Necroscope 009 - The Lost Years 01 - The Lost Years by Brian Lumley

Author:Brian Lumley
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: England, Vampires, Keogh, Horror, Fiction - Horror, Harry (Fictitious character), General, Horror - General, Horror fiction, Fiction, Mystery & Detective
ISBN: 9780812553635
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 1996-06-05T04:00:00+00:00

149

* * *

He dwelled for some years between the foothills and the barrier mountains, sleeping in deep caves or crevices by day, and wandering gradually eastwards by night. And despite that his work wasn't finished in the camps of the Szgany Zirescu — by now the Szgany Ferenczy — and that it never would be while Rakhi and Lagula lived, still he put distance between. He knew that to return now would mean certain death; the entire tribe would be watching out for him, doubtless with orders to shoot on sight. And in any case he needed time to explore his amazing powers: his mentalism, metamorphism, and the source of his boundless, surging energy. As for the wound in his thigh: that had healed in a night and a day; there was scarcely a scar to show for it.

Adept at avoiding the encampments or settlements of men, he continued to do so; alas that they couldn't avoid him. But the farther east Radu journeyed, the more surely he was aware of a change. Not in himself this time, but in the Szgany, in Sunside's people themselves. Thus far, avoiding men, he had also avoided their challenge, or rather the challenge of his bloodlust; he had slaked his thirst (and that of his parasite) on the raw red flesh of creatures of the wild. In this respect, and without even knowing it, Radu had pitted himself against his leech! But as well as tenacity, the vampire has all the patience of centuries of life as yet unlived. With a vampire's longevity, it's not too hard to be patient.

And meanwhile: Radu was allowed to believe that the pleasure he'd derived from slaughtering Ion Zirescu and drinking his blood had lain in the killing, while in fact it had lain in the drinking! Revenge?

That had been his motive, but necessity had been his leech's. Well, Radu would learn in time. And meanwhile his vampire must be satisfied with the blood of beasts. Except, and as has been noted, there are beasts and there are beasts.

And indeed great beasts had come among the Szgany of Sunside, which was the reason for the changes that Radu had noted in them. For now during the long hours of daylight, there were grimfaced, determined men on the flanks of the barrier mountains, hunters who pursued and butchered . . . men! Aye, and it was butchery. For with his own eyes, Radu was witness to it. It happened at a time perhaps two years and nine months (one hundred and thirty-five or thirty-six sunups) after he'd taken his revenge on the Zirescus in the westernmost woods . . .

* * *

It was the twilight before the true dawn, and the tumbling moon was already reduced to a pale stain of a disc high in the amethyst sky over Sunside. Soon the furnace sun would be up, but it wouldn't find Radu wanting. For by now his photophobia was full-fledged; he knew that direct undiluted sunlight would kill him, even if he still didn't understand the reason.

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