extras are fun

I've decided to post some random "excerpts" from The Ghost Stone. I've been doing perspective switches for fun (no profit) lately, thanks to that massive two-month writer's block. Some interesting things have come out of it. Andrew is fun to write, too. So this particular piece comes out of the second chapter, when Vesper and Andrew first set eyes on each other at the tram station behind Carroway. The original is from Vesper’s point of view; this one is Andrew’s first impression. Let me know what's good, son.


The Ghost Stone
excerpt from Chapter Two

He and Mark were on the tram when he felt it. The little itch at the back of his neck that told him to look up, to be aware. It happened more often than he cared to admit, and though he never quite ignored the feeling, Andrew was uncomfortable with the idea that some residue of his father’s power had been passed down to him through his genes. After all, Ethan’s ability to see hadn’t done him a whole lot of good.

Andrew’s wasn’t so developed as that. If what he had could be called anything, it was a finely developed sense of foreboding. He was intuitive, his mother liked to say. There were no dreams, no visions; no quick snatches of images assaulted him unawares. He just got that little itch, and it told him something was going on, something important, and to pay attention.

Mark was still talking, so Andrew nodded vaguely to prove his attention but glanced past his shoulder towards Carroway station. The tram was still a good twenty yards away, but he could see a lone student waiting. Female. Tall. Unfamiliar.

“Andrew.”

Busted. His eyes flickered to the blond and his mouth curved up a little, acknowledging his distraction. “Sorry.”

Mark rolled his eyes, and then turned a little to see what was so fascinating behind him. When he realized it was a girl, one who grew more and more attractive as the tram drew closer to the station, he arched a teasing eyebrow at him and remarked approvingly, “I see.”

The itch was steadily increasing, and instead of smirking at the light banter, Andrew frowned instead and returned his attention to the girl. She was definitely new, whoever she was – he didn’t recognize her, and she had a green, fresh look about her, one all freshmen had when they first started, and one that they quickly lost by the time the first semester closed out. And she was attractive, riding the line between girl-next-door hot and the kind of hot that made the eyes wander and want to linger in places they shouldn’t. If it weren’t for the totally casual way she was dressed and the laidback, almost absent way she was regarding the horizon, she could have been out-of-your-league hot.

The tram began to slow, and the noisy brakes broke her concentration. He saw her glance towards the tram and take the two of them in, her gaze appraising. Andrew might have admired her mouth, and the bedroom quality of her eyes, but his hormones were refused any leeway when he realized hers was a two-colored gaze.

“Mark,” he murmured quietly, and the blond shifted.

“You feel something?” Mark asked, just as quietly.

“Yeah.” Andrew didn’t have to explain. The two of them had been friends most of their lives, and even if there was a little more distance as of late, they still knew each other better than anybody else. Some things didn’t change.

The tram came to a rolling stop, and they both climbed off. Andrew couldn’t take his eyes off of her, and it had nothing at all to do with that first, immediate physical attraction now. He sunk in slowly, probing gently with his magic to feel her out, see what the Awakening had brought out in her. The result surprised him, and he stiffened to hide the shiver that shook his spine all the way down.

Earth magic. He tried to focus on that, and not the way his mouth went dry but his skin went hot in response the reading. Earth magic on top of the Ghost Eye. Jesus, what the hell does that mean?

She’d climbed on the tram, and after a second or two glanced back at them. Andrew hadn’t quite realized he’d stopped walking entirely and was just staring at her; hadn’t expected to react that strongly at all, truth be told, and was a little disconcerted by it. Mark stood with him, at least, and their obvious attention registered with the girl because after another second or so she acknowledged them with a little sideways peace sign, one eyebrow quirked a little higher than the other. It was almost a challenge, the way she looked at them, and it was enough to make him shiver all over again.

Mark chuckled lightly next to him, and turned his attention back to Andrew as the tram pulled away, taking the girl with it. “Interesting combination, wouldn’t you say?” He asked, and nodded towards the Carroway building.

Andrew took the hint and resumed walking, but his mind remained with her. “Yeah.” He almost added, I don’t like it, but refrained; he knew how Mark felt about his suspicions and today had been a good day. They’d argued so much about it in the past, and the gulf between them was wide enough as it was. The only way to salvage the years of friendship was not to talk about it at all, and for Mark, he could do that.

He would tell Dan about it later, maybe. See what the other man thought. Dan’s quiet, observant demeanor and curious politeness had ingratiated him to most of the student body right away, but what Andrew appreciated most about his friend was the sharp, clever mind behind the amiable exterior. And even if Dan didn’t wholly believe him, he didn’t write him off as angry or vengeful, which was more than Andrew could say for quite a lot of the people he had once considered friends.

“She’s cute,” Mark ventured after a second, having sensed that Andrew wouldn’t comment further on the other line of thought. They both knew why, and to his credit, Mark steered away from it as diligently as he had. “And tall.”

“I noticed,” Andrew replied, wryly.