“No—it’s just . . . ”
“I’ve fought side by side with them. That’s the only reason I have. But if you have no business with me, I’ll be on my way.”
“W . . . wait a minute.” The mayor’s tone shifted from vacillating to determined. “We can’t afford to lose you. I’ll make a special exception for them. Come aboard.”
The earth shook as the broad boarding-ramp hit the ground. Once the travelers were on, along with the bike and the cyborg horse, the ramp began to rise once again.
“The nerve of these people and their overblown escalator,” Pluto VIII carped unabashedly.
As soon as the ramp had retracted into the town’s base, an iron door shut behind them and the two men found themselves in a vast chamber that reeked of oil. A number of armed men in the prime of life and a gray-haired old man stood there. The latter was more muscular in build than the men who surrounded him. Mayor Ming, no doubt. He may have had trouble walking, as he carried a steel cane in his right hand. “Glad you could make it,” he said. “I’m Ming.”
“Introductions can wait,” Pluto VIII bellowed. “Where’s the doctor?”
The mayor gave a nod, and two men stepped forward and unstrapped the girl—Lori—from the biker’s back. “I imagine your companion’s more interested in eating than hearing us talk business,” the mayor said, signaling the other men with his eyes.
“Damn straight—you read my mind. Well, I’m off then, D. See you later.”
When Pluto had disappeared through a side door following his guides at his own leisurely pace, the mayor led D to a passageway that continued up to the next level. The whistling of the wind seemed to know no end. All around them, ash-colored scenery rolled by. Forests and mountains. The town was moving across Innocent Prairie, the second of the Frontier’s great plains. Whipping the Hunter’s pitch black cape and tossing his long, black hair, the wind blurred the wilds around them like a distant watercolor scene.
“How do you like the view?” Mayor Ming made a wave of one arm as if mowing down the far reaches of the plain. “Majestic, isn’t it?” he said. Perhaps he’d taken the lack of expression on the young man staring off into the darkness as an expression of wonder. “The town maintains a cruising speed of twelve miles per hour. She can climb any mountain range or cliff, so long as it’s less than a sixty-degree incline. Of course, we can only do that when we give the engines a blanket infusion of antigravity energy. This is how we always guarantee our five hundred residents a safe and comfortable journey.”
“A comfortable journey, you say?” D muttered, but his words might not have reached the mayor’s ears. “That’s fine, as long as wherever you’re headed is safe and comfortable, too. What do you want with me?”
The Hunter’s hair flew in the wind that howled across the darkened sky. They were standing on an observation platform set at the very front of the town. If this had been a ship, it would’ve been the bow—or perhaps the prow. Jutting as it did from the top of the town’s base, it seemed like it’d be the perfect spot to experience wind and rain and all the varied aspects of the changing seasons.
“Don’t you care how that girl Lori’s doing?” the mayor asked, ignoring D’s inquiry.
“Stick to business.”
“Hmm. A man who can slice a laser beam in two, who’s discarded all human emotion . . . You’re just like the stories make you out to be. I don’t care how thick the Noble blood runs in you dhampirs, you could stand to act a tad more human.”
D turned to leave without making a sound.
“Come now. Don’t go yet. Aren’t you the hasty one,” the mayor called, not seeming particularly overanxious. “There’s only one reason anyone ever calls a Vampire Hunter—and that’s for killing Nobility.”
D turned back.
“When I let that man on two hundred years ago, I never in my wildest dreams would’ve thought something like this could happen,” the mayor muttered. “That was the biggest mistake of my life.”
D brushed his billowing hair back with his left hand.
“He was standing at the foot of the Great Northern Mountains, all alone. When we had him in the spotlight, he looked like the very darkness condensed. Now as a rule this town doesn’t take on folks we just meet along the way, but it might’ve been the way he looked that stopped us dead in our tracks. There was a deep, dark look to his eyes. Come to think of it, he looked a lot like you.”
