Read Online A Vampire's Christmas Carol by Karen McCullough - Free Book Online
Authors: Karen McCullough
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followed the radical
tension almost did her in.
But then he began to relax and the shaking
calmed to just above a mild tremor. He groaned, but it sounded more
deliberate and less desperate. The rhythm of his breathing changed.
While still harsh, it lengthened to sound closer to normal. He
didn’t move, however, even when the tremors finally settled down to
a more gentle quivering.
“Michael?” Carol took a hesitant step toward
him and stopped. “Are you…?” She shook her head. “Stupid question.
Of course you’re not okay. Is there anything I can do?”
He didn’t answer. He lay still, on his side,
curled into a fetal tuck for several long minutes. After a while,
he roused and pushed himself up to a sitting position. He shifted
back to rest against the side of a chair, still seated on the
floor.
Sharp lines incised his lean cheeks and
around his eyes, which sank deeper into his head than before. His
pale skin had a sickly gray cast. Cheek and jaw-bones stood out in
harsh angles. For a few minutes, his head hung forward as though he
had no strength to hold it up.
When he did finally look up, she saw flashes
of red in his eyes. Not steady, as they had been before, or
growing, but coming and going in winks of blood and fire.
“Michael?”
His eyebrows rose.
“If I staked you right now, wouldn’t it put
you out of your misery?”
“Yes, but please don’t. I want to die human,
so I have to wait for dawn. Do it if I threaten you, but otherwise,
no. I want my soul back before I die.”
“All right. Is there…anything I can do? To
help?”
He shook his head, but stopped. “Just talk to
me. Tell me more…about yourself. Why aren’t you married? You’re a
very attractive woman. Don’t you want to have a husband and a
family?”
“Of course I do. But I guess I haven’t met
the right man. My sister tells me I’m too picky. She says I’ve read
too many fantasy novels and I’m holding out for a hero. Maybe it’s
true too. And heroes are hard to come by these days. But most of
the men I’ve met… I don’t know. There isn’t any spark there. So I’m
still waiting.”
“You want a prince, like in the fairy tales?
How many frogs have you kissed?”
“Way too many. And swallowed a poisoned apple
or two, pricked my finger a few times, even tolerated a couple of
beasts—until I realized they really were just beasts—but still no
prince galloping to the rescue. Actually, I don’t really need a
prince or a hero. Just the right man.”
“If not a prince or a hero, what do you want
in a man?”
“I want a man who’s intelligent, strong—not
so much physically, but in character—kind, caring, has a good sense
of humor, hard-working and likes kids, science fiction movies and
good food. Not so much, really, is it?”
He shrugged and struggled for a pain-filled
grin. “Seems like you should find one on every corner.”
“I wish.”
“What do you find on all those corners?”
“A lot of little boys in big boys’ bodies.
More than a few who were so self-centered they barely noticed what
anyone else was doing. A few so focused on being successful, they
forgot to be real people. You get the picture. And I’m not really
all that demanding. Some of my terms are negotiable, like the food
thing.”
“And you still haven’t found a good one.
Shocking.”
Carol sighed. “I know. I sometimes wonder if
I will. I’m almost twenty-seven now.”
“Just a baby. I’m a hundred and twenty-nine,
you know.”
“And don’t look a day over a hundred and
twenty-eight.”
“Flattery will— Oh, hell.”
Carol followed his line of sight to the mist
forming behind her to the left. She turned so that she could keep
both Michael and Antoine in her line of sight. The vampire formed
quickly, the cloudy spot roiling for only a few seconds before it
coalesced.
His handsome, cruel face broke into an ugly
smile when he saw Michael sitting on the floor and noted how he
rested against the side of a chair as
tension almost did her in.
But then he began to relax and the shaking
calmed to just above a mild tremor. He groaned, but it sounded more
deliberate and less desperate. The rhythm of his breathing changed.
While still harsh, it lengthened to sound closer to normal. He
didn’t move, however, even when the tremors finally settled down to
a more gentle quivering.
“Michael?” Carol took a hesitant step toward
him and stopped. “Are you…?” She shook her head. “Stupid question.
Of course you’re not okay. Is there anything I can do?”
He didn’t answer. He lay still, on his side,
curled into a fetal tuck for several long minutes. After a while,
he roused and pushed himself up to a sitting position. He shifted
back to rest against the side of a chair, still seated on the
floor.
Sharp lines incised his lean cheeks and
around his eyes, which sank deeper into his head than before. His
pale skin had a sickly gray cast. Cheek and jaw-bones stood out in
harsh angles. For a few minutes, his head hung forward as though he
had no strength to hold it up.
When he did finally look up, she saw flashes
of red in his eyes. Not steady, as they had been before, or
growing, but coming and going in winks of blood and fire.
“Michael?”
His eyebrows rose.
“If I staked you right now, wouldn’t it put
you out of your misery?”
“Yes, but please don’t. I want to die human,
so I have to wait for dawn. Do it if I threaten you, but otherwise,
no. I want my soul back before I die.”
“All right. Is there…anything I can do? To
help?”
He shook his head, but stopped. “Just talk to
me. Tell me more…about yourself. Why aren’t you married? You’re a
very attractive woman. Don’t you want to have a husband and a
family?”
“Of course I do. But I guess I haven’t met
the right man. My sister tells me I’m too picky. She says I’ve read
too many fantasy novels and I’m holding out for a hero. Maybe it’s
true too. And heroes are hard to come by these days. But most of
the men I’ve met… I don’t know. There isn’t any spark there. So I’m
still waiting.”
“You want a prince, like in the fairy tales?
How many frogs have you kissed?”
“Way too many. And swallowed a poisoned apple
or two, pricked my finger a few times, even tolerated a couple of
beasts—until I realized they really were just beasts—but still no
prince galloping to the rescue. Actually, I don’t really need a
prince or a hero. Just the right man.”
“If not a prince or a hero, what do you want
in a man?”
“I want a man who’s intelligent, strong—not
so much physically, but in character—kind, caring, has a good sense
of humor, hard-working and likes kids, science fiction movies and
good food. Not so much, really, is it?”
He shrugged and struggled for a pain-filled
grin. “Seems like you should find one on every corner.”
“I wish.”
“What do you find on all those corners?”
“A lot of little boys in big boys’ bodies.
More than a few who were so self-centered they barely noticed what
anyone else was doing. A few so focused on being successful, they
forgot to be real people. You get the picture. And I’m not really
all that demanding. Some of my terms are negotiable, like the food
thing.”
“And you still haven’t found a good one.
Shocking.”
Carol sighed. “I know. I sometimes wonder if
I will. I’m almost twenty-seven now.”
“Just a baby. I’m a hundred and twenty-nine,
you know.”
“And don’t look a day over a hundred and
twenty-eight.”
“Flattery will— Oh, hell.”
Carol followed his line of sight to the mist
forming behind her to the left. She turned so that she could keep
both Michael and Antoine in her line of sight. The vampire formed
quickly, the cloudy spot roiling for only a few seconds before it
coalesced.
His handsome, cruel face broke into an ugly
smile when he saw Michael sitting on the floor and noted how he
rested against the side of a chair as
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