![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dochermes"SPINNER OF WEBS I: The Battle-Axe Murders of Forlorn Corners"
3/8-3/9/2014
I.
They had driven through an impressive thunderstorm on the way to Forlorn Corners. At one point, even the admittedly stubborn Sable had felt it prudent to pull over to the side of the highway and wait for visibility to improve. Both women were wearing down-filled ski jackets because a snowstorm had been predicted; Jin's was solid black, Sable's was Royal blue with red trim on the collar and shoulders. As it turned out, a rise of only a few degrees in temperature had brought a rainstorm instead.
Sitting in the passenger seat of the rented Pathfinder, Demrak Jin had been grumpy and irritable the entire ride from the airport in Stearns County. The Gelydra was not good-natured at the best of times but she had been so gruff reacting to any attempts at conversation that finally Sable demanded, "Jin! What IS your problem today?"
The Gelydra was not more than three inches over five feet, thin to the point of seeming a bit frail despite the immense strength hidden in her dense body. Jin had a flat wide face with thin lips, a snub nose and cloudy blue eyes under a shock of bristly white hair that stood up by itself. Sitting with her arms folded the past hour, she took a deep breath and seemed to be getting hold of her tongue before she answered. "Nothing. Captain, I'm a Gelydra from Ulgor. This is how we are. When I try to be friendly and gentle, it takes an effort. You should know this by now."
They were in the town of Forlorn Corners now, population 828, going past a garage called Jack's Reliable Motors and a unisex barber shop and hair salon with THAT'S PERFECT written in blue script on the window. Sable pulled over near the curb. The town did not have parking meters, and at six o'clock on a Monday evening, almost everything seemed to be closed already.
Peering out through the windshield at the town, Lauren Sable Reilly decided to also choose her words carefully. "Jin," she said at last, "I can deal with that. At least you're being honest. But I have to say that Timothy or Haley may not understand and may take your snark personally."
The Gelydra sniffed. "I will try to get along with them, captain."
At thirty-five, Sable was attractive in a distinctive way, with straight black hair brushed back from a high forehead. Half Irish and half Cuban, she had an intriguing face that people felt immediately comfortable with. "Fair enough," she said. "We're on Main Street now. I don't think I will need to pull the maps up on my Link. Up there is the St Olaf Inn and Boarding House. Three blocks past that, we should find the Town Hall and Pastor Falkenborg is supposed to be waiting for us."
Staring out her window, Demrak Jin tried gamely to make conversation. "This is where Jeremy handled the Triceratops Killings, yes?"
"Yep. That was six years ago. He worked with a local PI named Gary Strickler but I looked online and found the man retired a few months ago. Apparently he broke a hip falling down some stairs and decided he was getting too old for the active life." She started up the Pathfinder, checked for non-existent traffic and eased out onto the street. The town hall was a two-story building with its own parking in the back, and lights were burning only on the ground floor.
"The people are chained with fear," Derak Jin grumbled as she got out of her seat belt and hopped down to the wet asphalt. "No one is outside."
"Well, there was a big thunderstorm just a few minutes ago." Sable came around the front of the rented car to join the Ulgoran. "And that looks like our host waiting for us."
Standing in the rectangle of yellow light from the open door was a short heavy man in a black suit with a white dress shirt. He was at least in his seventies, judging by the white hair over a wizened face. Although he carried a battered walking stick, he did not use it at all. The way he came down one step at a time while keeping one hand on the railing was a habit of seniors, but he moved quickly as a much younger man. "Hello there," he called out. The light glinted on eyeglasses hanging down low on his nose.
Sable waved cheerfully as they approached. "We came as soon as we could, Pastor. That was quite a downpour."
The old man laughed. "At least it melted the snow. Maybe Spring will finally arrive. You're Miss Reilly, I take it?"
"Please call me Sable, father. This is my teammate, Demrak Jin."
"Hello," Jin managed in a polite tone, although she did not offer to shake hands.
Pastor Falkenborg immediately assumed that the little blonde's name was 'Jen,' not Jin and that was how he pronounced it from then on. "Please come in. I'm afraid the Forlorn Corners Historical Society is only one room in the back, but I am so gratified that someone is finally looking into last week's Battleaxe Murders!"
II.
A windowless room that did at least have a ceiling fan and bright fluorescent lighting, the Historical Society's collection consisted of shelves of ancient census and land survey volumes, thirty years of the nearby town's high school yearbooks, boxes filled with old letters and journals and newspaper clippings. On the walls were old photos of the first post office and some WW I doughboys posing in front of a cannon and some aerial views of a rock quarry. There were also hand-made charts of local family trees drawn in excrutiating detail. Sable and Jin were motioned to take seats at the square table in the center of the room, while the Pastor carefully closed the door behind them.
"These chairs could use a cushion," he muttered as he lowered himself easily with the grunts one might expect. "Sable, if I may call you that, I understand the sheriff asked you here because several years ago your friend Jeremy Bane came to Forlorn Corners and put a stop to what have been called the Triceratops Killings."
"He discussed it with me at the time," she said, unzipping her ski jacket and wriggling out of it. The room was warm and rather stuffy. "And of course, I re-read his report at our headquarters before catching a flight out here."
"Meeting him was how our police even knew about the Kenneth Dred Foundation. It's not general knowledge," Falkenborg said. "Just eight days ago, there was a brutal and senseless murder out on School House Road. More violent death in such a drowsy, even boring town. I can't imagine the odds against it."
"There has not been much coverage on the news," Sable told him. She sighed. "To be honest, there was a suspicious plane crash in New Jersey recently and that's all the TV and papers seem interested in right now."
Demrak Jin tentatively spoke up, as if trying to watch her manners. "Could-- would you please tell us what happened, sir?"
"Gladly. One of our local farmers, John Lindquist, killed his wife and his brother in the middle of the night, for no apparent reason and with no signs of any arguments before. He used a battle-axe with a five-foot handle. Then he cut his own throat with the edge. No one has any idea where he would even obtain such a weapon!"
Sable bit her lower lip. "Hm. I assume the police have this weapon locked up now."
"Yes. I was asked to examine it. Apparently, I'm the closest thing to an historical expert in the area since I maintain this room. I actually do have a small collection of pre-Christian relics. The axe is obviously quite old and I believe it to be authentic. But again, where it came from is beyond me. And there was this strip of parchment..." He took a cardboard box down from a shelf and carefully extracted a strip of stiff brown material about ten inches long by three inches high. He placed it on the table in front of Sable and she leaned forward without touching it.
The side facing up had a row of thirteen cryptic symbols in black. Sable had not had occasion to use her powers of perception so far on this case, but now she drew on them. Using gralic force, she enhanced her vision far beyond what Human eyes were normally capable. "Not parchment. This is animal hide," she said after a second. "Tanned goat skin. It's at least a hundred years old and has been frozen for an extended period. The ink is homemade and contains a high percentage of blood. Animal blood." She examined it further as the other two watched.
"The sheriff let me take it to see if I could translate the symbols. It may not be fitting for a man of God, but I have quite a library on Scandanavian cultures from the heathen period. I can't find these runic symbols anywhere," Falkenborg said.
"They are not runes," Sable told him without looking up. "These are Darthan ideograms."
"Darthan? What's that?"
She glanced up to give him a stern, almost regretful look. "Black Magick of the worst kind, father. If this wasn't evidence in a murder trial, I'd strongly urge you to burn this right this second."
"I can't do that," the pastor said. "The sheriff's department wants it back."
"At least don't copy the symbols. You haven't made any copies of these, have you?"
"No, no. I was going to...."
