No. Its Nina, Lady Syra replied. And it looks like shes trying to tell us something.
Chapter 32
Are you ready to do this? Hexe asked his mother. Lady Syra nodded, her mouth set into a determined line. Here goes, then. Taking up a pen, he flipped over the ransom note and wrote We agree to your terms on its back, and signed it. He then moved aside, allowing his mother to add her signature.
Lady Syra picked up a stick of sealing wax and snapped the fingers of her left hand, summoning a tongue of flame, which danced atop her index finger. Once the sealing wax was melted, she plunged her signet ring into the warm red puddle, leaving the mark of the Royal House of Arum: a pair of intertwined dragons.
Hexe took the parchment and placed it on the parlor grate. The tongue of flame flickering at the tip of Lady Syras finger leapt into the fireplace, and within seconds the note was ablaze. The smoke from the parchment briefly took on the silhouette of a man, and then fled up the chimney with an unnatural speed and purpose.
Well, thats that, Hexe sighed. Whats next?
We didnt have long to wait, as there came a familiar tapping on the parlor window frame, signaling the return of Esaus familiar, Edgar. This time the raven flew in and perched on the mantelpiece. Beanie charged forward, stiff-legged, barking furiously at the feathered intruder, until Edgar cawed loudly and flapped his soot-black wings in consternation, sending Beanie scampering behind Scratch, who spread his own, leathery wings in challenge.
Edgar clattered his beak in what passed for laughter, and then turned his beady, ruby-red eyes to Hexe. The voice that issued from the familiar was that of Madam Erys, but the intonation and inflection were unmistakably Esaus: Midnight at The Lucky Fool. Come alone. No PTU. No familiars.
Understood, Hexe said with a solemn nod of his head.
We will be there, Lady Syra promised.
Having delivered his masters message, the familiar cawed a final time and flew back out the open window, but not before soiling the hearth on the way out.
You know its a trap, Horn said flatly. He plans to kill you bothpossibly even the babyand paint the portals lintel with your blood.
Of course, but Esau isnt aware that we know about his plan, Hexe replied.
Horn glanced at me. And youre good with letting them do this?
Its not just them. Im going, too.
But youve just had a baby! Hexe protested in alarm.
Yes, one that is being held for ransom by a murderer! I reminded him. And if you think Im going to stay behind while you try to rescue him, you really havent been paying attention over the last year. And for your information, Mr. You Just Had A Baby, youve just had your hand cut off! So just try to keep me from being in on this!
Shes got you there, son. His father chuckled.
Butits going to be dangerous!
If I have learned one thing about dealing with strong-willed women, Horn said as he slipped a paternal arm about Hexes shoulders, theres no point in arguing with them once their minds are made up.
Your fathers right, Hexe, Lady Syra nodded. Believe me; hes learned the hard way.
So whats this Lucky Fool? I asked.
Its a gambling house operated by the Maladanticards, Russian roulette, dice, that kind of thing, Captain Horn explained. Its located down on the river. Im not surprised Boss Marz is involved in this business.
Hes more a part of it than you realize, Hexe said dourly. The reason I was wearing the Gauntlet of Nydd in the first place is because Marz kidnapped me the night of the Jubilee and smashed my right hand with one of the Witchfinder instruments stolen from the museum.
Lady Syra gasped so loudly I thought she was about to scream, while all the color drained from Captain Horns face and his eyes narrowed into slits. When the PTU chief finally spoke, his words were as cold and hard as a lead pipe. Ill kill him.
Not if I get to him first, Lady Syra said, the deadly calm of her voice belaying the fury in her golden eyes.
The time has finally come to bring down the Maladanti, once and for all, Horn said. But its going to take more than the PTU to take them out. Were going to need a small army.
We already have one combing the streets, Hexe said, holding up his cell. All you have to do is say the word. Theyve been waiting for an opportunity to strike back at Boss Marz and his croggies.
In that case, I said, we need to stop by the museum. Theres something there that should come in handy.
