THE WITCH DESCENDS

CHAPTER 5

I

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Up ahead of the wagon they saw a new stand of trees and a trail through the forest that was clearly another road.

“How about it, D? Is that it?” Juke asked from where he sat in the driver’s seat holding the reins, and his voice was taut with expectation.

“It appears so.”

D’s reply carried two meanings at once—this was a road made by human hands, and they’d exited Gaskell’s domain.

“Yippee!” Juke exclaimed, swinging the reins wildly and letting Sergei know back in the living quarters that their escape had been successful.

However, they’d been racing nonstop through the forest for three hours, guided by D’s instinct alone. Dusk had already begun to settle over the world.

With Juke and Sergei’s cries of delight, the wagon jostled onto the new road.

“I remember now. This is the way to Krakow for sure.”

This time the horses didn’t seem afraid, their iron-shod hooves pounding the earth, and before long they arrived at the palisade of a village they all recognized. Leaning out of the wooden watchtower to see who was doing what was the same yellow-shirted young man with a rifle that they’d met before.

“We’re transporters,” Juke said by way of introduction, and the man showed him a pearly smile.

“Hold on a minute. It’s just—” he began, knitting his brow. “Haven’t I met you somewhere before? And fairly recently, too?”

“Could be,” Juke said, shooting him a wry grin.

The palisade gates opened without any problem and the wagon was met by the cries of villagers. Children came running out of houses that’d been shrouded in fog before, and carts loaded with villagers and crops bustled incessantly up and down the street.

“What a relief!” Juke sighed, revealing his true feelings without qualm.

Having given him the reins, D sat motionless with his eyes shut, but once the wagon had pulled into the central square and impatient villagers pressed in on all sides, he climbed down from the vehicle with a grace inconceivable from a blind man.

“Take me with you!” a sweet but earnest tone cried out from the wagon’s interior.

“A little help, D,” was the appeal that came in due course from Sergei, who was keeping an eye on Lady Ann. “Gordo’s no good to us now, so I’ll have to assist Juke. Would you keep an eye on this little she-devil?”

D turned around quickly, as if to say, Just leave her be.

“Somebody, please help me!” a shrill voice suddenly shouted. “I’m from the village of Ushki. These transport-party men abducted me!”

A stir went through the foremost rank of villagers. Many of the gazes that fell on Juke and D were clearly tinged with suspicion.

“Hey! Shut up, you little idiot!” Sergei said in an attempt to get her to stop.

“Ah! What are you doing?” the girl cried. “How disgusting! Take your hands off of me!”

The grumbling spread through more of the crowd.

D turned and knocked on the door to the living quarters, saying, “Get down here.”

“Gladly!” Lady Ann cried out, her tone so contented, in fact, that she seemed to have missed the sternness in the Hunter’s tone.

“How about the ropes?” Sergei asked.

“Take them off.”

Given the crowd’s distrust, if she had emerged from the wagon tied up, the party would surely have been attacked as the worst sort of deviants.

“Count yourself lucky, little Noble girl—I’m gonna untie you now.”

“Such ignorance—you truly are a simpleton,” the girl laughed haughtily.

“What?” Sergei shouted angrily, but a second later, that anger turned to surprise. “Why, you little devil—you snapped our ropes!”

“I could’ve escaped at any time. After killing you, that is. The only reason I didn’t do so was because I didn’t wish to be parted from my love.”

From the door of the living quarters the little girl dressed in a gorgeous array of colors leapt down next to D, while the villagers let out what could’ve been either gasps or sighs. The sounds spread through the crowd like ripples across the water’s surface, and all the villagers appeared spellbound. As innocent as ever, the girl—Lady Ann—looked around at the foolish people and smiled dazzlingly.

“Everyone looks upon us with such envy, beloved,” she laughed. “Now, shall we retire to the refreshing shade of a stand of trees or a bed of green grass stroked by the evening breeze?”

To all appearances she was a girl of ten. However, no one laughed when she spoke like a grown temptress. But look. A new expression was rising on the faces of the villagers—a dark shadow of terror. For they had guessed what Lady Ann really was.

“She’s a Noble,” someone said, and everyone nodded in unison.

“It’s a Noble!”

“A Noble!”

“Is that young fella one, too?”

“He’s gotta be Nobility.”

“Definitely.”

“No doubt about it.”

