The Kingmakers(88)

“Keep them back!” the senator commanded with amazing composure. If the vampires broke the line and got to the center of the deck, they would create a terrible melee and throw the humans into chaos.

A high-pitched scream started across the length of the ship. Stoddard saw an airman standing at a pedestal, turning a handle attached to a simple brass box contraption with an amplifier horn on one side. The shrieker’s terrible whine felt like a knife in Stoddard’s head, and the vampires, whose hearing was far more sensitive, staggered and even drew back. The soldiers pressed the advantage with guns and blades, hacking and shooting the creatures, gaining back precious feet of deck space.

The victory was short-lived. Two vampires dropped onto the sailor at the shrieker and bore him to the deck. In seconds, they eviscerated him and then tried to damage the metal gears of the shrieker.

Stoddard leapt to them, firing his pistol and delivering a solid saber blow to one vampire’s neck. The thing jerked and fell. Stoddard fired again, and then the hammer fell on an empty cylinder. A bloody smile appeared before him.

The grinning vampire’s face exploded. Senator Clark kicked the flailing thing to the deck and shot it several more times. Dripping with gore, Stoddard reloaded his revolver and, without comment, stepped onto the shrieker’s platform. He tugged the handle slowly at first, but then it caught and the noise began to rise, cutting through his head. Clark turned away to rejoin the smoke and blood around them.

Creatures moved overhead like monkeys in a tropical forest. Stoddard shot upward when he could see a target, and ducked wildly when he couldn’t. The wail of the shrieker became a dull thud in his head. He could no longer hear the sounds of gunfire or soldiers screaming. It seemed like hours that he stood turning that handle while pale arms reached for him. Razor blades raked his head and face. Warm blood drizzled down and fell onto his hands and the wooden planks. Soldiers protecting him fell bloody at his feet. Vampires dropped twitching, heads smashed by rifle butts, chests opened by swords and axes.

Stoddard saw Senator Clark draw a hand across his throat in a signal to stop. The major released the shrieker handle and let it wind down on its own. Only when he let go did he realize he was too weak to stand and stumbled to the deck on top of bodies, both human and vampire. Hands grabbed him and he saw faces mouthing words he couldn’t hear. They pressed him back against the shrieker pedestal and he stared at the underside of the dirigible, watching the tattered lines and flapping sails.





Fabric rustled overhead, backlit by the sun. Sails.

Stoddard had to report to Senator Clark. He struggled to stand, but his feet were trapped by cloth. Perhaps one of the yardarms had fallen on the deck. Oddly enough, his boots were gone. He was barefooted. He reached down to pull himself free of the entanglement. The deck was strangely soft and spongy; it was difficult to stand. Still he pushed up until something gave way and he tumbled hard to the ground.

Voices shouted. Fingers seized his arms, pulling him to his feet. He tried to shove them away. He had to find the senator. He recognized the face of Dr. Lo, the ship’s surgeon on Ranger. The doctor stared at him and spoke softly with unintelligible words. Stoddard was pushed down onto a cot. He felt the edge of the makeshift bed, the hard wooden slats and the rough canvas.

This wasn’t the deck of Ranger. He turned to each side and saw rows of cots filled with men. They were all injured. The canvas around him wasn’t a sail. It was a tent.

He was in a camp hospital. He wondered why.

“Can you hear me, Major?”

Stoddard looked at Dr. Lo, who smiled with obvious relief.

“Excellent,” the doctor said in an oddly muffled voice.

“Where is Senator Clark?” Stoddard asked slowly.

Dr. Lo laughed. “Don’t worry about him. He’s fine. Not a scratch, as usual. You, on the other hand, took a beating. They say you stood at the shrieker while vampires clawed you to pieces. And since I put every one of five hundred stitches in you, I’d say they’re right.” He took Stoddard’s wrist and felt his forehead. “You can hear, at least. Pulse is strong enough. No fever that I can tell. Lucky your wounds haven’t gone septic. Vampires are filthy things.”

“Where am I?”

“Wilmington.”

“We took the city?”

“Yes. The vampires fled.”

“How long has it been?”

The doctor thought. “Four days? Something like that. I’ve lost track of time with all the casualties.”

“Four days.” Stoddard started to rise. “I’ve got to get back to duty.”

“You’re not going anywhere, Major. Just lie still.”