Cronin's Key III by N.R. Walker Read Free Book Online

is no comparison. Though I am pleased he found his fated one.
And Johan, of all people! They deserve the happiness they’ve found
in each other, don’t you think?”
    Alec nodded, but he knew he had to confess what was truly
troubling him. “I worry this
new war is one I cannot win,” Alec finally admitted. “I worry for
the pain it will cause you if I were to die.”
    Cronin brushed the snow from Alec’s hair and the side of
his face, though it was only replaced afresh not half a second
later. “Oh, Alec. Fear not,
m’cridhe. I would follow you through this life and the
next.”
    “ Is that what you were curious about? In the hut?” Alec
asked. “At first I thought you were just interested because it was… him . But it’s
more than that, isn’t it.” It wasn’t a question. “It’s the whole
afterlife thing.”
    “ Alec, cast Willem
from your mind. Think only of us and no more of him. But before I
answer your question, do you think we might seek a more hospitable
location?” Cronin paused as a squall of snow hammered them both
from the side.
    Alec had
barely nodded before Cronin put his hand to his arm and leapt them.
The warm night air in Johannesburg was a startling change. Melting
fast, clumps of snow fell off them onto the dirt alleys of the
Diepsloot slums and puddles of water quickly pooled at their
feet.
    Alec was instantly bombarded with a
few hundred thousand voices in his head before he shut them out. He
knew why Cronin had chosen this place: he wanted to
feed.
    Cronin shook himself off, much like a
dog, and it made Alec laugh. He did the same, but he was still
drenched through. “Maybe Antarctica wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever
had.”
    Cronin snorted. “Well, you’ll
certainly give the geologists and climate change experts something
to talk about. That crack in the middle of the continent will have
them scratching their heads for a time, I’m sure.”
    “ It felt good to punch something that hard,” Alec admitted.
    “ It was magnificent to
witness.”
    “ I’m sorry if my anger
took you by surprise,” Alec said.
    “ I cannot lie and say that I don’t find your jealousy
appealing,” Cronin said with a sly smile. “I rather like seeing you
get possessive of me.”
    Alec snorted
at that. “If I could have reached through Jorge’s mind, I would
have ripped Willem’s head from his body.” He shrugged. “I’m sure
he’s a nice guy and all, but he’s done things with you
that—”
    Cronin put
his finger to Alec’s lips. “Think no more of him.”
    “ I’m sorry I let my
jealousy and pride come before you.”
    “ Think no more of it, m’cridhe. You don’t owe me an
explanation or apology.”
    Well, that wasn’t true, but before
Alec could argue, Cronin spoke again. “Can I ask you
something?”
    “ Of course.”
    “ It’s about what you see
when you look into Jorge’s mind. Can you see where they
are?”
    Alec shook his head. “Nothing
specific. The whole concept of there being an afterlife is
fascinating to you, isn’t it?”
    “ How can it not be?” Cronin countered. “To even consider
that there is such a thing for us—” He shook his head in wonder.
“—a heaven! For us!”
    Truth be told, Alec hadn’t given
heaven much credence. Not as a human and certainly not as a
vampire. He wasn’t a religious man, so the notion of heaven and
hell fell by the wayside. But it was clearly something Cronin
prized.
    “ A heaven or next life,” Alec amended. “I don’t know what or
where it is exactly. I can’t see details of their
surroundings.”
    Alec could feel the undercurrent of peace it gave Cronin,
to know there was more to life, even if this one were to
end. “It confounds me to
consider our own mortality,” Cronin said. “We are granted im mortality in this life, yet here we are faced with a
hereafter. It baffles me.”
    “ Do you think you’re not
deserving?”
    “ Well, in leaving behind
my humanity, I also left behind a mindfulness for