light to take a tentative step toward the stall door. The straw crackled beneath her weight, and she winced at the sound. Two more steps, and she was close enough to reach the edge of the wall to her left. Her fingers clamped on to the wood, heedless of splinters. Wrapping her arms around the post, she nearly wept in relief. She was making it. Her kidnapper, confident in his speed and strength, must have left her alone. Perhaps he had gone to find another victim, or simply gone in search of rope to tie her up. Whatever the reason, she fully intended to be gone when he returned. Smiling at the thought, she poked her head out of the stall and looked around.
Two pale points of red light hung in the darkness.
Victoria sucked in a breath. The lights did not move or change. They weren't lanterns or any sort of electric light, yet they seemed familiar somehow. Wracking her memory for a moment, she realized she had seen the same red glow in the eyes of her father's hounds at night as she passed the kennels. Relief washed over her, and she nearly laughed out loud. Those lights were just the eyes of some animal, most likely a raccoon or mouse, watching her. It was probably more frightened of her than she was of it. The thought gave her courage. She may be alone in a strange country, but she still had her wits and the use of her limbs. Breathing a small sigh, she turned away from them and started searching for the barn's exit.
A rustling.
Her heart leapt into her throat. Turning toward the sound, she was again greeted by those two points of light floating like will-o'-the-wisps in the sea of shadows. Only now they were moving. Terror anchored her feet in place. She willed them to move, drawing on every bit of strength she had left, but they remained welded to the barn floor. Helpless, she watched the eyes advance. Straw rustled. Somewhere in the night, an animal screamed.
A figure stepped into a shaft of moonlight. Shadows of a head and long hair appeared around the floating lights. She could make out shapes like arms and legs moving in slow strides, each step bringing the thing closer. It passed in and out of the moonlight as it came, making it seem to grow closer in sudden leaps. The haunting lights remained fixed on her. Her mind screamed at her body to run, to fight, to move, but it only responded with a racing heart and shallow, ragged breaths.
Moonlight passed over the shadow's face, revealing a woman's features. It stopped as if to let her take in the sight. Skin creased in thin shadows around the glowing eyes, smoothing out over a broad nose and high cheekbones. The woman's lips pressed together, forming a line of darkness like a scar beneath her nose.
"Who are you?"
Victoria's own voice startled her. It quavered, thin and reedy.
The woman's head cocked to one side. Red eyes glimmered.
"Who."
The word was clear, oddly accented, but the voice was human.
"Where am I?"
"Who," the woman repeated in the same calm voice.
Victoria's tongue ran over her lips. "Can you understand me?"
"Who."
The strange conversation only fueled Victoria's fear. Was this woman simple-minded? Was she mad? Who or what was she?
"You sound like a goddamned owl," said a voice from above them. Victoria's eyes darted upward. Blue orbs burned in the darkness, regarding her with murderous intensity. A scream burst from her throat, and the new voice laughed. "And you sound like a coyote. Am I the only human here?"
There was a sliding sound, and the eyes plummeted toward the ground. Boots clapped against wood as the intruder landed. He straightened up, eyes leering at her from a shadow. A swath of moonlight fell across his torso, illuminating a belt buckle and button-up shirt. The fall would have broken any man's legs, but he seemed unharmed. "Then again, I ain't exactly human my own self."
Victoria's limbs finally responded. She slid into a halfcrouch, arms splayed out, ready for the man to attack her. He responded with another laugh. "Ain't you just a regular tom cat? Never would have guessed you lady Brits was so feisty. I should've bagged me one a long time ago."
"What do you want with me?" Victoria demanded, fear lending strength to her voice.
"A man has needs, darlin," the man said, "and I ain't just any old man. I'm quite a bit more, if you