by Jon F. Merz
“Is that what you think of me? That I am lazy and mediocre?”
“You were,” said Felix. “But you have started casting off those chains. Still, though, you have remnants of your former life that demand to know some comfortable reason for why I am as I am and you are not yet the same. So you do what they do: you make guesses, assumptions, and excuses. The truth is very simple: I am driven, I am intense, and despite that, I enjoy very much my leisure time. But when I am working, I work. I give myself to my mission entirely for it is the only way to succeed. Just as when I choose to play, I give myself entirely to that endeavor for the same reason.”
Felix fell silent and resumed eating. Wolfric looked at him and knew what his teacher had said was right. He resented him for the seemingly effortless way he was able to do this job. But that resentment didn’t take into account all of the hard work Felix had presumably put into becoming a Fixer. He was able to do it now as well as he did because of the grueling work he’d done far back in his career.
When he was like Wolfric.
“I’m sorry.”
Felix waved a hand. “Eat and say no more of it. I don’t begrudge you for your assumptions, Wolfric. They are to be expected. Just take care that you don’t rely on them or they will get you killed.”
The door to the inn crashed in and Davo stood there in the doorway while a harsh breeze screamed in with him. He glanced around and settled his gaze on Felix.
“Come quickly. There’s been another attack.”
Chapter 29
Davo led them down the main lane of the village and then turned right by the bakery. At the end of the block, he paused and rapped on a heavy wooden door. It cracked open and Wolfric saw a man’s beady eyes peer out. Davo grunted and the man immediately fell back yielding entrance to them all without question.
“Who are they?” asked the man when they had gone inside the meager yet cozy home.
“Friends,” said Davo. “Where is she?”
The man stood about five feet four and his hair was disheveled like his clothes. Sprouts of it grew at weird angles and combined with the beady eyes gave him a look of someone very frantic. The situation probably didn’t help his demeanor, Wolfric decided.
“In the bedroom.”
Felix pushed past them both and headed into the room. Wolfric followed at his heels. As he entered, he saw the woman of about forty laying in the bed with the covers pulled up close to her chin. She appeared pale even at this angle.
“Open the curtains,” said Felix then. “I need light.”
The man started to protest. “She says the light hurts her eyes.”
“She’ll have to endure,” said Felix. “I need to see what we are dealing with here.”
Wolfric tore up the curtains and the effect flooded the room with light. A low moan escaped the woman’s mouth even though her eyes remained tightly closed. The man started moving around the room without any purpose, pacing to and fro as Felix bent closer to the woman Wolfric assumed was his wife.
“Now, then, let us see what he have here.” He nudged the woman’s head slightly to the right and then changed to the left. Then he peered closer and nodded to Wolfric. “Come and see.”
Wolfric looked over his teacher’s shoulder and saw the fresh puncture marks of two incisors near the base of the neck. He knew they would have searched out the artery. But the wound was self-clotting and it would have healed easily enough rather than caused the woman to bleed out. There was no longer any danger of that, but the amount of blood that had been taken seemed much more than was necessary.
As vampires, they needed only a small amount to subsist on for days at a time. The life force energy sustained them quite well. But judging by the appearance of the woman and the paleness of her flesh, she had been robbed of much more than this. And that was where the danger was. If her body could not produce enough of it in order to recover, she would die.
Felix bent closer and peered in at the teeth marks. He looked at them from all angles and when he was satisfied, he grunted to Wolfric. “You can draw the curtains again.” He stood up as Wolfric did so and walked away from the bed, motioning for Davo and the man to follow him outside of the bedroom.
“She’s lost a lot of blood, that much is evident.”
“What did this?” asked the man.
Felix shook his head. “Whatever name you have for it, doesn’t matter. The fact is she was attacked by some type of blood sucker. A strigoi you call them, right? That does not matter now. What matters is that she be fed and fed well. Force her to eat if necessary, but she needs meat. A lot of it. Have you liver? Get her to ingest it. Her body needs what the food provides to replace the blood she has lost. If she is not able to replace it then she might well die. Keep her in bed so she can rest and not exert herself. Her two priorities now are to eat and sleep. That is all. You must stay by her side throughout the next forty-eight hours and that will tell us if she will make it or not. But food, man, that is essential to her health now. Do you understand?”
The man nodded his head violently. “I will get her everything she needs. I cannot imagine my life without her.”
“When did this happen?” asked Felix.
“Last night, I think,” said the man. “We retired around ten. I sat up reading and then fell asleep. I was beside her the entire time and I heard not a single sound throughout the entire night. It was only when I awoke that I found her like this. My god, what did they do to her?”
“What they could have done was kill her,” said Felix. “And they did not, so take heart in that fact. Your job now is to nurse her back to full health. If you do so, I have no doubt she will return with as much vigor and vitality as she had prior to last night’s unfortunate event.”
The man nodded and for the first time seemed to have a fresh sense of purpose. “Very well, then gentleman, if you would allow me, I will see you out so I can get what I need from the market.”
Davo put a hand on the man’s shoulder and with the other handed him some coins. “It’s not much, but it should help you get some extra provisions. Give her my best the she comes around. I’ll check in on you tomorrow.”
The man smiled. “Bless you, Davo. You are a wonderful soul.”
The three of them stepped outside and watched as the man scurried away down the lane. Davo looked at Felix. “Are you certain?”
“It was fairly obvious, was it not?” asked Felix. “Judging by the size of the fangs, it is an adult aged creature. We must now look for any clues it may have left behind.”
“Where?”
Felix smiled. “Why, outside of the bedroom window, I would think.”
Davo grunted again. “The legends claim that strigoi cannot enter a home without an invitation. How then was it allowed to do so in this case and every other attack?”
Felix shrugged. “I would assume that the legends are incorrect then. Obviously no one is going to invite such a creature into their homes, are they? The only logical conclusion is that the legends are wrong in that regard.”
“Either that,” said Wolfric, “or they knew the victims and have been in the house before.”
Davo eyed him. “Wouldn’t that mean then that the strigoi is a member of the village?”
“Possibly,” said Wolfric.
“Impossible,” said Davo. “How could such a creature live among us without our knowledge? We would be aware of it, would we not?”
Felix shrugged. “I suppose it’s possible that certain subterfuge could be employed making it harder to detect them. But again, I am not sure. Now come. Let us examine the only other entry into the house: the bedroom window.”
They walked around the outside of the house and came to the window. On the exterior, the wooden shutters lay against either side. “They haven’t been closed in some time,” said Felix. “There are cobwebs behind them.”
“Most people keep them open until the heavy snows come. Which should be soon.”
“Fair enough.” Felix bent and looke
d at the ground. “Here then are some imprints in the earth. But not enough to get very much detail.”
Wolfric stooped and examined the ground his teacher looked at. He could make out what appeared to be the impression of a heel in the dirt. “A boot perhaps?”
“Perhaps,” said Felix. “I wish there were a clearer sign than just this. All it does is confirm that an adult creature made this mark. Or else someone else walked by here recently.” Felix stood and ran his gaze over the sill of the window. “There is no dirt to speak of on the sill itself. But it has also been windy and any soil left behind may have blown away already today.”
He backed away and examined the scene further before looking at Wolfric. “Do you see anything else here that stands out as peculiar?”
Wolfric took the same vantage point and let his eyes rove over the scene. Aside from the window, there was little to examine. Beneath the sill, the ground was mostly dirt with a few sprigs of grass and weeds growing. But as he looked, Wolfric saw the bent stalk of a weed and wandered closer.
“This stalk is darker than the others.”
“Meaning?” asked Felix.
“It was turned somehow toward the sun and has not yet lightened in the light.”
“Go on.”
“Whoever did this came in through the window during the night. That heel print is one clue and this is another.” He stood and looked at Felix. “If I were a gambling man, I would say these creatures are entering and exiting by the window and not the door.” He looked at Davo. “You should tell the villagers to bar their windows if they want to keep these things out.”
“Good,” said Felix. “We know how they probably gain entry to the homes. Now all we have to do is figure out who is behind this.”
“And kill them,” said Davo.
Chapter 30
While Davo headed off to inform the villagers about the need to bar their windows, Wolfric followed Felix out of town toward the manor house. As they walked along the road, the clouds overhead thickened and snow flakes began drifting down, tossed on the stiff breeze that blew in from the west through the thick stands of pines. Wolfric shivered and wrapped his cloak around him tighter.
“Do you think it will help?”
“What? Davo telling the townsfolk to secure their windows?” Felix shrugged. “It’s possible, I suppose. But it won’t do that much, frankly.”
“Then why tel him to do it?”
“Because I need him occupied with something he thinks will help protect his people. Davo is concerned for their welfare and he has much at stake. But he’s also in our way. Our goals are similar but our methods will be different. He cannot know why we are truly here and he certainly can’t see how we deal with the culprits in this case. Otherwise, we will have to eliminate him as well and I have no desire to do such a thing. He shares no guilt in this, I am fairly certain.”
“I wouldn’t think so, either, given he lost his family to it years back.”
“And I would think that would explain why he is as committed as he is to this cause. He knows the pain of loss and has no desire to see it repeated. For that, we must be grateful. But even still, it is a bit of a hindrance to us. I would have rather been able to ride into town and do our job without this much fanfare, so to speak. But the climate necessitated our actions to this point. We cannot always be invisible. We sometimes have to assume other guises to help us facilitate our mission. And so, here we are.”
Ahead of them the Apafi manor house beckoned. Its stone walls running three stories up with high peaks gave it more of the look of a fortress than a simple vacation house.
“And you think we may find some answers there?”
“What do we know about it?” asked Felix. “The Apafi family originally settled and owned much of this land. They built this home until it was given to other royalty for some reason. I do not know all the political ramifications of what occurs in these lands, but one can guess that someone ended up on the losing side of a battle or a feud and lost this place as a result.”
“All right.”
Felix continued, “But what interests me about this house is the transient nature of the dwelling. Ever since it was lost by the Apafi, there has been no one living here year round. And places like this, which sit vacant for times, are often a magnet for the sort of evil we are here to root out.”
“I get the impression you see these attacks as being the work of people who might pass through this area every decade or so?”
“It’s possible,” said Felix. “Although we must be careful not to project anything onto this. If we do, we might well miss key clues that will lead us to the actual offenders. That said, if we go on the presumption that the last time this happened, it was the work of a roving band of vampires who decided this town was good for victimizing, then it may be that this same group has returned, albeit to draw not so much blood and therefore not so much attention as they did the last time. Does that tell you anything about them?”
Wolfric thought for a moment. “Perhaps they have learned from their previous mistakes.”
“How so?”
“If they killed the last time they came through this area, then they may have only just barely escaped. Maybe they think that by only drawing small amounts and leaving the victims alive they will be less likely to get caught?”
“What else?”
“The time of the last attack might be significant.”
Felix stopped walking. “How do you figure that?”
“Had the Council exerted itself to the extent it has since then? Did they make the laws known more since the time of the last attack? Perhaps the culprits in this case were not aware that by hunting as they did they would draw down a sanction from the Council. Perhaps they think that by hunting in this way - that is, leaving the victims alive - they will not appear to have broken the law in the Council’s eyes.”
“An interesting point,” said Felix. “Well done.” He started walking again and laughed. “Of course, that is a foolish assumption on their part. The Council does not look away when things like this occur. We are trying to preserve our race and the secret existence of it. Hunting in any manner which could potential expose us is strictly forbidden now. For them to think they can get away with this is ludicrous.”
“Maybe they know that the Fixer ranks are stretched thin,” said Wolfric. “After all, it’s just you.”
“Indeed,” said Felix. “But not many of our kind even know I exist. I am a shadow within a shadow. As you will be, too. Still, it’s possible I suppose. I can’t assume that the only people that know about me are the ones I kill. The Council is not immune to spies.”
They drew abreast of the manor house’s gate and Felix pushed through it. Wolfric winced as the gate creaked loud in protest.
“So much for the element of surprise.”
Felix chuckled. “I don’t want to surprise anyone, Wolfric. I simply want to get inside and see if we can find any clues as to who might have been here and if they’re using this place as a hiding spot.”
“And if there’s nothing here?”
“Then we will simply have ruled this out as being part of our investigation. After all, when we deduct all the possibilities, whatever remains must be, no matter how seemingly impossible or improbable, the answer.”
“That makes sense.”
“Sometimes with startling regularity,” said Felix. “But regardless, here we are at last at the door. Ring the bell and then stand behind me, would you?”
Wolfric pulled the rope and heard the loud bell sound from somewhere in the house. He moved back and behind Felix. He noted that Felix had slid his cloak back behind the pommel of his sword and that his pistol was also in full view.
After several minutes, no one answered the door. Felix looked at Wolfric. “Suggestions?”
“We go in anyway?”
Felix smiled. “Spoken like a true rogue. How do you suggest we make entry?”
Wolfric moved out in front of his teacher and
tried the front door. The latch clicked open and the door swung in, revealing the grand foyer before them. Wolfric stood back and waved his hand. “Be my guest, sir.”
Felix chuckled again and moved into the manor house. Wolfric followed him inside and together, they stood in the grand foyer looking up at a huge staircase and suits of armor lining the walls. Elaborate tapestries bedecked the walls, paying tribute to the fallen of some forgotten family of knights.
As they stood there, Felix held up a hand for silence and they waited several minutes. Wolfric remembered that Felix had once told him to always allow himself time to acclimate to a new environment and he noticed that his teacher had his mouth open a slight bit to better process all the ambient sounds. Wolfric copied him and let himself relax into the house.
“There’s no one here,” said Felix quietly. “We are truly alone.”
“You’re certain?”
Felix nodded. “Yes. But for a few animals that have made this place a home for the winter, there is no one here to be worried about.”
His teacher moved into one of the corridors that ran under the grand staircase. “We need to search the entire house. Are you up for it?”
“Where do you need me to start?”
“Top or bottom?” asked Felix. “Your choice. But be thorough.”
Wolfric pointed to the top floor. “I’ll start upstairs and meet you down here when I’m through.”
“Very good.” Felix disappeared down the corridor leaving Wolfric alone in the foyer.
He took the stairs ascending two at a time, noting that the steps were carpeted with a plush fabric that muffled his footsteps. He made a mental note to stay as aware as possible since someone could potentially sneak up on him if he wasn’t careful.