"The Monster Maker"
May. 29th, 2022 07:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dochermes"The Monster Maker"
2/13/1997
I.
As she stepped out of the black helicopter CORBY, freezing dawn wind blew Cindy back against the hull. She gasped and lowered the helmet quickly down over her dark blonde hair. In a second, she had closed the seal between helmet and the high collar of her field suit. As quickly as that, she felt snug and comfortable, breathing warm air that had passed through the mandible filters of the helmet. The telepath straightened up and turned back to close and fasten the hatch.
"Dayum, it's cold!" she yelled. "Maine in February, why can't we have a case in Hawaii today?"
Stepping around from the other side of the CORBY, Bane was in an identical field suit, with his helmet already sealed and visor down. He adjusted his left ear pod and suddenly was talking with her through the communications system. "We take them as they turn up," his voice came clearly into her headphones. "Want to give me a hand securing the bird?"
"Oh, sure," she answered, taking a bungee cable from him. For the next ten minutes, they fastened the CORBY down to pegs that Bane drove into the hard ground with a hammer. Then a waterproof camoflauge tarp was secured over the helicopter and finally the Dire Wolf seemed satisfied. He went around the CORBY one more time, checking everything, then wedged the hammer beneath the landing gear.
Cindy was looking around. "I don't see any monsters so far." They had landed on a property that covered six acres of sparse woodland. The huge back yard where they stood extended up a hill to a two story white frame house with a shingled roof and a carport. The nearest neighbor was half a mile away, the town of Leander was eighteen miles away. She spotted a dark Ford Explorer in the carport. With the sun coming up, shadows were long and horizontal.
"Not bad," she said finally. "Your friend Maureen did a good job finding us a place to stay."
Bane stood up with two metal equipment case the size of large suitcases, one in each hand. "And quickly, too. I just called her yesterday morning. This property really belongs to the bank, but her realty office is trying to place it. She left the house keys and the keys to the car under a rock beneath the bathroom window, so she said."
"So how do you know her, anyway? You seem to have friends everywhere. Here, I'll get the knapsack with our clothes."
"Five years ago, I saved her kids from Samhain. That was the time I pinned him under a landslide. Somehow he still got loose again. Maureen was grateful, but instead of a reward, I asked her to report any weird events in her area." Bane lifted the heavy cases easily and started marching across the frozen yard, turning his head to see if Cindy was with him. She had strapped the knapsack across her shoulders and was trudging along.
"So, when you called her, she ran out here and made sure this house was set up," the blonde telepath asked. "And she rented a big old Ford Explorer for you? That's service."
"Well, I wired her plenty of money to cover expenses," Bane said. They had reached the back of the house, where the bathroom window showed. He dug around, turned over a flat rock and came up with two sets of keys. "Here, one for you," he said. Going around to the front patio, which had two redwood lawn chairs set up, the Dire Wolf unlocked the front door and they stepped into a neat but unimposing kitchen with a linoleum floor and a round dining table under a picture window.
Cindy shrugged off her knapsack, snapped open her helmet's seal and drew it off to reveal an inquisitive freckled face with dark blue eyes and a snub nose. She was barely an inch over five feet tall, just under a hundred pounds, with full breasts but narrow hips. As she glanced around the kitchen, the telepath grinned. "Oh, I like this place. Very down to earth. Looks like the cabinets are hand-made."
"We may be here a few days," Bane said. He unfastened his own helmet and placed it on the kitchen table next to her. Almost forty, the Dire Wolf was a gaunt man six feet tall, with pale grey eyes in a narrow face. His short black hair was ruffled and untidy, as he needed a haircut at the moment. "Not much to go on."
"Who is this Mordriana, anyway?" Cindy asked as she got out of the heavy field jacket. Beneath she was wearing a black crewneck shirt with two breast pockets. She draped the field jacket over a chair and watched Bane for an answer.
"Just a name," he said. "That's all we have. Sightings of some unlikely animals, two dead campers, reports of a man with four arms... and the name Mordriana."
The blonde telepath opened her knapsack and began sorting through her clothing and personal effects. "So where did the name come from?"
"Nebel. That's all he would say, just the one word 'Mordriana.'"
"I swear that man just likes to tease us," Cindy sighed. "I bet he could give us every detail about this Mordriana if he wanted to, right down to shoe size and favorite flavor of ice cream."
"Nebel has his ways, I've had to get used to him," said Bane sourly. "Our next move is to head into town and speak with the chief of police. I talked to him on the phone yesterday. He'll give us what help he can."
Cindy had opened the refrigerator. "Spotless. And by that I mean, nothing at all in it. We'll have to pick up some items on the way back, hon."
"Hopefully we'll be picking up more interesting things than groceries." He checked his dart gun and holstered it again behind his left hip.
II.
It was only eight-fifteen when they rolled the Explorer into Leander, too early to meet with the police chief. Bane pointed out a diner near the bus station, and Cindy voted to fuel themselves up before starting the hunt. She ordered whole wheat French toast with scrambled eggs, Bane chose a cheese omelet with hash browns and they both dug in enthusiastically. When that was all devoured, he asked for bacon and toast, while she was happy with just refills on the orange juice.
"That's better," the telepath sighed. Reaching in one of the dozen pockets of her field jacket, she found a stick of sugarless gum. "So, Jeremy, speaking of a new KDF... so far you've got two possible members. That Blind Archer you met in Woodstock and that student of Tang Ming, Argent whatever his name is. I thought of another one. Remember Mary Cassidy's daughter Ashley?"
"How could I forget? She went to Chyl with me against my will. Saddled with a ten year old in Chyl!"
"Well, she's got to be seventeen now. I heard rumors that Mary handed the horn over to her and has been training her to be the new Unicorn. Word is she already went into Signarm and retrieved a stolen talisman." Cindy raised an eyebrow. "She'd make three."
"Ashley Whitaker as the new Unicorn?" he scoffed. "I suppose stranger things have happened. Anyway, we need to concentrate on the case already underway." The Dire Wolf studied the bill and reached in his pants for some cash. "There'd be a lot of paperwork to clear before we could start a new KDF in any case."
They headed back out to the Ford Explorer, feeling a bit more sanguine. Bane eased out into traffic and noticed Cindy had a distracted expression. "You okay, Cin?"
"Hm? Oh, sure. I'm picking up a lot of anxiety in this town, just under the surface. Minds are worked up. I guess rumors of strange animals and two deaths have got everyone stressed out." She watched people on the sidewalks as they stopped for a light. "I get the impression there have been more sightings than anyone outside has heard about..."
She had her hands folded in her lap and Bane patted them as he drove. "We'll straighten things up, Cindy."
"I know we will," she said. "Hey, there's the town police station."
After waiting ten minutes on a bench in the hall, they were admitted into the chief's office for an hour's discussion. Lou Morrison had heard of the Dire Wolf and the KDF from their activities in the area a few years earlier, and he was glad to see them. But he could not give them much useful information. The dead campers had been a married couple, Joseph and Alexandra Weller. They had been found in the hills outside town, mauled so throughly identification had been difficult. The animal which had done it had not yet been identified.
Then there were the frequent reports of strange beasts roaming back streets and empty lots late at night... dogs with tiger heads that didn't match their bodies, monkeys with tusks, even something that looked like a bison only a foot tall. The four-armed man was the last straw. A child who had seen a man with an extra set of arms just outside her window had gone into a screaming fit and had to be sedated. People had taken shots at the beasts but so far none had been killed or captured.
Bane and Cindy listened intently and asked some questions before sinking into silence. They thanked Morrison for all the information, promised they would inform him of any discoveries they made and got ready to leave. The chief asked them to try to keep a low profile, as they would be working in a completely unoffical capacity.
