There's an Invisible Man Sleeping in My Bed

Chapter 3

             Colt froze where he was, then followed her gaze to the family room’s archway. He tilted his head for a moment then realized she must be talking about him. He chuckled silently, wondering why she thought that’s where he was. Seeing her grab one of the carving knives out of their block, he let out an inaudible sigh. It was decision time.

            Thalia tightened her grip on the butcher knife, part of her wondering what had come over her. Her original plan had been much safer. All she’d had to do was leave out the muffins after counting them and see if any went missing. Most of her attention was focused on the arch that led from the kitchen to the family room, alert for any kind of movement. Still, she’d come this far and there was no safe way of backing out now. “I’m not going to ask you again,” she called, hoping he heard none of the fear and doubt that was currently creeping up her spine.

            She could feel her heart pounding in her ears and was just considering a dash for her room when she heard a male voice from beside her. “I’ll come out as much as I am able, but will you put down the knife first? It’s dangerous.”

            Thalia whipped around, staring at more empty-looking kitchen. “Who are you?”

            “Knife please.”

            Backing up so her back hit the counter, she put the knife down slowly, leaving her hand nearby. “Who and where are you?”

            “I’m Coltrane but please, call me Colt. And I’m standing a couple of feet in front of you.”

            “Show yourself!”

            He coughed politely. “I can’t. I’m invisible. I will do what I can so you are able to see me. I’ve been told I can be seen a bit when I concentrate, almost like I’m a heat shimmer.” Without waiting for her assent, he focused on being corporeal, flexing on hand when he felt halfway solid.

            Thalia gasped as a rough outline appeared in front of her. It looked like the patch of kitchen she’d been staring at but it moved a bit, the edges seeming to almost flow. “So you are a ghost!”

            Colt stumbled then stared at her. “No! I’m not a ghost!”

            She shook her head, doing her best to keep her sanity in this conversation. “You’re invisible. Of course you’re a ghost.”

            “No. I’m invisible because I lost my body.”

            “How do you lose your body? Wait, does that mean you’re dead?”

            Now he glared, not that she could see. “I already said I’m not a ghost! As for my body, I didn’t lose it like you’re thinking. It was stolen from me by a god. Trust me, I’d rather not be invisible. It has caused me nothing but hardship.”

            She frowned. “You’re not making any sense.”

            “I’m making perfect sense, you’re just not keeping up. I’ll summarize it for you. A god took my body from me, undeservedly, and I’ve been as an invisible floating consciousness ever since. If I concentrate, or I forget myself, I can interact with the physical world. I’m technically alive so I’m not a ghost. Besides, I don’t believe in them.”

            “Why do you care if I think you’re a ghost?”

            He ran a hand through his hair. “Because every time someone thinks I’m a ghost they get a priest in to exorcise me. Which wouldn’t bother me except half the time they end up sealing me in something after the exorcism fails. I spent the last one hundred and fifty years trapped in a glass bottle. If a child hadn’t knocked me off the shelf, I’d still be in there.”

            “One hundred and fifty years?” she whispered, eyes wide.

            “Oh that wasn’t the longest. The worst was the three hundred years I spent in a ring. If the Baroness hadn’t decided to change the jewel’s setting…Well, that priest really had it in for me.”

            She managed to choke out “What?”

            “Oh, see he tried to exorcise me and failed. And okay, yeah, I laughed at him after he told them I was gone. There was still no call for him to seal me into the ring. He was probably having a bad day.”

            Thalia shook her head, sinking slowly to the floor. It was too much all at once. She’d thought she’d been prepared for this but her whirling mind told her otherwise. She tried to steady her breathing but kept feeling it catch in her chest, her arms shaking. The feeling of a hand on her shoulder had her head jerking up but she didn’t see anything.

            “Sorry,” Colt said, squeezing her. “It was too much, wasn’t it? It’s happened before so don’t worry. But hey, points for not fainting. That’s what happened to my last friend when I accidentally overloaded him.”

            “Y-you…”

            He nodded. “I’ve told you too much too quickly. We’ll continue this discussion at a later date, okay? You just stay here and rest. I’ll leave you be. Though I do have every intention of taking a few of those muffins with me before I go. You’re a criminally good cook.”

            When Thalia just sat there gaping, mind still refusing to process everything, Colt sighed. He scooped her up and carried her over to the couch, arranging her so she looked comfortable. Then he kissed her quickly on the forehead before heading into the kitchen. Only when he had a muffin in each hand and one in his mouth did he return to the study. He’d check on her in the morning. He hoped he hadn’t broken her. He’d half-forgotten how much more fun it was to have someone to talk to.