Reynard crossed the library threshold and his blood ran cold.

Ashe stood in front of the desk, facing a vampire in a long, hooded coat. Two women, one old, one young, stood nearby like gaping sheep. The other clerk, Gina, clung to the counter as if it were the only thing holding her up.

Reynard dropped the paper bag he was carrying. It landed with a rattle, the extra socks and his threadbare, faded uniform spilling onto the carpet.

Heads turned his way, including the vampire’s. In less than a second, the creature realized he was between two enemies.

Using the distraction, Ashe lunged with a ruler she held like a rapier. The vampire spun, snarling. The ruler caught him in the side, poking the heavy cloth of the coat but little else. Reynard heard splintering wood.

Reynard leaped forward, vaulting over a table full of books.

The vamp snarled, grabbing the young woman around the neck and dragging her to his side. She squealed like a trapped rabbit, high and desperate, curling in on herself as much as she could. She wasn’t a fighter. The perfect human shield.

Reynard was just steps away. How could he get his own body between the human and the vampire? A guardsman could survive a lot.

He never had a chance to figure it out.

Grim-faced, the old lady hoisted a heavy book in both hands. “This is a library, you oaf!” she snapped, and thumped the vampire on the back of the head.

Ashe yelled, “Mrs. F., no!”

The vampire flung out a clawed hand, grabbing the thick purple fuzz of the old woman’s coat. Ashe spun on her heel, slamming her other foot into the vamp’s forehead in a sideways kick.

He let go of his hostages and recoiled, his attention now on Ashe. “Are you going to come quietly, or do I have to force you?”

The girl sprawled on her stomach, too frightened to move. Reynard hauled her up by the armpits and shoved her toward the door. “Go! Go!”

He pushed the old woman and Gina after her. “Now!”

Civilians. He’d forgotten how helpless ordinary humans could be. In the Castle, everyone knew enough to run at the first whiff of danger.

The vampire sprang. Ashe sidestepped, but the vampire dragged her down, pinning her beneath him.

The old woman had the right idea. Reynard grabbed a square metal object off the counter and used the heavy block to club the vampire over the head.

The vamp twisted, grabbed Reynard’s left wrist, and sank in his teeth. Fang scraped bone and tendon, shearing away flesh. Reynard still had the heavy block in his right hand. The pain brought a flood of rage. He smashed the block down again.

“Reynard!” Ashe gasped from beneath the vamp. “Get this thing off me!”

The vampire’s scalp was bleeding, but he clung on, teeth sunk in Reynard’s flesh.

Furious, Reynard smashed again and again, a haze of anger clouding his vision. The fangs loosened. Reynard ripped his arm away, leaving skin behind. He grabbed the vamp by his bloody hair and levered him off Ashe.

Arms now free, Ashe reared up and drove the broken ruler into his heart, then slammed it home with the palm of her hand.

The vampire went limp. Reynard shoved the body aside. Suddenly, the object he was holding seemed enormously heavy. He dumped it back onto the counter.

Ashe was still on the floor, leaning on her elbows. She started to laugh.

“What?”

“You checked him out, all right. That’s the demagnetizer.”

“The what?”

She shook her head. “I thought you were going to bash him to pulp. Did he bite you?”

Reynard held up his torn arm. He could feel the venom, cold as ice, speeding through his veins. In ordinary humans, it produced an addictive, orgasmic state of bliss. He just felt pain. It hardly seemed fair. “I’m immune to their bite. One of the benefits of my occupation.”

Ashe raised her eyebrows. “Lucky, I guess.”

“Are you hurt?” he asked.

“No, I’m fine.” Her eyes were a pure green, so bright they reminded him of sun through a cathedral window. Staring into them, he had the same sense of awe.

He held out his good hand, remembering his manners. She took it, letting him pull her to her feet. Through their clasped palms, he could feel her strength, her elasticity of muscle and joint as she moved. The venom from the bite was turning from ice to heat, spreading a glow like good brandy.