“Huh?” Su-In exclaimed as she looked at D, but naturally she didn’t see anyone else there but him.
In no time, the rider and the truck were tearing through the cold wind as they raced on down the white road. The five villains might already be in the village, and the vengeance-seeking warrior Glen was bound to be following the Hunter. And there was no saying if Professor Krolock and the mysterious thief named Toto were still in the game. But what else awaited D here in the northern extreme and the village of Florence?
VILLAGE AT THE ENDS OF THE EARTH
CHAPTER 4
—
I
—
Soon after entering the village, it became clear that a new day had begun. Inviting smoke rose from chimneys of brick and stone, and there were people out scrubbing dinghies in their cramped yards. Small fish flopped in the streets, and beside every house hung sharp harpoons and nets of flexible steel. The air smelled of salty breezes and fish. Compared to other fishing villages, the slope from the back of the mountains down to the beach was much gentler, and there was quite a bit of level land. The white building that could be spied halfway up the slope appeared to be a weather station, and at the very top of its dome-shaped stone roof a piece of surveying apparatus that looked like an antenna shook in the wind.
Apparently recognizing the truck’s owner at a glance, women bundled in fur coats and mufflers and gloves while they repaired nets or poured pots of boiling water on the frozen streets smiled with familiarity toward the vehicle, but as soon as they noticed D they slipped into a daze. In what must’ve been an attempt to reduce the risks during freezing weather, rubber mats dotted the sloping streets and stone steps. Everyone’s breath was white.
Was summer really coming?
Going through the center of town, the group came to a road that overlooked the beach. A short while earlier, Ban’gyoh had gotten out of the truck.
“I am in your debt. May God’s blessing be on you!” he’d said, repeating his thanks over and over as he departed.
On a stretch of sand that must’ve been a mile wide, power boats large and small lay on their sides like strange denizens of the sea’s depths. The ships that challenged the freezing seas with anywhere from five to fifty fishermen aboard had high-powered engines one would never expect from their deceptively slow appearance, and they could glide between the icy chunks with the grace of a skater. In a manner of speaking, these ships were the fishing village’s advance guard. Apparently under repair, a number of the vessels were suspended by rigging of wood and steel. Waves rolled in from the gray sea their prows still faced, and the wind carried the music of those jostling chunks of ice.
Suddenly, D shifted his gaze inland.
Following his eyes, Su-In found the elevated stage that could be glimpsed through the grove of evergreens. “That’s the band tower for the summer festival,” she said. “They’ll be having it back there pretty soon. There’ll be dancing and concerts and games—all kinds of stuff.”
“Summer?” said D.
“Yeah,” Su-In said with a nod, a faraway look in her eyes. “Even way up north in a dead little village like ours, summer still comes around, you know. And when it does, we have our celebration.” A hint of expectation skimmed across the face of the same woman who’d earlier muttered her own doubts about whether summer was coming. “It’ll be here in just three days. Out on the Frontier, summer might come to different places at different times, but ours will be here in three days.”
Having followed the shore road for half its length before turning right, Su-In’s truck then ran alongside a broad drainage ditch for five minutes before it halted. The west side of the stone house was enveloped in steam—this was because the water running down the side of the street was actually boiling hot. No doubt it was the result of a water-heating system somewhere.
A gray-haired old man who must’ve heard the truck’s engine came out of the front door dragging one leg behind him as Su-In pulled onto the property.
“Allow me to introduce you. This is my grandfather, Han. Grampa Han, this is Mr. ‘D.’ He’s been kind enough to come all this way with a message from Wu-Lin.”
The old man had a harsh glint in his eye as he looked D over, but he soon broke into a smile. “Welcome! Any friend of my granddaughter’s is a friend of mine. Come on, now. Step right inside and don’t be shy!”
