Jazhara nodded. “They can be destroyed by magic or fire, or by cutting them up.”
“Which they usually object to, I’ll wager,” said James dryly.
“They came from the woodcutter’s shack!” said Lyle. “The woodcutter and his wife had lived there just a few months before they vanished. Six good men went to look in on that poor family. Whatever was up there killed four of’em, and scared Nathan and poor Malcolm out of their wits.”
“What happened to Malcolm?” asked James.
“Dead. Dead at the hands of those monsters. Malcolm always knew they’d come for him once he and Nathan got away, so he tried to get them first. He thought he could hide and watch for them, the old fool. He knew they came from the woodcutter’s shack, but once he told me they’d desecrated our graveyard, too. He got a couple of them, first, though. Poor old sod.”
“How’d he get them?” asked James.
“He found one in a grave, asleep during the daylight. He doused it with some oil we use to clear the fields, and set fire to it. Went up like a torch, he said. The other was just waking up at sundown; he cut its head off with his old sword from his duty during the Riftwar. Threw the head in the river and watched it wash away. Went back to the grave the next day and said the body had turned to dust. But there were just too many of them. They caught him out last night, old fool.”
Solon, who had remained silent so far, could contain himself no longer. “Vampires, you say? Man, are you sure? They’re the stuff of legend, things to scare small children on dark nights.”
Jazhara nodded agreement. “I always thought they were mythical.”
“But after what we’ve seen so far . . . ?” James asked.
Lyle said, “Nay, good sir and lady, they’re real. Nathan says they come for him every night! That’s why he locks himself in. He’s got no fear of dying, but if those creatures get him, he says they’ll keep his soul and he’ll never take his turn on Lims-Kragma’s Wheel of Life again!”
“Tis a foul blasphemy, indeed, if true,” agreed Solon.
James stood up. “Well, it seems this Nathan is the only one here in Haldon Head who has seen these creatures. I suspect we’d best go talk to him.”
“I’d be cautious,” Lyle said. “It’s almost sundown and once the sun sets, Toddy locks the door and nothing you say will get you back inside.”
“How far is it to Nathan’s place?” asked Solon.
“Open the door,” replied Lyle, “and you’re looking straight at the road leading to it. Can’t miss it. You’ll pass two shops, and the first house on the left is Nathan’s shack.”
“We have time,” James said, “if we hurry.”
They collected Kendaric and hurried to the door. As they made to leave, Mayor Toddhunter shouted out, “Be back before the sun sets, or you’ll spend the night outside!”
After they left the inn, Kendaric said, “Why are we doing this? I heard every word. Blood-drinkers! Are you mad?”
James said, “Do you think there might be another reason why your spell didn’t work?”
“I have no idea why it didn’t work,” admitted Kendaric. “But vampires? They can’t be real!”
“I hope you’re right,” said Solon. “Holy writ is clear on the living dead. Specifically, they are an abomination to Lims-Kragma, and to Ishap, for they defy the natural order of the world.”
“Not to mention they’ll almost certainly try to kill us,” added James.
Kendaric glanced at the setting sun and said, “We have maybe a half-hour, Squire.”
“Then we’d better hurry,” said James.
They reached Nathan’s house in five minutes, and even if Lyle hadn’t told them where to look, it would have been easy to find. The small house, little more than a shack, was boarded up. All the windows had stout planks nailed across them; the door, obviously the only point of entry, was shut tight; nail points protruding from its perimeter indicated that it was similarly covered from within. In the red light of sunset, it looked almost deserted, though James saw a glint of flame escaping through a crack in the boards, no doubt coming from a lantern or fire pot.
“Hello, the house!” Kendaric shouted from the front stoop, a wooden platform in need of some repair. “We’d like to speak with you!”
From inside the house came a reply. “Go away, foul beasts! You’ll never get me to quit my house!”
“Hello,” said James. “I’m Squire James, from the Prince’s court in Krondor.”
“Leave me in peace, you bloody demons! I can see through your evil tricks.”
James looked at Jazhara and shrugged.
Jazhara said, “Sir, I am the court magician to the Prince. We need some information about these creatures that trouble you. We may be able to help!”
“Ah, very clever, very clever indeed,” came the reply. “Go away, you soul-sucking fiends!”
James shook his head in defeat. “What’s it going to take to convince you, friend?”
“Go away! “