"Dammit, if we're going to walk in circles, can we at least do it somewhere that sells mocha ice cream and has air-conditioning?"
"We aren't walking in circles," he instinctively denied, only to give a faint grimace. "At least not precisely."
"I suppose you possess some sort of bat vision?"
He flicked his brow upward. "You do know that bats are blind?"
She gritted her teeth. "Vampire vision, then."
He gave a shrug. "I can see well enough, not that it truly matters. I'm not looking for the coven."
"What?" Her eyes glittered with danger in the fading moonlight. "I swear to God, Dante, if you've led me through this mutant briar patch for some sort of joke, I'll st—"
"Stake me, yes, I know," he drawled. 'You might try to be a bit less predictable, lover."
"You didn't give me the chance to say where Yd stake you," she snapped.
A flare of humor raced through him. "True."
"For God's sake, if we're not looking for the coven, then what the hell are we doing out here?"
"I said I'm not looking for the coven and I'm not," he corrected smoothly. "I'm trying to smell it."
The prickly anger slowly faded as she realized her hasty mistake.
"Oh. Are you having any luck?"
That icy shiver once again crawled over his skin as Dante turned toward the hidden coven.
"It's just beyond that line of trees."
She followed his gaze, her eyes narrowing. "I'll have to take your word for it since I can't see jack crap."
"It's there."
"Then why are we waiting?" She sent him a puzzled frown. "I thought you wanted to get this over with?"
"Something is not right."
He felt her tension at his blunt admission. Obviously whatever her feelings for him, she at least had learned to trust his instincts.
A dark satisfaction lodged itself in his heart but was swallowed swiftly by an inner shudder.
Bloody hell, he was acting as sappy as any mortal. To imagine an immortal vampire scrounging about for pathetic scraps tossed at him by this woman.
Perhaps he should be staked.
"How do you know something's wrong?" she demanded in a soft whisper.
With an effort, Dante wrenched his thoughts back to the troubles at hand. They were surely enough to deal with.
"I smell blood."
"Blood?"
"Lots of blood."
"Oh God."
"I must find out what happened."
Without warning, she reached out to grasp his fingers with her own. The warmth of her swiftly traveled through his skin to heat his entire body.
'You think the witches have been attacked?"
There was no point in lying. Not when they would have to approach the coven.
'Yes."
"I…" She paused, tilting up her head to stab him with a narrowed gaze. 'You're going to try and make me stay here, aren't you?"
"No." He made the decision swiftly. "Until I know what's happening, I can't be certain that there isn't something still creeping about."
Her grip abruptly tightened upon his fingers. 'You had to say that, didn't you?"
"I want you to be on your guard."
She made a sound of disgust at his warning. "I'm wandering through the dark with a vampire, searching for a gaggle of witches who may or may not flay us alive. You think I'm not on my guard?"
He gave a small tug to pull her close, his hand gently cupping her face.
"What I think is that the worst is yet to come," he murmured.
"Perfect." Allowing her gaze to meet his own, she momentarily stilled. The stark awareness flared in her eyes then; with a faint shake of her head, she took an awkward step backward. "I suppose we might as well get this over with."
Swooping down, he pressed a swift kiss to her not-quite-steady lips.
"Stay behind me, and if you sense anything, let me know," he whispered against her mouth.
She swallowed heavily as he pulled back. "I promise you'll be the first to hear my scream."
"Right."
Keeping her fingers laced tightly in his, Dante moved directly toward the thicket of trees. Behind him Abby stumbled and occasionally cursed at the underbrush, but she managed to keep up with his smooth stride. Within a quarter of an hour, they at last stepped into a clearing.
Directly in the center was a plain three-story brick structure with several wooden outbuildings. There was nothing about it to suggest that it was anything other than a farmhouse. In fact, it was rather depressingly normal.
Precisely what the witches would desire.
Unlike vampires, they had no ability to disguise themselves from curious eyes. They were forced to hide in plain sight.
Abby hesitantly stepped to his side, her brow furrowed in puzzlement.
'You're certain this is the coven?"
'Yes," he murmured, keeping to the shadows as he cautiously led her closer to the structure.
"It seems—"
"Dead?" he finished, halting as they came to a large side window.
'^feah, that about sums it up," she agreed in shaky tones.
A swift glance through the tinted panes also summed it up. The carnage was impressive, worthy of the darkest soul, but Dante did not allow his gaze to linger. No one within had been left to tell the tale.
Pulling back, he allowed his gaze to slide over the remaining buildings.
"Are you going inside?" Abby demanded from behind.
"No. I cannot enter."
"Damn."
He turned to offer her a wry smile. "Actually, it's a good thing."
"Why?"
"It means that at least some of the witches survived the attack," he explained. "Otherwise the barrier would be broken."
"What?"
His undead heart twitched at the sight of her features that were unbearably fragile.
"It doesn't matter. They must have fled. I'll see if I can pick up their trail."
Her mouth dropped open in dismay. "More walking?"
Dante considered the clearing. For the moment they were alone.
'You can wait here for me. I won't go far."
She bit her lip, the terror she was struggling to keep at bay almost visible as she considered the darkness shrouded about her.
"Your definition of far is considerably different than mine," she muttered.
He placed his fingers beneath her chin to tilt her head upward. He waited until she met his searching gaze and then offered her a comforting smile.
'You have only to call and I will come running."