Carpathian 23 - Dark Storm

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