Harriet was going to free him. She was a witch like—
The truth slammed into Kiral. He gasped and then cursed himself and laughed at the same time. Harriet was a keener, a banshee. The crone wasn’t her grandmother. They were one and the same. His angel had been with him the whole time.
But why didn’t she tell him? They’d been searching the city for someone who was there all along. Perhaps he should be angry, but he wasn’t. Harriet was safe. She was here.
She’d offered her life for his.
Kiral was going to kill that demon.
The sounds of battle had ended below. There was only the wind and Harriet’s chanting. She was going to save him.
The stinging blossomed into a bonfire of agony too quickly. Kiral cried out and arched his back. Jerking frantically at the chains, he tried to flee the light. No fire ever burned this deeply.
“No, no, no!” Harriet’s squall jolted his attention to her. She grabbed the chain, pulled, and wailed again. “No. I’m not going to let you die!”
Kiral could smell his body burning. Inside and out. He writhed, clinging to life as fiercely as he could. Death wasn’t something he ever craved. It was life. And life with Harriet in it was something he wanted more than anything before.
She wrenched the chains, hands dragging along the rough links, and slicked it with her blood. She screeched her protests once more.
A gorgeous soul fighting for his life. But he could feel it. She wasn’t going to save him.
The sun rose and shined bright over the horizon.
Flames licked at his flesh, blackening and incinerating him cell by cell. His senses vanished under his excruciating pain. The nerves were dead, but his mind held Harriet’s image. Death might have him, but she was there with him. She’d always be with him no matter what awaited him.
There was a sudden weight on him. A sense of movement. Did he hear his name?
Something warm was forced into his mouth and trickled down his throat. Instinct latched on and he dug his fangs in. Sweeter and purer than ambrosia. The cold fingers of Death had left. Everything was warm and soft.
The world flared to life. Agonizing life. Against her wrist he screamed but kept on drinking.
“Enough.” Her voice was melodic. When he didn’t stop, she snatched her wrist away from him. “Enough, please. I need some strength to get us farther inside. Best if I take us down into an apartment, hide in a closet until it’s night again.”
“You saved me.” His throat felt like the overrun tire of a race car. Kiral forced his eyes open and gazed up at her. She was smeared with charred flesh and blood, but she was still the most beautiful creature he’d ever set eyes upon.
“I did.” Her blue eyes shimmered with tears, but she smiled. Wide and glorious.
“But how?” Moving his arms, Kiral heard the jangle of chains. The biting grip of the cuffs made him wince when he turned his attention to that pain.
“My blood weakened the links. You pulled free, and I dragged you out of the sun.” Harriet nudged him. “We’ll talk about it later. Right now, we really need to move before I collapse.”
She leaned against the railing and helped him up. Kiral didn’t have the power to stand on his own, but he willed his feet to move. It took every ounce of concentration to keep upright until they got to the top floor of apartments. The cats circled around them like wary guards. Harriet hauled him the rest of the way into an apartment with its door hanging open and into the big master bedroom closet.
Harriet shut the door as she crumpled beside him. “You need to rest and heal.”
In the darkness, Kiral drew her to him. “You saved my life. I owe you everything.”
“You don’t owe me anything.” She chided, shivering as she lay limply against him. Her voice gradually grew quieter. “Well, maybe a walk or we can share a cup of tea.”
“We’ll walk the stairs of our building, stroll through our hall, and then I will pour you the finest cup of tea.”
“Best I make it then.” Harriet’s whisper tickled his still mending skin.
The last of the tension left her body as she fell asleep. Kiral kissed the top of her head, closed his eyes, and ignored the cat that batted his foot. He finally had her in his arms. Crone or maiden, he wasn’t ever going to let her go. His Al Basti would bring him to the light.
EPILOGUE
“Your cats still don’t like me.” Kiral stood, giving up on coaxing the felines to come to him. “I bring them treats every morning and all I get are dead mice on my bed.”
Harriet giggled behind a hand. Exhaustion tugged at her, but her mornings with Kiral were too precious to give up to sleep. “Those are gifts. It means they do like you. Well, at least Elli. She’s the one that likes to hunt.”
From the couch, Elli yawned upon hearing her name and went back to ignoring them. Kerr glared down at Kiral from his favorite high spot on the bookshelf. He’d come down when no one was there and eat the treats. Then he’d pretend later he had none by begging Harriet for more.
