her head from the priest's shoulder. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. She took a deep breath, drawing fresh air into her lungs. Looking at Father Baez, she offered a sheepish smile.
"I'm so sorry, Cora," he said. "I know the memories are painful."
She shook her head, confused. "I don't get it, Father. I could have sworn Ben was with me all these years. Why, I saw him just yesterday, and he seemed as real as you do now."
"I wish I could explain it," Father Baez said.
"But I saw him that night, too," Cora said. "Or I heard him, anyway. He was in the basement of that house."
Father Baez shook his head. "I'm sorry, my dear. I examined the body in the farmer's kitchen, and it was your husband. I'm sure of it."
Another sob shuddered through her body as she nodded. Wrapping her arms around herself, she sat for a few minutes in silence, thinking about the memories she had just regained. She didn't want to believe them, but she couldn't deny the truth. Father Baez would not lie to her, and her memories fit with what Fodor Glava had said.
"I still don't get one thing," she said. "If what I remember now is the way it happened, how did I get out of that house alive? I remember getting hit over the head, and I must have blacked out."
A glimmer crept into the priest's dark eyes. "I followed you to the house that night," he said.
"What?" Cora asked. "What about that family?"
"I decided they would be safe," Father Baez said. "You had killed the vampires, and I figured any that remained would follow you. I prepared a lantern, tucked my crucifix into my belt, borrowed one of their horses, and set out for the nest."
"Did you see what hit me?"
The priest nodded. "When I arrived at the house, I heard you speaking to someone in the basement. It took me a few moments to find the right door, but when I did, I saw a figure crouching at the bottom of the stairs. I called out, and the man turned and looked at me. I'll never forget his face."
The priest paused, taking a deep breath. "He looked like any other man, even handsome, but his eyes were aflame with an unholy presence. They shone like gold medallions as he grinned at me. Without waiting for him to speak, I raised my crucifix and began quoting scripture. The man flinched, baring his teeth at me before running back into the shadows. When he did, I made my way down the stairs and found you lying on the floor, bleeding from your head."
"How did you carry me out?" Cora asked. "You ain't exactly built like a bull."
"I was a good deal younger then," the priest said, shrugging. "I crushed a garlic clove and spread it on the ground to keep the vampire from returning, then I dragged you back up the stairs and outside."
"And the vampire didn't follow you?"
"If he did, I didn't see him," Father Baez said.
Without warning, a fresh wave of sorrow washed over Cora. She lowered her head, but no more tears came. In their place, a dull ache spread behind her eyes. She wanted to curl up on the pew next to the priest and never move again. Everything was wrong. Her Ben was dead, and she was the one that killed him. She had pointed her gun in his face and pulled the trigger. It didn't matter that he was a vampire. Maybe she could have saved him somehow, but she didn't even try. She just shot him like a dog, snuffing out his life forever.
She couldn't take this. Standing to her feet, she began making her way back up the aisle.
"Where are you going, Cora?" Father Baez asked, rising from the pew.
"I got to find me a bottle," Cora said. "Ain't no way I can handle this on my own."
"Whiskey won't help, my dear," Father Baez said. "Please, stay with me and mourn your husband with dignity and grace." He tried to get in front of her, but she was walking too fast. "I will take you to his grave, and you can honor his memory there."
"I ain't fit to honor his memory," Cora said. "Not when I'm the one that shot him."
"He was already dead, Cora," Father Baez said. "You were purging the demon from his flesh so he could rest in peace. You saved him from the damnation of a false immortality."