Thoughtful Thursday – Do you believe in ghosts?

Today’s Thoughtful is all about ghosts and quite frankly, I don’t know what I’m doing here.

I’m Stacia, a two thousand year old vamp and I’ve had my share of supposedly wrathful wraiths who could barely cause a goosebump. But Caridad asked me to visit this little inn to meet a new friend of hers – Henri de Montmorency, the Ghostest with the Mostest. Normally I’d be disinclined for such a meeting, but it was Caridad who asked and while I am nearly invincible over most immortals and humans, for Caridad I’d do anything. After all, she is the one who created me – Stacia – and has promised to give me yet another interesting adventure next year. In Miami no less. After experiencing the passion of one particularly intriguing Cuban, I can’t wait to go south and see what Caridad plans for me. Who knows, I might finally meet a man who is a worthy match for me.

So, how could I resist agreeing to this visit when Caridad asked? She has apparently taken a fancy to this supposed spirit Henri and believes that I can somehow help Henri overcome his fear of vampires.

Which is now why I find myself at this dated little inn – the Boo Drop Inn. Dated in that it’s got that tired kind of look that no matter the century looks old making it timeless in a way, much like I am. Of course, there’s nothing dated about me as Henri will soon discover.

I’ve noticed a waiter lurking nearby, clearly afraid of approaching. With a flip of my hand, I call him forward. “O neg, please,” but he looks at me with a doltish almost vacant gaze and I realize this isn’t the kind of place that will satisfy any of my vamp cravings.

“What do you have?” I ask, but before the waiter can answer, a quick draft of cold envelopes me for a moment. A second later, something is beginning to materialize before my eyes in the chair across from me.

“Henri de Montmorency, I assume,” unamused by the chill Henri decided to bestow on me to announce his arrival.

With a hesitant half-corporeal smile, Henri gives a gallant nod. “Stacia, I presume. Caridad has promised if I were to meet you, you wouldn’t try sticking your fangs in poor old Henri’s neck. I’m presuming that’s not going to happen, right?”

“That I’ll be on my best behavior, but have no fears, Henri. The dead have never held any attraction for me. Cold blood is no substitute for something warm beneath my fangs.” I don’t know why, but the fear I sense coming from Henri fear is intoxicating and so I give him a greater hint of fang and shoot a sexy smile his way.

A shiver passes through him, causing his head to hang in mid-air, unattached to his body for the most fleeting of moments. Beginning to get fascinated now, especially since decapitation is one of those few ways to put an end to me, I ask, “Is that how you died? You lost your head?”

“I’m afraid you are right, Mademoiselle Stacia. All in the name of love. It was a chance I had to take. She wasn’t happy with him. He gave her everything she desired but the one thing he couldn’t give – satisfaction – Henri was able to give. I took a chance and I paid the consequences.”

“Very interesting, but tell me something. There’s a rumor you were quite a cad before losing your head. Some say an affair led to your untimely demise.”

“How did you know that? Boo been talking to you? My sweet Annabelle looked through Henri’s deformity and saw the real man underneath. I’m afraid I lived with being a hump back all my life, but I was a real man underneath my horrid physical being. A man, I tell you!”

I had to confess that there was a certain charm to the cad that had me wondering about his life and deciding to spend just a bit more time with Henri. After all, neither of us had a rush to be anywhere. Not even the dawn would present an issue for me, old as I was.

With a wave at the waiter, who had drifted a few feet away when Henri arrived, I summoned the young man again. “What would you like to drink?”

“Thank you for the offer, Mademoiselle Stacia. You paying? LOL, a ghostly joke at Boo Drop Inn. I will have a Coor’s Light, thank you. I have had fine wine and liquors in my past, but since arriving in 21st century, I have taken a fondness to the brew.”

While I had never had a yen for something as pedestrian as Coor’s Light, I nevertheless mimicked Henri’s order and after our beers arrived, I continued my interrogation. “So, Caridad tells me that you fancy yourself a writer of sorts, much like she is?”

“Ah yes. Mon bon bon Caridad writes a lot better than Henri, but I do pride on having a book published. Have you read my blog yet? It’s www.henritheghost.blogspot.com. I write about how Henri became published if you’d like to see it, not that a vampire such as you has anything to do with blogging, but you might find it interesting. My book is called The Search for the Million $$$ Ghost. I wrote it, but my co-authors Dorothy Thompson, Heide AW Kaminski and Pamela Lawniczak insist they wrote it, too. I try to humor them. That’s the kind of ghost I am, you know.”

“Well, I hope your story is a bit more truthful then some of the bestsellers floating around today – no pun intended,” I said and slugged down a drink of the beer. The taste was light on my tongue, nothing like the thick earthy taste of blood.

“So, you’re a vampire, huh? For a vampire, you are looking mighty good to Henri. Not that I would take advantage of you, of course. I’m a gentleman as much as you’ve heard otherwise. However, if you’d be so inclined…I do have a place we can go…have a few more Coors Lights…light a few garlic-scented candles…lol…just a little vampire humor there.”

I had to confess that I was starting to understand Caridad’s fascination with this particular ghostly gigolo, especially since he had started to warm up to me once he knew I had no intention of sucking him once he got corporeal or using a circle of salt to keep him contained. Despite that, I knew it was time for him to go. He had warned me that Juicy, his significant other, didn’t like the idea of him hanging around with other women for too long. Juicy was apparently the jealous type.

Not that Juicy had anything to worry about with me. While Henri had his ghostly Gallic charm, I needed more. I had needed more for centuries and so far, there had been few people, either mortal or immortal, who had managed to fill the void in my soul.

But Caridad had promised me a chance for that in Miami next year and I wasn’t about to blow it by causing any problems for Henri.

“Mon cher ami, as much as this has been delightful, I must fly,” I said and before he could even bid his goodbye, I sped from the Boo Drop Inn in a burst of vamp speed, but even as I did so, I could hear Henri’s final words.

“Hey, where are you going? I didn’t mean it about the garlic-scented candles! Come back…come back…is it my breath? Hey, I had McDonald’s for lunch! Where did she go????”

Thanks to Stacia, my truly fascinating vampire dominatrix for taking this moment to speak to Henri. For more information on this delightful ghostie, you can visit www.henritheghost.blogspot.com. As for Stacia, I have promised her some interesting adventures in 2008 when THE CALLING vampire series moves to Miami for a story. Why Miami? Remember Alex Garcia from DEATH CALLS? I’m thinking he might be a match for our Stacia. What do you think?