She made a sound of disgust at his warning. "I'm wandering through the dark with a vampire, searching for a gaggle of witches who may or may not flay us alive. You think I'm not on my guard?"
He gave a small tug to pull her close, his hand gently cupping her face.
"What I think is that the worst is yet to come," he murmured.
"Perfect." Allowing her gaze to meet his own, she momentarily stilled. The stark awareness flared in her eyes then; with a faint shake of her head, she took an awkward step backward. "I suppose we might as well get this over with."
Swooping down, he pressed a swift kiss to her not-quite-steady lips.
"Stay behind me, and if you sense anything, let me know," he whispered against her mouth.
She swallowed heavily as he pulled back. "I promise you'll be the first to hear my scream."
"Right."
Keeping her fingers laced tightly in his, Dante moved directly toward the thicket of trees. Behind him Abby stumbled and occasionally cursed at the underbrush, but she managed to keep up with his smooth stride. Within a quarter of an hour, they at last stepped into a clearing.
Directly in the center was a plain three-story brick structure with several wooden outbuildings. There was nothing about it to suggest that it was anything other than a farmhouse. In fact, it was rather depressingly normal.
Precisely what the witches would desire.
Unlike vampires, they had no ability to disguise themselves from curious eyes. They were forced to hide in plain sight.
Abby hesitantly stepped to his side, her brow furrowed in puzzlement.
'You're certain this is the coven?"
'Yes," he murmured, keeping to the shadows as he cautiously led her closer to the structure.
"It seems—"
"Dead?" he finished, halting as they came to a large side window.
'^feah, that about sums it up," she agreed in shaky tones.
A swift glance through the tinted panes also summed it up. The carnage was impressive, worthy of the darkest soul, but Dante did not allow his gaze to linger. No one within had been left to tell the tale.
Pulling back, he allowed his gaze to slide over the remaining buildings.
"Are you going inside?" Abby demanded from behind.
"No. I cannot enter."
"Damn."
He turned to offer her a wry smile. "Actually, it's a good thing."
"Why?"
"It means that at least some of the witches survived the attack," he explained. "Otherwise the barrier would be broken."
"What?"
His undead heart twitched at the sight of her features that were unbearably fragile.
"It doesn't matter. They must have fled. I'll see if I can pick up their trail."
Her mouth dropped open in dismay. "More walking?"