Dead of Winter

by Lee Collins

  "Anyone dead?" she asked.

  "Just this fellow," James said, struggling beneath the corpse. Cora gave the body a solid kick with her boot, and it rolled aside.

  "Seems we got a problem," she said, looking at the scholar. "I guess they ain't scared of them contraptions in the tunnels no more."

  "A disturbing development, certainly," James replied, "but not one I fully understand."

  "Don't take a genius to figure it out," Cora said.

  "Yes, it's clear they've gotten past the barricades, but the question is, how?" James stepped over to his fallen cross and picked it up. "You saw it for yourself: the vampire was still weakened by this cross. They clearly haven't developed an immunity to holy items, so they must have discovered a way around the ones in the tunnels."

  Cora was about to reply when Ben cut in. "Meaning that the rest of the nest could come galloping through that door any minute. Let's get a move on."

  "Yeah, you're right," Cora said.

  "Of course I am," James said, tucking the cross into his belt. "Now, let's get a move on." He motioned for the rest of the men to follow him, but they remained in place, staring at the fallen vampire. Rolling her eyes, Cora drew her saber. There was a wet crunch as the blade sliced through the monster's flesh. Holding the head aloft by a tuft of hair, she waved it at the group.

  "See, boys? It's dead." She tossed the head onto the desk. "Can't hurt you no more."

  The head rolled off the edge of the desk and thumped to the floor. They flinched as one, then began shuffling toward James. Cora grinned as she watched them go. With a little luck, a few of them might close the day out with a kill of their own.

  She wiped her sword clean on her coat sleeve and sheathed it. She stepped over the headless corpse and went to retrieve her lantern. A curse fell from her lips when she found the shattered remains. The struggle with the vampire had snuffed out the small flame, leaving her without a light. In a flash of anger, she kicked the broken lantern against the wall, shattering what remained of the glass casing. She cursed again before following the group into the mine.

  "Keep them crosses handy, boys," Cora called out as she stepped into the large processing room. "Never know when a big ugly is going to fly into your face with them fangs snapping." She reached into her belt pouch and pulled out a small rosary. She rolled the beads between her fingers and smiled. Two kills for the day so far, and night hadn't even fallen yet.

  James stood at the mouth of the first tunnel, peering forward into the darkness beyond the edge of his lantern's halo. Behind him, Ben faced the silent collection of mine carts, his silver dagger in his hand. Cora was glad he'd remembered to bring it. A crucifix was a handy tool against vampires, but nothing could top sticking them with a length of holy silver.

  Walking past the nervous group of men, Cora joined the two of them by the tunnel entrance. "Any good ideas, boys?" she asked in a low voice.

  "I found what I believe to be the vampire's tracks," James said, pointing to the dirt covering the floor of the tunnel. Something had clawed at it, leaving narrow streaks through the pebbles. "It would appear he came at us on all fours."

  "Ain't the only one come through here, either," Cora said, pointing at another spot. "If that ain't a boot print, I'm the Queen of Sheba."

  James bent down for a closer look. "Could have been made by one of the miners."

  "No, it's a riding boot," Cora said. "Heel's too high for a miner's boot."

  Before James could reply, the sound of scraping gravel echoed from deep within the tunnel. They both looked up, but the shadows blocked their view beyond a few yards.

  "Look sharp, boys!" Cora called over her shoulder. "Pack in tight and watch our rears." The men obeyed, forming a semi-circle around the tunnel entrance. They fingered their crosses as they peered at the vast darkness around them.

  "Keep them steady," Cora said to Ben. "I don't want them spooking and running off to get themselves killed."

  Ben nodded and stepped back to join the circle. As she stared into the tunnel, Cora's fingers closed around the rosary. She thumbed back the Colt's hammer with her other hand as the echoes grew louder.

  When the first vampire broke into the lamplight, time seemed to slow to a crawl. She could see the pebbles flying from beneath the vampire's hands and feet as it rushed toward them, fangs bared. Cora took aim at the soulless face, a psalm coming to her lips.

  "Save me, O God, by Thy name."

  She squeezed the trigger.

  "Judge me by Thy strength."

  The cylinder clicked as she pulled back the hammer.

  "Hear my prayer, O God."

  She took aim at a second vampire.

  "Give ear to the words of my mouth."

  The vampire tumbled to the ground.

  "For strangers are risen up against me."

  Another flash.

  "Oppressors seek after my soul."

  Thunder. The empty pistol fell from her hand.

  "Behold, God is mine helper."

  Her saber flashed in the light.

  "He shall reward evil unto mine enemies."

  She charged forward over the ruined corpses and into the oncoming rush. Human shapes lurched out of the shadows, and she cut them down, the sanctified blade carving smoking gashes in the unholy flesh. A thrust through an undead heart, a slash across a rotting neck, a cry for the joy of battle, and the tunnel was silent once more.

