Part 56 (2/2)

He tried to shove David aside, but David held his ground.

”I know you're angry,” David said. ”You're furious about what they did to your dad. I understand. But I promised Jackson that I'd look out for you, and I mean to stand by my word. There's no way I'm letting you run out there. That would be suicide.”

”I don't need you to look out for me, all right? Will you get the h.e.l.l out of my way?” His nostrils flaring, he attempted to push David out of his path.

David grabbed the boy's arms, held them tight.

Jahlil trembled. David was about three inches taller than the kid and outweighed him by maybe twenty pounds, but Jahlil was so charged with anger that David was not sure he could hold him back. The skin of his arms was hot to the touch.

”You've got to chill out,” David said. ”This isn't the time to lose your cool, understand? You're a tough kid, but you aren't crazy. You know you don't stand a chance in h.e.l.l against those monsters”

”All right.” Jahlil's eyes were red and fatigued. He shrugged off David's hands. David let him go.

”So you're the big boss man,” Jahlil said. ”What do you want us to do? Stay in here and wait to be slaughtered?”

David checked outside the rain-smeared window. He could not see the bloodsuckers yet, but the dogs' barks steadily grew louder.

Jahlil, Nia, and Pearl watched him anxiously.

”We have to go on the run,” David said. ”The vampires own the night, and there are too many of them for us to handle. We have to lie low until daybreak. Then, we can catch them in their lair, wherever that is.”

”How do we get away?” Nia said. ”It sounds like they're coming from the direction of the road. We can't go that way.”

”There's a dirt trail at the back of my property,” Pearl said. ”It begins near the tool shed. The path leads through the woods, then cuts through a marsh and eventually ends at a road in town. But there is no light to guide you, and the swamp is full of water moccasins. My brother was bitten by one as a child and nearly died.”

”s.h.i.+t,” Jahlil said. ”I ain't messing with no snakes, man. Forget it.”

”We'll take my truck,” David said. ”We'll stay on the trail and won't have to set foot in the water.”

Nia looked out the window. ”Then if that's the plan, we better get moving. They're getting closer, guys”

David grabbed his duffel bag. Jahlil and Nia hurriedly picked up their belongings, as well.

Pearl solemnly drew the blanket across Jackson's body.

”I am staying here,” she said. Her eyes were tranquil. ”I will watch over Chief Jackson”

”Good idea,” Jahlil said. He swallowed. ”I don't want to ... leave my dad here, alone, you know?”

”Are you sure, Pearl?” David said. ”The bloodsuckers are after us, and me, especially, but what if they break in here? It's not safe for you to stay behind.”

”Nowhere is safe for me so long as Diallo is alive,” she said. ”I have violated the sanct.i.ty of his thoughts, an unforgivable trespa.s.s to him. If I were to come along with you, it would only fuel his determination to destroy us all. I am staying here”

Her tone indicated that the subject was closed to discussion. David bit his lip, debating whether to continue to attempt to persuade her to leave with them.

”You must hurry,” Pearl said.

The barking outdoors grew louder.

On shaky legs, King trudged to the doorway. He whined, eyes searching David's face for rea.s.surance.

”Okay, boy, we're leaving,” David said. Nia and Jahlil had gathered their things; Jahlil was making an obvious effort to avoid looking at his father's corpse. The kid's eyes were watery.

David felt a strong, almost paternal urge to spirit Jahlil away from this, and to take him somewhere where he could smile again. But it was going to be an arduous journey to reach such a place. First, they had to escape Pearl's house.

Pearl accompanied them to the door. She quickly kissed each of them on the cheek.

”Thank you for everything,” David said, ”again”

”Keep them safe, David Hunter,” she said. ”They're your family now.”

He nodded, then turned to face the darkness beyond.

The gravel driveway that led from Pearl's house to the main road was as dark as a subterranean tunnel. But David heard the dogs. They bayed and barked ceaselessly. It sounded as though dozens of the h.e.l.lhounds were prowling closer.

The vampires would be with them.

Jahlil, Nia, and King had climbed inside the Pathfinder. David opened the rear cargo door, to stash their bags in the storage area.

His hands shook so badly that he dropped one of the bags. He cursed under his breath, grabbed the canvas strap, and flung the parcel into the cargo bay.

Hunter.

The voice, deep and sonorous, came to him like a whisper of air against his ears.

David turned to face the long, lightless driveway.

Diallo strode out of the darkness.

Although David had seen only an artistic rendering of Diallo in the Bible ill.u.s.trations, one look confirmed that he was witnessing the master vampire, in the flesh. He was Goliath-size, standing a head above Kyle, who kept pace with him on his right. Clothed in black garments, Diallo walked as if he owned the night, head raised high and proud, arms swinging casually, each long stride fluid and commanding. He was accompanied by perhaps a dozen lesser vampires, and vampiric hounds. They marched in a formation that spanned the entire road.

A change seemed to buzz through the atmosphere, as though the night itself were comprised of two puzzle pieces that had finally been fitted together with a click-a click that echoed in the depths of David's soul. He was gripped by a certainty that he was meant to be here, fated to meet this centuries-old adversary of his ancestor on this Mississippi ground. Another piece of Destiny had slid into the proper groove.

A dizzying mixture of terror and awe coursed through him.

”Come on, David!”

”Hurry up, man!”

David shook his head, disoriented.

Jahlil and Nia screamed at him to get in the truck.

At last, I have found you, Hunter. The resonant voice came to him again. Even from a considerable distance, Diallo's eyes held David in place, like iron stakes.

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