Yet the unearthly air continued to creep toward her.
“Just stop it, or this kid—this girl—will die, too!” she shouted, slipping around the door and reappearing in the rectangular space holding onto another figure. Someone with eyes that could pierce the darkness would see the shoulder-length black hair and the soft lines beneath the simple taupe dress, and might even determine that the girl was about seventeen or eighteen years old. Without saying anything, she just squatted there and hugged her own shoulders. The Hunter’s ghastly aura was merciless.
“Please, stop,” the crone cried out from behind the door. “The girl’s name is Tae—she was one of the hidden. What’s more, it was the Nobility that hid her!”
The girl’s rigid body collapsed unexpectedly. Bracing one hand against the floor, she took short, sharp breaths. Rather attractive in its own way, her face was as expressionless as stone now, as if it terrified her to draw even the smallest of breaths. The girl seemed to have the world crushing in on her from all sides.
Granny’s face peeked around from behind the door. Her expression was deadly serious. As she came out slowly, even her gait was weighty and plaintive. Circling around behind Tae, she put her hands on the girl’s pale shoulders. Turning to the darkened depths of the room, she asked, “Do you know what my trade is?” Quickly realizing she wasn’t likely to get a reply, she said, “I’m a people finder. I’ve been nicknamed Viper, like the snake. But I’m not one of them dala-a-dozen orphan trackers they’ve got hanging around here. I specialize in children who’ve been taken—I find the hidden. You know,” she said to the Hunter, “I can’t very well stand out here talking about it. Let me come back in for a second. C’mon, stand up,” she told Tae as she forced her to her feet, went back into the room, and closed the door. What’s more, she pulled out a chair and told Tae, “Have a seat,” then settled herself in another chair in a display that took presumptuousness to laudable heights. And yet, the reason she didn’t complain about D’s rudeness as he continued to lie there was because his ghastly aura still permeated her flesh. “This girl—” she began to explain before she was interrupted.
The darkness was split by the voice of its master. “You mentioned the Nobility, didn’t you?”
“Why, yes, I do believe I did,” the old woman said, fighting back her delight. “She’s a genuine, bona fide victim of hiding by the Nobility. I nearly killed myself getting her out of Castle Gradinia.”
.
For all the supernatural phenomena that occurred out on the Frontier, the hidden had an especially chilling connotation. Unlike profit-motivated kidnappings, these could suddenly happen right out in public or under conditions where it should’ve been impossible to just vanish. The victims could be young or old, male or female, but in the case of young ladies it was almost certain to conjure images of a dreaded fate that would make anyone quake with terror, even as it robbed them of their tears. There were several possible causes for these disappearances, and they were sometimes attributed to unknown creatures or to the dimensional rips that appeared at irregular intervals. But in cases where the Nobility was suggested as the cause, the terror sprang not from the disappearance itself, but from the anticipated result. What kind of fate might befall a young lady in that situation? If they were merely prey to satisfy their captor’s taste for blood, they might be saved. Luckier still were those who were given positions as maidservants on the whim of the Nobility, though this was less common. A fair number of girls were rescued under those circumstances, but there could be more to it than that—
.
A hell of a time I had there,” Granny said, twisting her lips. “I was thinking I’d taken out all their defensive systems, but there was still one left. Damned thing put me to sleep until night. Well, I’d already made up my mind about what I was gonna do, so I drove a stake through the bastard’s heart just as he was getting out of his coffin. Still, he was thrashing around like nobody’s business, and I had to keep that accursed stake stuck in him for a good three hours before he simmered down. After that, I searched the place, and in the end I happened across this girl. Not to worry, though, I’ve checked her out, and as far as I can tell, there’s nothing wrong with her. I had her hypnotized so deeply it would’ve driven her mad to go any further. And, naturally, she can walk around in daylight.”
“How did you find her?” D asked, his query free of inflection.
Tae shivered with fear.