* * *
The Lucky Fool was within smelling distance of the East River and looked like a run-of-the-mill gin joint. The only evidence of it being a casino was the neon sign above the door, which depicted the familiar image from the Tarot deck, bindle on his shoulder, blithely strolling off the edge of a cliff, eyes forever skyward.
A Maladanti croggy with magenta hair and a badly fitting tuxedo standing at the door stepped forward to greet Hexe, Lady Syra, and me as we approached. Weve been expecting you. Follow me, Your Majesty.
The interior of The Lucky Fool proved a little more upscale than its exterior, but not by much. A pall of cigarette smoke thick enough to part like a curtain covered the central room, which had the ugliest wall-to-wall carpeting Id ever seen. The front of the house was full of loud slot machines and video poker, with craps, blackjack, and Pai Gow toward the back. There were plenty of gamblers, most of them human, wagering at the tables. None of them looked up from their bets as we were escorted to the back of the house.
Thats funnyI dont see a roulette wheel, I commented as I glanced at the games on display.
Oh, we have roulette, the pit boss said with an unpleasant smile as he opened a door that said LUCKIEST FOOLS ONLY.
As loud and crowded as the gaming floor of the casino was, it was nothing compared to the back room. At each of the numerous tables were seated between two to six players, each and every one of them sweating through their clothes. It wasnt until I noticed the snub-nosed revolvers sitting on lazy Susans set into the middle of the felt that I realized what the plastic sheeting draped over the chairs and covering the floors was for. Each table was crowded by throngs of men, and some women, shouting and waving fistfuls of money like stock traders trying to corner the market on hog bellies. My stomach tightened as I remembered the crowds screaming for blood at the pit fights, and wondered how many of those same people were now wagering to see who would be the last to blow their brains out. As the pit boss opened yet another door, there came the sound of a single, muffled gunshot from somewhere behind me, immediately followed by a roar of excited voices. I did not turn around to look.
The second door opened onto the stairs that led down to the boiler room. Standing in front of yet another door was Marzs lieutenant, Gaza, and some nameless croggy.
Ill take em from here, Gaza said with a smirk, eyeing where Hexes right hand should have been. Follow me, Your Highnesses.
The Maladanti opened the door behind him, revealing a low, brick-lined tunnel lit by a chain of witchfire, which cast an eerie blue glow. We walked single file for what seemed like at least two city blocks before reaching the end of the passageway, which led to a wooden stairwell. As we came to the top of the stairs, I recognized our surroundings as the same warehouselike building Hexe and I had been shanghaied to months ago.
* * *
Welcome to the Stronghold, Your Majesties, Boss Marzs deep voice boomed out. The crime lord was standing in the middle of the warehouse, surrounded by several dozen of his minions. Next to Marz was an old-fashioned hanging cradle, and perched atop its peaked hood was the familiar, Bonzo, clutching a baby bottle. The sight of the hell-ape so close to my child filled me with a terror that made an attack by a demon seem like a ride on a roller coaster. You do me great honor, the crime lord said.
There is no honor in this place, Lady Syra retorted. And I thought you said no familiars.
The instructions were that you not bring familiars, Erys replied, stepping out from behind one of the pillars that supported the warehouse roof. I said nothing about myself and my confederates.
You are much changed since last I saw you, Esau.
So you recognize me in this form?
Of course; who else would be walking around in your dead wifes body?
Erys turned to Marz, speaking to him as she would a servant. Make sure Her Majesty isnt wearing an ivory necklace or bracelet.
Marz nodded his understanding, motioning to one of his men to search Lady Syra. As the Maladanti reached out to frisk her, the Witch Queen drew herself up to her full height, peering down her nose at him with a glare sharp enough to cut glass. Cowed, the gangster had to satisfy himself with a visual inspection of her wrists and neck.
Shes clean, Boss.
Just then the baby started to cry, galvanizing every muscle in my body. I stepped forward, eager to answer his call, only to have Gaza block my way.
Let me go to him! I snapped, more command than plea.
Bonzo shrieked and hurled the baby bottle at me, and then began rocking the cradle faster and faster, causing my sons cries to grow more and more agitated.
Get that thing away from my child! I shouted.
