if a vampire Count had decided to kill off some rogues hiding out, I could take them. I almost hoped there would be more to it than that.
Something crashed in the trees ahead and I trained my gun on the sound. I waited for it to come for me, but whatever had snapped the branches wasn’t moving anymore. I wondered if it was my howler.
I approached warily, ready to fire. I didn’t have all the information here. I could be walking in on just about anything, including a torture house, something I never wanted to see again. Once long ago was enough for me to never want to repeat the experience.
An arm came into view, covered in blood. The fingers were twitching and I leveled my gun where his head would be. It was hidden by the base of a tree. I stepped around, ready to fire, but lowered my aim as soon as I saw what was lying there.
The wolf had started to shift but hadn’t made it very far. His plaid shirt was torn in the front, as were his throat and chest. It looked like his heart had been ripped from his body, a sure way to kill both a vampire and a werewolf.
The fingers stopped twitching. Dead eyes fell on me, the life already drained from them. It had taken him a few moments to die, but die he did.
I stepped around the dead wolf and crouched down to look through the few remaining trees, into a clearing where a double-wide trailer sat. There was no sign of the killer or the dead wolf ’s heart. The house was the only thing visible. The windows were still intact and lights were on inside. The back door was hanging open but showed little of what might be hiding inside.
There was blood in the yard. As my eyes scanned the grounds a second time, I noticed another body pressed up against the base of the house. I’d overlooked it before because there wasn’t much left of it. His head and arms lay scattered around the tattered torso like so much debris.
My throat constricted as I considered that. I glanced back at the wolf behind me, really looking him over. His chest hadn’t been cut open with a knife. I could see scrapes on his face and arms that could only be made by werewolf claws.
And his friend out there? I’d have to get a closer look, but it would be a shock if his head hadn’t been severed by a blade.
This was exactly what I had been looking for.
A surge of excitement shot through me. I scanned the rest of the yard, but there was nothing within sight that would give the attackers away. I could still hear scuffling somewhere outside. It didn’t sound like it was coming from within the house. It sounded too far away for that.
Someone screamed and I stepped out of the trees, making for the side of the house in a low crouch. I could see the driveway from where I was. A pickup truck was parked just off it. The doors were closed and weeds had started to grow up around the wheels. It had been there for a while.
I pressed my back up against the side of the trailer, straightening. I peeked through a window and, seeing nothing, moved on. The fighting was definitely going on outside. I just had to find the combatants and put an end to it.
I moved silently and quickly, keeping myself low. My eyes never stopped moving. If something so much as twitched, I was going to put a bullet into it. I wasn’t positive we were dealing with our murderers, but it was a good bet I’d stumbled onto them. I was taking no chances.
I glanced around the corner of the house and when I saw no one, I slid around the side to work my way to the front.
An agonized wail was silenced almost as soon as it started. It sounded close, closer than I expected, and I froze. Something growled from about a dozen feet away, though I couldn’t see it from where I stood.
The sound of tearing flesh came soon after.
I crept the rest of the way around the side of the house, gun trained ahead. As I reached the corner, two men came into view. The first was clearly dead, his head barely hanging on by a thread. Blood was splattered across the grass, turning it black in the dim light