  "For He hath delivered me out of all trouble: and mine eye hath seen His desire upon mine enemies." Cora's voice echoed off of the stone walls. Head bowed, she stood amid a pile of smoking corpses. The rosary hung from her left hand, her palm pressing the beads into the hilt of the saber.

  Taking a deep breath, she turned back to the group. Her eyes glittered in the lamplight. "You boys OK?"

  They stared at her in stunned silence.

  "We ain't got all day, now," she said. "I reckon these ones here was only half their numbers, and we still ain't found the big bad pulling their strings."

  "My heart, Cora," James said. "What just happened?"

  "I was earning my pay," Cora said. She cleaned off the blade and slid it home. "You was expecting something different?"

  "You've just slain over half a dozen vampires, and in a matter of seconds," James said. "I've never even heard of such a thing being done by one person."

  "You ain't reading the right books, then," Cora said as she retrieved her fallen revolver. She dumped the spent shells on one of the corpses and pulled fresh rounds from her belt. "Hell, we've done this plenty of times. Granted, we was hunting a pack of hellhounds, not vampires, but you still go about it the same way: trap them in a small space, line them up, and cut them down."

  James just shook his head, speechless.

  "All right, Ben," she called. "Bring them boys on through."

  James looked back and waved at them, then turned back toward Cora and began picking his way around the lifeless arms and legs littering the tunnel floor. Cora fell in behind him, her boots cracking ribs with a sound like a popping fire. She could hear the shuffling of the men's feet as they followed them deeper into the tunnel.

  After a few minutes, the party reached the ruined cross. James and Cora crouched down and inspected the damage.

  "Not the work of a vampire," James concluded after a few moments.

  "No, sir," Cora said. "No way they could get up close enough."

  "It looks as though our intruder had a similar revulsion for holy objects," James said. "The damage is quite extensive." He stood up and looked around. "Come to think of it, he seems to have made some of them vanish. I distinctly remember erecting three crosses here."

  Cora looked at the dirt covering the floor. "Didn't drag them out, neither."

  "This would explain how the vampires escaped, at least," James said. "That's a comfort."

  "Ain't much of one," Cora said, "but I reckon it'll have to do."

  She waved James forward, and he took up his position at the head of the line. They co
ntinued down the tunnel, silent except for the shuffling of their boots. The light from their lanterns kept the shadows at bay, and James continued his habit of lighting the tunnel lamps as they moved forward.

  Soon, the tunnel walls gave way to a cavern. Cora called for a halt. The men formed a cluster behind her, their lanterns throwing long, human-shaped shadows in every direction. The echoes of their footsteps died away. In the following silence, Cora strained her ears, listening for the slightest sound from beyond the ring of light, but nothing came. After a few minutes, Ben stepped up beside her.

  "Anything wrong?" he whispered.

  She shook her head. "No, and that's the problem."

  "What is?" James whispered.

  "Ain't nothing here," Cora said. "If them vampires is really in here, they're being more quiet than they ought to."

  "Perhaps they're frightened of us," James said.

  "Right," Cora said, throwing him a look. "Nobody's waving their crosses or garlic in the air, so they don't know to be scared of us. Dumb as we look, any vampire would take us for a proper feast. You said there was at least a dozen of them suckers in here, right?" James nodded. "Well, we ain't killed that many yet, so the rest of the nest should be fixing to drink us dry to replace the losses."

  The men overheard her, and shuffling began echoing through the cavern. Cora waved her hand, and they quieted down. She listened for a few more moments, then sighed.

  "Hey!" she yelled, startling the group. "You suckers in here?" Her voice bounced off the invisible stone walls. "Come on out! We're plumb dripping with hot, juicy blood!"

  "What on earth are you doing?" James whispered.

  "Proving a point," Cora said. "Now hush."

  They stood in silence for a minute, their ears ringing from Cora's shout. Finally, the hunter nodded in satisfaction.

  "Yep, this place is as empty as Jack Evans's head."

  James stared at her in stunned silence, but Ben laughed. "You've proved your point."

  "Damn right I have," Cora said. "Now let's get out of here."

  "I beg your pardon?" James asked.

  "We're leaving, George. Ain't nothing else to be done here."

  "Surely you aren't serious," James said. "We haven't eliminated the remaining vampires."

  "They ain't here," Cora said, "and frankly, that makes me a good sight more worried than if they was."

  James blinked at her. "Whatever for?" He smiled then, showing his teeth. "We've reclaimed the mine! Our job here is done."

  "No, it ain't." Cora turned and started walking through the group. "It just got all kinds of messy. Instead of a nest of vampires trapped nice and pretty in a mine, we've got a nest of vampires free to roam about as they please. And, if you're right about how vampires work, we've still got a big bad to burn out somewhere."

  James scrambled after her, and the rest of the men followed. Ben brought up the rear, keeping his crucifix pointed behind them as they entered the tunnel.

  "You're a real boost to the morale, you know," James said when he caught up to her. "I'm beginning to understand why you work alone."

  "Ben don't seem to mind," Cora said. "I reckon the rest of you is just too soft."

