Bricks and Murder by Bebelle Ken & Vee Julia

Author:Bebelle, Ken & Vee, Julia
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sixth Moon Press
Published: 2022-12-01T00:00:00+00:00

14

VANTAGE

Wen was always better at geography than I was. Trust him to find some high ground. River Rock Farm spread out below us as we perched on the gentle hill Wen had found. We hid in a small copse of trees and hoped that no vampire patrols were headed up this way. The night air smelled of crushed grass and juniper and if it weren’t for the fact that we were now directly disobeying Akhil and on the run from vampire patrols, it would have been a nice moment.

By now, the vamps at the Ranch had to be looking hard for us. Maybe they thought we’d run off, or maybe they thought we were getting reinforcements. We’d bested that patrol because we’d had the element of surprise which was how Slayers typically worked.

Slayers 3, Vamps 0.

By now they’d had time to regroup and beef up their defenses. More worrisome, we didn’t know how many there were. Bev had counted at least seven. I wasn’t so naive as to think all of them had come out after me and Wen tonight.

I tried to bring Wen up to speed.

“That east side is where the herb garden and cellar are. Bev and Mrs. Chu are locked in there, unguarded.”

“Does it connect to the main house?”

“Yes.”

Wen rubbed absently at the bald dome of his head. I noticed that despite all our exertion, he wasn’t sweating. I really needed some more pointers from him. Or maybe more cardio.

Wen pointed at the north barn. “What’s in there, do you think?”

I wasn’t familiar with the layout of the Ranch. I knew they processed a huge amount of herbs and essential oils. The north barn was larger and newer looking. I wonder if it had more equipment in there for distilling.

As we stood there debating the merits of which way to approach the Ranch, the air began to chill around us, growing heavier and wetter. A low fog crept in and I could imagine that in an hour the entire valley would be shrouded in fog.

That was good. Really good. It would give us the natural cover we needed to approach the Ranch.

“The north barn is largest and probably gives the best place to stay undetected while we try to determine how many of them there are.”

Also, if Bev was correct and the other ranch hands were being held hostage somewhere, maybe some were in the barn?

So far my half assed plan was to try to locate as many of the ranch hands as possible, then go tell Bev, bust her out and add to our merry band of misfit soldiers to liberate the hostages. It wasn’t a great plan, but it would effectively double our numbers.

“North barn, then cut over to the greenhouse, right?”

“Actually, I would consider the greenhouse first, ma bichette.”

I whirled in surprise, my hammers out in a practiced flick.

Behind us stood the Prince of Mists and Mind, a shadowy figure partially obscured by the rising fog. I couldn’t help the quickening of my breath. Tyee had snuck up on us somehow.

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