Vampire Hunter D: Pale Fallen Angel Parts Three and Four (19 page)

The old man said nothing, but his ugly face twisted as he stared at the woman and boy in a way that made their blood run cold. What rose from the wrinkled depths of his countenance was a shadowy mix of suffering and viciousness.

“Ah, now you're acting more like yourself, de Carriole. That's what I was after—that look upon your face!” the voice of his lord laughed. “I have no idea what it must be like for a human being to have feelings. Human and human or human and Noble—which do you choose?”

There was a strident clang at de Carriole's feet as something shiny fell there. It was a naked dagger with a golden grip.

“Hurry up before
he
gets here.
He
won't show you any mercy either. You might never see your beloved again!”

The aged scholar de Carriole had his eyes trained on the blade that'd been thrown at his feet, as motionless as if gazing into his own future. He remained that way for a long time.

-

I

-

We just got in five new girls. If you'd be so good as to look them over,” the manager of the house said with head bowed when he came to Lagoon's room.

As a massive pleasure complex, “Fisher Lagoon's” had a constant need for fresh entertainment and women. For instance, the “shock bath” powered by electric jellyfish that gave off just the right voltage for the ultimate in sexual stimulation, or the “jelly dance room” made of a material as supple to the touch as female flesh—to provide special event rooms like these, there wasn't a day this establishment wasn't under construction, and new girls were added once a week. While scouts from his place visited neighboring villages and even went all the way to the Capital, many women also came knocking on their doors when they heard rumors he was recruiting. Of the five new arrivals today, two were from the former group, and three from the latter.

“Bring 'em in.”

Head still low, the manager quickly ushered in the women who'd been waiting outside, then left. In age they ranged from the teens to mid-thirties, each and every one of them an incomparable beauty, but out of them all, the thirty-ish woman named Ming and the innocent-looking Paige who said she was nineteen caught Lagoon's eye. Apparently the women could tell, because Ming ground her hips purposefully in response to the master's gaze, while Paige bashfully looked away.

“Having come to ‘Fisher Lagoon's,' you're no longer like the women outside. Say good-bye to sweaty farmhands and unpolished sweethearts. I'll see to it you have a life every bit as good as women in the Capital. What you'll have to sacrifice in return is great, but if it gets to be too much for you, leave whenever you like. However, once you've tasted the waters of my house, don't kid yourself that you'll ever again be able to live an upstanding life in the outside world. Because you have become inhabitants of another world. From this day forward, this house is your home. Aside from where the manager tells you you're not supposed to go, you're free to go wherever you like and do whatever you want. Any rat bastard who'd harm you or make you cry will have to answer to yours truly. So relax and make some money.”

By the time he'd concluded the usual spiel, the women's faces glowed with a mix of confidence, trust, and allure—as was always the case.

“Go.”

Once the women left at his command, Lagoon called in the manager and ordered that Ming and Paige be brought to him. Leading everyone into a waiting room for the time being, the knowing manager then brought the two girls back to Lagoon's office after explaining the situation. Lagoon wasn't there. After ordering them to take a seat and wait, the manager left.

“I wonder what he wants with us?” Paige said anxiously.

“Actually, it's pretty obvious. The dove of good fortune has landed right in front of us. Not with white feathers, but with pink, and carrying a bed on its back.”

And saying that, Ming smirked.

“But I . . . It's really . . . I mean, right off the bat like this . . .”

“You must be pretty stupid, kid. You came here to sign yourself on, didn't you? Then show a little more gumption. If all goes well, you could be rolling in loot a hundred times faster than the other girls. Both of us could.”

Turning away as she said the last part, she then glared at Paige from the corner of her eye.

That was when Lagoon came back. Looking them both over from head to toe in a way that gave them chills, he said, “You girls aren't snot-nosed little kids. You know this is the kind of chance that only comes once in a lifetime. What you make of it is up to you. Come with me, one at a time.”

“Both at the same time wouldn't be bad either,” Ming said in a husky voice.

“No way,” Paige said, her cheeks flushing as she turned her face away.

“I'll start with you,” Lagoon said, tossing his jaw to where Ming stood with a broad smile. After spending some “quality time” with her, he then led the reluctant Paige into his bedroom without any break at all. And on seeing his expression when he came out again a short time later, the smile was wiped from Ming's face.