"For your own safety, don't!" Sable sounded threatening. She motioned for him to take the strip of sheepskin back, without having touched it herself. As Faklkenborg returned it to the cardboard box which he got up to stow away on the shelf, she gave Demrak Jin a nod not to say anything.
"Do YOU know what those symbols mean, miss?" asked the pastor, sitting back down.
"Tell us a little about the suspect," she said, seeming not to have heard the question. "Is he from around here?"
"John? Oh, certainly. He's a third generation Forlorn Corners boy. Most of the folks here are of Norwegian descent. The town started as a temporary logging camp in the late 1880s and only became incorporated after the First World War. John Lindquist married Lina Toldeborg, a local girl. He's lived here and worked the family cattle spread with a field of corn on the side all his life."
"Has he ever gone away for extended periods?" asked Sable. "To Europe, perhaps?"
"No. Never. I doubt if he's been away from town for more than a few days to go fishing up by the lakes." The pastor thought it over for a second, "I suppose he's had a quiet life."
"Okay. Any strangers in town lately?"
"Yes! There you might have something. Back at the end of February, two men showed up and arranged to rent one of the bungalows up on Lookout Point. They had German names, can't quite remember what offhand, big men with heavy accents. They claimed they were doing some surveying for the government. Said there might be a new highway coming through the county. We haven't seen too much of them since."
Sable studied the old man, seeing new excitement in his face. "There's something else?"
"Yes. Twice, when they came into town to buy food and suchlike, a woman was seen sitting in the back of their van. Asian. We haven't had an Asian person in this town in my lifetime." The thin voice almost cracked with enthusiasm. "Very pretty, I'm told, too. Long black hair and pale green eyes."
Now it was Sable who sat up suddenly and seemed more alert. "Pale green eyes?"
"So I'm told. Does that mean something to you?"
"No," Sable lied, aware of Demrak Jin staring dubiously at her. "It's just... I believe that's rare in a Chinese woman."
III.
The next hour was spent listening to minute details about the history of Forlorn Corners and of Central Minnesota, of the prominent families and their most eccentric individuals, why Norwegian culture was so much inherently more spiritual than the rival Finnish culture in the area. Once Pastor Falkenborg began to talk, it was as if a plug had been taken out of a leaky dam.
Sable took it all in and asked relevant questions but she was obviously distracted by something. Even Jin noticed. When Falkenborg finally ran out of gossip and rural observations, he escorted them back outside with repeated offers to help in any way possible.
"Thank you," Sable said, opening the driver's door to the Pathfinder. "You've given us several possible angles to explore. We'll call on you as soon as we make some progress."
"I wouldn't mind seeing you ladies at Sunday's services," he finished. "Stavangers Lutheran Church, just three miles out of town to the north."
"You'll be hearing from us," Sable promised again. Demrak Jin hopped nimbly up into the passenger seat and closed her door more emphatically than seemed really necessary.
As they pulled back out onto Main Street, the Gelydra woman abruptly said, "What is it, Sable? That medicine man said something that has been chewing on your mind ever since."
"I'll tell you," her captain replied. "It was last year, just a month or two before you and the others signed on to form our new team. I handled a solo case involving two rival Alchemists, Shu Shen 'the Scholar' and Tzing-Dao Wang, also known as the Spinner of Webs."
"I have read the file you wrote on that case. The bronze acupuncture needles. I have been doing my best to work through all the KDF cases before my time," Jin said. "But you must explain further."
Sable pulled over into an open spot on Main Street, just a block away from a three story grey-shingled building with a sign ST OLAF'S INN AND BOARDING HOUSE. She turned off the engine. "I was helped by Wang's daughter Olivia. She warned me not to cross paths with her father again, that he was a dangerous man who used torture and assassination freely. Olivia was a Chinese woman with pale green eyes."
"Oh! You think she may be here?" Jin asked. "And that her father, the Spinner of Webs, might be involved in this battleaxe killing?"
"It's just a feeling." Sable felt so uncomfortable not telling Jin the real reason she was troubled. Meeting Olivia Wang still haunted her. The perfect face of the Chinese woman, serene as an ivory mask, stayed vivid in her memory and her emotions were strangely confused about the Alchemist's daughter. Olivia had told Sable 'you do not even know your own heart' and had gently kissed her full on the mouth before leaving. Even now, a year later, remembering that kiss upset Sable in some way she didn't want to think about.
Forcing herself back to the situation at hand, she exhaled sharply. "I phoned here yesterday to reserve a room for us. This is not a hotel, but a tavern. We will have a bedroom on the third floor and access to an adjoining bathroom, but we are not supposed to go into other rooms or use the kitchen. Are you okay with that?"
"Whatever arrangements you have made will suit me," Demrak Jin answered. "Are we going in now?"
"Yes, I think we will establish a base here before we investigate further. Let's leave our travel bags here for the moment." She got out and went around to enter the front door. Country music was playing as they walked into a snug cozy neighborhood bar. A few men sat in a booth drinking beer with a half-empty pitcher in front of them. At the bar itself, a morbidly obese man was helping himself to pretzels from a dish and raising his shot glass in a salute to the woman behind the counter.
Seeing Sable and Jin in the doorway, the woman came around from behind the bar, wiping her hands on a cloth. She was middle-aged and still blonde with no grey hairs, wearing an apron over a blue dress. Her smile was easy and unforced, reassuring in its honesty. "Hey there, I'm Bridgit Oleson. You must be the two gals who want the third floor room for a week."
"That's us," Sable admitted, shaking hands. "I'm Sable Reilly and this is my friend Jin. I'm so glad to be here."
"We can handle the payment in the morning if you like," Oleson said. "I have to keep an eye on Earl there, he's downed a few already. Here's two keys. The big one is for your room, the other is for the door to the street. Come here. You gals go through that door in the corner. The stairs are right on the other side. Leave the second floor alone, my husband and his brother are up there watching ESPN."
"We won't bother them," Sable said. "Jin and I will get our luggage from the car and be right back."
"Might as well just go upstairs directly. Instead of coming back in here, use the door on the wall out in the alley. Be sure it's always locked behind you, mind!"
"We will. Thank you, Mrs Oleson. We will be going back out later to look around the town."
"Come and go as you please," she smiled. "You seem like sensible enough girls. No men up there, though. This town is into everyone's business."
"Thank you again," Sable said and led Jin back outside. The men in the booth did not whistle or make remarks but they did give little friendly waves as the women exited. Out by the rented Pathfinder, they opened the back and got their gear. In addition to the usual knapsacks they always had prepared for unscheduled trips, each had brought a suitcase. Sable's contained her field suit and Jin's had her sharkhide armor.
In the alley between the boarding house and the building next door, there was a plain unmarked door with a thick concrete step in front of it. They went up two flights of stairs, and on the second floor landing passed a door from which the sound of a hockey game on TV came clearly. On the third floor, the stairs ended at the landing where their room was. There was another door to their left, but it was blocked off by a yellow wheeled bucket with a mop in it, so that was clearly not for them.
Placing their luggage down for the moment, the two KDF members gave each other a nod. When they unlocked the door to their room, they were both ready for any possible attack. Even in the tavern earlier, they had stood shoulder to shoulder and watched around them warily. This was part of the life they lived. In a few minutes, after checking the room, Sable said, "All clear." They relaxed as much as they ever did not when not in an established base.
It was not a standardized hotel suite but more like a personal room where someone had lived. There was a Queen-sized bed in the middle of the room, a TV on a stand, a dresser with a large mirror across its top and several chairs. In one corner was a handmade deacon's bench piled with extra blankets. A single window looked down at Main Street, and Sable drew the heavy curtains. "This will do for the next few days," she said.
