Sheep's Clothing (11 page)

“Now all I need is the strength to chase after these monsters,” I murmured.

Pastor Wood patted me on the shoulder. “I might suggest calling on St. Michael for assistance in that.” He smiled kindly at me. “I’ll leave ya to yar thoughts now.”

              I sat there for another half hour, trying to find the strength I was sure I would need for the next stage of this venture. I didn’t know if there were any specific prayers to St. Michael, so in the end I turned to the rosary and the earliest prayers I had memorized in my childhood. My hands shook as I dredged up the memories, and the words did not come easily, but by the time I had made it halfway round the first circuit I found a proper rhythm.

After finishing the circuit, I held my hand out and looked at it. This was the hand that had smashed a vial of holy water against a vampire’s face. This was the hand that held a scalpel, or a suture needle, or any of the other tools of my trade.

This was a hand that saved lives. This was a hand that fought monsters.

My fingers, I was gratified to note, were steady once again.

***

             
When I got back, Wolf had not yet returned from his errand, and I wondered how long it would take him to have his discussion with DuPont, regardless of the amount of violence he used in the process.

I took the rosary from my pocket and set it on the kitchen table, trying to think of a good way that I might get it to Sarah and convince her to wear it without overly frightening her. I soon concluded that this would be impossible. She would be alarmed by the news of vampires in Salvation no matter how I explained it. I could only hope that they hadn’t gotten to her already—but if they had, a quick wash with holy water would fix that right up.

              Or so I hoped. The idea still sent a chill down my spine.

             
I was still ruminating on the topic when I heard the front door open. I craned my neck to see who it was, and saw that Wolf had returned, looking more than a little satisfied. His knuckles did not have the marks I would have expected if he’d beaten DuPont senseless, but given how fast he seemed to heal, I couldn’t be sure how significant this was.

             
“Any luck?” I asked.

             
“Ayup,” he said. “DuPont didn’t want to cooperate, but after I explained things to yar man Smith he gave me five minutes alone with him. Sang like a dang bird after that.”

             
“That’s… good to know,” I ventured, trying to ignore the implications. “What did you discover?”

             
“Three other lairs that he didn’t mention last time, but we kinda guessed that by now,” he said. “One of ‘em’s the storage shed behind the smithy and one of ‘em ya already saw in the Lucky Lady.”

             
I raised my eyebrows. “That’s two. Where’s the third one?”

             
He made a face. “That one might be a bit tough to get to. It’s in the mayor’s house.”

             
My stomach sank. “What… what does that mean?”

             
“It means that Russeau has fairly ready access to the Cavanaughs, and it’s probably going to be Hell’s own errand to convince the mayor of any danger.”

             
“We have to try anyway,” I insisted. “He has to know about Russeau’s plans to buy land here.”

             
“Right—but first I’m gonna see if I can’t pare down the number of lairs a bit.”

             
“Need any help?” I offered.

             
“No, ya need to stay here and count how many people he’s marked. We won’t have enough holy water to free them all that way, but a headcount is still good to have.”

             
I grimaced. “I don’t feel right, not doing something to help them, Wolf.”

             
“I know,” he replied. “Once we get Kimimela freed and him treed we’ll be able to take care of all of them in one fell swoop. Destroy him, and we break the hex, understand?”

             
I sighed, but nodded.

             
“Just sit tight,” he said. “I know what I’m doing here.”

             
Less than five minutes after he left, I was already pacing. How could I warn Sarah of the danger? For that matter, how much good would it do? Kyle probably knew as little about vampires as anyone else here.

             
Finally I couldn’t stand it any longer. I grabbed the rosary, and then put on my hat and coat and went next door. It was a bit after noon by this time, and I was sure that Kyle would be out tending his sheep when I knocked on the door. The less I had to explain, the better I would feel.

             
Sarah answered less than a minute after I knocked, and initially I locked up, thinking only of what Russeau had done to May and what he was likely to do to Sarah.

             
“Doc?” she asked, her brow furrowing with concern. “What’s wrong?”

             
“I… May I come in?” I asked, snatching my hat off as I remembered my manners. “I need to discuss something very urgent with you.”

             
Her eyes widened with alarm—not exactly my intention—but she opened the door and stepped aside.

             
“Goodness gracious, Doc!” she said. “Ya look like ya’ve seen a ghost—have a seat. Can I get ya a drink of water?”

             
My nerves were wound so tight the idea of sitting down was anathema, so I paced.

             
“I… don’t have time to sit down, Miss Sarah. There’s something bad going on in Salvation. I think you might be in danger.”

             
In a heartbeat she was standing before me, clutching my shoulders and halting my pacing. Her eyes were wide and her face was pale. Her alarm was understandable, in hindsight. I was well-known in the town for my steady hand and solid nerves—two traits that well fit a doctor—and seeing me so agitated must have half scared the life out of her.

             
“What sort of danger?” she asked.

             
“There’s… a monster in Salvation. A vampire—that’s a creature that feeds on the blood of the living. He’s been feeding on some of the people of Salvation, and I think he might come after you.”