As they repeated the same words over and over, the villagers tried to convince themselves. Spears and scythes kept stashed for use against invaders were surreptitiously passed around, and stake-launching guns were cocked. The gray-haired crone, the housewife in the baggy apron, the children in the patchwork clothing all chanted their certainty with weapons in hand and stared at the pair.

The mob inched forward. Neither Juke nor Sergei could move. They knew the slightest provocation could send ordinary villagers into a crazed frenzy.

“It’s gotta be.”

“Gotta be.”

“Gotta be!”

The voices advanced. Then halted.

A gust of admiration and fear sailed across the faces of Juke and Sergei, for D had gone into motion at the same time. This alone had been enough to freeze the movements of more than a hundred villagers. D walked along as if nothing had happened, and just as he was about to collide with the foremost rank of villagers—the mob split right down the middle. Villagers who’d just programmed themselves for slaughter forgot all about it and stepped aside. D went without a word down the path they made for him. Lovely as a blossom, the girl followed along behind him, and before long they’d gone off into the twilight, though the exquisite sight didn’t fade from the villagers’ eyes for the longest time.

Not far to the east of the square was a little forest. A narrow brook flowed through it. The faint light of evening lent a final hint of blue to the water that flowed there.

“It looks like it’s going to be a wonderful night, don’t you think?” Ann said, following about fifteen feet behind D. Multicolored wildflowers were clutched to her chest. Stopping to pick every one she found was what’d put her so far behind him.

“I hope a lot of stars come out,” she continued. “So many more than usual. Oh, dear!”

Without so much as a glance at the jubilant Ann, D had lain down in the deepest part of the forest.

Quickly running over, Ann’s color changed as she peered down at the handsome young man.

“Whatever’s wrong?”

“If you’re gonna make a run for it, now’s your chance. He can’t move.”

Those hoarse words put a grim look in Ann’s eyes.

Descending from the Nobility, dhampirs could operate by day or night, though occasionally the bill for that came due in precisely this form. They were both human and Noble—and those two bloodlines were at war, suddenly sending fatigue far beyond what was ordinary through their whole body. They would lose consciousness, their limbs would grow motionless, and all their vital signs would drop to their absolute lowest limits. They would essentially be comatose. Not even the dhampir in question knew how long it would last. It was up to fate.

“Excuse me—but who are you?” Ann inquired in a sharp tone. Needless to say, her query was aimed at the source of the hoarse voice.

“Now, this is a surprise. You’re more interested in me than you are in getting away?”

“I have no intention of fleeing. I’m now doing everything in my power for that man . . . though he’s terribly frightening. Even having come this far with him, I couldn’t hold his hand. There is no way he could ever love me. But that matters not, as I love him. At any rate, who are you?”

“Think of me as someone he’s stuck with, if you like.”

Trying to get a peek at D’s left hand, Lady Ann leaned forward. She’d knelt down on his right side.

D’s left hand caught her by the throat.

“Ah—just as I suspected . . .”

“Keep away,” a rusty voice commanded, and D shoved Ann back.

Though she landed on her derrière, she quickly righted herself. Not surprisingly, anger burned in her eyes, but the moment she looked at D it immediately faded.

“Why are you so callous? I mean you no harm at all. I merely wished to learn where that unpleasant voice is coming from.”

“You hear that?” D said to the hand resting near his solar plexus.

“Well, she needn’t bother,” the hoarse voice replied.

“Dear me!” Ann said, her eyes going wide. “It’s some kind of unknown monstrosity, just as I suspected. That must be most troubling. I shall rid you of it now.”

Her graceful form burning with a sense of purpose, Ann stood up.

“Hey! Knock it off. It’d be in your best interest to just forget it and get the hell out of here as fast as you can. He’s using you to keep your father in check, you know.”

“I already knew as much,” Ann said, circling around to D’s feet. “And it doesn’t bother me a whit. If my beloved can make use of me, that’s all I could ever want. Could it be that you take exception to being linked to my love?”

“I suppose you could say that.”

“How ungrateful of you,” Ann said, her whole face flushed with anger. “He won’t have anything to do with me—though my heart burns for him—yet you, who don’t even like him, have attached yourself to him and cause him all manner of trouble! I simply must separate the two of you.”

Ann’s right hand approached D’s left. In it she clutched a yellow wildflower.

“What are you doing?”

While it was unclear whether or not D heard this bizarre exchange, he remained motionless and kept his eyes shut. It didn’t even seem like he was breathing.

