Chapter 69

The place was bare. I once knew this place. A long time ago, I’d been here with Henry and Nana Helen. The day at the Amoria fair was a treasured memory that ended horribly, but it was still a lovely memory nonetheless. The place was deserted now. The horse stable had burnt down—it looked like it had happened a while back. Weeds were growing all around it, and the once well-manicured green field was dry and patchy. It looked abandoned and almost lifeless. The smell, however, was something different. It smelled like rotting corpses mixed with the scent of vampires and something else—something that sent shockwaves through me.

“What’s that smell?” Mage said as she coughed, bringing her hand to her nose. Everyone was trying to cover theirs.

“What’s that?” Faran said, staring at the tree line. There was a shadow at first, but then something moved. It stared at us—just that one.