spots, kill the vampires as they lay sleeping … but put it quickly to the side. The chances of her finding their hiding place, and having time to attack the vampires who lay there, were slim. Beyond that, it would take her far too much time. And she did not have that luxury.
She rounded a turn in the path at a full run, her heart heavy at the thought of the scene that was coming, and drew to a sudden stop. She had already arrived at Rowan’s house, and now—long after her run had started—her heart began to pound. Now was the time when she had to carry her heaviest burden: telling a family that their loved one had perished. It wasn’t the first time she’d donned this mantle, but she’d never found it to be easy.
Slowly, and with sad, dragging steps, she moved forward, Rowan a terrible weight over her shoulder, her mind flying through the possible explanations she could use, her heart crying out against the unfairness of it all.
When she knocked, Rowan’s wife answered. “Thank God you’re home, we were so—” she began. Then she saw Angeline, and her eyes flew to Rowan, thrown over Angeline’s shoulder.
All color drained from her face.
“Oh my God, Angeline, what’s happened?” she gasped.
Angeline’s heart felt as though it was breaking, but she stumbled across the doorstep and laid Rowan gently down on the bed in the corner. Looking up, she noticed the two girls—only five and eight, if she remembered correctly—their eyes big with shock at the sight of their fallen father. They would grow up without knowing him well, she realized, and would have to learn to work for their supper. The family would be forever changed, and not only by that … they had also lost a father. A husband. A source of support.
“I found him in the forest,” she said quietly. “Louis and Geoffrey happened upon him and came for me immediately. I’m so sorry, Joss, by the time I got there … ” Her voice faded away. The animals were at him. The vampires had done their damage and left. Those who’ve come for me had already killed him.
But she could give none of those explanations, for they would only frighten the family further, leave more questions without answers. The people in these woods, like most humans in the world, did not believe in vampires; they thought they were imaginary creatures used to scare children. They knew that the Red Hood kept them safe but did not fully realize what she kept them safe from . And Angeline was not about to violate that innocence.
“It looks as though the wolves got him,” she finally said. “Or perhaps some madman in the forest.”
Joss gasped, already on her knees at Rowan’s side, and let her forehead drop to his chest. “Rowan,” she sobbed. “Rowan, please speak to me. Don’t leave us!”
Angeline watched for a moment, knowing that he would never speak to them again, and then moved over and put her hand on Joss’s shoulder.
“I do not know who or what killed him, Joss, or why. I do not know what I can do about it, truly. But I promise you this: I will do everything in my power to find this man or beast and bring them to justice. Your husband’s death will be avenged.”
She turned and walked out the door without waiting for an answer, for she knew there would be none. For now, she’d given all the comfort she could, and she would support the family in the coming days as they felt the loss more keenly.
For now, however, she had but one goal, and one thought. She must find the master vampire and destroy him before he and his coven killed again.
9
W hen Angeline arrived back at her cottage after a quick, tense walk through the woods, she paused. She’d spent the walk worrying—about both the coming night around her and the possibility that there were vampires in it, waiting to harm the innocents around her. Her daughters. The villagers.
Merlin was right: She had to choose one of her girls and begin training immediately. If she didn’t, and if she were