Tale of the Dead Town Read Online Free PDF Page A

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 victim 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 his 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
     ruin, 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.”
    “Where was your daughter attacked?” D asked.
    “In a vacant house over by the park. Didn’t find anything there when we checked it
     out, though. It’s not far from the house we have for you, either.”
    D asked for the location, and the mayor gave it to him.
    Then D went outside. The wind had died down. Only its whistling remained. There must’ve
     been a device somewhere in town for projecting a shield over the entire structure.
     The town’s defenses against the harsh forces of nature were indeed perfect. Blue light
     made the Hunter stand out starkly as he went down the street. The shadow he cast on
     the ground was faint. That was a dhampir’s lot. There was no sign of the living in
     the residential sector. For the tranquil hours of night, people became like breathing
     corpses.
    Up ahead, the Hunter could see a tiny point of light. A bit of warmth beckoning to
     the dawn’s first light. A hospital. D walked past it without saying a word. He didn’t
     seem to be looking at the signs that marked each street. His pace was like the wind.
    After about twenty minutes he was out of the residential section, and he stopped just
     as the trees of the park came into view. To his right was a row of half-cylindrical
     buildings—one of them was his destination. That was where young Laura had been attacked.
     The mayor had told him