"Always," said Bane as he went to the door. Cindy gave the chief an encouraging smile and followed the Dire Wolf out. They headed back outside and walked through the parking lot to climb back into the Explorer.
"So, did you pick up anything extra during the conversation?" Bane asked.
"Sure. He's scared. Everyone he knows is scared. They're not cowards, they can deal with big drunks starting fights and drug dealers pulling guns, but weird animals wandering around late at night freak them out." The blonde telepath folded her arms and frowned. "You know what, drive around town a while, okay? Let me try to pick up something useful."
"Sure," he said, heading up the main street. He made random turns, circled around, retraced his route. For that half hour, he was silent and watched her from the corner of his eye. Her telepathy still amazed him. Cindy sat with her face turned toward the passenger window, eyes half closed, hands folded. Once, she chuckled softly. Then, while going past a CVS pharmacy, she sat up and reached over to grasp Bane's arm. "There! Pull in that parking lot, hon."
Bane obeyed without asking why. He slowed almost to a stop, then eased into the nearest open spot. Cindy was watching a middle-aged man who had just come out of the pharmacy's sliding glass doors. "Come on," she said and jumped out of the Explorer to walk up to the man. Bane had the faintest smile as he followed her.
The man had a substantial beer belly and was getting bald, he walked with an uncomfortable wince as if either his legs or feet hurt. As he saw a pretty little blonde approaching, he naturally smiled. Cindy pointed across the street and asked if he could tell her where the Motor Vehicle building was. As the man cheerfully gave directions, he suddenly seemed confused and distracted. His voice trailed off, then came back and he finished without apparently noticing his brief spell.
Cindy thanked him and went back to the Explorer. As she plopped down in the passenger seat, she smiled and said, "He was a lot of help. Not that he knows it. That guy- his name is Earl Granger- saw the four-armed man a week ago. The creature cut through Earl's yard in the middle of the night, and Earl just happened to glimpse it because he was looking out through the bathroom window. Here, Jeremy, I'll give you the image I found in his memory..."
Having an image introduced into his mind by telepathy was something Bane had gotten used to. It wasn't a sharp jolt or intrusive. The effect resembled suddenly remembering something you had been trying to think of. As clearly as if he had witnessed it himself, the Dire Wolf "saw" a huge tawny-skinned man in a white loincloth hurrying through a backyard. The man was bald, with no visible ears and his leonine skin was rough-textured. He would stand about seven feet tall. Just below his armpits, a second pair of shoulders protruded above his rib cage and the second pair of arms grew there, identical with the top pair.
It was a startling sight, even as a memory. Bane blinked and glanced over at his partner. "That's something new," he said at last.
"Earl also was thinking about the old Lancaster house outside of town. He used to go past it on his way home, but now he's been taking the long way around to avoid it." Cindy snapped her fingers. "That has 'clue' written all over it!"
"Our next stop, then," Bane agreed.
III.
Just after noon, they stopped at a convenient mart on the way out of Leander. While Bane filled the tank and checked the tires and wiped the windows in his obsessive way, Cindy went inside to use the bathroom. She poked around the mart, came out with two hot meatball subs, a bag of Fritos and two bottles of iced tea. They pulled over to the side of the building to consume everything.
"This four armed guy, what's his story?" Cindy asked.
"I'm not sure. One of my earliest jobs for Mr Dred was to stop a guy named Kobayashi who was experimenting by putting animal heads on people, switching legs for arms, that sort of nonsense. He was an Alchemist, that might be what we're dealing with here." He finished the last of his sub and wiped his hands and mouth with napkins. "We'll find out."
Cindy gathered all the wrappers and debris to dump them in a bin. As she buckled herself back in, she said, "Poor old Earl. Seeing the four-armed man traumatized him. I have an image of the Lancaster house from his mind, Jeremy. When we get near it, I'll know."
"Sounds like a plan," Bane said as he pulled out onto the highway and continued north. Twenty minutes passed as they sailed along with dry leafless forests on either side, punctuated with the occasional house. At one intersection, they saw a bar with a few motorcycles in the parking lot. Finally, Cindy grabbed Bane's arm and pointed to a side road that had no sign or mailbox, and he turned up it.
On top of a steep hill sat an old stone house, two stories high, with a backyard that went back for three acres. The house had a large picture window taking up much of one wall and a front porch that had redwood chairs facing the driveway. Parked in the gravel roadway was a black Alfa Romeo, glistening as if just waxed. Cindy snapped her fingers, "That's it. Just as Earl's memory said."
As Bane came to a stop beside the Alfa Romeo, he was glaring about suspiciously. His life had left him with a habit of constantly watching his surroundings. "Anyone home?"
"Hmm. Yes. A woman, very strong dominant mind. Lots of animals, most seem asleep or doped up. Some guy with real anger problems. That's all I'm getting right now, it's jumbled together." She unbuckled her seat belt. "I vote we be careful,hon, there's something here that's just wrong."
As he got out from behind the wheel and stood in the cold afternoon sunlight, Bane agreed. All his instincts were keyed up. He stood gazing up at the house, then started toward the front door with Cindy beside him. For the moment, they left their helmets and gloves in the car, so as to appear less intimidating. As they stepped up onto the porch, the front door swung open and a little old man peered out at them.
"No appointments," he said. "My Lady has no appointments today, you can't see her." The man was not much over four feet tall, dressed in a formal suit with a white shirt and red bow tie. A few lank strands of hair were combed sideways over pale skin of a round oversized head. His arms and legs were short in comparison to his torso.
"She will want to see us," Bane answered sternly. He held up his leather billfold which displayed his PI license. "Her safety is at risk."
From behind the man, a deep woman's voice rang out, "Sergio! Allow them in. It's all right." The servant obediently stepped aside, lowering his head as he made way. Bane and Cindy stepped through the door into a sort of workshop.
It took a second for everything to sink in. The floor was covered with white linen sheets and half-completed plaster statues were scattered about. None were of normal beings. A Cyclopean centaur reared with its front hooves raised. A man with an extra tiny head growing from each shoulder stared at them, his hands raised in claws. A hound with horns like a bison and a high ridged back crouched as if about to attack. None of these were finished, yet even so their detailing and proportions showed the hand of genius.
Wiping her hands on a damp rag was an imposing woman. Six feet tall and solidly built, with a massive bust ledge and long legs, she wore a stained white smock over a tan blouse and khaki trousers. Straight glossy black hair, brushed straight back, hung past her shoulder blades. She had a wide jawline, a short straight nose and sardonic green eyes under arched brows that regarded the intruders with amusement.
"What's this about my safety?" she demanded. "I don't believe I know you two."
Bane handed her his ID. She didn't just glance at it, but studied it and his driver's license which was next to it before being satisfied.
"The Dire Wolf agency," said the woman as she returned the billfold. "As it happens, I have heard of you. I'm interested in the weird and the uncanny... the Midnight War, you might say."
The Dire Wolf stood with hands on hips, glancing at the bizarre sculptures. "So. Maria Lancaster, quite a reputation with the avant-garde-"
"Not Maria Lancaster," she interrupted sharply. "Mordriana. I've had it legally changed."
"Mordriana, then. The people in town are in an uproar as you must know. Two campers mauled and strange beasts seen prowling at night. For some reason, they think you have something to do with it."
She scoffed. "Let them think what they like. Peasants."
"I think you may be in danger," Bane improvised. "A few more incidents and they might decide to take action. I've seen lynch mobs form with less provocation."
Standing off to one side, Cindy Brunner had been apparently looking around at the sculptures but she was actually probing the area with her mind. All the dazed or sleeping animal minds troubled her, and the repressed rage in one nearby Human mind was actually alarming. She broke off connection and stepped closer to her partner. Looking over at the woman, Cindy said, "Would you mind if we had a look around the property? If we can tell the people in town there's no sign of any unusual animals...."
A strange mocking gleam appeared in Mordriana's eyes and her lips curled in a faint smile. "Perhaps there IS something you would like to see. Sergio! Show them the exhibit I'm working on."
"Very well, madam," said the dwarf. He gestured for Bane and Cindy to follow him through a double door at the back of the studio, closing the door behind him with a click. Here was a short hall, empty except for a table with a lamp and telephone, with two doors facing each other at its end. Sergio casually placed his hand on the doorknob to his left, saying, "Madam seldom shows her work to outsiders," and flung the door open.
Bane and Cindy were fully alert, but they still were taken by surprise as a swarm of dark shapes big as a human fist flew out through the opening and buzzed straight for them. Winged spiders! Hairy-legged tarantulas with a double pair of wings like a dragonfly. The creatures flew right for Bane and Cindy with terrifying directness. Quick as the Dire Wolf was, he could not swat them away. Cindy's telepathy was ineffective against lower level minds that worked on pure instinct. In a few seconds, they both had been bitten several times on hands and face. Poison raced through their veins like white-hot acid.
The flying spiders ignored Sergio. Taking a broom from the corner, he started sweeping the monstrosities back toward the open door and, when he had them all in that inner room, he closed the door again with satisfaction. The dwarf gazed down where his guests were lying motionless on the floor. Vivid red swellings on hands and faces showed where Bane and Cindy had repeatedly taken the spider venom.
Stepping up behind the dwarf, Mordriana chuckled. "Good work, my old friend. Ah? They are still alive? I'm a little surprised. Come, let us tie them securely. If they revive, they will see the rest of our pets."
IV.
It was not the first time that Bane and Cindy had slowly recovered from something that should have been fatal, but experience did not make such a process less torturous. Twenty years of a tagra tea diet and Kumundu training had boosted their healing factors way beyond normal limits, but they still felt pain and could be be damaged beyond survival. The poison of the flying spiders took time to dissipate, but after some atrocious dreams, they both came back to dim awareness.
Bane recovered first by a minute or so. He forced his eyes open, growled deep in his chest, and tried to sit up. The light was dim. He found himself lying on a cold wooden floor, still dressed although his field jacket had been taken off. The Dire Wolf tried to get up and discovered his wrists were wired tightly together behind him. His ankles were tied with cord, but some slacks had been left, evidently so he would be able to hobble about it if not walk freely.
He was still in great discomfort from the spider bites, and his head was pounding. Bane drew on his Kumundu lessons. He breathed in, held it and exhaled more slowly, drawing air in deeply and visualizing the air as cleansing his system. He turned his head as Cindy stirred. The little blonde groaned, wriggled and suddenly sat up fully awake. Her dark blue eyes met his with a wry expression.
"Flying spiders!" she said. "Talk about nightmare fuel. What kind of a mind comes up with such a thing?"
"It feels like they took most of the gadgets in my suit," Bane muttered. "Not everything."
After a second, she agreed. "Same here. They searched us but some of our tricks are too well hidden." Pressing back against the wall behind her, she got to her feet. "If we have a few minutes, I'm sure we can untie each other--"
With a click, bright overhead lights shone down. They saw they were in a bare wooden room not much bigger than a closet. Standing in the doorway, Mordriana smiled at them. She still wore the white smock over her clothing but she had wound her long black hair up with a gold barrette. "I'm impressed you two are still alive. Perhaps I can use you for my art."
Bane had managed to stand up, glaring at her with pale eyes colder than ice. "How do you mutilate animals like that? Alchemy?"
"Mutilate? Oh, no. No, no,no. I am an artist. I work with living tissue to bring new life forms into the world. You just can't appreciate the beauty of my creations," she said with a shake of her head.
"Alchemy?" he repeated.
"Nothing so limited. You know the Midnight War, Mr Bane. I have learned a few secrets from the Darthim themselves. Two pages from THE REVELATIONS OF TOLLINOR KJE found their way into my hands years ago, that's all... just two pages but the secrets on them opened my mind to new vistas." Mordriana took a deep breath, then studied Cindy thoughtfully. "I see possibilities with you, as well. Something to do with hummingbirds, perhaps.."
Cindy could not summon her telepathic powers yet. The spider venom had left her head numb and aching, and the best she could manage was an awareness of someone approaching. She felt an angry mind drawing near. Looming up in the doorway behind Mordiana was a monstrous figure.
"Ah, Abiram," said Mordiana, "Good. Escort these two to my workshop, will you? I must make some preparations before I begin on them. Thank you." She turned and strode quickly away.
Seen at close range under bright lights, Abiram was a surreal sight. He wore only a loincloth of coarse material. His skin was rough-textured as pumice, a dark tawny color like the hide of a lion. The monster's head was bald, with no visible ears and dark red-irised eyes under a protruding brow ledge. Even with all that, it was the second pair of arms which was all anyone noticed. Shoulders protruded beneath the armpits, with the second arms growing out from them, and this boosted his height to just under seven feet. Those arms were muscular and massive, ending in thick-fingered hands. Abiram moved all four arms naturally, with no clumsiness or confusion; they were part of him.
Surprisingly, the creature spoke with a mellow, cultured voice and not the deep rumble they had expected. "My Lady has spoken," he said. "It would be best if you come with me."
Bane glanced at Cindy, who shrugged, and they followed Abiram compliantly down a hall and through a door into a huge open area. Skylights allowed clear winter sunshine to pour down on a horrifying display of body parts strewn on canvas sheets. Detached arms and legs, twitching and still alive, were not the worst. It was a row of Human heads, standing on their neck stumps, features moving and eyes flickering from side to side, which was most disturbing. Porcelain vats filled with steaming green goo were everywhere, giving off a sickly sweet aroma.
In the center of the workshop, Mordriana stood over a low table on which a naked woman was lying without arms or legs. The sorceress held a broad brush, with which she was dabbing the steaming green substance on the amputated stubs. Mordriana glanced up as Abiram led her captives into the workshop. "Ah, very good. You are in time to see the start of my latest project. Joan here never knew she was fated to be a mermaid..."
Bane suddenly spoke with a cold decisive voice that made Mordriana give a start. "This ends noq. You are going to restore these people as much as possible."
"What?" laughed Mordriana, "And why would I do that?"
"Because it's the only way you are going to stay alive a little longer." As he spoke, Bane crouched and leaped up, jamming his knees up under his chin and bringing his bound hands under them. Nimble as any gymnast, he landed with his hands now in front of him. Even as his boots hit the floor, he had tugged a silver dagger from under his right sleeve and sliced cleanly through the cords holding his ankles together. All this took place so quickly and was so unexpected that neither Abiram nor Mordriana had a chance to react. His wrists were still wired together but his legs were free and he had one of his daggers in hand.
As Mordriana opened her mouth to shout an order, she abruptly convulsed and flung herself into the air. Cindy Brunner had regained enough telepathy that she could send a mental command compelling Mordriana to simultaneously stand still and walk. The conflicting ofers created the equivalent of a seizure. Mordriana leaped wildly, made a gurgling noise and fell on her face. Cindy glared down at her with a complete lack of sympathy, then swung around to see how her partner was doing.
Bane was getting thrashed. Part of his Tel Shai training had involved fighting an opponent while having his hands tied, and he was capable of holding his own with just kicks and sweeps. But Teacher Chael had never forseen his best student ever having to fight an opponent with four arms. It was not like fighting two opponents at once. Abiram's fists flew in complicated patterns that the Dire Wolf could neither predict nor react to in time. Having his hands tied was the added disadvantage. Bane landed one good reverse roundhouse kick that smacked Abiram on the side of the head but which did not do enough damage to stop him. A second later, one tawny paw clenched Bane's shirt and another grabbed him by the arm, both yanking him into a vicious open-handed slap that rocked his head to the side.
