by Simon Hawke
Simko smiled. “I’ll bet you’re a pretty good teacher.”
“I happen to be an excellent teacher.”
“But you’re coming with me anyway.”
Makepeace shrugged. “Well, when the fate of the civilized world is at stake, lecturing and grading papers doesn’t seem quite as important, somehow.”
Simko chuckled. “What about your classes?”
“Finals are coming up in a couple of weeks,” said Makepeace. “My friend Gonzago can cover for me.”
“That Merlin wannabe I mot down in the bar?” asked Simko.
“Don’t sell him short,” said Makepeace. “He’s a brilliant intellect, a gifted writer, and a very talented adept.”
“He looked like a rummy to me,” said Simko.
“Alas, he is that, also.”
“You certainly know some strange people,” Simko said.
“Present company included. But Gonzo is a good man, Victor. Not an evil son of a bitch like you.”
Simko raised his glass. “Touché.”
Makepeace glanced over his shoulder. “Well, I appear to be all packed. If you hurry up and finish your drink, we’ve still got time for a quick lunch before we make our flight.”
“Except you haven’t made flight reservations,” Simko said.
“I made them this morning,” Makepeace said.
Simko frowned. “You knew?”
“Billy called me after the morning briefing, when he found out you were being sent to Tucson. He asked me to go along, to make sure you don’t mess up.”
“Cute,” said Simko with a grimace. “I’m glad they have such a high opinion of my capabilities.”
“They don’t really know much about your capabilities,” said Makepeace. “But they do know what the Dark Ones are capable of. As do I.”
“Yeah, I guess you would. “ Simko drained his glass. “Well, let’s see if a couple of old men still have what it takes to save the world.”
“After lunch,” said Makepeace.
“By all means,” said Simko. “After lunch.”
Chapter 5
Talon was fascinated by the big, muscular black human. He was different. Not because he was black, but because unlike any other human he had ever encountered, regardless of race, nationality, or gender, he had a will of iron. It was disconcerting. Humans had always been easy to subjugate and control. This one, however, resisted to the last extremity. Talon could break him down. That was not the problem. The problem was that Rafe resisted with such a stubborn rage that the effort completely exhausted both his body and his mind. When Talon finally prevailed, as he did each time, of course, the man was absolutely useless, reduced to such a weakened state that he could barely even move or cogitate.
Each time Talon came to him down in the cavern, thinking that this time he would finally surrender, Rafe somehow always found the strength to fight him and it was necessary to beat him down again, reduce him to a sweating, trembling hulk lying on the floor, barely conscious and breathing raggedly. Much more of this, thought Talon, and his mind would be destroyed. And that would be a shame. With such immense strength of will, what a necromancer he would make! This brute, uneducated and barely civilized as he was, had the makings of a mage. Incredible that such outstanding potential could be wasted. Talon simply could not allow it to happen.
“Good evening, Rafe,” he said, as he approached the stalagmite on which his captive hung, magically pressed up against the rock. “How do you feel tonight?”
“Like rippin’ your fuckin’ head off and pissin’ down your fuckin’ throat.”
“A colorful image, if rather crude,” said Talon with a faint smile. “Why must you continue to resist me? You are only making things harder on yourself. You haven’t eaten for days. You must be starving. Wouldn’t you like a nice, thick, juicy steak with all the trimmings?”
“Sure. Gimme a knife, bend over, and I’ll cut myself a slice.”
Talon chuckled. “I must admit, I have never met any human quite like you before. I literally hold the power of life and death over you and yet you refuse to submit with a dogged stubbornness that defies all comprehension. Why, when I have so much to offer you?”
“Nobody tells me what to do. Not you, not anybody. I don’t care who the fuck they are. Or what.”
“Indeed? Shall we test the limits of your commitment to that philosophy?” asked Talon. “We have barely even scratched the surface of what could be done to lower your resistance.”
“Go for it. I don’t give a shit.”
Talon stared at Rafe thoughtfully. “You really don’t, do you?” he said. “The paucity of your idiom notwithstanding, I begin to understand that you truly do not care. Whether you live or die, I mean. I find that fascinating. The strongest drive in humans has always been the instinct for survival. Yet you seem to lack that instinct. Does your life mean so little to you?”
Rafe simply shrugged. There was no point in trying to keep Talon talking. That would postpone the inevitable torture, but it would be only a postponement and nothing more. Sooner or later, Talon would try to break him down again. The bastard was relentless. And Rafe also knew that, sooner or later, he would probably succeed. Assuming Rafe survived. But Talon seemed intent on that. He didn’t want him dead. If he had, Rafe knew he would be dead already.
The son of a bitch was strong. He could do things with his mind, things Rafe couldn’t even begin to understand. Rafe knew about adepts. He didn’t like them. He understood what magic was. But this was something else. This was like no magic he had ever encountered before. Talon kept talking about power. Yeah, it sure as hell was that, Rafe thought. He understood power real well. He could bench-press four hundred and fifty pounds. When he bit somebody, they stayed hit. But Talon had a whole other way of hitting.
