Page 89 of Twilight Longings

He hesitated a moment, then nodded.

“We want to have a baby,” Kadie said, with a tentative smile. “So, is there any chance Rylan can be human again?”

“Possibly. I shall have to consult my grimoires. Except for you, my dear, I know of no vampire who has found his way back to his human self.”

“But there’s a chance it can be done?”

“I suppose there is always a chance.” The witch fixed her gaze on Saintcrow. “You realize that my fee will have to be paid in advance. I have no need for human blood.”

“I understand,” he said, ruefully.

“It will take me a few days to find the answer and the spell, if there is one,” Izabela said, her tone brisk.

With a nod, Saintcrow stood, drawing Kadie up beside him.

Rising, with the kitten cradled against her breast, the witch saw them to the door.

Outside, Saintcrow wrapped his arm around Kadie’s waist and willed them back to Morgan Creek.

“She’s kind of scary, isn’t she?” Kadie remarked as she went into the kitchen for a cup of coffee and a buttermilk doughnut.

“She’s a witch,” Saintcrow said from the doorway. Leaning against the jamb, he watched Kadie plug in the coffee pot and place a doughnut on a plate. If the Medallion worked, his whole life would change overnight. What would it be like to eat solid food, drink something besides blood and wine, sleep nights, dream again? He would miss being able to think himself wherever he wanted to go, scale a wall, leap over a building, lift a car, mask his presence. His wounds would no longer heal instantly. He would be subject to illness and death. He had rarely given much thought to the hereafter, had always assumed that his soul was bound for hell.

“Rylan?”

“Hmm?”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Contemplating humanity,” he said, with a shrug. “Wondering what a doughnut tastes like.”

Moving toward him, she kissed him lightly. “Pretty soon, maybe you’ll find out.”

Maybe you’ll find out.Those four words haunted him long after Kadie had fallen asleep that night. Lying in bed beside her, he tried to imagine what it would be like to be human again. He tried to remember what it had been like all those years ago when he’d been a mortal man. He had been strong and virile, taller than most. He’d had his pick of women, both highborn and low. He tried to remember what it had been like to sit at a well-laid table, eat a full-course meal, make polite conversation. He couldn’t recall what it felt like to be tired or ill, or to have injuries that took weeks to heal.

Suddenly restless, he slipped out of bed, pulled on a pair of jeans and left the house, barefooted and shirtless. Standing on the porch, he gazed at the town. Save for the hotel, all the shops and houses were dark.

He closed his eyes. He loved the night. The darkness, the quiet. The south wind caressed his skin and whispered her secrets in his ear. The moon smiled on him. He could feel the gentle vibration of the earth beneath his feet. How could he give all this up?

Human.Saintcrow shuddered. Taking a deep breath, he murmured, “You can do it. For Kadie.” He loved her more than his own life.

He opened his preternatural senses, ever on the alert for some sign of Eleni, but the only vampires in Morgan Creek belonged there.

A faint movement drew his eye. “Kincaid. What are you doing wandering around the town?”

Jake shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep. My best friend has a lot on his mind.”

“He surely does.”

“I probably shouldn’t say anything, but, dammit, Saintcrow. I don’t want you to be human again. We’ve been friends a hell of a long time. Hell, you’re the only real friend I’ve got. I know we can still be friends if you go ahead with this crazy scheme, but it won’t be the same.”

“I know that. Don’t you think I know that? I wouldn’t even consider it for anyone but Kadie.”

“Dammit, she has no right to ask that of you!”

“She’s the only one who does. She chose to be a vampire because she wanted to stay with me.”

Kincaid grunted. “She wouldn’t have chosen it if she hadn’t been dying.”

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