The shades and curtains were drawn. A single fringed lamp burned low. Harriet invited him to sit while she admired the way the orange tint from the light kissed his skin like an early summer tan. He’d spiked up his dark hair and recently added blond highlights. A color close to her own.
Kiral wore a black buttoned up shirt with only the middle button in its hole. No scarring remained on his chest. It’d taken the longest to heal even with the potions and creams she’d fixed. When she’d offered her blood, he’d refused. And after a dozen offers, she’d stopped asking. He promised he wouldn’t give in to that temptation, and he’d kept his word.
Part of Harriet was disappointed. Every now and then, her neck tingled where he’d bitten her. She remembered the bliss of the moment. The pleasure they shared together. Sometimes all she could think about was his bite. Perhaps it was her that had a little addiction now.
The time they’d spent together since was wonderful. Mornings were especially sweet as they talked and laughed. At night, Kiral would follow her whenever a vision propelled her to mourn. He never interfered. She believed he was acting as a guardian. After, when her screams ceased, he’d help her home. Never again had he called her “Grandmother.”
Kiral sat in a chair beside her with his legs stretched out. “Which one was it in the house last night?”
Curling her legs into the chair, Harriet shifted to face him. Her chest tightened as she recalled her foretelling. “The mother. A car accident some time in the afternoon. Her daughters aren’t in the car with her, so perhaps when she’s going to pick them up from school.”
Kiral’s lips thinned, and he tapped a finger on the arm of the chair. “Today is Sunday, so it won’t be today. A weekday then.” He made a small humming sound. “Neither of us can be there, especially when you’re unsure of the exact time. Well, we’ll just have to be certain that the car can’t be there either. Better the family loses a car temporarily than the mother forever. I can take care of that tonight.”
“Thank you.” Sudden tears threatened to escape Harriet’s eyes. She blinked them back. She’d done a glorious thing changing fate in rescuing Kiral. Now that they knew it could be done, they sought to save other people in her visions. Most of the deaths could not be stopped. Disease, illness, and heart attacks happened. Yet accidents and homicide could be prevented. They’d rescued one man and two children over the past few months. Hopefully they’d be able to save this woman so her four daughters wouldn’t have to go through life without their mother.
Kiral reached and took her hand in his. “No, thank you. You’ve given me a second chance. I won’t waste it.”
A few of the tears shimmied free, and she wiped them with the back of her free hand. He’d helped turn her curse into a blessing. Perhaps that’s the way fate meant it to be all along.
Lifting her hand, he bent his head forward and kissed the back of it. “You feel up to taking a stroll?”
Harriet’s whole body tingled with t
hat gentle touch. She wanted to shout out yes, but she’d run a long way last night. Her fantasies of what life would be like with Kiral were nothing like the reality. The sweet and tender moments were sometimes followed by dark moods. He never sought to take advantage of her in any way, but she’d caught a feral and hungry look in his eyes more than a few times.
It would take time, and she was willing to spend every moment she could with him. Even with the craving still clawing at him, he beat it and would continue to do so. Harriet didn’t doubt it for a second.
Her fantasy life was still nice, but holding his hand and having him smile at her like that was far, far better. “A short one. If you don’t mind me leaning on you.”
THE END
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A huge thank you to my critique partners, Cherie Reich and TF Walsh. It was a tough battle this time around, but we did it. Cherie, a special thank you for getting me to change the story and include both Harriet’s and Kiral’s points of view. It truly did make the story shine.
Thank you so much to my beta readers, Clare Dugmore and M. Pepper Langlinais. Your support and brilliant comments are immensely appreciated.
Much love to my husband and son. I had to take extra time away from you for this book, but it’s worth it. I’ll do much better with my time management from here on out!
A final thank you to my awesome readers. You make this all worthwhile.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christine Rains is a writer, blogger, and geek mom. She lives in Southern Indiana with her husband and son. Their cozy little house is stuffed full of books and games. Christine has four degrees which help nothing with motherhood but make her a great Jeopardy player. When she’s not writing or reading, she’s having adventures with her son or watching cheesy movies on the Syfy Channel. She’s a member of Untethered Realms and S.C.I.F.I. She has twenty-one short stories and seven novellas published.
The Oracle and the Vampire is the fifth book in the 13th Floor series. The sixth and final installment, The Ghost, will be available on July 13, 2013.
Website: http://christinerains.net/
Blog: http://christinerains-writer.blogspot.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CRainsWriter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorchristinerains
Email: [email protected]
Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The Oracle & the Vampire (The 13th Floor) Page 8