He kept talking about humans as if he weren’t one. So then what in the fucking hell was he? Somebody from outer space? He looked human enough, but maybe that was only a disguise. Magic could do things like that, if you were good enough and really knew your stuff. But hardly anybody believed that “beings from outer space” stuff anymore. Nobody had ever seen one. Nobody who had his head screwed on straight, anyway. Still, that didn’t mean it was impossible.
Maybe he was a demon. Rafe didn’t know much about that, but he’d heard stories about how some adepts experimenting with spells even mages should have known to leave well enough alone had summoned up some kind of nasty shit. Things that didn’t like being summoned from wherever the hell they’d been summoned from. Wherever the hell. Maybe all that shit they taught you when you were a kid was true, after all. Who knew? Those stories always ended with the adepts becoming lunch in various unpleasant ways and Rafe had never really believed any of it. Until now.
If this guy Talon was an adept who’d crossed over the line and started playing around with black magic, he might have summoned up something that took him over. That could explain why he kept talking about humans as if he weren’t one. Maybe the body was human, but whatever was inside was something else. Or maybe Talon was just insane, a skilled adept who had gone around the bend. In either case, Rafe figured, he was screwed no matter what he did. So why give the bastard the satisfaction of crawling at his feet?
Talon had been watching him curiously, studying him with a bemused expression on his face, like a little kid looking at some new kind of bug, Rafe thought. Well, fuck him. He didn’t care if Talon was a space alien, a demon, or just some sorcerer who’d gone completely out of his gourd; it made no difference. If he could get loose, he’d kill the son of a bitch. And if he was going to die, then he’d go spitting in the motherfucker’s face.
“I am intrigued by your defiance,” said Talon. “I could do things to you that would drive most men insane. I could destroy your mind and turn you into a living automaton that would do my slightest bidding. It would be child’s play. But I don’t want that. No, that would be a waste. I do not want your destruction. You are the only one who seeks that. I want your submissio
n.”
“You got a long wait, man,” said Rafe.
Talon smiled. “I am used to waiting. I have a great deal of patience. Besides, in a perverse sort of way, I am beginning to enjoy this little contest. Any other human in your situation would have long since submitted to me, or at the very least attempted to make the pretense. Not you. The rest of them submitted willingly, eagerly, when they understood what I was offering them. But not you. None of the others understood power the way you do. Yet even though I offer you more power than any ordinary human could possess, you still reject it. Because you reject me. I am not accustomed to being rejected. I find it an… interesting experience.”
“Get used to it,” said Rafe.
Talon chuckled. “You know, I’m growing rather fond of you. I could overwhelm you easily, but that would destroy the part of you I value most. I could cause you infinite pain, inflict horrors upon you beyond your imagination, and you would submit. You would. But I don’t want you that way.”
I don’t want you that way. Rafe felt a wave of disgust. It sounded sexual. In a way, maybe it was. The guy was a control freak. Rafe understood that real well. It took one to know one. He was the same way with women. There were always women who had wanted him, because they were turned on by his body or his hard looks or else his reputation or, if they were white women, by the fact that he was black and dangerous-looking, but it was the ones who didn’t want him that had always attracted him the most. Especially the racist white bitches who couldn’t possibly imagine being with a black man. Those were the ones who really turned him on. He wasn’t into rape. He wanted to make them want him. And it was so great when they turned. It was always worth whatever effort he put into it.
First there was that moment of discovery when they realized they wanted him. He could always see it in their eyes. Like they couldn’t believe what they were thinking. And the more they thought about it, the more it turned them on until, eventually, they had to have him. And then he’d play with them. You want some nigger cock, bitch? Work for it, baby. Work for it. And when the anticipation had built up and they finally got down to it, it was always great, because they’d fucking well explode. And even though he liked the sex, that wasn’t what it was all really about.
I don’t want you that way.
So that’s the game, you perverted son of a bitch, thought Rafe. All right, so it wasn’t really about sex. But it was close enough. And in a lot of ways, it was even worse. The guy was fucking with his mind, with his goddamn soul.
“You’ll have to kill me first,” said Rafe.
Talon raised his eyebrows slightly, and then a look of comprehension came over his face. “You think my motivation is desire?” He shook his head. “No, you misunderstand.”
“Do I?”
“I want you not for what you are, but for what you are capable of becoming,” Talon said. “It is not a matter of desire so much as… aesthetics. It is easy to destroy something. But it is much more rewarding to create. And what I am creating is something unique. Something beautiful in its own way. The ultimate human predator. And when it comes to that, you possess far more potential than any of the others. You shall be my masterpiece, the closest thing to one of us that a human is capable of becoming.”
“You think I want to be like you?” said Rafe. He snorted with derision. “Yeah, right.”
