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with the…consult of a government, but it has nothing to dowith which government has the right to which piece of land. And if I’m touchy on the subject, well, I am from Virginia. But I wasn’t asked to come here because of that—or because the South wishes to cause any harm to guards, prisoners, soldiers, nurses, visitors…. It’s not to stage a mass escape. It’s not for any reason of warfare.” She looked at the three men, and then softly added, “Accepted warfare, that is.”
    Cole remained hunkered down in front of her.
    â€œSo, who sent you?” he asked.
    She paused. She wasn’t at all sure he was going to believe her. “It doesn’t matter. I was sent by a Confederate general, one who’s seen what an outbreak can do,” she said at last.
    â€œAnd how are you so familiar with outbreaks?” Cole asked.
    She inhaled. “The Battle of Fredericksburg.”
    â€œWhat about it? You were there? You’re in the army, of course,” Cole said drily.
    She stood, angry, and glad to see that she nearly knocked him down. He was quick, though, and regained his balance to stand, as well. She turned away from him, talking to Cody Fox and Brendan Vincent. “There was a time when I was a conveyor of information.”
    â€œA spy?” Cody asked.
    She shrugged. “All of us are caught in this.”
    â€œThere was a time—no more?” Brendan asked. The older man was perplexed. A loyal Unionist, he had apparently come to terms with his need for Cody; he would come to terms with her as well, eventually.
    She shook her head. “This is—this is something that goes beyond war.”
    â€œGo on,” Cody said.
    â€œThe Battle of Fredericksburg was horrible, truly devastating—”
    â€œA complete route of the Union,” Brendan interrupted. “And yet you say ‘horrible.’”
    â€œA Southern soldier was so agonized by Union losses that he brought water to the wounded Federal soldiers on the field,” she said. “Sergeant Richard Kirkland, from South Carolina, didn’t even bother with a flag of truce—he had to alleviate the suffering. The men whispered that Lee, watching from the heights, commented, ‘It is well that war was so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.’ The point I am making is that the battle itself and the aftermath were so strewn with blood, it was difficult to notice one man’s agony or death…. Or even that of several men.”
    Cole, now with his arms crossed over his chest, was frowning and seemed to understand what was going on. Completely.
    â€œWhen was the vampire attack?” he asked.
    She didn’t mean to do so, but she shivered, remembering. “It was cold,” she began. “December, and cold. And the men on the field screamed and cried. Many of us then went out to see what we could do. I was with a fellow who’d had his leg destroyed by shrapnel. That’s when I heard the first scream—a scream so different…. I turned, and I saw the…the man. Darkness was falling, dusk was all around and at first I was confused. I thought it merely someone in a greatcoat who had come to help the wounded, as well. But that scream came again. More chilling than anything before…and I heard quick movement and then the sucking sound…and I looked around. One of our medics—a man who had not been wounded—protested, demanding to know what was going on. And then one of them fell upon him, and he screamed….”
    Megan paused. Cole’s expression had not changed during any of this. “I knew then. But there were several of them, and the men on the field weren’t really listening to me. I’m sure they thought I was crazy and that whenever they delivered pistol shots into the chest of one of the creatures, it would stay down. But I knew. And I was armed. I was able to take down three of the four I