Lumley, Brian - Vampire World 01 by Lumley Brian

Author:Lumley, Brian [Lumley, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-03-17T05:00:00+00:00

‘Do you have a name, vampire, or are you satisfied tobe remembered as a stench and a puff of black smokerising from our fire?’

The creature gave a start, and glared harder than ever; but he also trembled a little where he hung sus pended on the cross. Poisoned by the silver shot whichhad ripped into his great chest - also by the long silverspikes which pinned his wrists, elbows, and the twitch ing muscles of his calves to timbers hard as iron – hewas weak by a vampire’s standards, but still strong by a man’s. Even now, if only he could get down from this cross, he’d wreak havoc among his tormentors before someone put a bolt through his heart. That was how he would prefer to go: fighting bloodily the one minute, with a bolt through his chest the next, and finally his head flying free in a crimson welter! After that, they could burn him all they wanted. But … not while hewas still alive.

It was as if Lardis read his mind. ‘Oh?’ he said. ‘And is it that the fire worries you?’ He knew it was, for a vampire burns slowly, and the thing inside him fights itall the way.

Meanwhile, Kirk Lisescu had slipped away and returned with a spade. Whistling tunelessly, he bent his lean, muscular back at the foot of the cross and commenced digging in the loose soil there. Whenever his spade struck the upright, it shivered a little. Looking at the lieutenant, Lardis nodded to indicate Kirk’s activity,and said:

‘He digs here at the front, so that eventually the cross will be weakened and topple towards the fire there.’ Standing up, he jerked his thumb negligently to his rear where a long, deep pit of glowing embers lay behind him. And: ‘Phew!’ Lardis wiped his brow, ‘but it’s hot!’ Then, walking to and fro - with his great head jutting a little, though not aggressively, and his hands claspedbehind his back - he continued conversationally:

‘Of course, if you were to loosen up a bit and talk -why, my good friend here might stop digging in order tohear what you were saying!’ He gave a shrug. ‘And really it’s as simple as that: while you talk you live, at least as long as you make interesting conversation. And when you stop talking you burn. Meanwhile, you still haven’t told us your name, or where you come from, orhow many there are of you… or anything at all whichwemight find remotely interesting!’

Snarling the last few words, finally Lardis gritted his teeth, sprang forward and snatched Kirk Lisescu’s spade, and began shovelling himself with a vengeance; until the cross gave a lurch and an ominous creak, and tilted forward a fraction towards the fire in the trench.

But a fraction was enough, and now at last the vampire started to talk…

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