"She'd Make the Devil Nervous"
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dochermes"She'd Make the Devil Nervous"
4/28/2015
I.
It was a few minutes before noon when she heard the yelling and crashing from the third floor just above. Haley Lawson was hunched over at the long oak table in the conference room. In front of her was a huge 19th Century tome with tiny cramped lettering, all about how shape-shifters followed different rules and restrictions based more on what they believed to be true than what really bound them. Reading it made her head hurt. This was worse than being back in high school taking World Economics. But being a KDF member meant learning a wide variety of skills, from emergency trauma medicine to flying the CORBY stealthcopter to identifying bite marks from various mythological creatures who turned out to be not so mythical. It was a lot to digest.
After what sounded like furniture being smashed directly overhead, Haley lifted her head and surprisingly grinned. Her best feature was a pair of clear lime-green eyes under chestnut bangs, and her face was at its most appealing when she was smiling widely. The Windcatcher was wearing a plain white T-shirt, jeans and sneakers, being off-duty that day. She pushed her chair back from the table and heard the exchange of a deep thundering voice answering a louder, shriller one.
Demrak Jin and Galvan were fighting. Of course, she thought with perverse satisfaction, she had been expecting the clash. In fact, she was surprised it had taken this long. The Windcatcher got up and went over the door to the hall, peering out cautiously. A second later, she saw the tiny form of the Ulgoran woman racing furiously down the stairs. With her bristling short white hair, Demrak Jin was unmistakeable even at a glance. She was leaping down the stairs at a reckless pace.
Haley stepped out into the hallway, uncertain if she should ask what was going on or just keep out of the way. As she leaned over the bannister and looked down at the first floor below them, a huge dark form hurtled past her to land with a solid thump in the front hall. Galvan had simply jumped down from the third floor to the first, bypassing the stairs and absorbing the impact with his immense leg muscles. Even after the past few months of seeing him every day, Haley still stared at the giant Melgar. Wearing only a pair of khaki pants, his upper body was an amazing V-shaped wedge of broad shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist, covered with hard well-defined muscles. She had never seen anyone built like that in real life.
Galvan landed just behind Demrak Jin. The Gelydra spun quickly, crouching with fists raised in comical defiance of a man who stood more than a foot taller and who weighed more than twice as much as she did. Jin had on her tunic and pants of grey sharkhide, worn with the rough denticle side out to abrade opponents, but the bone-bladed knife was not strapped across her narrow back for once. Despite the difference in their sizes, there was something elemental and savage about the Gelydra that made her seem threatening even to a huge brute like Galvan.
Galvan's broad, bearded face seemed obviously worried. He held up both open hands in a placating gesture. "Calm yourself, little shark. We both knew that this day would come...."
"Your words are not to be trusted!" Demrak Jin snarled. She took a menacing step toward the big Galvan and he actually backed up. "Shall you rip out my very heart and toss it aside and live to boast of the deed?"
Watching from the landing above, Haley muttered to herself, "Oh, this is gonna be juicy."
Galvan was tanned and handsome in a gruff lumberjack way, with thick curly hair that matched his beard. When he smiled in an attempt at being disarming, perfect teeth gleamed white as chalk. "Jin, Jin. We did talk of this. Our time together was great pleasure for both of us, but every season passes in its due.."
"I will hear no more!" The Gelydra dove forward in a blur of motion, bringing her right fist down almost by her knee and swinging it up in a vicious hook that smacked exactly on the side of Galvan's face. The Melgar did not even flinch at that blow but Jin fell back with a gasp. She gripped her right hand with her left and moved back a few steps.
"I hope you haven't hurt your hand," Galvan began. "You should know better than to strike me, little shark."
"A broken fist is naught compared to a broken heart!" Demrak Jin screamed. "I never thought I'd give myself to... to a Melgar!" And with that she whirled on one foot and raced out the front door to East 38th Street.
After the door slammed shut, Galvan stood motionless in the front hall. His shoulders lowered and he let out a sigh from deep within the huge chest. Coming down the stairs behind him, Haley cleared her throat.
"I couldn't help but hear that," she said. "Jin has always had a temper. I've seen her blow up like that over food being burnt in a restaurant."
The Melgar champion slowly turned to face Windcather. "The Melgarin have a saying, 'she'd make the Devil nervous.' Ah, so it goes. Perhaps I should not stay here any longer. There will always be friction and bad feelings between her and I. Too bad, as I have greatly enjoyed my adventures with your team and we two have not even teamed up."
Haley Lawson waggled a finger at him. "Just don't get any thoughts about landing ME in bed next. You've already tagged Jocelyn and Jin. Do you have a checklist or something?"
There was genuine hurt in the deepset brown eyes. "Oh, Haley, you misunderstand. Women have always been drawn to me and I to them. Like wine and song and tales of brave deeds, the company of women is a great joy in life. I do not seek it out. But I accept it when it comes to me."
"Get a shirt on, and we can talk on equal terms. You're too distracting with those muscles hanging out all over," she answered. "I suppose now we will have to wait for Jin to come back once she calms down."
He started up the stairs toward his guest room on the third floor. "And I expect Sable will have much to say about this when she returns later. More worries."
II.
Three hours went by. Haley and Galvan had lunch in the kitchen at the rear of the first floor. He had picked up varied skills in his long life, and he prepared an amazing omelet with three types of cheese, mushrooms and green peppers. Haley devoured hers and could have eaten a second one.
"That was decent," she said. "I didn't know you could cook."
"Oh, I spent two years in Switzerland once, studying with chefs. That was during the Cold War." He picked up the plates and carried them over the stainless steel sink to run steaming hot water on them. Galvan had thrown on a baggy maroon sweatshirt with an emblem of a rearing white horse on the front. This was the symbol of his native Androval and he had added a white horse logo to much of his clothing. "I also lived in New Orleans one summer and started to explore Cajun cooking."
The Windcatcher took a final sip of iced tea from her tumbler. "Look. Galvan, I know you're, what, a hundred and forty years old? Even if you're just starting to get grey in your beard. You Melgar live to be about two hundred if you don't get yourself killed by violence."
Coming back to the table and plopping down in a sturdy chair, he said, "And your point would be?"
"All these years-- all these decades-- and you still don't know how to handle women? Couldn't you have broken up with Jin a bit more smoothly?"