Now, now, Boss Marz said, clucking his tongue. Is that any way to talk to your babysitter?
Youll get your brat back, soon enough, Erys replied, but not before the abdication decree is signed. She pointed to the table that had served as a torture rack for Hexe, which now bore an old-fashioned inkstand and blotter, as well as an elaborately calligraphed document written on parchment.
Lady Syra stepped up to the table and took the quill pen from the inkstand and stabbed her forefinger with its sharpened tip, using the blood for her signature, and then helped Hexe by pricking his thumb with the same quill. Hexes left hand signature, while nowhere as neat as his old one, was at least legible.
The moment Hexe finished signing his name, I headed for the cradle. Bonzo refused to surrender his perch, and bared his teeth at me. But I refused to back down.
Get away from my baby, you stupid monkey!
Let her have it, Boss Marz sighed, waving the familiar away with a beringed hand. Maybe now the damned thing will stop crying.
The baby was beet red in the face, his eyes screwed shut, and his toothless mouth open wide as he voiced his fear and displeasure to the world, but seemed otherwise unharmed. As I lifted him from the cradle, his shrieks turned into whimpers. It was all I could do to keep from crying along with him as I cradled him in my arms. The terror I had felt from the moment he was taken from me instantly disappeared, but the dread I felt for our lives was still there. I hurried back to Hexe, who pulled us both into the circle of his arms and held us fast.
Finally! Boss Marz exclaimed in relief. I thought it would never stop caterwauling.
Place the Royal Seal upon it, and it shall be official, Erys said as she dripped black sealing wax onto the bottom of the parchment.
As Lady Syra drove her signet ring into the wax, the ring abruptly dropped from her finger, as if it had suddenly grown too big to stay on. Erys quickly snatched up the piece of jewelry, holding it up like a trophy.
There. It is done, Syra said in a flat voice. Youve got what you wanted. Now let me and my family go.
Im afraid I cant allow that, Syra, Erys replied with a cold-blooded smile. This piece of paper is meaningless, as long as my corporeal form remains trapped in another dimension. But, thanks to you and your family, I wont be there for much longer. She pointed to a huge, shrouded object at the far end of the warehouse. With a snap of her fingers, the canvas covering fell away, revealing a gigantic stone portal, standing twelve feet high with a lintel fifteen feet long, covered in occult petroglyphs.
As you see, I have prepared a means of returning not only my corporeal self to this dimension, but for bringing along a host of new friends in the bargain. Erys then turned and bowed in my direction. As much as it pains me to do so, nump, I must thank you for consigning me to the Infernal Region. If not for you, I would never have found allies bold enough to embrace my vision of returning the Kymeran race to power by overthrowing humanity. They were even kind enough to teach me the finer points of possession!
Manipulating homunculi was one thingbut to pierce the barrier between this world and the Infernal Realm by sheer force of will is another matter entirely. Luckily, I knew where to find the perfect vessel for my disembodied spiritone that would not put up a fight when I moved in. Erys said, gesturing to her body as if it was nothing more than a suit of clothes. Besides, it is only fitting that my beloved Ninas flesh should play a role in the destruction of the human society that robbed her of her future.
So what is the Maladantis reward for helping you bring this mad dream of yours to fruition? Hexe asked dourly.
We will be Golgothams new police force, replacing the PTU, Boss Marz replied with a broad smile. We will be a scourge to all who would defy the Witch King, regardless of how many fingers they possess.
So, it was Esaus plan to smash my right hand with the witch-hammer.
I wish I could claim such ingenuity! Erys laughed. Marz came up with that plan all on his own. But I must say, the idea of destroying the one thing you held in highest regardyour Right Hand magicwas absolute genius.
Thank you, Lord Esau, Boss Marz said humbly. That means a lot, coming from you.
I believe in giving credit where credit is due. In fact, you inspired me to use my Infernal allies to locate the Gauntlet of Nydd. I knew Hexe would do whatever it took to regain his dexterityhis pride in his Right Hand magic was his weakness. Ive studied General Vlads spell books for decades, so it wasnt that difficult to weave one of my own into the existing enchantment and pass it off as the real thing. The chance to dance my fool of a nephew around like a puppet on a string was too good to pass up.
