Free The Hand of the Devil by Dean Vincent Carter Page B

chuckled. ‘But it makes you wonder. Who are we to say what is and isn’t possible? Time turns a lot of assumptions on their head.’
    ‘Right. Putting the myth aside for a moment – how does she feed?’
    ‘Ah.’ His eyebrows lowered as he looked from me to the tank. I followed his gaze and saw that the Ganges Red had concealed itself once more. ‘Scarlet Death is indeed a fitting label where feeding is concerned.
    ‘A large number of deaths near the Ganges and in locations around Africa have been attributed to the work of our friend here.’ Mather closed his eyes, perhaps to better see the images in his mind. ‘What evidence there is suggests the Ganges Red is one of the most effective killers in the natural world.’ He paused again.
    Not for the first time that day I felt uncomfortable. I wanted to separate what Mather was telling me into myth and reality, but it was proving difficult as he seemed to be blending them together. Was he trying to tell me something? Was he implying that the reality somehow incorporated elements of the myth? I looked again at the tank, more nervous now about its tenant.
    ‘She feeds in much the same way that any female mosquito would except, because of her size and strength, she is capable of taking in blood at a faster and more efficient rate.’
    ‘That would be pretty uncomfortable for the person she’s feeding on, wouldn’t it? She’d hardly go unnoticed.’
    ‘No, indeed.’ Mather chuckled again. ‘In fact it would be impossible for her to go unnoticed. You see, the feeding process causes pain quite unlike the comparatively mild irritation you experience after a bite from a common mosquito. Her smaller relatives inject a natural anaesthetic into you, which prevents you from feeling their presence. The Ganges Red doesn’t do this. Her saliva, unlike that of other mosquitoes, is highly corrosive. Its effect on human flesh is both devastating and agonizing.’
    ‘Jesus,’ I said, disturbed by the image.
    ‘Yes, the saliva is terribly potent. It immediately begins eating away the tissue surrounding the puncture wound, allowing blood to flow more freely and thereby accelerating the feeding process. The pain is so overwhelming that in less than a minute it can force the victim’s body into a state of paralysis. There is, unsurprisingly, no record of anyone surviving a bite. When she has finished the blood meal, she is bloated and will usually rest near the victim until she’s in a fit state to fly away. The victim’s body, depending on how much saliva she has injected, can be unrecognizable by the time it is discovered.’
    ‘Is there any research to back this up? Or is it just part of her legend?’
    ‘Well, I’m just repeating what I’ve read about her.’
    ‘So . . . how do you think she came to be? What could have happened to have produced such an incredible-looking creature?’
    ‘Who can say? If you believe the old legend, then she was born of the ultimate lust. The lust for blood. And not just any blood; the blood of a loved one. Ngoc Tam.’
    ‘Didn’t he prick himself on a thorn and drip blood onto the body of his wife?’
    ‘He did indeed.’
    ‘So what happened after that?’
    ‘Well, Tien Thai, the genie, knew that Ngoc Tam would only find misery if he brought his wife back from the dead – and he was right.’ Mather crossed and uncrossed his legs. I took his fidgeting as a sign of his obvious enthusiasm for the subject at hand. ‘Soon after the couple left the genie’s island, they came upon a settlement and stopped for supplies. Now,’ Mather said, holding up one finger, ‘while Tam was spending the day ashore in the busy markets, buying food, Nhan Diep was taking quite an interest in the large trading ship moored nearby, and its extravagantly dressed captain. By the time Tam returned to his modest raft, Diep and the merchant’s vessel were no more than indistinct shapes on the horizon.’
    ‘Well,’ I said, smiling, ‘it happens