Samuel teased her horribly. And he was cruel to her. Heâd walk by and make her drop her books. Heâd trip her.â
âAh. Not at all a gentleman,â Cole noted.
âOne day he sat behind her. He didnât just dip her hair in an inkwellâhe managed to jump up and dump the entire thing all over her. He pretended it was all a massive mistake and he didnât even get in trouble. So, when we were out playing and he started calling her Blue Face, I charged him. He and I started to fight and there were kids all around us, cheering for one or the other of us. He started to take a real swing at me and I ducked and thenâ¦â
âAnd then?â
âI bit him.â
âAnd what happened? Children do bite when theyâre tussling on the school grounds.â
She shook her head, looking straight before her, and then meeting his eyes again.
âI liked it. I liked the flow of his blood into my mouth, and I didnât want to let him go. Our teacher had to get help to drag me off him, and when my mother came for meâ¦she was horrified and upset, and she sat me down that afternoon and told me about my father, but she said that he was a good man, and thatâ¦I had to use my powers for good, as well.â
âYou believe that your father is a good manâstill?â
âYou donâtâdo you? Nor does Cody. But I believe it with all my heart.â
âWhy?â
âBecause my mother was a good woman, and she wouldnât have lied to me.â
Cole lifted her chin, and his touch was gentle. He stood there, studying her eyes.
âYou believe in Cody, donât you? I believed in him before I met him. When I read the articles in the papers about the outlaws in the WestâI knew that Cody was the son my mother had told my father about.â
Cole laughed. âThe name Cody Fox didnât tell you that?â
âFox is a common enough name,â she said.
Cole still seemed to be wearing a dry half smile. âWhat happened to Samuel Reeves?â he asked.
âNothing. He stayed home from school for a few daysâsick. I was punished for the rest of the yearâI wasnât allowed to play with the other children. But, Samuel never teased my friend Sally again. Ever.â
âAnd did you bite anyone else? Ever?â
âOnly when Iâve had toâand only in self-defense, and only vampires.â
âTheyâre leaving,â Cole said, pointing ahead. Visitors who had been praying at graves were heading for the gates.
âWeâll have to split up and start walking fast,â Megan said. The ever-so-slightly-civil-almost-tender moment they had shared was gone. He had become all business. She could certainly do the same. âLook for disturbed earth.â
âI know what Iâm doing. You head easterly, and Iâll go west. Try to keep visual contact with me.â
âOf course. I wonât let you get hurt,â she promised sweetly.
âYouâre Codyâs sister. Iâll look after you, â he responded over his shoulder.
âAs you like, cowboy,â she said lightly, aware that her teasing response was patronizing but unable to help herself from making the statement. She didnât want anyone getting hurt looking after her; she was what she was.
She was alarmed to realize that the day was quickly waning. And it was disheartening to know that they had fought so hard the day beforeâand that at least one of the creatures had escaped.
She could see Cole at a distance, long strides taking him swiftly across the cemetery. She saw when he paused and reached into his coat for one of his slender honed stakes, then switched it backward to dig in the ground.
She waited to see if he had made a discovery.
He had.
She watched as he swiftly found the mallet in his inner coat pocket, and slammed the stake downward, honed side first. He drew out his bowie knife and she turned her
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley