I had nothing to use against a vampire. Nothing but a spell to make my coming death smell better, and I couldn't even say it out loud. Not unless I wanted to drive her mad with the sound of my voice. In that case, the sunlight between us might not matter.

I backed into one corner of the ladder, nearly tripping over it in my rush to get to Hendry. His whole being turned lethal as he stood from his crouch next to the glowing ladder. He pulled sharpened wooden stakes from his ...