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"Let Sleeping Dragons Lie"
May. 15th, 2022 05:48 pm"Let Sleeping Dragons Lie"
8/28/1987
I.
When Kwali and Gornak leaped at each other and began pounding away, the clash should have come as no surprise.
Their explosion of tempers had been building up for weeks. As Gornak's mating season neared, he grew increasingly tense and jumpy. Since there were no female Kulan in the real world and he dared not return to Fanedral to court one, he found no outlet for his reproductive urges. Gornak was unusual among Kulan in that he was able to restrain his impulses at all; back in Fanedral, most of his demon brethren were constantly being punished for their ferocious outbursts.
As for Kwali, his admittedly humorless personality had little patience for anyone taking liberties. His own marriage to his cousin Kisura had been arranged by the elders, more a part of his duties as the holder of the Cat's-Claw than a romantic relationship. Lately he had been under pressure from her and from the elders to produce offspring. His reluctance was criticized sharply, which put him in a foul mood most of the time.
More and more frequently, the two Tel Shai knights quarreled with each other. As their captain, Jeremy Bane kept an eye on them but as neither Gornak nor Kwali were short with their other teammates, he decided not to intervene yet. Then, late on a hot August afternoon, the explosion came.
"Jeremy, you'd better get up to the hangar," Cindy blurted as she rushed into the office on the first floor. As soon as she spoke, the Dire Wolf was up out from behind his desk and following her. There was no one alive he trusted more than the little blonde telepath. It was her perceptions and insights in the members' minds that made a team of such strongly independent individuals as workable as the KDF had been.
As they hopped into the high-speed elevator which shot them up to the tenth floor, Cindy turned a worried face on her longtime lover and partner. "It's the two you-know-whos at it again," she said. "Talk about cats and dogs!"
There was more truth than poetry in that expression, the Dire Wolf thought. Kwali had become strongly feline in both mind and body after wearing the potent Claw of the Black Lion day and night for years. Strikingly in a sub-Saharan African face, his irises had turned bright green. As for Gornak, the dog-headed Kulan demons did live and hunt in packs as both dogs and before them wolves did. Cindy's theory was that Gornak had subconsciously accepted Bane as his new Alpha Male pack leader, which did seem to ring true.
As the elevator reached the top floor, Bane wondered if maybe he should have taken the friction between the Kulan and the Cat's-Claw more seriously, maybe not assigned them to work as a pair so often.
The door opened onto the hangar which took up the entire top story of the headquarters building. Standing at the opposite end, its landing gear clamped down, the black stealthcopter CORBY waited under cool fluorescent lights. Banks of electronic equipment and benches loaded with tools lined the walls.
When he stepped into that hangar, Jeremy Bane was stunned to see Kwali crash upside down against a wall, scattering tools and machine parts. The big Danarakan was too agile and too resilient to be harmed even by such an impact, though. He rolled, dropped lightly to his feet and plunged directly at his opponent.
Only a handful of Humans from any realm would have dared confront an enraged Kulan as Kwali was doing. Gornak was a nightmarish figure seven feet in height, covered with a leathery red hide. His batlike wings were folded against his back, but the barbed tail whipped back and forth and the talons on his hands were fully extended. The Kulan had the head of a great hound, with upright ears and a long muzzle armed with fangs.
Gornak roared in his fury, but amazingly Kwali was not intimidated. The Danarakan warrior lunged in close and smacked a vicious backhand that slapped the demon's head to one side. Tall and muscular as he was, the African champion had no weapons and seemed to be defenseless against the formidable beast. Wearing only a plain T-shirt, dark slacks and slippers, Kwali nevertheless ducked under a swipe of one clawed hand and struck a second looping roundhouse blow to the demon's head.
"Knights of Tel Shai!" yelled the Dire Wolf from the doorway. "Both of you, freeze where you are!"
That was a tone of voice that they had never heard before from him. Gornak and Kwali indeed stopped dead and even held their poses for a second before turning to face their captain. Even as their rage toward each other faded, both were uneasy at realizing the Dire Wolf was actually angry at them. They felt as if they were unexpectedly in real danger.
When Bane stepped toward the two combatants, Cindy was more than content to fall back behind him.
"Two knights of the Order... fighting? Are you imposters? Are you under some mind control or the effects of a drug trance? Turn to face me. Brothers, your memberships in both the Kenneth Dred Foundation and the Order of Tel Shai are in jeopardy. Cindy, I want you to listen in with your full powers. Gornak, you explain first. I saw you throw your teammate against the wall with force that would be fatal to a normal Human."
The Kulan demon straightened from his feral crouch with effort. "He said that I should be neutered. Like a pet! Captain, in Fanedral I would have eaten the tongue that spoke such words."
"You are not in Fanedral now," Bane replied. "You have been given refuge with us and you agreed to live by our ways. And you, Kwali, what do you have to say?"