Not completely unconscious but dazed, the Dire Wolf dropped to his hands and knees and could not rise. The four-armed horror straightened and his red eyes fixed on Cindy Brunner. "I hope you will be more reasonable," he said in his refined mellow voice.
The little blonde made contact with Abiram's mind and was immediately forced back out. Something in its abnormal structure would not let her in. She tried sending conflicting orders as she had with Mordriana but got no results. Cindy thought fast. She sent what seemed to be Mordriana's voice screaming 'Help me! Abiram, help me, I can't breathe!'
That worked. The four-armed man forgot the telepath and rushed over to kneel beside the limp sorcereress. As he did so, Cindy hobbled over to where Bane was crouching and pushed him bodily through the door of the workroom, slamming that door behind them and locking it. Her hands were still tied behind her and her ankles had cord connecting them with only a few inches play, so doing this took everything she had and she promptly fell down after trying to get away from the door.
Bane had regained his senses, he was still clutching his silver dagger in one hand and he cut through the cords holding Cindy's ankles. "Nice work," he said. "Quick, turn around." Even with his own wrists bound, he began to unwind the wire around her hands. "That door won't hold a brute like that for long." Even as he spoke, a violent pounding and crashing came from the other side.
As soon as Cindy was free, she began trying to get the wires off Bane's wrists. Her fingers were not as strong as his and she had some trouble, but in another minute, she got him free. "There! That's better!"
Bane put a hand on each of her shoulders and squeezed. "You sure got us out of that mess." They both turned as the door started to splinter under the blows of four massive fists. "He'll be through in a second," Cindy said.
"Let him come," the Dire Wolf muttered quietly, returning his dagger to its sheath. "He's in for a rude awakening."
The door broke apart, Abiram shoved the remaining fragments out of his way and squeezed through. Seeing Bane standing calmly in his path, the four-armed horror lumbered at him with hands outstretched. Cindy stepped quickly to one side, out of their way.
"I will rip you apart," Abiram snarled.
"You can try," Bane answered without emotion.
V.
As Abiram was pounding his huge fists against the door, Mordriana struggled groggily to her feet. She was not at all clear about what had happened to her. At first, the alarming thought that she had suffered a stroke of some kind paralyzed her with dismay, but then she realized that somehow the blonde girl had affected her that way. The girl must be some Midnight War fighter, perhaps a telepath? The sorceress stood up and straightened her clothing, regaining her composure. She watched the four-armed man about to break through the workshop door, realized he was going after the two intruders, and decided she would take a different approach.
Striding quickly through the workshop, she unlocked a small door on the opposite wall and was outside behind her house. A corrugated metal shed big as a barn stood twenty yards from the main building, with no windows. Mordriana grinned wickedly as she unbarred the wide steel door and swung it outward. From within, misshapen forms roused and stirred.
"Come, my childen," she whispered. "Your hour is at hand."
VI.
In the few minutes since their first clash, Bane had decided how to handle Abiram. When the monster lunged for him, the Dire Wolf stepped to one side and kicked down viciously at the back of the four-armed man's knee. Abiram fell heavily, catching himself, but Bane was already behind him and driving the edge of a rigid open hand to the nape of the monster's neck. The impact sounded like an axe biting into wood. Abiram sagged face down, groaning. Jumping, Bane stomped down with his boot to the back of the four-armed man's neck and this time there was a cracking sound that was unmistakable.
"Well, that was quick," Cindy said. "I expected a real brawl."
"I had to avoid those arms," the Dire Wolf told her. "If he had got a hold on me, things might have ended differently." He glared through the open door into the workshop. "Where's Mordriana?"
Cindy pointed toward the door in the opposite wall. "There. She's with a bunch of animals of some kind. Their minds are angry and confused."
"More of her monsters," Bane said. "Here they come."
The door to outside had been flung open, and Mordriana stepped aside to let her creatures rush through. In their eagerness, the monsters crowded each other as they charged. Drawing both silver daggers, Bane stepped forward and met the attack in a blur of lethal precision. A Great Dane with horns like a bison and a high ridged back was first, galloping across the tile floor. The Dire Wolf crouched and slammed one dagger into the brute's chest, right in the heart. He managed to keep his grip on the weapon, spun and met a tiger-headed Komodo monitor with a blade across the throat. Gagging and choking on its own blood, the monster sagged to the floor. A third brute that looked like a boar with human hands and feet tackled him before he could evade it, and they hit the floor together with a crash.
Overhead, a dozen white bats with a wingspread of two feet whirled about, squeaking furiously. Their red eyes shone with lambent light. Five hairless weasel-like creatures scurried around the room. Standing in the open doorway, Mordriana shrieked with glee.
All this had taken place in just a few seconds, Bane's enhanced reflexes enabled him to meet the predatory creatures on equal terms. Now, Cindy reacted by focussing on the sorceress responsible for all this. "I've had enough of you," she said and sent conflicting orders to Mordriana's mind. The witch convulsed wildly and fell to the floor with her arms and legs twitching. The trauma shut her brain down into unconsciousness.
Watching her suspiciously, Cindy decided Mordriana was harmless and turned to the monsters. A red-furred cat the size of a lynx was stalking closer to her, crouching down and ready to spring. It had eagle wings growing from its shoulders, but although they flapped spasmodically, they were not strong enough to allow the beast to fly.
The blonde telepath had no weapons on her, but her mind had always been her best defense. She reached out, locked onto the winged cat's ferocious consciousness and concentrated on slowing its thought processes down. The monster grew sluggish, its stance relaxed and it sagged drowsily to the floor. In another moment, she had put it into a deep slumber.
Bane was rising from the floor, shoving the dead boar off him. The sleeve of his shirt was shredded, revealing the sheen of the silk-thin Trom armor beneath that had kept those tusks from ripping him apart. The Dire Wolf turned but saw no further attackers. The white bats and the naked weasels were paying him no mind. They were scavengers, he realized as he saw what they were feeding on.
Cindy yelled, "Hey! Stop that!" and rushed over to the shelving where the Human heads and limbs were being devoured by the naked weasels. She tried shooing them away but vicious growling and bared fangs deterred that. "Jeremy! STOP them!"
"It's too late," he said slowly. "They started feeding immediately." The Dire Wolf exhaled sharply. "If those heads had any chance of being revived and restored, that's been lost now."
"Yes.. I suppse you're right," Cindy answered as she looked away from the sight. "Ugh. What an atrocity. That Modriana has a lot to answer for. Let's see if she.. Oh." The telepath's voice choked off as she saw the swarm of white bats crawling over the sorcereress' body. Leathery wings flapped lazily as the creatures fed. "Oh. Her, too."
"She's paid for what she did. Better this way, I think." He
"Ironic justice," Cindy said. "How crazy do you think she was?"
Bane shrugged as he began searching the workshop "Crazy or just evil, I can never tell. Here are our field jackets, in this cabinet. And the dart guns. Looks like she just threw everything in here." He handed Cindy her jacket and gear, then tugged his own on. "Seems to me Mordriana saw herself as an artists, not a monster maker."
Drawing his dart gun and aiming carefully, Bane dropped the white bats with one anesthetic dart apiece. They slid off the corpse to lie beside it.
The blonde telepath was pale, turning away from the scene. "This is getting hard to take, hon. Let's go outside. We have to decide what to do with these creatures."
From a pocket of his field jacket, Bane held up three thermite incendiary discs. "I've already decided. I'll siphon the gas from her car to use as an accelerant. With these incendiaries, there'll be nothing left but ashes and maybe a few charred bones. Nobody will know the horrors that went on here."