Staring intently at the talking left hand, Ann soon gave a decisive nod, saying, “Here!”

The cut end of the stalk stuck out of the back of the hand. And although it was an ordinary flower, it was driven so deep into D’s hand it seemed like it would poke right out the other side.

Just then, an awful cry of pain rang out.

“What’ve you done, you little bitch? Don’t you know what I do for him? Oh, the pain! All my strength is leaving me!”

“I enjoyed doing that,” Ann said, putting one hand over her mouth for a conceited laugh. She was indeed a daughter of the Nobility—that and nothing less.

As she stood with a smile that would’ve left anyone staring in rapture, the yellow bloom before her swiftly took on another hue. First light brown, then red—actually, crimson.

Another roar of agony went up, and as if in response, a change came over the left hand. Its healthy skin tone faded, leaving it a color reminiscent of wax. Something like white steam erupted from its pores.

When that had finished Lady Ann smiled thinly. From the wrist up D’s left hand was withered and desiccated, having been transformed into a veritable mummy’s hand.

“The flower I just picked was another variety of parasitic plant. And now the interloper is no more.”

Smiling lovingly at the slumbering D, the girl said, “You are mine now. Tee-hee, I wonder what Father would do if only he could see us.”

And then she suddenly seemed to realize something.

“Ah, that’s right! If Father were to come now—no! My love must be hidden.”

Ann quickly looked all around, her cute little face colored by fretfulness. Before long she nodded to herself, and with a tense expression she hadn’t exhibited up until now, she left D’s side, went about six feet away, and began to plant the flowers clutched to her chest one by one all around the Hunter. Just like a barrier to shield his body.

“A flower fortress,” Lady Ann muttered.

After she’d finished planting about twenty of them, she snuggled by D’s side. There was a gleam of passion in her eyes.

“I am about to betray my father for your sake. I believe I’m entitled to receive at least this much by way of compensation.”

And then, the lovely but fearsome girl brought her lips closer to D’s face.

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II

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If someone possessing a balanced mind had seen it, it would’ve looked like a scene of sweet love. However, Ann’s wish was not to be fulfilled.

The earth moved with rapid tremors, and before she knew it, it rose in waves in a spot some twenty to thirty feet away. Suddenly, an armored individual pushed his way up through rock-laden, thick black soil.

“Father!”

“There’s no cause for alarm. I’ve been worried about you, Lady Ann!”

Though the microphone ruined his voice somewhat, it was still filled with his feelings for his daughter.

“All I could think about was rescuing you as soon as possible, but considering that young man’s abilities, I had to proceed with great caution. This is the same man who even managed to cut through my armor! Are you surprised to learn there was something that could make even your father faint hearted?”

“No,” Ann replied, shaking her head. She, too, was speaking from the heart. “That’s only natural when dealing with him. Even if you had fled with your tail between your legs, Father, I still wouldn’t have been surprised.”

The Duke of Xenon’s reaction was terribly ambiguous. He sensed that his daughter wasn’t the same girl he had known.

“Ann, are you—”

“Might I ask you to be so good as to leave, Father?” Ann said, gazing intently at the area corresponding to the duke’s eyes. “If possible, I’d like you to kindly swear to never again appear before me or him.”

“Are you feeling okay, Ann?”

“I’ve never felt better in all my life.”

“Hmm—and if I said I couldn’t do that?”

“Yes, there would be trouble. Even though you are my father.”

“Would you destroy me?”

“Yes.”

Such an easy conversation it was. And at the same time, such a mind-numbing one.

“You’re presuming that I would allow you to destroy me, are you not?”

“No.”

The man in the exoskeleton was stunned by her flat reply. No, he was positively dumbfounded.

“By my oath—do you love him that much?”

“Yes. I watched him do battle as he fought off the great general blinded. Could it be that you also had a similar encounter unbeknownst to me, Father?”

“I suffered a defeat.”

“I might’ve guessed—oh, but he’s such an awesome individual,” Ann said, her voice trembling. No, her whole body quaked. And the young girl congratulated herself on her feelings of love. She hadn’t yet noticed the desire those same feelings carried.

“Lady Ann, won’t you come to your senses?” The Duke of Xenon’s voice suddenly dropped as he continued, “You are my treasure. If someone else is going to take you from me—”

“You’d rather destroy me yourself? Oh, ho! Could you do that, Father? After the way you loved me so?”

