"I ain't a fool, Benjamin," she said. "I seen how you don't care much for this work."
"That ain't true," Ben said. "You know I ain't no coward, shying away from them demons that we fight."
"Never said you was," Cora said. "All I said was you don't care for it." Ben was about to protest again, but she put her hand over his mouth. "Don't you argue with me. You ain't no soldier or fighter. You're a reading man, just like that James Townsend feller."
"Well, I am partial to my books," Ben said, "but that don't mean I don't enjoy our work. Fact is, I enjoy it a good deal. Doing the Lord's work always makes me happy."
"There's plenty to do in the Lord's service that don't involve shooting and riding into trouble," Cora said. "We could print out Bibles or some such."
Ben smiled at her. "You'd never be happy doing that and you know it."
"No, but we've done what I like for a long time now. It's only fair we do what you want for a change."
"You really mean that?" Ben asked.
"Wouldn't say it if I didn't," she said. "I reckon I can put up with ink and machines for a spell if we do this job without getting ourselves killed. Running a press ought to give these old bones a chance to rest, anyway."
Ben searched her face for a moment, then smiled and kissed her. "Well, if you're serious, I ain't saying no."
Cora smiled and kissed him back. "Good. I wasn't above knocking you on the head and dragging you along if you was going to be stubborn about it." Without another word, she rolled over, blew out the lamp, and settled in for a sleep.
ELEVEN
The next morning, Cora met James Townsend at Lord Harcourt's retreat, where he had prepared a coach to take them to the infested mine. He offered her a cup of tea before they set out, but she declined.
"Suit yourself," he said as the coach jerked into motion.
"I hope this ain't far," Cora said, watching tea splash on the floor of the carriage despite his best efforts to hold the cup still. "You're like to be baptized in Earl Grey before much longer."
"I've never quite mastered this art, I'm afraid," James said, drinking what little liquid remained. "I've always taken tea around this time of the morning, however, and old habits die hard."
Cora smiled briefly, then turned her attention out the window. The carriage rumbled along a wide road overlooking a meadow. The morning sun glinted off the snow in a thousand tiny rainbows. In the distance, a dark green carpet of trees draped across the lower slopes of the mountains. Above them, stony peaks towered toward the cloudless sky.
Watching the perfect landscape roll by, Cora had to remind herself that evil slept beneath it somewhere, waiting for the cover of nightfall to pour out. She tried to imagine how much damage a dozen vampires could do to a small place like Leadville, and all she could picture were bloody streets and shrieks of terror.
"That reminds me," she said, turning back to James. "Why ain't these vampires taken over the town yet?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Well, from what you said, these suckers ain't scared of crosses and garlic and what have you, so why ain't they swarmed all over those helpless folks in town?"
James looked out the window for a moment. "To be honest, I can't say for sure," he finally said. "It's confused me as well. My best explanation is that my efforts have frustrated them, if only somewhat. Even the nosferatu are pained by the presence of such wards, though they possess the cunning to avoid or circumvent them."
"But they can't actually get rid of them?"
"Not to my knowledge, no," James said. "In fact, such weapons are still effective at combating a nosferatu."
Cora blinked. "Is that right? I thought you said they wasn't scared of them."
"I said they are capable of mastering their fear of them and driving the lesser vrykolakas to do the same. You'll find that touching a nosferatu with a crucifix will produce as satisfying a result as it would on their lesser kin."
"Well, that's good," Cora said. "From what you said last night, I was starting to think they was unkillable."
"Don't misunderstand me," James said, looking her in the eye. "They aren't to be taken lightly. The foe we face is possibly the most dangerous one you will encounter in your life. If you approach it with