The giant Melgar shrugged and looked away. "Ah, I have to admit it, Windcatcher. It's something you'll find out for yourself in time. You are only nineteen, even for a Human you are very young. But you will discover that most of us, whether Human or Melgar or Gelydra, just make the same mistakes in life over and over. We think we learn but we fall in the same traps time and again."
She scoffed and brought her tumbler to the refrigerator for more iced tea. "That's not really encouraging, Galvan." Before she could sit down again, the doorbell rang.
"That can't be Jin," Haley said as she trotted briskly through the front hall, past the office and the medical ward. With Galvan right behind her, she slid open a wooden panel set at face level beside the door to reveal a monitor screen and bank of controls. The screen showed what was outside, in this case a tall blonde woman smiling up at the camera.
"Valera? That's an unexpected honor for us," Galvan laughed.
"Is that who it is? I never met her." Haley Lawson pressed the button that opened the street door and admitted the blonde into the tiny vestibule. "It'll be just a minute," Windcatcher announced through the speaker.
Trom sensors more advanced than anything available to Human medical science hummed as they analyzed the visitor more quickly and thoroughly than the best MRI. On the monitor screen, green letters appeared to announce, VALERA THE THIRD, PRINCESS OF ANDROVAL. MELGAR. AGE 74. HEIGHT FIVE FEET ELEVEN INCHES, WEIGHT ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY POUNDS. GRALIC ENHANCED STRENGTH, RESILIENCE AND ENDURANCE AT TOP LEVELS KNOWN. The readout also indicated that Valera had no metal on her larger than a set of keys, no explosives or dangerous chemicals. A beep indicated that the sensors had cleared her to be admitted.
During this procedure, the Melgar princess waited with an amused smile. Valera was beautiful in an healthy athletic way, not the dainty china doll one might expect from a line of ancient royalty. Nearly six feet tall, she had a trim body such as a runner might show. The shining golden hair hung straight down over her shoulders, her face had a strong jawline, full lips and straight nose. But it was her bright, alert blue eyes that ended up holding everyone's attention when they met her. Despite her age as listed by the sensors, she appeared to be in her early twenties.
Instead of her usual silk arena suit, Valera was wearing simple charcoal grey slacks, a white blouse and a black blazer tailored to her form. No jewelry. As the inner door opened, she stepped up and began to say, "Excuse me for appearing unannounced..." but her voice broke off. "Galvan? HERE?"
"Well met indeed, Princess," he said as she lunged forward to embrace him. The Melgar champion patted her back affectionately and rocked her from side to side before they disengaged.
"This is good fortune beyond my hope," the princess announced happily. "I was sent to locate Sulak. But of course he never lets anyone know his whereabouts. And now, to find you by mere chance gives me fresh hope." She placed a hand on Galvan's thick arm and squeezed it.
"You might notice me," Haley broke in. "Hi. Haley Lawson, called Windcatcher, Tel Shai knight and new KDF member. I've heard of you, of course, Princess. You are the Melgar woman in this generation to be blessed with the Legacy of Malberon, right?"
"Yes. I am pleased to meet you, Windcatcher. I had heard there is a new KDF team. Hear my words. Urgent matters are in the air and we must talk. I could not locate the Dire Wolf either! Is he well?"
"Jeremy? Oh, sure. He's okay. Did you check his office on 44th?" asked Haley.
"He is not there. I'm sorry to say he is like Sulak, they both just come and go without thinking anyone might need to find them! Typical men, if I may say so." Valera held up her hands in exasperation. "Still, between myself and Galvan, we should be able to deal even with Morgil."
The three of them assembled in the office just opposite the front door. Galvan and Valera seated themselves on the long leather couch, while Haley pulled over a chair to sit facing them. "I'm sorry the rest of the team isn't available right now," she told the two Melgarin. "Sable has Timothy and Josef upstate looking into some suspicious missing persons case. I don't think that's related to why you're here?"
"No, it would not be." Valera flashed a brilliant smile as she looked around the office. "This room brings so many happy memories to mind. I was never a full member of the KDF, merely an Associate, but I studied at Tel Shai and went on many adventures with the Dire Wolf. It cheers me to see you young Humans carrying on the good fight." She got more serious and raised a single imperative finger. "But I have come to warn of Morgil. Have you heard the name, Galvan?"
"No. Never."
"He is a Troll," said the princess. "From the Mountain Tribes. Even a common Fighting Troll is big and brawny enough to be a fit opponent for a Melgar, but Morgil is something new and ominous. From all reports, he has strength on a par with a Champion of our people. Morgil has been witnessed performing feats such as only Sulak or you might accomplish... or myself, of course."
"These are not welcome words to hear," Galvan said as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. "How could this be?"
"Ten years ago, the Dire Wolf and I fought a Troll named Grum. He was the first of his kind, a Troll who had mastered gralic sorcery. Such a thing had never been heard of before."
"Indeed," muttered Galvan. "I have never seen a Troll who could count beyond his fingers and toes, much less learn mystic lore. This Grum, he was a warlock then?"
"Skilled and crafty in forbidden arts. He had a partner, another oddity. This was a Fighting Troll who stood Human height. I do not know if he is still by Grum's side, but Morgil has definitely been seen here in the world." Valera rose smoothly to her feet. "Galvan, I summon thee. As daughter of King Holmir and as Champion of Androval, I require you to accompany me. We will find this Morgil, and Grum as well, and end their menace. Do you hark to my words?"
"I hear and obey with a glad heart," the giant Melgar answered. He also stood up, and Haley did the same with a little uncertainty. Galvan smiled at her. "Please make my apologies to our captain when she returns, Windcatcher. And to Demrak Jin as well. She is bound to come back when she settles down a bit."
"Wait, what?" Haley sputtered. "I'm going with you guys."
Valera shook her golden head once. "Not so. This is a Melgar concern, the Trolls have been our hated enemy for ages. Only Melgarin can face them and live."
"With all respect, Princess, you know better. My team has fought Trolls and beat them." Haley pressed her thumb to her own chest. "I'm a knight of Tel Shai, I have the Air Gem and I can hold my own against any monster you can name."
"Your offer is well meant," Valera said with an infuriating tolerant smile. "Thank you anyway. Galvan, we will leave as soon as you are ready."
