Sniffing the air, she walked a few yards to the right then stopped and dropped to her knees.
“So where are they?”
“Here.” She bent down and began brushing snow away from an area. Within a few seconds, the slush began to mix with something black beneath it. It looked like soot or ... ash. “And here.” She indicated a spot close by. “Four more scattered about the place, by the smell of things.”
“Six dusted vamps?”
“Yep. If I were to place a bet, I’d say four negotiators...”
“And two bodyguards maybe?”
“Something like that.”
“Well, I guess that mystery is solved.”
“Not really,” she said. “I think by now everyone assumed this is what happened. The question is not so much what as it is how and why.”
“Can you ... err ... sniff out any clues?”
“Do I look like Grizzly Adams to you?”
“Who?” I asked.
“Never mind. And you call me pop culture ignorant,” she said with a sigh. “I can try, although this goddamn snow isn’t helping.”
“You look here. That diesel smell is pretty close. I’m going to go check it out.”
“Don’t wander too far. If I have to come looking for you...”
“Yeah, I know, I’ll never hear the end of it.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Fortunately, I didn’t have to wander far at all. I crested a small rise about fifty yards away and saw the source of the smell down below. It was one of those big ass Snowcats, like the ones you see on the Travel Channel when they’re off exploring the Arctic tundra. Goddamn assholes. They sent me a piece of shit station wagon that my grandparents could have owned, but these fuckers got a piece of prime tech. I was tempted to go back and take a nice big shit on each of their remains. Fucking Draculas!
Pushing my irritation aside, I realized that the Snowcat itself wasn’t the interesting part. It was both its condition and the surroundings that caught my eye. They told quite the story, and it was pretty damn scary.
The Snowcat was lying on its side. It had somehow tumbled down into a shallow ravine. It was all beat to hell, but it didn’t look like the crash had caused it all. The doors on the top side of the vehicle were completely torn off. Either something wanted out badly, or something wanted in even more urgently. Judging by the pieces of twisted metal strewn about, it seemed like that latter scenario was far more likely.
What could ... oh, who was I kidding? I knew quite well what could do this sort of damage. The wreck practically screamed that they had crossed paths with a couple tons of pissed off forest spirit. I had little doubt Sally was now coming to that same conclusion. A bunch of Sasquatches had waylaid our team, dumped the truck end over end, and then gone after the creamy center inside. The vamps, not being complete idiots, had made a run for it. However, their pursuers had...
Wait a second. Running full out, most vampires could outpace a Bigfoot. James had told me as much back when we were in Mongolia. Then how...?
Hmm, maybe it was an ambush. A few monkeys scared the vamps, then chased them right into the waiting arms of Turd and his minions. That sounded plausible to me.
I walked down to the Snowcat. It sure as hell wasn’t going to be getting us back to anywhere anytime soon. On the other hand, if the inhabitants had vacated the premises quickly, then perhaps they had left some supplies behind. As I mentioned earlier, being a vampire means I’m not all that worried about dropping dead regardless of the circumstances. However, I was still freezing my balls off. Hell, I’d settle for tearing apart a seat cushion and stuffing the foam down my pants ... not that I needed to stuff anything down my pants to impress the ladies. It would be strictly for warmth, you see, and...
I let that train of thought go as I reached the vehicle and considered the best way to investigate. Oh well, when in doubt, go for the obvious.
Getting into the cab proved to be a snap. Not only were the doors ripped off, but the windows were all smashed, too. Judging by the spray of glass, they had been broken outward. Now the picture began to get clearer. While something ripped apart the door, the vamps inside had taken the express route to try and run.
Looking at the cabin – which was a lot roomier than the clunker we’d driven up in – I saw that I was correct. The previous occupants had vacated the premises in a hurry. I saw bags of luggage and a large cooler stashed in the back. Suddenly I knew how my D&D character, Kelvin Lightblade, felt whenever he came across a treasure hoard. Heck, I didn’t even have to kill any dragons to get it.
Yeah, all I had to do was dive in shit, run for my life, and then get swept down a river. Note to self: next time, hope for dragons.
I tore open the luggage, hoping for a few simple items that might be useful. I didn’t need anything fancy. Besides which, showing up at camp all decked out in the regal finery of recently deceased diplomats might look a wee bit suspicious. I didn’t relish the thought of Alex kicking my ass if that happened.
