by Jack Conner
“But what is it?” the Ambassador said.
“I don’t know. Some ... art. I guess you could call it a collage of sorts. You know how they are. Everything’s a piece of art to them. Even death.”
“Especially death.”
“Right. Well, I don’t know what they think they’re doing, but they’re doing it regardless. Plus, with this Kiernevar thing hanging in the balance ...”
“What are you going to do?”
“The only thing I can. Organize a war party and go down in there to get them out.”
“You think they’re down there themselves? You don’t think they just created the thing and set it loose?”
“Taking over the Sabo through remote control?”
“They could be over at the Floor Show for all we know.”
“I doubt it. The Guards are at this very moment combing the castle for them.”
Francois gave him a strange look. “You acted fast.”
“They provoked me, or at least that was the result. They killed a man and strung him up in one of the rooms the Funhouse has been staying in.”
Francois looked even more weary than before. “Why?”
“I have no idea. Some grudge or other, I imagine. Whatever their motive, it means nothing to me except disrespect, and I will not tolerate it. However, I will try to find them first, reason with them, see if I can convince them to back off. They won’t, of course. I’ll have to kill them.”
“Roche ...”
Sarnova waited.
“It won’t happen that way,” Francois said.
“Oh, I know. They wouldn’t have started this thing unless they thought they stood a chance of winning. Nevertheless, my options are limited.”
“Just the same …”
“They have to be dealt with. And they will. Leave it to me. As for you, I need you to organize a meeting of the traitors and discuss De Soto’s death, hear what they have to say, and basically make sure you’re still their leader.”
“Consider it done.”
“They need to be united, under you, so that they pose no threat.”
Francois nodded, said nothing.
“A penny for your thoughts.”
The Ambassador laughed softly and drank some more scotch.
“What’s so funny” Sarnova said.
“Just that you’d be wasting a penny.” Francois sat the glass down, running a hand through his blood-streaked hair. “I need some sleep, Roche. You could use some yourself.”
Sarnova smiled. “Consider it done.”
* * *
When Ruegger returned to the room he shared with Danielle, he found four Castle Guards standing outside.
“What’s this?” he demanded.
“Sarnova sent us here to ensure that nothing happened to you or to Danielle before the chess match between you and the ... well, Kiernevar,” one said.
“You’re supposed to protect us?”
“Something like that.”
“Are we in any danger?”
“Junger and Jagoda have allegedly killed a member of the Funhouse of the Forsaken, and they left the body in Danielle’s old room.”
Ruegger nodded. The Balaklava liked to play, and it wasn’t out of character for them to throw fright into those that they were playing with. However, he doubted that this was the only reason the Guards were posted here.
“What if we tried to leave, Danielle and I? Would you try to stop us?”
The Guard shifted uncomfortably. “We’ve been directed to prevent you from escaping, should you chose to do so.” He gestured apologetically. “I’m sorry about this—I’m admirer of yours; I read about you every chance I get in the papers—we’re just doing our job. We’re to follow wherever you go until the game.”
“What about Danielle? Aren’t you supposed to be protecting her?”
“We’re undermanned, you know. Not enough Guards to go around, so we were kind of hoping you two wouldn’t separate. Please, sir. Just let us do our job, we won’t interfere. Your room is soundproofed. We’ll give you your privacy.”
He struck out a hand in friendship.
Swearing under his breath, Ruegger said, “We’ll try to be good.”
“That’s all we’re asking.”
Ruegger took the offered hand, nodded to the other three Guards, and moved inside, where Danielle was lying on the bed reading a book. When he entered, she shoto her feet and hugged him.
“Cute, aren’t they?” she said.
“So much for getting the hell out of here while we still had a chance.”
“You wouldn’t have gone anyway.”
“No, I guess not, at that. Did they tell you about ...?”
“Junger and Jagoda? Yeah. But if the bastards were trying to leave a message or something, it could just as easily have been for Sophia as for me—or Max, for that matter.” She shook her head. “Not that … if it had been intended for someone else … that would be any better, of course.”
“I know what you mean.”
“All I’m saying is that since that message may not’ve been for me—and since I haven’t heard that guards were posted to Sophe, it means those guys out there are more jailers than protectors.”
She touched his face lightly with her fingertips.
“Jesus, your clothes are stiff ... wet,” she said, laughing a little. She squeezed him harder and said, “I was worried about you. The sun …”
“It’s all right, baby.” He kissed her forehead, smelling her clean and fragrant hair. “Everything’s going to be just fine.”
She pressed her lips against the place over his heart, took his hand and pulled him over to the bed. “Now tell me what the hell happened.”
“Well, among other things, I killed a dragon.“
When he had finished the tale and convinced her that he wasn’t pulling her leg, she propped some pillows under her back and lit a cigarette, frowning in thought.
“You think this is random?” she asked.
“Meaning, does it have any relation to finding out why Ludwig died?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know. The dragons, the Refuge. I mean, on top of everything else to sort through, this doesn’t just add a few pieces to the puzzle, it changes it entirely. We need some evidence, some real evidence, of who hired those two to kill Ludwig. Without that, we’re just chasing phantoms.”
She stared into space. “So magic is real … ?”
“Amazing, isn’t it?”
Ruegger was tired of mysteries. He simply wanted to hold Danielle in his arms and sleep. Thankfully, she let him.
* * *
Ten soldiers stopped Lord Kharker as he descended into the catacombs.
“Please, sir, we’re to advise anyone who tries to go down this way to refrain. There have been ... unforeseen circumstances ... and the catacombs are considered potentially dangerous.”