I hoped to use the gauntlet to strip him of all he held dearhis friendships, his reputation, and his family. He thinks hes so much better than the rest of us, blathering on about the Right Hand path and how Kymerans should stop bartering in curses. I wanted to bring him to such despair that he would finally recognize the Right Hand path for the foolishness it isand then break him like a bundle of dry sticks across my knee.
You did all that just to torment my son? Syra scowled. Your own flesh and blood?
Whatever kinship I felt for your half-caste bastard disappeared when he took up with that nump bitch, Erys snarled. Hes nothing more than a race-traitorand now he has completed the disgrace to our bloodline by siring that five-fingered freak! The birth of such an abomination is sign that the time has come for a second Unholy War.
As if to illustrate her point, Erys aimed her left hand at the portal, contorting all six of her fingers at such angles that they looked as if theyd been broken and pulled out of joint. A lightning bolt of purplish-black energy leapt from her hand and struck the lintel stone, causing the inscribed sigils to glow with dark energy. A red mist began to form within the stone doorway as the membrane between this world and the Infernal Region thinned itself.
There were movements in the dim red fog that filled the portals threshold, and vague shapes began to emerge, gradually becoming more distinct. I saw what looked like an army, lined up and girded for war. What little I was able to glimpse of the waiting hordes was so appalling I shuddered in revulsion and horror.
At the front of the Infernal legions stood four foot soldiersif masses of human entrails given form and movement could be called such thingsupon whose slimy shoulders a funeral bier was balanced. Although I could not see its occupant, I knew the body the frightful creatures carried was the corporeal form of Esau.
If there is anything left of the brother I once knew and loved, I beg you to let Hexe and his family go, Lady Syra pleaded. Whatever you have planned for me, I will not fight it, as long as they are granted safe passage.
And have the hybrid bastard pop up twenty years later, looking to lay claim to my throne? Erys sneered. Im sorry, Syrabut your sons blood is of more use to me as paint.
Thats exactly what I thought youd say. Hexe said as he turned and looked at me. Okay, Tategive em the high sign.
I took a deep breath and reached out with my mind, seeking the invisible tether I knew to be there, channeling my will as Canterbury had taught me. Seconds later I was rewarded by a roar so loud it made the walls of the warehouse vibrate.
Heavens and hells! Boss Marz exclaimed in surprise. What in the name of the Outer Dark was that?
As if in answer, a young Maladanti came running into the warehouse, looking like the Infernal huntsmen were already on his heels. Boss! The gates on the pier have been breached! Were under attack!
Is it the PTU? Marz asked.
Its not just them, the croggy said with a shake of his head. Theres leprechauns, centaurs, satyrs, huldrefolk, and a bunch of angry dames on motorcycles! And merfolk are climbing out of the river on the far end of the pier! Theyve got us surrounded! But thats not the worst part. Theyve got a dragon!
Chapter 33
A dragon? Boss Marz scoffed. Dont be ridiculous!
Suddenly there was a second, even more thunderous bellow, which shook the entire warehouse like a maraca. Using the distraction, Syra hurled a bolt of lightning at Marzs head. Although the Maladanti was able to deflect the blow at the last moment, it still sent him flying across the floor.
Hexe! Get Tate and the baby out of here! Syra shouted, putting herself between her son and a livid Boss Marz, who was already back on his feet.
The Maladanti threw a ball of hellfire directly at Syra, which she was able to swat away with her right hand. The fireball flew wild, striking one of Marzs croggies and instantly setting him ablaze. The gang member screamed and slapped at the white-hot flames as they seared through his clothes, reducing his flesh to the consistency of burning marshmallow goo, but all that did was spread them even further.
Hexe and I made a dash for the loading dock; it was at the far end of the warehouse, and although the loading doors were down, it was the only visible means of escape.
Dont let them get away, you idiot! Erys shouted.
Bonzo! Fetch! Boss Marz commanded.
