A Night in the Lonesome October Part 19

I awoke inside a dirty cage, a sickening smell in my nose, my throat, my lungs. I realized that I had been given chloroform. My head hurt, my back hurt. I drew and expelled several deep breaths to clear my breathing apparatus. I could hear whimpers, growls, a pathetic mewing, and faint, sharp barks of pain from many directions. When my sense of smell began to work again, all manner of doggy and catty airs came to me. I raised my head and looked about and wished I hadn't.

Mutilated animals occupied cages both near and far -- dogs and cats without tails or the proper number of legs, a blind puppy whose ears had been cut off, a cat missing large patches of her skin, raw flesh showing at which she licked, mewing constantly the while. What mad place was this? I checked myself over quickly, to make certain I was intact.

At the room's center was an operating table, a large tray of instruments beside it. On hooks next to the door across the way hung a number of once-white laboratory coats with suspicious-looking stains upon them.

As my head cleared my memory returned to me, and I realized what had happened. The vicar had delivered me into the hands of a vivisectionist. At least Graymalk had escaped. That was something.

I inspected the door to my cage. It was a simple enough latch that held it shut, but the mesh was too fine for me to reach through and manipulate it. And the mesh was too tough to be readily breached by tooth or claw. What would Growler counsel? Things were a lot simpler in the primeval wood.

The most obvious plan was to fake la.s.situde when they came for me, then to spring to attack as soon as the cage door was opened. I'd a feeling, though, that I wasn't the first ever to think of such a ploy, and where were the others now? Still, I couldn't just lie there and contribute to medical understanding. So unless something better came along I resolved to give this plan a try when they came for me.

When they did, of course, they were ready. They'd a lot of expertise with fangs and knew just how to go about it. There were three of them, and two had on elbow-length padded gloves. When I pulled the awake, lunge, and bite maneuver I got a padded forearm forced back between my jaws, and my legs were seized and held while someone twisted an ear painfully. They were very efficient, and they had me strapped to the table in less than a minute. I wondered just how long I had been unconscious.

I listened to their conversation as they began their preparations: "Strange, 'im payin' us so well to do a job on this 'un," said the one who had twisted my ear.

"Well, it is a strange job, and it does involve some extra work," said the one who was arranging the instruments into neat little rows. "Bring over some clean parts buckets. He was very specific that when we render him down, a piece at a time, for candles, there be no foreign blood or other materials mixed in."

"'Ows 'e to know?"

"For what he's paying he can have it his way."

"I'll 'ave to scrub 'em out."

"Do it."

A brief reprieve, to the sound of running water, followed, drowning out some of the whimpers and cries which were beginning to get to me.

"And where's the cask for his head?"

"I left it in t'other room."

"Get it. I want everything to hand. Nice doggy." He patted my head as we waited. The muzzle they'd gotten onto me prevented my expressing my opinion.

"He was a strange one," said the third man -- a thin, blond fellow with very bad teeth -- who had been silent till then. "What's special about doggy candles?"

"Don't know and don't care," said the one who had patted me -- a large, beefy man with very blue eyes -- and he returned his attention to his instruments. "We give a customer what he pays for."

The other returned then -- a short man with wide shoulders, large hands, and a tic at the corner of his mouth. He bore what looked like an odd-sized lunch pail. "I have it now," he said.

"Good. Then gather round for a lesson."

Then I heard it -- Dzzp! Dzzp! -- a high-pitched whine descending to a low throb in about three seconds each cycle. It is above the range of the human ear, and it accompanies the main curse, circling at a range of about a hundred fifty yards initially. -- a high-pitched whine descending to a low throb in about three seconds each cycle. It is above the range of the human ear, and it accompanies the main curse, circling at a range of about a hundred fifty yards initially.Dzzp!

"First, I will remove the left rear leg," began the beefy man as he reached for a scalpel.

The others drew near, reaching after other instruments and holding them ready for him.

Dzzp! The circle might well be smaller by now, of course. The circle might well be smaller by now, of course.

There came a loud pounding upon an outer door.

"The devil!" said the beefy man.

"Shall I see who 'tis?" asked the smaller man.

"No. We're operating. He can come back if it's important."

Dzzp!

It came again, more heavily; this time it was obviously the sound of someone kicking upon the door.

"Inconsiderate lout!"

"Ruffian!"

"Churl!"

Dzzp!

The third time that the knocking occurred it seemed as if each blow were performed by a strong man striking his shoulder against the door, attempting to break it down.

"What cheek!"

"Per'aps I should 'ave words with 'im."

"Yes, do."

The shorter man took a single step toward the entrance when a splintering sound reached us from the next room, followed by a loud crash.

Dzzp!

Heavy footsteps crossed the outer room. Then the door immediately across from me was flung open. Jack stood upon the threshold, staring at the cages, the vivisectionists, myself upon the table. Graymalk peered in from behind him.

"Just who do you think you are, bursting into a private laboratory?" said the beefy man.

". . . Interrupting a piece of scientific research?" said the tall man.

". . . And damaging our door?" said the short man with the wide shoulders and large hands.