Oh, yeah, Alex. He would want to know about this.
Of course, I had no idea how. For starters, I didn’t know if he was even still alive, much less where he was. Secondly, what was I going to tell him?
Hey, Alex, I found the negotiators.
Where?
Uh ... somewhere in the forest.
Oh, well, I’d cross that bridge when and if it became important. For now, I lucked out. I found a couple of coats and a few heavy sweatshirts. I stripped out of my still wet (and freezing, let's not forget that) clothing and put them on. They fit me okay, but Sally would be swimming in them. Oh, what a shame. Sally in clothing that was practically falling off of her ... nice.
Up next was the cooler. Much like ours had been, theirs was full of pints of blood. I knew most vamps preferred it fresh. However, large as it was, there probably hadn’t been enough room in the Cat for a gaggle of human-sized snacks. Regardless, I was absolutely thrilled with the bottled stuff myself.
I bit into one. It was still fresh. The cold weather had refrigerated them, while the cooler had provided enough insulation to keep them from becoming bloodsicles. I sucked down two, then grabbed another handful along with some clothes for Sally. Never let it be said I was a bad sharer.
♦ ♦ ♦
I came back over the rise to see Sally seated on a log. She was holding something and had her head lowered to it. What the fuck?
Hearing me approach, she looked up in my direction. I saw the telltale smear of blood on her face that told me she had been in the middle of eating ... err something.
“It’s about time,” she said.
“Worried about me?”
“Not so much for you as worried that you fucked something else up.”
“Your concern is touching,” I said. “Beware of vampires bearing gifts. Here.” I tossed the bundle of clothes to her.
Though she hadn’t shown the slightest outward hint of inconvenience, she quickly pulled a sweater over her head and put a coat on. She gave me the briefest look of gratitude – so quick I could have probably imagined it – before beckoning me over.
“I have something for you, too.”
“Ooh,” I replied salaciously.
“Not that, ass. I caught a rabbit while I was examining the area. I left half for you.”
I was touched that she had thought of me ... grossed out, sure, but touched nevertheless. Still...
“Pass,” I said, opening my coat and tossing a few blood packs to her.
She caught them and gave me a glare. “You couldn’t have shown up with these things ten minutes ago?”
“Sorry. Didn’t know the dinner bell was ringing.”
“Well, thanks anyway. I hate rabbit.”
“Doesn’t taste good?” I asked.
“It tastes fine. I just can’t stand picking fur out of my teeth.”
♦ ♦ ♦
I filled Sally in, both on what I had found and on my assumptions. She wanted to take a closer look, so we began walki
ng back toward the disabled vehicle.
“So what did you find?” I asked, walking alongside of her.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Just six dead vampires.”
“Well, I didn’t expect the Bigfeet to stick around and gloat.”
“That’s just it. I don’t think they were ever there. There aren’t any giant footprints or damaged trees. There’s barely any sign of a struggle.”
“Ambush?”
“Unlikely. It’s too clean. Also, there’s no smell. I take it you’ve noticed that Grulg and our buddy Turd are somewhat on the fragrant side.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Well, that kind of stink tends to stick around for a while. I mean, if I could smell those vamps, I should’ve been able to smell any lingering squatch-stink from twice as far away.”
We crested the rise and the Snowcat sat before us. I pointed it out, although a blind man wouldn’t have missed it.
“Well, whatever tore into that thing was definitely big and mean,” I said. “The damn thing looks like it was hit with a wrecking ball.”
“Mean, yes ... but I’m not so sure about the big part.”
Her implications immediately clicked in my head. “François?”
“Yep. He might’ve been able to do this.”
“By himself?”
“Maybe,” she replied a little doubtfully. “It’s hard to say. I haven’t seen too many elder vamps go all out. To be honest, I’m not entirely certain what a vampire of his age can and can’t do.”
I nodded in agreement. Up until now, the Khan had been the oldest vamp I had ever met. Since the most action I had seen from him was shoveling food and drink into his fat face, that didn’t exactly give me too many reference points. Still, I had seen James a few times. If he decided he needed to kill a truck, I don’t think I would put my money against him.
