1305 & 1306 The Oracle & the Vampire (The 13th Floor) Read Online Free PDF
Author: Christine Rains
ended. Harriet’s skin crawled. The darkness was unnatural.
She’d dedicated her life to healing and wasn’t a warrior witch. What could she do against evil creatures without preparing a spell or potion? Harriet wet her lips and let out a long breath. Be smart. Take one step at a time.
The dark. Every instinct told her not to walk into it. She wasn’t going to leave without seeing if the cat was all right, though.
So take care of the darkness. That was easy enough. One of the first summoning spells she’d learned from her aunt was to call forth a willow-o’-the-wisp.
Harriet murmured the spell—more a call for aid—and swirled her left hand in the air around three times counter-clockwise. A lot of magic was simple since it was a matter of intent.
Something fluttered over her shoulder bringing a soft, shifting blue and pink light. Harriet smiled and thanked the wisp for coming. As a girl, she was enchanted by the wisps and annoyed them by calling on them too often. This one bobbed in the air, but it wasn’t excitement Harriet felt from it.
“I know. Something’s not right, but there’s a cat in trouble here. I only want to see if she’s okay.” The request was innocent, but somehow, it hung heavily between them.
The wisp flitted back and forth before shining brighter as it moved deeper into the alley. There were no more tortured noises. No sounds at all. Which was even creepier than the yowling.
Harriet motioned to a dumpster about fifty feet away. “I think it was coming from there.”
Pinks and blues swirled to deeper violets, but the wisp continued to inch forward. Daring things, but not stupid.
Twenty feet from the dumpster, the shadows refused to budge any more for the ball of light. The wisp floated up, but even from above, its light didn’t penetrate the darkness.
Harriet’s legs were suddenly swept out from under her. She fell on her rear with a grunt and bent one wrist awkwardly. Hissing, she held the arm against her chest and rubbed it as she quickly drew her legs in to stand.
Something grabbed her right ankle and yanked her toward the dumpster. No form or aura. Not even movement in the shadows themselves.
Kicking and screaming, Harriet tried to stop herself with her other foot. Whatever had her out-muscled her, though. There was nothing to grab, and glancing over her shoulder, no one paused to look down the alley as they passed. It was as if she were cut off from the rest of the world.
Whatever had her was determined to drag her behind the dumpster. It was completely black behind there. Panic threatened to steal away her self-control, but Harriet couldn’t let that happen.
The wisp zipped down to her, but its light didn’t extend more than an inch or two. It was as if it were contained in black construction paper. It flickered as it tried to pump up its luminosity, but it could do nothing against whatever had inhabited the alley.
Harriet braced her left foot on the edge of the dumpster. She screamed again and pushed herself back, but the thing wouldn’t let go. Its grip tightened around her ankle, biting into the flesh.
There was nothing there for her to fight. What more could she do?
More. More light.
Her voice trembled as she called for more willow wisps. Over and over, she uttered the spell. A mantra to save her from this unseen enemy.
Two, four, eight, sixteen. Two dozen wisps zoomed toward her. Lights brighter than the headlights of an approaching big rig.
One little wisp couldn’t force back the darkness, but the great group enveloped her body with illumination. Whatever had her ankle let go, shrinking back behind the dumpster.
Harriet caught a glimpse of a mangled feline, innards split in opposite directions. There would be no saving the cat. Scrambling to her feet, she could still save herself.
With a few whispers, the wisps formed a brilliant shield around her. Not that Harriet could see anything in the darkness, so she kept her eyes on it as she backed out of the
She’d dedicated her life to healing and wasn’t a warrior witch. What could she do against evil creatures without preparing a spell or potion? Harriet wet her lips and let out a long breath. Be smart. Take one step at a time.
The dark. Every instinct told her not to walk into it. She wasn’t going to leave without seeing if the cat was all right, though.
So take care of the darkness. That was easy enough. One of the first summoning spells she’d learned from her aunt was to call forth a willow-o’-the-wisp.
Harriet murmured the spell—more a call for aid—and swirled her left hand in the air around three times counter-clockwise. A lot of magic was simple since it was a matter of intent.
Something fluttered over her shoulder bringing a soft, shifting blue and pink light. Harriet smiled and thanked the wisp for coming. As a girl, she was enchanted by the wisps and annoyed them by calling on them too often. This one bobbed in the air, but it wasn’t excitement Harriet felt from it.
“I know. Something’s not right, but there’s a cat in trouble here. I only want to see if she’s okay.” The request was innocent, but somehow, it hung heavily between them.
The wisp flitted back and forth before shining brighter as it moved deeper into the alley. There were no more tortured noises. No sounds at all. Which was even creepier than the yowling.
Harriet motioned to a dumpster about fifty feet away. “I think it was coming from there.”
Pinks and blues swirled to deeper violets, but the wisp continued to inch forward. Daring things, but not stupid.
Twenty feet from the dumpster, the shadows refused to budge any more for the ball of light. The wisp floated up, but even from above, its light didn’t penetrate the darkness.
Harriet’s legs were suddenly swept out from under her. She fell on her rear with a grunt and bent one wrist awkwardly. Hissing, she held the arm against her chest and rubbed it as she quickly drew her legs in to stand.
Something grabbed her right ankle and yanked her toward the dumpster. No form or aura. Not even movement in the shadows themselves.
Kicking and screaming, Harriet tried to stop herself with her other foot. Whatever had her out-muscled her, though. There was nothing to grab, and glancing over her shoulder, no one paused to look down the alley as they passed. It was as if she were cut off from the rest of the world.
Whatever had her was determined to drag her behind the dumpster. It was completely black behind there. Panic threatened to steal away her self-control, but Harriet couldn’t let that happen.
The wisp zipped down to her, but its light didn’t extend more than an inch or two. It was as if it were contained in black construction paper. It flickered as it tried to pump up its luminosity, but it could do nothing against whatever had inhabited the alley.
Harriet braced her left foot on the edge of the dumpster. She screamed again and pushed herself back, but the thing wouldn’t let go. Its grip tightened around her ankle, biting into the flesh.
There was nothing there for her to fight. What more could she do?
More. More light.
Her voice trembled as she called for more willow wisps. Over and over, she uttered the spell. A mantra to save her from this unseen enemy.
Two, four, eight, sixteen. Two dozen wisps zoomed toward her. Lights brighter than the headlights of an approaching big rig.
One little wisp couldn’t force back the darkness, but the great group enveloped her body with illumination. Whatever had her ankle let go, shrinking back behind the dumpster.
Harriet caught a glimpse of a mangled feline, innards split in opposite directions. There would be no saving the cat. Scrambling to her feet, she could still save herself.
With a few whispers, the wisps formed a brilliant shield around her. Not that Harriet could see anything in the darkness, so she kept her eyes on it as she backed out of the
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