The big African warrior lowered his fists and unclenched them as if it was the most dificult act he had ever done. His deep baritone with the Danarak accent responded quietly, "I have endured all the affronts my honor can bear, Jeremy. Do you know what this beast asked? He wanted to know if any of the women of my tribe would be willing to mate with him! And he offered to pay in gold. Wakimbe be my judge, I have reached my limits."
Bane turned the infamous pale grey eyes on Gornak, and they had never seemed colder. "I think you MUST have known better than that. What were you thinking?!"
"Humans cannot understand," growled the demon. His wings snapped open and beat slowly behind him, great ribbed membranes like the wings of a bat. "My blood boils through my veins. My heart pounds like a bass drum in my chest. Kwali mocks me because he has a mate and I do not."
"I have not mocked you," the Cat's-Claw muttered.
"So often has he bragged how strong the women of his tribe are, what tireless runners and fierce fighters they are. Is it beyond reason that one could be undaunted by a night with me?"
"Wakimbe's Soul!" yelled Kwali. "I will not suffer such blasphemy a moment longer." He stabbed an accusing finger at Bane. "Much as I value your respect and much as I revere the Teachers of Tel Shai, I cannot sleep under the same roof as.. as a Kulan of Fanedral!"
Before Bane could respond, everyone gave a start as cold yellow flame rushed up over Gornak and the demon seemed to become Human. A tall blond man with a sardonic face stood there in a black business suit with a white shirt and knitted silk tie... or seemed to. This was an illusion granted to Gornak when he had first fled to the world.
The guise was intended to allow the Kulan to move around in public without causing panicked stampedes from people. He did not physically change, the Human form existed only in the minds of those who saw him. 'Christopher Pagan,' with his forged IDs and fictitous backstory, was a convenience that Gornak only used when he had to.
"I will inflict myself on you no longer," said Pagan in a voice not quite that of Gornak. "I was wrong to think I could be accepted by you Humans. I quit! I resign! Burn what few belongings I have gathered, for I shall never return for them."
"Hold it," Bane said. "Wait a second. You can't make a hasty decision like that...."
"I can do whatever I think best," snapped Pagan as he spun on his heel and headed for the door. "The three of you might be able to kill me. But you cannot make me stay any other way." He broke into a lope and slammed the door behind him.
Left behind in the hangar, Cindy and Kwali turned to their captain in shock. It was the first time they had seen Jeremy Bane uncertain how to react.
( the rest of the story )
8/28/1987
I.
When Kwali and Gornak leaped at each other and began pounding away, the clash should have come as no surprise.
Their explosion of tempers had been building up for weeks. As Gornak's mating season neared, he grew increasingly tense and jumpy. Since there were no female Kulan in the real world and he dared not return to Fanedral to court one, he found no outlet for his reproductive urges. Gornak was unusual among Kulan in that he was able to restrain his impulses at all; back in Fanedral, most of his demon brethren were constantly being punished for their ferocious outbursts.
As for Kwali, his admittedly humorless personality had little patience for anyone taking liberties. His own marriage to his cousin Kisura had been arranged by the elders, more a part of his duties as the holder of the Cat's-Claw than a romantic relationship. Lately he had been under pressure from her and from the elders to produce offspring. His reluctance was criticized sharply, which put him in a foul mood most of the time.
More and more frequently, the two Tel Shai knights quarreled with each other. As their captain, Jeremy Bane kept an eye on them but as neither Gornak nor Kwali were short with their other teammates, he decided not to intervene yet. Then, late on a hot August afternoon, the explosion came.
"Jeremy, you'd better get up to the hangar," Cindy blurted as she rushed into the office on the first floor. As soon as she spoke, the Dire Wolf was up out from behind his desk and following her. There was no one alive he trusted more than the little blonde telepath. It was her perceptions and insights in the members' minds that made a team of such strongly independent individuals as workable as the KDF had been.
As they hopped into the high-speed elevator which shot them up to the tenth floor, Cindy turned a worried face on her longtime lover and partner. "It's the two you-know-whos at it again," she said. "Talk about cats and dogs!"
There was more truth than poetry in that expression, the Dire Wolf thought. Kwali had become strongly feline in both mind and body after wearing the potent Claw of the Black Lion day and night for years. Strikingly in a sub-Saharan African face, his irises had turned bright green. As for Gornak, the dog-headed Kulan demons did live and hunt in packs as both dogs and before them wolves did. Cindy's theory was that Gornak had subconsciously accepted Bane as his new Alpha Male pack leader, which did seem to ring true.
As the elevator reached the top floor, Bane wondered if maybe he should have taken the friction between the Kulan and the Cat's-Claw more seriously, maybe not assigned them to work as a pair so often.