I could see it now, like a black tornado, surrounding Jack, settling inward. If it entered him completely he would no longer be in control of his actions.

"I've come for my dog," he said. "That's him on your table."

He moved forward.

"No, you don't, laddie," said the beefy man. "This is a special job for a special client."

"I'll be taking him and leaving now."

The beefy man raised his scalpel and moved around the table.

"This can do amazing things to a man's face, pretty boy," he said.

The others picked up scalpels, also.

"I'd guess you've never met a man as really knows how to cut," the beefy one said, advancing now.

Dzzp!

It was into him, and that funny light came into his eyes, and his hand came out of his pocket and captured starlight traced the runes on the side of his blade.

"Well-met," Jack said then, through the teeth of his grin, and he continued to walk straight ahead.

When we left I realized that the old cat had been right about the seas and messes, too. I wondered what sort of light they would give.

October 24.

When the wards were removed yesterday evening they showed that Nightwind had been by at dusk, trying to peer in. Also, Cheeter. And a huge, lean wolfish-looking creature. And the Things were all still held by their restraints, though struggling enthusiastically. I was feeling a little worse for my usage, but I forced a spring into my step and went and strolled past the church. Tekela was perched atop it and she stirred and studied me as I went by, but we exchanged no words. As soon as I was past, though, I glanced back and saw that she was gone. Good. I went home and slept.

This morning, I learned from Larry that Mrs. Enderby had run off to town as soon as word of Rastov's death became current. Later in the day, the Great Detective had shown up to view the remains and the premises. I brought Larry up to date on everything that had happened after I'd left him, and he a.s.sured me that he had not been by the house last night. He told me that he intended to rescue Lynette, but that she was safe enough for now. If he freed her too early there would be pursuit both physical and nonphysical, now the power was rising strongly; and more importantly, there would be time for the vicar to make other plans, jeopardizing some unknown innocent. The timing, he said, would be very important. Weakening the vicar this way, he decided, could well be his main part in things. I told him that I'd help any way I could. I rested a lot afterwards and visited with Graymalk.

It began to rain late that night, a steady drizzle. Jack was in his laboratory, distilling essences or something like that. I had spoken with him last night, of course, between midnight and one, keeping him current on all particulars of my adventures.

"Isn't your a.s.sociation with Jill a little -- awkward -- this far along in the Game?" I'd said, near to one o'clock.

"Strictly professional," he had replied. "Besides, she's a good cook. And what about you and the cat?"

"We get along well," I'd said. "Any chance of your getting Jill to change her mind about opening?"

"I don't think so," he'd answered.

"She's not making you think about switching, I hope?"

"Of course not!"

"Well, if I may speak freely -- "

The clock struck one and I couldn't.

I watched the darkened windows flood for a while, made my rounds, and slept some more.

When all h.e.l.l breaks loose in our vicinity, it does it with style. I was awakened by an enormous thunderclap, sounding as if it had occurred just overhead; and the brightness of the lightning stroke had been visible through my closed eyelids. Suddenly, I was on my feet in the front hall, not certain how I had gotten there. Along with the echoes of the crash, however, my mind held memory of the sounds of breaking gla.s.s.

The mirror had shattered. The Things were slithering out.

I began barking immediately.

I heard an exclamation from the room where Jack worked, followed by the sound of some instrument or book being dropped. Then the door opened and he was hurrying toward me. When he saw the slitherers he called to me, "Snuff, find a container!" and he returned to the laboratory, where I heard a cabinet opened.

I looked about. I raced into the parlor, slitherers spreading like a slow tidal wave at my back. Upstairs, the Thing in the Steamer Trunk began beating upon its confines with frantic exertion. I heard wood splinter as it struck. And there were rattles from the attic. Another flash created a moment of yellow day beyond the windows, and the thunderclap that came with it shook the house.

There was nothing in the parlor in the way of a mirror, but on a side table near the door stood a partly full (partly empty?) bottle of port wine, of the ruby variety. Recalling that this species casts a spell within the bottle, I reared and pushed it off of the table with my paw, so that it fell upon a rug rather than the floor's wood. It did not shatter, and its cork remained in place. There came another flash and another crash. The Things Upstairs continued their noisy activity, with indication that at least the inhabitant of the steamer trunk had gotten free. A glance hallward showed me the steady, continuous exodus of the Things from the Mirror. I heard Jack's footfalls. An uncanny glow began to fill the room and the hall and it did not seem entirely attributable to the internal incandescence of the slitherers.

Rolling the bottle hallward, I saw Jack standing at the hall's far end, a wand in his hand. It was the no-nonsense wand he had used to transfer the slitherers from mirror to mirror earlier, and not the powerful Game artifact -- the Closing Wand -- which was also in his possession. While he is master of the Knife (or vice-versa), the Knife is not, technically, a Game tool, though it may be used as a part of the Game. The Knife is the embodiment of his curse as well as a special source of power. He saw me and he saw the bottle at the same time that I saw him.

Jack raised the wand and used it to part the flowing ma.s.s which separated us. Then he came forward and it slithered closed behind him as he advanced. Coming up beside me, he picked up the bottle then, held it in his left hand and uncorked it with his teeth. There came another thunder roll and the eerie lighting a.s.sumed a definite greenish cast, giving Jack a corpselike appearance.