The wind filled the sudden gap in conversation. After a pause, the mayor continued. “As soon as he was aboard, he came up here to the deck and looked out at the nocturnal wilds and rugged chain of mountains for the longest time. And then he calmly turned to me and said, ‘Choose from the townsfolk five men and five women of surpassing strength and intellect, that they may join me in my travels.’ Of course, I had to chuckle at that. At which point he laughed like thunder and said, ‘Agree to my offer, and your people will know a thousand years of glory. Refuse, and this town will be cursed for all eternity to wander the deadly wilds,’” said the mayor, breaking off there. Pitch-black fatigue clung to his powerful and strangely smooth face. “Then he was gone. A touch of anxiety filled my heart, but nothing happened to the town after that. The next two hundred years weren’t exactly one continuous stretch of peace and prosperity, but now I think I can safely say they were times of pure bliss. Now the dark days are upon us. If this town is indeed under a curse as he decreed, we shall never be graced with glory or prosperity again.”
Perhaps the reason the mayor had invited the Vampire Hunter up onto the deck was to show him the deadly wilds of their destiny.
“Come with me,” Mayor Ming said. “I’ll show you the real problem at hand.”
—
Agirl lay on a simple bed. Even without seeing her paraffin-pale skin or the wounds at the base of her throat, it was clear she was a victim of the Nobility. The most unsettling thing about her was her eyes—she had them trained on the ceiling, but they still had the spark of life.
“This is my daughter Laura. She’s almost eighteen,” said the mayor.
D didn’t move, but remained looking down at the pale throat against the pillow.
“Three weeks ago she started acting strangely,” said Mayor Ming. “I picked up on it when she said she thought she was coming down with a cold and started wearing a scarf. I never would’ve dreamed it could happen. It’s just impossible we’d have a Noble in our town of all places.”
“Has she been bitten again since then?”
At D’s icy words, the distraught mayor nodded his head. “Twice. Both at night. We had one of our fighting men watching over her each time, but both times they were asleep before they knew it. Laura keeps losing more and more blood, but we’ve seen hide nor hair of the Nobility.”
“You’ve done checks, haven’t you?”
“Five times—and thorough ones at that. Everyone in town can walk in the light of day.”
But D knew that such a test wasn’t proof-positive that one of the townspeople wasn’t a vampire. “We’ll run another check later,” D said, “but tonight I’ll stay with her.”
A shade of relief found its way into the mayor’s steely expression. Though the man had lived more than two centuries, apparently at heart he was just like any other father. “I’d appreciate that. Can I get you anything?”
“I’m fine,” D replied.
“If I may be so bold, could I say something?” The firm tone reminded the mayor and Hunter there was someone else present. A young physician stood by the door with his arms folded. Making no effort to conceal the anger in his face, he glared at D.
“Pardon me, Dr. Tsurugi. You have some objection to all this?” the mayor said, bowing to the young man who’d interrupted them. The doctor had been introduced to D when the mayor brought the Hunter to his daughter’s room. He was a young circuit doctor who traveled from village to village out on the Frontier. Like D, he had black hair and dark eyes, and there didn’t appear to be much difference in their ages. But, of cour
se, as a dhampir D’s age wasn’t exactly clear, so external appearances were useless for comparisons.
The young physician shook his intelligent yet still somewhat innocent face from side to side. “No, I have no objection. Since there’s nothing more I can do for her as a physician, I’ll entrust the next step to this Hunter. However—”
“Yes?” said the mayor.
“I would like to keep watch over Ms. Laura with him. I realize I might sound out of line here, but I believe it’s part of my duty as her physician.”
Mayor Ming pensively tapped the handle of his cane against his forehead. While he probably considered the young physician’s request perfectly natural, he also must’ve wished Dr. Tsurugi had never suggested such a troubling arrangement.
Before the mayor could turn to the Hunter, D replied, “If my opponent can’t escape, there’ll be a fight. I won’t be able to keep you out of harm’s way.”
“I can look out for myself.”
“Even if it means you might get bitten by one of them?” asked the Hunter.