The door opened onto the hangar which took up the entire top story of the headquarters building. Standing at the opposite end, its landing gear clamped down, the black stealthcopter CORBY waited under cool fluorescent lights. Banks of electronic equipment and benches loaded with tools lined the walls.
When he stepped into that hangar, Jeremy Bane was stunned to see Kwali crash upside down against a wall, scattering tools and machine parts. The big Danarakan was too agile and too resilient to be harmed even by such an impact, though. He rolled, dropped lightly to his feet and plunged directly at his opponent.
Only a handful of Humans from any realm would have dared confront an enraged Kulan as Kwali was doing. Gornak was a nightmarish figure seven feet in height, covered with a leathery red hide. His batlike wings were folded against his back, but the barbed tail whipped back and forth and the talons on his hands were fully extended. The Kulan had the head of a great hound, with upright ears and a long muzzle armed with fangs.
Gornak roared in his fury, but amazingly Kwali was not intimidated. The Danarakan warrior lunged in close and smacked a vicious backhand that slapped the demon's head to one side. Tall and muscular as he was, the African champion had no weapons and seemed to be defenseless against the formidable beast. Wearing only a plain T-shirt, dark slacks and slippers, Kwali nevertheless ducked under a swipe of one clawed hand and struck a second looping roundhouse blow to the demon's head.
"Knights of Tel Shai!" yelled the Dire Wolf from the doorway. "Both of you, freeze where you are!"
That was a tone of voice that they had never heard before from him. Gornak and Kwali indeed stopped dead and even held their poses for a second before turning to face their captain. Even as their rage toward each other faded, both were uneasy at realizing the Dire Wolf was actually angry at them. They felt as if they were unexpectedly in real danger.
When Bane stepped toward the two combatants, Cindy was more than content to fall back behind him.
"Two knights of the Order... fighting? Are you imposters? Are you under some mind control or the effects of a drug trance? Turn to face me. Brothers, your memberships in both the Kenneth Dred Foundation and the Order of Tel Shai are in jeopardy. Cindy, I want you to listen in with your full powers. Gornak, you explain first. I saw you throw your teammate against the wall with force that would be fatal to a normal Human."
The Kulan demon straightened from his feral crouch with effort. "He said that I should be neutered. Like a pet! Captain, in Fanedral I would have eaten the tongue that spoke such words."
"You are not in Fanedral now," Bane replied. "You have been given refuge with us and you agreed to live by our ways. And you, Kwali, what do you have to say?"
The big African warrior lowered his fists and unclenched them as if it was the most dificult act he had ever done. His deep baritone with the Danarak accent responded quietly, "I have endured all the affronts my honor can bear, Jeremy. Do you know what this beast asked? He wanted to know if any of the women of my tribe would be willing to mate with him! And he offered to pay in gold. Wakimbe be my judge, I have reached my limits."
Bane turned the infamous pale grey eyes on Gornak, and they had never seemed colder. "I think you MUST have known better than that. What were you thinking?!"
"Humans cannot understand," growled the demon. His wings snapped open and beat slowly behind him, great ribbed membranes like the wings of a bat. "My blood boils through my veins. My heart pounds like a bass drum in my chest. Kwali mocks me because he has a mate and I do not."
"I have not mocked you," the Cat's-Claw muttered.
"So often has he bragged how strong the women of his tribe are, what tireless runners and fierce fighters they are. Is it beyond reason that one could be undaunted by a night with me?"
"Wakimbe's Soul!" yelled Kwali. "I will not suffer such blasphemy a moment longer." He stabbed an accusing finger at Bane. "Much as I value your respect and much as I revere the Teachers of Tel Shai, I cannot sleep under the same roof as.. as a Kulan of Fanedral!"
Before Bane could respond, everyone gave a start as cold yellow flame rushed up over Gornak and the demon seemed to become Human. A tall blond man with a sardonic face stood there in a black business suit with a white shirt and knitted silk tie... or seemed to. This was an illusion granted to Gornak when he had first fled to the world.
The guise was intended to allow the Kulan to move around in public without causing panicked stampedes from people. He did not physically change, the Human form existed only in the minds of those who saw him. 'Christopher Pagan,' with his forged IDs and fictitous backstory, was a convenience that Gornak only used when he had to.
"I will inflict myself on you no longer," said Pagan in a voice not quite that of Gornak. "I was wrong to think I could be accepted by you Humans. I quit! I resign! Burn what few belongings I have gathered, for I shall never return for them."
"Hold it," Bane said. "Wait a second. You can't make a hasty decision like that...."
"I can do whatever I think best," snapped Pagan as he spun on his heel and headed for the door. "The three of you might be able to kill me. But you cannot make me stay any other way." He broke into a lope and slammed the door behind him.
Left behind in the hangar, Cindy and Kwali turned to their captain in shock. It was the first time they had seen Jeremy Bane uncertain how to react.
( the rest of the story )
