Deathlands 091: Blood Harvest by James Axler

Author:James Axler [Axler, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Action & Adventure, General, Science Fiction, Adventure, Men's Adventure, Fiction, Survivalism
ISBN: 9781426850363
Google: nCm8_SoKlFQC
Amazon: 1599507307
Barnesnoble: 1599507307
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2010-03-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Jak made landfall just as the storm really started to kick in. He figured no one would be stupe enough to take a boat out in a gale like this besides himself, so the Sister Isle, as Father Joao termed it, was the safest place to be. It took some persuasion to convince Father Joao to make himself useful, but they made it across the strait and got the boat up on the sand and tied off to a boulder. Father Joao peered up into the lashing rain. “Do you wish to take shelter or shall we just stand here until dawn?”

Jak was tempted to slash him again, but they needed to get out of the storm. “Where?”

Joao shrugged. “My church?”

Jak’s eyes slitted. He smelled a trap, but he was pretty sure he had Father Joao under control, and Ryan had said there was food, wine and supplies there. Jak shoved him. “Go.”

They slogged up a muddy path through the fields. Occasional lightning flashes lit the pounding darkness. Several times they wandered off the path and had to correct as they trod down millet grain. Father Joao mostly knew the way by heart. A pair of lamps hung high above the highest hill. Lightning showed Jak the church in stark relief. “Why lit?”

“It is always lit at night. It can be seen from most of the villages. It is a symbol. The light in the darkness.” They trudged through the muck and Joao opened the door. “Sacrilege!” Father Joao shook with rage as he took in the chopped-up pews. Portuguese profanity spewed from his lips in a torrent. “Nini!” He stamped his foot. “Nini!”

A frightened girl came out of one of the cells in the back. She was hardly any older than Jak and had a bruised look about her. Joao grabbed the girl, shaking her while screaming questions. Jak ended the interrogation by slashing the barrel of his blaster across Father Joao’s kidney. He gasped and buckled to one knee. The girl stared wide-eyed at Jak and ran across the church. Jak let her run. “Who she?”

“Nini, a servant,” Joao gasped. “She lights the lamps at night. When I am here she…” Joao trailed off uncomfortably.

“Bed warmer,” Jak finished. “You—”

The clang of the steeple bell rang off the walls deafeningly. Jak gave Father Joao another clip across the kidneys to keep him honest. He turned and pointed the weapon down the church at Nini, who paled and dropped the bell rope. Jak twitched the muzzle of his blaster and Nini very reluctantly approached. Jak gave the priest his attention. “You order that?”

Father Joao pressed a hand to his back. “You attacked her priest, did you not?”

The priest had a point, but Jak still wasn’t buying. “Who coming?”

“Probably most of the population.”

Jak stuck his head out the door. He squinted into the wind and rain and saw torches by the dozens moving in the little valleys. They were all winding up toward the church like fiery snakes in the darkness.

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