something.
    Turning, he looked at Wade and said raggedly, “Send Seamus tonight.”

chapter two
     

V ALE OF G LAMORGAN , W ALES
     
    A t home in Cliffbracken—an aging manor near the coast of Wales—Julian Ashton was determined not to be idle while he waited for Eleisha to locate another elder.
    He’d hired some “help” through an agency in Cardiff. So now three women had been working for the past month to clean the neglected place from top to bottom, and a full-time contractor had been engaged for interior repairs.
    Julian promised himself that he would not feed on any of them no matter how hungry he became. Recently, the reputation for “disappearing servants” under his charge had become so well-known that few people would agree to work here anymore. But he’d managed to find a few satisfactory workers—desperate for employment—and he vowed not to give in to temptation again.
    After checking on some recent repairs to the floor in the dining hall, he walked down the darkened passage to his study, his favorite room. The fire he’d built earlier burned in the hearth, making the aged chairs and couches look almost new in the soft yellow light. A pile of maps and newspapers completely covered a round table in the center of the room. He leaned down to examine several