“Go get to work,” Lagoon ordered Ming frostily, and after she'd left in indignation, he came up behind Paige where she still stood and hugged her from behind.

“I'm scared,” she said.

“Of me? Well, you were still pretty intense.”

“No. Of the woman just now—Ms. Ming. She gave me such a look!”

“Just a jealous woman. Not much you can do about that. But all that aside—”

Lagoon must've been quite taken with this slender, innocent-looking girl, because his eyes were filled with a lecherous gleam as his rough fingers closed around a waist so thin it looked like he could snap her in two.

“No, I'm just not in the mood. This is all too fast,” Paige said, madly tearing free of the man's hands to escape him.

She stopped in front of the door, and when Lagoon embraced her from behind once more, his hands were more forceful and more feverish than before.

“You've got nothing at all to fear. You're so cute. So long as we're in my place, I am king. I won't let anyone lay a finger on you.”

“Really?” she asked, her face stiffening as she turned to stare at him with tears welling up. With huge, limpid eyes that seemed right off the cover of a fashion magazine, long eyelashes, a cute little nose, and lips like flower petals, the woman had such an unbelievable air of allure about her that Lagoon knew he just had to make her his own, and he seemed half-drunk as he pressed his lips to hers.

“You're going to look out for me, then?” she asked.

“Of course so.”

“In that case, tell me everything about yourself. As proof that you're my man.”

“No problem.”

You're getting a little too big for your britches, miss
, Lagoon thought, but he was surprised to find he was quite serious about her.

“But that's gonna cost you—okay?”

Without waiting for her reply, he swept her delicate form into his arms and carried her through the doorway to the bedroom, where the starting pistol for a manly endeavor was about to go off.

Letting out a sad little cry as she was tossed down on the bed, Paige smirked so that Lagoon wouldn't see it. For a second, a man's expression rose in the cute face of the cute young lady.

The girl who'd sold herself into service in the pleasure quarter was actually one of Chlomo the Makeup Lover's disguises. Only he hadn't applied the cosmetics to himself, but rather to Sai Fung of the Thousand Limbs. He'd snuck into the place on orders from de Carriole. Based on what the lord had told him, the aged scientist decided Fisher Lagoon was plotting treachery, and he ordered his two henchmen to get him irrefutable proof of that charge. The reason Sai Fung alone had been disguised was because Chlomo had been given an additional command: “Find Lady Miska!” And with that, the two of them had gone off to their respective tasks. The matter of who would handle each had been decided by a game of rock-paper-scissors.

In the same warehouse hideout where Chlomo had made up the Baron, Sai Fung was made up at dawn before making his way on foot to Fisher Lagoon's. As he was leaving, he saw Chlomo out in front of the warehouse looking around as if searching for something. He asked in a perfectly ladylike manner, “Whatever's the problem?”

“Nothing. It's just that when we took the baron and that Hunter that got in our way out of here last night, the bastard's horse was tied up. It was too much trouble at the time, so I figured I'd deal with it later, but now it's gone. Can't help feeling like I probably lost out on that one.”

“Someone must've taken it,” Sai Fung—or rather, the country girl by the name of Paige—replied promptly. When Chlomo's makeup worked its magic, Sai Fung's basic will and personality remained the same even as his voice and physical characteristics were transformed into those of the woman he was modeled after.

“I suppose you're right,” Chlomo agreed, gazing steadily at the compatriot whose very gender he'd altered. “I was sort of curious as to what his horse was carrying, but it's too late to do anything about that now. Okay, go give 'em hell.”

All of this had transpired as the dawn began to be tinged with blue.

In the bedroom, Lagoon was totally under the thrall of Paige/Sai Fung. The woman Chlomo based his makeup on was a rare temptress—cute and a born nymphomaniac. She captivated hundreds of men and robbed them of their fortunes before she was eventually stabbed to death by the wife of one of the men.

“Stay with me,” he ordered her, and as Paige/Sai Fung smiled joyfully, she cursed her luck in her heart of hearts.