“You do not have even the faintest conception of what it would be like to be like me,” said Talon. “To live forever. To wield such power as to make others look upon you like a god. The others are only now beginning to understand.”
“Your little cult members?” Rafe said scornfully. “So you give ‘em black robes and teach ‘em a few magic tricks. Big fucking deal. It’s still the same old con game. How much do they kick in?”
“Kick in?” said Talon with a puzzled frown.
“Yeah, what’s your cut of the action? They sign over all their worldly goods or what?”
“You think this is all about materialistic gain?” asked Talon. “If that is what you believe, then you have understood nothing I have said. I had thought you were more intelligent than that.”
“Yeah, well, excuse me for being stupid,” Rafe replied sarcastically. “So why don’t you explain it to me, then? You give them all this power that you’re talking about and, in return, what do they do for you?”
Talon raised his eyebrows. “They kill,” he said simply.
“Kill who?”
“Why, anyone they like,” said Talon, as offhandedly as if they were discussing the weather. “Of course, there are a few specific individuals who need to be removed, to make a greater impact and eliminate those who might be particularly troublesome. But otherwise they are free to choose. Many of those you saw when you had first arrived have already left the enclave and gone out to feed… and to grow stronger. And then to feed some more. And then grow stronger still. That is the nature of power, you see. You have to feed it if you want it to grow. And the strong always feed upon the weak.”
“You are one sick muthafucker,” Rafe said.
“And you are a stubborn fool,” Talon replied. “I am superior to you in every way. You cannot prevail. It would be like a gnat trying to take on an elephant.”
“Yeah, but if that little gnat sticks to it and keeps buzzin’ around, he can drive that big elephant plumb crazy,” Rafe said.
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Talon said. “Each day, you grow weaker. Each day, my will encroaches further on your own. I could wipe out your resistance in an eyeblink, but that stubborn perseverance of yours would be destroyed and I could make good use of it. Very good use of it, indeed. So we shall take it in small steps, you and I. In a day or two at most, you will surrender and accept me. And then you will realize just how foolish you have been.”
“Like you said, I wouldn’t count on it,” said Rafe. And then he jerked as he felt the icy tendrils of Talon’s will insinuate themselves into his mind, like freezing tentacles.
His entire body went completely rigid, not from the effects of Talon’s invasion of his mind, but from Rafe’s efforts to resist it. Crucified as he was upon the huge stalagmite, he could barely move, but every muscle stood out in corded relief as he tensed, trying to find some way to fight it. Only there was no way. Brute force was something that Rafe understood, but no amount of physical force could overcome what was happening to him. He screamed with rage and frustration as the cold spread inexorably throughout his mind, like the roots of some parasitic plant invading his cortex, numbing everything they touched. His vision blurred as sweat poured off him and although he could not hear Talon’s voice, he sensed his presence permeate his brain, aloof, confident, and mocking, willing him to submit.
There was no pain, just the numbing, freezing cold that continued to spread through him, slowly overwhelming his will, and the complete lack of pain somehow made it even worse. It was like fighting anesthesia, only this was like a living drug, sentient and ruthlessly determined. And Rafe knew that there was no way he could win the battle. He was slowly freezing from the inside out and he felt his mind become a brittle thing, capable of being shattered by a mere thought. He felt himself receding from himself, fading away into the cold that slowly froze his soul. He became a small thing within himself, shrinking down into a pinprick, on the verge of dark oblivion. And something else within him grew… unaccustomed, yet not completely unfamiliar; rigidly controlled, yet now uncontrollable; denied for years, and now made undeniable. And as Rafe felt himself falling away into nothingness, he felt despair, because he knew that he had lost.
Talon pulled back at the last instant. Another second, and Rafe would have been gone. He had pushed a little further every time, each time afraid that he would go too far and lose him and be left with nothing more than a mindless body to control, a zombie that would do his will, but have no will of its own. He had no need of that. There was no shortage of those whom he could use that way. In Rafe, he wanted something different, something more. And as he gazed at the mass
ive, sweat-covered, and powerfully muscled body, watching it trembling like a whimpering, newborn child, he exhaled with relief.
It had taken every ounce of control that he possessed to force Rafe to the very edge of oblivion and then bring him back, undamaged and intact. Well, perhaps not entirely undamaged, he thought. It was like splitting a perfect diamond and leaving it with a tiny, almost imperceptible flaw. But it was a flaw he needed.
“Well,” he said softly, “so you are human, after all. I knew that you could not possibly be completely fearless. Somewhere in the deep recesses of your mind, it had to be there. “ He nodded to himself. “An iron will, indeed. You had pushed it down so far, it took almost killing you to find it. Your one fear. The fear of fear itself. How very logical, all things considered. And there was no need to exploit it. All it took was showing it to you. You want to see it again?”
Rafe hung limp on the stalagmite, breathing raggedly, barely conscious, but he still managed to shake his head weakly. A small moan escaped his throat.