He walked into the clearing, the smoke thick around his ankles. Burned grass crunched beneath his shoes.

A roll of thunder rumbled overhead, and a strong wind blew into the clearing. The smoke began to move, agitated by the wind, whirling around the circumference of the circle like a hurricane, dark clouds spinning around a black center. The smoke rose higher, past his knees, up to his waist.

He covered his mouth and nose till the smoke rose above his head and dissipated into the night sky. And then he saw it—the black, scorched pit in the middle of the clearing.

He ventured toward it, afraid of what he might see. Sure enough, there was a soot-covered body in the bottom of the pit. He was too late. Again.

A gentle rain began, as if to make up for the tears he no longer cried. The raindrops sank into the black earth and formed little rivulets that serpentined into the pit.

Memories of his beloved wife returned to torture him. This is no’ her. He knew that, and yet he still felt a terrible sense of loss. Over a Malcontent.

He blinked. Maybe not. Like any vampire, a Malcontent would turn to dust with death. This woman must be human. Or she was a vampire who was still alive.

He skidded down into the pit for a closer look. She was curled into a ball like a newborn babe. Rainwater sluiced off her body, washing away the soot and revealing white, supple flesh.

“My lady?” he called to her. “Lass?”

She moaned.

She was alive. The rain continued to wash away soot and dirt. She seemed remarkably unharmed, even beautiful. His gaze drifted over her bare white arms, folded over her chest. Her legs were bent, drawn close to her core, but they appeared long and smooth, the skin beautifully luminescent.