Ann’s words were launched like arrows of derision. Apparently they struck the Duke of Xenon in a vital point, for he let out a low groan and then fell silent.

Just then, there was the sound of voices and footsteps approaching from off in the distance. Suspicious of the rumbling in the earth the duke had caused, the villagers had come running.

“Ann, I will only ask you once more. Step aside.”

“And I will only tell you this once more—I respectfully decline.”

Her hand rose, and a pure white bloom flew at her armored father. Almost all of her flowers had been planted around D, but it was one of three she had left. Astonishingly enough, it didn’t bounce off when it struck the armor, but rather adhered to it. And in the blink of an eye, what should run across the surface of the armor but something like roots!

It was a second later that the armored giant dropped to one knee.

“Lady Ann!” the Duke of Xenon cried out in despair, for up until that moment he hadn’t thought her capable of such a thing.

But the girl was unmoved by his cry.

“Every flower I touch, regardless of type, can suck up any kind of energy,” the girl said, smiling silently. “Be it a person’s lifeblood or the power from a combat suit, a bolt of lightning or the force of a river. And who made me this way, Father? Was it not you? The very thought of it ever being used against you must’ve seemed preposterous.”

“I shall say no more,” said the voice over the microphone, rapidly moving away and mixed with static. “I won’t ask you to return with me, nor to step aside. Lady Ann, accept your father’s tears as he destroys you!”

“And here is my offering to you!”

A second blossom flew, this one yellow, and it jabbed in by the right side of the white flower. Already down on one knee, the armored giant tilted forward even more.

“Father, you have always been kind to me. However, it only stands to reason that a parent should love their child. It doesn’t stand to reason that the child love the parent in turn.”

The sweet but disturbing little girl took a third bloom—a pale purple one—and raised her right hand high.

“You fool.”

At that instant, Ann realized that the voice of the armored giant—the voice of her father—had all of its normal intensity.

The pale purple flower flew. A terrible gleam limned an arc, and before it could even split the bloom, the force of the wind shredded it and the flower blew away.

“Aaaah!”

As if to accompany Lady Ann’s cry of pain, bright blood erupted from her left shoulder and the girl bent backward.

“I won’t let you perish. You must suffer a while as punishment for your rebelliousness. D, your life is mine for the taking!” the duke exclaimed.

Ann’s blood fell in drops from the steely blade projecting from the elbow of his armor. It was over ten feet long—could D possibly survive if it removed his head from his torso?

However, just as the duke was about to strike, an unexpected hindrance stopped him. Ann lay supine on top of D, and around the girl all the colors of the rainbow began to writhe before clinging to every part of the armored form. It was the flowers Ann had planted. The way the roots shot across the length and breadth of the armor’s smooth surface was a sight to behold.

Once again, the armored giant staggered. He hadn’t even recovered from the damage dealt to him by Ann’s first two flowers . . .
and now there were nearly twenty of them.

All the while, the voices and the footsteps of the villagers grew steadily closer.

“The humans of this village mean nothing to me; I shall depart for the time being. When next we meet, Ann, your loving father shall drink your blood!”

And then the Duke of Xenon smoothly dropped feet first back into the hole in the ground from which he’d appeared. The dull whir of a motor rang out and the armor rotated as it sank into the bowels of the earth.

At the forefront of the villagers racing to the scene was Juke. Leaving Sergei and Gordo by Rosaria’s side, he’d hurried there.

Seeing the great hole in the ground and D and Lady Ann lying next to it took the villagers’ breaths away. Who among them could’ve imagined that the bloody young girl with her left shoulder split open had fallen fighting to defend the young man of unearthly beauty from her own father? All they felt was a fear of the Nobility and an incomprehensible horror, and they sensed as only the people of the Frontier could that this pair and those they attracted would threaten their peaceful existence.

“Let’s kill ’em,” someone said.

“Kill ’em!” another repeated.

“Yeah, kill ’em!”

It didn’t take long at all for those repeated cries to work like hypnosis, creating a great and abiding purpose. The will to slaughter still burned in their hearts—Juke was powerless to stop them. Even if he were to try to halt them by force, a single firearm wouldn’t do much to deter the villagers plowing forward like a machine bent on murder.

