Thunder Moon (Nightcreature 8)
Page 50
“No. The leading supernaturals for Gypsies are the werewolf and the vampire.”
“I don’t suppose the Gypsy vampire has no heart?” I asked.
“I haven’t heard that, although one of my uncles told of a mulo—a vampire—literally one who is dead, that returned without a finger, and another who was marked by the tail of a dog.”
I made a face; so did Claire.
“But for the most part, the mulo look like every other person on earth.”
“Except they were dead and buried, which could be a little noticeable to the ones who buried them.”
“Giving rise to that popular invention, the torch-carrying mob,” Claire said.
Malachi gave her an exasperated glance. “I’ve met a few torch-carrying mobs in my time, and they aren’t anything to joke about.”
“Sorry.”
Sometimes it was easy to forget that Mal had been born in a world completely different from our own.
“My people believe that the dead are angry at being dead and come back as vampires. Most often the mulo is someone who died by accident or design, and returned for vengeance.”
“Doesn’t really fit,” Claire said. “The victims are dead, right? None have come back?”
“Not that I know of, though I’m having Doc do autopsies on the ones who’ve died since the storm.”
“How do you kill a mulo?” Claire asked.
“The Rom use a dhampir—part human, part vampire—the only being capable of hunting down the undead and ending their existence.”
“A Gypsy vampire killer?” I asked, and Mal nodded. “Know any?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. However, there’s no need to call one.”
“Because?”
“None of the victims are Gypsies.”
“We did gloss over that one very important point,” Claire murmured. “Any other ideas?”
“If we’re going with the notion that the victims are the ones with the powers, maybe we need to research Scotch-Irish legends.”
“And what about the one who’s killing them?”
“Once we know what the victims are, it should be easier to figure out what or who’s after them,” I said. “But fir
st, let’s make sure it isn’t a Jager-Sucher.”
Claire frowned. “Wouldn’t Elise have mentioned that?”
“You’d think, wouldn’t you?” I motioned to the phone.
Claire sighed and made the call.
Chapter 16
Five minutes later, Claire hung up. “Elise insists there are no Jäger-Suchers in town.”
“I don’t trust her.”