Demrak Jin was standing in front of a door that had a sign hanging on it, PLEASE KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING. She gave her captain a quizzical look.
"That's the bathroom," Sable said. "It also opens to the room on its other side, so there might be someone in there at times." She stepped over beside the Gelydra and used her amplified hearing for a second. "No one is in there now, or in the room beyond. No breathing, not even a heartbeat. I don't know if the other room is rented out right now."
"Sable, do you know what those symbols mean?" asked Jin.
"I'm not completely sure. Something about past lives and shadows. My guess is that it's related to the Preincarnation spell, which always means trouble."
The Gelydra made no comment. She watched as her team leader made another circuit of the room before seeming satisfied.
"Jin, I want to explore the town now. Conferring with the sheriff and examining the axe will be necessary. I definitely need to get a look at the bungalow rented by the mysterious strangers who have been seen with a green-eyed Chinese woman. Do you want to put on your shark outfit first?"
The Gelydra shook her head. "Not yet. I worry we are conspicuous enough in a small town where everyone is known. But I will take my blade."
"I already have the Trom armor on under my clothes, and all the usual gadgets are in various pockets. One of the dart guns is in its holster under my coat." Sable headed for the door to the hall. "I have an unsettling feeling that we should lose no time. I am sure there will be more weird murders."
At the car, Jin volunteered to drive. "You will be able to use your perception better that way," she said.
"Thanks," Sable replied. She had done most of the driving from the airport to Forlorn Corners and was grateful for a break. Climbing into the passenger seat, she rolled down the window halfway. They pulled out and turned left on the Main Street. Traffic was almost non-existent, a battered pick-up truck passing in the opposite direction was the only other vehicle they saw.
As they went past the now darkened Town Hall, with only a light over the front door still burning, Sable sat up. "Jin! Go back. Go into the Town Hall lot."
The Gelydra responded characteristically by making a completely illegal three-point U-turn right where they were and gunning the motor to whip into the lot. There was a reason Sable usually drove. "What is it?" Jin asked.
"There. By the side of the building," was all the team leader said as she jumped out of the still moving Pathfinder. Demrak Jin managed to put the vehicle in park and turn off the motor before reaching behind her for a cloth-wrapped bundle that held her bone-blade knife in its ivory scabbard. As quick as Sable was, Jin rushed past her with bloodthirsty eagerness. Barely visible in the night, two big men in dark clothing were climbing out of a side window of the Town Hall.
The Gelydra drew her long knife and hurtled at the men. Sable managed to grasp her partner's arm and restrain her. These men were burglars and trespassers but that didn't mean they deserved being sliced open from collarbone to pelvis. "Jin, wait!" she cried out.
As it turned out, she needn't have worried. One of the men swung toward them and pulled a handful of something from his coat pocket, making a flinging motion. A glittering red mist swirled right at Sable and Jin. It clung to them, clouding their vision and choking them. Their eyes and noses stung, and all they knew after that was silence and darkness.
IV.
"You recover quickly, my friend," said a mellow feminine voice from the blackness.
Struggling to come up to full awareness, Sable managed to open one eye and then the other. She was not tied up, which surprised her. With some difficulty, she pieced together scattered impressions. She was indoors. Sitting up in a chair. Jin was next to her, also propped up in a regular wooden chair. The room had subdued lighting and was warm, with a pleasantly faint scent of lavender. It was so difficult for her to come to her senses that she realized it must be the after-effects of whatever had drugged them. Normally she bounced back almost instantly.
Next to her, the Gelydra muttered and stirred, but did not seen to be fully aware yet. Sable snapped to full alertness. Two men in dark jackets and wool caps were staring at her from across a living room much like any other. She hardly noticed them. It was the woman almost within arm's reach that took her full attention.
"It's the tagra diet you Tel Shai knights enjoy, of course," said the woman with a faintest trace of a British accent. "Ah, Alchemists would trade most of their potions and serums for the secret of tagra. Hello, Sable. I knew we would meet again."
Olivia Wang might have been thirty, but it was difficult to say. She was tall for a Chinese, five feet seven, slender but with impressive curves. Glossy black hair hung down straight to her waist. The daughter of the Spinner of Webs was as lovely as an illustration by a great artist. Her delicate features, with perfectly curved lips and oblique eyes that shone a bright jade green, fascinated Sable.
Now she had to accept the truth beyond all doubt. Whether it could be called love at first sight or just infatuation, Sable realized how strong her attraction to Olivia was. "Hello," she managed to reply, afraid of saying something stupid. Her heart felt like it was pounding twice as fast as normal. "Olivia. I did not expect to find you here, in Minnesota of all places."
The Alchemist's daughter smiled sweetly. "It is true that Chinese are rare on these frozen plains. That is exactly why I am here with these yellow-haired barbarians rather than my usual Han servants. Ah, Sable. I see in your eyes that you can feel the heat between me and you. Yet we must discuss business first."
"Yes. Of course," Sable said, sitting up straighter. She could feel the hardness of her anesthetic dart gun still pressing in the small of her back, so she had not even been disarmed. Olivia seemed to be less of a menace than Sable had first assumed. "That sheepskin that your men retrieved tonight. It's related to the Preincarnation spell of Leopold Vidimar?"
"It is." Unlike the long white robe she usually affected, tonight Olivia was wearing tailored slacks and a long-sleeved silk blouse, all in subdued earth colors of rust and brown. Her only jewelry was a pair of simple pearl earrings. Stepping closer and leaning down, the Alchemist gazed thoughtfully into Sable's eyes. "I did not intend for our chosen subject to react so violently. That is a matter of deep regret. I was told he came from a long line of farmers. Evidently, his ancestors included Vikings."
Demrak Jin had come around completely and had immediately begun to lunge up from the chair but was restrained by Sable's hand pressing on her shoulder. The Gelydra settled back down with obvious reluctance.
"Olivia," said Sable slowly. "These are men of Norwegian descent. If you used the Darthan symbols on a modern Native American, you might get an Apache brave."
"Very good," answered the smooth self-assured voice. "A modern Japanese may become a Samurai, an Italian become a Roman gladiator. More usefully, a Preincarnated subject may know where treasure is hidden or can lead us to lost loot. But, my dear, you must know why I am researching this spell." She reached down and took the Tel Shai knight's hand. "Come. Let us walk outside for some air and speak privately."
"NO!" snapped Demrak Jin, this time jumping completely to her feet. "We are teammates. Whatever you have to say to my captain, you can speak as well in front of me." The cloudy blue eyes were narrowed and Jin's body language was incredibly ominous as she crouched with her fists down in front of her.
In that moment, Lauren Sable Reilly passed a crucial test of integrity. Smitten as she was with this gorgeous Asian, Sable remembered her responsibilities at leader of the KDF. Her Tel Shai oath of duty was sacred to her. "My friend is correct, Olivia, I'm sorry. She can hear whatever you wish to tell me."
For just a second, the serene ivory face slipped. Anger flared up hot in the green eyes, but only for an instant so brief that one might think it was imagined. Her elegant voice did not change. "Very well. I am challenging my father. Tzing-Dao Wang, the Spinner of Webs, has ruled his network of crime by fear and violence for generations. I intend to usurp his throne. Under my leadership, the family empire will be more benevolent. Alchemy can cure dread diseases, create gold from lead, grow crops in barren dirt."
"Sounds good so far," Jin grumbled to herself. "But there's always a catch."
"Sable, I want you to consider joining me in my efforts," Olivia said. "With your support and that of your Tel Shai knights, I would be able to cast down my father, without open warfare that would cost many lives. I know your KDF has defeated Wu Lung, Arem Kamende, John Grim. As wicked as the Spinner of Webs is, his empire is nowhere near as vast nor as clandestine as theirs were."