By now, the snow was coming down even heavier. I was still in favor of examining the wreck and the surrounding area, but things were rapidly starting to look like the North Pole, minus Santa’s merry workshop. Soon enough, we’d have a better chance of building an igloo than conducting an investigation. Besides, I barely even watched CSI. What the fuck did I know about crime scenes?
We decided that getting back was more important, especially since the victims of this massacre were all beyond our help.
“I’m open for suggestions,” I said. “Maybe they have a GPS in the cab.”
“The battery would be dead by now,” she replied, as usual spoiling my plans with a little well thought out logic. “Follow me.” With that, she walked toward the wreck.
I started after her, having no idea what she meant. For all I knew, she was planning on pulling off some kind of A-Team like stunt and fashioning a working snowmobile from the pieces. I mean, I had never seen Sally with a welding torch before ... and actually I didn’t really fancy the thought of her with one. Still, that would be cool if...
Sadly, that train of thought was derailed as she came to the Snowcat and kept right on walking.
“So that’s your brilliant plan ... we keep wandering aimlessly?”
“If I were as dimwitted as you, then yes. Fortunately, for us, though, I am a wee bit smarter than that.”
“Well lead on then, Ms. Sooper Genius.”
“It’s pretty simple really. The Cat obviously rolled down this hill.”
“I could’ve told you that.”
“Yes, but what was it doing up there to begin with?”
“Well ... err ... I don’t know,” I admitted.
“Hence why you’re following my lead. Duh.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Hot damn, Sally was right. We crested the hill the vehicle had tumbled down and found ourselves standing on a dirt road. It wasn’t exactly a super highway – hell, it was barely a wide trail through the trees – but it was a sight for sore eyes nevertheless.
“I never cease to amaze me,” she proudly proclaimed.
“I’d be a lot more amazed if you could tell me which way we’re supposed to go.”
“That way,” she said evenly and pointed.
“Let me guess, you have a fifty-fifty shot of being right?”
“A bit better than that.” She pointed down toward the wreckage. “The Cat looks like it rolled down the hill sideways. That means it was probably going the same way as it’s facing now. Care to guess what’s waiting in that direction?”
“A whole menagerie of freaky creatures?”
She tapped her finger to her nose. “All of them no doubt wondering where the legendary Freewill has wandered off to. Well, let them wonder no longer.”
What Happened While I Was Out?
I’d like to say we made good time. If the weather had been clear, we probably would have. A vampire running all out could probably beat a car on a road like the one we were on. Unfortunately, blizzards tended to be the great equalizer in these sorts of things.
With each passing mile, the snow got deeper and, even with our vampire senses, it was sometimes difficult to not wander off the trail (for me, anyway).
Fortunately, we had Sally’s nose to help us along. Eventually she began to pick up traces of Sasquatch scent. We were entering their territory again, which meant we were going the right way. Soon she mentioned other scents as well ... lots of different creatures up ahead. If that wasn’t the very definition of the peace conference, then I don’t know what was. Good thing, too, as the weather kept getting nastier.
I was about to ask her, for probably the tenth time, if we were getting close, when she stopped dead in her tracks. Before either of us could utter a word, another voice rang out, “What are you doing here?”
♦ ♦ ♦
I recognized it. As a shape materialized from the storm, I called out, “Alex? Is that you?”
“The same,” he replied sternly, walking up to us. Unlike our mishmash of purloined clothes, he was dressed for the environment. Gone was the cloak he had worn earlier, and in its place was an outfit straight out of one of the Call of Duty Arctic missions. The dude looked like some combination of snow ninja and Navy SEAL. “I ask again, what are you doing here? Need I remind you that there is a peace conference going on...” he trailed off again, looked briefly at Sally, and then apparently made up his mind to continue. “A conference which I gave you specific instructions to oversee.”
“Yeah, about that...”
“Instructions?” Sally asked, but then her eyes lit up with recognition. “I see. That’s what you were trying to tell me the other day.”
“Trying?” Alex asked.
“Sally stopped me. She was afraid François would compel her ... which, oddly enough, is exactly what happened.”
Alex turned to her and inclined his head respectfully. “An impressive amount of foresight. I dare say, Sally, my people may have to keep a closer eye on you in the future. You have potential.”
“Yeah,” I commented. “Potential to be a...”
The Mourning Woods (The Tome of Bill Book 3) Page 25
