The Hunter's Prey (The Fay Morgan Chronicles Book 5) by Katherine Sparrow

and strong with magic that a witch and a wizard can use,” I said. “As for the monsters?” I pointed at a dark V zooming across the sky. Surely they were geese, any and every normal human would think if they were spotted. Large geese, they would think, and ignore the clot of dread in their throat at the sight of them. The men flew with wide-legged stances.
    We watched them near. There were seven of them.
    Merlin murmured, “It doesn’t seem quite fair that they can fly.”
    I nodded. “Must have stolen that magic from somewhere.”
    “We could still run,” Merlin said.
    “They are seven old brothers.” I emphasized the word old. I had noticed them at the hunter gathering. “We might learn something from them.”
    Merlin squeezed my hand. “Careful, lass. Remember your mortality,” he whispered. “Remember you are precious. In all the world, there is only one you.”
    “One me, and that’s a mercy,” I said and stepped away from him. For if I let myself fall into his sad gaze, if I let myself feel all the things coursing through my blood—fear, the dread, and the spider-thing shivering—then I might not be up to the task at hand. “And you, Merlin, remember you are fully mortal as well. Be tough,” I said.
    “Like a rock. Surprise will be our ally,” Merlin said, and my crafty wizard muttered a couple of words under his breath and vanished. In his place stood a fine granite rock about the size of a crouching man.
    I took a dozen steps away from the Merlin rock, took in a deep and shuddery breath, and stood with both feet rooted in the rich and loamy magic of this green faerie glen. I dug into my many pockets and pulled out handfuls of spells as all around me seven ancient and lovely vampires landed, catching me in their center and closing off any option of escape.

 
     
     
     
     
    9
    The Brothers Romanoff
    Vampires are strange creatures. Strangest, first and foremost, for how they have somehow been able to trick humans into believing that they are elegant, charming, and sexy. How the vampires convinced girls and women that sucking out their life blood was a romantic and devilish pursuit was beyond me. The truth of it was obviously a more revolting and murderous affair.
    The stories human told about vampires had some of it, but not all of it, right. They could indeed turn a human into a vampire if they wanted, though it was a rare occurrence. They did have an aversion to sunlight, though it was more similar to albinism than anything else. And vampires were lovely: when they transformed they took their best physical human attributes and amplified them. Every vampire always looked young and vital, but here the truth of vampires veered from their legends. Though vampires grew in strength as they aged, their minds had all the troubles of aging humans: forgetfulness, curmudgeonliness, trouble with new ideas, and dementia. So even though vampires were functionally immortal, in truth few lived more than a couple of decades beyond the lifetime of the average human. A predator who dawdled and grew easily distracted tended to starve. Not that any vampire would ever admit to this. Like aging humans, they had trouble coming to terms with the idea that any such thing could possibly happen to them.
    “Good afternoon, gentlemen,” I said.
    “Not gentle,” said one of them.
    “Not men,” another said and laughed uncleverly.
    I breathed and felt the languid allure from their noxious pheromones. It was easy enough to ignore. “Well done and good job on the hunt, Brothers Romanoff,” I said.
    One of them squinted.
    Another blinked.
    “We’ve met before, witch?” the tallest of them asked. He dressed as they all did, wearing a leather vest with a white t-shirt and tight black jeans.
    “We haven’t yet met, but hello.” I smiled and turned to look at each of the brothers that surrounded me. All of them stood a good ten feet away from me. “But I of course recognize you and know of your reputation. The