"Nobody but us," Cindy whispered.
7/25/2014
2/13/1997
I.
As she stepped out of the black helicopter CORBY, freezing dawn wind blew Cindy back against the hull. She gasped and lowered the helmet quickly down over her dark blonde hair. In a second, she had closed the seal between helmet and the high collar of her field suit. As quickly as that, she felt snug and comfortable, breathing warm air that had passed through the mandible filters of the helmet. The telepath straightened up and turned back to close and fasten the hatch.
"Dayum, it's cold!" she yelled. "Maine in February, why can't we have a case in Hawaii today?"
Stepping around from the other side of the CORBY, Bane was in an identical field suit, with his helmet already sealed and visor down. He adjusted his left ear pod and suddenly was talking with her through the communications system. "We take them as they turn up," his voice came clearly into her headphones. "Want to give me a hand securing the bird?"
"Oh, sure," she answered, taking a bungee cable from him. For the next ten minutes, they fastened the CORBY down to pegs that Bane drove into the hard ground with a hammer. Then a waterproof camoflauge tarp was secured over the helicopter and finally the Dire Wolf seemed satisfied. He went around the CORBY one more time, checking everything, then wedged the hammer beneath the landing gear.
Cindy was looking around. "I don't see any monsters so far." They had landed on a property that covered six acres of sparse woodland. The huge back yard where they stood extended up a hill to a two story white frame house with a shingled roof and a carport. The nearest neighbor was half a mile away, the town of Leander was eighteen miles away. She spotted a dark Ford Explorer in the carport. With the sun coming up, shadows were long and horizontal.
"Not bad," she said finally. "Your friend Maureen did a good job finding us a place to stay."
Bane stood up with two metal equipment case the size of large suitcases, one in each hand. "And quickly, too. I just called her yesterday morning. This property really belongs to the bank, but her realty office is trying to place it. She left the house keys and the keys to the car under a rock beneath the bathroom window, so she said."
"So how do you know her, anyway? You seem to have friends everywhere. Here, I'll get the knapsack with our clothes."
"Five years ago, I saved her kids from Samhain. That was the time I pinned him under a landslide. Somehow he still got loose again. Maureen was grateful, but instead of a reward, I asked her to report any weird events in her area." Bane lifted the heavy cases easily and started marching across the frozen yard, turning his head to see if Cindy was with him. She had strapped the knapsack across her shoulders and was trudging along.
"So, when you called her, she ran out here and made sure this house was set up," the blonde telepath asked. "And she rented a big old Ford Explorer for you? That's service."
"Well, I wired her plenty of money to cover expenses," Bane said. They had reached the back of the house, where the bathroom window showed. He dug around, turned over a flat rock and came up with two sets of keys. "Here, one for you," he said. Going around to the front patio, which had two redwood lawn chairs set up, the Dire Wolf unlocked the front door and they stepped into a neat but unimposing kitchen with a linoleum floor and a round dining table under a picture window.
Cindy shrugged off her knapsack, snapped open her helmet's seal and drew it off to reveal an inquisitive freckled face with dark blue eyes and a snub nose. She was barely an inch over five feet tall, just under a hundred pounds, with full breasts but narrow hips. As she glanced around the kitchen, the telepath grinned. "Oh, I like this place. Very down to earth. Looks like the cabinets are hand-made."
"We may be here a few days," Bane said. He unfastened his own helmet and placed it on the kitchen table next to her. Almost forty, the Dire Wolf was a gaunt man six feet tall, with pale grey eyes in a narrow face. His short black hair was ruffled and untidy, as he needed a haircut at the moment. "Not much to go on."
"Who is this Mordriana, anyway?" Cindy asked as she got out of the heavy field jacket. Beneath she was wearing a black crewneck shirt with two breast pockets. She draped the field jacket over a chair and watched Bane for an answer.
"Just a name," he said. "That's all we have. Sightings of some unlikely animals, two dead campers, reports of a man with four arms... and the name Mordriana."
The blonde telepath opened her knapsack and began sorting through her clothing and personal effects. "So where did the name come from?"
"Nebel. That's all he would say, just the one word 'Mordriana.'"
"I swear that man just likes to tease us," Cindy sighed. "I bet he could give us every detail about this Mordriana if he wanted to, right down to shoe size and favorite flavor of ice cream."
"Nebel has his ways, I've had to get used to him," said Bane sourly. "Our next move is to head into town and speak with the chief of police. I talked to him on the phone yesterday. He'll give us what help he can."
Cindy had opened the refrigerator. "Spotless. And by that I mean, nothing at all in it. We'll have to pick up some items on the way back, hon."
"Hopefully we'll be picking up more interesting things than groceries." He checked his dart gun and holstered it again behind his left hip.
II.
It was only eight-fifteen when they rolled the Explorer into Leander, too early to meet with the police chief. Bane pointed out a diner near the bus station, and Cindy voted to fuel themselves up before starting the hunt. She ordered whole wheat French toast with scrambled eggs, Bane chose a cheese omelet with hash browns and they both dug in enthusiastically. When that was all devoured, he asked for bacon and toast, while she was happy with just refills on the orange juice.
"That's better," the telepath sighed. Reaching in one of the dozen pockets of her field jacket, she found a stick of sugarless gum. "So, Jeremy, speaking of a new KDF... so far you've got two possible members. That Blind Archer you met in Woodstock and that student of Tang Ming, Argent whatever his name is. I thought of another one. Remember Mary Cassidy's daughter Ashley?"
"How could I forget? She went to Chyl with me against my will. Saddled with a ten year old in Chyl!"
"Well, she's got to be seventeen now. I heard rumors that Mary handed the horn over to her and has been training her to be the new Unicorn. Word is she already went into Signarm and retrieved a stolen talisman." Cindy raised an eyebrow. "She'd make three."
"Ashley Whitaker as the new Unicorn?" he scoffed. "I suppose stranger things have happened. Anyway, we need to concentrate on the case already underway." The Dire Wolf studied the bill and reached in his pants for some cash. "There'd be a lot of paperwork to clear before we could start a new KDF in any case."
They headed back out to the Ford Explorer, feeling a bit more sanguine. Bane eased out into traffic and noticed Cindy had a distracted expression. "You okay, Cin?"
"Hm? Oh, sure. I'm picking up a lot of anxiety in this town, just under the surface. Minds are worked up. I guess rumors of strange animals and two deaths have got everyone stressed out." She watched people on the sidewalks as they stopped for a light. "I get the impression there have been more sightings than anyone outside has heard about..."
She had her hands folded in her lap and Bane patted them as he drove. "We'll straighten things up, Cindy."
"I know we will," she said. "Hey, there's the town police station."
After waiting ten minutes on a bench in the hall, they were admitted into the chief's office for an hour's discussion. Lou Morrison had heard of the Dire Wolf and the KDF from their activities in the area a few years earlier, and he was glad to see them. But he could not give them much useful information. The dead campers had been a married couple, Joseph and Alexandra Weller. They had been found in the hills outside town, mauled so throughly identification had been difficult. The animal which had done it had not yet been identified.
Then there were the frequent reports of strange beasts roaming back streets and empty lots late at night... dogs with tiger heads that didn't match their bodies, monkeys with tusks, even something that looked like a bison only a foot tall. The four-armed man was the last straw. A child who had seen a man with an extra set of arms just outside her window had gone into a screaming fit and had to be sedated. People had taken shots at the beasts but so far none had been killed or captured.
Bane and Cindy listened intently and asked some questions before sinking into silence. They thanked Morrison for all the information, promised they would inform him of any discoveries they made and got ready to leave. The chief asked them to try to keep a low profile, as they would be working in a completely unoffical capacity.