"I have my travel bag upstairs," the Melgar warrior answered as he headed for the door. "Haley, don't take this personally."
"This makes two women you've got mad at you today!" she snapped as he left the room.
III.
After the two Melgarin had left, Haley sat fuming in the office. She was mostly annoyed with herself for not putting up a better argument about going along with them. The Windcatcher went back to the kitchen, dug around in the freezer and found a frozen Klondike bar. Munching on the ice cream, she dropped down on the stairs facing the front door and sulked by herself.
Then the buzzer sounded that the street door was opening. It had to be one of her teammates. Finishing the Klondike bar and wadding up the wrapper to stick in her hip pocket, Haley got up and slapped her hands together as if dusting them. Before she could reach the inner door, it opened as the Trom sensors gave approval and Demrak Jin quietly slipped through.
The Gelydra woman was slumped as if exhausted. Her right hand was heavily bandaged and a wooden splint ran across the outer edge. Jin's wide flat face, with its pug nose and cloudy blue eyes, was never exactly pretty but now it wore a forlorn expression that won Haley over.
"Did you go to the hospital, Jin?" she ventured.
"Yes. My hand was swollen so that I could not use it. It seems I broke a bone or two." The Ulgoran woman lifted her bandaged hand and regarded it resentfully. "I told the doctor I had punched a wall in my anger after an argument. Hah! I might as well have struck a wall as hit the stone face of that Melgar!"
"Anyway, he's not here," Haley said and explained what had happened. Demrak Jin listened intently, growled and folded her arms angrily across her chest.
"It seems we will be missing out on a good fight," she said. "Leave it to those damn Melgarin sticking together..."
"Now hold on there," Haley put in. "Easy on the prejudice against Melgarin. I know your people and theirs have a history but I thought everyone was getting over that."
Jin snorted and then reconsidered. "Maybe. Maybe you are right. I am letting my anger at Galvan stir up old resentments. Well. How do YOU feel, Haley? Don't you think we should be following those two and seeing what this Morgil is like? Isn't that our duty?"
Despite her better judgement, Haley got swept up in the Gelydra's enthusiasm. "Yeah! Who are they to tell us to stay out of the way, like we're little kids or something? Let me see something." From its clip on her belt, she brought up a flat black electronic device and pressed a few buttons. "Umm.. just a minute. Wait, I did it wrong. Yes. Galvan took his Link with him. We can track him through its signal."
Demrak Jin hurried up the stairs faster than most people could run down them, and her voice called back, "Let me fetch my weapon!"
"Hang on, I have to change," Haley yelled as she also went up the stairs to the third floor. In her quarters, she stripped down and threw her clothing on the bed carelessly. Hanging on her closet door was a suit of the flexible Trom armor. It seemed to be just dark silk with a sheen to its surface, but it protected its wearer against anything up to rifle bullets. Her individual suit left her legs bare because she liked wearing shorts as part of her Windcatcher uniform. Haley tugged on a long-sleeved white jersey, the snug Royal blue shorts, white socks and blue sneakers. Now she felt excited at getting in her familiar costume again. She had barely restrained herself from putting a big stylized 'W' emblem on the chest. On a choker under her shirt hung the ancient blue Air Gem ensorcelled by Malberon ages ago. It was this talisman that enabled her to summon air from anywhere on Earth, hot desert winds or freezing Arctic blasts.
Draped over a chair by her desk was her narrow leather belt with its small pouches that held the assorted gadgets and tools she might need. A clip-on holster held one of the anesthetic dart pistols, and she fastened her Link to the belt as well. Haley buckled the belt around her waist and adjusted its angle. The whole changeover had only taken a few seconds.
As she reached for her cloak, she hesitated. Should she and Jin really start this mission on their own intiative? Or should they wait for Sable for return and authorize it? The hell with waiting, she decided. She was sick of being treated like a child. She had operated on her own as Windcatcher for almost a year before joining the KDF and done just fine. Rolling up the cloak under one arm, she rushed out of her room and down the stairs.
Demrak Jin was already waiting in the front hall. The knife she had crafted herself with its three-foot-long bone blade was sheathed across her back. Sometimes she concealed the scabbard in an oversized backpack designed to hide its outline but today she was obviously in no mood for subtlety. The short stiff white hair seemed to bristle on its own.
Holding the Link in one hand, Haley fussed with it and got co-ordinates on the signal from Galvan's device. "Just a minute... There. They seem to be moving toward the Long Island shore. They haven't gotten too far. I guess she had a car already? Come on, we'll take the Subaru."
They went through the panel in the rear of the walk-in closet, down the concrete steps and along the corridor to the building's underground garage. The space was just big enough to hold two cars at one time, but only one was in there now. This was a black Subaru Legacy that had been fitted with Trom armor panels, bullet-resistant glass and a few useful gimmicks. Haley snatched a set of keys from where they hung on a hook over a work bench and jumped into behind the wheel.
Seeing Demrak Jin wince as she got in the passenger seat and closed the door, Haley asked, "Did they give you anything for pain?"
"Pain and a Gelydra are old friends," Jin answered shortly. She shifted the scabbard on her back around to one side and buckled herself in. "I am glad we are doing this, Haley. You and I, we both deserve more respect than we have been given!"
"No argument there," Windcatcher agreed. She drove up the steep ramp and squeaked through its sharp angle at the top. The steel panel rose automatically to let them out in an alley, and from there they emerged onto Lexington Avenue. "I figure they only have about forty-odd minutes headstart on us," she said. "We'll catch up to them and teach those two a lesson about what we can do in a fight."
IV.
It was in fact more than two hours later when Haley and Jin pulled onto a dirt road off the main highway. They were rolling along a seedy part of the Jersey shore, far from resorts and casinos. There was mostly sandy dunes and straggly brush leading down to the water, with a few shabby bungalows scattered here and there. As the Link in her right hand began beeping, Haley switched it off. Just within view near the beach was a one-story shack with a tar-paper roof.
"We're right on top of Galvan's Link," she said with relief. "I don't know what went wrong earlier."
"It looked to me as if you made a wrong turn and we had to circle around through rush hour traffic," muttered Demrak Jin. "But I'm just a savage from under the ocean, what do I know?"
