Chapter 4

Adam’s confidence faltered a great deal when he heard Willow’s testimony. He had felt confident she was the vampire behind the attack the moment he noticed her lack of reflection in the jarl’s jeweled headband. But now he doubted what he thought he saw. However, he didn’t like to admit he was wrong. Perhaps she wasn’t the vampire he imagined she was—he jumped to conclusions too quickly.

Still…

Something about her made him suspicious. Maybe because she was too pretty. Or perhaps it was because she appeared uncomfortable near him. When he tested her to see whether or not she would come inside his room, he never expected her to be so…calm. Either she was a smart vampire, or the entire situation was a coincidence.

Begrudgingly, it was more than likely the second option. Vampires weren’t known for their intelligence, their bloodlust guiding their actions. The oldest vampire he’d killed had been just over one hundred years old, and even that vampire had unknowingly left trails the most vigilant blood hunter could trace.

Pushing his churning thoughts to the back of his mind, he tucked the dagger in his hand away and got to business. Midnight was a prime time for hunting vampires, especially if a vampire attacked him. It made his job easier if he became the prey, the vampire not knowing what hit them until they found a stake in their heart and fire sweeping up their clothing. He wasn’t afraid of vampires. Not afraid at all.

He trekked into the night with his weapons concealed beneath his cloak, careful to maintain awareness of his surroundings. Every single rustling bush set him on edge, and each howl of the wind kept his hand firmly glued to the dagger in his belt. Unlike witches, vampires were stealthy. He wouldn’t take any chances.

The dark, seemingly abandoned tower where the vampire had attacked the boy came into view, and his first look told him no one would inhabit such a rundown place, not even a vampire. But upon closer inspection, he realized it was the perfect place to claim as a hideout without attracting attention, especially that of a blood hunter.

The air thickened around the tower, a sense of foreboding lingering in the dense atmosphere. He tread cautiously across the ground, approaching the tower slowly but surely while keeping a lookout for any movement.

He saw blood spattered across the gray bricks—week-old human blood.

He made out the discarded remains of something he’d rather not put a face to.

He smelled the stench of a vampire’s feast and covered his nose to keep from gagging.

It definitely looked like the work of a vampire. Due to the lack of refinement and the apparent carelessness, he gauged the vampire to be less than thirty years old. Definitely male. And held back by a fear of humans. The vampire wouldn’t have attacked a town, not at his young age. A dozen soldiers could have easily overpowered him. But if his meal was delivered straight to his door…

No sound escaped the confinement of the tower, instantly putting him on edge. This close to the tower, something should have happened by now. A whistle of a breeze running through an open window. Or a flash of deadly white fangs bared at him, lusting after his blood.

Drawing his iron sword, he spun around the corner, kicked the door wide open, and readied himself for the first strike. However, his blade met empty air. There wasn’t a soul in sight. Could the vampire have moved on once he learned a blood hunter was on his tail?

“Hold on…” he muttered.

He stooped low and rubbed ash scattered across the cold, stone ground between his fingers, bringing it to his nose and taking a whiff. Its metallic stench instantly set him on high alert. These weren’t human remains. These ashes belonged to a vampire.

Sifting through the rest of the ashes with a gloved hand, his heart skipped when his fingers brushed against something hard, and after dusting it off, he found a rusted iron stake.

He threw the weapon to the ground and brandished his sword, glancing in every direction—up the winding staircase, down the darkened corridor, around corners shrouded in shadow. The place appeared empty, though it hadn’t been a couple days ago. Someone else had been here other than the victim and the vampire…

When he deemed it safe to sheath his weapon, he puzzled over the mess displayed before him. Alixia wouldn’t dare hire two blood hunters if she knew what was best for her, lest she invite a deadly brawl into her town over a reward for the kill. That left either a do-gooder aspiring to cleanse the earth of filthy beasts, or…

“Willow…” he whispered under his breath. Could his initial instincts have actually been right? Did she seek to cover her tracks by killing the very vampire that threatened her existence? It was a clever ploy for sure, especially if she expected him to infer that a human killed the vampire rather than another bloodsucking creature.

With purposeful strides, he made his way back to Lakefalls and kept to the shadows—to avoid guards—creeping into the housing district. It didn’t take long to find where Willow lived, housed in a small cottage on the east side of town. A single candle lit her window, and he watched her silhouette walking back and forth, back and forth. Pacing?

He smirked triumphantly. Willow seemed nervous about something, and he had a good idea of what. He was going to get to the bottom of this if it was the last thing he did.

Adam thrived on little sleep, and to his surprise, Willow seemed to as well—something he took mental note of. He spent the night in his room devising strategies on how to smoke the vampire from its den.

Although he couldn’t outright accuse Willow of vampirism, lest she escape before he found a chance to kill her or before she attacked him within the city where civilian casualties might be a possibility. Instead, he needed to corner her tactfully, in a way she wouldn’t know it was happening.

He glanced across the Silver Palace main hall and narrowed his eyes at her, noticing the tiredness in her eyes, but also observing the way her movements were calm and calculated. She never turned her back to him despite pretending to ignore his presence. Instead, she entered and exited the hall multiple times, performing tasks for the jarl who had yet to make an appearance. Usually, he hated anyone, even the jarl, wasting his time by making him wait for an audience with her. But this time, he was working while pretending not to.

Willow moved quickly across the hall, he trailed her with his eyes. Vampires were fast and often jerked in their movements if they hadn’t fed in a while. However, she moved fluidly, each step graceful like a flowing stream.

Despite his suspicion of her, he couldn’t help but admire her. She was beautiful, and he didn’t doubt she had a lengthy list of admirers.

“Ah!” the jarl said, sweeping into the room and interrupting his incriminating thoughts. “I take it you have good news for me, blood hunter.”

Willow stopped and stared, but she quickly ducked her head and started watering a nearby plant when she caught him looking.

“Yes and no.”

The jarl raised an eyebrow. “Out with it.”

“Your vampire problem has been put out with fire and a stake to the heart.”

“Good. And what about the bad news?”

He crossed his arms, watching for Willow’s reaction from the corner of his eye. It was marginally crucial he saw it. “It wasn’t my stake or fire.”

A loud bang sounded across the room as Willow dropped the watering tin, her mouth open in surprise. She blushed and apologized profusely when the jarl cast her a glare, in which she hastily bent to clean the mess.

Interesting… He didn’t expect that reaction from her. Either she didn’t kill the vampire…or she was a better actress than he gave her credit for.

The jarl looked equally surprised, though she didn’t try to hide it like Willow did. “How is that possible? I hired you to get the job done. Who beat you to it?”

“I’m not sure,” he replied with a straight face. “But I plan on finding out.”

“I’m not paying you for your lack of haste.”

“Nor should you. Consider this…a gift.” His fingers brushed against the iron dagger on his belt. His stay in Lakefalls suddenly lengthened. By the time he finished this job, Willow’s head would be on a silver platter and if she was lucky, a stake through her heart.