"Always," said Bane as he went to the door. Cindy gave the chief an encouraging smile and followed the Dire Wolf out. They headed back outside and walked through the parking lot to climb back into the Explorer.
"So, did you pick up anything extra during the conversation?" Bane asked.
"Sure. He's scared. Everyone he knows is scared. They're not cowards, they can deal with big drunks starting fights and drug dealers pulling guns, but weird animals wandering around late at night freak them out." The blonde telepath folded her arms and frowned. "You know what, drive around town a while, okay? Let me try to pick up something useful."
"Sure," he said, heading up the main street. He made random turns, circled around, retraced his route. For that half hour, he was silent and watched her from the corner of his eye. Her telepathy still amazed him. Cindy sat with her face turned toward the passenger window, eyes half closed, hands folded. Once, she chuckled softly. Then, while going past a CVS pharmacy, she sat up and reached over to grasp Bane's arm. "There! Pull in that parking lot, hon."
Bane obeyed without asking why. He slowed almost to a stop, then eased into the nearest open spot. Cindy was watching a middle-aged man who had just come out of the pharmacy's sliding glass doors. "Come on," she said and jumped out of the Explorer to walk up to the man. Bane had the faintest smile as he followed her.
The man had a substantial beer belly and was getting bald, he walked with an uncomfortable wince as if either his legs or feet hurt. As he saw a pretty little blonde approaching, he naturally smiled. Cindy pointed across the street and asked if he could tell her where the Motor Vehicle building was. As the man cheerfully gave directions, he suddenly seemed confused and distracted. His voice trailed off, then came back and he finished without apparently noticing his brief spell.
Cindy thanked him and went back to the Explorer. As she plopped down in the passenger seat, she smiled and said, "He was a lot of help. Not that he knows it. That guy- his name is Earl Granger- saw the four-armed man a week ago. The creature cut through Earl's yard in the middle of the night, and Earl just happened to glimpse it because he was looking out through the bathroom window. Here, Jeremy, I'll give you the image I found in his memory..."
Having an image introduced into his mind by telepathy was something Bane had gotten used to. It wasn't a sharp jolt or intrusive. The effect resembled suddenly remembering something you had been trying to think of. As clearly as if he had witnessed it himself, the Dire Wolf "saw" a huge tawny-skinned man in a white loincloth hurrying through a backyard. The man was bald, with no visible ears and his leonine skin was rough-textured. He would stand about seven feet tall. Just below his armpits, a second pair of shoulders protruded above his rib cage and the second pair of arms grew there, identical with the top pair.
It was a startling sight, even as a memory. Bane blinked and glanced over at his partner. "That's something new," he said at last.
"Earl also was thinking about the old Lancaster house outside of town. He used to go past it on his way home, but now he's been taking the long way around to avoid it." Cindy snapped her fingers. "That has 'clue' written all over it!"
"Our next stop, then," Bane agreed.
III.
Just after noon, they stopped at a convenient mart on the way out of Leander. While Bane filled the tank and checked the tires and wiped the windows in his obsessive way, Cindy went inside to use the bathroom. She poked around the mart, came out with two hot meatball subs, a bag of Fritos and two bottles of iced tea. They pulled over to the side of the building to consume everything.
"This four armed guy, what's his story?" Cindy asked.
"I'm not sure. One of my earliest jobs for Mr Dred was to stop a guy named Kobayashi who was experimenting by putting animal heads on people, switching legs for arms, that sort of nonsense. He was an Alchemist, that might be what we're dealing with here." He finished the last of his sub and wiped his hands and mouth with napkins. "We'll find out."
Cindy gathered all the wrappers and debris to dump them in a bin. As she buckled herself back in, she said, "Poor old Earl. Seeing the four-armed man traumatized him. I have an image of the Lancaster house from his mind, Jeremy. When we get near it, I'll know."
"Sounds like a plan," Bane said as he pulled out onto the highway and continued north. Twenty minutes passed as they sailed along with dry leafless forests on either side, punctuated with the occasional house. At one intersection, they saw a bar with a few motorcycles in the parking lot. Finally, Cindy grabbed Bane's arm and pointed to a side road that had no sign or mailbox, and he turned up it.
On top of a steep hill sat an old stone house, two stories high, with a backyard that went back for three acres. The house had a large picture window taking up much of one wall and a front porch that had redwood chairs facing the driveway. Parked in the gravel roadway was a black Alfa Romeo, glistening as if just waxed. Cindy snapped her fingers, "That's it. Just as Earl's memory said."
As Bane came to a stop beside the Alfa Romeo, he was glaring about suspiciously. His life had left him with a habit of constantly watching his surroundings. "Anyone home?"
"Hmm. Yes. A woman, very strong dominant mind. Lots of animals, most seem asleep or doped up. Some guy with real anger problems. That's all I'm getting right now, it's jumbled together." She unbuckled her seat belt. "I vote we be careful,hon, there's something here that's just wrong."
As he got out from behind the wheel and stood in the cold afternoon sunlight, Bane agreed. All his instincts were keyed up. He stood gazing up at the house, then started toward the front door with Cindy beside him. For the moment, they left their helmets and gloves in the car, so as to appear less intimidating. As they stepped up onto the porch, the front door swung open and a little old man peered out at them.
"No appointments," he said. "My Lady has no appointments today, you can't see her." The man was not much over four feet tall, dressed in a formal suit with a white shirt and red bow tie. A few lank strands of hair were combed sideways over pale skin of a round oversized head. His arms and legs were short in comparison to his torso.
"She will want to see us," Bane answered sternly. He held up his leather billfold which displayed his PI license. "Her safety is at risk."
From behind the man, a deep woman's voice rang out, "Sergio! Allow them in. It's all right." The servant obediently stepped aside, lowering his head as he made way. Bane and Cindy stepped through the door into a sort of workshop.
It took a second for everything to sink in. The floor was covered with white linen sheets and half-completed plaster statues were scattered about. None were of normal beings. A Cyclopean centaur reared with its front hooves raised. A man with an extra tiny head growing from each shoulder stared at them, his hands raised in claws. A hound with horns like a bison and a high ridged back crouched as if about to attack. None of these were finished, yet even so their detailing and proportions showed the hand of genius.
Wiping her hands on a damp rag was an imposing woman. Six feet tall and solidly built, with a massive bust ledge and long legs, she wore a stained white smock over a tan blouse and khaki trousers. Straight glossy black hair, brushed straight back, hung past her shoulder blades. She had a wide jawline, a short straight nose and sardonic green eyes under arched brows that regarded the intruders with amusement.
"What's this about my safety?" she demanded. "I don't believe I know you two."
Bane handed her his ID. She didn't just glance at it, but studied it and his driver's license which was next to it before being satisfied.
"The Dire Wolf agency," said the woman as she returned the billfold. "As it happens, I have heard of you. I'm interested in the weird and the uncanny... the Midnight War, you might say."
The Dire Wolf stood with hands on hips, glancing at the bizarre sculptures. "So. Maria Lancaster, quite a reputation with the avant-garde-"
"Not Maria Lancaster," she interrupted sharply. "Mordriana. I've had it legally changed."
"Mordriana, then. The people in town are in an uproar as you must know. Two campers mauled and strange beasts seen prowling at night. For some reason, they think you have something to do with it."
She scoffed. "Let them think what they like. Peasants."
"I think you may be in danger," Bane improvised. "A few more incidents and they might decide to take action. I've seen lynch mobs form with less provocation."
Standing off to one side, Cindy Brunner had been apparently looking around at the sculptures but she was actually probing the area with her mind. All the dazed or sleeping animal minds troubled her, and the repressed rage in one nearby Human mind was actually alarming. She broke off connection and stepped closer to her partner. Looking over at the woman, Cindy said, "Would you mind if we had a look around the property? If we can tell the people in town there's no sign of any unusual animals...."
