Isosceles Moon by Keith C Blackmore

Author:Keith C Blackmore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Keith C Blackmore
Published: 2016-05-03T00:00:00+00:00

9

“Yeah,” Lance Chambers said in a stoic voice. “Okay, you’re both there, right? Okay, listen. You might have a problem. That thing you described to me? I was half right. It’s not a straight-out vampire.”

“It’s not?” Sweeney asked.

“It’s not. My guy tells me it’s a manananggal.”

“A many-angle what?”

“A manananggal,” Chambers repeated.

“Say it in English.”

“I am saying it in English. Mana-nang-gal.”

“Christ, couldn’t you just call it Sally or Bucky or something?”

The line went silent with an irritated vibe.

“All right, all right, a mana fuck me gal,” Sweeney whispered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Manananggal,” Ice repeated, nailing it the first time.

“That’s it,” Chambers verified.

“Okay, one of us can say it,” Sweeney muttered.

“All right,” Lance said. “Anyway, this thing isn’t a vampire.”

“I think it’s a vampire,” Ice mumbled dubiously.

“Yeah, well, I think you should just wait until I finish, okay? Since it’s your ass in the dinner sling.”

That shut Ice up.

“Okay.” Chambers brought himself under control. “Anyway, it’s not a vampire. It’s got vampire characteristics, granted, but it’s not a true vampire. Some say the thing’s a witch. Other sources say it’s a demon returned to earth. Regardless, it’s a can of pressurized shitstorm held to your ear if you encounter one, and it’ll drain your ass of blood like a thirsty alcoholic at an open bar. And we figure if it’s not a manananggal, it’s a breed thereof. But even if it’s a breed of some kind, there’s a chance the one after your asses might have some of its weaknesses.”

Sweeney and Ice exchanged a look above the phone.

“Now, listen, okay?” Chambers continued. “I’ve got good news for you and bad news. The bad news is, if it is a manananggal or some kind of offshoot, it’s going to be hard to kill. That’s the bad news. The good news is… you can kill it.”

“Great,” Sweeney said, not overly enthused. “How do we do that?”

“It’s dark now, right? The sun’s gone down?”

“Yeah. Long ago.”

“And you’re in a room covered in salt?” Chambers asked.

“Ah, yeah. Floor is. And some of the windowsills.”

“Okay, more bad news.”

Sweeney and Ice winced.

“The only way to kill the thing is when it’s split in two, okay? With these things, you have to find the bottom part of the body. The waist down. Find that and––”

“Drive a stake through it?” Sweeney interrupted.

“No, not a stake. Smear salt over the exposed part. The part with the raw guts.”

The two men regarded each other with horrified looks.

“You guys still there?”

“Yeah,” Sweeney said.

“All right, listen, as nasty as that sounds, it’s the only way to kill it. You have to defile the lower half with either salt––which you have––or ash. Either of you smoke?”

Ice shook his head.

“No,” Sweeney reported.

“Too bad. Okay, you have the salt. Gather up what you can of it, okay? Find the lower half and smear salt into the raw bits.”

“How’s that supposed to kill it?” Sweeney asked.

“I’m getting to that,” Chambers answered testily. “Just relax and listen. Okay, Sween? You listen, and you concentrate on what you have to do, because from the sound of it, you’re in for a long night.

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