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“Nothing much we can do about either until it happens. We’re as prepared as anyone can be for a real fire.”

Footsteps clattered down the stairs, and I looked around with a smile. “Well, that didn’t take you very long at all.”

Monty bounced down the last step and strode toward us. “And I do hope there’s enough left to share, because otherwise I’m going to give you sad puppy eyes until you take pity and give me some of yours.”

I laughed. “It’s a brave man who’d take the food off a pregnant woman’s plate. How’s Belle?”

I knew she remained asleep, but I couldn’t tell any more than that because of all the spells I’d woven around both our bedrooms to give Belle some privacy from the constant barrage of my thoughts. While both of us could raise a shield against the other—an ability that was definitely becoming stronger in me—it was nice to have an area where we didn’t have to worry about shielding and could just let it all hang out mentally.

Monty grabbed the spare plate and helped himself to the extras. “She’s sleeping easier, and the gauntness has all but gone. Why are you up so early? Dreaming again?”

“Yeah.” I quickly filled him in, omitting the whole bit about the dark spell for the moment, because I didn’t want to worry Belle. “I thought I’d ring Mom and ask her to?—”

I cut off the rest as Aiden’s phone rang, the sound echoing sharply and sending my pulse into overdrive. While it might have nothing to do with any of our current problems, instinct was twitching, and that was never a good thing.

“Ranger Aiden O’Connor,” he said. “How can I?—”

The woman on the other end didn’t let him finish, and while she didn’t in any way sound panicked, she was speaking so fast I didn’t really hear much more than blood and bodies.

I sighed, gulped down my coffee, and rose. “We’re up, Monty.”

He blew out a breath. “It always happens when I’m enjoying good food.”

“Then grab a container to take it with you. In the meantime, we need to get ready.”

As Aiden continued talking, Monty and I ran up the stairs. After a quick wash, I exchanged my sleep shorts and old T-shirt for a pair of jean shorts and a supportive tank top, then grabbed a pair of socks and sat down on the bed. Aiden returned as I was pulling on my boots.

“What’s happened?”

“Lynette was going for an early morning run and stumbled upon what she said could be a multiple murder scene.”

“I take it you know her?”

He nodded and grabbed his socks and boots, sitting down beside me to put them on. “She’s with the SES and has some experience with body retrieval.”

The State Emergency Services was a volunteer organization that provided emergency help in natural disasters, road crashes, and rescues. And some of those definitely involved deaths.

“Did she say how many bodies we might be dealing with?”

“She’s not sure. She peered through a broken window and saw at least one, but believes, given the amount of blood visible in the hall beyond, there were more.”

“Did she recognize the victim she saw?” Castle Rock was at its base a country town, and most of the older residents did know each other by sight if not by name.

“No, though she did say the house was a rental and had only been recently leased.”

“You think it could be our vampires?”

He glanced at me, his eyebrows raised. “Do you?”

“Maybe.” I grimaced. “I did ask Marie if she’d called me to her last night in order to prevent me sensing their planned violence and perhaps stopping it, and she certainly didn’t deny it.”

“If shewasbehind this slaughter, what are the chances of the victims being connected to Maelle?”

“Fifty-fifty. She needs to rile Maelle into attacking her, but she also has a bunch of hungry vampires to look after.”

“If she’s determined to rile Maelle into attacking, why then demand she meet them at the court of justice?”

“She gave Maelle twenty-four hours. That’s now past.”