Seth dismissed the men for the evening and he suggested I freshen up in the room set aside for my use. I didn't even offer token resistance. Not when there was the lure of modern luxuries like hot running water and electric lights. I discarded the sixteenth century and embraced the twentieth. After shedding my dusty clothes, I filled the green tiled bathroom with steam, poured a little fragrant oil into the bath, and then sank into the water.I closed my eyes and let my mind unwind. We were so close to answers. Yes, I was disappointed not to find Millicent recumbent on her bed, awaiting a kiss from her demonic prince. But she was near. She chose this particular spot for the house for a reason. Fae paths and ley lines ran under our feet. The ancient catacombs criss-crossed this land. Events were set in motion hundreds of years before, but we would stop her from spreading her plague.An hour later I was freshly scrubbed, scented, and wearing a clean dress. I headed downstairs to the li

An early start was nothing new to me, although once it meant labouring to ensure the house was perfect before step-mother's feet touched the bedroom rug. Today I crept out the kitchen door in the half-light to climb into Seth's motorcar for a strange journey. I would protect one step-sister and ensure the other stayed incarcerated. Let's hope the War Office didn't get the two confused.It was a short trip to our tiny train station. The dark green engine awaited us already, a steady plume spiralling up from its funnel. The train had two carriages hooked up behind it. One was for passengers, with large windows for watching the scenery chug by. The other looked like a metal box, devoid of any windows or source of light. Steel bands reinforced its sides and an armed guard stood at its single door.My curiosity was piqued. I frowned at Seth and indicated the armoured carriage with my head.He glanced at the secure carriage and then shrugged. "No doubt something the War Office wants to ke

The words sounded silly as soon as they escaped my lips. How to explain the irrational fear that gripped me at the thought of Seth stepping outside the carriage?Seth stopped with his hand on the door.I tapped my head and tried to muster up a smile. "Ignore me. It's just seeing Louise has unsettled me.""No, don't apologise. You should always trust your instinct, and yours has proven rather reliable." His gaze roamed over the interior of our passenger carriage. He pointed up to a small flywheel in the middle of the ceiling. "I'll go via the roof, just in case."He stood on a table to turn the wheel that released a hatch to the roof of the carriage. Lieutenant Bain gave him a leg up, as though he hopped on a horse, and his form disappeared through the roof."Douse the lights," I said to the others. We circled the interior, cutting the gas to the lamps and plunging us into darkness.A clip clop came from above as Seth walked to the front to talk to the engine driver. A soft sob es

I climbed into bed completely exhausted but with my body still too restless to sleep. My mind raced faster than the train speeding away from Louise's ambush. She had revealed too much and in doing so, gave us a glimpse of Millicent's plans. Not only that, we now knew she had a large army hiding somewhere in plain sight. Or more likely, under our feet.It was conceivable that Millicent had amassed an army in the North Wessex Downs. The landscape there was remote, isolated, and hauntingly beautiful. It was also little visited, being popular mainly with archaeologists and bird watchers. I wondered about the vermin that had poured out of the alley in London. How many thousands of the undead waited in the sewers and forgotten tunnels of our capital?Despite thinking I had far too much to dwell on, sleep claimed me. I awoke as the pale wintry sunlight peeked around my drapes. I stretched my arms over my head and took a moment to enjoy the sense of peace that washed through my soul. This wa

Every tread on the stairs worked dread a little deeper into my bones. I hadn't imagined it. I didn't have the breadth of experience to dream up the delicious things Seth did to me when my naked skin slid next to his. But what about the vermin? If there was no Grim War, then I had never encountered Seth, nor had I ever worked by his side. As much as it would be a relief to never see another Turned, I didn't want to contemplate a world where their absence resulted in Seth belonging to Louise.I swallowed a sob. I was stronger than that. All I needed was to clear the cobwebs out of my head and figure out what had happened. A good gallop across the fields would help. Once I had seen to them and Father.I pushed into the dining room and rocked back on my heels in the doorway. Hands on a clock spun backwards several months, or did time rush forward? My three step relatives were arrayed around the table. Two wearing dressing robes edged in soft fur. Only Charlotte was dressed in a plain and