Dying Bites: The Bloodhound Files-1 by DD Barant Page B
Authors: DD Barant
Tags: Fiction, General, Suspense, Romance, Fantasy fiction, Fiction - Fantasy, Fantasy, Fantasy - Contemporary, Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Women Sleuths, Occult fiction, Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths, Vampires, American Science Fiction And Fantasy, Horror & Ghost Stories, Werewolves, Serial Murders, Criminal profilers, Serial Murder Investigation
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right now he’s just getting in my way.
“Aleph! Move your rocky—”
By the third word I’ve been picked up by the waist and set down ten feet away. Charlie may be made of sand, but he moves more like quicksilver.
“—ass,” I say.
There are faces in the whirlwind, distorted but still recognizable as men and women—
some Asian, some not. They all seem to be in pain, some howling, some weeping.
“Ghosts,” I breathe. “Are they dangerous?”
“No,” says Tanaka. “They are merely echoes, not true spirits.”
I step past my overprotective bodyguard and kneel by Eisfanger. He’s already propped up on his elbows, blinking woozily. “My,” he says. “My, my, my. Head. Hurts.”
“You all right?”
He blinks a few more times, then seems to focus. “Uh. Yes, yes, I am. Wasn’t prepared for a multiple, that’s all—overloaded my wards.”
Dying Bites – Bloodhound Files 01
Page 90 of 370
“Multiple. You’re saying there’s the blood of more than one victim here?”
Tanaka’s nervousness increases, but he says nothing.
“No,” Eisfanger says. “The forensics report was quite clear—only Miyagi’s blood was found here.”
“Then what?” Charlie asks. “Local spooks, hanging around since they were executed?”
Tanaka shakes his head. “This was not an extermination center—people were turned, not killed.”
“I’ve got an idea,” I say. “Why don’t we ask them?”
I help Eisfanger to his feet. “Just give me a moment,” he says. He bends down and rummages in his case, takes out a necklace made of bones, and drapes it around his neck. He dabs a few markings on his face from one of the vials and mutters something beneath his breath.
Then he thrusts his hand into the whirlwind.
His whole body goes rigid. Orange and red light flashes from his eyes like there’s a fire in his skull. His mouth opens and a voice speaks, but his lips don’t move. “Cold. Always cold,” the voice says. It sounds female.
Another voice follows the first, then another and another. Some are men, some women. They speak in Japanese, in French, in German, and in English. I can’t understand all of it, but from the words I can pick out, the gist seems pretty clear.
Cold. Empty. Life, draining away.
Dying Bites – Bloodhound Files 01
Page 91 of 370
Eisfanger pulls his hand out convulsively, staggers back a step and then catches himself. “Right,” he says, his own voice now all business. “One blood source, multiple spiritual essences. This little lady was more than just a waitress.”
“A feeder,” says Charlie.
“Yes. She’s been drinking human blood, from more than one person. Highly illegal, even in Japan.”
I turn to study Tanaka. He looks composed, but he feels anything but. “Amongst certain groups,” he says, “there is still a fascination with human blood. It commands a very high price, so high that many humans sell it willingly. While such businesses are still technically illegal, the law is seldom enforced.”
“Of course not,” I say. “After all, the only people who suffer are us mere humans.”
He looks pained. “Excuse me, but such is not the case. Those who provide their blood are highly valued, treated well and paid most handsomely. They are not victims.”
“No,” I say coldly. “They’re whores. But at least they get a nice paycheck, right?”
“They—”
I cut off his reply. “Save it. If human blood is that valuable, there’s no way a waitress could afford it. She was probably dealing—you said she worked in a blood bar, right?
I’m guessing she offered the right customers something that wasn’t on the regular menu.”
I turn back to Eisfanger. “Can you pull any kind of details from these echoes? We need to find these bloodleggers and question them.”
Dying Bites – Bloodhound Files 01
Page 92 of 370
“Sorry,” Eisfanger says. “They’re not intelligent, just single-emotion patterns. All they
“Aleph! Move your rocky—”
By the third word I’ve been picked up by the waist and set down ten feet away. Charlie may be made of sand, but he moves more like quicksilver.
“—ass,” I say.
There are faces in the whirlwind, distorted but still recognizable as men and women—
some Asian, some not. They all seem to be in pain, some howling, some weeping.
“Ghosts,” I breathe. “Are they dangerous?”
“No,” says Tanaka. “They are merely echoes, not true spirits.”
I step past my overprotective bodyguard and kneel by Eisfanger. He’s already propped up on his elbows, blinking woozily. “My,” he says. “My, my, my. Head. Hurts.”
“You all right?”
He blinks a few more times, then seems to focus. “Uh. Yes, yes, I am. Wasn’t prepared for a multiple, that’s all—overloaded my wards.”
Dying Bites – Bloodhound Files 01
Page 90 of 370
“Multiple. You’re saying there’s the blood of more than one victim here?”
Tanaka’s nervousness increases, but he says nothing.
“No,” Eisfanger says. “The forensics report was quite clear—only Miyagi’s blood was found here.”
“Then what?” Charlie asks. “Local spooks, hanging around since they were executed?”
Tanaka shakes his head. “This was not an extermination center—people were turned, not killed.”
“I’ve got an idea,” I say. “Why don’t we ask them?”
I help Eisfanger to his feet. “Just give me a moment,” he says. He bends down and rummages in his case, takes out a necklace made of bones, and drapes it around his neck. He dabs a few markings on his face from one of the vials and mutters something beneath his breath.
Then he thrusts his hand into the whirlwind.
His whole body goes rigid. Orange and red light flashes from his eyes like there’s a fire in his skull. His mouth opens and a voice speaks, but his lips don’t move. “Cold. Always cold,” the voice says. It sounds female.
Another voice follows the first, then another and another. Some are men, some women. They speak in Japanese, in French, in German, and in English. I can’t understand all of it, but from the words I can pick out, the gist seems pretty clear.
Cold. Empty. Life, draining away.
Dying Bites – Bloodhound Files 01
Page 91 of 370
Eisfanger pulls his hand out convulsively, staggers back a step and then catches himself. “Right,” he says, his own voice now all business. “One blood source, multiple spiritual essences. This little lady was more than just a waitress.”
“A feeder,” says Charlie.
“Yes. She’s been drinking human blood, from more than one person. Highly illegal, even in Japan.”
I turn to study Tanaka. He looks composed, but he feels anything but. “Amongst certain groups,” he says, “there is still a fascination with human blood. It commands a very high price, so high that many humans sell it willingly. While such businesses are still technically illegal, the law is seldom enforced.”
“Of course not,” I say. “After all, the only people who suffer are us mere humans.”
He looks pained. “Excuse me, but such is not the case. Those who provide their blood are highly valued, treated well and paid most handsomely. They are not victims.”
“No,” I say coldly. “They’re whores. But at least they get a nice paycheck, right?”
“They—”
I cut off his reply. “Save it. If human blood is that valuable, there’s no way a waitress could afford it. She was probably dealing—you said she worked in a blood bar, right?
I’m guessing she offered the right customers something that wasn’t on the regular menu.”
I turn back to Eisfanger. “Can you pull any kind of details from these echoes? We need to find these bloodleggers and question them.”
Dying Bites – Bloodhound Files 01
Page 92 of 370
“Sorry,” Eisfanger says. “They’re not intelligent, just single-emotion patterns. All they
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