Death Dates The Oracle (Nocturne Falls Book 15)

CONTENTS About The Book Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Chapter 34 Chapter 35 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Chapter 40 Chapter 41 Chapter 42 Chapter 43 Chapter 44 Chapter 45 Chapter 46 Chapter 47 Chapter 48 Chapter 49 Other Books By Kristen Painter DEATH DATES THE ORACLE: Nocturne Falls, Book Fifteen Copyright © 2023 Kristen Painter All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from the author. This book is a work of fiction. The characters, events, and places portrayed in this book are products of the author’s imagination and are either fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author. ISBN: 978-1-941695-80-7 Published in the United States of America Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year. The tourists think it's all a show: the vampires, the werewolves, the witches, the occasional gargoyle flying through the sky. But the supernaturals populating the town know better. Living in Nocturne Falls means being yourself. Fangs, fur, and all. Eamon Underwood isn’t what you’d call a social butterfly. In fact, he avoids people altogether, outside of his job at his uncle’s funeral home, where Eamon is the mortician. For him, being around the dead is easier than being around the living. Mostly because of his very curious gift that enables him to see just how long a person has left to live. That knowledge makes personal interaction far too difficult. Until he meets Troula Kouris. And sees…nothing. Troula comes to Nocturne Falls to join her crazy-cat-lady aunts as an oracle, one of the rare descendants of the original Greek oracles. She’s been preparing for it all of her life. Unfortunately, just before she leaves for Nocturne Falls, she gets an ominous prediction that leads her to believe becoming an oracle could be fatal. Or maybe the real danger is the darkly handsome neighbor who lives next door. When Troula and Eamon make a curious connection that leads to romance, it seems the fates want them together, despite the risks. Can a little orange kitten really solve all of their problems? Or will it all end in a catastrophe? For Jack, the best ginger boy ever. And to everyone who's ever had their heart stolen by an orange cat. A whiff of freshly spun cotton candy drifted past. Troula Kouris turned into it and inhaled. Was there anything else that smelled as good as just-made cotton candy? She needed some of that. Not the silly business of having her fortune told. “Come on, Tru. It’s just for laughs. And it’s your birthday!” Cindy Prentiss, another of the waitresses at Tru’s uncle’s restaurant, tugged on Tru’s arm, pulling her toward the tent that had a banner outside proclaiming: Madame Fatima, Seer of the Ages, and then in smaller print: $20, Cash Only. “It’s a waste of money. No one can really tell the future,” Tru lied and shook her head in answer to her friend’s question. The happy chaos of the county fair swirled around them. Noise from the rides and the people on them. Food vendors hawking their wares. Music booming from the stage. Add to that the sights and smells of the fair, and the place was like a human kaleidoscope of sensory input. She inhaled the scent of cotton candy again. “Plus, my birthday isn’t until tomorrow.” Cindy kept her grip on Tru. “I know that, but we’re celebrating tonight. Before you head off to your aunts’. And I know it’s not really real, but it’s fun.” “I don’t know …” Tru frowned. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in such things as fortune telling and soothsaying and all that. She did. She believed in it more than most, because she had aunts who sort of made their living that way. The aunts she was going to visit tomorrow. In fact, she was about to be able to see the future herself. But having a stranger tell her fortune seemed like it might be a borderline violation of supernatural rules. Would a vampire bite another vampire? Okay, it wasn’t exactly the same thing, but there was no telling if this Madame Fatima was real or just out for a quick buck. Probably the quick buck. There were only a small handful of people gifted with the genuine ability to peek through the veil of time. And an even smaller handful who were directly descended from the Greek Oracles and could accurately make predictions that would come to pass. There were a few other things Legacy oracles could do. But she’d learn more about that in the next few days. Tru knew all about the oracles, because she was one of them. She was a legacy. “I’d rather get a cotton candy.” “We’ll get a cotton candy after.” Cindy shot her a look. “Seriously, let’s have some fun. Don’t be so uptight.” “I am not uptight.” Cindy laughed. “No, you’re really not. But don’t you think it would be a hoot? Plus, it’s my treat. For your birthday. Listen, with the way you look tonight, she’s probably going to tell you that you’re about to meet a man. Like right here at the fair.” Tru laughed. “Yeah, okay. I do look good tonight, don’t I?” She’d taken extra time with her hair and makeup, knowing Cindy’s propensity for selfies every five minutes. Tru did not want