"We began to suspect we were dealing with the undead when all the strange things began happening and they were clearly directed at your mother," Jubal added. "There's a certain feel to evil, and we've both felt it before."
Ben shook his head. "No. No way. I've studied vampire lore around the world, and I'll admit, there's a part of me that wanted to believe something like that existed, like in the movies. I ran into a group of people in my travels that totally believe in vampires and claim they hunt and kill them. They were all nut jobs. Completely whacko. There are no such things as vampires. The people they killed were ill, or lived differently or had trouble being out in the sun. I investigated each victim and none of them were vampires. The few people who act like vampires, killing for blood, are in mental institutions for the criminally insane."
"True enough," Gary agreed. "I know exactly the people you're talking about. I was mixed up with them once, a long time ago, and yes, they kill indiscriminately. They target someone and then twist facts to fit what they want to believe, but that doesn't negate the fact that vampires exist."
"If that's true," Ben argued, "why doesn't anyone know about it?"
Riley had to admit it was a good question. She kept her head on her knees, but watched Gary's face carefully. He truly believed what he was saying. Jubal did as well. Neither struck her as insane. She'd felt evil when she'd plunged her hands into the soil. Even more, she'd heard it-heard its voice. There was no denying it, as much as she'd like to.
"How was he able to get the bats and monkeys, even the piranha and that snake to target my mother if he was trapped in the volcano?" she asked, not waiting for Gary or Jubal to answer Ben's very logical question. She believed Gary, and that was just plain terrifying.
"Vampires can be very powerful. If this one has survived locked in that volcano, we're dealing with an extremely powerful one. He has been around for more centuries than we can imagine, growing in power."
Riley closed her eyes briefly. She'd let something truly evil out into the world. "There are stories, folklore we believed, about the devastation of both the Cloud People and the Incas living here, that something had killed their best warriors and destroyed their villages. They thought it was an evil god who demanded sacrifices of children and women, yet never was appeased. Could it be that old?"
"Yes," Gary replied simply.
Riley wanted to curl up into a ball and lay in the comfort of the soil. She hadn't had time to grieve for her mother and she felt overwhelmed with sadness so abruptly she could barely think. She didn't want to think. She didn't want to talk or hear any more. She wanted to be a child and cover her ears. She sighed instead and forced her weary body to sit straighter. "So do you carry stakes on you along with those weapons?" It was a halfhearted attempt at humor, the best she could muster under the circumstances.
Ben snickered. "Wooden stakes? Are you kidding me?"
"Stakes don't work," Jubal said. "You have to incinerate the heart. You can shoot them, stab them, stake them and even cut off their head, but if you don't burn that heart, they can repair themselves."
A groan escaped her. Of course you would have to incinerate the heart. Anything else would be just too easy.
Ben rolled his eyes. "Now I know you're crazy."
"I wish I could tell you I'm making this up," Gary said. "But I'm not. Everyone is at risk now. All of us. Every tribesman. Every member of our party that tried to get away from the volcano. He'll be looking for blood and he'll kill anyone he comes across. Not only will he take blood, but he'll take their memories and learn at a rapid rate so that he'll fit in anywhere he goes. His lack of knowledge of the past centuries won't mean anything within a matter of days."
Riley ran the pad of her finger back and forth over her eyebrow, trying to ease the beginnings of a headache. "Then we have to find the others and make certain they're safe."
Ben frowned at her. "You're actually buying into this? An honest-to-God vampire who won't die even if you drive a stake through its heart. Even if we stab or shoot it."
She nodded slowly. "I don't want to buy into it, Ben, but I do. Those animals behaved completely against their nature, and something drove Capa to murder my mother. So call it whatever you want to call it, but I want to know how to kill whatever it is. I want to know exactly what to expect when I come across it, because I don't want any more surprises."
Ben scowled at her but nodded his head. "I suppose you have a point."
"Vampires can be very cunning," Jubal explained. "They're masters of illusion. They appear to be charming and handsome, but in fact, they mask what and who they are. They can get inside your head and make you do whatever they wish. You'll go to them when they command it and allow them to rip out your throat. You will give them your children or any loved one if they demand it."
"Great," Riley said. "The worst monster imaginable, right? That's what you're saying. Just say that. So, along with a gun I need a flamethrower. I noticed you had one, Gary. Can I borrow it? I'm fairly certain it's me Vamp doesn't like. He made that pretty clear."
"I say we get the hell out of here the minute we can," Ben said. "Whatever it is can live off the piranha."
"But he wouldn't," Gary said. "A vampire feeds off of humans."
"I agree that you and Riley need to get out of here as fast as possible," Jubal said. "We should find the others and get them moving out of the rain forest and back to civilization as fast as possible."
"Has anyone considered how we're going to get out of here?" Ben ventured.
Riley felt their eyes on her. If the vampire couldn't get in, she might just consider staying for a very long time. She shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm not even sure that it's safe to go out yet. The ground is still shaking, and when I put my hands into the soil, I feel heat."
As she spoke, she thrust her hands deep into the soil. As before, her body reacted to the energy coiling around her palms and fingers. That soothing warmth seeped into her pores. She stayed very still and listened. The ground creaked and moaned-whispered softly. She caught the sound of her mother's voice, just a faint echo as if she was laughing and the merry notes traveled through rock and soil to find her. Tears clogged her throat.
She closed her eyes, inhaling. At first she could hear the men breathing. An occasional jarring crash resounded on the roof above her head. She forced herself to block out the distractions and pushed her awareness deep, searching for a connection, a way to tap into that vein of information that seemed to be just out of reach. She could hear rumblings and knew if she just tuned in, she would understand what was happening in the world around her.