"Yep," Cora said. "I expect he'll be back at the hotel waiting for me, champing at the bit to get this hunt underway."
James offered her a sad smile. "I pray you're right, my dear," he said, holding out his hand.
"No prayer needed," Cora said, shaking the scholar's hand. She turned and made her way out of the British lord's retreat, ignoring the curious eyes that followed her. A shock of cold air greeted her when she opened the front door. She pulled her bandana back over her nose and stood on the porch for a few moments while her eyes grew accustomed to the fading light. A near-full moon rose above the eastern peaks, bathing the landscape in blue light. The evening stars answered with their own icy glitter. As she walked toward the horses, Cora marveled at how a peaceful night could harbor such horrors in its shadows.
The animals seemed irritated at being left to stand out in the cold. Cora patted Our Lady's neck in apology as she slid the rifle back into the saddle sheath. She swung herself into the saddle, pointed the mare's head in the direction of Leadville, and eased her into a trot. She kept a tight grip on Book's reins, making sure the gelding didn't get it into his head to race them back to town. After a short while, she urged Our Lady into her easy canter and gave Book a bit more slack.
Settling into the saddle, she let her thoughts wander back to what James had said. Surely the vampire had confused her for someone else when he claimed to have killed her husband. The image of Ben that she had seen must have been some black magic spell designed to take the form of anyone's husband or wife. A nasty trick, but that's all it had been. She smiled beneath her bandana, picturing Ben sitting up in their room, buried in a book. A good rap on the head with it and a quart of whiskey would set things right, and then they could go after the vampire bastard that started all of this.
As she neared town, Cora began giving honest thought to the question the scholar had asked right before she left. The nosferatu had seemed quite certain that they had met each other ten years before, but she couldn't place when or where. Only a handful of the monsters she and Ben had killed over the years had been any smarter than a cougar, and none of those had been vampires. The clever enemies were always humans dabbling in necromancy.
The answer hit her as she was riding up to the hotel stable, and she nearly fell out of the saddle at her own stupidity. She and Ben had smoked out a vampire nest near Denver about ten years ago with Father Baez. A raucous laugh erupted from her lungs. How could she have not realized it sooner? The vampires in that nest must have been other servants of this nosferatu, so of course it was out for revenge. Once they took care of it here in Leadville, they would have to stop in and tell Father Baez the good news. She led the horses into the stable and bedded them down, grinning to herself.
Her grin stayed with her as she entered the hotel and stamped her boots on the entry rug, drawing irritated looks from the few patrons sitting in the front room. She waved at the clerk behind the desk. Making no effort to be discreet, she thumped her way up the stairs to their room, and pulled the key from her pocket. The lock clicked, and she pushed open the door.
"Welcome back," said a voice behind her. She turned, her grin spreading into a genuine smile with the expectation of seeing her husband's face.
Golden eyes gazed back at her.
Hollering in surprise, she fell backward into the room, knocking the crucifix aside. The vampire remained in the hall, a smirk twisting his lips. "You seem surprised to see me, Cora. Were you expecting someone else? Your husband, perhaps?"
Cora yanked the revolver from her belt, pulled back the hammer, took aim at the smirk and fired. Blue smoke and thunder filled the room. When it cleared, her target had vanished. Cora pulled the hammer back a second time and got to her feet. The gunshot still rang in her ears. She strained through it, listening for any sign of the vampire's movements.