Windcatcher parked just off the dirt road and gave the Gelydra an exasperated look. "You're starting to get on my nerves, Jin, and I'm on your side, remember?" She wound down her window and peered out at the shack. "That place looks like it's gonna fall down if we sneeze too close to it. I bet it's abandoned. That's where these killer Trolls have been lurking!"
Opening her own door on the passenger side, Jin sniffed the air loudly. "Blood. Not Human. Sour. Yes, there have been Trolls here."
"Aha. Let's see what the story is." Haley got out, slamming her door, and draped the ankle length blue cloak around her shoulders. She did not actually need it to fly when using wind beneath her, but the stiff material was weighted along the edges and bottom, and she gotten used to using it to help guide her. Also, she admitted, it appealed to her love of the dramatic.
Standing by her side of the car, Demrak Jin slid the long knife from its sheath across its back and tested the edge with a thumb. "I don't hear any combat," she grumbled, "I fear we are too late one way or the other."
"We'll see." Haley began trudging up the small rise beside the road and toward the shack. As they approached, they saw a shining black Mercedes parked nearby. "Oh, that has to be Valera's rental. You can tell she's a real princess all right. I'm surprised there isn't a chauffeur standing by."
"The smell of death is strong," Jin interrupted. "There! Beside that hovel." The Ulgoran woman raced forward, weapon held in both hands off to one side, and Haley followed close behind. As they reached the shack, which had boarded-up windows and a single door hanging on only one hinge, a pair of thick tawny-skinned legs became visible on the ground.
They crept around warily, keeping watch. The body was wider and more massive than a normal Human, naked except for only a dirty cloth wrapped around its middle. Five feet tall, maybe a hundred and sixty pounds in life, the corpse had tawny yellowish skin. Even in death, the eyes were lambent red. Feet and hands were disproprtionately large and wide, with flat talons, and the face was brutal with a protruding brow ledge and a wide mouth crowded with chisel-like teeth. A coarse topknot of black hair hung from a head otherwise shaven.
The chest and abdomen had been sliced deeply open in an X-shape, with intestines chopped up by the wound. Cause of death was not obscure.
"A Digging Troll," Haley whispered. "Not one of the Fighters. These guys aren't so tough."
"Don't you think I know that?" snapped Demrak Jin, prodding the corpse with her foot.
Haley put her fists on her hips and said, "You better watch how you talk to me!" speaking more loudly than she had expected. "You know, we all make allowances for you but you ARE hard to get along with! Maybe I can start to see Galvan's side better."
Surprisingly, the Gelydra did not blow up or yell back. She took a deep breath and tried to make her voice less abrasive. "You think I should apologize? Forgive me, Haley. In Ulgor we are taught to never give an inch. My hand does hurt," she added half-heartedly to explain.
"Hey, you two, we're over here!" called the familiar baritone of Galvan from nearby. "Don't trip over the Trolls."
Haley and Jin gave each other a startled glance and then headed around the corner of the delapidated house. They did in fact almost walk right into a pile of at least a dozen dead Trolls. These were Fighters, close to seven feet in height when alive and massively muscled. Most wore either a mail tunic or a long shirt of tough leather, and all showed signs of extreme traumatic damage. More than a few arms and legs and heads were strewn in a separate heap. Dark blood had seeped deeply into the dry sandy soil.
Scattered about were broken swords, axes and bludgeons. The weapons were crude but massive and would be extremely dangerous in the powerful grip of an adult Troll. One of the swords had been tied into a loose knot.
"Quite a mess, eh?" called Galvan again. "You girls missed a real party."
In front of the shack, below a hill of about twenty feet, Galvan and Valera sat next to each other with their feet almost touching the waters of the Atlantic. The Princess had changed into her familiar blue and red arena suit, but it was so tattered from the melee that she was barely covered by its shreds. Galvan's clothing was in no better shape, and both of them were spattered with black blood that looked more like tar. It was not theirs.
Lying to one side, snoring through a tusked mouth, was the biggest Troll that Haley or Jin had ever seen. There could have been a normal Human lying under him and there would be no way to tell. His huge bulk was covered with bruises and gouges but the brute was still alive. The giant paws were bound behind his back with what seemed to be an iron lamppost that had somehow been twisted to form manacles.
Seeing that reminded Haley once again just how strong Galvan and Valera really were. It made Jin's action earlier of trying to hurt the big Melgar with a slap from a flesh and blood hand almost pathetic.
Demrak Jin snarled just loudly enough to be heard, sliding her bone blade back into its scabbard. Next to her, Haley managed to say, "Ah, well. It looks... it looks like you two don't need our help?"
"It was well meant of you to come all the way out here," Galvan laughed without malice. "Morgil did put up quite the struggle and your assistance would have been welcome."
Leaning up next to him, Valera tried to straighten out the tangled golden mane of her hair. She gave up the effort, with a pout. "Please forgive my unseemly appearance. It is embarrassing to be so exposed. I always say our arena suits should be leather and not mere cotton!"
"Hee hee," said Haley. "I only wish I looked that good half naked. So what are you two planning to do with Big Boy over there?"
"I think it best to take him to Androval," Valera said. "My father the king will probably exchange him for a goodly ransom or for a Melgar prisoner the Trolls are holding. Politics as usual. The Trolls will send some of their workers to claim the deceased."
"But first, I believe the Princess and I need to scrub ourselves in the ocean. This Troll blood stinks like stale urine. Luckily we have each brought spare clothing with us," Galvan said as he gave his countrywoman a smile.
"I learned that from your Dire Wolf," Valera said. "He always had fresh outfits ready for after any action. Galvan and I will escort Morgil there before the royal court and then we can expect a few nights of telling our version of the epic struggle at a feast or two. The beer will flow and the beef will be piled high."
By this time, Demrak Jin was visibly trembling with rage. In a deadly calm voice, she announced, "Maybe it would be best if you both remained in your beloved Androval." She turned and stamped off as if trying to drive her feet into the soil with each step. Left behind, Haley smiled weakly and gave a little wave, "Seeya!" and then took off too.
Watching Jin storm furiously away with Windcatcher hurrying to catch up, Valera snuggled up closer to Galvan and rested her golden head on his shoulder. "Working with a Gelydra must be nerve-wracking," she said. "'She'd make the Devil nervous,' as the proverb goes."
Galvan shrugged. "See? That's exactly what I said."
