Blood Warrior (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles #4) by Jennifer Malone Wright Page A

time
for that at the moment. I turned to Sarah. “We should go sit down
and talk about a plan of action for finding Korina.”
    She nodded. “All right. I just have
one question.”
    I raised my eyebrows in question and
she continued. “Are you guys planning on staying here, if you are I
will have a few rooms prepped for y’all.”
    Nothing creepy had happened since we
had come into the house, but that didn’t mean I wanted to spend the
night there. I started to shake my head when Anthony spoke up. “We
are already situated in my home, we are quite comfortable there at
the moment.”
    She flashed us a grin and laughed a
little. “I figured as much. Come on.” She turned back the way we
had come from.
    Anthony walked beside her. “If you
like, would you consider moving your headquarters over to my home?
I have more than enough room to accommodate everyone.”
    She eyeballed him. “I don’t trust you
enough for that.”
    It was Anthony’s turn to laugh a
little. “I do not blame you for such feelings.”
    We made our way through the house and
back to the room with the big table. As we tread quietly through
the hallways, every single person in our group kept darting their
eyes back and forth, expecting something to jump out and scare them
or something. This place was paranoia central, though I admit, I
was doing the same thing.
    Once we were back in the map room
Sarah rested her rifle against the table and leaned back in her
chair. “If y’all want a water or a soda, there’s a bunch of it over
there.” She pointed to a corner of the room which was occupied by
probably twenty cases of soda and way more water than that. “It’s
warm, but does the job, all the same.”
    We all made a mad dash for the
beverages. I chose a water, as did most of the group. The majority
of us didn’t drink soda, except on occasion. After that, we all
situated ourselves back into the chairs we had occupied when Sarah
first led us into the house.
    “ Now,” Sarah asked. “What
does this, Korina, look like.”
     
    Anthony reached into his back pocket
and withdrew a shiny, black leather wallet. He opened it and pulled
a tattered photo from inside. He stared at the photo silently for a
moment, a look of sadness clearly written on his face, and then
held the photo out to Sarah. “That photo was taken just over a
hundred years ago. I am certain she will not have changed
much.”
    Sarah examined the picture and then
handed it to Drew, who inspected it and then handed it to me. I
held it in my hands and looked at the woman we were
hunting.
    The photo was that old time bronze
color, faded and scratched in some places. Korina posed for the
photo with the posture and bland expression I’d seen in almost
every other historical photo I’ve ever laid eyes on. Her dark skin
stood out against the crisp white of her dress. The dress had a
high neck and tight sleeves trimmed in a loose lace that fell over
her wrists. At the center of the neckline was a large cameo brooch.
Her hair had been pulled up into a tight knot at the back of her
neck and her hands rested softly in her lap. It was her eyes …
large brown eyes surrounded by long lashes that really portrayed
something about her. Those puppy eyes should have been filled with
life, but I could see anger and resentment swirling within
them.
    “ So, you knew her?” Sarah
directed her question to Anthony.
    He bowed his head slightly in a half
nod, “Yes. I knew her for many years. She was not always as she is
now. The creature she has become is not the creature I knew when we
first met.”
    Sarah only tilted her head in response
as the picture was passed around the table so everyone could get a
good look at her.
    “ Well,” Luke began,
handing the picture back to Anthony, “let’s make a game
plan.”
    ***
    The rest of the night was spent
talking logistics. Long story short, we were beginning our search
for Korina the next evening. Sarah was briefing her people and
preparing. We headed