Rippers

PROLOGUE

 “You must have danced with a hundred gentlemen!” Tabby bounced in her seat, making the carriage rock.

“Now, now, Tabitha,” their mother scolded as she patted her youngest daughter on the knee, “It isn’t lady-like to bounce.” She didn’t bother to correct her on the number of men.

“I’m sure it really wasn’t more than ten, Tabby-cat,” Cassandra assured her sister beside her. Still, she hoped Tabby wouldn’t see her blush in the dark.

“Oh, don’t be so quite so modest, darling,” their mother chided her. “It was a full thirteen.”

“It was eleven, mother,” Cassandra corrected as her blush grew more pronounced. “I danced with Mr. James McQueen three times.”

“Oh, he’s so handsome!” Tabby squealed as she clutched her dress to keep from bouncing. “Do you fancy him, Cassie?”

“A Scotsman?” their father interjected. “I think not.”

“What’s wrong with a Scotsman?” their mother demanded. “Especially one like James McQueen?”

Cassandra turned to look out the window as her parents fell into debate over the legitimacy of the Scots. Perhaps the cool air radiating through the glass would help cool her burning face.

“Did you enjoy yourself tonight, Cass?”

Cassandra looked across from her to see her brother Nathaniel watching her, amused but also genuinely curious. He was the only one who ever called her that.

“I did,” Cassandra admitted, turning around fully. “The music was wonderful and the dancing was fun.”

“And the gentlemen?” he asked knowingly. He laughed quietly as a frown flashed across his sister’s face.

“All they talk about is hunting or themselves,” Cassandra complained, “Or, when they do talk to me, it as though they think I am a simpleton who does needlepoint all day. It can be rather vexing, to be quite candid.”

Nathaniel masked a bark of laughter with a cough.

“Believe it or not, dear sister, not all women sneak into their father’s studies and read when they think everyone else is asleep,” he teased. “You can’t blame them for expecting you to be the same. Indeed, I doubt they have ever encountered a lady as concerned with her education as you.”

“It is hardly my fault I enjoy reading,” Cassandra sniffed as she tried to swallow her embarrassment. Nathaniel was right; it wasn’t the suitor’s fault she knew more than they expected. She should have tried to accommodate them instead of making them uncomfortable.

“You’re right,” Nathaniel agreed, placing a comforting hand on hers. “But give them time to realize you have a mind behind your pretty face. Afford them the same courtesy you wish they had you and give them time to show you they have a mind as well.”

Cassandra smiled and nodded. It was the least she could do, and more than likely he was correct.

“I don’t suppose you - ”

Cassandra was cut off as the carriage jerked to a sudden stop.

Their parents looked up from their bickering, confused as Cassandra looked out the window.

Outside, all she could see were trees lining the road. She frowned; had a horse gone lame?

“Stay inside,” their father said, opening the door. “I will investigate.”

Cassandra watched her father leave, uneasiness beginning to prickle across her skin.

“I’m scared,” Tabby muttered as she quickly climbed into their father’s vacated seat. The eleven year old pressed up against their mother’s side, still too young to realize their parents were not perfect or fearless.

Silence stretched between them as Nathaniel’s hand grew tighter around Cassandra’s fingers. Cassandra didn’t react but continued to stare out the window of the door her father had disappeared through.

Two red eyes full of malicious glee suddenly appeared outside the window.

Before Cassandra could so much as scream, the door was ripped open and an arm reached out for Tabitha.

The little girl screamed as she was ripped from her mother’s side and out into the dark.

“Tabitha!” their mother called, but a figure was already climbing into the carriage and reaching for her as well, its eyes glowing fiercely.

“Cass.” Nathaniel tugged roughly on the hand he was still holding. “Go. Run, now. Find someone. Get help.”

Cassandra tore her eyes away from the figure to see her brother fumbling at the door latch beside him as he drew a fire arm from where he’d concealed it inside his jacket.

“I won’t leave you,” Cassandra swore, reaching for him.

He pushed her off him and towards the door, now slightly ajar as he took aim.

“Go, Cassie,” he insisted, finally sparing a glance at her. “Go!”

In that one look, Cassandra could see everything: Nathaniel didn’t expect to make it out alive. But he meant for her to, even at the cost of his own life.

Nathaniel fired off a shot and the figure reared back, wrenching their mother with him. In the enclosed space, it sounded like thunder.

“I love you, Nathaniel,” Cassandra said as tears gathered in her eyes. “I’ll come back for you, I promise.”

Cassandra pushed the door open the rest of the way and leapt into the road as her brother fired off another shot. She ran for the cover of the trees, but her skirts tangled in her legs, slowing her. With every frantic step, she imagined the creature coming after her, gaining on her, grabbing her the way it had grabbed Tabitha.

Cassandra skidded to a stop as two figures appeared in front of her, their eyes glowing like the figure’s back on the road.

“She’s a pretty one,” one of them murmured, his voice low with the hint of a growl.

“She’s not so pretty,” said the other, a woman. “She’s only human.”

“Pretty enough,” said the man. “I’d wager she tastes divine.”

“Stay away from me,” Cassandra begged as she backed up. “Don’t touch me.”

“Cute, too,” the man said as the pair of them advanced on her. “And not a complete coward. Most of them start crying by now.”

“Maybe yours,” the woman said. “Mine are usually dead by now.”

“Ah, we don’t need to kill her yet,” the man admonished his partner. “It’s a family of five. We will be keeping the pups alive for a little while yet. I’m not that hungry.”

Without waiting to hear anymore, Cassandra turned and ran again.

She hadn’t gone more than five steps when she felt the man grab her arm and pull her close so her back was against his chest.

“Ah, ah, poppet,” he whispered in her ear. “I don’t recall ordering my meal to go.”

“What do you want from me?” Cassandra begged, her voice cracking.

“My dear girl, I thought it was obvious,” he snickered. She could feel his breath on her neck now, his teeth grazing her skin with every word. “We want your blood.”

Cassandra screamed as the man bit into her neck. Her knees buckled but he still didn’t let go. And then, everything went dark.