The crone shrugged her shoulders and said, “There really wasn’t much to it. Once I went down into the basement, I found a prison where they kept humans. She was locked in there. I asked her a few things, and by the sound of it they had her slaving away as a maid of sorts. You can guess the rest. She was still right in the head, so she remembered what village she hails from. The sheriff in Gradinia even had a request from her parents to look for her. And that’s how I ended up transporting her. That’s what I do, you know.” Granny nodded in a way that made it clear she was quite proud of what she did, too.
“And the Noble—what was his name?”
The old woman didn’t answer that question. Although the Hunter’s tone and the direction he faced hadn’t changed, the crone understood that this query was directed at Tae.
Tae’s body trembled, but her face remained aimed at the floor and she didn’t say a word. It was almost as if she was erecting shields of incredible density all around herself.
The old woman, however, grew agitated and barked, “What are you doing? Hurry up and answer the man! This could mean the difference between us getting to the town of Barnabas safely or not!”
Tae said nothing.
“Oh, you stupid little twit!” Granny shouted, and as she raised her right hand violently, her back was straight as an
arrow. Apparently, her hunching had been part of an act to get his sympathy. There was no need, however, for her to follow through with the blow.
“Leave,” D said, making it clear that their visit had concluded.
“Wait just one second. I’m not done speaking my piece yet,” the crone cried out in a pitiful tone. There wasn’t an iota of the bluster she’d shown the Bullow Brothers left in her voice. The sudden and complete reversal was a nice change, though. “Like I just explained, we’re in a situation where we’ve gotta get across the desert. We’ve got a time limit, too. If we don’t get there in four days, counting tomorrow, we’re out of luck. See, the girl’s family is in the town of Barnabas, but on the morning of the fifth day, they’ll be moving on to somewhere else. Given the size of the desert, it’s gonna be close. If we were to go around it, that’d take us more than a week, which is why we definitely need us some heavy-duty backup. Now, I don’t know just what brings you to town, but if you haven’t taken care of whatever it is, I’d like you to put it off for a while and come along with us. I don’t care whether you wanna do it or not; I’ve already settled on you. Hell, even the girl said she likes you. Didn’t you, sweetie?” the crone said, seeking some corroboration, but the girl remained stiff as a board. “See what I mean? She likes you so much that she’s at a loss for words. Of course, that’s only natural, you being so handsome and all.” Chuckling, she added, “This may sound strange, but if I was a tad younger myself, I don’t think I could keep away from you, stud.”
Of course, D didn’t move a muscle.
Seeing that this was having no effect, Granny changed her tactic. Her tone suddenly became tearful. Sobs echoed through the darkness. “Have you no pity for this poor child?” she asked, her entreaty coming in a nasally tone. “She was only ten when she was taken, and she spent the next eight years locked up in a Noble’s castle. Even I don’t know what happened to her all that time, though. And I’m not about to ask. Can you blame me? But somehow, the girl survived. That’s right—she kept herself alive for eight long years, a girl all alone in a world we can scarcely imagine. Doesn’t she have the right to live the rest of her life in happiness now? When I found out her family was still alive and well, it brought tear
s to my eyes, I tell you. Her life’s just about to begin. Now wouldn’t you wanna do everything in your power to help her out?” Winded from her speech, Granny caught her breath. Tears glistened in her eyes. It was all terribly impressive.
D’s answer was brief: “Leave.” The word had a forceful ring to it.
The crone was about to say something, but decided against it. “Okay, I get the message,” she spat in a rancorous tone that would’ve raised the eyebrows of all who heard it. “I’m gonna call it a night, but there’s no way we’re giving up on this. We need you. I don’t care what I’ve gotta stoop to, I’m gonna get you to come along with us. C’mon, Tae.”
As she indignantly turned to the door, the old woman cursed in a low voice. Her back suddenly hunched over again. Taking the girl with downcast eyes by the hand, Granny dragged her out into the hall and disappeared.