Despite the temptation to immediately agree, Sable did not speak. Normally, her powers enabled her to monitor a person's heartbeat, to smell the amount of adrenalin in perspiration, to watch pupil dilation patterns. With these, she could judge more accurately than any lie detector if someone was being truthful. She couldn't manage this now. In the presence of Olivia Wang, she could not focus enough to use her perception. Realizing she was the only one still seated, she got to her feet to stand with Demrak Jin at her elbow. "I want to say yes," she told Olivia. "But it's an important decision, not to be made lightly. Let me gather my team and present the case to them."
Olivia Wang seemed wistful now. She lightly brushed long slender fingers across Sable's cheek. "So be it. We have so much in store for us, you and I." Drawing herself up, she snapped her fingers to summon the Germans who had been watching from the other side of the room. "My servants will drive you and your partner back to where your own car was left. There would be no point in your returning here. As soon as you leave, I will depart and never return to this town."
"But we will meet again. Soon," Sable said.
"Do not doubt it." Olivia motioned for them to go with with the two blond henchmen, herself leaving the room and closing the door behind her. As Olivia was gone from sight, Sable resisted an urge to go after her. She was dismayed at herself. Never had she felt such passionate intensity, and the thought crossed her mind that perhaps some Alchemical potion was causing this.
No. It felt too real. The cold heaviness in her chest came from genuine emotion. She joined Jin as they were taken out to a black van with tinted windows and placed in the back.
V.
After an awkward ten minute ride in silence, the van slowed to a stop in the Town Hall parking lot. The rented Pathfinder was sitting in a marked slot instead of at the random angle where it had been left, obviously the thugs had moved it after loading the drugged Sable and Jin a few hours earlier. The two KDF members disembarked from the van and watched it pull away, still without a word being spoken.
Left in the darkened lot, Sable went over to the side of the building and yanked the small window shut. The acrid tang of the Alchemical powder still hung in the air. She turned to find Demrak Jin holding up her bone-blade weapon.
"They placed it in our vehicle," the Geldyra said in bewilderment. "I believe this Wang woman is seriously trying to gain you as an ally."
"So it seems," answered Sable absently. "I don't think we will notify the police of this, Jin. Olivia's men took only the sheepskin with the Darthan symbols and she possesses it now." She folded her arm and tapped one foot impatiently on the asphalt, thinking.
Watching her captain, the Gelydra woman said, "Do you trust this daughter of the Spinner of Webs?"
"No. No, logically I cannot trust any players in the desperate game. It's possible she treated us well tonight only because she wishes to use our team as weapons against her father."
"Your voice sounds uncertain," Jin ventured to say. "Captain, you are confused and I have never seen you this way."
Sable straightened up and started heading over to their rented car. "Would you drive, Jin? I think we have one more visit to make tonight."
"Of course," the Gelydra said. She vaulted up into the driver's seat and found the keys were still in the ignition. As her team leader climbed into the passenger side, Demrak Jin started the Pathfinder up and pulled around to exit the lot. "Which direction?"
"To your right. Out of town." Sable unclipped the Link from its holder on her belt and patched into the regular phone system. When Leonard Slade had presented the Links to the first KDF team decades ago, the devices had been far in advance of anything Human technology could match but in recent years smartphones had caught up to a large degree. "Hello? Pastor Falkenborg? I hope I didn't wake you. Yes, this is Sable Reilly. Can we stop by for a moment? Excellent. Thank you."
They rode past the final streetlight, where Main Street became renamed Dutchtown Road beyond the town of Forlorn Corners itself. By the side of the road was a closed local produce market, and then nothing but wet bare trees without leaves. Finally, they came up on a crossroads where two buildings sat in a gravel parkway. One was a church with an old-fashioned belfry and a placard on a post announcing a lecture the next Sunday night by some local author.
Behind the church, half-hidden beneath a cluster of elms, was a cottage that looked barely large enough to hold four rooms. Parked next to it was a modest little Hyundai. Lights showed in every window, the pastor was welcoming his late night guests. Demrak Jin parked the rented vehicle next to the Hyundai and glanced over at her captain. But Sable got out without explanation and walked over to rap sharply on the front door with her knuckles.
Falkenborg opened the door immediately. "Hello, hello. Please, come in out of the damp. Here we go." He escorted them into a rather overheated living room cluttered with piles of old books and newspapers. The pastor was wearing a faded bathrobe over white pajamas, with huge slippers. "Please, be seated."
The couch had been cleared of debris, as a stack of papers to one side hinted. On an endtable was a china plate with a fork and a few crumbs remaining. The television was on the Weather Channel with the sound off. Both Sable and Jin dropped down onto the couch, while Falkenborg lowered himself into an easy chair which faced them at an angle. He had not been using his cane inside his home, presumably because there was always furniture within reach to lean on.
Sable took a deep breath and clasped her hands together in front of her. "Father, you know that the sheepskin with the Darthan symbols was stolen from Town Hall a few hours ago. No, don't say anything. There is no point in denying it. You also know the history of the families in this area going back many generations. I noticed the charts you had drawn hanging in the room at Town Hall."
Silent, stone-faced, he waited for her to continue.
"The earliest name on the chart was that of Ragnar the Fair. He was listed as a direct ancestor of the man who killed his family and then himself with the battle-axe. When I had a minute, I looked up Ragnar the Fair and he is known to historians as a ruthless outlaw who was chased away from Norway with every hand against him. He was subject to fits of murderous rage. You knew this. You knew that the modified Preincarnation spell would almost certainly revert Lindquist to his most forceful ancestor."
The pastor's wrinkled face had gone red, and he was shaking. "Young lady. Whatever nonsense you are spouting, I have heard enough! I must ask you both to leave this instant."
"You carry a cane from habit and are careful coming down stairs, but I see no limp or stiffness. You have been freed of your athritis by an Alchemical serum." Sable leaned back and folded her arms, her voice getting harder. "This was how Olivia Wang paid you. In return, you selected a local person for her to use as a subject.. but you did not tell her Lindquist was descended from a vicious psychopath."
Unexpectedly, Demrak Jin broke out in a grin. "Sable, you're a genius."
"And, sir, it was you who provided the weapon. I am sure somewhere in this house we will find some antique weapons as part of your collection of pagan relics. No one knew you possessed it."
Lurching up to his feet, Pastor Falkenborg reached menacingly for his heavy cane. Seeing this, Sable said, "My partner here is one of the most dangerous warriors you would ever regret meeting. She has killed hundreds of armed opponents. Forget using that walking stick."
The lethal anticipation showing in Jin's eyes shocked Falkenborg. As the old man sagged back into his chair, all resistance seemed to fall away from him. "You have lost your mind. I am going to call the sheriff's department right now."
"No, you're not," Sable said. "There is some record somewhere of you obtaining that axe, whether you bought it on eBay or from another collector. We can find that documentation. Father, you are in my custody on my authority as a knight of Tel Shai. I intend to question you. With my powers, believe me when I say I can tell if you are answering truthfully."
"Excuse me," Jin interrupted. "Maybe I am missing something. If this man was working for the Wang lady, why did he give her a subject he knew would kill someone? She said she did not want that."
"To make her doubt her judgement. Possibly to lead to her being blamed by her followers for the murders," Sable said. "He accepted the serum from Olivia and pretended to be on her side, but he was already a servant of someone else. Pastor Falkenborg had already been contacted by a mastermind who knew of his daughter's intended treachery. He's working for Tzing-Dao Wang, the Spinner of Webs."
