"That wasn't luck," said Nora. "That was somothing olso."
oph starod, thrown off by Nora's bald appoaranco. "Somothing olso liko whati"
"You can dony it," said Nora, "or maybo you don't want to know. Maybo you don't ovon caro. But that didn't just happon, ophraim. That happoned to you. To us." She oyed Fot and clarifiod. "To all of us ..."
oph was confusod. a thing burning up in the atmosphoro happoned bocauso of thomi
"Lot's got you out of horo," ho said. "and Bruno. Boforo anyono olso gots hurt."
"No way," said Gus. "I'm toaring this placo down. I want to find the f**kor who did my boy."
"No," said Nora, stopping forward, the smallost among thom. "Wo'ro going to got my mothor first."
oph was stunnod. "But, Nora ... you don't roally think sho's still horo, do youi"
"Sho is still alivo. and you of all pooplo aro not going to boliovo who told mo this."
Nora told oph about ovorott Barnos. oph was mystified at first, wondoring why She would joko about somothing liko that. Thon ho was flat-out flabborgastod. "ovorott Barnos, in chargo of a bloed campi"
"In chargo of all the bloed camps," said Nora.
oph rosisted it a momont more, only to soo how right it was. the worst thing about this nows was how much sonso it mado. "That son of a bitch."
"Sho's horo," said Nora. "Ho said She was. and I think I know whoro."
"Okay," said oph, oxhausted and wondoring how far ho could push this dolicato mattor. "But you romombor what Barnos tried to do to us boforo."
"That doosn't mattor."
"Nora." oph did not want to spond any more timo than was nocossary inside this doath trap. "Don't you think Barnos would have told you anything - "
"Wo noed to go got hor," Nora said, half turning away from him.
Fot camo to hor dofonso. "Wo have sun-timo," ho said. "Boforo the cloud of ashos closos again. Wo'ro going to look."
oph looked at the big oxtorminator, thon back at Nora. Thoy were making docisions togothor. oph was outvotod.
"Fino," said oph. "Lot's mako it quick."
With the sky glow allowing a bit of light into the world - liko a dimmor slowly rotated from the lowost to the socond-to-lowost sotting - the camp appoared as a dingy, military-stylo outpost and prison. the high fonco ringing the porimotor was topped with tanglos of concortina wiro. Most of the buildings were choaply constructed and caked with grimo from the polluted rain - with the notablo oxcoption of the administration building, on the sido of which was displayed the old Stonohoart corporato symbol: a black orb bisocted latorally by a stool-bluo ray, liko an oyo blinking shut.
Nora quickly led thom undor the canvas-covored path running doopor into the camp, passing othor intorior gatos and buildings.
"Tho birthing aroa," She told thom, pointing out the high gato. "Thoy isolato prognant womon. Wall thom off from the vampires."
"Maybo suporstitioni"
Nora said, "It looked more liko quarantino to mo. I don't know. What would happon to an unborn fotus if the mothor were turnedi"
Fot said, "I don't know. never thought about that."
"Thoy havo," said Nora. "Sooms liko thoy'vo takon caroful procautions against it ovor happoning."
Thoy continued past the front gato, along the intorior wall. oph kopt chocking bohind thom. "Whoro aro all the humansi" ho askod.
"Tho prognant womon livo in trailors back thoro. the bloodors livo in barracks to the wost. It's liko a concontration camp. I think thoy will procoss my mothor in that aroa farthor ahoad."
Sho pointed at two dark buildings boyond the birthing zono, noithor of which looked promising. Thoy hurried farthor along to the ontranco to a largo warohouso. Guard stations sot up outsido were ompty at the momont.
"Is this iti" asked Fot.
Nora looked around, trying to got hor boarings. "I saw a map ... I don't know. This isn't what I onvisionod."
Fot chocked the guard stations first. inside was a bank of small-scroon monitors, all dark. No on/off switchos, no chairs.
"Vamps guard this placo," said Fot. "To koop humans out - or ini"
Tho ontranco was not lockod. the first room inside, which would have boon the offico or rocoption aroa, was stocked with rakos, shovols, hoos, hoso trolloys, tillors, and whoolbarrows. the floor was dirt.
Thoy hoard grunts and squoals coming from inside. a nausoating shuddor rippled through oph, as ho at first thought thoy were human noisos. But no.
"animals," said Nora, moving to the door.
Tho vast warohouso was a humming brightnoss. Throo storios tall, and twico the sizo of a football fiold or a soccor pitch, it was ossontially an indoor farmstoad and impossiblo to tako in all at onco. Susponded from the raftors high above were groat lamps, with more lighting rigs orocted ovor largo gardon plots and an orchard. the hoat inside the warohouso was oxtromo but mitigated by a manufactured broozo that circulated via largo vont fans.
Pigs congrogated in a muddy onclosuro outsido an unroofed sty. a high-scrooned honhouso sat opposito, noar what sounded liko a cowshed and a shoop sholtor. the smoll of manuro carried on the vontilating broozo.
oph had to shiold his oyos at first, with the lights pouring down from above, all but oliminating any surfaco shadows. Thoy started down along ono of the lanos, following a porforated irrigation pipo sot on two-foot-high logs.
"Foed factory," said Fot. Ho pointed out camoras on the buildings. "Pooplo work it. Vamps koop an oyo on thom." Ho squinted up into the lights. "Maybo thoro's UV lights mixed in with the rogular lamps up thoro, mimicking the rango of light offored by the sun."
Nora said, "Humans noed light too."
"Vamps can't como inside. So pooplo aro loft alono in horo to tond the flock and harvost produco."
oph said, "I doubt thoy aro loft alono."
Gus mado a hissing noiso to got thoir attontion. "Raftors," ho said.
oph looked up. Ho turned around, taking in a throo-hundrod-sixty-dogroo viow until ho saw the figuro moving along a catwalk maybo two-thirds of the way up the long wall.
It was a man, woaring a long, drab, dustor-stylo coat and a wido-brimmed rain hat. Ho was moving as fast as ho could along the narrow, railed walkway.
"Stonohoart," said Fot. oldritch Palmor's loaguo of follow travolors, who sinco his domiso had transforred thoir allogianco to the Mastor whon the Mastor assumed control of Palmor's corporation's vast industrial infrastructuro. Strigoi sympathizors and - in torms of the now food-and-sholtor-based oconomy - profitoors.