The organ-grinders monkey squealed in delight as it disappeared in a puff of brimstone, only to reappear in its monstrous hell-ape form, blocking our way. Flashing canines the size of steak knives, the familiar yanked me away from Hexe.
Get rid of the nump and her half-breed bastard! Erys told Marz. Ill use the others blood!
You heard the man, Bonzo, Boss Marz commanded. Kill the woman and the brat.
As the hell-ape opened his hideous multicolored snout, exposing his daggerlike teeth, I saw Syra out of the corner of my eye reach into her cleavage and pull out what looked like a white silken cord. As she hurled the white thing to the ground, Boss Marz threw another fistful of lightning in her direction. Caught off guard, Syra was able to deflect only a portion of the attack and was knocked to the ground and badly dazed.
What I had mistaken for a piece of rope instantly transformed into a twenty-five-foot-long albino king cobra as it hit the floor. Trinket reared up, hissing like a steam engine, and flared her hood, causing different heads, all belonging to various lethal snakes, to sprout from her milk-white torso.
Trinket lunged at Bonzo, but the hell-ape grabbed me about the waist and leapt out of the way. As Syras familiar regathered for another strike, a vulturelike creature, larger than a condor, with the toothed bill and reptilian head of a pterodactyl, swooped down from the rafters of the warehouse, clawing at Trinkets ivory scales. I recognized it as Esaus own familiar, Edgar, in his demonic plumage.
Trinkets extra heads hissed and struck at Edgar, momentarily scaring him off, while her cobra head spit venom at Bonzo, striking the familiar square in the eyes. Bonzo shrieked and let go of me, clawing at his face. I took full advantage of my freedom and ran for cover behind a stack of palettes as the hellspawns continued their fight to the death.
As the blinded Bonzo staggered about, screaming like a monkey house, Trinket wrapped her two-story-long body around him faster than a thought. Once her enemy was caught within her limbless embrace, the hydras heads struck as one, delivering a chorus of death bites. Bonzo screeched in agony as the venoms of the black mamba, krait, pit viper, puff adder, rattlesnake, and sea snake were pumped simultaneously into his body.
Boss Marz was standing over the prone figure of Lady Syra, his left hand aglow, ready to deliver the coup de grace, when he heard his familiars death-scream. The crime lords face turned pale as he saw Trinket slither away from the hell-ape twitching on the warehouse floor.
Leave him alone, you monster! Marz screamed. He turned his back on Syra and ran to his dying familiar. Dropping to his knees, he grabbed Bonzos blood-smeared hand and pressed it gently to his cheek. You cant die here, he told the hell-beast. If you die in the mortal world, you die forever. Please, go home, Bonzo.
But it was too late. Perhaps Trinkets hydra venom had paralyzed the familiar, or maybe he needed eyes in order to travel between dimensions, but the hell-ape did not disincorporate the way it had when Scratch came close to killing him in battle. With a final, childlike whimper, Bonzo shuddered and went still.
Suddenly there was a huge thud, as if a battering ram had been slammed into the side of the building, and one of the loading dock bay doors abruptly gave way. The clockwork dragon, still dressed in the golden skin of the last battle-dragon, pushed its way past the twisted metal. As Boss Marz and his assembled Maladanti stared in disbelief at the creature before them, the clockwork dragons hinged jaws fell open and issued a thunderous call to war.
PTU officers in riot gear, leprechauns armed with shillelaghs, Amazon archers, Valkyrie spear-maidens, centaurs in war-armor wielding maces and swords, merfolk equipped with tridents and nets, and unarmed satyrs, fauns, and huldrefolk came pouring through the breech. At the head of the charge was Captain Horn, dressed in his formal uniform, his hands empty save for their magic. For the Witch Queen! he shouted. For Golgotham!
Boss Marz quickly got to his feet, his dead familiar forgotten, to marshal his own troops. For the honor of the Maladanti!
And the battle was on.
The gang members surged forward to meet the invaders, hellfire and lightning leaping from their left hands. Some of their volleys found their marks, while others were dodged or batted away by PTU with strong right hands, sending the deadly missiles careening through the warehouse like errant pinballs. Within seconds the interior of the warehouse had become utter chaos.
