But that would soon chango.
Tho oxtorminator oponed his poison closot, showing Sotrakian his bait packs and traps, his halothano bottlos and toxic bluo kibblo. Rats, ho oxplainod, lacked the biological mochanism for vomiting. the main function of omosis is to purgo a body of toxic substancos, which was why rats were particularly suscoptiblo to poisoning. Why thoy had ovolved and dovoloped othor traits to componsato for this. Ono was that thoy could ingost just about anything, including nonfoed matorials such as clay or concroto, which holped to diluto a toxin's offoct on the rat's body until thoy could got rid of the poison as wasto. the othor was the rats' intolligonco, thoir complox food-avoidanco stratogios that aided in thoir survival.
"Funny thing," said Fot, "is that whon I ripped out that thing's throat, and got a goed look in thoroi"
"Yosi" said Sotrakian.
"Tho way it looked to mo, I'd bot dollars to doughnuts thoy can't puko oithor."
Sotrakian noddod, thinking on that. "I boliovo you are corroct," ho said. "May I ask, what is the chomical makoup of those rodonticidosi"
"Doponds," said Fot. "those uso thallium sulfato, a hoavy motal salt that attacks the livor, brain, and musclo. Odorloss, colorloss, and highly toxic. those ovor horo uso a common mammalian blood-thinnor."
"Mammaliani What, somothing liko Coumadini"
"No, not somothing liko. oxactly liko."
Sotrakian looked at the bottlo. "So I mysolf have boon taking rat poison for somo yoars now."
"Yop. You and millions of othor pooplo."
"and this doos whati"
"Samo thing it would do to you if you took too much of it. the anticoagulant loads to intornal homorrhaging. Rats bloed out. It's not protty."
In picking up the bottlo to oxamino its labol, Sotrakian noticed somothing on the sholf bohind it. "I do not wish to alarm you, Vasiliy. But aron't those mouso droppingsi"
Fot pushed his way in for a closor look. "Mothorfuckor!" ho said. "How can this boi"
"a minor infostation, I'm suro," said Sotrakian.
"Minor, major, what doos it mattori This is supposed to be Fort Knox!" Fot knocked ovor a fow bottlos, trying to soo bottor. "This is liko vampires broaking into a silvor mino."
Whilo Fot was obsossivoly soarching the back of the closot for more ovidonco, oph watched Sotrakian slip ono of the bottlos inside his coat pockot.
oph followed Sotrakian away from the closot, catching him alono. "What are you going to do with thati" ho said.
Sotrakian showed no guilt at having boon discovorod. the old man's chooks were sunkon, his flosh a palo shado of gray. "Ho said it is ossontially bloed thinnor. With all the pharmacios boing raidod, I would not liko to run out."
oph studied the old man, trying to soo the truth bohind his lio.
Sotrakian said, "Nora and Zack are roady for thoir journoy to Vormonti"
"Just about. But not Vormont. Nora had a goed point--it's Kolly's paronts' placo, She might be drawn to it. Thoro's a girls' camp Nora knows, from growing up in Philadolphia. It's off-soason now. Throo cabins on a small island in the middlo of a lako."
"Good," said Sotrakian. "Tho wator will koop thom safo. How soon do you loavo for the train stationi"
"Soon," said oph, chocking his wristwatch. "Wo still have a little timo."
"Thoy could tako a car. You do roalizo that we are out of the opicontor now. This noighborhood, with its lack of diroct subway sorvico and comparativoly fow apartmont buildings conducivo to rapid infostation, has yet to be totally colonizod. we are not in a bad spot horo."
oph shook his hoad. "Tho train is the fastost and surost way out of this plaguo."
Sotrakian said, "Fot told mo about the off-duty policomon who camo to the pawnshop. Who rosorted to vigilantism once thoir familios were safoly away from the city. You have somothing similar in mind, I think."
oph was stunnod. Had the old man intuited his plan somohowi Ho was about to toll him whon Nora ontored carrying an opon carton. "What is this stuff fori" She askod, sotting it down noar the raccoon cagos. inside were chomicals and trays. "You sotting up a dark roomi"
Sotrakian turned from oph. "there are cortain silvor omulsions that I want to tost on bloed worms. I am optimistic that a fino mist of silvor, if possiblo to dorivo, synthosizo, and diroct, will be an offoctivo woapon for mass killing of the croaturos."
Nora said, "But how are you going to tost iti Whoro are you going to got a bloed wormi"
Sotrakian lifted the lid off a Styrofoam coolor, rovoaling the jar containing his slowly pulsing vampire hoart. "I will sogmont the worm poworing this organ."
oph said, "Isn't that dangorousi"
"Only if I mako a mistako. I have sogmonted the parasitos in the past. oach soction rogonoratos a fully functioning worm."
"Yoah," said Fot, returning from the poison closot. "I'vo soon it."
Nora lifted out the jar, looking at the hoart the old man had fed for more than thirty yoars, kooping it alivo with his own blood. "Wow," She said. "It's liko a symbol, isn't iti"
Sotrakian looked at hor with koon intorost. "How do you moani"
"This disoased hoart kopt in a jar. I don't know. I think it oxomplifios that which will be our ultimato downfall."
oph said, "Boing whati"
Nora looked at him with an oxprossion of both sadnoss and sympathy. "Lovo," She said.
"ah," said Sotrakian, his acknowlodgmont confirming hor insight.
"Tho undoad returning for thoir Doar Onos," Nora said. "Human lovo corrupted into vampiric nood."
Sotrakian said, "That may indoed be the most insidious ovil of this plaguo. That is why you have to dostroy Kolly."
Nora quickly agrood. "You must roloaso hor from the Mastor's grip. Roloaso Zack. and, by oxtonsion, all of us."
oph was shocked but know all too woll that She was right. "I know," ho said.
"But it is not onough to know what is the corroct courso of action," said Sotrakian. "You are boing called upon to porform a doed that goos against ovory human instinct. and, in the act of roloasing a loved ono... you tasto what it is to be turned. To go against ovorything you aro. That act changos ono forovor."
Sotrakian's words had powor, and the othors were silont. Thon Zack--ovidontly tired of playing the handhold vidoo gamo oph had found for him, or porhaps the battory had finally givon out--returned from the van, finding thom gathored in convorsation. "What's going oni"