The door closed with a force that shook the room. The reverberations were absorbed then by the air and building materials, and mere seconds later, when silence once again ruled the darkness—the chirping began. The sound of bugs, small and distant, could be heard pecking at the dark of night, scratching at the hearts of all who heard it. It was the sort of sound that made those who heard it want to lie down deep in the earth. To those who were leaving, the songs bid them adieu. But how many listeners likened the melody the bugs continued to play to a funeral dirge? The sound continued just a little while longer, and soon, outside the room’s tiny window, the light pink petals began to rain down. Yet even then, the figure lying on the bed did nothing, as if melodies of parting and funeral laments held no relevance for him.
.
III
.
The next day, the world belonged to the winds. Every time they whistled forlornly, a thin coat of what looked like gold dust was thrown onto the streets.
It was still early morning when the angry voices surrounded the hotel. The number of people around the building and packing its lobby seemed like it encompassed the entire population of the small town. They demanded the hotel manager immediately chase off the Vampire Hunter that was staying there. Reluctant at first, he consented after hearing all the circumstances. And while he understood the reasons, his heart must’ve been heavy at the thought of dealing with the greatest Hunter on earth, because his steps were sluggish as he headed to the stairs from the front desk.
All of the townspeople behind the manager were armed. Although there was usually comfort in numbers, the reason their faces were pale as paper was because they, like all residents of the Frontier, were well-informed as to Hunters’ capabilities in general. Their stiff, cold, and clammy fingers wrapped tightly around their stake-firing guns and long spears.
It was probably the manager’s good fortune that he didn’t have to knock on the door in the end. Even before he raised his trembling hand, the door had creaked open and the room’s occupant appeared. His handsome countenance silently looked out at them, causing them to forget their murderous rage and become completely dazed. But it was the manager who noticed D was prepared to set off on a trip. Bringing his hand to his heart in relief, he asked, “Will you be leaving, sir?”
“I can’t rest here any longer.” D’s eyes gazed quietly at the men filling the hallway. The lust for violence that’d churned there had already disappeared, and they were gripped now by
a sort of lethargy—just from that one glance from the Hunter. As D walked into the hallway, the mass of people broke to either side as if pushed back by some unseen agent. Nothing showed
in the eyes of the men pressed against the wall but fear. D went down the stairs. The lobby was a crucible of furious
humanity. Like the sea in days of old, they parted right down
the middle, opening a straight path between the Vampire Hunter and the door.
“Your bill has been paid,” the manager called from behind him.
D went outside. In the street there was a flurry of wind and people—and eyes steeped in hatred and fear. Just as he took hold of the reins to his cyborg horse in the shack next to the hotel, a cheerful voice called out to him.
“Scaring the hell out of a group that size is quite a feat,” Clay Bullow said, donning a carefree smile, though D didn’t even look at him as he got up in the saddle. “Hold up. We’re leaving, too. Why don’t you come with us?” Clay suggested, seeming just a bit flustered. The hotheadedness of the previous night had burned away like a fog. He was also on horseback, with the reins in his hands. “My brother’s waiting at the edge of town. You know, I’m not talking about us all being friends or nothing. We just wanna settle up with you.”
As D casually rode off, Clay gave a kick to his mount’s flanks and headed after him. Flicking the reins, he pulled up on D’s left side.
“Now this is a surprise! Guess I should’ve expected no less,” he said, eyes going wide. His exclamation was entirely sincere. “You draw your sword over your right shoulder. If you leave me on your left, you can’t try to cut me without turning your horse and everything this way. Now, have you got so much confidence you don’t care about something like that, or are you just plain stupid? Just so you know—this is my good side.”
By that, Clay must’ve meant the hand he’d use. His harp was on his right hip. His hand glided toward the strings.
“Care to try me?” the Hunter asked.
Clay’s hand froze in midair. All it had taken was that one question from D. The Hunter was just rocking back and forth on his horse.
The people saw Clay’s mount halt while the Hunter rode away at a leisurely pace.
D turned the corner. The great gates that separated the town from the desert were hazy through the clouds of sand. They lay straight ahead of him. D advanced without saying a word.
