western mountains; her time was short. The shadows inside the house still rumbled with the movements of the vampires, but they kept themselves hidden from her sight. She could charge down the basement stairs and hope to find Ben before they noticed, but she'd only have a minute or two at most. If she failed, neither of them would make it out alive. Still, she couldn't just abandon him to darkness and death.
Behind her, she heard a horse whinny. Cora pulled her hat low against the sun as she looked out at her mare. She was a new purchase, bought only a few months ago. Her last mount, a bay named St. Andrew, had been shot out from under her by a group of bandits. This new mare didn't have the stamina old Andrew had, but she had a gentler nature. Cora had taken to calling her Our Lady of Virginia.
Cora looked at her now, wondering how long it would take her to ride out to the farmhouse where she and Ben were staying. Father Baez was there, protecting the family in case they failed to root out the infestation. His help would be essential if she was going to storm the nest and rescue Ben, but she didn't want to leave her husband to be devoured by vampires.
Common sense finally won out. Cora smashed a vial of holy water on the front steps of the house, ran over to her mare, and swung up into the saddle. They hadn't bothered to tie their horses when they went in, so she turned the mare toward the eastern road and gave her a punch with her heels. Our Lady started off at a good canter, and Cora let her warm up as long as her patience allowed before breaking her out in a full gallop. The house shrank behind her, its whitewashed walls glowing in the sunlight.
As she rode, Cora kept replaying the scenario in the kitchen over and over in her mind, trying to figure out exactly what might have happened. The tracks she found in the dust showed no sign of a fight, so Ben hadn't been jumped by a vampire. If she had read the signs right, there was someone else still alive in the nest. How they had managed to hide from the vampires was beyond her, but maybe they knew of a secret place protected with holy water or garlic. If that was the case, maybe they'd hidden there with Ben when she'd drawn the nest's attention. All they had to do was wait for her to return with Father Baez. Cora whispered a prayer as she urged Our Lady forward into the approaching night.
By the time she flipped Our Lady's reins over a lowhanging branch in the farmhouse's front yard, the sun had already slipped behind the mountains. She glanced at the sky as she ran across the yard, cursing the evening stars for their eager arrival. Every minute that passed put Ben and his companion in greater danger.
Cora crashed through the door of the house, hollering for Father Baez before she cleared the entryway. The priest emerged from the kitchen a moment later. Behind him, she could see the worried faces of the farmer and his wife.
"What is it, Mrs Oglesby?" Father Baez asked.
"You got to come quick, Father," Cora said. "Ben's trapped down in the nest someplace, and I can't get him out by myself."
"Calm down, my dear, and tell me what happened."
The priest motioned for her to join them in the kitchen, but she remained where she was, her hands on her hips. She recounted the events at the abandoned house, adding her theory about the mysterious survivor's hiding place. When she finished, Father Baez stroked his salt-andpepper beard.
"A troubling situation, certainly."
"Right," Cora said with a nod. She took a few steps toward the door, then looked back over her shoulder at the priest. "Well, what are you waiting for?"
"I'm afraid I can't just abandon this family," Father Baez said. "The sun has already set, and they would be vulnerable if we both left."
"But we're leaving to whip the vampires," Cora said. "Once we do, they'll be safe as a pair of bear cubs with their ma."
"We may kill some of them, yes," the priest replied, "but there would be no guarantee that we would get all of them. This house is the closest to the nest, and the vampires have already attacked it the past two nights. You and Ben were