She strained her eyes against the shadows, searching for a telltale glow of undead eyes or the glimmer of the lamplight on glistening fangs. Even if she couldn't see them, she could sense them. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
They were being hunted.
Cora looked at James. His eyes were white behind his spectacles. Pointing with the barrel of her revolver, she first indicated a lantern, then the staircase they had just descended. He nodded and tiptoed over to the wooden stairs. He placed a lantern on a step about chest high and looked back at her. She nodded, then pointed to a large rock just in front of her. The scholar set the second lantern down and stepped back to stand beside her.
The sound of the approaching footsteps was uneven, like a drunkard's staggering walk, but it was drawing nearer. Cora turned her back on James and tapped the butt of her Winchester with her pistol. After a moment's hesitation, the rifle's weight lifted as James pulled it from the scabbard. Twisting to face him, she saw him turning the weapon over in his hands. She nudged him and with her saber mimicked pumping the action. A loud click echoed through the darkness as he chambered a round. Nodding, she pulled back the hammer of her Colt. They took up stations with their backs as close to the cavern's wall as they could, the light from the lanterns glowing on their guns.
They waited.
Cora's pulse thundered in her ears. From the sounds, it was only a single creature, but that would be enough. Vampires were fast and strong, able to tear off an arm or a head in seconds. If it caught her off-guard, they would both die. James was just as likely to shoot himself or her as he was to hit the monster. She crossed herself with her pistol, praying that he at least had the sense to carry some sort of ward with him.
The sound changed, shifting to the dull thud of footsteps on wood. The creature was following their trail. Soon, she could hear hesitant steps on the wooden stairs. She turned to face the lantern James had placed there, raised her pistol, and waited for the creature to show itself.
A shadow erupted from beyond the lantern's glow, hurtling toward James with blinding speed. James toppled backward with a cry, the monster on top of him. Cora could see the pale fingers tangled in the scholar's hair, pulling his chin up. With a howl of hunger, the vampire sank its teeth into the soft flesh of his exposed neck.
A moment later, another howl shook the cavern as Cora's saber clove the undead flesh. She brought her sword arm around for another strike, but the vampire's clawed fingers gouged at her face. The impact knocked her backward as the saber clattered to the stone floor. Before she could recover, the vampire's weight slammed into her chest. A cold hand clamped onto her skull like a bear trap, forcing her head backward. In desperation, she dropped her pistol and wrapped her fingers around the vampire's throat, pushing against it as needle-sharp fangs snapped inches above her throat.
The strain on her arms suddenly lifted as the vampire let out a bellow. It staggered to its feet and turned toward James, hissing in anger. As it turned, Cora could see a small wooden cross protruding from its back. The flesh around the wound smoked and sizzled as the monster crouched, preparing to launch itself at the frightened scholar.
A brilliant flash blinded them all for a moment as the thunder of Cora's Colt filled the cavern. The sacred bullet punched through the vampire's leg, and the monster let out a screech of pain. Cora pulled back the hammer. When the vampire turned toward her, she fired again, aiming for its heart. The impact blew it backward over James's prostrate form and into the stone wall. Cora hauled herself to her feet, recovered her saber, and drove the tip into the vampire's chest. The life faded from its eyes, and the empty body tumbled to the floor of the cavern.
Cora holstered her revolver, rolled the body over, and pulled the still-smoking cross from its flesh. She wiped both the cross and her saber on the vampire's ragged pants, then looked over her shoulder at James.
"You still with me, George?"
"I'm not sure," James replied. He rose on unsteady legs and braced himself against a boulder. Once on his feet,