  "Or perhaps we're of sound mind and you're barking mad," James said. "Still, I suppose even that has its advantages, especially in your line of work. It makes you stronger, more reckless and unafraid of the horrors you face."

  "I may be crazy, but that ain't why I'm good," Cora said. "I'm good because I've had plenty of practice. Me and Ben been doing this job for near about twenty years now. When you been at something that long, you find your knack for doing it."

  "Twenty years?" James raised his eyebrows. "It truly is a miracle that you're still alive."

  "By the grace of the Lord," Cora said, crossing herself.

  "How did you first get into the business?"

  Cora glanced at the ruined cross as they passed. "You know of the war between the states?" James nodded. "Well, that's how."

  "I'm afraid I don't follow."

  "Ben and I was raised and married in the South. Virginia, to be exact," Cora said. "Once the war was over, we didn't have much by way of anything. No homes, no family, no nothing." She spat in the dirt. "Damn Yankees took all that away from us when they came through and burned out our town. On top of that, they went and made a law that said we couldn't head west and claim our own land to start over. Our hands was tied everywhere we turned, so we had to think of something else.

  "We was plain stumped for a spell before Ben came up with the idea of bounty hunting. He figured since he'd trained some with guns and swords in the Confederate army, we could come out west and round up crooks and rustlers. Being raised on a farm, I already knew my way around horses. I taught him to ride and he taught me to shoot, and we sold what little we had left to buy some tickets out to Saint Louis."

  "I'm with you so far," James said, stepping around the fallen vampires in the tunnel, "but it's still a big leap from arriving in St Louis to hunting the supernatural."

  "Hold your horses for a tick and I'll get there," Cora said. "As I said, we showed up in St Louis with our guns, our horses, and not a damn clue as to going about hunting bounties. Ben figured we could just check in with the sheriff and he'd set us on our way, but turned out it ain't that easy. Back then, the James gang was just getting their start, Indians was still a big threat west of Dodge, and the railroad didn't go all the way through to the Pacific yet. You couldn't take ten steps without falling afoul of somebody or other."

  "Sounds like an ideal set of circumstances for bounty hunters," James said.

  Cora nodded. "So it was, which was exactly why we was in a fix. Saint Louis was crawling with folk hunting bounties and folk with bounties on their heads. Couldn't make sense of which was which, and the sheriff wasn't no help to us. We was penniless and in a strange city, so we turned to the Church. A priest called Father Higgins took us in and gave us a place to sleep for a few nights. He asked us why we was in Saint Louis, and we told him. When we did, he got a funny look on his face, and he says, 'What kind of bounties you hunt?'

  "'Just about any we can find,' Ben says.

  "'Can you spare some help for an old priest like me?' he says.

  "Me and Ben looked at each other for a moment. 'Why, sure,' Ben says. 'We owe you, anyway.'

  "Father Higgins got a big grin on his face then. He started telling us how he had himself a problem with a local coven of witches. Seems they was set on calling demons out of hell into this world. The local law and bounty hunters couldn't help him none, not wanting to dirty their hands with anything unnatural and all. Father Higgins was up a tree about it, and had nobody to help him out. Ben and I talked it over, but we really didn't have no choice. This nice old man had taken us in, and he needed help.

  "So we took the job, and soon we found where the witches was hiding. They'd managed to conjure up a hellhound that they kept in a big cage in this old abandoned schoolhouse on the outskirts of the city. We saw that and figured it'd be suicide to fight them with what we had, so Ben gets the idea to ask the priest if he had any sort of holy weapons we could use. Father Higgins asked a blacksmith to melt down one of them silver crosses from his altar, mix it with lead, and make us some bullets. Once he had them, the priest gave them a blessing and handed them to us.

  "We took them holy bullets back to the schoolhouse with us and set them witches to running. They set their pet hellhound on us, but Ben shot it square in the head with the special bullets and killed it stone dead. I managed to round up a good number of the witches, and we dragged them back to Father Higgins so he could set them straight.

  "When we got back, the priest was so happy to see that we did the job that he near burst out crying. After he pulled himself together, he said we could find work doing that sort of thing if we wanted. Lots of folk out here had trouble with hellhounds and witches and whatnot, but there wasn't but a few folks in the business of killing such critters. The priesthood does what it can, but most
priests ain't fighters, so they was looking for some more heroes. We enjoyed the job we did well enough, so we figured we'd try it out for a spell. Father Higgins let us keep the rest of the bullets he made for us and sent word to the other priests that we was in the business now.

  "Now, a score of years later, here we are, still doing the same business. Hasn't all been glory and high spirits, but we stayed alive and made a living besides."

  "A fascinating story, certainly," James said. They had arrived back in the foreman's office, and the rest of the men were waiting by the door, looking anxious.

  "I like to think so," Cora said.

  "One thing puzzles me, though." James set his lantern on the desk. "You say your husband has accompanied you all these years, yet I don't seem to recall ever meeting him. Do the two of you work separately?"