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“Glynis, what is it?” Percy asked, his voice no more than a whisper.

The tension in his form and in his face revealed that he felt it, too.

“Do not move,” Adem ordered, his daggers flashing as he scanned our surroundings. His rugged, scarred face frightened me with its ferocity.

“Ghouls?” I asked as quietly as I could. The power felt hungry, full of desire and pain. Despite my supernatural nature, it frightened me.

“Perhaps,” was his simple reply.

To my surprise, Percy drew a pistol from within his coat. His cool blue eyes met mine for a moment, then he swept his gaze away to look over the clearing. “We should go. ”

Behind us the horses neighed anxiously as the driver of the sleigh tried to calm them.

“Agreed,” Adem said at last.

Percy gripped my arm and pulled me along with him as we backed toward the sleigh. His fingers bit into my flesh, but I allowed him to guide me. As we moved, I managed to lift my petticoat and draw one of my silver daggers. I would not stand idly by should we be attacked.

A thin, wispy mist skimmed over the snow drifts as the power continued to swell. Icy cold, it touched the hem of my skirts and flowed around my feet. The simple touch of the dark magic manifesting around us was terrifying with its great need.

“Bloody hell!” Percy gasped as the mist suddenly roiled and twisted around me toward him. “What is that?”

I had barely ascertained what was about to happen when the banshee scream of a ravenous vampire filled the night. The mist solidified into Laura as she cruelly pulled Percy’s head to one side by his hair. He gasped in terror as her long fangs glinted in the light from the lanterns on the sleigh.

“Laura, no!” I screamed.

Like a viper, she struck. Her small frame drove Percy down into the snow as she tore at his throat.

The driver cried out in surprise as the horses tossed back their manes in fright. Unable to contain the beasts, the driver was borne away by the petrified horses and out of sight.

Unable to fathom the terrible scene unfolding before me, I could only stand and gape. It was Adem who sprang into action. He flung himself at Laura, managed to get his arm about her throat, and wrestled her away from Percy. The reek of blood filled my senses as it splattered across the snow, melting the drift with its warmth. Adem struggled to contain Laura as she thrashed in his arms. Her face and burial gown were stained dark with blood. She hissed in frustration as Adem bore her away from her prey.

Recovering my senses, I flung myself to my knees beside Percy. His blue eyes stared at me in shock as blood coursed about the fingers that he had pressed to his torn throat. “Forgive me,” I said before seizing his hand, pulling it away, and biting into the torn flesh. I took only one swallow, then licked the wound, willing it to heal and save him. I could hear Laura screeching like a wild cat as Adem and Enre struggled with her, but I had to save Percy. I stared into his eyes, my hands pressed to his forehead to keep him from moving as I watched his throat slowly mend. His blood pulsed out of the wound one more time than the flow was reduced to a trickle as it healed. Staring up at me, I could see his fear and repulsion, but also some deeper emotion I could not discern.

The sounds of the battle behind me drew

my attention. Laura broke free from her captors and lunged toward Percy again. Instinctively, I leaped to my feet and deflected her with a sharp blow to her chest. The dagger punched into her body just above her bosom and she gasped in shock. Staggering back, she looked upon me with a mixture of hurt and anger.

“Laura, no!” I ordered.

Bloodied lips drew back from her sharp teeth as she hissed. Twirling about, she darted way into the trees.

“Catch her!” I screamed.

Adem and Enre plunged into the dark woods after her as I fell back to my knees beside Percy. He gripped my arm with one hand as he tried to pull himself up. I rested my hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him back down.

“Laura,” he gasped.

I kissed him softly on the cheek and cradled his face against mine. “I will take care of her. Now, look into my eyes. ”

I believe he obeyed me out of love, not because of the power of my blood that I was calling upon. His expression was one of tenderness as I took his face between my hands and compelled him to obey me. “Forget what has happened. . . ” I whispered. “Forget. . . ”

I placed Percy in the doorway of the mausoleum and left him sleeping. I rushed into the trees, calling out to Adem. My acute vision allowed me to follow the footprints pressed deep into the snow. Laura’s were not visible, but I could see where Adem and Enre had pursued her. The prints separated near the edge of the gardens that ringed the rear of Sir Stephan’s house. Unsure, I stood in the falling snow, looking back and forth, trying to decide. It was an agonized cry that settled the matter. I turned and pursued the tracks that led toward the house.

Frustrated with the snow impeding my progress, I willed the wind to take me. I glided along the edge of the forest, my coat spreading out about me like great wings. I darted past trees, branches tearing at my hair, before flying low over the garden. The sleeping plants were buried under mounds of snow and my feet barely skimmed over their tops as I desperately looked about for Laura. Landing on the pedestal of the statue of a lion, I peered about. It was the scent of blood that caught my senses. I leaped over half the garden and landed beside Laura as she feasted on Enre’s blood.

“No!” I screamed.

I tossed her away and watched her fall into a deep snowdrift near the edge of the garden.