Industrial Magic
Page 102
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So thats what the tub is for, I said. They put them in there toharvest what they needed without making too big a mess.
Could be, Lucas said.
I met his gaze. But you dont think so.
He picked up the journal and turned to a page near the end. There are several references this year to immersion in source material Hm and Hf.
Elizabeth Bthory, Cassandra murmured.
My gut sank, as I understood what they meant.
Elizabeth Bthory was a Hungarian countess who lived in the sixteenth century. According to legend, shed killed six hundred and fifty young women, most of them peasants, and bathed in their blood because she believed it would grant her eternal youth. After several decades of killing, Bthory was arrested, tried, convicted, and put into a room. Then the door was bricked over.
It has been argued that Elizabeth Bthory was at least part of Bram Stokers inspiration for Dracula, perhaps even more than the equally sadistic and better known Vlad Dracul, from whom Stoker borrowed the name. In vampire society, it was generally believed that Elizabeth Bthory had been a vampire and that shed been seeking, not eternal youth, but her youth for eternityin other words, an immortality quester.
It was also rumored that her experiment had succeeded, that she had found eternal life and that the story of her death had been concocted, not by human officials, but by powerful elements within the vampire community. When theyd discovered her crimesand, yes, killing six hundred humans was a crime even by vampire standardstheyd masterminded her arrest and trial. Then, the vampires themselves walled her up, where she remains to this day, having outlived every vampire who knew where she was imprisoned.
In covering up the success of her immortality experiments, her captors had tried to ensure such crimes would never be repeated. Yet the story, true or not, had been passed down through generations of immortality questers. Most didnt dare replicate Bthorys work but, about every hundred years or so, somebody tried.
But to bathe in blood, I said. That wouldeach time you did it, youd need to kill how many people? Where would they bury all those? I stopped, remembering the strange patchwork terrain out back. I swallowed. I think I might know.
After uncovering the fourth body, we stopped digging. All four corpses were drained of blood, and all in the ground less than a year, which meant they werent Edward and Natashas requisite annual kills. When we looked out over the patchwork of old-growth and new-growth meadow, we knew if we kept digging wed find many more.
After ensuring that the artist was still unconscious, we returned to the cabin and took what we could for later examination. Then we drove to Edward and Natashas house in the cityand searched it again, now looking for hidden rooms and caches. We found nothing, which didnt surprise us; it was unlikely theyd go to all the trouble of secreting away their materials at the cabin, only to leave some in their house.
Throughout the searches, wed all been pretty quiet, still shocked over what wed found at the cabin. As Lucas drove us to the airport, though, my numbed brain finally began to churn through the factsand found a gaping crater in the logic.
Doesnt it punch a big hole in our theory about his motivation for killing Cabal kids?
Lucas slanted a look my way, telling me to continue.
Okay, if Edwards experiments with humans failed, then I can see him testing them out with supernaturals. But whats he taking? Not blood, thats for sure. Or, at least, not enough to bathe in. If hes taking something else, like the stuff that Cassandra found I glanced into the backseat at her. Was itmaterial that wouldnt be missed?
She shook her head. Some of it is external, some internal, but everything would have been missed, if not in a visual examination, then at least in the most cursory autopsy. Perhaps he was taking something different, something small enough to be overlooked.
I doubt that, Lucas said. Joey Nast was still alive when we found him. I cant imagine the killer had time to excise anything from his body.
But everything else fits, I said. Were looking for a vampire killer, possibly from the Cincinnati area. Edward is a vampire from Cincinnati, with killing experience that goes well beyond feeding. According to his neighbors, he hasnt been home in over a week. His longtime lover has left him, which might have sent him over the edge, desperate to find the key to immortality so he can win her back. Even his physical description matches what little Esus saw of him. It all fits.
All except that one piece, Lucas said. Edward appears to be our man, so Id suggest that we consider another theory regarding his motivation.
Like what? Aaron said.
I have no idea, Lucas said. But Im open to suggestions.
We all looked at one anotherand said nothing.
A Most Unwelcome Intrusion
WE BOARDED THE JET. OUR FIRST STOP WOULD BE Atlanta. Although tomorrow was Sunday, Aaron had to work. Well, he didnt have to, but hed promised a friend hed take his shift and, since it didnt look like wed be hot on Edwards trail just yet, he didnt want to break that promise. When we had a line on Edward, Aaron wanted to come back and help out. Being a vampire meant he had a lot of unused sick days, so he didnt expect to have any trouble getting time off his bricklaying job.