Massive forms challenged the sky to either side of the gate—enormous trees that were the deepest shade of blue. Looking like thousands of giant serpents twisted together, the trunk of each had countless cracks running through it. There were no smaller branches or twigs. Naturally, there were no leaves, either. The two colossal trees had died ages ago. Beside the huge tree on the right, a figure in a silk hat sat on a horse. Next to the one on the left was a wagon with a cylindrical cover. Covered on three sides by
a canopy of reinforced plastic, the driver’s seat was occupied by Granny Viper and Tae sat next to her. All of them were waiting for D—but the Hunter rode by without glancing at any of them.
“My younger brother was supposed to go collect you,” Bingo said, his face turned to the ground under his black bowler hat suggesting that he was still “asleep.” As he spoke in his sleep, his voice seemed unbounded. “But I guess the Hunter D was a little too much baggage for him to handle after all,” the elder Bullow continued. “Someday, we’d like some of your time to settle things nice and leisurely. We’re headed down the same road you are. What do you say to going with us?”
Granny Viper cackled like a bird of prey, blowing aside the dusty clouds. “You think our young friend here travels with anyone else? Looks like the Fighting Bullow Brothers have gone soft in the head! He’s always on his own. He was born alone, lives alone, and he’ll die alone. One look at him should be enough to tell you as much.”
The crone turned an enraptured gaze on the pale profile riding past her. “But this time,” she said to the Hunter, “I need you to make an exception. Now, I don’t know what you’re up to, but if you’re going across the desert, then Barnabas is the only place you could be headed, which happens to be where we’re headed, too. Even if you don’t want to come with us, we still have the right to follow along after you.” Glaring in Bingo’s direction, she added in a tone that could cow a giant man, “Sheesh. I don’t know what you boys are trying to prove, but we could do without you. I’m giving you fair warning. If you make a move against D, I’ll take it as a move against us. Try anything funny, and you’ll find yourselves with more than one foe on your hands.”
And then the crone pulled back on her reins and sent an electric current thro
ugh the metallic rings looped around the necks of the four cyborg horses in her team, triggering the release of adrenaline. A hot and heavy wind smacked the horses in the face as they hit the street. Beyond the great gates that opened to either side, D’s shape was dwindling in the distance. The wagon followed him, with Bingo’s horse about a minute behind. Five minutes later, Clay passed through the gate. As soon as he’d left,
a sad sound began to ring out all over town. If the wind was a song that bid them farewell, then the cries of the bugs were a funeral dirge. But before long, even that died out.
The crone’s covered wagon soon pulled up on D’s right-hand side. Golden terrain stretched on forever. The sky was a leaden hue as the thick canopy of clouds that shrouded the desert was almost never pierced by the rays of the sun. In the last fifty years or so, the sun was seen only once. Somewhere out on the line that divided heaven from earth, a few ribbons of light had burst through the sea of clouds in a sight that was said to be beautiful beyond compare. Some said there was a town out where it’d shone, but after that, the light was never seen again.
“Oh my, looks like those two really are coming along,” Granny said after adjusting her canopy and peering into the omni-directional safety mirror. Made of more than a dozen lenses bent into special angles and wired in place, the mirror not only provided clear views of all four sides of the wagon, but of the sky above it and earth below it, as well. The figures that appeared in the lens that covered the back, of course, were the Bullow Brothers. “Why do you reckon they’re following you?” the crone asked the Hunter as she wiped the sweat from her brow. Though sunlight didn’t penetrate the clouds, the heat had no trouble getting through. In fact, the inescapable swelter was a special characteristic of this desert. “They say a fighter’s blood starts pumping faster when he finds someone tougher than him. Well,” she laughed, “it sure as hell ain’t anything as neat as all that. You know why you were thrown out of that hotel?”
D didn’t answer her. Most likely it was all the same to him. He’d probably have just left his lodging at checkout time. No matter what the townspeople tried, it wouldn’t have mattered, because in truth, they wouldn’t have been able to do anything to him.
The Stuff of Dreams Page 19