Just before the mob could crush the pair on the ground, a shower of sparks flashed in the transporter’s wildly spinning brain. Jumping out in front of the villagers, he spread his arms and said, “Just hold on! The young guy’s a Vampire Hunter who’s been working as our escort. He’s a dhampir, but he was keeping an eye on that girl. She’s a little Noble. No doubt they must’ve had it out here. Now I’ll finish the girl off for good. I’m hoping that’ll be enough for all of you.”

A glint of reason returned to the crazed and bloodshot eyes of the villagers. Based on the present situation, they could understand a little Noble girl being cut down by a Hunter. And though the great hole in the ground was a mystery, it was something beyond their comprehension.

“So, how about it?” Juke called out loudly.

What worried him was that in cases like this, the final decision rested with the mayor, and he would’ve done well to turn to that person, but he’d heard that this village’s mayor and an assistant had set off for a neighboring community three days earlier and wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. There were a number of people he recognized, but Juke couldn’t decide if any of them were up to acting as a leader.

“If you like, I’ll also throw in a little something extra in addition to what you’ve ordered, as a gift to the village.”

That had come to him in a desperate flash, and it proved far more effective than anything he’d said up until now.

Nearly all the villagers wore an expression as if they’d just been exorcised of some demon as they exchanged glances with one another.

“What should we do?” voices whispered here and there, and then they gave way to quiet remarks that quickly built into a chorus.

“I suppose that’ll work.”

“Good enough!”

“Kill the Noble girl. And once you’re done, unload your goods and get out of town. You got that?” one of them said, and he wasn’t alone. A number of others voiced their agreement.

“Understood,” Juke replied, turning then to face D—and Ann. He was ready to do what needed to be done. In order to save D, there was nothing he could do except dispose of an innocent little girl. Granted, the girl had originally come to kill them all.

“Lend me a spear,” he said.

A number of the lengthy weapons were instantly tossed down at his feet. Taking one of them in hand, Juke grabbed Lady Ann by the ankle and pulled her away from D. Straightening up again, he glanced down at the girl to take aim with his spear. He tried to avoid looking at her face.

With blood staining her left cheek, the girl had the face of a veritable angel.

Isn’t this murder?

Ignoring the thought that skimmed for a heartbeat through his brain, he prepared to drive the iron tip of the weapon through the chest that was just a little too well formed for its age.

“Wait just a minute!” a low, calm female voice called out, making the whole group turn and look.

“It’s the mayor!” someone shouted.

“You’re back early.”

Due to the stir she created, it was only too clear that the speaker had the trust of the villagers. The mob split down the middle, and a short woman in her fifties came with a composed gait through the crowd to stand before Juke. Though her hair was gray, her blue eyes were filled to overflowing with purpose and intellect.

“I’m Yutta Camus, mayor of the village,” she said with a courteous bow to Juke. “What’s all this commotion?”

Each and every villager started talking at once. One voice blotted out the next, leaving nothing but pure noise.

“Quiet down!” the mayor roared in a voice like the edge of the wind, and silence returned.

“Mr. Wald, kindly explain.”

At this directive—in a tone that’d grown calm with staggering speed—a middle-aged man with a long, horselike face stepped forward from the crowd and explained the situation to Mayor Camus. As parts of it were fairly one sided, Juke tried to interrupt, at which point the mayor told him she’d hear his side later.

And after she’d actually listened to what he had to say, she turned to the group and said, “Maybe it was a premonition? It’s fortunate I came back a day early. If I hadn’t, an innocent young girl would’ve been lost without having a chance to explain herself.”

At her merciless censure, the villagers lowered their eyes.

When she then turned back to Juke, her face was so mild she seemed like a completely different person.

“And you,” she continued. “I don’t care if you’re trying to save your friend; I don’t care if she’s a Noble—I don’t want you to ever think about raising a hand against a child like this. From the look of it, that young man needs medical attention. Why don’t you stay in the assembly hall until he’s better.”

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III

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In a sense, Juke found Mayor Camus’s consideration an unwanted favor. He had no complaint about her treatment of D or the fact that she’d given them permission to stay there, but her generosity was also coupled with a strict admonition not to lay a hand on Lady Ann. To be perfectly honest, he’d wanted to do away with the girl. Knowing there was no use arguing about it, he’d thanked her and got the help of some of the villagers in bringing the pair back to the wagon—carrying Ann on his own back. He’d ignored Sergei as the man asked what was going on, heading directly to the assembly hall, where he explained the situation to his compatriot in an empty room once their accommodations had been prepared. He even shared his thoughts on the matter of Ann.