A strange mocking gleam appeared in Mordriana's eyes and her lips curled in a faint smile. "Perhaps there IS something you would like to see. Sergio! Show them the exhibit I'm working on."
"Very well, madam," said the dwarf. He gestured for Bane and Cindy to follow him through a double door at the back of the studio, closing the door behind him with a click. Here was a short hall, empty except for a table with a lamp and telephone, with two doors facing each other at its end. Sergio casually placed his hand on the doorknob to his left, saying, "Madam seldom shows her work to outsiders," and flung the door open.
Bane and Cindy were fully alert, but they still were taken by surprise as a swarm of dark shapes big as a human fist flew out through the opening and buzzed straight for them. Winged spiders! Hairy-legged tarantulas with a double pair of wings like a dragonfly. The creatures flew right for Bane and Cindy with terrifying directness. Quick as the Dire Wolf was, he could not swat them away. Cindy's telepathy was ineffective against lower level minds that worked on pure instinct. In a few seconds, they both had been bitten several times on hands and face. Poison raced through their veins like white-hot acid.
The flying spiders ignored Sergio. Taking a broom from the corner, he started sweeping the monstrosities back toward the open door and, when he had them all in that inner room, he closed the door again with satisfaction. The dwarf gazed down where his guests were lying motionless on the floor. Vivid red swellings on hands and faces showed where Bane and Cindy had repeatedly taken the spider venom.
Stepping up behind the dwarf, Mordriana chuckled. "Good work, my old friend. Ah? They are still alive? I'm a little surprised. Come, let us tie them securely. If they revive, they will see the rest of our pets."
IV.
It was not the first time that Bane and Cindy had slowly recovered from something that should have been fatal, but experience did not make such a process less torturous. Twenty years of a tagra tea diet and Kumundu training had boosted their healing factors way beyond normal limits, but they still felt pain and could be be damaged beyond survival. The poison of the flying spiders took time to dissipate, but after some atrocious dreams, they both came back to dim awareness.
Bane recovered first by a minute or so. He forced his eyes open, growled deep in his chest, and tried to sit up. The light was dim. He found himself lying on a cold wooden floor, still dressed although his field jacket had been taken off. The Dire Wolf tried to get up and discovered his wrists were wired tightly together behind him. His ankles were tied with cord, but some slacks had been left, evidently so he would be able to hobble about it if not walk freely.
He was still in great discomfort from the spider bites, and his head was pounding. Bane drew on his Kumundu lessons. He breathed in, held it and exhaled more slowly, drawing air in deeply and visualizing the air as cleansing his system. He turned his head as Cindy stirred. The little blonde groaned, wriggled and suddenly sat up fully awake. Her dark blue eyes met his with a wry expression.
"Flying spiders!" she said. "Talk about nightmare fuel. What kind of a mind comes up with such a thing?"
"It feels like they took most of the gadgets in my suit," Bane muttered. "Not everything."
After a second, she agreed. "Same here. They searched us but some of our tricks are too well hidden." Pressing back against the wall behind her, she got to her feet. "If we have a few minutes, I'm sure we can untie each other--"
With a click, bright overhead lights shone down. They saw they were in a bare wooden room not much bigger than a closet. Standing in the doorway, Mordriana smiled at them. She still wore the white smock over her clothing but she had wound her long black hair up with a gold barrette. "I'm impressed you two are still alive. Perhaps I can use you for my art."
Bane had managed to stand up, glaring at her with pale eyes colder than ice. "How do you mutilate animals like that? Alchemy?"
"Mutilate? Oh, no. No, no,no. I am an artist. I work with living tissue to bring new life forms into the world. You just can't appreciate the beauty of my creations," she said with a shake of her head.
"Alchemy?" he repeated.
"Nothing so limited. You know the Midnight War, Mr Bane. I have learned a few secrets from the Darthim themselves. Two pages from THE REVELATIONS OF TOLLINOR KJE found their way into my hands years ago, that's all... just two pages but the secrets on them opened my mind to new vistas." Mordriana took a deep breath, then studied Cindy thoughtfully. "I see possibilities with you, as well. Something to do with hummingbirds, perhaps.."
Cindy could not summon her telepathic powers yet. The spider venom had left her head numb and aching, and the best she could manage was an awareness of someone approaching. She felt an angry mind drawing near. Looming up in the doorway behind Mordiana was a monstrous figure.
"Ah, Abiram," said Mordiana, "Good. Escort these two to my workshop, will you? I must make some preparations before I begin on them. Thank you." She turned and strode quickly away.
Seen at close range under bright lights, Abiram was a surreal sight. He wore only a loincloth of coarse material. His skin was rough-textured as pumice, a dark tawny color like the hide of a lion. The monster's head was bald, with no visible ears and dark red-irised eyes under a protruding brow ledge. Even with all that, it was the second pair of arms which was all anyone noticed. Shoulders protruded beneath the armpits, with the second arms growing out from them, and this boosted his height to just under seven feet. Those arms were muscular and massive, ending in thick-fingered hands. Abiram moved all four arms naturally, with no clumsiness or confusion; they were part of him.
Surprisingly, the creature spoke with a mellow, cultured voice and not the deep rumble they had expected. "My Lady has spoken," he said. "It would be best if you come with me."
Bane glanced at Cindy, who shrugged, and they followed Abiram compliantly down a hall and through a door into a huge open area. Skylights allowed clear winter sunshine to pour down on a horrifying display of body parts strewn on canvas sheets. Detached arms and legs, twitching and still alive, were not the worst. It was a row of Human heads, standing on their neck stumps, features moving and eyes flickering from side to side, which was most disturbing. Porcelain vats filled with steaming green goo were everywhere, giving off a sickly sweet aroma.
In the center of the workshop, Mordriana stood over a low table on which a naked woman was lying without arms or legs. The sorceress held a broad brush, with which she was dabbing the steaming green substance on the amputated stubs. Mordriana glanced up as Abiram led her captives into the workshop. "Ah, very good. You are in time to see the start of my latest project. Joan here never knew she was fated to be a mermaid..."
Bane suddenly spoke with a cold decisive voice that made Mordriana give a start. "This ends noq. You are going to restore these people as much as possible."
"What?" laughed Mordriana, "And why would I do that?"
"Because it's the only way you are going to stay alive a little longer." As he spoke, Bane crouched and leaped up, jamming his knees up under his chin and bringing his bound hands under them. Nimble as any gymnast, he landed with his hands now in front of him. Even as his boots hit the floor, he had tugged a silver dagger from under his right sleeve and sliced cleanly through the cords holding his ankles together. All this took place so quickly and was so unexpected that neither Abiram nor Mordriana had a chance to react. His wrists were still wired together but his legs were free and he had one of his daggers in hand.
As Mordriana opened her mouth to shout an order, she abruptly convulsed and flung herself into the air. Cindy Brunner had regained enough telepathy that she could send a mental command compelling Mordriana to simultaneously stand still and walk. The conflicting ofers created the equivalent of a seizure. Mordriana leaped wildly, made a gurgling noise and fell on her face. Cindy glared down at her with a complete lack of sympathy, then swung around to see how her partner was doing.
Bane was getting thrashed. Part of his Tel Shai training had involved fighting an opponent while having his hands tied, and he was capable of holding his own with just kicks and sweeps. But Teacher Chael had never forseen his best student ever having to fight an opponent with four arms. It was not like fighting two opponents at once. Abiram's fists flew in complicated patterns that the Dire Wolf could neither predict nor react to in time. Having his hands tied was the added disadvantage. Bane landed one good reverse roundhouse kick that smacked Abiram on the side of the head but which did not do enough damage to stop him. A second later, one tawny paw clenched Bane's shirt and another grabbed him by the arm, both yanking him into a vicious open-handed slap that rocked his head to the side.