Anyone who lived on the Frontier understood the implication of those words, and for a heartbeat the hot-blooded doctor’s expression stiffened with fear, but then he replied firmly, “That’s a chance I’m willing to take.” His eyes seemed to blaze with intensity as he gazed at D. It might’ve been fair to say he was glaring at the Hunter.
Without giving his reply so much as a nod, D said, “Not a chance.”
“But, why the—I mean, why not? I said quite clearly I was prepared to—”
“If by some chance something were to happen to you, it would turn the whole town against me.”
“But that’s just . . . ” Dr. Tsurugi started to say. His face was flush with crimson anger, but he bit his lip and choked back any further contentions.
“Well, then, I’d like you both to step outside now. I have some questions for the girl,” D said coolly, looking to the door. That was the signal for them to leave. There was something about the young man that could destroy any will to resist they still had.
As the mayor and Dr. Tsurugi turned to leave, the wooden door in front of them creaked open.
“Hey, how are you doing, tough guy?” someone said in a cheery voice. The face that poked into the room belonged to none other than John M. Brasselli Pluto VIII.
“How did you get here?” the mayor asked sharply.
“I, er . . . I’m terribly sorry, sir,” said one of the townsfolk behind the biker—apparently a guard. “You wouldn’t believe how stubborn this guy is, and he’s strong as an ox.”
“Don’t have a fit now, old-timer,” Pluto VIII said, smiling amiably. “I figured D’d probably be at your place. And it’s not like there’s anyone in town who doesn’t know where the mayor lives. Anyhow—D, I found out how the girl’s doing. That’s what I came to tell you.”
“I already told him some time ago,” Dr. Tsurugi said with disdain. “He learned about her condition while you were busy eating.”
“What the hell?! Am I the last one to know or something?!” Pluto VIII scratched wildly at a beard that looked as dense as the jungle does when seen from the air. “Okay, no big deal. C’mon, D! Let’s go pay her a visit.”
“You do it.”
As the gorgeous young man leaned over the bed just as indifferent as he was before, Pluto asked him, “What gives, bucko? You risk your life saving a young lady and then you don’t even wanna see if she’s getting better? What, is the mayor’s daughter so all-fired important?”
“This is business.”
Pluto VIII had no way of knowing that it was nothing short of a miracle for D to answer such a contentious question. With an indignant look on his face matching that of the nearby physician, the biker pushed his way through the doorway. “Damn, I don’t believe your nerve,” he cursed. Spittle flew from his lips. “Do you really know how she’s doing? She’s got level-three radiation poisoning to her speech center, and just as much damage to her sense of hearing to boot. And neither of them can be fixed. She’s got some slight burns on her skin, too, but supplies of artificial skin are limited and since it’s not life threatening they’ll leave her the way she is. How’s that strike you? She’s at the tender age where girls look up at the stars and weep, and now she’s gonna have to carry the memory of watching her folks get eaten alive, her body is dotted with burns, and to top everything off she can’t freakin’ talk or hear no more.”
More than the tragic details of what was essentially the utter ruin of that young woman, it was Pluto’s righteous indignation that made the mayor and Dr. Tsurugi lower their eyes.
D quietly replied, “I listened to what you had to say. Now get out.”
—
III
—
Once the clamorous Pluto VIII had been pulled away from the room by the mayor and four guards, D looked down at Laura’s face. Vacant as her gaze was, her eyes were still invested with a strange vitality, and they suddenly came into focus. The cohesive will she’d kept hidden tinged her eyes red. The will of a Noble. A breath howled out of her mouth. Like the corrupting winds gusting through the gates of Hell.
“What did you come here for?” she asked. Her eyes practically dripped venom as they stabbed back at D’s. Laura’s lips warped. Something could be seen glistening between her lips and overly active tongue. Canine teeth. Once again Laura said, “What are you here for?”
“Who defiled you?” asked D.
