task of extricating the stake, then rolling the body on its back.
As we did so, I noticed a small design on the corpse’s arm, what appeared to be a serpent’s tail. “Look at this,” I said, pointing to it.
Mr. Fox frowned and peeled back the sleeve to expose the entire forearm, revealing a tattoo of a dragon rampant, its tailcoiled around its body, its jaw open to show prominent teeth, and its forearms bristling with claws. Something about Fox’s reaction made me look at him, startled.
“Do you recognize it?” I asked.
“It is a dragon,” he said simply.
“I see that. Is it important? You reacted strangely.”
He seemed reluctant to say. “It makes me wonder about something, a legend. I do not know much about it. But perhaps this is something to do with the Dragon Prince.”
Perhaps it was how he said it, but my blood suddenly went cold. “The Dragon Prince? What is that?”
He snapped his gaze to mine, as if he’d been caught in his own thoughts. “I have heard whispers of the Dracula, but most do not dare to speak of him. More than the name, I do not know. I have seen others react to this symbol. The dragon is greatly feared, and the legends around it are shrouded in a great deal of mystery.”
“And you think…this was him? I was attacked by this…Dracula?” I asked. The name was frightening. I could not understand why, but just the sound of it spoken aloud called forth a primal kind of dread inside me.
He gave a dismissive laugh and a shake of his head. “No, surely not the Dracula itself. I am no doubt mistaken. Come, help me put him back onto the planks.”
I did what I could to aid him in placing the body back on the slab and adjusting its clothing to cover the chest puncture. Then we draped the tarpaulin over it once again.
“I will have to return to the corpse once it’s buried, to take its head.” He gathered up his tools, stuffing them into the sack. “The old Kashubian method of laying the severed head between the feet and anointing the whole with millet seeds will be enough for a revenant of his magnitude.”
One would not think I could still be horrified after what I’d just witnessed, but the brutal method of dispatch he’d described and his casual tone shocked me. “My God,” I could not help but utter.
He gave me a curious look. “It’s what I’ve done to every victim of the damnable ‘wasting disease.’ It is no illness, Emma. The damned master vampire I’ve hunted here is feeding, although I do not understand why. He just glutted himself in Amsterdam…” He bowed his head under the burden of his thoughts. “I do not know if his intention is to make others like himself. Perhaps he seeks to raise an army. I’ve heard rumors to that end. He has come to Avebury for a specific purpose. Something about this place is special. It is not one of his usual haunts, and vampires are creatures of habit.”
I was somewhat dazed by this information. “Make others? Other vampires?”
“Of course. It taxes his strength, but he may have need of reinforcements.” He might have been discussing the habits of sheep for all the emotion he put into his words. And yet, each one fell like a brick, pelting the thin veneer of my old world and exposing me to a great and terrible knowledge I was suddenly sure I did not want.
Oblivious to my horror, Fox continued, “That is why I have dispatched all of the dead, just in case.” He peered at me, half-smiling. “You did not think every vampire victim becomes one himself, do you?”
“I…I can’t say I’ve given the matter much thought.”
He was finished packing the sack, and began to scatter the salt with the toe of his boot, grinding it into the dirt, erasingall evidence of what we’d done. “If that were the case, vampires would have taken over mankind a long time ago. They’d keep us to feed, as we keep cattle.”
I wrapped the cloak about me more tightly and stared at him. Fox shouldered his bag, and said, “That
As we did so, I noticed a small design on the corpse’s arm, what appeared to be a serpent’s tail. “Look at this,” I said, pointing to it.
Mr. Fox frowned and peeled back the sleeve to expose the entire forearm, revealing a tattoo of a dragon rampant, its tailcoiled around its body, its jaw open to show prominent teeth, and its forearms bristling with claws. Something about Fox’s reaction made me look at him, startled.
“Do you recognize it?” I asked.
“It is a dragon,” he said simply.
“I see that. Is it important? You reacted strangely.”
He seemed reluctant to say. “It makes me wonder about something, a legend. I do not know much about it. But perhaps this is something to do with the Dragon Prince.”
Perhaps it was how he said it, but my blood suddenly went cold. “The Dragon Prince? What is that?”
He snapped his gaze to mine, as if he’d been caught in his own thoughts. “I have heard whispers of the Dracula, but most do not dare to speak of him. More than the name, I do not know. I have seen others react to this symbol. The dragon is greatly feared, and the legends around it are shrouded in a great deal of mystery.”
“And you think…this was him? I was attacked by this…Dracula?” I asked. The name was frightening. I could not understand why, but just the sound of it spoken aloud called forth a primal kind of dread inside me.
He gave a dismissive laugh and a shake of his head. “No, surely not the Dracula itself. I am no doubt mistaken. Come, help me put him back onto the planks.”
I did what I could to aid him in placing the body back on the slab and adjusting its clothing to cover the chest puncture. Then we draped the tarpaulin over it once again.
“I will have to return to the corpse once it’s buried, to take its head.” He gathered up his tools, stuffing them into the sack. “The old Kashubian method of laying the severed head between the feet and anointing the whole with millet seeds will be enough for a revenant of his magnitude.”
One would not think I could still be horrified after what I’d just witnessed, but the brutal method of dispatch he’d described and his casual tone shocked me. “My God,” I could not help but utter.
He gave me a curious look. “It’s what I’ve done to every victim of the damnable ‘wasting disease.’ It is no illness, Emma. The damned master vampire I’ve hunted here is feeding, although I do not understand why. He just glutted himself in Amsterdam…” He bowed his head under the burden of his thoughts. “I do not know if his intention is to make others like himself. Perhaps he seeks to raise an army. I’ve heard rumors to that end. He has come to Avebury for a specific purpose. Something about this place is special. It is not one of his usual haunts, and vampires are creatures of habit.”
I was somewhat dazed by this information. “Make others? Other vampires?”
“Of course. It taxes his strength, but he may have need of reinforcements.” He might have been discussing the habits of sheep for all the emotion he put into his words. And yet, each one fell like a brick, pelting the thin veneer of my old world and exposing me to a great and terrible knowledge I was suddenly sure I did not want.
Oblivious to my horror, Fox continued, “That is why I have dispatched all of the dead, just in case.” He peered at me, half-smiling. “You did not think every vampire victim becomes one himself, do you?”
“I…I can’t say I’ve given the matter much thought.”
He was finished packing the sack, and began to scatter the salt with the toe of his boot, grinding it into the dirt, erasingall evidence of what we’d done. “If that were the case, vampires would have taken over mankind a long time ago. They’d keep us to feed, as we keep cattle.”
I wrapped the cloak about me more tightly and stared at him. Fox shouldered his bag, and said, “That
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