Could be, Lucas said.
I met his gaze. But you dont think so.
He picked up the journal and turned to a page near the end. There are several references this year to immersion in source material Hm and Hf.
Elizabeth Bthory, Cassandra murmured.
My gut sank, as I understood what they meant.
Elizabeth Bthory was a Hungarian countess who lived in the sixteenth century. According to legend, shed killed six hundred and fifty young women, most of them peasants, and bathed in their blood because she believed it would grant her eternal youth. After several decades of killing, Bthory was arrested, tried, convicted, and put into a room. Then the door was bricked over.
It has been argued that Elizabeth Bthory was at least part of Bram Stokers inspiration for Dracula, perhaps even more than the equally sadistic and better known Vlad Dracul, from whom Stoker borrowed the name. In vampire society, it was generally believed that Elizabeth Bthory had been a vampire and that shed been seeking, not eternal youth, but her youth for eternityin other words, an immortality quester.
It was also rumored that her experiment had succeeded, that she had found eternal life and that the story of her death had been concocted, not by human officials, but by powerful elements within the vampire community. When theyd discovered her crimesand, yes, killing six hundred humans was a crime even by vampire standardstheyd masterminded her arrest and trial. Then, the vampires themselves walled her up, where she remains to this day, having outlived every vampire who knew where she was imprisoned.
In covering up the success of her immortality experiments, her captors had tried to ensure such crimes would never be repeated. Yet the story, true or not, had been passed down through generations of immortality questers. Most didnt dare replicate Bthorys work but, about every hundred years or so, somebody tried.
But to bathe in blood, I said. That wouldeach time you did it, youd need to kill how many people? Where would they bury all those? I stopped, remembering the strange patchwork terrain out back. I swallowed. I think I might know.
After uncovering the fourth body, we stopped digging. All four corpses were drained of blood, and all in the ground less than a year, which meant they werent Edward and Natashas requisite annual kills. When we looked out over the patchwork of old-growth and new-growth meadow, we knew if we kept digging wed find many more.
After ensuring that the artist was still unconscious, we returned to the cabin and took what we could for later examination. Then we drove to Edward and Natashas house in the cityand searched it again, now looking for hidden rooms and caches. We found nothing, which didnt surprise us; it was unlikely theyd go to all the trouble of secreting away their materials at the cabin, only to leave some in their house.
Throughout the searches, wed all been pretty quiet, still shocked over what wed found at the cabin. As Lucas drove us to the airport, though, my numbed brain finally began to churn through the factsand found a gaping crater in the logic.
Doesnt it punch a big hole in our theory about his motivation for killing Cabal kids?
Lucas slanted a look my way, telling me to continue.
Okay, if Edwards experiments with humans failed, then I can see him testing them out with supernaturals. But whats he taking? Not blood, thats for sure. Or, at least, not enough to bathe in. If hes taking something else, like the stuff that Cassandra found I glanced into the backseat at her. Was itmaterial that wouldnt be missed?
She shook her head. Some of it is external, some internal, but everything would have been missed, if not in a visual examination, then at least in the most cursory autopsy. Perhaps he was taking something different, something small enough to be overlooked.
I doubt that, Lucas said. Joey Nast was still alive when we found him. I cant imagine the killer had time to excise anything from his body.
But everything else fits, I said. Were looking for a vampire killer, possibly from the Cincinnati area. Edward is a vampire from Cincinnati, with killing experience that goes well beyond feeding. According to his neighbors, he hasnt been home in over a week. His longtime lover has left him, which might have sent him over the edge, desperate to find the key to immortality so he can win her back. Even his physical description matches what little Esus saw of him. It all fits.
All except that one piece, Lucas said. Edward appears to be our man, so Id suggest that we consider another theory regarding his motivation.
Like what? Aaron said.
I have no idea, Lucas said. But Im open to suggestions.
We all looked at one anotherand said nothing.
A Most Unwelcome Intrusion
WE BOARDED THE JET. OUR FIRST STOP WOULD BE Atlanta. Although tomorrow was Sunday, Aaron had to work. Well, he didnt have to, but hed promised a friend hed take his shift and, since it didnt look like wed be hot on Edwards trail just yet, he didnt want to break that promise. When we had a line on Edward, Aaron wanted to come back and help out. Being a vampire meant he had a lot of unused sick days, so he didnt expect to have any trouble getting time off his bricklaying job.
