Free Waking the Dead by Jane Davitt, Alexa Snow

to theirs and came over.
    “Excuse me,” the woman said smoothly. She was in her fifties, with steel gray hair in elegant waves close to her head, attractive in a polished way. She was dressed casually, but it was an expensive, well-thought-out outfit. Still, her hiking boots looked broken in, and if the pants she wore were designer ones, they were equipped with pockets and would keep her warm if the summer day turned to a rainy summer day. Her companion matched her in looking well off but lacked her confidence. He stood beside her, plucking nervously at his lip with his fingers, his gaze fixed on Nick.
    “Yes?” Nick asked, trying to keep the wariness from his voice.
    “We couldn’t help overhearing -- you are Nick Kelley, aren’t you?”
    Oh, great . “Yes, I am,” Nick said, hoping maybe they’d just ask for an autograph and then go away. Of course, chances were they’d want more -- it wasn’t uncommon for people who’d recognized him to request an audience with That Guy Who Talks to Ghosts. They were usually hoping he’d be able to talk to some long-dead relative and weren’t thrilled when he had to tell them it didn’t work that way. And then there’d been that time a young woman, obsessed with beginning a new life with Nick as her husband, had shown up. Yeah, that had been fun.
    “Oh, how lovely.” She offered her hand, and he stood up and shook it, not seeing any way out of the situation without being rude. “I’m Bonnie Wishart, and this is my friend Fred Reynell. We’re here with the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Henges and Circles. We’d love a chance to speak with you while we’re here on Traighshee, if you could make a bit of time for us.”
    Nick shook Fred’s hand while he was at it. “I’m sorry, I really can’t,” he said, indicating Josh. “My brother’s here visiting from the States, and it wouldn’t be fair --”
    “But surely he’d understand?” Bonnie smiled politely at Josh. “Even if you could spare an hour…”
    Josh looked as if he was about to be equally polite back at her and say that it was fine with him, but Nick projected a mental “No!” so strongly, while keeping his expression neutral, that he thought he saw John pick up on it, as well as Josh.
    “The man’s told you he’s busy,” John said without turning around, his knife and fork still active. It wasn’t like him to be that abrupt -- he usually found Nick’s fans, if that was the right word, more amusing than anything -- but Nick had the feeling that John, like himself, had taken a dislike to the arrogance behind Bonnie’s words. She didn’t seem like the sort of woman who was used to being denied.
    “Busy? Another book, perhaps?” She gave an indulgent chuckle. “It has been some time since the last one, hasn’t it?”
    John took a deep breath, but Nick forestalled him. “That’s right,” he said. “So if you’ll excuse me --”
    “What we’re here for would make an excellent chapter,” she told him. Nick half expected her to begin dictating to him on the spot. “We’re going to recreate a ceremony at the stone circle tomorrow at sunrise. We most certainly don’t want an audience of the ignorant or inquisitive, but someone like you would be very welcome as our guest.”
    “I really appreciate the offer, but I can’t.” He reminded himself not to offer any of the potentially arguable reasons why he couldn’t, because if he did she’d surely just come up with the arguments. “Thank you, though, for the interest. I hope you have a nice visit.”
    Keeping his eyes on the table, Nick sat down and concentrated on his food. He could feel their gazes on him, but a moment later, they wavered, and then the two of them went back to their own seats.
    “I don’t know why they’d want me there anyway,” he muttered, glancing at John and Josh. “It’s not like I’d have any clue what they were doing.”
    “Just as well.” John cleared his throat and spoke in a