Once they were in the living room, the chill had dissipated. The hot water running down the side of the street also circulated through the stone walls and floors to heat them, and the insulating properties of the rocks themselves now served to hold the warmth very well. Su-In and the old man seemed mesmerized by the bead D placed on the table with his left hand. After hot coffee was set out and Grampa Han had been informed of Wu-Lin’s demise by Su-In, the old man didn’t say anything for some time.
“And she died because of that bead?” Su-In finally ventured.
“Most likely.”
“Who killed her?”
“The same kingpin back in town that hired the man we met on the ship and his colleagues. Gilligan was his name.”
“And what’s he doing now?”
“He’s dead.”
Su-In stared at D. “You paid him back for my sister, didn’t you?”
“I suppose you could say that.”
“Why? Now, I don’t know what line of work you’re in, but by the look of you I take it you’re a warrior or a Hunter. Did my sister hire you then?”
“Gilligan wasn’t a Noble.”
Su-In’s eyes stretched wide with surprise. “So, you’re a Vampire Hunter . . . Come to mention it, I’d heard there was one out on the Frontier so good-looking it was scary, and that he had an odd name . . .”
“I’ll tell you all I know,” D said, his coolness slicing through Su-In’s astonishment.
When the young man finished giving them the facts, Su-In had her face hidden in her hands. Although no sob escaped her, her shoulders were quaking. Tears fell without end from Grampa Han’s eyes, soaking his lap.
“So—I was just wondering if my sister had a peaceful death,” Su-In asked, her voice somewhat muffled.
“Yes.”
“But she still had enough time to ask you to take care of the bead?”
“Would you have preferred she’d died without saying anything?” asked the Hunter.
“That’s not—”
“Of course she wouldn’t have wanted that,” the old man said.
“We’re not going to get her body back, are we?” said Su-In.
“No, but she still looked so lovely.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m done here. Thanks for the coffee,” D said as he got to his feet.
“Wait,” Su-In called out to stop him. “Are you just going to leave?”
“My business here is finished.”
“Terrifying people are headed toward our village to get this bead. Worse yet, they’re probably already here. Please—you’ve got to fight them.”
“Give them the bead. No matter what its value may be, it’s not worth more than your life.”
“I just can’t do that. Not after my sister gave it to you at the cost of her own life!”
“I only deal with Nobility.”
If D had seriously made the remark in an attempt to leave, you could say it was a grave error. Su-In’s eyes sparkled. Maybe they were saying that she’d successfully trapped him, or perhaps they were just filled with the purest hope.
“There’s Nobility in this village, too,” she said, staring fixedly at D’s face.
“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“It’s a big skeleton in the village’s closet, and they don’t exactly let it get out. Just knowing there was Nobility here would be enough to keep folks from buying our fish.”
In the Northern Frontier, hatred of the Nobility was especially strong. In extreme cases, it wasn’t unheard of for an entire town to pick up and move when someone simply discovered a few of the Nobili
ty’s ruins there. And that was nothing compared to what they’d do if the accursed creatures were actually prowling around again—
“What kind of Nobility?” the Hunter asked.
“I’ll tell you that in a minute. Wait. I want to put the bead away first.”
Su-In got up and went into one of the back rooms, returning a short while later.
“Where did you stash it?” Grampa Han asked as he wiped away his tears.
“In the usual box,” Su-In replied casually.
Just then, there was an urgent knock at the door.
“Wonder who that could be at this hour?” Getting to her feet again, Su-In walked over to the intercom beside the door. Coughing once, she asked, “Who is it?”
“It’s me—Dwight!” a man said, his rough voice carrying a strange tension. “I raced right on over here just as soon as I heard you were back. Just a little while ago, your grandfather’s body washed up in ‘the jaws’ by the cape.”
“Don’t talk nonsense—” Su-In shot back, but even as she said these words something struck her and she turned toward her grandfather.
Grampa Han was on his feet. He was probably going to make a break for it.
But that wasn’t the way it went. Right in front of him, a disturbing streak of light raced from left to right. As he looked at D and the blade he held, the old man’s eyes swam with hatred and fear.