Much to his surprise, Sergei replied, “Let’s bring her with us.”

Stupefied, he asked, “Why?”

“After hearing your tale, I suppose that big hole in the ground must’ve been made by the little girl’s father—the Duke of Xenon, or whatever he’s called. I don’t really know why a parent would run off and leave their daughter covered in blood, but my hunch is that the girl didn’t get taken down by D—I think she might’ve been trying to save him. I’ve been keeping an eye on her the whole time, and I can tell you she loves D down to the marrow of her bones. If D told her to die, she’d gladly drive a stake into her own heart. In which case, it looks like you’ve got yourself a replacement for D. She might not be interested in anything but D, but for him she’d fight to the bitter end, and by extension she’d be fighting for us, too. Right?”

“You might have something there. Only we don’t have a freaking clue when D’s gonna wake up, and the girl’s hurt pretty bad, too.”

“Snap out of it, Juke. We’re talking about a Noble here. See, she may look ten years old, but inside she’s a monster, ageless and undying. She’ll heal a hundred times faster than D. Just leave her be, I say. Leave her be.”

With the logic laid out for him that clearly, Juke had no choice but to nod his head. According to Sergei, Gordo would recover soon, too.

Gotta be worth a shot, he thought.

Not even needing to hear Juke’s reply, Sergei read it in the man’s face, giving him a light clap on the shoulder and saying, “Okay! We’re good, right? I’m gonna look in on D. Leave tonight’s watch to me and get yourself a decent night’s sleep.”

The assembly hall was unexpectedly spacious, and it had a covered garage that could’ve easily accommodated five or six cargo wagons—that’s where their vehicle was parked. Leaving the empty room, Sergei found where D was sleeping. In the room to the right Gordo continued to receive a transfusion, while Rosaria was in the one to the left. Ann had stopped bleeding, so she alone had been left out in their wagon. Wolfsbane had been put on its doors and windows, so she’d have a hard time getting out of it. They couldn’t be sure that seeing her roaming around free as you please wouldn’t cause another panic among the villagers.

Sergei was worried about D. Earlier, when he’d seen the villagers carrying the Hunter into his room, his left hand had been shriveled like a mummy from the wrist down. Knowing as he did that it served as a sort of medical specialist living within D’s body, the transporter was understandably concerned. And it was on account of this that he paid a call on D.

However, before the man had gone ten paces down the hall he heard the unmistakable sound of breaking glass coming from the direction of D’s room. Racing to the rescue, Sergei saw D lying in bed and a bloodstained Lady Ann glaring at the shattered window as the wind carried in darkness. When Sergei and the village physician had examined her, her heart had stopped—despite her Noble nature. But she must’ve been faking it.

“You little bitch! I knew you were up to no good!”

“I’ll thank you to refrain from such vulgarity.”

“How long have you been okay?”

“Ever since I was first cut. I was up against my own father, after all,” she laughed.

Realizing there’d be no reasoning with her, Sergei asked, “What happened?”

Before posing his question, he’d looked at D and decided that nothing was out of the ordinary.

“See for yourself,” Lady Ann said, pointing under D’s bed.

On the floor lay a heavy bastard sword that darkly reflected the light from the ceiling.

“Someone from the village?”

Ann shook her head in response to his tense query. Clear as glass beads, her blue eyes burned with rage.

“Well, who was it, then?” he asked, thinking how ridiculous this was and that the answer would be obvious.

Seeming to choose her words with care, Ann replied calmly, “It was Mr. Gordo.”

Not surprisingly, the transporter was stupefied, saying, “Of all the absurd—”

But the girl insisted it was true.

How would Gordo get in here when he was still getting a transfusion? And why would anyone need that nasty-looking sword?

As disturbing as the latter question was to ponder, Sergei had a pretty good idea what the answer was. As for the former—

“Why’d you come here?”

Ann’s reply to that question was straight enough: “I came to get rid of his left hand. Because I didn’t have a chance to deal the coup de grâce.”

“What about the wolfsbane?”

“It doesn’t work on me,” Ann responded, and this time her innocent smile made the hair stand up on his arms.

“At any rate, let’s go have a look at Gordo.”

Just as the pair was about to leave the room, Juke came running in, having heard the sounds of destruction. All of them went into Gordo’s room next door, where the man lay exactly as he had when he’d been brought there, still connected to the transfusion equipment.

