Carpathian 15 - Dark Secret

out and had gone back to bed. She likes to pick berries for breakfast, but I don't like her going off too far with all this going on."
    "I could go after her," Paul offered. "I don't like it either."
    Colby didn't want Paul out of her sight. "We'll just let her have a short walk and if she isn't back in a half hour, we'll casually walk after her so she doesn't think anything is wrong."
    "What about the vampire?" he asked uneasily.
    "He can't be up this time of day; the early morning light is too much for him. We should all be safe." And Paul was with her, so he couldn't be used unknowingly. The sun was barely out but her skin felt it. She rubbed her arms. There was an awkwardness between them that had never existed before.
    Paul patted several of the horses as they moved restlessly. "I helped put this shelter up yesterday with Sean's men and Juan and Julio." There was pride in his voice.
    "It's wonderful." She didn't mention money. Paul needed to feel good about something.
    "How are the horses doing?"
    "They seem to be recovering fast. I like to see Juan and Julio working with them, whispering in their ears the way Dad used to do." Colby exchanged a smile with her brother. "I love watching them do that."
    "Me too," he admitted. "Did they go back to the Everett ranch to get some sleep?"
    "No, they're both in the house. I put Juan in Dad's room and Julio in the guest room." She smiled at him.
    "I can't believe the horses are so much better already. How do they do that?"
    "I think it was Rafael," Colby said. "Every time he's visited with them, they're improved. I think he uses some kind of healing technique on them."
    An awkward silence fell over them. Paul pressed his hand to his throat. "I can still feel him, Colby."
    "I know, Paul. I'm trying to figure out what we're dealing with here. We can't exactly go to Ben and tell him there's a vampire on the loose—he'd lock us both in a mental ward."
    Paul shrugged, attempting a smile. "He's been wanting to do that for years. It wouldn't be anything new."
    Colby turned her head, movement catching her eye along the slope just above their ranch. Her eyes were already burning and it was early morning. The sun wasn't even high, yet she could feel the light poised to stab at her. She squinted, shading her eyes. "What is that, Paul? An animal dragging itself?"
    Paul swung around, his eyes tracking the slope. Immediately he stiffened. "That's King, Colby. He's hurt." He took off running, streaking across the yard toward the injured dog.

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    The dog crawled toward them, dragging its body along the ground. When King saw them approaching, he flopped into the dirt and whined, his dark eyes looking at them with trust.
    Paul knelt beside him and ran gentle hands through his fur. "He doesn't have any wounds that I can find."
    A chill went down Colby's spine. She leaned closer to stare into the dog's eyes. "He's drugged, Paul."
    There was a small silence. Paul shook his head adamantly. "It wasn't me. I swear. I woke up remembering everything this morning, Colby. I don't remember the things Nicolas showed me I did when he was removing the vampire blood, but I knew I lost little parts of time. I haven't this time. I didn't drug the dog. I didn't."
    Colby put a hand on his shoulder. "That's not even important right now, Paul. What's important is that King was with Ginny. Take King into the house and leave him on her bed and wake up both of your uncles. Tell them to saddle a couple of horses and follow us, then get out here fast. I won't wait long."
    Paul scooped up the dog and raced for the house. Colby pushed down fear. Ginny was probably picking berries near the pond. Ignoring her heightened senses and the alarm skittering down her spine, Colby tore at the tack, hastily bridling the mare. Without bothering with a saddle she flung herself on its hack and rode up to the house. Paul was already waiting for her. Juan stood behind him, his shirt unbuttoned and concern stamped on his face.
    "What is wrong? Where's the child?"
    "I'm going to go looking for her now." Colby reached herself down and Paul took it, swinging up behind her. "The dog's been drugged and I'm really worried. Get Julio and bring a couple of rifles. I can use, all the help I can get." Not wanting to wait any longer, she dug her heels into the horse's sides, whirling it around and urging it into a dead run toward the spring.
    As they topped the