“Defiled me?” The girl’s lips twisted into a grin. “To keep feeling the pleasure I’ve known, I wish I could be defiled night and day. What are you? I know you’re not just an ordinary traveler. We don’t get many folks around here who use words like defile.”
“What time will he be here?”
“Well, now . . . Suppose you ask him yourself?” Her pleased expression suddenly stiffened. All the evil and rapture was stripped away like a thin veneer, and for a brief moment an innocent expression befitting a slumbering girl of eighteen skimmed across her face. Then, once again her features became as expressionless as paraffin. Dawn had come at last to the Great Northern Plains.
D raised his left hand and placed it on the young woman’s forehead. “Exactly who or what attacked you?”
Consciousness returned to her cadaverous face. “I don’t . . . know. Eyes, two red eyes . . . getting closer . . . but it’s . . . ”
“Is it someone from town?” asked D.
“I don’t know . . . ”
“When were you attacked?”
“Three weeks ago . . . in the park . . . ” Laura answered slowly. “It was pitch black . . . Just those burning eyes . . . ”
“When will he come next?”
“Oh . . . tonight . . . tonight . . . ” Laura’s body snapped tight, like a giant steel spring had suddenly formed inside her. The blankets flew off her with the force of it. She let out what sounded like a death rattle, the tongue lolled out of her mouth, and then her body began to rise in the most fascinating way. This paranormal phenomenon often occurred when a victim’s dependency to the Nobility was pitted against some power bent on destroying that bond. Hunters frequently had an opportunity to observe this behavior, so D’s expression didn’t change a whit. But then, this young man’s expression probably wouldn’t show shock in a million years.
“Looks like that’s all we’ll be getting,” said a hoarse voice that came from between the young woman’s brow and the hand that rested against it. “The girl doesn’t know anything aside from what she’s told us. Guess we’ll have to ask her little friend after all.”
When the Hunter’s hand was removed, Laura crashed back down onto the bed. Waiting until light as blue as water speared in through the window, D left the room. The mayor was waiting for him outside.
“Learned something in there, did you?” said Mayor Ming. He demonstrated the mentality of those who lived out on the Frontier by not asking the Hunter if he could save her or not.
The fact of the matter was, when a vampire with a vict
im in the works learned that a Hunter had come for him or her, they’d make themselves scarce unless the victim was especially dear to them. After that, it was all just a matter of time. The future of that victim might vary depending on how many times he or she’d been bitten, and how much blood had been taken. There were some who could go on to live a normal life even after five fateful visits to their bedroom—though they usually became social outcasts. But there were also some young ladies whose skin turned to pale paraffin from a single cursed kiss, and they’d lie in bed forever waiting for their caller to come again, never aging another day. And then one day a victim’s gray-haired grandchildren and great-grandchildren would suddenly see her limbs shrivel like an old mummy’s and know that somewhere out in the wide world the accursed Noble had finally met its fate. The question was, just how long would that take? How many living dead were still out there, sustained by nothing but moonlight, hiding in the corner of some rotting, dusty ruins, their kith and kin all long since dead? Time wasn’t on the side of those who walked in the light of day.
“Tonight, we’ll be having a visitor,” D told the mayor.
“Oh, well that’s just—”
“Is your daughter the only victim?”
The mayor nodded. “So far. But as long as whoever did this is still out there, that number could swell until it includes every one of us.”
“I’d like you to prepare something for me,” D said as he looked to the blue sky beyond the window.
“Just name it. If it’s a room you need, we’ve already prepared your accommodations.”
“No, I’d like a map of your town and data on all the residents,” said D. “Also, I need to know everywhere the town has gone since it started its journey, and what destinations are set for the future.”
“Understood,” said the mayor.
“Where will my quarters be?”
“I’ll show you the way.”
“No need to do that,” the Hunter replied.
“It’s a single family house near the park. A bit old, perhaps, but it’s made of wood. It’s located . . . ” After the mayor finished relating the directions, he pushed down on the grip of his cane with both hands and muttered, “It’d be nice if we could get this all settled tonight.”
Demon Deathchase Page 19
