Between them and the house was a small pond, its surface flat and gray, reflecting the somber sky overhead. A thin rime of ice covered the water closest to its banks. Maybe it had once been put there to attract ducks or other waterfowl, but now the pond looked as barren and unwelcoming as the forest that surrounded them.
And suddenly, the forlorn body of water wasn’t the only thing between them and the tall gray house. A man stood there, thin and pale, his black coat falling straight below his knees. Dark eyes under heavy brows regarded them for a moment, and then his thin lips lifted.
“I wondered when you would find your way here.”
Audrey saw the way Michael’s hand went for the backpack he carried and its complement of vials of holy water, and immediately reached out and grabbed his wr