“I know all about it. The Balaklava are supposed to be down there. That’s why there are ten of you here. I can handle them.”
“Excuse me, Lord Kharker, I would not deny you, of all people, access to the tunnels, but I must tell you that I am to report all those who descend into them ... well, I have to report you to the Lord Sarnova if you pass through. I guess he figures anyone who goes down there might have ties to Junger and Jagoda.” The soldier smiled nervously, as if suggesting that this was only a joke. “Please, I implore you, don’t go down there. It’s dangerous.”
Kharker laughed, then stepped forward.
“Out of my way, lads. I’ve got things to do and I don’t care whether Blackie knows about them or not. Go, give your report.”
Stomping past the guards, he began the last leg of the descent.
Once deep within the nest of old stone passageways, he knew just where to go. After making his way into a chamber built to house the remains of a long-dead Dark Lord, he triggered a hidden panel. Moving into the darkness beyond, he entered the territory of the Sabo. He had no fear of the creature itself,
or of the parasites that lived within it, for Sarnova had taken him here many times in the past and the Sabo recognized him as a friend. Of the Balaklava, however, he was wary. About that he’d lied to Blackie’s soldiers. But he would not let his fear of Junger and Jagoda eclipse his purpose.
Swiftly, he moved through one tunnel after another, crossing over a bridge here and climbing a flight of stairs there, at all times keeping his senses sharp for other sounds. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before he heard strange noises coming from a source he’d never heard before.
He popped his head out from behind a wall and made a quick study of the area beyond. What he saw in the instant before he pulled his head back one of the several large chambers that the Sabo used to snare its victims. There were the long chains and there, up high, the rusted cages where many a mortal had spent his last moments in utter terror. But these were sights that Kharker had seen before.
What attracted his attention was the strange creature climbing up to one of those cages, using its countless arms and appendages to grasp many chains at once. Made of interwoven human and immortal bodies, its shape seemed fluid. Of course, this must be what had everyone so afraid, Sarnova included. This creature, this thing, had been fashioned by Junger and Jagoda for some grim purpose.
Why was it climbing to the cages above? Then Kharker thought he understood. It was practicing. This was a drill. Memories returned to him of times spent in various armies throughout the world, most recently of his time spent in World War Two Germany, with Ruegger as his great and evil companion. Yes, companion. That was the word. Not pupil, as Ruegger liked to think of it now. Hell, if anything, the Darkling had taught Kharker some things! But that is what this thing was doing, wasn’t it? Practicing for a time when it would need to know how to climb those chains—for a time when it was at war.
Who was there to make war upon? Sarnova, for one. Surely Junger and Jagoda weren’t preparing to attack the Dark Lord! Even they weren’t that bold.
It was a question for another time. What Kharker wondered now was whether or not this thing had a mind of its own. Had Junger and Jagoda actually given it the power to reason? Kharker needed to get around it, to reach a tunnel on the far side of the chamber.
He risked another glance. This time he noticed details he’d missed before, like the mutilated body of a dead horse on the ground. Secondly, and in greater supply, were the bodies of roughly a dozen mud-sharks. Even the Sabo could not kill the Balaklava’s creature. Third, the abomination had reached the cage it had been climbing towards. It opened and closed the door, reaching a limb inside. Once satisfied, the monster swung its great bulk through the air, shifting its purchase from one set of chains to another. It began an ascent to a cage even closer to the ceiling.
Damn it all. The creature above had many heads and many eyes, and if even a few of them actually worked it would spot Kharker crossing the chamber and he’d be finished. Suppressing a groan, he moved back from the opening and retreated down several tunnels. He would have to take the long way around. It took him another twenty minutes, but finally he made his way to the tunnel he’d been seeking, and from it he made his way to the outer limit of the Sabo, the great round door.
He gathered his telekinetic power and rolled it open. He stepped into the outer region, seeing the boulder ahead which sheltered the labyrinth from unwanted visitors. A post with a board mounted on it jutted from the ground. It’s a trap, Malie, read the note.
Kharker laughed.
“Yes, you bitch. It’s a trap, all right.” He plucked the post from the ground and put it under an arm, where it would stay until he found a place to dispose of it. Looking up through the ceiling for a moment, he sighed. “Gavin, this is for you. And for Jean-Pierre, may you find your peace at last.”
He rammed the stump of a cigar into his mouth, careful not to light it lest the scent give him away, and returned to the dark corridors of the Sabo, confident now that Maleasoel would die, painfully and in fear. Then he made his way back the way he’d come.
He tried to ignore the feeling that he was being watched all the while.
THE END
OF VOLUME TWO
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
Thank you for reading. Part Three is now available. You can find it here . . .
. . . in the US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MW8RRPO
. . . in the UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00MW8RRPO
If you enjoyed my book, it would be greatly appreciated if you left a review so others can, too. It will not only help new readers discover The Living Night but is incredibly rewarding to me to see how people liked it, as well as learning any ways I can improve.
In fact, to encourage you to leave a review, if you liked the novel and review it, just email me at [email protected] and I’ll gift you a free copy of Part Three.
In the US, go here to leave a review: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KJJL29U
In the UK go here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KJJL29U
Did you spot any flaws? Typos? Plot holes? Just plain bad writing? Email me at the address above and I’ll fix it!
To receive a free novella (and to hear about my next discount or free promotion), sign up for my newsletter here: http://forms.aweber.com/form/42/1144971442.htm
Subscribers find out about my newest releases first, as well as any discounts or freebies.
Thanks, and happy reading,
Jack
Table of Contents
AUTHOR’S NOTE:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14Damn
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
AUTHOR’S NOTE: