Part 38 (1/2)

Chief Jackson and his teenage son, Jahlil, came inside. Both of them looked weary, and David instantly knew that they had suffered through something related to the madness in town. He recognized in them the turbulent emotions that he struggled with himself.

The chief removed his hat and looked gravely at Nia and David. ”We got to talk, folks.”

”That's why all of us have come together here,” Pearl said. ”Please have a seat, take a cup of tea, and we'll begin.” ”

Jackson and the boy slumped on the overstuffed chairs. Each of them expelled heavy sighs and took the tea Pearl offered. They were so obviously father and son in their mannerisms that David almost laughed.

pulled everything together. You laid it out pretty nice this - Why are y'all here?” Jackson said. ”Thought you had morning.”

”You believe us now?” David said.

”The deputy and I went up to the Mason place after you guys left the station,” Jahlil said. ”I stayed in the car, and Dudu went to check out the crib. When he was up there, some dogs came after him.”

”Oh, no,” Nia said.

”I radioed Dad, and then, when I was gonna go help Dudu, some more dogs came after me,” Jahlil said. ”I got back in the car and hid out, and Dad came up there and shot the mutts”

”And a few minutes later, those mutts rose up,” Jackson said, visibly disturbed. ”I hit each of 'em in the chest with a twelve-gauge shotgun, and they got up. After I saw that, well, I knew y'all were right. Apologize for being so stubborn this morning.”

”Thank you, Chief,” Nia said. She touched his arm. ”We need you on our side.”

Jackson nodded solemnly. ”It's my duty to protect and serve this town. I'm ready to do my job”

”What about the deputy?” David said. ”Have you heard anything from him?”

”Not since he went into that house” Jackson glumly stared into his tea. ”Couldn't get him on the radio.”

”What do you think?” Jahlil asked Pearl. ”You're psychic. Is Dudu alive?”

Sitting in her chair, Pearl had folded her legs under her Indian-style. She looked like a life-size porcelain doll.

”I am sorry, Raymond Dudu is dead,” she said. ”Diallo killed him.”

Jackson swore softly.

”How do you know?” David said. ”We never told you the vampire's name”

Pearl closed her eyes. ”These past several days, I have spent many hours in meditation, seeking direction. Last night, I decided to penetrate the consciousness of the creature who is responsible for the evil rampant in Dark Corner. I secretly immersed myself in his mind.”

”That sounds dangerous,” Nia said. ”Could he find out that you've been probing into his thoughts, or whatever you call it?”

”Possibly, yes,” Pearl said. ”It is a risk that I was prepared to take, for the welfare of all.”

”What else you know 'bout him?” Jackson hunched forward, hands cupped around the mug.

David leaned forward, too, the tea forgotten. His thirst for knowledge surpa.s.sed his desire for any drink.

Eyes closed, Pearl swayed slowly as she spoke, as if listening to music that only she could hear. Her soft voice was hypnotic. ”Some of this you have already learned. Diallo was a prince in Mali, a mighty warrior with a taste for violence and vengeance. Upon losing a battle, he was captured, sold to slave traders, and s.h.i.+pped to America. He could not tolerate serving as a slave. He fought his masters viciously, and the resistance culminated in his murder of an overseer. Such a crime demanded that he be put to death. But Diallo was saved from his punishment by an ancient vampire.”

David thought of the raven, and the ethereally beautiful black woman who had visited him in a dream and healed his ankle.

”The ancient one's name is Lisha,” Pearl said. ”She is very old-indeed, her age is a mystery. She invited Diallo to be her companion, to become a vampire, and he accepted. They moved to New Orleans and lived there safely for many years, but Diallo, though he was no longer a man, never set aside his mortal memories. He despised white men for enslaving him and his people. He despised his own people for submitting to slavery. He had come to hate all mankind. I believe he is tormented by something else, as well, that fuels his rage, but the answer eluded me. The end result is that Diallo decided to use his powers as a vampire to wage war against man.

”Lisha knew of Diallo's mission, but she was unable to persuade him to set aside his hatred. He left her, while she was with child.”

”Kyle,” Nia said. ”The vampire that we've seen”

”Yes,” Pearl said. ”While Lisha was pregnant with Kyle, Diallo built an army of vampires. They went on a rampage across the South, attacking plantations and killing Negro slaves, whites, and Indians-no human escaped their wrath. They slaughtered hundreds, and the bloodshed might have continued for years, had not William Hunter, David's ancestor, led a courageous mission to defeat Diallo.”

The others in the room looked at David.

”Entombed in a cave, Diallo slept in a grave for over a hundred and fifty years,” she said. ”Vampires have the ability to hibernate for long periods, but the longer the sleep, the longer the recuperation process. Somehow perhaps from his mother-Kyle learned of his father's whereabouts, and he came to our town to awaken his father. For several days now, Kyle has been capturing innocents in Dark Corner. He has been feeding them to his father, to revitalize him. Diallo, like all vampires, feeds on blood.”

”How many people so far?” Jackson said. ”I've gotten reports of five missing.”

”There are more,” Pearl said. ”I do not know the precise number, but some disappearances have gone unreported. Diallo has been feeding nightly, sometimes twice a night.”

Jackson's lips puckered sourly.

”Diallo's thirst for violence is unquenchable,” Pearl said. ”Once he is at full strength, he will launch an attack on the town”

”When?” David said.

”Perhaps tomorrow,” Pearl said. ”Perhaps tonight. He will wait until dusk, though he, like all true vampires, can walk in daylight by dressing appropriately. But he is more comfortable in darkness. They are nocturnal creatures”

”What's up with these vampires?” Jahlil said. ”Are they just like they are in the movies?”

”Not exactly,” Pearl said. ”As I said, by dressing appropriately, they can walk in sunlight. Ultraviolet light irritates their skin, but it does not kill them. Crucifixes, holy water, and other religious symbols do not harm them. These creatures are not anti-Christian creations sp.a.w.ned by a fallen angel. Consider them as a separate species. First and foremost, they are predators. Humans are their primary source of food. They feed on our blood.”

All of them were silent, absorbing Pearl's words. David clasped his hands, listening.

”There are two kinds of vampires,” Pearl said. ”Diallo and his son, Kyle, are the first kind. They are high-level vampires purebloods, if you will-and possess extraordinary strength and talents. There are not many such vampires. As I understand it from skimming Diallo's thoughts, the process for a human to become one of these creatures is dangerous, lengthy, and usually fatal. Diallo barely survived the transformation himself.

”The second kind of vampire is more common. They are called valduwe. They possess their critical faculties, and can behave at a functional level, but they are under the influence of the master vampire who created them. They do not have any supernatural talents, but they are physically powerful and can recuperate from injuries that would destroy a normal human. They feed on blood, as well. When Diallo went on his b.l.o.o.d.y rampage across the South, he had a horde of valduwe with him.

”I must not forget the vampiric dogs. These mutant canines are especially useful to Diallo. They serve as spies and guardians, and they can be active during daylight hours. When they travel in packs, they make vicious adversaries, too.

”These lower-level vampires and dogs are far less dangerous than Diallo, but they pose a threat because their numbers can grow rapidly. The infection can spread via a bite, or blood; the substance carries the life force of the master vampire, ensuring that all who are infected fall under his influence. You can imagine how he could build a powerful army in a short time frame”

”It's already building,” David said. ”This morning, Ruby told us that there were eight people in the hospital who've been bitten.”

”Eight?” Jackson said. ”Christ”

”Those are only the cases we know about,” Nia said. ”Other folks could be at home, in bed, thinking that they've only caught the flu or something. We have no way of knowing how many people are infected.”

”Diallo is the source of the disease,” Pearl said. ”He is like a power generator. The vampires that he creates cannot exist without his life force. Destroy him, and his army, both canine and human alike, will fall.”

”Sounds good, but how do we do that?” Nia said. ”Chief Jackson said he tagged those dogs with a shotgun, and a few minutes later, they got up” Jackson and Jahlil nodded vigorously.

”Gunfire can halt them, temporarily, but it cannot kill them,” Pearl said. Pa.s.sion infused her voice. ”You must burn these creatures. Burn them to ashes. Nothing else will suffice”