She glanced up at him, shining stars dancing in her eyes. He didn’t think the greatest artist could paint a face as beautiful as hers. Even that small line between her brows was a work of wonder. Too bad her personality was that of a badger.
“You are jesting,” she said.
“I never joke,” he replied.
She sighed and bit her bottom lip. The gesture made his body suddenly feel even more on fire than it already was. He jerked his gaze away.
“Shooting isn’t too hard,” she said. “You point and pull back the hammer. Don’t fight the kickback, let your muscles absorb the shock.”
“Easy for you to say.”
She rolled her eyes. “The goal isn’t to kill the person.”
“Tell that to your fiancé.”
“He is not my fiancé,” Carolina said. Her smile widened. “You are, remember? That is, if you win this duel. And you’d better, or else I’ll have to slay you here in front of everyone and I’m sure that won’t bode well for either one of us. My papá would most likely ship me off tonight for causing such a scene.”
“I wouldn’t mind that last part,” Lalo mumbled.
Rafael was now standing at the very center of the ball court. He loosened his cravat, then cracked his neck and knuckles. Torches were lit around the edges. Flames flickered and flappedin the sudden breeze that swept over the distant mountains and through the valley floor.
“He is enjoying this,” Lalo said, voice pitched with alarm.
“Yes, that is Rafa. He’s always been a show-off. I heard he had a duel with the capitán of the Northern Armyandhis second-in-command after a card game.”
“At the same time?”
“Sí. He got off two shots before they took one,” she said in all seriousness.
“I am a dead man,” Lalo whimpered.
“You already are deceased, señor. Therefore, you have nothing to fear.”
“I have plenty to be afraid of.” He lowered his tone as they drew nearer to the crowd. “I stillfeelpain. Getting shot cannot be a pleasant experience.”
They stopped before her papá. Carolina never left Lalo’s side. He had to give it to the girl, she was beautifully stubborn. His mother would have loved that. Not that she would have ever met her, of course. Lalo would never have brought some assassin from the middle of nowhere to meet his posh mother. Though, it would have made for an interesting affair.
As Señor Fuentes inspected both revolvers, Lalo found his sister among the throng. Fernanda appeared to be as sick as Lalo felt.
“You will each take five steps,” Señor Fuentes said, loud enough for every guest to hear. “On my word, you will turn and shoot. The man left standing will win my daughter’s hand.”
How had Lalo gotten himself into this? All he wanted was to get his sister out of la ciudad before Maricela discovered them and find a way to save himself from the unrelenting thirst.Yet here he was, getting ready to take part in a ludicrous show of machismo.
He should let Rafael shoot him and be done with the entire fiasco. He’d heal and then move on. But where could he and Fernanda possibly go next? Del Oro was el pueblo where Alma Rosario had died. She was the first to be slain, the first to have been bled dry. The original vampiro had to have been here, and they were the key to extinguishing both Lalo’s unrelenting thirst and any vampiro in Abundancia.
“Apá, please,” Carolina said. “Can we not resolve this by some other means?”
Rafael answered, “A duel is the only way to mend such disrespect. It will be he or I who survives. That is final.”
Lalo gaped. “This duel is to the death?”
“Whoever is left standing will be the victor,” Señor Fuentes offered. “You may decide whatever that means.”
Rafael took the revolver from the case and held it at his chest. “Grab your weapon, Don Juan, or forever show this pueblo what a coward you are.”
Don Juan!Lalo had been nothing but a gentleman his entire life. He hardly ever spoke to women before he was turned. He was most certainlynota rake.
He gingerly plucked the revolver from the velvet-lined case.
