Read INK: Blue (INK Trilogy Book 3) for Free Online Page A

if he wanted.
    Edsel did something he never really got the feel for and spoke via The Noise. I told you to wait at the door. If he's unfriendly he could kill us all.
    Sorry.
    Sorry.
    Let's not be so carefree in the future, okay?
    The man was staring at them funnily, clearly wondering why they were standing there mute.
    Guess I should introduce us, it's only polite.
    "Hi, I'm Edsel. Sorry about the interruption, we didn't expect anyone to be here." Edsel paused, suddenly thinking back over the years, a chance encounter trying to surface in his memory. "Do I know you? Have we met before?"
    "I don't think so, although I have met a few people in my time, and I'm not as young as I once was. My name is Michael, pleased to meet you." Michael lowered the gun and got to his feet, surprisingly sprightly for someone of his age — he must have been in his seventies.
    Where do I know him from? It's not like I've met hundreds of people. He's the first in five years. What's that smell?
    "I know you," said Aiden. "Oh, hi, I'm Aiden, and this is Lash."
    "Pleased to meet you Aiden. And Lash, that's a rather harsh name for such a beautiful lady." Michael shook Aiden's hand, and kissed Lash's.
    "Her real name's Lashae," said Aiden, stepping away so he didn't get a whack around the head.
    "Lashae, how beautiful."
    "Well, thank you, and nice to meet you Michael, but everyone calls me Lash. Everyone."
    There it is, there's that hard stare you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of.
    "If you insist," said Michael, smiling widely, the personification of a gentleman, even if he did only have a pair of shorts on. "Now young man, how do you know me? I certainly don't recall."
    "It was five years ago, we were in a car, passing through a town in Wales. We nearly hit you when you were crossing the road."
    Ah, that's it. He's got a good memory. Coconut oil, that's the smell. He uses it to tan.
    "Well, that is a coincidence I must say. I do get around quite a lot. So much to see and do."
    "Do you live here now?" asked Edsel, wondering how the man had managed to stay alive so long if he traveled alone, and a lot, judging by the large muscles in his calves even though he was of very slight build.
    "In the penthouse, yes. I gave the whole building a good clean and my home is very comfortable now, but I'm not staying permanently. This is just one of the many places I seem to come back to for a bit of a rest. Would you like to come and have a drink with me? I have coffee you know."
    Coffee, what I wouldn't give for a cuppa. It's been years.
    Lash was practically salivating at the mouth, Aiden wasn't overly impressed as he'd never gotten the taste for it, but Edsel found it hard to not drool down his chin.
    "That would be lovely. Thank you Michael, most generous." Her eyes sparkled with excitement. Edsel was sure she was flirting with Michael the way she kept fluttering those huge eyelashes of hers and repeatedly brushed her hair with the tips of her fingers.
    "Well, come along then. I can put some more clothes on too. It's hardly appropriate when I have company to be walking around like this."
    It's not weird, it's not weird. This is just what it's supposed to be like when you meet people.
    Edsel tried to convince himself, but he couldn't shake the uneasiness in the pit of his stomach.
    It's just because you've been in your own little bubble for so long.

 
     
     
     
    HOST
    Michael was the perfect host, and he and Aiden seemed to really hit it off almost immediately. Michael was one of those men that really enjoyed telling stories, and he had plenty to tell. Aiden would sit and listen with total focus, soaking up tales of meetings with other people, encounters with Eventuals and all manner of what were obviously exaggerated, if not totally made up tales. It didn't matter though, it was what Aiden needed: a new person to talk to, reminders of what the country was like now, and what it had been like before. All from a different perspective, from an older man