Vampire Hunter D: Dark Nocturne Page A

you. Help us out here. We don’t have a lot of money, but we’ll do what we can to repay you.”
    â€œI already have another employer,” D said, turning toward the steel door.
    As the lovers watched, the door shut again. But at that very moment, the two of them could’ve sworn they heard a hoarse voice around D’s hip say, “Well, you sure ain’t the most accommodating guy in the world.”
    __
    At the fork in the road, D bore left. His destination was the former site of the Nobility’s mansion—the present swamp. The reason he’d gone to the morgue was so that he might examine the wounds left by the Nobility in person. But his fingertips had found nothing but failure. The bizarre information related by the clay cast was an accurate representation of the real thing. That being the case, there was nothing left to do but wait for his foe to appear.
    Regardless of his situation, he’d be able to make the first move so long as it was still daylight. And so the white horse and its inky black rider followed the road down a hill to reach a gloomy region shrouded in a drifting miasma.
    Covering roughly six square miles, the swamp was dotted with nearly twenty bodies of water of various sizes. Despite the local climate, bacteria in the water kept it from ever dipping below seventy degrees, and the toxin-laden murk not only killed any animal that approached, but also gave rise to freaks immune to its poison. Aside from those villagers who collected such monstrous beasts for a living, no one ever ventured there, even by daylight.
    Leaving the path he’d visited the previous day, D dismounted by the shore of a small pond near the center of the swamp. Between the various bodies of water there were narrow roads and iron bridges that appeared to be from ancient times, but many of them had taken on a weird coloration or were hidden by thickets of trees.
    On the left-hand side, D sensed an intense presence—a darkness that he alone would’ve felt.
    â€œDamn it all!” cursed a voice he’d heard before.
    â€œIt’s that guy. Looks like he followed you. You intend to just abandon him?”
    Not replying to the hoarse voice, D went back to his steed and brought it to a gallop. After racing along for five minutes, he could see Lyle struggling by the water’s edge. Spray was flying everywhere. The bluish-black hue of the water was no doubt due to the algae in it.
    Lyle’s opponent was a creature that resembled an octopus. Nearly a dozen sucker-covered tentacles were wrapped around the boy’s limbs, and the creature was trying to pull him into the depths. Lyle was armed with a steel harpoon. Though he attempted to stab at the creature’s bulbous head, the blindingly quick movements of its tentacles always interfered and the boy had all he could do just to keep the weapon from being taken from him.
    As D halted his horse, Lyle turned and looked at him. Even locked in this deadly struggle, he’d apparently had enough presence of mind to notice the sound of the approaching hooves.
    â€œStay back!” he shouted. “I don’t want this freshwater octopus getting anyone else on top of me. Just stay back and watch.”
    â€œThat guy’s a real scrapper,” said a voice that sounded thoroughly impressed as it came from the vicinity of D’s left hand.
    D went down to the water’s edge.
    â€œI told you to stay back!”
    â€œYou’re at a distinct disadvantage,” D noted in an uninflected tone.
    â€œNot a chance. I’m just about to declare victory—oof!”
    As his leg kicked into the air with a watery spray, there was a tentacle coiled around it.
    Toward the bottom of the head, a pair of unblinking eyes glared at its prey.
    â€œDamn! Hey, don’t even think of helping me,” the boy told the Hunter.
    â€œIf you drown, you’ll leave Cecile all alone.”
    â€œHelp me!”
    D didn’t go