Page 81 of Mistletoe

Naively, as it turned out.

Hal heard them in the distance. If they hoped the night would allow a surprise appearance, they should not have traveled on foot. Horses were far too loud.

“How many?” Emma asked.

“There are too many heartbeats. More than six.”

The situation was far from ideal. There was no reason for so many people to visit the farm.

“Do you think the sheriff has a warrant?” Hal asked.

“The sheriff doesn’t have that many deputies. It must be the military. When they conscripted Felix, at least half a dozen soldiers were present.” She remembered Felix’s warning. “They’re here to conscript you.”

To his credit, Hal did not question her or ask how she knew. He rolled his shoulders and stretched. “They will not take me.”

“What? No,” she said. “Even if you win a fight against a dozen soldiers, they’ll come back with more. You have to hide.”

“Where? That trick won’t work twice.”

Hal was entirely too calm for her liking. “You must leave. Get on a horse and go,” she said with urgency.

“No time for a horse.”

“Then run!”

He stubbornly shook his head. “Those people may threaten and harm you. I must stay to protect you. If anything happened to you, I wouldn’t be myself. I’d be a monster in truth as well as name.”

Save her from philosophers.

“There’s no time. They’re here to take you—they’re not interested in me. Please, Hal. I can’t let anyone hurt you again,” she pleaded. “We’ll figure out what to do after they leave.”

He nodded and pulled her into a crushing embrace. “This is not farewell.”

“I refuse to allow it.”

He took off in a run, his long legs eating up the distance. Soon, he was beyond the barn, into the pasture, and receding in the distance.

Before long, a dozen soldiers arrived. Horses trampled through the dormant vegetable bed and the herb garden, taking the most direct path to the house.

Emma waited at the front steps. Her mother and father joined her.

“What’s going on, petal?” Oscar asked.

“The army is here to take Hal,” Agatha answered in a whisper.

“Why would they do that? How do they even know he’s here?”

“Felix is obligated to report any monster sighting,” Emma said.

“Felix did this? Never,” Oscar said, having more faith in Felix than Emma did.

“He warned me it would happen.”

The soldiers formed two rows directly in front of the house. It wasn’t an outright threat, but the numbers made it clear that fleeing from the house would be impossible.

The crowd parted. A figure emerged, wearing a uniform of noticeably higher quality. Emma recognized him from town, the day Hal sprung the vampire. The day they kissed for the first time. The major.

Felix followed. At least the traitor had the decency to look ashamed.

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