"Whatever you say," Cora said, tossing up her hands and following him outside. Although she walked in the shadow of the building, she still had to squint against the afternoon sunlight glimmering on the peaks around them. Most of the men had already mounted and were facing the road leading back to Harcourt's retreat. The sight brought a smile to her lips. At least they were all making it out alive.
Cora looked skyward, trying to gauge the remaining daylight, but all she saw was a dark shape plummet from the roof onto the British scholar. James didn't have time to holler before the vampire drove him into the ground. His legs thrashed against it, tossing snow into the air, but the vampire held him down. The snow muffled his cry as the fangs sank into the back of his neck.
"In nomine Patris!" Cora's boots pounded across the snow as she drew her saber. Diving into the undead monster point-first, she knocked it clear of James's prostrate form. Vampire and hunter rolled over the ground, snow sticking to the gray flesh. The monster ended up on top, Cora's sword lodged in its side. Smoke poured from the wound, but the creature ignored it and wrapped cold fingers around her braid. She spat curses and struggled against the iron grip. It seemed to mock her, baring its fangs in front of her eyes instead of sinking them into her throat.
Then, without warning, the vampire turned and leapt away.
The rushing of cold air into her lungs drowned out the screams at first. When they reached her ears, she picked her head up and squinted at the sound. The dark shape of the vampire crouched on the snow, pinning a writhing pair of legs beneath it. Beyond it, a riderless horse stamped in fear among the rest of the mounted men, who were backing up into the sunlight. Cora struggled to her feet before realizing that her sword was still stuck in the monster's side. She pulled her pistol from her belt and forced her legs into a run.
The vampire heard her approach and raised its head, blood soaking its matted beard. Even at this distance, Cora could see the gleam in its eyes as it reveled in the fresh kill. She pointed her revolver at that gleam and squeezed the trigger. The gunshot echoed against the wall of the mining complex. Smoke erupted from the vampire's forehead as it pitched backward into the snow.
Cora didn't check her stride, her boots kicking up small chunks of snow. She could sense the line of men on horseback staring at her, but she ignored them, keeping her revolver trained on the fallen vampire. It lay sprawled on its back, one hip jutting toward the afternoon sky. She pressed the toe of her boot into the mottled shoulder, pushed it over, pulled her sword free, and lopped off the monster's head. She considered it for a moment, then looked up at the line of mounted men. Before they could react, she raised her boot and kicked the head straight at them. A number of them hollered, holding up their arms to protect their faces, but the head left the mountain's shadow before it reached them and disintegrated into a fine dust.
"That isn't very amusing," one of the men said.
Cora's smirk widened, but she didn't reply. Instead, she turned and inspected the vampire's victim. It was an elderly man clad in a tweed suit beneath his wool coat. Puncture wounds lined both sides of his throat. Dark streaks of blood trailed down his neck into the snow, but no fresh blood flowed.
Footsteps approached, and she glanced up. James looked disheveled, his glasses crooked and his tie loose around his neck. His face contorted with sorrow when he recognized the fallen man.
"Ah, poor Edward," he said. "I knew I shouldn't have brought him."
"He is kind of old for this work, ain't he?" Cora said.
James nodded. "I even told him as much back at the retreat, but he insisted on coming. Old fool kept blathering on about his duty to House Harcourt and all of that, so I finally agreed. Now look where I got him."
"Ain't your fault, James," Cora said. "Why, you should be thanking your lucky stars that it ain't you where he is right now."
"I suppose you deserve the majority of the thanks," James said.
"Well, then, I reckon you owe me a drink," Cora said. "Anyhow, this feller's already working his way toward becoming a vampire himself,