9/1/2016
4/28/2015
I.
It was a few minutes before noon when she heard the yelling and crashing from the third floor just above. Haley Lawson was hunched over at the long oak table in the conference room. In front of her was a huge 19th Century tome with tiny cramped lettering, all about how shape-shifters followed different rules and restrictions based more on what they believed to be true than what really bound them. Reading it made her head hurt. This was worse than being back in high school taking World Economics. But being a KDF member meant learning a wide variety of skills, from emergency trauma medicine to flying the CORBY stealthcopter to identifying bite marks from various mythological creatures who turned out to be not so mythical. It was a lot to digest.
After what sounded like furniture being smashed directly overhead, Haley lifted her head and surprisingly grinned. Her best feature was a pair of clear lime-green eyes under chestnut bangs, and her face was at its most appealing when she was smiling widely. The Windcatcher was wearing a plain white T-shirt, jeans and sneakers, being off-duty that day. She pushed her chair back from the table and heard the exchange of a deep thundering voice answering a louder, shriller one.
Demrak Jin and Galvan were fighting. Of course, she thought with perverse satisfaction, she had been expecting the clash. In fact, she was surprised it had taken this long. The Windcatcher got up and went over the door to the hall, peering out cautiously. A second later, she saw the tiny form of the Ulgoran woman racing furiously down the stairs. With her bristling short white hair, Demrak Jin was unmistakeable even at a glance. She was leaping down the stairs at a reckless pace.
Haley stepped out into the hallway, uncertain if she should ask what was going on or just keep out of the way. As she leaned over the bannister and looked down at the first floor below them, a huge dark form hurtled past her to land with a solid thump in the front hall. Galvan had simply jumped down from the third floor to the first, bypassing the stairs and absorbing the impact with his immense leg muscles. Even after the past few months of seeing him every day, Haley still stared at the giant Melgar. Wearing only a pair of khaki pants, his upper body was an amazing V-shaped wedge of broad shoulders tapering down to a narrow waist, covered with hard well-defined muscles. She had never seen anyone built like that in real life.
Galvan landed just behind Demrak Jin. The Gelydra spun quickly, crouching with fists raised in comical defiance of a man who stood more than a foot taller and who weighed more than twice as much as she did. Jin had on her tunic and pants of grey sharkhide, worn with the rough denticle side out to abrade opponents, but the bone-bladed knife was not strapped across her narrow back for once. Despite the difference in their sizes, there was something elemental and savage about the Gelydra that made her seem threatening even to a huge brute like Galvan.
Galvan's broad, bearded face seemed obviously worried. He held up both open hands in a placating gesture. "Calm yourself, little shark. We both knew that this day would come...."
"Your words are not to be trusted!" Demrak Jin snarled. She took a menacing step toward the big Galvan and he actually backed up. "Shall you rip out my very heart and toss it aside and live to boast of the deed?"
Watching from the landing above, Haley muttered to herself, "Oh, this is gonna be juicy."
Galvan was tanned and handsome in a gruff lumberjack way, with thick curly hair that matched his beard. When he smiled in an attempt at being disarming, perfect teeth gleamed white as chalk. "Jin, Jin. We did talk of this. Our time together was great pleasure for both of us, but every season passes in its due.."
"I will hear no more!" The Gelydra dove forward in a blur of motion, bringing her right fist down almost by her knee and swinging it up in a vicious hook that smacked exactly on the side of Galvan's face. The Melgar did not even flinch at that blow but Jin fell back with a gasp. She gripped her right hand with her left and moved back a few steps.
"I hope you haven't hurt your hand," Galvan began. "You should know better than to strike me, little shark."
"A broken fist is naught compared to a broken heart!" Demrak Jin screamed. "I never thought I'd give myself to... to a Melgar!" And with that she whirled on one foot and raced out the front door to East 38th Street.
After the door slammed shut, Galvan stood motionless in the front hall. His shoulders lowered and he let out a sigh from deep within the huge chest. Coming down the stairs behind him, Haley cleared her throat.
"I couldn't help but hear that," she said. "Jin has always had a temper. I've seen her blow up like that over food being burnt in a restaurant."
The Melgar champion slowly turned to face Windcather. "The Melgarin have a saying, 'she'd make the Devil nervous.' Ah, so it goes. Perhaps I should not stay here any longer. There will always be friction and bad feelings between her and I. Too bad, as I have greatly enjoyed my adventures with your team and we two have not even teamed up."
Haley Lawson waggled a finger at him. "Just don't get any thoughts about landing ME in bed next. You've already tagged Jocelyn and Jin. Do you have a checklist or something?"
There was genuine hurt in the deepset brown eyes. "Oh, Haley, you misunderstand. Women have always been drawn to me and I to them. Like wine and song and tales of brave deeds, the company of women is a great joy in life. I do not seek it out. But I accept it when it comes to me."
"Get a shirt on, and we can talk on equal terms. You're too distracting with those muscles hanging out all over," she answered. "I suppose now we will have to wait for Jin to come back once she calms down."
He started up the stairs toward his guest room on the third floor. "And I expect Sable will have much to say about this when she returns later. More worries."
II.
Three hours went by. Haley and Galvan had lunch in the kitchen at the rear of the first floor. He had picked up varied skills in his long life, and he prepared an amazing omelet with three types of cheese, mushrooms and green peppers. Haley devoured hers and could have eaten a second one.
"That was decent," she said. "I didn't know you could cook."
"Oh, I spent two years in Switzerland once, studying with chefs. That was during the Cold War." He picked up the plates and carried them over the stainless steel sink to run steaming hot water on them. Galvan had thrown on a baggy maroon sweatshirt with an emblem of a rearing white horse on the front. This was the symbol of his native Androval and he had added a white horse logo to much of his clothing. "I also lived in New Orleans one summer and started to explore Cajun cooking."
The Windcatcher took a final sip of iced tea from her tumbler. "Look. Galvan, I know you're, what, a hundred and forty years old? Even if you're just starting to get grey in your beard. You Melgar live to be about two hundred if you don't get yourself killed by violence."
Coming back to the table and plopping down in a sturdy chair, he said, "And your point would be?"
"All these years-- all these decades-- and you still don't know how to handle women? Couldn't you have broken up with Jin a bit more smoothly?"
