Read Online Kissed by Fire by Shéa MacLeod - Free Book Online

I wasn’t sure he’d given up on the dragon angle
entirely.
    Dragons. I still couldn’t believe they
actually still existed. Maybe. It was nuts.
    More nuts than a perfectly normal human
getting killed by a vampire and waking up with superpowers? my
own mind taunted. I ignored that inner voice and went back to
rubbing the warmth of the dragon scale between my fingers and
staring out the window. I preferred dealing with the weirdness
around me to the weirdness inside me. It was easier that way.
     
    ***
     
    I recognized the cemetery immediately. No
way. “Alison is being buried in Highgate?”
    “Of course,” Dex said from the front seat.
“MI8 always buries their operatives in Highgate. Our family has
vaults here, too.”
    Maybe it was macabre of me, but I’d always
thought the Circle Vaults of Highgate Cemetery were incredibly
cool. I’d meant to come on a tour one day, but had never gotten
around to it before I left London. It sucked that the only reason
I’d made it this time was because someone had died. There was
probably a lesson in that.
    I turned to Kabita. “You OK?” Stupid
question. We were about to attend her cousin’s funeral. How could
anything be OK?
    She shrugged. “It’s strange. We were so close
as children, but I haven’t seen or spoken to her in years. I feel
like I’m attending the funeral of a stranger. As if the Alison I
knew and loved died decades ago.”
    As we got out of the car I looped my left arm
through her right one. I knew we were both armed, but while she
could fight equally well with either hand, I was very right
handed.
    “We’ve got some time before the service. Why
don’t we take a stroll?” I suggested. I figured a walk through the
tranquillity of the grounds would do us both some good and Kabita
always enjoyed a good walk.
    We strolled into the cemetery arm in arm. It
was a beautiful place full of trees and winding paths, stone
archways and vine covered grave markers. We strolled up the
Egyptian Avenue, its tall columns glowing golden in the late
morning sun. It felt like we should be entering a temple at Karnack
instead of a cemetery in London.
    The light dimmed as we passed under the
archway into the long passageway. Though opened to the sky, the
passage was lined with trees which partially blocked the sun only
allowing a little light to trickle through the leaves.
    We kept walking, passing weeping angels
wrapped in ivy, vaults cracked with time, crosses lost in
vegetation. Highgate Cemetery was old and it felt every minute of
its age. I absolutely loved it.
    “So, tell me about your family.” When in
doubt, blunt worked.
    Kabita’s arm tensed in mine. Then she
shrugged and heaved a sigh. “You probably noticed Dad and I don’t
exactly get along.”
    “Yeah.” My tone was wry. “I definitely
noticed that. Has it always been that way with you two?”
    “Pretty much. I mean, it was OK when I was
younger. I didn’t see much of him. Mom hated London. Still does.
So, she stayed in Malaysia and raised us while Dad stayed in
London. He’d come out two or three times a year to visit. Bring us
presents and tell us stories of his adventures with MI8.”
    “Your mom knew about MI8 and all the monster
stuff?” I asked in amazement. It wasn’t something that got tossed
about much. My mom definitely didn’t know about the monster stuff
and I planned on keeping it that way. The very thought of her
finding out made me shudder in horror.
    “Yeah. Her family and Dad’s have been tied
together for generations. My mother is a Gupta. Gupta, in Hindi,
means ‘protector.’”
    Seriously cool. “Your mother’s family are
Hunters?”
    “That is one of their functions, yes. My
mother’s family moved from India to Malaysia when the native
Hunters were wiped out during a plague. The islands needed new
Hunters and the Guptas were the best.”
    “And your father? How did he and your mother
end up together?”
    She paused in front of grave marker. The
marble had been