“That’s quite a disguise,” said D. “Are you one of the five Gilligan sent?”
“Oh, you know about us, do you?” the old man replied, his fearful tone suddenly becoming more vibrant and youthful. “I’m known as ‘the Indiscernible Twin.’ I’ve had a bad feeling ever since I found out you were the Vampire Hunter D. Tell me something—when did you know?”
“When you asked where she’d put the bead.”
Grampa Han—or rather, Twin—scratched at his gray beard and said, “Sheesh, that was careless of me. But I was so sure of my disguise.”
“So it was you that killed her grandfather then?”
“It sure was. Wouldn’t do to have two of us running around, would it? But after all the trouble I went to disguising myself as her grandfather so I could get all kinds of info out of her before I did her in, in comes this major hurdle.”
Rooted by the vile and stunning confession she’d just heard, Su-In reflexively undid the bolt when she heard another frantic knock on the door.
The young man who flew in had the imposing build of a grizzly bear. Even through his heavy leather coat and trousers the contours of his muscles stood out starkly. A pair of foot-long wooden clubs connected by a leather strap were stuck through his belt. “Morning,” he grunted to Su-In as he raised a hand in greeting, but after he caught a glimpse of the situation in the living room over the woman’s shoulder, his eyes bulged in their sockets. “What in the world?! But you’re—”
“He’s an impostor!”
“What?! An impostor?!”
“I thought she told you we were busy in here,” Twin said with a wink of his right eye to Dwight, and then he reached out in a smooth motion and grabbed hold of D’s sword with one hand.
Although the blade didn’t look like it moved at all, it was D’s skill alone that left all five of the old man’s fingers scattered across the floor.
“Damn, that hurt!” the old man said with a grimace. “But it looks like that’s what it’s going to take to get me out of here,” he added as he leapt back. He was still in midair when something black spouted from his right shoulder. A second later, the old man’s body made an impossible bound for the window and disappeared, leaving only the sound of breaking glass behind.
Shouting, “Hold it, you bastard!” Dwight jumped right out after him.
Not entirely sure what’d just happened in the wake of these incredible events, the dazed Su-In looked at D and noticed his eyes were intently scrutinizing his own blade. “D . . .” she said.
Not responding, D brushed the blade of his sword with his left hand.
His masterful swordplay should’ve left the foe who called himself Twin split in half through the clavicle and scapula. But halfway through, it had made no more progress.
There was a strange feeling in his fingertips. About a foot and a half from the tip, something semi-translucent, like a thin film, adhered to his blade. Peeling it off, he found that it was indeed a thin, gelatinous membrane. Dripping with viscous goo, layer upon layer of this membrane had wrapped around the Hunter’s blade, leaving it too dull to cut at all. There was no need for him to wonder where his foe might’ve kept such a substance. Undoubtedly it was part of Twin’s very own skin.
As D sheathed his sword without saying a word, Dwight returned.
“He’s long gone. Jumped into the flume by the street. You have any idea how hot that water gets? It’s gotta be boiling—that bastard dove right in like it was nothing. Goddamn freak!” With the same anger that his voice had carried now in his eyes, the young man stared at D. “And who the hell’s this?”
“I was going to introduce him to you later—this is Mr. D. He ran into Wu-Lin down in Cronenberg and was good enough to bring us a message from her. He’s a warrior.”
At Su-In’s reply, the young man grew visibly angry. “Great! Only the worst kind of musclebound drifter. All of a sudden we’ve got all kinds of freaks pouring into town. Well, they’re not exactly invited to the summer festival.”
“Now, don’t say things like that. He’s here because I asked him to come.”
At Su-In’s firm tone, Dwight’s mouth became a tight-lipped frown and he held his tongue. It wasn’t that Su-In had got the better of him—there seemed to be some other special reason. “Yeah, well, what the hell’s going on here?” he asked. “I mean, what are you gonna do? About your grandfather’s body, that is.”