From what Chlomo had said, anyone who went to bed with this temptress—male or female—had their brain dissolve while going mad and becoming a slave who would blindly follow her bidding. Needless to say, she quickly realized that Lagoon's incredible toughness was to blame for their miscalculations, but she/he didn't have the strength left to pull him back into bed once again.

Pawing Paige/Sai Fung's hair somewhat roughly, Lagoon said in a voice like stone, “From what I've seen, you've got even greater gifts than appearances would've led me to believe. At any rate, being my favorite, why don't we take a stroll around the whole place. If you happen to notice anything out there, tell me about it later, and I'll try to come up with the appropriate recompense.”

And then, with the most dangerous of women/men by his side, he set out on a tour of his establishment. She was introduced to the people who ran things, and she also met the girls. The eyes of the younger ones burned with flames of jealousy and repulsion, and while those of the old hands should've burned several times more ferociously, they were calm instead. They knew in an instant the position any girl in Lagoon's company occupied. Once the personal introductions had been dispensed with, Lagoon showed the girl all the rooms in his establishment and explained how they were used. From the bordello to the casino, from the arcade to the offices and power center, Paige simply followed along meekly with her mouth agape. However, the one exception to this came in a bend in one of the corridors in the southern wing, where Lagoon would've been expected to keep going straight but instead made an awkward turn to the left.

“Um . . . What's down there?” Paige started to inquire.

She was speared by an intense look, but his eyes soon returned to a milder hue.

“It's under construction. Robot dogs are guarding it. Get too close and they'll tear you to pieces,” he told her.

“I see.”

As Lagoon turned his broad back to her and she continued to walk after him, Paige's lips twisted. But Lagoon didn't notice.

-

II

-

As they were galloping toward the mountain stronghold, D prepared to open the glider wings once more. But he was stopped by a crisp, clear voice that issued from the mountain stronghold.

“The gate is open. There is nothing to hinder you, Hunter! Once you've entered the castle, find my immobilized form. However, you shall have to do it while you have the daylight as your ally. The evening will be long and dark, and for you, this night shall be your last.”

The voice had told the truth, and D held onto the wings as the great gates opened to either side and ushered him to a staircase connecting the castle to the ground below. Seen from below, the stairs seemed to dwindle to a fine thread as they ran up to the castle.

“There are three thousand steps,” the woman informed him.

D opened the wings above his head.

“Farewell,” the woman's voice said, and the Hunter sensed the presence behind him departing.

“Aren't you coming?”

“No. There are a million things I should like to see, but your corpse isn't one of them.”

“Thanks for getting me this far.”

His words were suddenly thrown to the four winds. D rode that gust up the entire staircase, and at the head of it, the castle gate was open. The wind had been sent by Lord Vlad—he knew exactly what the Hunter was up to. It would've been easy enough to resist, but D played right into the enemy's hands.

Cutting across a front garden so small it couldn't begin to compare to those of the castle down on level ground, he was drawn into a hall. Suddenly the wind died and he dropped straight down to the floor. At the moment he landed, he trained a trenchant gaze straight ahead.

An old man hunched at the waist was just coming through a rough wooden door. Once the door had closed, he bowed his head deeply—so deeply, in fact, that it actually looked as if it had come free of his torso.

“I am a physician in the service of Lord Vlad; Jean de Carriole by name. I have been waiting for you . . . for the Hunter who was friendly with
him
.”

His face rose sharply. Red light glittered in it–it was the same mysterious cat's eyes that'd made Miska and Vince his slaves. As they reflected the Hunter, D's eyes were tinged with red as well, and both men stopped dead.

Two streaks of red light stretched through the space between the old man and the gorgeous youth, and in the center of that a terrific battle of wills gave rise to unseen flames.

“That's an odd little trick you have,” a hoarse voice chuckled. “But it won't work on my friend here.”

As D kicked off the ground, de Carriole clutched his eyes and reeled. D's blade flew down at the top of his head—or started to, and then the Hunter turned around.

In front of the entrance doors stood someone he recognized.

“If it isn't the baron!” the hoarse voice exclaimed suspiciously. “He's acting funny. Better be careful.”

Before the voice had even finished speaking, de Carriole shouted, “Kill him!”

The baron didn't move, and D also halted where he was.