There was a scrambling sound overhead, and the yellow-eyed Thing from the Steamer Trunk bounded down the stair, cracking the banister as it came.

"Deal with it, Snuff!" Jack cried. "I can't!" and he turned his attention and his wand upon the Things from the Mirror, compelling the nearest to enter the bottle.

I gathered myself and sprang across the flow of slitherers, moving to the foot of the stair, my lips curled back and hair bristling as the Thing came down. Too bad its neck was so short. I knew I was going to have to tear out its throat. The green light hung about it and the rain sounded like thrown gravel against the roof and windows. The Thing spread its arms -- ending in very nasty talons -- very wide, and I knew that I had to move immediately, in and out, and accomplish it in a matter of seconds if I were to emerge relatively unscathed -- which I would need to be, to help deal with the sequel, which, even now, I could hear scrambling down the attic stair. The lightning flashed again. I roared to the accompaniment of thunder as I launched myself at an awkward angle.

I struck the wall on my way down, for the Thing's arm struck me after my jaws had closed like a trap and I'd applied torque with my entire body, crunching and tearing away at its gullet before I let go to drop back. It was the arm and not the talons that connected with me, though. I dropped, momentarily senseless, to the floor, a terrible taste in my mouth, as the Thing from the Attic came into sight at the head of the stair and commenced its descent.

Seeing the Thing from the Steamer Trunk reeling and clutching at its throat, dripping steaming juices, the Thing from the Attic slowed for a moment, regarding the carnage. Then it rushed downward.

I pulled myself to my feet, preparing to face it as it thrust the reeling one aside and came on. Instead, though, the dying one seemed to take its descent as another attack, swung toward it, and raked it with its talons. The Thing from the Attic seized it, snarling, and bit at its twisted face. At my back, I could hear Jack moving about, bottling slitherers. A moment later, the banister gave way, and the pair on the stair were in the air.

Lightning flashed again, and again, and again, thunder coming and staying, becoming its steady accompaniment; and yet more flashes walked through the sky, entered at the windows, fluoresced the ubiquitous green to an eye-piercing intensity. The sounds of the rain were submerged. The house began to shudder and creak. Copies of The Strand Magazine fluttered Strand Magazine fluttered floorward from the mantel. Pictures fell from the walls, sets of d.i.c.kens and Surtees from their shelves; vases, candelabra, gla.s.ses, and trays slid from tables; plaster descended like snow from the ceiling. Prince Albert stared at the blizzard through cracked gla.s.s. Martin Farquhar Tupper lay atop Elizabeth Barrett Browning, their covers torn. floorward from the mantel. Pictures fell from the walls, sets of d.i.c.kens and Surtees from their shelves; vases, candelabra, gla.s.ses, and trays slid from tables; plaster descended like snow from the ceiling. Prince Albert stared at the blizzard through cracked gla.s.s. Martin Farquhar Tupper lay atop Elizabeth Barrett Browning, their covers torn.

When the Thing from the Attic rose -- shaking its head, rolling its eyes, casting wild glances about -- the other lay still upon the floor, steam still rising from its scaly throat, head twisted to its left.

I seemed to hear Growler, prompting me to try for the throat again, and I slashed forward, attempting to repeat my earlier move.

I missed my target as it drew back, attempting, belatedly, to grapple me to it. My impact staggered it, however, and I slashed its left shoulder as I fell.

Immediately, as I secured my footing, I seized its right leg above the ankle and ground down for a bone-cruncher of a bite. It recovered quickly and kicked me with the other foot. I hung on for another second's damage before releasing it and scrambling away, able to ride with the second kick. One, I figured I could take in trade for something that would slow its movements. But I lack the bulldog sensibility as well as the physique.

The lightning and thunder had continued steadily the entire while -- the thunder now having achieved the state of a continuous roaring, as of a tornado singing its deep-throated song about the house -- and the intensity of the light had us moving through a tableau of green and black, where tiny sparks now danced upon the surfaces of everything metallic, and all of my hair was on end for reasons other than the stimulus of combat. It was obvious now that this was no normal storm but a manifestation of magical attack.

I tried for the Thing's other ankle and missed. Turning, I slashed at the arm which swung at me. I missed that, too, but it missed me, also.

I darted away, growling, roared and feinted to its right. It put weight on the injured ankle to reach after me and went off balance, struggled to recover. I was behind it immediately, pa.s.sing on that side, and worrying the ankle again, from the rear.

It bellowed then as it tried to reach me, but I hung on until, finally, it cast itself over backwards in an attempt to fall upon and crush me. I relaxed my hold and tried to move away as it did so, but a flailing arm struck me on the head, knocking me to the floor, doubling my vision.

Therefore, it was two Jacks that I saw, wielding two blades, piercing two monsters' throats.

Even as I crawled out from beneath the Attic Thing's outflung arm, the bas.e.m.e.nt door crashed open, and in several quick bounds the Thing from the Circle was upon me.

"Now, hound, I eat you!" it said.

I shook my head, trying to clear it.