she began exploring the house.
"They are not at home."
Victoria's heart stopped. Her head snapped around. Red eyes gleamed at her.
Without thinking, Victoria sprinted across the room and up the narrow staircase. Darkness enveloped her. At the top, she found a hallway with doors in both walls. Choosing the door on the right, she slammed her body into it. Wood cracked, and the door fell open. A bedroom. She dashed to the sole window and tried to open it. It was sealed. She would have to break it. Something in the room, a chair or a lamp, could do it. She turned from the window to search.
A face looked back at her.
Victoria screamed, jumping backward into the wall. Something was crouched on the bed. It had a human shape, but the face was horribly misshapen. Teeth erupted from its mouth in jagged clumps, mashing together in a tangled mass that poked through the remains of a beard. One eye was missing, torn out by whatever carved the gash that ran from the monster's right temple to its left cheek; the remaining eye regarded her with feral hunger as its teeth clicked together.
The creature placed a hand on the bedpost, edging closer to her. She pressed herself against the wall. Tearing her eyes from the horror, she glanced to her right. The door hung on its hinges at an odd angle, damaged by her violent entrance, but it was still open.
A hiss of air whistled through crooked teeth. Victoria kept the monstrosity in sight as she worked her way toward the door. Its eye watched her progress with a predator's interest, but the creature didn't lunge for her. Instead, it crawled down onto the floor, keeping pace with her. Remains of a shirt and trousers hung from its bones. Powerful legs coiled beneath it, ready to spring.
Another hiss broke Victoria's nerve, and she ran. Her bare feet carried her back into the hall and down the stairs. She could hear the thumping of the creature's limbs on the floor. Reaching the lower level, she risked a quick glance over her shoulder. A grey shape loped along only a few paces behind her. Fresh terror gave her a boost of speed, and she careened through the open front door into the night.
Rocks jabbed at her feet, but she didn't feel them. Small cacti scratched her exposed ankles, but she didn't care. Her lungs burned, her eyes watered, but she kept going. All that mattered was outrunning the thing behind her. She could see the barn ahead of her. Maybe she could hide in there, or find something to fight with, a pitchfork or a shovel. Anything was better than facing it down with nothing but her dressing gown and overcoat.
The barn was close now. Victoria put all her energy into one last sprint. Head down, she rounded the corner and collided with the strange man.
Bouncing back from the impact, Victoria lost her balance and fell. The man stood over her in an instant, boots planted on either side of her chest. His blue eyes burned down at her. Moonlight lit his face, and she saw his features for the first time. Shaggy hair covered his ears and fell in straight locks across his cheeks. A beard, welltrimmed, framed his lips, brushing up beneath his nose. But for his eyes, he looked like an ordinary man, even handsome. Denim trousers and a roughspun, button-up shirt identified him as a local.
"Howdy, darlin."
Victoria dug her palms into the dirt and shoved backward. Rolling onto her stomach, she pulled her legs under her in an effort to double back the way she came. A glance ahead stopped her cold; the creature from the bedroom crouched on all fours, waiting for her. She rose to her feet and turned to face the man. Her hope of escape was gone, but she refused to cower before him a second time.
A grin spread his lips. "You sure ain't hard on the eyes, you know that?" His blue gaze swept up and down her body. "I always do get randy at the sight of a woman in her bed clothes. Guess part of me is still a man."
His laughter made her skin crawl. "Is that why you kidnapped a helpless woman at night?"
"I reckon that had something to do with it," he said, "though hell knows it ain't the only reason. Fact is, it wasn't even my idea."
"Whose was it?"
"Hers," he said. "She ain't bad, but I never go in for