“Humor me.”

“Oh, I intend to. I’ve had a stressful day and breaking this farce open will prove a wonderful way to vent the pressure.”

The vampire sauntered off.

“He doesn’t like to be wrong,” Tracy’s vamp said. I caught a hint of humor in her voice.

I couldn’t care less if he liked it. As long as his vampires stood between me and the draugr, it would buy me a couple of extra seconds to get away.

The old road led deeper and deeper into the forest. The trees grew taller and thicker, their long limbs thrusting at each other, as if trying to push their neighbors out of the way. Mist swirled between the trunks, first an ethereal haze shimmering along the ground, then a thicker blue fog that hugged the road, lying in wait. It swallowed the sounds: the hoofbeats of the horses, the creaking of the cart, and the occasional sigh from the deer in the back. All seemed muted.

Ahead a stone arch rose above the path, gray slabs of rocks tinted with moss. I halted The Dude. The cart rocked to a stop.

“There’s a path leading north just past the arch. We go on foot from here.” I hopped off the cart. “I need one of you to carry the deer.”

A purple bloodsucker crawled up on the cart. Sickle claws sliced at the rope securing the animal, and the vampire pulled the deer off and slung it over its shoulder.

“Which way will you be coming on the way back?” Curran asked.

“The glade is northeast from here.” I pointed to a tall oak to the left.

Curran pulled me close.

Ghastek’s vampire rolled his eyes.

“Remember the plan?” Curran said in my ear.

“Get in, get the information, and run like hell out of there.”

“See you in a few hours.”

I brushed his lips with mine. “See you.”

I grabbed my backpack and headed up the path.

The mist grew thicker. Moisture hung in the air, tinted with the odor of rotting vegetation and fresh soil. Somewhere in the distance a bird screamed. No movement troubled the still woods. No squirrels chattered in the canopy, no small game scurried away at our approach. Nothing stirred except for the vampires gliding alongside the path, their emaciated shapes flashing between the trees.

The path veered right and opened into a small glade. Tall pines framed it, the enormous dark trunks scratching at the sky. A carpet of dark pine needles sheathed the ground. Here and there rocks thrust from the forest floor.

“Put the deer right there.” I pointed to the center of the glade. The vampire unloaded the deer and hopped aside.

“I suppose we wait until the magic returns?” Ghastek inquired.

“You got it.” I sat on a fallen pine.