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“The others were rim as they looked at us
“ ‘But where do these vampires come from!’ I whispered ‘You’ve searched your cemetery! If it’s vampires, where do they hide from you? This woman can’t do you harm Hunt your vampires if you must’
“ ‘By day,’ she said gravely, winking her eye and slowly nodding her head ‘By day We get them, by day’
“ ‘Where, out there in the graveyard, digging up the graves of your own villagers?’
“She shook her head ‘The ruins,’ she said ‘It was always the ruins We rong In ain We’ll take theo now Because if you don’t go, we’ll drive you out there into that dark now!’
“And then out from behind her apron she drew her clenched fist with the stake in it and held it up in the flickering light of the candle ‘You hear o!’ she said; and the men pressed in close behind her, their ht
“ ‘Yes…’ I said to her ‘Out there I would prefer that Out there’ And I swept past her, al them scuttle back to make way I had my hand on the latch of the inn door and slid it back with one quick gesture
“ ‘No!’ cried the wouttural German ‘You’re mad!’ And she rushed up to me and then stared at the latch, duh boards of the door ‘Do you knohat you do!’
“ ‘Where are the ruins?’ I asked her calmly ‘How far? Do they lie to the left of the road, or to the right?’
“ ‘No, no’ She shook her head violently I pried the door back and felt the cold blast of air on ry from the wall, and one of the childrenfrom you Tell me where the ruins lie, so I may stay clear of them Tell me’
“ ‘You don’t know, you don’t know,’ she said; and then I laid h the door, her feet scraping on the boards, her eyes wild The ainst her will into the night, they stopped She tossed her head, her hair falling down into her eyes, her eyes glaring at my hand and at my face ‘Tell me…’ I said
“I could see she was staring not at ht from the fire was on her face The woman did not see the rounded cheeks nor the pursed lips, I knew, but Claudia’s eyes, which were gazing at her with a dark, deence The woman’s teeth bit down into the flesh of her lip
“ ‘To the north or south?’
“ ‘To the north…’ she whispered
“ ‘To the left or the right?’