Page 32 of The Agent and the Outlaw
“What say I? I say that was the most incredible work of fiction I think I’ve ever heard,” Hugo chuckled.
Merde.
“Truly remarkable,” laughed the less grumpy Prussian. “I haven’t had entertainment like that since we left the front.”
“You’re quite the actress. I’m almost sorry that we’ll probably kill you anyway,” Hugo grinned, his fangs glinting in the moonlight.
“I’m not,” hissed the grumpy Prussian.
Antoine tensed, prepared to leap forward at the soldier holding Tartuffe. Hugo caught the posture, naturally, andtsked.
“Please, Lieutenant. We’ve dallied enough. Just come with us andmaybewe’ll let your little tart live when we’re done with her.”
I heard a low growl then and turned bewildered eyes on Antoine. Was the noise coming from him? It seemed to emanate from every direction around us. Antoine reached for me protectively and I realized the noise was coming from just outside our grove—a realization that didn’texactlyfill me with relief.
“What the hell is that?” the grumpy Prussian hissed. “Hugo, do you smell that? Whatisthat? Who’s there?”
All five of thebêtesturned, sniffing the air, and listening with their supernatural senses. At once, they seemed to home in on a particular direction—right behind me. Goose bumps rose along my skin as my dull human senses picked up on the thing they all stared at.
Once more, a low, feral growl vibrated through the frigid blackness of night.
Antoine twisted slowly, peering at something behind my left shoulder.
“Charlotte,” he whispered. “Get ready torun.”
The fear in his eyes chilled my blood to ice, and it barely registered when he calmly slid his hands from my waist to the dual pistols at his sides.
Tartuffe whinnied in fear and bucked, yanking the reins from the vampire’s grasp. He hissed and grabbed for them, which seemed to be the spark that our powder keg of a situation needed. The thing at my back snarled. I turned in time to see a dark shape leap forward, knocking me to the ground with a pair of savage claws. I felt the sting of them raking my shoulder—merde, I hope those scratches are not too deep—and braced for a second blow, but none came. The thing had fixed its attention on the vampires. Antoine dove down and rolled atop me protectively, then all Hell broke loose.
10
ANTOINE
November 3, 1767
The road to Gévaudan
Charlotte and I watched,stunned, as the large creature went after Frederick. In the darkness, it was almost impossible to see what it was, but it had the penetrating yellow eyes, ominous growl, and wild ferocity of an exceptionally large wolf. Moonlight glinted off fangs and claws and sketched an outline that was somethingmorethan canine—but I couldn’t seem to wrap my head around the idea that we were being attacked or saved by yet another supernatural creature. If, however, itwasmerely a wolf, I didn’t want to stick around to find out where the rest of its pack lurked—now was the perfect time for Charlotte and me to escape thebêtes de sang.
Hugo aimed his pistol at the creature and fired, but the shot went wide, and the beast turned on him. Frederick hissed and pulled out his short sword, slashing wildly at the creature’s back. The other soldiers rushed to Hugo’s aid. He seemed to be having some trouble keeping the beast from closing its massive jaws around his neck.
“Now, Charlotte!” I urged. I grabbed her arm and hauled her up, running for Tartuffe.
I heard a snarl from behind us—whether it was the beast or the soldiers, I couldn’t tell. Steps away from my horse, a great force yanked me back and I fell to the ground. I stared up into the vicious, grinning countenance of Hugo. Long, bloody gashes marred his face. He leveled his pistol at me.
“We’re not done here, Lieutenant!” he shouted.
The vampires behind him had subdued the beast and were piling on top of it to hold it down, ready to shoot it at Hugo’s word. The creature growled again and snapped at one of the soldiers, then pitched its head back and let out a guttural, unearthly howl. It sounded halfway between a wolf and a man in absolute agony. I shivered in fear.
Hugo turned toward the horrifying sound, and I reached for my sword but didn’t move fast enough. From the darkness behind me, I heard Charlotte run forward. She kicked out at Hugo’s knee with the full weight of her body, snapping his leg in two. Hugo screamed in pain as she fell on top of me, then rolled to the side in a predatory crouch. She snatched my short sword from my side and held it at Hugo’s throat. He snarled at her and scraped his fangs across her arm, but she was too enraged to seem to notice. She held him fast, aided by his sickeningly twisted broken leg.
“Let the beast go!” she yelled at the soldiers. “Or I will cut off your friend’s head. I doubt that’s a wound he will be able to recover from.”
“Charlotte,” I warned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I don’t think it’s after us,” she said. “And I can’t just leave it to the mercy of these monsters.”
The soldiers eyed each other, frozen in fury. Charlotte pressed the blade into Hugo’s neck, drawing forth a line of thick, black blood. Hugo choked and screeched at his men. “Do as she says!”