The giant Melgar shrugged and looked away. "Ah, I have to admit it, Windcatcher. It's something you'll find out for yourself in time. You are only nineteen, even for a Human you are very young. But you will discover that most of us, whether Human or Melgar or Gelydra, just make the same mistakes in life over and over. We think we learn but we fall in the same traps time and again."
She scoffed and brought her tumbler to the refrigerator for more iced tea. "That's not really encouraging, Galvan." Before she could sit down again, the doorbell rang.
"That can't be Jin," Haley said as she trotted briskly through the front hall, past the office and the medical ward. With Galvan right behind her, she slid open a wooden panel set at face level beside the door to reveal a monitor screen and bank of controls. The screen showed what was outside, in this case a tall blonde woman smiling up at the camera.
"Valera? That's an unexpected honor for us," Galvan laughed.
"Is that who it is? I never met her." Haley Lawson pressed the button that opened the street door and admitted the blonde into the tiny vestibule. "It'll be just a minute," Windcatcher announced through the speaker.
Trom sensors more advanced than anything available to Human medical science hummed as they analyzed the visitor more quickly and thoroughly than the best MRI. On the monitor screen, green letters appeared to announce, VALERA THE THIRD, PRINCESS OF ANDROVAL. MELGAR. AGE 74. HEIGHT FIVE FEET ELEVEN INCHES, WEIGHT ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY POUNDS. GRALIC ENHANCED STRENGTH, RESILIENCE AND ENDURANCE AT TOP LEVELS KNOWN. The readout also indicated that Valera had no metal on her larger than a set of keys, no explosives or dangerous chemicals. A beep indicated that the sensors had cleared her to be admitted.
During this procedure, the Melgar princess waited with an amused smile. Valera was beautiful in an healthy athletic way, not the dainty china doll one might expect from a line of ancient royalty. Nearly six feet tall, she had a trim body such as a runner might show. The shining golden hair hung straight down over her shoulders, her face had a strong jawline, full lips and straight nose. But it was her bright, alert blue eyes that ended up holding everyone's attention when they met her. Despite her age as listed by the sensors, she appeared to be in her early twenties.
Instead of her usual silk arena suit, Valera was wearing simple charcoal grey slacks, a white blouse and a black blazer tailored to her form. No jewelry. As the inner door opened, she stepped up and began to say, "Excuse me for appearing unannounced..." but her voice broke off. "Galvan? HERE?"
"Well met indeed, Princess," he said as she lunged forward to embrace him. The Melgar champion patted her back affectionately and rocked her from side to side before they disengaged.
"This is good fortune beyond my hope," the princess announced happily. "I was sent to locate Sulak. But of course he never lets anyone know his whereabouts. And now, to find you by mere chance gives me fresh hope." She placed a hand on Galvan's thick arm and squeezed it.
"You might notice me," Haley broke in. "Hi. Haley Lawson, called Windcatcher, Tel Shai knight and new KDF member. I've heard of you, of course, Princess. You are the Melgar woman in this generation to be blessed with the Legacy of Malberon, right?"
"Yes. I am pleased to meet you, Windcatcher. I had heard there is a new KDF team. Hear my words. Urgent matters are in the air and we must talk. I could not locate the Dire Wolf either! Is he well?"
"Jeremy? Oh, sure. He's okay. Did you check his office on 44th?" asked Haley.
"He is not there. I'm sorry to say he is like Sulak, they both just come and go without thinking anyone might need to find them! Typical men, if I may say so." Valera held up her hands in exasperation. "Still, between myself and Galvan, we should be able to deal even with Morgil."
The three of them assembled in the office just opposite the front door. Galvan and Valera seated themselves on the long leather couch, while Haley pulled over a chair to sit facing them. "I'm sorry the rest of the team isn't available right now," she told the two Melgarin. "Sable has Timothy and Josef upstate looking into some suspicious missing persons case. I don't think that's related to why you're here?"
"No, it would not be." Valera flashed a brilliant smile as she looked around the office. "This room brings so many happy memories to mind. I was never a full member of the KDF, merely an Associate, but I studied at Tel Shai and went on many adventures with the Dire Wolf. It cheers me to see you young Humans carrying on the good fight." She got more serious and raised a single imperative finger. "But I have come to warn of Morgil. Have you heard the name, Galvan?"
"No. Never."
"He is a Troll," said the princess. "From the Mountain Tribes. Even a common Fighting Troll is big and brawny enough to be a fit opponent for a Melgar, but Morgil is something new and ominous. From all reports, he has strength on a par with a Champion of our people. Morgil has been witnessed performing feats such as only Sulak or you might accomplish... or myself, of course."
"These are not welcome words to hear," Galvan said as he stroked his beard thoughtfully. "How could this be?"
"Ten years ago, the Dire Wolf and I fought a Troll named Grum. He was the first of his kind, a Troll who had mastered gralic sorcery. Such a thing had never been heard of before."
"Indeed," muttered Galvan. "I have never seen a Troll who could count beyond his fingers and toes, much less learn mystic lore. This Grum, he was a warlock then?"
"Skilled and crafty in forbidden arts. He had a partner, another oddity. This was a Fighting Troll who stood Human height. I do not know if he is still by Grum's side, but Morgil has definitely been seen here in the world." Valera rose smoothly to her feet. "Galvan, I summon thee. As daughter of King Holmir and as Champion of Androval, I require you to accompany me. We will find this Morgil, and Grum as well, and end their menace. Do you hark to my words?"
"I hear and obey with a glad heart," the giant Melgar answered. He also stood up, and Haley did the same with a little uncertainty. Galvan smiled at her. "Please make my apologies to our captain when she returns, Windcatcher. And to Demrak Jin as well. She is bound to come back when she settles down a bit."
"Wait, what?" Haley sputtered. "I'm going with you guys."
Valera shook her golden head once. "Not so. This is a Melgar concern, the Trolls have been our hated enemy for ages. Only Melgarin can face them and live."
"With all respect, Princess, you know better. My team has fought Trolls and beat them." Haley pressed her thumb to her own chest. "I'm a knight of Tel Shai, I have the Air Gem and I can hold my own against any monster you can name."
"Your offer is well meant," Valera said with an infuriating tolerant smile. "Thank you anyway. Galvan, we will leave as soon as you are ready."
