Free Vampire in the Woods (Merlin's Hoods Book 2) by Carl Waters

Adela’s lead. “Adela is right. I know where the boys split up—the change in directions is clear—and that is where we must search. Somewhere between that split and your cottage, Geoff went missing. We will track him, find the spot where he left the path, and find him. I’m certain of it.”
    She rushed out the door, heading for the shed where she kept weapons. She wouldn’t take the girls, she thought. She couldn’t be sure what she would find out there in the woods, with the blackness still coloring the deep shadows, and she wouldn’t put the girls in danger. The men, she might need, and they had already put themselves in danger by venturing out in the night. Weapons enough for the three of them, she decided, as she reached the weapons she and threw open the door.
    She lit the torch she kept by the door with the lucifer she’d held when she answered Piers’ call, and then glanced around the room. Weapons lined the walls and were stacked against the bases, while several tables held the more sensitive pieces. Crossbows, staffs, swords, daggers, arrows, throwing knives … it was all here, everything she and Gavin had collected over time, and she’d made good use of it. But she’d also made certain that it was all clean, oiled, and well stored, in case of this situation.
    Which meant that every knife, every arrowhead, every dagger was as sharp as it could be, and ready for action. The bows were tightly strung, the staffs balanced and perfectly weighted. Yes, this was the best arsenal in the forest, and perhaps the nation. If there was a vampire to fight, these were the best weapons.
    Within moments, she was moving through the room, grabbing weapons as she went. A crossbow— two , she thought, grabbing another. These would be the easiest weapons for the men to handle. She pocketed multiple silver-tipped stakes, a small bottle of holy water, and the silver chain she kept by the door. Silver wouldn’t kill the vampires, but it would stun them, and might give her enough time to draw one of the deadlier weapons. More than that: It might protect her, or the men, in case of hand-to-hand combat. She stopped by the table for a moment, her breath coming harsh and fast, and then picked up four of the larger silver daggers. These she shoved into their sheaths at her waist.
    A short, thoughtful pause, and she reached out for two more of the daggers. Daggers were tricky, for they required a defender to let a creature get very close. But they were by far the best weapons for fighting in close quarters.
    Turning, she rushed back to the house, her feet flying over the grass and moss that made up the yard in her clearing. When she reached the cottage, she pushed the men to the side and turned to her daughters.
    “Take these,” she said, pressing a dagger into Adela’s hands, and another into Alison’s. “Barricade the door behind us. And do not let anyone in—not even us—unless they give you the secret phrase. You remember the one?” She glanced at Adela, who had the stronger memory, and the girl nodded slowly.
    “You’d go without us?” Adela asked softly. “You think that safe?”
    Angeline lifted her hand and brushed it across the girl’s cheek. “It is not safe. But I will not put you in danger along with myself, my daughters. Stay here. Keep the fire burning until full daylight. Pray for my success, and my return.”
    She whirled around, pushed the men out the door, and dashed into the darkness, sending up the same prayer—for both herself and her daughters.

14
    “ S how me where you last saw him,” she said as she ran. She knew the spot—or at least she thought she did—but it would be best to find it for certain. That was where she would be able to start tracking. That was where, she hoped, they’d pick up the trail.
    From there, she’d need to move as quickly as she could, and pray that she arrived in time. If the vampires had taken him, she hoped that it was as bait rather than as a meal. But she