Read Nine: Vengeance of the Warrior for Free Online

thunderclouds.
    There was a knock on his door. Raakin put the object back into the box and placed it in his drawer. ‘Come in.’
    It was Jake, his lead investigator. ‘Sir, there has been news of strange vampire-like sightings,’ Jake said. He was of medium height and roughened complexion, like he had been in a few too many fights. Alert and careful with his words, Jake made a good addition to the team. Out of a hundred applicants, Jake and the other nine staff members were the only ones who cracked Raakin’s test. They genuinely believed in ghosts.
    ‘Where?’
    ‘The Banni Grasslands. Some gruesome murders, dead animals and strange objects. Seems like ritualistic killings. The police have asked for our help.’

    Raakin stood up. ‘Strange objects?’ he asked.
    Jake filled him in on the police reports. They made their way out of the office and through the corridor to the elevators. ‘It could be a hoax. A murderer covering his or her tracks.’
    ‘That’s what the police want us to examine,’ Jake replied.
    They drove off in an unmarked car.
    On the outskirts of the city, near the salt marshlands, where life was more conducive to vegetation than to human habitation, there was a flutter of activity and a crowd of curious onlookers, mostly half-naked farmers and herders. Jake parked by the kerb. They exited the vehicle and walked towards the cordoned-off area. The police ensured that the humming crowd stayed back. ‘What’s going on, officer?’ Jake asked the policeman on duty as he and Raakin showed their badges.
    ‘Three dead bodies, two puncture marks on their necks … look like teeth marks. Two decapitated wild cats and three voodoo dolls,’ the police officer said, leading them towards a clearing. Low-growing forbs and graminoids sprouted sporadically. A cluster of ganda baval or Prosopis juliflora trees abutted the clearing where the corpses lay. Pastoralists called the Prosopis juliflora the Devil Tree. Raakin and Jake studied the bodies—two men and a woman. He slipped on gloves and kneeled next to the female corpse. The two puncture wounds in her neck, possibly bites, were similar to the injuries on the other two corpses. The cats were symbolic. ‘They are to protect the people when the dead rise,’ the policeman said.
    Jake picked up the dolls. ‘Voodoo and vampires? Not a good partnership.’
    Raakin found the surroundings odd. His senses bristled. The temperature was much lower at that spot; sunshine didn’t make it through the dense foliage. He could hear the rushing waters of a river nearby, just maybe ten feet away, he thought. Jake was scouring the area. The air was still. Oddly, no mosquitoes buzzed, nor were there any insect or bird calls. It was completely silent.
    ‘Any witnesses?’ Jake asked the policeman as he surveyed the onlookers. They appeared to be mostly local cattle-herders. Two medical examiners, dressed in black T-shirts and trousers, were working on the bodies. They searched the pockets of the victims—no identification or wallets.
    ‘Any idea of time of death?’ Raakin asked.
    ‘Difficult to gauge, but appears to be less than ten hours ago,’ the taller medical examiner said. He was kneeling, his gloved hands checking the dead eyes.
    ‘Cause of death?’
    ‘These wounds are not teeth marks,’ the tall guy said. ‘They were made by long sharp objects … could be sticks. There is no blood, the puncture wounds were made after the victims died.’
    ‘So you suspect poisoning as the cause?’
    ‘We won’t know until we take them back to the lab.’

    ‘You want to give me your take on this?’
    The short examiner shrugged. ‘I would say these kids were poisoned. They probably drank some local brew, and when they died, the locals robbed them and turned this into something else.’
    ‘Typical of youngsters to want to venture out into the unknown. Got themselves killed,’ his partner added.
    Raakin turned to the policeman. ‘Anyone recognize the