“Hey! What’s the meaning of this?” Sergei exclaimed, but as he turned to look at the girl, his eyes found only the open door and the hallway, which, while well lit, was still a cold scene.

“I must leave. Short though it was, I enjoyed our journey,” Lady Ann said in an extremely morose tone, the words themselves falling from places unknown. “The villagers will be here soon. They’ll probably wish to destroy me. Before they arrive, I shall leave so I may protect my D from the shadows.”

As the words ceased in the light, there was the sound of stomping feet and angry voices from the front hall.

Fearing more trouble, Juke and Sergei decided to say that it was actually Ann who’d attacked D, and by the time the villagers had bought into it, Ann was racing gracefully through the darkness until she arrived at a building where there wasn’t a single light showing. Peering at a sign on the wall, she saw that the steel plate read Town Hall. The back door was unlocked.

Sailing down the corridor like the wind, the girl came to the room at the very back of the first floor. Amid a line of doors that were darkened as if by design, this one alone had a light burning. Nothing could be seen from outside because the shades were drawn to keep supernatural creatures from being drawn to the light spilling out through the frosted glass.

As she was reaching for the doorknob, a voice said, “Come in.”

Ann entered.

At the far end of the spacious room, a gray-haired woman was seated at a desk in front of a window with its wooden shutters closed. The door Ann let go of had a plate on it that read Mayor.

“Welcome, Lady Ann,” said the mayor who held the trust and respect of the entire village, smiling with the most heartfelt sincerity at this lovable yet accursed child of the Nobility.

“So it is you after all, Dr. Gretchen,” Ann said, not begrudging her host her usual blossom of a smile.

Grinning wryly, the mayor said, “I set upon the real one as she was returning from the neighboring village, and I’d believed I’d done a good job of impersonating her, but how clever of you to find me out. And how did you learn that it was the renowned mayor who was pulling Gordo’s strings?”

By the sound of it, she’d apparently been controlling Gordo from the room and watching everything.

“I simply thought about the timing for Mr. Gordo being turned into a puppet,” Ann replied with a bit of satisfaction. She certainly was a precocious little beauty. “I hadn’t observed anything out of the ordinary about him up till the time D and I left the wagon. And though Juke and Sergei brought the wagon to the assembly hall, there were villagers all around them at the time, so no one could’ve laid a hand on him. After we got there, I can attest that there were no intruders.”

“You were feigning unconsciousness, weren’t you? You certainly fooled everyone.”

“It’s most kind of you to say so.”

“But why?”

“The answer is obvious. To gain their sympathy.”

“You’re an impressive little lady,” the mayor she’d called Dr. Gretchen said, letting out a laugh that left her pale throat exposed. “So—I would love to hear the rest of your formidable reasoning.”

“Very well. It’s as I already mentioned. The only chance you might’ve had to do anything strange to Mr. Gordo would’ve been when everyone went running off to where D and I were. That was when you went to where the wagon had stopped. All alone. You let your assistant go on ahead.”

“But Mr. Sergei was standing watch.”

“That would simply mean you had to put a spell on him as well.”

The mayor nodded time and again with satisfaction.

“Exemplary reasoning, Lady Ann. Your father must be quite proud of you.”

“We are no longer father and daughter. Father cut me, and I have severed all ties to him. Now there is only one person who matters to me.”

“As it happens, you picked the wrong man to be smitten with, didn’t you?” the mayor said, the expression that surfaced on her face filled with undeniable affection.

Strangely enough, it must’ve moved Ann as well, as a glittering trail rolled down the girl’s cheek.

“Thank you. So, Doctor, what do you intend to do about D?”

“I shall dispose of him. I wonder—will you try to interfere?”

“Yes.”

“Then you must go as well,” the mayor said somewhat sadly, a distant glow in her eyes. “Ill-fated though your love may be, I know all too well how you feel. Such a gorgeous Hunter—I’ve lived six millennia and can’t recall ever seeing anyone like him.”

“Then kindly leave him alone.”

“But that’s precisely why I came,” the mayor said, her lips finally twisting into a horrifying shape. “You must be aware of the kind of people I worked on—all humans gifted with incredibly good looks, and a few Nobility as well. And there wasn’t one among them who didn’t weep and cling to me, begging me to kill them or destroy them. That is the level to which I’ve taken my skill.”

“I won’t allow you to lay a finger on my beloved!” Ann asserted frostily, the radiant smile now entirely wiped from her face.