A Winter of Ghosts (The Waking Series) (29 page)

She gazed up into his eyes.
"I don't want to pretend anymore."

Hachiro smiled. "I love you.
And I will love you even when you return to America. And I am content to be
have you here with me for as long as I can. As to what the future will bring .
. ."

"Who can say?" Kara
finished for him.

Hachiro nodded. "Who can
say?"

"I love you, too. And I'm
not planning on going anywhere. This is home, now."

They stole one last, quick kiss
before Kara put on her jacket, and then they left the house, walking out into
the sunlight. Kara had been living in the shadow of Kyuketsuki's curse for so
long that she had forgotten what it was like to be truly light of heart.

Laughing, she raced Hachiro to
the car, giving herself a good head start.

- END -

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN is the
award-winning,
New York Times
bestselling author of such novels as
Of
Saints and Shadows
,
The Myth Hunters
,
The Boys Are Back in Town
,
and
Strangewood
. He has also written books for teens and young adults,
including
Soulless
,
Poison Ink
, and
The Secret Journeys of
Jack London
, co-authored with Tim Lebbon. His current work-in-progress is
Cemetery
Girl
, a graphic novel trilogy collaboration with Charlaine Harris.

A lifelong fan of the "team-up,"
Golden frequently collaborates with other writers on books, comics, and
scripts. He has co-written three illustrated novels with Mike Mignola, the
first of which,
Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire
,
was the launching pad for the Eisner Award-nominated comic book series,
Baltimore
.
With Thomas E. Sniegoski, he is the co-author of the book series
Magic Zero
and
The Menagerie
, as well as comic book miniseries such as
Talent
,
currently in development as a feature film. With Amber Benson, he co-created
the online animated series
Ghosts of Albion
for the BBC.

As an editor, he has worked on
the short story anthologies
The New Dead
,
The Monster's Corner
,
and
British Invasion
, among others, and has also written and co-written
comic books, video games, screenplays, and a network television pilot. Golden
was born and raised in Massachusetts, where he still lives with his family. His
original novels have been published in more than fourteen languages in
countries around the world. Please visit him at
http://www.ChristopherGolden.com
.

Connect With Christopher Golden Online

Official Website

http://www.ChristopherGolden.com

Twitter

http://twitter.com/ChristophGolden

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/christophergoldenauthor

No Rest for the Wicked Blog

http://christophergolden.blogspot.com/

Join the Wicked Street Team

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wickedstreetteam/

THOMAS RANDALL is the author of
the popular children's fantasy series
Adventures in Strangewood
. He
lives in Tarrytown, New York and frequently vacations in places that only exist
inside his own head.

THE WAKING

Dreams of the
Dead
[As Thomas Randall]

Spirits of
the Noh
[As Thomas Randall]

A Winter of
Ghosts
[As Thomas Randall and Christopher Golden]

THE BODY OF
EVIDENCE SERIES

Body Bags

Thief of
Hearts

Soul Survivor

Meets the Eye

Head Games

Skin Deep

Burning Bones
[w/ Rick Hautala]

Brain Trust
[w/ Rick Hautala]

Last Breath
[w/ Rick Hautala]

Throat
Culture
[w/ Rick Hautala]

Strangewood

Straight On 'Til
Morning

The Ferryman

The Boys Are
Back in Town

Wildwood Road

The Secret
Backs of Things

The Shell
Collector

Bloodstained
Oz
[w/James A. Moore]

The Seven
Whistlers
[w/Amber Benson]

The Ocean
Dark
[As Jack Rogan]

The
Collective
[As Jack Rogan]

Baltimore, or
The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire
[w/Mike Mignola]

Joe Golem and
the Drowning City
[w/Mike Mignola]

Father
Caetano's Puppet Catechism
[w/Mike Mignola]

SLEEPY HOLLOW
HIGH

Horseman
[w/Ford Lytle Gilmore]

Drowned
[w/Ford Lytle Gilmore]

Mischief
[w/Ford Lytle Gilmore]

Enemies
[w/Ford Lytle Gilmore]

THE VEIL

The Myth
Hunters

The
Borderkind

The Lost Ones

THE HIDDEN
CITIES

Mind the Gap
[w/Tim Lebbon]

The Map of
Moments
[w/Tim Lebbon]

The Chamber
of Ten
[w/Tim Lebbon]

The Shadow
Men
[w/Tim Lebbon]

THE SHADOW SAGA

Of Saints and
Shadows

Angel Souls
and Devil Hearts

Of Masques
and Martyrs

The Gathering
Dark

Waking
Nightmares

THE MENAGERIE

The Nimble
Man
[w/Tom Sniegoski]

The Tears of
Furies
[w/Tom Sniegoski]

Stones
Unturned
[w/Tom Sniegoski]

Crashing
Paradise
[w/Tom Sniegoski]

GHOSTS OF ALBION

Astray
[w/Amber Benson]

Initiation
[w/Amber Benson]

Accursed
[w/Amber Benson]

Witchery
[w/Amber Benson]

WANT MORE

CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN?

VISIT HIM AT:

http://www.ChristopherGolden.com