SPINNER OF WEBS I: The Battle-Axe Murders of Forlorn Corners
3/8-3/9/2014
I.
They had driven through an impressive thunderstorm on the way to Forlorn Corners. At one point, even the admittedly stubborn Sable had felt it prudent to pull over to the side of the highway and wait for visibility to improve. Both women were wearing down-filled ski jackets because a snowstorm had been predicted; Jin's was solid black, Sable's was Royal blue with red trim on the collar and shoulders. As it turned out, a rise of only a few degrees in temperature had brought a rainstorm instead.
Sitting in the passenger seat of the rented Pathfinder, Demrak Jin had been grumpy and irritable the entire ride from the airport in Stearns County. The Gelydra was not good-natured at the best of times but she had been so gruff reacting to any attempts at conversation that finally Sable demanded, "Jin! What IS your problem today?"
The Gelydra was not more than three inches over five feet, thin to the point of seeming a bit frail despite the immense strength hidden in her dense body. Jin had a flat wide face with thin lips, a snub nose and cloudy blue eyes under a shock of bristly white hair that stood up by itself. Sitting with her arms folded the past hour, she took a deep breath and seemed to be getting hold of her tongue before she answered. "Nothing. Captain, I'm a Gelydra from Ulgor. This is how we are. When I try to be friendly and gentle, it takes an effort. You should know this by now."
They were in the town of Forlorn Corners now, population 828, going past a garage called Jack's Reliable Motors and a unisex barber shop and hair salon with THAT'S PERFECT written in blue script on the window. Sable pulled over near the curb. The town did not have parking meters, and at six o'clock on a Monday evening, almost everything seemed to be closed already.
Peering out through the windshield at the town, Lauren Sable Reilly decided to also choose her words carefully. "Jin," she said at last, "I can deal with that. At least you're being honest. But I have to say that Timothy or Haley may not understand and may take your snark personally."
The Gelydra sniffed. "I will try to get along with them, captain."
At thirty-five, Sable was attractive in a distinctive way, with straight black hair brushed back from a high forehead. Half Irish and half Cuban, she had an intriguing face that people felt immediately comfortable with. "Fair enough," she said. "We're on Main Street now. I don't think I will need to pull the maps up on my Link. Up there is the St Olaf Inn and Boarding House. Three blocks past that, we should find the Town Hall and Pastor Falkenborg is supposed to be waiting for us."
Staring out her window, Demrak Jin tried gamely to make conversation. "This is where Jeremy handled the Triceratops Killings, yes?"
"Yep. That was six years ago. He worked with a local PI named Gary Strickler but I looked online and found the man retired a few months ago. Apparently he broke a hip falling down some stairs and decided he was getting too old for the active life." She started up the Pathfinder, checked for non-existent traffic and eased out onto the street. The town hall was a two-story building with its own parking in the back, and lights were burning only on the ground floor.
"The people are chained with fear," Derak Jin grumbled as she got out of her seat belt and hopped down to the wet asphalt. "No one is outside."
"Well, there was a big thunderstorm just a few minutes ago." Sable came around the front of the rented car to join the Ulgoran. "And that looks like our host waiting for us."
Standing in the rectangle of yellow light from the open door was a short heavy man in a black suit with a white dress shirt. He was at least in his seventies, judging by the white hair over a wizened face. Although he carried a battered walking stick, he did not use it at all. The way he came down one step at a time while keeping one hand on the railing was a habit of seniors, but he moved quickly as a much younger man. "Hello there," he called out. The light glinted on eyeglasses hanging down low on his nose.
Sable waved cheerfully as they approached. "We came as soon as we could, Pastor. That was quite a downpour."
The old man laughed. "At least it melted the snow. Maybe Spring will finally arrive. You're Miss Reilly, I take it?"
"Please call me Sable, father. This is my teammate, Demrak Jin."
"Hello," Jin managed in a polite tone, although she did not offer to shake hands.
Pastor Falkenborg immediately assumed that the little blonde's name was 'Jen,' not Jin and that was how he pronounced it from then on. "Please come in. I'm afraid the Forlorn Corners Historical Society is only one room in the back, but I am so gratified that someone is finally looking into last week's Battleaxe Murders!"
II.
A windowless room that did at least have a ceiling fan and bright fluorescent lighting, the Historical Society's collection consisted of shelves of ancient census and land survey volumes, thirty years of the nearby town's high school yearbooks, boxes filled with old letters and journals and newspaper clippings. On the walls were old photos of the first post office and some WW I doughboys posing in front of a cannon and some aerial views of a rock quarry. There were also hand-made charts of local family trees drawn in excrutiating detail. Sable and Jin were motioned to take seats at the square table in the center of the room, while the Pastor carefully closed the door behind them.
"These chairs could use a cushion," he muttered as he lowered himself easily with the grunts one might expect. "Sable, if I may call you that, I understand the sheriff asked you here because several years ago your friend Jeremy Bane came to Forlorn Corners and put a stop to what have been called the Triceratops Killings."
"He discussed it with me at the time," she said, unzipping her ski jacket and wriggling out of it. The room was warm and rather stuffy. "And of course, I re-read his report at our headquarters before catching a flight out here."
"Meeting him was how our police even knew about the Kenneth Dred Foundation. It's not general knowledge," Falkenborg said. "Just eight days ago, there was a brutal and senseless murder out on School House Road. More violent death in such a drowsy, even boring town. I can't imagine the odds against it."
"There has not been much coverage on the news," Sable told him. She sighed. "To be honest, there was a suspicious plane crash in New Jersey recently and that's all the TV and papers seem interested in right now."
Demrak Jin tentatively spoke up, as if trying to watch her manners. "Could-- would you please tell us what happened, sir?"
"Gladly. One of our local farmers, John Lindquist, killed his wife and his brother in the middle of the night, for no apparent reason and with no signs of any arguments before. He used a battle-axe with a five-foot handle. Then he cut his own throat with the edge. No one has any idea where he would even obtain such a weapon!"
Sable bit her lower lip. "Hm. I assume the police have this weapon locked up now."
"Yes. I was asked to examine it. Apparently, I'm the closest thing to an historical expert in the area since I maintain this room. I actually do have a small collection of pre-Christian relics. The axe is obviously quite old and I believe it to be authentic. But again, where it came from is beyond me. And there was this strip of parchment..." He took a cardboard box down from a shelf and carefully extracted a strip of stiff brown material about ten inches long by three inches high. He placed it on the table in front of Sable and she leaned forward without touching it.
The side facing up had a row of thirteen cryptic symbols in black. Sable had not had occasion to use her powers of perception so far on this case, but now she drew on them. Using gralic force, she enhanced her vision far beyond what Human eyes were normally capable. "Not parchment. This is animal hide," she said after a second. "Tanned goat skin. It's at least a hundred years old and has been frozen for an extended period. The ink is homemade and contains a high percentage of blood. Animal blood." She examined it further as the other two watched.
"The sheriff let me take it to see if I could translate the symbols. It may not be fitting for a man of God, but I have quite a library on Scandanavian cultures from the heathen period. I can't find these runic symbols anywhere," Falkenborg said.
"They are not runes," Sable told him without looking up. "These are Darthan ideograms."
"Darthan? What's that?"
She glanced up to give him a stern, almost regretful look. "Black Magick of the worst kind, father. If this wasn't evidence in a murder trial, I'd strongly urge you to burn this right this second."
"I can't do that," the pastor said. "The sheriff's department wants it back."
"At least don't copy the symbols. You haven't made any copies of these, have you?"
"No, no. I was going to...."
