stomach give another lurch, and he rolled away from the marshal.
"Ain't so big now, are you?" Duggan said, kicking the vampire's back. "Go on, boy. Make me your slave. Clap me in chains and drag me away."
Wash groaned in reply and began crawling through the snow. The marshal followed him for a few paces, keeping the crucifix pointed at his back. People were openly staring at the strange spectacle now, but Duggan paid them no heed. He kept his eyes on the retreating monster, his face full of cautious satisfaction. He was driving the vampire away, but he didn't know how to kill it. He needed Cora's help for that, and God only knew where she was.
Duggan gave Wash Jones one last kick in the ribs. "Go on and get yourself out of my town. I ain't likely to be so forgiving next time."
Wash swayed with the impact, but he kept crawling. After a few yards, the nausea started to fade. He rose on shaky legs and took a step. The strength began returning to his limbs. A few more steps, and he felt strong enough to turn and glare at the lawman. Mart Duggan was still pointing that horrible cross at him. Wash winced in pain and turned away. Let the lawman think he'd won. He and Glava would soon prove who ran this town.
The effects of the crucifix had all but disappeared by the time Wash made it back to the Pioneer. Ignoring the stares he drew when he entered, he climbed the stairs and made his way to the storage room where Glava had hidden the first whore's body. As he approached, his keen ears could hear shouts and growls coming from behind the closed door, and he grinned.
Glava looked up when Wash entered. "Ah, Mr Jones, you have arrived just in time. Please, take a seat and enjoy the unfolding drama."
He motioned toward the far corner of the room, where Jack Evans cowered behind a crate. The deputy cradled his broken wrist, whimpering in terror. Above him, crouched on the crate like a cat about to pounce, was Annabelle Rose. She bared her teeth and snarled at her former lover. Blonde locks still framed her face, but her naked body had faded to the ashen gray of the dead.
After a few moments, Glava stood and approached the deputy. "You see, Mr Evans, it does not do to make spectacles of those that wish to remain unnoticed." The vampire smiled at the feral prostitute. "I so often forget how beautiful your human love affairs can be. The very body you coveted so shall be your death. I imagine you long dreamed of her flesh being the last thing you felt on this earth, so perhaps you will find pleasure in this dream coming to pass."
Glava glanced at Wash as the vrykolakas pounced on the deputy. She buried her face in his neck, her arms wrapping around his body with a passion greater than any lover's. Together, the two nosferatu watched the life fade from Jack Evans. His screams ebbed into pitiful whimpers as Annabelle drained his body, slurping and sucking with the fervor of a wild animal. After a few minutes, her face emerged from the bloody spectacle and peered at them. Streaks of red ran down her neck as her eyes looked to Glava for his next command. The nosferatu smiled at her and pointed toward another corner of the room. She crawled over to it and sat down, licking the blood from her arms.
Glava turned back to Wash. "You see how useful the vrykolakas can be."
"You got a mess of them handy?" Wash asked.
"Why?"
Wash looked down at his boots. "That fool marshal pulled a cross on me. I couldn't go nowhere near him without going all weak and shaky."
Glava's golden eyes blazed. He cracked Wash across the cheek with the back of his hand. "You fool! How could you have let that happen? Why did you not snap his neck at once when I told you to kill him?"
"I wanted to drink him and make him a slave," Wash said. "Ain't that what we're supposed to do?"
"Only if we can succeed," Glava said, "which is clearly beyond your grasp." The elder vampire waved his hand, dismissing him. "Return to your whoring and increase your strength. I will see to the problem you have created."
Glava stormed out of the room and down the hallway, reaching out for his servant vrykolakas with his mind. Just north of