Vampire Hunter D Read Free

“Oh, I almost forgot … That jerk Greco came by again. Carrying some bunch of flowers he says he had sent all the way from the Capital. He left ’em here and asked me to pass them along to my ‘lovely sister when she gets home.’”
    “So what happened to the flowers?” Doris asked with obvious interest.
    The boy’s mouth twisted into a delighted grin.
    “Chopped ’em up in the disposal unit, mixed in some compost, and fed it to the cows!”
    Doris gave a deep, satisfied nod. “Good job. Today’s a big day. We’ve got company, too.”
    The boy, who’d been sneaking peeks at D even as he spoke with his sister, now smiled knowingly at her. “Say, he’s a looker, ain’t he? So, this is how you like ’em, eh, Sis? You said the robots were in such lousy shape you were going out to look for someone to replace them, but it looks to me like you went out hunting for a man.”
    Doris flushed bright red.
    “Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Don’t talk that foolishness. This is Mr. D. He’ll be helping us out around the farm for a while. And don’t you be getting in his way now.”
    “There’s nothing to be bashful about,” the boy chuckled. “I know, I know. One eyeful of him, and old Greco don’t look much better than a man-eating frog. I like him a heck of a lot better, too. Pleased to meet you, D.”
    “The pleasure’s mine, Dan.”
    Showing no signs of being bothered by the emotionless tone D used even when addressing a child, the boy disappeared into the main house. The pair followed him inside.
    .
    “I’m sorry, he must have really gotten on your nerves,” Doris said in an apologetic tone when dinner was finished and she’d finally managed to drive Dan off to his bedroom, ignoring the boy’s protests that he wasn’t sleepy yet.
    D passed the sword he normally wore on his back from his right hand to his left as he stood at the window gazing at the darkness beyond. Thanks to the clear weather that had persisted the past four or five days, the solar batteries on the roof were well charged and glittering light showered generously on every corner of the room from lighting panels set in the ceiling.
    Apparently there was something about the inhospitable stranger the boy liked, and he’d planted himself by the man’s side and wouldn’t leave, imploring him to talk about the Capital, or to tell him about any monsters or supernatural creatures he might have slain in his travels. Then, to top it all off, he created quite a commotion when he said his sister was being a pest and grabbed D by the arm to try and bring him back to his room where they could talk man-to-man all night long.
    “You see, he gets like that because travelers are so rare. And we don’t usually have much to do with the folks in town, either.”
    “It doesn’t bother me. I take no offense at being admired.”
    As he spoke, he made no attempt to look at Doris sitting on the sofa, wearing the shirt and jeans she’d changed into earlier. His tone was as cold as ever. Closing his eyes lightly, he said, “It’s now nine twenty-six Night, Frontier Standard Time. Since it has already fed once on the person it’s after, I don’t imagine it’ll be in that much of a hurry, so I suppose after midnight will be the time to watch. In the meantime, could you tell me everything you know about the enemy? Don’t worry; your brother is already asleep. I can tell by his steady breathing.”
    Doris’ eyes went wide. “You can hear something like that through the door and everything?”
    “And the voice of the wind across the wilderness, and the vengeful song of the spirits wandering the forest shade,” D murmured, then he came to stand at Doris’ side with the smooth strides of a dancer.
    When she felt that cold and righteous visage peering down at the nape of her neck, Doris shouted, “Stop!” and pulled away without thinking.
    Though the abhorrence was quite evident in her voice, D’s expression didn’t change in the least. “I’m just