             
Several conflicting emotions flickered across her comely face. I hated to distress her, but there was no way to sugar-coat this.

             
“What can be done?” she asked. “I mean, Kyle would protect me from anything that wanted to hurt me—”

             
“I don’t know how much he’d be able to do. Listen to me—” I reached into my pocket and pulled out the rosary, pressing it into her hand. “Wear this. Keep it on you at all times. It will protect you from them.” She opened her mouth to protest. “Please. Promise me. Promise you’ll wear it. I can’t emphasize enough how important this is.”

             
She looked down at the rosary for several seconds, and then back up at me. I held my breath, hoping against all odds that she would do so, but knowing that I couldn’t force her. I wouldn’t.

             
She looked badly frightened by what I’d told her, but finally she nodded.

             
“I’ll keep it with me,” she whispered. “I’ll keep it close, no matter what.”

             
I closed my eyes, not knowing how well it would work if it wasn’t worn. However, the fact that she was willing to accept it did ease some of my burden.

             
“What are ya going to do?” she asked quietly.

             
“I’m going to protect Salvation. Wolf and I both will. You know that I would do whatever it takes to save the people here. Salvation is… my home. I have to protect it. I have to do whatever it takes to destroy Russeau.”

             
I longed to tell her that everything would be all right, but at this point I didn’t know any such thing. I had aroused the ire of Russeau, and I couldn’t be sure of a happy outcome until he was dead—or whatever passed for such in vampires.

             
She put the rosary on over her head, clearly confident that it would protect her from harm. For my part, all I could do was pray that she was correct.

             
I would have stayed to guard her myself but presently I heard someone knocking at my door.

             
“I need to go,” I said.

             
She nodded and hugged me hard. “Go ahead,” she said into my chest as I held her close. “I’ll be okay.”

             
I kissed her on the brow before pulling free. Feeling conflicted, I left her and went to attend to the first of my patients for the afternoon.

***

             
To my dismay, it turned out that fully a third of the town had fang-marks on them somewhere—men, women and children alike. I felt sick at the implications, but I kept on a brave face as I examined them, writing down their names to keep track of them.

             
What sorts of creatures would gorge themselves on a town so quickly? How much blood could they truly need to survive? Why feed on so many people over a matter of only a few days?

             
The only possibility made my stomach turn—that the vampires marked as many victims as they could in much the same way that a rancher marked cattle. The people of Salvation were being marked as property, with relatively little harm befalling them, like a brand being burned into a herd of cattle. Judging from Mrs. Cavanaugh’s response, the bite might cause a sort of euphoria. This, combined with the weakness that naturally came from blood loss, would leave his ‘herd’ less able or inclined to fight back.

             
I thought of the ghost towns I’d heard of as far west as California, and a chill ran down my back.

             
It was approaching dark by the time Wolf returned, almost time to start fixing dinner. I had no appetite, though.

             
Wolf looked decently satisfied, but the expression faded when he saw me.

             
“What’s the word?” he asked.

             
“Sixty-three,” I said.

             
“Sixty-three?’ he echoed.

             
I nodded. “Sixty-three residents of Salvation that have his mark on him.”

             
Wolf swore. “He’s a hungry son of a bitch, that’s f’r sure. Looks like we’ll have to go hunting tonight, then.”

             
I stood. “Did you find his other lairs?”

             
He nodded. “I consecrated the one in the storage shed and the one in the root cellar. That’ll cut down on his options if he goes to ground, but he’s still going to be dangerous. I want ya to come with me when we go after Kimimela.”

             
My throat tightened at the idea of actively going after one of those creatures, but at the same time I understood Wolf’s desire to find her and free her from whatever cursed half-existence currently bound her.

             
“Ya’ll be fine,” he said. “Just stick close.”

             
I swallowed hard, but nodded. “Why not go find her during the day in one of the remaining lairs?”

             
His head snapped over to face me, but his scowl soon evaporated. “Cause I want to look at her once last time before I do this. Got a few things I want to say to her. Imagine if it was ya and yar lady from next door—ya’d want to pay yar respects, wouldn’t ya?”

             
I thought about Sarah, and how horrible I would feel if I had to do something like this to her—even if it was to save her soul. My stomach twisted. “I would,” I said, nodding.

             
“Then let’s go. I need someone to watch my back.”

             
I took a deep breath, not at all sure how effective I would be with this, but also not wanting to leave Wolf on his own in case things went sour.

             
“Wait,” I said. “I had Gib scatter some rice outside their door this morning. Didn’t you say that would keep them from entering or leaving?”

             
He nodded. “That’s a good plan, Doc—but if he’s fed on Miss May like ya said he could make her get up and sweep it all up.”

             
I deflated a bit. “But she was unconscious when I left her,” I pointed out. “I can’t imagine she’d be in any shape to sweep up now, even if she woke up.”

             
“We can check there first,” he conceded, “But I don’t much like my odds if we have to go against both of them at once.”