"I have my travel bag upstairs," the Melgar warrior answered as he headed for the door. "Haley, don't take this personally."
"This makes two women you've got mad at you today!" she snapped as he left the room.
III.
After the two Melgarin had left, Haley sat fuming in the office. She was mostly annoyed with herself for not putting up a better argument about going along with them. The Windcatcher went back to the kitchen, dug around in the freezer and found a frozen Klondike bar. Munching on the ice cream, she dropped down on the stairs facing the front door and sulked by herself.
Then the buzzer sounded that the street door was opening. It had to be one of her teammates. Finishing the Klondike bar and wadding up the wrapper to stick in her hip pocket, Haley got up and slapped her hands together as if dusting them. Before she could reach the inner door, it opened as the Trom sensors gave approval and Demrak Jin quietly slipped through.
The Gelydra woman was slumped as if exhausted. Her right hand was heavily bandaged and a wooden splint ran across the outer edge. Jin's wide flat face, with its pug nose and cloudy blue eyes, was never exactly pretty but now it wore a forlorn expression that won Haley over.
"Did you go to the hospital, Jin?" she ventured.
"Yes. My hand was swollen so that I could not use it. It seems I broke a bone or two." The Ulgoran woman lifted her bandaged hand and regarded it resentfully. "I told the doctor I had punched a wall in my anger after an argument. Hah! I might as well have struck a wall as hit the stone face of that Melgar!"
"Anyway, he's not here," Haley said and explained what had happened. Demrak Jin listened intently, growled and folded her arms angrily across her chest.
"It seems we will be missing out on a good fight," she said. "Leave it to those damn Melgarin sticking together..."
"Now hold on there," Haley put in. "Easy on the prejudice against Melgarin. I know your people and theirs have a history but I thought everyone was getting over that."
Jin snorted and then reconsidered. "Maybe. Maybe you are right. I am letting my anger at Galvan stir up old resentments. Well. How do YOU feel, Haley? Don't you think we should be following those two and seeing what this Morgil is like? Isn't that our duty?"
Despite her better judgement, Haley got swept up in the Gelydra's enthusiasm. "Yeah! Who are they to tell us to stay out of the way, like we're little kids or something? Let me see something." From its clip on her belt, she brought up a flat black electronic device and pressed a few buttons. "Umm.. just a minute. Wait, I did it wrong. Yes. Galvan took his Link with him. We can track him through its signal."
Demrak Jin hurried up the stairs faster than most people could run down them, and her voice called back, "Let me fetch my weapon!"
"Hang on, I have to change," Haley yelled as she also went up the stairs to the third floor. In her quarters, she stripped down and threw her clothing on the bed carelessly. Hanging on her closet door was a suit of the flexible Trom armor. It seemed to be just dark silk with a sheen to its surface, but it protected its wearer against anything up to rifle bullets. Her individual suit left her legs bare because she liked wearing shorts as part of her Windcatcher uniform. Haley tugged on a long-sleeved white jersey, the snug Royal blue shorts, white socks and blue sneakers. Now she felt excited at getting in her familiar costume again. She had barely restrained herself from putting a big stylized 'W' emblem on the chest. On a choker under her shirt hung the ancient blue Air Gem ensorcelled by Malberon ages ago. It was this talisman that enabled her to summon air from anywhere on Earth, hot desert winds or freezing Arctic blasts.
Draped over a chair by her desk was her narrow leather belt with its small pouches that held the assorted gadgets and tools she might need. A clip-on holster held one of the anesthetic dart pistols, and she fastened her Link to the belt as well. Haley buckled the belt around her waist and adjusted its angle. The whole changeover had only taken a few seconds.
As she reached for her cloak, she hesitated. Should she and Jin really start this mission on their own intiative? Or should they wait for Sable for return and authorize it? The hell with waiting, she decided. She was sick of being treated like a child. She had operated on her own as Windcatcher for almost a year before joining the KDF and done just fine. Rolling up the cloak under one arm, she rushed out of her room and down the stairs.
Demrak Jin was already waiting in the front hall. The knife she had crafted herself with its three-foot-long bone blade was sheathed across her back. Sometimes she concealed the scabbard in an oversized backpack designed to hide its outline but today she was obviously in no mood for subtlety. The short stiff white hair seemed to bristle on its own.
Holding the Link in one hand, Haley fussed with it and got co-ordinates on the signal from Galvan's device. "Just a minute... There. They seem to be moving toward the Long Island shore. They haven't gotten too far. I guess she had a car already? Come on, we'll take the Subaru."
They went through the panel in the rear of the walk-in closet, down the concrete steps and along the corridor to the building's underground garage. The space was just big enough to hold two cars at one time, but only one was in there now. This was a black Subaru Legacy that had been fitted with Trom armor panels, bullet-resistant glass and a few useful gimmicks. Haley snatched a set of keys from where they hung on a hook over a work bench and jumped into behind the wheel.
Seeing Demrak Jin wince as she got in the passenger seat and closed the door, Haley asked, "Did they give you anything for pain?"
"Pain and a Gelydra are old friends," Jin answered shortly. She shifted the scabbard on her back around to one side and buckled herself in. "I am glad we are doing this, Haley. You and I, we both deserve more respect than we have been given!"
"No argument there," Windcatcher agreed. She drove up the steep ramp and squeaked through its sharp angle at the top. The steel panel rose automatically to let them out in an alley, and from there they emerged onto Lexington Avenue. "I figure they only have about forty-odd minutes headstart on us," she said. "We'll catch up to them and teach those two a lesson about what we can do in a fight."
IV.
It was in fact more than two hours later when Haley and Jin pulled onto a dirt road off the main highway. They were rolling along a seedy part of the Jersey shore, far from resorts and casinos. There was mostly sandy dunes and straggly brush leading down to the water, with a few shabby bungalows scattered here and there. As the Link in her right hand began beeping, Haley switched it off. Just within view near the beach was a one-story shack with a tar-paper roof.
"We're right on top of Galvan's Link," she said with relief. "I don't know what went wrong earlier."
"It looked to me as if you made a wrong turn and we had to circle around through rush hour traffic," muttered Demrak Jin. "But I'm just a savage from under the ocean, what do I know?"