Not completely unconscious but dazed, the Dire Wolf dropped to his hands and knees and could not rise. The four-armed horror straightened and his red eyes fixed on Cindy Brunner. "I hope you will be more reasonable," he said in his refined mellow voice.
The little blonde made contact with Abiram's mind and was immediately forced back out. Something in its abnormal structure would not let her in. She tried sending conflicting orders as she had with Mordriana but got no results. Cindy thought fast. She sent what seemed to be Mordriana's voice screaming 'Help me! Abiram, help me, I can't breathe!'
That worked. The four-armed man forgot the telepath and rushed over to kneel beside the limp sorcereress. As he did so, Cindy hobbled over to where Bane was crouching and pushed him bodily through the door of the workroom, slamming that door behind them and locking it. Her hands were still tied behind her and her ankles had cord connecting them with only a few inches play, so doing this took everything she had and she promptly fell down after trying to get away from the door.
Bane had regained his senses, he was still clutching his silver dagger in one hand and he cut through the cords holding Cindy's ankles. "Nice work," he said. "Quick, turn around." Even with his own wrists bound, he began to unwind the wire around her hands. "That door won't hold a brute like that for long." Even as he spoke, a violent pounding and crashing came from the other side.
As soon as Cindy was free, she began trying to get the wires off Bane's wrists. Her fingers were not as strong as his and she had some trouble, but in another minute, she got him free. "There! That's better!"
Bane put a hand on each of her shoulders and squeezed. "You sure got us out of that mess." They both turned as the door started to splinter under the blows of four massive fists. "He'll be through in a second," Cindy said.
"Let him come," the Dire Wolf muttered quietly, returning his dagger to its sheath. "He's in for a rude awakening."
The door broke apart, Abiram shoved the remaining fragments out of his way and squeezed through. Seeing Bane standing calmly in his path, the four-armed horror lumbered at him with hands outstretched. Cindy stepped quickly to one side, out of their way.
"I will rip you apart," Abiram snarled.
"You can try," Bane answered without emotion.
V.
As Abiram was pounding his huge fists against the door, Mordriana struggled groggily to her feet. She was not at all clear about what had happened to her. At first, the alarming thought that she had suffered a stroke of some kind paralyzed her with dismay, but then she realized that somehow the blonde girl had affected her that way. The girl must be some Midnight War fighter, perhaps a telepath? The sorceress stood up and straightened her clothing, regaining her composure. She watched the four-armed man about to break through the workshop door, realized he was going after the two intruders, and decided she would take a different approach.
Striding quickly through the workshop, she unlocked a small door on the opposite wall and was outside behind her house. A corrugated metal shed big as a barn stood twenty yards from the main building, with no windows. Mordriana grinned wickedly as she unbarred the wide steel door and swung it outward. From within, misshapen forms roused and stirred.
"Come, my childen," she whispered. "Your hour is at hand."
VI.
In the few minutes since their first clash, Bane had decided how to handle Abiram. When the monster lunged for him, the Dire Wolf stepped to one side and kicked down viciously at the back of the four-armed man's knee. Abiram fell heavily, catching himself, but Bane was already behind him and driving the edge of a rigid open hand to the nape of the monster's neck. The impact sounded like an axe biting into wood. Abiram sagged face down, groaning. Jumping, Bane stomped down with his boot to the back of the four-armed man's neck and this time there was a cracking sound that was unmistakable.
"Well, that was quick," Cindy said. "I expected a real brawl."
"I had to avoid those arms," the Dire Wolf told her. "If he had got a hold on me, things might have ended differently." He glared through the open door into the workshop. "Where's Mordriana?"
Cindy pointed toward the door in the opposite wall. "There. She's with a bunch of animals of some kind. Their minds are angry and confused."
"More of her monsters," Bane said. "Here they come."
The door to outside had been flung open, and Mordriana stepped aside to let her creatures rush through. In their eagerness, the monsters crowded each other as they charged. Drawing both silver daggers, Bane stepped forward and met the attack in a blur of lethal precision. A Great Dane with horns like a bison and a high ridged back was first, galloping across the tile floor. The Dire Wolf crouched and slammed one dagger into the brute's chest, right in the heart. He managed to keep his grip on the weapon, spun and met a tiger-headed Komodo monitor with a blade across the throat. Gagging and choking on its own blood, the monster sagged to the floor. A third brute that looked like a boar with human hands and feet tackled him before he could evade it, and they hit the floor together with a crash.
Overhead, a dozen white bats with a wingspread of two feet whirled about, squeaking furiously. Their red eyes shone with lambent light. Five hairless weasel-like creatures scurried around the room. Standing in the open doorway, Mordriana shrieked with glee.
All this had taken place in just a few seconds, Bane's enhanced reflexes enabled him to meet the predatory creatures on equal terms. Now, Cindy reacted by focussing on the sorceress responsible for all this. "I've had enough of you," she said and sent conflicting orders to Mordriana's mind. The witch convulsed wildly and fell to the floor with her arms and legs twitching. The trauma shut her brain down into unconsciousness.
Watching her suspiciously, Cindy decided Mordriana was harmless and turned to the monsters. A red-furred cat the size of a lynx was stalking closer to her, crouching down and ready to spring. It had eagle wings growing from its shoulders, but although they flapped spasmodically, they were not strong enough to allow the beast to fly.
The blonde telepath had no weapons on her, but her mind had always been her best defense. She reached out, locked onto the winged cat's ferocious consciousness and concentrated on slowing its thought processes down. The monster grew sluggish, its stance relaxed and it sagged drowsily to the floor. In another moment, she had put it into a deep slumber.
Bane was rising from the floor, shoving the dead boar off him. The sleeve of his shirt was shredded, revealing the sheen of the silk-thin Trom armor beneath that had kept those tusks from ripping him apart. The Dire Wolf turned but saw no further attackers. The white bats and the naked weasels were paying him no mind. They were scavengers, he realized as he saw what they were feeding on.
Cindy yelled, "Hey! Stop that!" and rushed over to the shelving where the Human heads and limbs were being devoured by the naked weasels. She tried shooing them away but vicious growling and bared fangs deterred that. "Jeremy! STOP them!"
"It's too late," he said slowly. "They started feeding immediately." The Dire Wolf exhaled sharply. "If those heads had any chance of being revived and restored, that's been lost now."
"Yes.. I suppse you're right," Cindy answered as she looked away from the sight. "Ugh. What an atrocity. That Modriana has a lot to answer for. Let's see if she.. Oh." The telepath's voice choked off as she saw the swarm of white bats crawling over the sorcereress' body. Leathery wings flapped lazily as the creatures fed. "Oh. Her, too."
"She's paid for what she did. Better this way, I think." He
"Ironic justice," Cindy said. "How crazy do you think she was?"
Bane shrugged as he began searching the workshop "Crazy or just evil, I can never tell. Here are our field jackets, in this cabinet. And the dart guns. Looks like she just threw everything in here." He handed Cindy her jacket and gear, then tugged his own on. "Seems to me Mordriana saw herself as an artists, not a monster maker."
Drawing his dart gun and aiming carefully, Bane dropped the white bats with one anesthetic dart apiece. They slid off the corpse to lie beside it.
The blonde telepath was pale, turning away from the scene. "This is getting hard to take, hon. Let's go outside. We have to decide what to do with these creatures."
From a pocket of his field jacket, Bane held up three thermite incendiary discs. "I've already decided. I'll siphon the gas from her car to use as an accelerant. With these incendiaries, there'll be nothing left but ashes and maybe a few charred bones. Nobody will know the horrors that went on here."
"Nobody but us," Cindy whispered.
7/25/2014