"For your own safety, don't!" Sable sounded threatening. She motioned for him to take the strip of sheepskin back, without having touched it herself. As Faklkenborg returned it to the cardboard box which he got up to stow away on the shelf, she gave Demrak Jin a nod not to say anything.
"Do YOU know what those symbols mean, miss?" asked the pastor, sitting back down.
"Tell us a little about the suspect," she said, seeming not to have heard the question. "Is he from around here?"
"John? Oh, certainly. He's a third generation Forlorn Corners boy. Most of the folks here are of Norwegian descent. The town started as a temporary logging camp in the late 1880s and only became incorporated after the First World War. John Lindquist married Lina Toldeborg, a local girl. He's lived here and worked the family cattle spread with a field of corn on the side all his life."
"Has he ever gone away for extended periods?" asked Sable. "To Europe, perhaps?"
"No. Never. I doubt if he's been away from town for more than a few days to go fishing up by the lakes." The pastor thought it over for a second, "I suppose he's had a quiet life."
"Okay. Any strangers in town lately?"
"Yes! There you might have something. Back at the end of February, two men showed up and arranged to rent one of the bungalows up on Lookout Point. They had German names, can't quite remember what offhand, big men with heavy accents. They claimed they were doing some surveying for the government. Said there might be a new highway coming through the county. We haven't seen too much of them since."
Sable studied the old man, seeing new excitement in his face. "There's something else?"
"Yes. Twice, when they came into town to buy food and suchlike, a woman was seen sitting in the back of their van. Asian. We haven't had an Asian person in this town in my lifetime." The thin voice almost cracked with enthusiasm. "Very pretty, I'm told, too. Long black hair and pale green eyes."
Now it was Sable who sat up suddenly and seemed more alert. "Pale green eyes?"
"So I'm told. Does that mean something to you?"
"No," Sable lied, aware of Demrak Jin staring dubiously at her. "It's just... I believe that's rare in a Chinese woman."
III.
The next hour was spent listening to minute details about the history of Forlorn Corners and of Central Minnesota, of the prominent families and their most eccentric individuals, why Norwegian culture was so much inherently more spiritual than the rival Finnish culture in the area. Once Pastor Falkenborg began to talk, it was as if a plug had been taken out of a leaky dam.
Sable took it all in and asked relevant questions but she was obviously distracted by something. Even Jin noticed. When Falkenborg finally ran out of gossip and rural observations, he escorted them back outside with repeated offers to help in any way possible.
"Thank you," Sable said, opening the driver's door to the Pathfinder. "You've given us several possible angles to explore. We'll call on you as soon as we make some progress."
"I wouldn't mind seeing you ladies at Sunday's services," he finished. "Stavangers Lutheran Church, just three miles out of town to the north."
"You'll be hearing from us," Sable promised again. Demrak Jin hopped nimbly up into the passenger seat and closed her door more emphatically than seemed really necessary.
As they pulled back out onto Main Street, the Gelydra woman abruptly said, "What is it, Sable? That medicine man said something that has been chewing on your mind ever since."
"I'll tell you," her captain replied. "It was last year, just a month or two before you and the others signed on to form our new team. I handled a solo case involving two rival Alchemists, Shu Shen 'the Scholar' and Tzing-Dao Wang, also known as the Spinner of Webs."
"I have read the file you wrote on that case. The bronze acupuncture needles. I have been doing my best to work through all the KDF cases before my time," Jin said. "But you must explain further."
Sable pulled over into an open spot on Main Street, just a block away from a three story grey-shingled building with a sign ST OLAF'S INN AND BOARDING HOUSE. She turned off the engine. "I was helped by Wang's daughter Olivia. She warned me not to cross paths with her father again, that he was a dangerous man who used torture and assassination freely. Olivia was a Chinese woman with pale green eyes."
"Oh! You think she may be here?" Jin asked. "And that her father, the Spinner of Webs, might be involved in this battleaxe killing?"
"It's just a feeling." Sable felt so uncomfortable not telling Jin the real reason she was troubled. Meeting Olivia Wang still haunted her. The perfect face of the Chinese woman, serene as an ivory mask, stayed vivid in her memory and her emotions were strangely confused about the Alchemist's daughter. Olivia had told Sable 'you do not even know your own heart' and had gently kissed her full on the mouth before leaving. Even now, a year later, remembering that kiss upset Sable in some way she didn't want to think about.
Forcing herself back to the situation at hand, she exhaled sharply. "I phoned here yesterday to reserve a room for us. This is not a hotel, but a tavern. We will have a bedroom on the third floor and access to an adjoining bathroom, but we are not supposed to go into other rooms or use the kitchen. Are you okay with that?"
"Whatever arrangements you have made will suit me," Demrak Jin answered. "Are we going in now?"
"Yes, I think we will establish a base here before we investigate further. Let's leave our travel bags here for the moment." She got out and went around to enter the front door. Country music was playing as they walked into a snug cozy neighborhood bar. A few men sat in a booth drinking beer with a half-empty pitcher in front of them. At the bar itself, a morbidly obese man was helping himself to pretzels from a dish and raising his shot glass in a salute to the woman behind the counter.
Seeing Sable and Jin in the doorway, the woman came around from behind the bar, wiping her hands on a cloth. She was middle-aged and still blonde with no grey hairs, wearing an apron over a blue dress. Her smile was easy and unforced, reassuring in its honesty. "Hey there, I'm Bridgit Oleson. You must be the two gals who want the third floor room for a week."
"That's us," Sable admitted, shaking hands. "I'm Sable Reilly and this is my friend Jin. I'm so glad to be here."
"We can handle the payment in the morning if you like," Oleson said. "I have to keep an eye on Earl there, he's downed a few already. Here's two keys. The big one is for your room, the other is for the door to the street. Come here. You gals go through that door in the corner. The stairs are right on the other side. Leave the second floor alone, my husband and his brother are up there watching ESPN."
"We won't bother them," Sable said. "Jin and I will get our luggage from the car and be right back."
"Might as well just go upstairs directly. Instead of coming back in here, use the door on the wall out in the alley. Be sure it's always locked behind you, mind!"
"We will. Thank you, Mrs Oleson. We will be going back out later to look around the town."
"Come and go as you please," she smiled. "You seem like sensible enough girls. No men up there, though. This town is into everyone's business."
"Thank you again," Sable said and led Jin back outside. The men in the booth did not whistle or make remarks but they did give little friendly waves as the women exited. Out by the rented Pathfinder, they opened the back and got their gear. In addition to the usual knapsacks they always had prepared for unscheduled trips, each had brought a suitcase. Sable's contained her field suit and Jin's had her sharkhide armor.
In the alley between the boarding house and the building next door, there was a plain unmarked door with a thick concrete step in front of it. They went up two flights of stairs, and on the second floor landing passed a door from which the sound of a hockey game on TV came clearly. On the third floor, the stairs ended at the landing where their room was. There was another door to their left, but it was blocked off by a yellow wheeled bucket with a mop in it, so that was clearly not for them.
Placing their luggage down for the moment, the two KDF members gave each other a nod. When they unlocked the door to their room, they were both ready for any possible attack. Even in the tavern earlier, they had stood shoulder to shoulder and watched around them warily. This was part of the life they lived. In a few minutes, after checking the room, Sable said, "All clear." They relaxed as much as they ever did not when not in an established base.
It was not a standardized hotel suite but more like a personal room where someone had lived. There was a Queen-sized bed in the middle of the room, a TV on a stand, a dresser with a large mirror across its top and several chairs. In one corner was a handmade deacon's bench piled with extra blankets. A single window looked down at Main Street, and Sable drew the heavy curtains. "This will do for the next few days," she said.