Windcatcher parked just off the dirt road and gave the Gelydra an exasperated look. "You're starting to get on my nerves, Jin, and I'm on your side, remember?" She wound down her window and peered out at the shack. "That place looks like it's gonna fall down if we sneeze too close to it. I bet it's abandoned. That's where these killer Trolls have been lurking!"
Opening her own door on the passenger side, Jin sniffed the air loudly. "Blood. Not Human. Sour. Yes, there have been Trolls here."
"Aha. Let's see what the story is." Haley got out, slamming her door, and draped the ankle length blue cloak around her shoulders. She did not actually need it to fly when using wind beneath her, but the stiff material was weighted along the edges and bottom, and she gotten used to using it to help guide her. Also, she admitted, it appealed to her love of the dramatic.
Standing by her side of the car, Demrak Jin slid the long knife from its sheath across its back and tested the edge with a thumb. "I don't hear any combat," she grumbled, "I fear we are too late one way or the other."
"We'll see." Haley began trudging up the small rise beside the road and toward the shack. As they approached, they saw a shining black Mercedes parked nearby. "Oh, that has to be Valera's rental. You can tell she's a real princess all right. I'm surprised there isn't a chauffeur standing by."
"The smell of death is strong," Jin interrupted. "There! Beside that hovel." The Ulgoran woman raced forward, weapon held in both hands off to one side, and Haley followed close behind. As they reached the shack, which had boarded-up windows and a single door hanging on only one hinge, a pair of thick tawny-skinned legs became visible on the ground.
They crept around warily, keeping watch. The body was wider and more massive than a normal Human, naked except for only a dirty cloth wrapped around its middle. Five feet tall, maybe a hundred and sixty pounds in life, the corpse had tawny yellowish skin. Even in death, the eyes were lambent red. Feet and hands were disproprtionately large and wide, with flat talons, and the face was brutal with a protruding brow ledge and a wide mouth crowded with chisel-like teeth. A coarse topknot of black hair hung from a head otherwise shaven.
The chest and abdomen had been sliced deeply open in an X-shape, with intestines chopped up by the wound. Cause of death was not obscure.
"A Digging Troll," Haley whispered. "Not one of the Fighters. These guys aren't so tough."
"Don't you think I know that?" snapped Demrak Jin, prodding the corpse with her foot.
Haley put her fists on her hips and said, "You better watch how you talk to me!" speaking more loudly than she had expected. "You know, we all make allowances for you but you ARE hard to get along with! Maybe I can start to see Galvan's side better."
Surprisingly, the Gelydra did not blow up or yell back. She took a deep breath and tried to make her voice less abrasive. "You think I should apologize? Forgive me, Haley. In Ulgor we are taught to never give an inch. My hand does hurt," she added half-heartedly to explain.
"Hey, you two, we're over here!" called the familiar baritone of Galvan from nearby. "Don't trip over the Trolls."
Haley and Jin gave each other a startled glance and then headed around the corner of the delapidated house. They did in fact almost walk right into a pile of at least a dozen dead Trolls. These were Fighters, close to seven feet in height when alive and massively muscled. Most wore either a mail tunic or a long shirt of tough leather, and all showed signs of extreme traumatic damage. More than a few arms and legs and heads were strewn in a separate heap. Dark blood had seeped deeply into the dry sandy soil.
Scattered about were broken swords, axes and bludgeons. The weapons were crude but massive and would be extremely dangerous in the powerful grip of an adult Troll. One of the swords had been tied into a loose knot.
"Quite a mess, eh?" called Galvan again. "You girls missed a real party."
In front of the shack, below a hill of about twenty feet, Galvan and Valera sat next to each other with their feet almost touching the waters of the Atlantic. The Princess had changed into her familiar blue and red arena suit, but it was so tattered from the melee that she was barely covered by its shreds. Galvan's clothing was in no better shape, and both of them were spattered with black blood that looked more like tar. It was not theirs.
Lying to one side, snoring through a tusked mouth, was the biggest Troll that Haley or Jin had ever seen. There could have been a normal Human lying under him and there would be no way to tell. His huge bulk was covered with bruises and gouges but the brute was still alive. The giant paws were bound behind his back with what seemed to be an iron lamppost that had somehow been twisted to form manacles.
Seeing that reminded Haley once again just how strong Galvan and Valera really were. It made Jin's action earlier of trying to hurt the big Melgar with a slap from a flesh and blood hand almost pathetic.
Demrak Jin snarled just loudly enough to be heard, sliding her bone blade back into its scabbard. Next to her, Haley managed to say, "Ah, well. It looks... it looks like you two don't need our help?"
"It was well meant of you to come all the way out here," Galvan laughed without malice. "Morgil did put up quite the struggle and your assistance would have been welcome."
Leaning up next to him, Valera tried to straighten out the tangled golden mane of her hair. She gave up the effort, with a pout. "Please forgive my unseemly appearance. It is embarrassing to be so exposed. I always say our arena suits should be leather and not mere cotton!"
"Hee hee," said Haley. "I only wish I looked that good half naked. So what are you two planning to do with Big Boy over there?"
"I think it best to take him to Androval," Valera said. "My father the king will probably exchange him for a goodly ransom or for a Melgar prisoner the Trolls are holding. Politics as usual. The Trolls will send some of their workers to claim the deceased."
"But first, I believe the Princess and I need to scrub ourselves in the ocean. This Troll blood stinks like stale urine. Luckily we have each brought spare clothing with us," Galvan said as he gave his countrywoman a smile.
"I learned that from your Dire Wolf," Valera said. "He always had fresh outfits ready for after any action. Galvan and I will escort Morgil there before the royal court and then we can expect a few nights of telling our version of the epic struggle at a feast or two. The beer will flow and the beef will be piled high."
By this time, Demrak Jin was visibly trembling with rage. In a deadly calm voice, she announced, "Maybe it would be best if you both remained in your beloved Androval." She turned and stamped off as if trying to drive her feet into the soil with each step. Left behind, Haley smiled weakly and gave a little wave, "Seeya!" and then took off too.
Watching Jin storm furiously away with Windcatcher hurrying to catch up, Valera snuggled up closer to Galvan and rested her golden head on his shoulder. "Working with a Gelydra must be nerve-wracking," she said. "'She'd make the Devil nervous,' as the proverb goes."
Galvan shrugged. "See? That's exactly what I said."
9/1/2016