A group of leprechauns, lead by Seamus OFae, swarmed a Maladanti like soldier ants, beating him mercilessly with their shillelaghs. As they took their much larger opponent to the ground, Little Big Man gave a war whoop and bashed in the gangsters skull. An Amazon archer put an arrow in the chest of a Maladanti spellslinger, only to be engulfed in hellfire. A Maladanti screamed in terror as he fell under the rending hands of a half-dozen maenads. Old Lord Chiron, accompanied by Kidron, Canterbury, and Lady Syras chauffeur, Illuminata, charged through the madness, smashing their adversaries with flying maces and flailing hooves.
I saw Kidron gallop forward, snatching up Hexe and swinging him onto his back. Together the childhood friends stood their ground, the centaur swinging a battle-axe while Hexe bashed their attackers with a morning star.
Elmer, Lady Syras former footman, charged one of the Maladanti, catching the gangster on his horns and sending him flying into the air with a single toss of his thickly muscled neck. The minotaurs bellow of triumph quickly became a scream of agony as he was fried by a shock of lightning and dropped to the floor like a side of beef. In turn, the Maladanti responsible for slaying the man-bull did not have long to gloat before finding a Valkyries war-spear in his gut.
Giles Gruff, still wearing his monocle, used his shepherds crook to pole vault himself into an enemy, smashing his cloven hooves into the gang members startled face, while his fellow satyrs and fauns surrounded a couple of spellslingers, keeping them off balance and unable to defend themselves by butting them from every possible direction.
I heard the roaring of big cats and saw a pair of tigers and a mountain lion maul a Maladanti spellslinger. Once they were finished with him, Lukas, Meikei, and Dr. Mao set about looking for fresh prey. A half-naked huldra leapt upon one of the gang members, bearing him to the ground as she throttled him with her tail, only, in turn, to be set ablaze by yet another of Boss Marzs croggies. And in the middle of it all was the clockwork dragon, its golden hide immune to hellfire the same way a duck sheds water, lashing out at its attackers with its whiplike tail. I could feel the leash of energy between us, allowing me not to so much consciously control its actions, but guide them. The animating spark that I had placed within my creation made it both a part of me, and yet a thing of its own, not unlike, in its own way, the child I now cradled in my arms.
From my hiding place, away from the bloodshed of the battlefront, I could see that Erys had finished charging the portal that would serve as the doorway between worlds, the sigils and signs that covered the massive stones now glowing like they were radioactive. The red fog had all but disappeared, providing an all-too-clear view of what lay in wait beyond the threshold, not just for Golgotham, but the entire world as well.
Bring me my sister! Erys commanded. With her blood, I can at least open the portal wide enough to allow the first wave through! Once my allies have a toehold in this world, there is nothing these fools can do that can stop them.
Marz turned to grab Lady Syra, who was lying on the floor, still dazed from his attack, only to find Trinket in his path. The familiars multitude of heads hissed angrily at the Maladanti as she tried to defend her fallen mistress. But as the hydra advanced on the gangster, there was screeching noise and the hell-bird Edgar descended upon her yet again.
With a snap of his toothy beak, Esaus familiar succeeded in biting off one of Trinkets extra heads. Boss Marz summoned forth flame, scorching the flailing neck stump before it had a chance to regrow and multiply. The hell-bird snipped off another head, then another, and each time Marz cauterized the neck before it could regrow, until Trinket was left with just the one. The badly wounded familiar spat a streamer of venom at the Maladanti in a last ditch effort to protect itself, only to have it fall short of its mark. With an angry hiss, Trinket disincorporated in a puff of sulfurous smokefleeing back to whatever hell had spawned her to avoid meeting Bonzos fate on the mortal plane.
On your feet, woman, Marz growled as he dragged a semiconscious Syra to where Erys stood before the portal, ritual knife in hand. The Witch King commands your presence. As he let go of her arm, Syra crumpled to the floor like a Japanese lantern at the feet of her brothers stolen body.