Demrak Jin was standing in front of a door that had a sign hanging on it, PLEASE KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING. She gave her captain a quizzical look.
"That's the bathroom," Sable said. "It also opens to the room on its other side, so there might be someone in there at times." She stepped over beside the Gelydra and used her amplified hearing for a second. "No one is in there now, or in the room beyond. No breathing, not even a heartbeat. I don't know if the other room is rented out right now."
"Sable, do you know what those symbols mean?" asked Jin.
"I'm not completely sure. Something about past lives and shadows. My guess is that it's related to the Preincarnation spell, which always means trouble."
The Gelydra made no comment. She watched as her team leader made another circuit of the room before seeming satisfied.
"Jin, I want to explore the town now. Conferring with the sheriff and examining the axe will be necessary. I definitely need to get a look at the bungalow rented by the mysterious strangers who have been seen with a green-eyed Chinese woman. Do you want to put on your shark outfit first?"
The Gelydra shook her head. "Not yet. I worry we are conspicuous enough in a small town where everyone is known. But I will take my blade."
"I already have the Trom armor on under my clothes, and all the usual gadgets are in various pockets. One of the dart guns is in its holster under my coat." Sable headed for the door to the hall. "I have an unsettling feeling that we should lose no time. I am sure there will be more weird murders."
At the car, Jin volunteered to drive. "You will be able to use your perception better that way," she said.
"Thanks," Sable replied. She had done most of the driving from the airport to Forlorn Corners and was grateful for a break. Climbing into the passenger seat, she rolled down the window halfway. They pulled out and turned left on the Main Street. Traffic was almost non-existent, a battered pick-up truck passing in the opposite direction was the only other vehicle they saw.
As they went past the now darkened Town Hall, with only a light over the front door still burning, Sable sat up. "Jin! Go back. Go into the Town Hall lot."
The Gelydra responded characteristically by making a completely illegal three-point U-turn right where they were and gunning the motor to whip into the lot. There was a reason Sable usually drove. "What is it?" Jin asked.
"There. By the side of the building," was all the team leader said as she jumped out of the still moving Pathfinder. Demrak Jin managed to put the vehicle in park and turn off the motor before reaching behind her for a cloth-wrapped bundle that held her bone-blade knife in its ivory scabbard. As quick as Sable was, Jin rushed past her with bloodthirsty eagerness. Barely visible in the night, two big men in dark clothing were climbing out of a side window of the Town Hall.
The Gelydra drew her long knife and hurtled at the men. Sable managed to grasp her partner's arm and restrain her. These men were burglars and trespassers but that didn't mean they deserved being sliced open from collarbone to pelvis. "Jin, wait!" she cried out.
As it turned out, she needn't have worried. One of the men swung toward them and pulled a handful of something from his coat pocket, making a flinging motion. A glittering red mist swirled right at Sable and Jin. It clung to them, clouding their vision and choking them. Their eyes and noses stung, and all they knew after that was silence and darkness.
IV.
"You recover quickly, my friend," said a mellow feminine voice from the blackness.
Struggling to come up to full awareness, Sable managed to open one eye and then the other. She was not tied up, which surprised her. With some difficulty, she pieced together scattered impressions. She was indoors. Sitting up in a chair. Jin was next to her, also propped up in a regular wooden chair. The room had subdued lighting and was warm, with a pleasantly faint scent of lavender. It was so difficult for her to come to her senses that she realized it must be the after-effects of whatever had drugged them. Normally she bounced back almost instantly.
Next to her, the Gelydra muttered and stirred, but did not seen to be fully aware yet. Sable snapped to full alertness. Two men in dark jackets and wool caps were staring at her from across a living room much like any other. She hardly noticed them. It was the woman almost within arm's reach that took her full attention.
"It's the tagra diet you Tel Shai knights enjoy, of course," said the woman with a faintest trace of a British accent. "Ah, Alchemists would trade most of their potions and serums for the secret of tagra. Hello, Sable. I knew we would meet again."
Olivia Wang might have been thirty, but it was difficult to say. She was tall for a Chinese, five feet seven, slender but with impressive curves. Glossy black hair hung down straight to her waist. The daughter of the Spinner of Webs was as lovely as an illustration by a great artist. Her delicate features, with perfectly curved lips and oblique eyes that shone a bright jade green, fascinated Sable.
Now she had to accept the truth beyond all doubt. Whether it could be called love at first sight or just infatuation, Sable realized how strong her attraction to Olivia was. "Hello," she managed to reply, afraid of saying something stupid. Her heart felt like it was pounding twice as fast as normal. "Olivia. I did not expect to find you here, in Minnesota of all places."
The Alchemist's daughter smiled sweetly. "It is true that Chinese are rare on these frozen plains. That is exactly why I am here with these yellow-haired barbarians rather than my usual Han servants. Ah, Sable. I see in your eyes that you can feel the heat between me and you. Yet we must discuss business first."
"Yes. Of course," Sable said, sitting up straighter. She could feel the hardness of her anesthetic dart gun still pressing in the small of her back, so she had not even been disarmed. Olivia seemed to be less of a menace than Sable had first assumed. "That sheepskin that your men retrieved tonight. It's related to the Preincarnation spell of Leopold Vidimar?"
"It is." Unlike the long white robe she usually affected, tonight Olivia was wearing tailored slacks and a long-sleeved silk blouse, all in subdued earth colors of rust and brown. Her only jewelry was a pair of simple pearl earrings. Stepping closer and leaning down, the Alchemist gazed thoughtfully into Sable's eyes. "I did not intend for our chosen subject to react so violently. That is a matter of deep regret. I was told he came from a long line of farmers. Evidently, his ancestors included Vikings."
Demrak Jin had come around completely and had immediately begun to lunge up from the chair but was restrained by Sable's hand pressing on her shoulder. The Gelydra settled back down with obvious reluctance.
"Olivia," said Sable slowly. "These are men of Norwegian descent. If you used the Darthan symbols on a modern Native American, you might get an Apache brave."
"Very good," answered the smooth self-assured voice. "A modern Japanese may become a Samurai, an Italian become a Roman gladiator. More usefully, a Preincarnated subject may know where treasure is hidden or can lead us to lost loot. But, my dear, you must know why I am researching this spell." She reached down and took the Tel Shai knight's hand. "Come. Let us walk outside for some air and speak privately."
"NO!" snapped Demrak Jin, this time jumping completely to her feet. "We are teammates. Whatever you have to say to my captain, you can speak as well in front of me." The cloudy blue eyes were narrowed and Jin's body language was incredibly ominous as she crouched with her fists down in front of her.
In that moment, Lauren Sable Reilly passed a crucial test of integrity. Smitten as she was with this gorgeous Asian, Sable remembered her responsibilities at leader of the KDF. Her Tel Shai oath of duty was sacred to her. "My friend is correct, Olivia, I'm sorry. She can hear whatever you wish to tell me."
For just a second, the serene ivory face slipped. Anger flared up hot in the green eyes, but only for an instant so brief that one might think it was imagined. Her elegant voice did not change. "Very well. I am challenging my father. Tzing-Dao Wang, the Spinner of Webs, has ruled his network of crime by fear and violence for generations. I intend to usurp his throne. Under my leadership, the family empire will be more benevolent. Alchemy can cure dread diseases, create gold from lead, grow crops in barren dirt."
"Sounds good so far," Jin grumbled to herself. "But there's always a catch."
"Sable, I want you to consider joining me in my efforts," Olivia said. "With your support and that of your Tel Shai knights, I would be able to cast down my father, without open warfare that would cost many lives. I know your KDF has defeated Wu Lung, Arem Kamende, John Grim. As wicked as the Spinner of Webs is, his empire is nowhere near as vast nor as clandestine as theirs were."