“I’ll be right over to pick him up. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to leave now.”
Once Dwight had left with a sullen look on his face, Su-In stood there with a pitiful expression.
“I—I’m all alone now,” the girl mumbled, and as she took a step, she staggered. A fit of dizziness had swept over her. Any ordinary man or woman would’ve had the soul torn out of them by the series of tragedies and strange events she’d been through. But her shoulders were supported by cold, strong hands.
“You’d better take the bead with you,” D said softly. “All of them must know where your house is.”
Su-In looked back at D like a floundering student who’d just been given encouragement by a focused instructor. Her deep brown eyes instantly filled with tears—and hope. “Will you stay here with me?” she asked.
“Are you going to hire me?”
“Sure,” Su-In replied with a forceful nod. She wasn’t crying anymore.
“My compensation will be the bead.”
Su-In’s expression reflected surprise for a moment, but she nodded her assent to his condition. “I’ll leave everything to you, then. If I give it to you, I’ll be safe. Thank you.”
Returning to the room in the back of the house, Su-In got the bead and handed it to D.
The two of them went outside.
The glow of dawn had become the heavy light of morning.
—
II
—
Desolate in some indefinable way, the strangely spacious chamber nevertheless retained touches here and there of an otherworldly grandeur. Although outside the vitality of morning had become a light that filled the world, a single shadowy figure came into this place where murkiness yet lingered.
“I smell blood,” said a female voice from somewhere in the darkness.
A few hazy figures could be seen there if you stared hard enough, and though you could definitely make out a fair bit of the intricate carving on the chairs and sofas and tables, the occupants remained mere silhouettes. However, it was the same feminine voice that’d echoed from one of the doorways back in Gilligan’s outbuilding.
“You were beaten, weren’t you? Not as tough as you made yourself out
to be,” someone sneered in a grave tone from a heavily draped window.
“I can’t say that I blame you. I’m in no position to laugh, you know,” said a third voice. It was clearly that of “Shin the Manipulator.”
At this point the fourth and final speaker would’ve been expected to say something, but oddly enough, only the same low, beastly growl heard back at Gilligan’s suddenly rolled from one side of the chamber.
“I blew it,” Twin said, not sounding the least bit daunted as he seated himself on the floor in the middle of all the other speakers. Not surprisingly, only the vaguest outlines of his face and body could be seen—no doubt these were the conditions under which they’d all agreed to meet. “I disguised myself as the old man and went there in the hopes of getting the stone and all its secrets from the girl. I’d gotten the geezer to tell me his granddaughter had gone down to Hanbury to buy the latest kind of whetstone, so I was just sitting around biding my time when she came back with a house guest from hell. He was—”
“D,” Shin interrupted in a tone that sent chills down their spines.
“I was pretty sure that’s who it was. My skin veil managed to slow his blade, but I’m still a mess. Another fraction of an inch and he’d have cleaved me to the bone. There wasn’t a thing I could do about it—just say thanks and bye-bye. And on top of everything else, I wound up getting soaked in boiling hot water. The world’s not a complete loss yet if there’re still scary characters like him around . . .”
“Was it someone else that took out Shin?”
“I wasn’t taken out. I just lost an arm.”
“Shin, when did you get back?” asked Twin. “I was sure you must’ve died along the way or something. You’ve got a lot of nerve slinking back here and joining up with the rest of us.”
“Don’t say that,” said the deep voice that interceded. “As luck would have it, I happened to see him on my way here and I asked him to come along. At any rate, he’s agreed to join forces with all the rest of us so we can bring the bead back together.”
“Speaking of that,” the woman’s voice interrupted, “we left it to Twin to get the thing because we thought there was just an old man and a girl guarding it and it’d be foolish for all of us to be fighting each other to get to it first. But now it appears we should start looking out for ourselves again. Whoever takes out her bodyguard should be first in line for it, I say.”
Mysterious Journey to the North Sea, Part 1 Page 9
