Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane Read Online Free PDF

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 old woman looked to the heavens in disgust. “Unbelievable! The mob back in town
     was ready to kill you. You must’ve known as much. And yet you mean to tell me you
     don’t even wanna know
why
?”
    Waiting a while for an answer, the old woman finally shrugged her shoulders.
    “Watch out for those two, you hear me? The reason everyone in town was after you is
     because the daughter of some farmer out on the edge of town had her blood drained
     last night. They’ve probably got her in isolation by now, but when they found her
     in that state this morning, they just jumped to the conclusion you were to blame.
     After all, you are the world-famous Vampire Hunter D. And you’re a 100 percent genuine
     dhampir.”
    As Granny said this, she took her left hand off the reins, got the canteen that sat
     by her feet, and brought it to her mouth. The temperature continued to climb rapidly—a
     sure sign that the world humans inhabited was now far away.
    “Now, I can tell with just one look at you that you’re not that kind of weak-willed,
     half-baked Noble, but the world don’t work that way. Everyone got all steamed-up and
     figured it was entirely your fault, which is why they formed that big ol’ mob. Hell,
     they don’t even know for sure if she was even bitten or not. Truth is . . . any quack
     in town could’ve easily made a wound that’d look like that. Give the girl a shot of
     anesthetic, and she’d have the same symptoms as if one of the Nobility fed on her,
     and she wouldn’t be able to eat for four or five days, either. It was them,” the crone
     said, tossing her jaw in the direction of the Bullow brothers. “They did it. To get
     you thrown out.”
    Seeing a slight movement of D’s lips, the old woman had to smother a smile of delight.
    “Why would they want me thrown out of town?” the Hunter asked, though from his tone
     it was completely uncertain whether or not he was actually interested. It was like
     the voice of the wind, or a stone. Given the nature of the young man, the wind seemed
     more likely.
    “I wouldn’t have the slightest notion about that,” the crone said, smirking all the
     while. “You should ask them. After all, they’re following along after you. But it’s
     my hope that you’ll hold off on any fighting till our journey’s safely over. I don’t
     wanna lose my precious escort, you see.”
    Not seeming upset that he’d been appointed her guardian at some point, D said, “Soon.”
    The word startled the old woman. “What, you mean something’s coming? Been across this
     desert before, have you?”
    “I read the notes written by someone who crossed it a long time ago,” D replied, his
     eyes staring straight ahead.
    There was no breeze, just endless crests of gray and gold. The temperature had passed
     a hundred and five. The crone was drenched with sweat.
    “If the contents are to be believed, the man who kept that note-book made it halfway
     across,” D continued.
    “And that’s where he met his death, eh? What killed him?”
    “When I found him, his arm was poking out from some rocks, with his notebook still
     clutched in his hand even though he was just a skeleton.”
    The old woman shrugged. “At any rate, it probably won’t do us much good, right? I
     mean, you must’ve gone as far as he did.”
    “When I found him, he was out in the middle of the Mishgault stone stacks.”
    Granny’s eyes bulged. “That’s more than three thousand miles from here. You don’t
     say . . . So, that’s how it goes, eh? The seas of sand play interesting games, don’t
     they? What should we do, then?”
    “Think for yourself.”
    “Now I’ll—” the old woman said, about to fly into a rage, but a semitransparent globe
     drifted before her. The