Despite the temptation to immediately agree, Sable did not speak. Normally, her powers enabled her to monitor a person's heartbeat, to smell the amount of adrenalin in perspiration, to watch pupil dilation patterns. With these, she could judge more accurately than any lie detector if someone was being truthful. She couldn't manage this now. In the presence of Olivia Wang, she could not focus enough to use her perception. Realizing she was the only one still seated, she got to her feet to stand with Demrak Jin at her elbow. "I want to say yes," she told Olivia. "But it's an important decision, not to be made lightly. Let me gather my team and present the case to them."
Olivia Wang seemed wistful now. She lightly brushed long slender fingers across Sable's cheek. "So be it. We have so much in store for us, you and I." Drawing herself up, she snapped her fingers to summon the Germans who had been watching from the other side of the room. "My servants will drive you and your partner back to where your own car was left. There would be no point in your returning here. As soon as you leave, I will depart and never return to this town."
"But we will meet again. Soon," Sable said.
"Do not doubt it." Olivia motioned for them to go with with the two blond henchmen, herself leaving the room and closing the door behind her. As Olivia was gone from sight, Sable resisted an urge to go after her. She was dismayed at herself. Never had she felt such passionate intensity, and the thought crossed her mind that perhaps some Alchemical potion was causing this.
No. It felt too real. The cold heaviness in her chest came from genuine emotion. She joined Jin as they were taken out to a black van with tinted windows and placed in the back.
V.
After an awkward ten minute ride in silence, the van slowed to a stop in the Town Hall parking lot. The rented Pathfinder was sitting in a marked slot instead of at the random angle where it had been left, obviously the thugs had moved it after loading the drugged Sable and Jin a few hours earlier. The two KDF members disembarked from the van and watched it pull away, still without a word being spoken.
Left in the darkened lot, Sable went over to the side of the building and yanked the small window shut. The acrid tang of the Alchemical powder still hung in the air. She turned to find Demrak Jin holding up her bone-blade weapon.
"They placed it in our vehicle," the Geldyra said in bewilderment. "I believe this Wang woman is seriously trying to gain you as an ally."
"So it seems," answered Sable absently. "I don't think we will notify the police of this, Jin. Olivia's men took only the sheepskin with the Darthan symbols and she possesses it now." She folded her arm and tapped one foot impatiently on the asphalt, thinking.
Watching her captain, the Gelydra woman said, "Do you trust this daughter of the Spinner of Webs?"
"No. No, logically I cannot trust any players in the desperate game. It's possible she treated us well tonight only because she wishes to use our team as weapons against her father."
"Your voice sounds uncertain," Jin ventured to say. "Captain, you are confused and I have never seen you this way."
Sable straightened up and started heading over to their rented car. "Would you drive, Jin? I think we have one more visit to make tonight."
"Of course," the Gelydra said. She vaulted up into the driver's seat and found the keys were still in the ignition. As her team leader climbed into the passenger side, Demrak Jin started the Pathfinder up and pulled around to exit the lot. "Which direction?"
"To your right. Out of town." Sable unclipped the Link from its holder on her belt and patched into the regular phone system. When Leonard Slade had presented the Links to the first KDF team decades ago, the devices had been far in advance of anything Human technology could match but in recent years smartphones had caught up to a large degree. "Hello? Pastor Falkenborg? I hope I didn't wake you. Yes, this is Sable Reilly. Can we stop by for a moment? Excellent. Thank you."
They rode past the final streetlight, where Main Street became renamed Dutchtown Road beyond the town of Forlorn Corners itself. By the side of the road was a closed local produce market, and then nothing but wet bare trees without leaves. Finally, they came up on a crossroads where two buildings sat in a gravel parkway. One was a church with an old-fashioned belfry and a placard on a post announcing a lecture the next Sunday night by some local author.
Behind the church, half-hidden beneath a cluster of elms, was a cottage that looked barely large enough to hold four rooms. Parked next to it was a modest little Hyundai. Lights showed in every window, the pastor was welcoming his late night guests. Demrak Jin parked the rented vehicle next to the Hyundai and glanced over at her captain. But Sable got out without explanation and walked over to rap sharply on the front door with her knuckles.
Falkenborg opened the door immediately. "Hello, hello. Please, come in out of the damp. Here we go." He escorted them into a rather overheated living room cluttered with piles of old books and newspapers. The pastor was wearing a faded bathrobe over white pajamas, with huge slippers. "Please, be seated."
The couch had been cleared of debris, as a stack of papers to one side hinted. On an endtable was a china plate with a fork and a few crumbs remaining. The television was on the Weather Channel with the sound off. Both Sable and Jin dropped down onto the couch, while Falkenborg lowered himself into an easy chair which faced them at an angle. He had not been using his cane inside his home, presumably because there was always furniture within reach to lean on.
Sable took a deep breath and clasped her hands together in front of her. "Father, you know that the sheepskin with the Darthan symbols was stolen from Town Hall a few hours ago. No, don't say anything. There is no point in denying it. You also know the history of the families in this area going back many generations. I noticed the charts you had drawn hanging in the room at Town Hall."
Silent, stone-faced, he waited for her to continue.
"The earliest name on the chart was that of Ragnar the Fair. He was listed as a direct ancestor of the man who killed his family and then himself with the battle-axe. When I had a minute, I looked up Ragnar the Fair and he is known to historians as a ruthless outlaw who was chased away from Norway with every hand against him. He was subject to fits of murderous rage. You knew this. You knew that the modified Preincarnation spell would almost certainly revert Lindquist to his most forceful ancestor."
The pastor's wrinkled face had gone red, and he was shaking. "Young lady. Whatever nonsense you are spouting, I have heard enough! I must ask you both to leave this instant."
"You carry a cane from habit and are careful coming down stairs, but I see no limp or stiffness. You have been freed of your athritis by an Alchemical serum." Sable leaned back and folded her arms, her voice getting harder. "This was how Olivia Wang paid you. In return, you selected a local person for her to use as a subject.. but you did not tell her Lindquist was descended from a vicious psychopath."
Unexpectedly, Demrak Jin broke out in a grin. "Sable, you're a genius."
"And, sir, it was you who provided the weapon. I am sure somewhere in this house we will find some antique weapons as part of your collection of pagan relics. No one knew you possessed it."
Lurching up to his feet, Pastor Falkenborg reached menacingly for his heavy cane. Seeing this, Sable said, "My partner here is one of the most dangerous warriors you would ever regret meeting. She has killed hundreds of armed opponents. Forget using that walking stick."
The lethal anticipation showing in Jin's eyes shocked Falkenborg. As the old man sagged back into his chair, all resistance seemed to fall away from him. "You have lost your mind. I am going to call the sheriff's department right now."
"No, you're not," Sable said. "There is some record somewhere of you obtaining that axe, whether you bought it on eBay or from another collector. We can find that documentation. Father, you are in my custody on my authority as a knight of Tel Shai. I intend to question you. With my powers, believe me when I say I can tell if you are answering truthfully."
"Excuse me," Jin interrupted. "Maybe I am missing something. If this man was working for the Wang lady, why did he give her a subject he knew would kill someone? She said she did not want that."
"To make her doubt her judgement. Possibly to lead to her being blamed by her followers for the murders," Sable said. "He accepted the serum from Olivia and pretended to be on her side, but he was already a servant of someone else. Pastor Falkenborg had already been contacted by a mastermind who knew of his daughter's intended treachery. He's working for Tzing-Dao Wang, the Spinner of Webs."
SPINNER OF WEBS I: The Battle-Axe Murders of Forlorn Corners
