Page 97 of Eternal Craving

“And I want that.”

“I know you do, my love.” I lowered my voice. “But there are risks.”

“What kind?”

“I thought that before we take that leap into the realm of the not going back, I should show you Deloris.” I pointed at the mausoleum.

“She’s in there?” Miranda asked, whispering now.

I nodded.

“Does she know we’re out here?”

“Of course.”

“She’s a?—”

“Immortality is just too much to bear for some.” I leaned against the door and listened. “I thought I’d wake her so that you could understand what that means.”

“Wait!”

“She’s quite harmless, just a little—” I gestured that Deloris was crazy.

“Are you saying that could happen to me?”

“That’soneof the risks, yes.”

“What’s another?”

“There’s always a possibility that when I turn you, I’ll take too much.”

“I think you have too much control now for that to happen.” She stared at the entrance to the mausoleum. “And I think you’re lying about Delores. There’s no one in there.”

I tried the handle. “Locked from the inside.”

She glared at me.

“Soon after I was turned, I slept in one of these.”

“Whatever for?”

“If you stray too far from home, you can get caught unawares by the dawn.”

“Then I won’t go too far.”

“And who will you feed upon, your neighbors?”

She bit down on her lower lip.

“Talk about bringing attention to yourself, Miranda.” I knocked on the tomb’s door. “Waking the undead usually upsets them. Good thing I’m a charmer.”

Miranda lifted the hem of her gown and sprinted off. I followed her back to the carriage.

The driver flicked the whip in the air, and the horses trotted off obediently.We headed home.

Deloris.I should’ve come up with a better name.

Had I turned Miranda prior to our evening soirée, her natural desire to find a victim would have facilitated the act. There was no remorse on my part for ensuring that my friend would not be joining the ranks of the undead.