Night Calls by Kimbriel Katharine Eliska

Author:Kimbriel, Katharine Eliska [Kimbriel, Katharine Eliska]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy
ISBN: 9781611383201
Publisher: Book View Cafe
Published: 2013-09-17T07:00:00+00:00

THIRTEEN

There was nothing of grace or subtlety to that run — I knew it was my life that was being weighed, and at the moment it wasn’t worth much. Fear swept through me like a gust of wind, the sour, metallic tang of blood in my mouth. Basic teachings rose from my inner consciousness, and I increased my speed. The creek; I had to cross the creek, or I was doomed.

My strength was draining into my stomach, and I fought to keep going, because I could hear my goal, the blessed gurgle of a broad, shallow creek. Behind me was the dog, still snuffling, seeking my trail, tracking my passage —

The creature belled, giving voice to its find, and it was all I could do to run.

Fortunately my feet had more sense than I had; they kept moving. Boots touched slimed rock, and I fell face down into the shallows of the narrow stream. Scrambling for purchase, my toes found pebble-packed mud, and I churned to my feet. Hallelujah! I’d found the ford!

A moonbeam pricked out the stepping stones, but it was a little late to think about preventing pneumonia. Grateful that garlic kept things at bay whether wet or dry, I waded over to the other side and up the bank. Finding a friendly tree, I threw myself into its shadow. To my surprise, I found I was still hanging onto the stake with a death grip.

Would her new shape protect her from running water?

The beast reached the ford and immediately halted, weaving from side to side as it checked its scent trail. A gust of wind stirred a flurry of leaves, and when they had settled, Livana stood next to the creek. It was that simple. . . .

She stood listening a while, her head cocked to one side, her fingers flexing like talons. Then she backed away from the water and started down the trail toward the farmhouse. Only a few steps; she was difficult to see, but I could just make out her shape as she moved off the trail and into the undergrowth.

Silence.

I didn’t need a signpost to show me the way things were going. She was waiting for me; I had no doubt of it. You’re going to wait a long time, I vowed, shaking, as I knelt in the mulch layering the forest floor. I don’t need to eat, and I think you do. Thank you, thank you, little bird! Shifting must have taken something out of her. The question was, how long would she wait until she decided I wasn’t going to panic and bolt?

Because I wasn’t. I knew my teachings, and there was running water between me and that vampire. The only way Livana could cross it was in her coffin, and then only at greatest risk. And although she didn’t know it, her coffin would be crumbling into ash about now. Praise the powers that be that there wasn’t some special link between a vampire and its coffin!

oOo

Moonlight crept through the trees to pour down upon us like molten silver, and still we sat, Livana and I.

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