The firelight flickered as Shade, carrying Angel's Right Arm, stopped in the barn and turned to look around.
A sharp bang made him spin around. The glass chimney of the kerosene lamp on the Stone Table had shattered. In the instant the firelight vanished and moonlight streamed into the barn through the high window, the invisible Bloodkin attacked Shade from behind.
Her figure was completely invisible in the night, her gaping mouth aimed at Shade's neck. But as a golden barrier appeared around Shade and the Heaton Seal knocked Mrs. Jude away, Shade slashed his sword in her direction.
The Blood Moon-colored sword scar was dodged by the nimble Bloodkin. She remained invisible, and each leap nearly carried her straight to the barn's lofty ceiling.
Using her superior mobility, she tried to evade Shade's pursuit again, only to discover that no matter where she moved, Shade's gaze immediately followed her.
"You can actually see me?"
Abandoning her invisibility, the noblewoman in midair turned into hundreds of bats in the dim barn. The dense swarm circled above Shade and dove down together as Shade, lips sealed, gave a muffled snort.
"Hmph!"
It was as though a Dragon Roar had exploded beside their ears. Mrs. Jude's agonized scream rang out from among the crimson bats. Her spellcasting forcibly interrupted by the Dragon Roar, the woman reappeared in midair, then flipped over and vanished into the dark barn again.
The wind stirred the treetops outside the barn, and the moonlight only faintly illuminated a small patch inside the barn doors. Standing in the darkness, Shade suddenly looked up and saw blood-colored Red Mist spilling from the noblewoman in her formal gown beneath the moonlight at the small window.
The Red Moon outside the window stopped precisely behind her. Then her entire body turned