Ron looked at Dr. Wilson, “Where to from here?”
“Where?” repeated Dr. Wilson, turning to Ron and Connie. “The two of you need to stay here, make FENS ready to bring the multitudes home. You know more about doing that than I do. As for me, first thing in the morning I’m getting on the phone and making arrangements to get as many of the Hobart’s patients as possible moved here. But it can’t all be done by phone. Some of it will need to be done in person. I’ll be heading down to Maryland first, to John Hopkins, to make arrangements to get the Hobart’s patients they’re working with transferred up here. Then I’m jetting off to Fresno, California to keep a promise, to bring David here.”
Connie seemed alarmed. “But what about the drells?”
“What about them?” Wilson responded. “They’re not going to force me to hide under a rock or inside a magic circle. I’ve got to be about the Lord’s business.”
That comment seemed to surprise everyone except Sybil. She only nodded.
Then Wilson turned to Sybil. “I’m going to need your help too. Not spiritual help as much as help with logistics. Your Dr. Martin has the international connections to break through the mountains of diplomatic red tape we’re facing and get all of those Hobart’s victims from overseas here as quickly as possible.”
“I assumed as much,” said Sybil. “We’re already working on it. Martin International will make it happen.”
“As I see it we will need to get 189 victims of the drells here in the span of less than a week,” said Wilson.
“It can be done,” assured Sybil.
“For the moment, we rest,” said Wilson. “I’ll need you all up and alert tomorrow morning to get this project moving. It’s time to bring an end to the reign of the drells.”
For nearly ten minutes, Debbie’s body retained its strange translucent quality. She was like a young woman made of frosty living glass, a bizarre parody of life. Even her hair had undergone the strange transfiguration, taking on an appearance of fine strands of glass fiber which still retained some faint semblance of their former chestnut brown hue. Yet their appearance was deceiving, every strand had the feel and texture of soft human hair. The feel of her entire body remained that of warm living tissue, sweat still glistening upon it.
Humans and wulvers alike crowded about to witness the strange phenomenon. It was surreal, frightening, yet David would not leave her. She was his very reason for existence, he clung to her, unwilling to let go. He could feel her pulse pounding out a slow but steady beat, witness the blood pumping through her veins, and realized that she still lived. Yet he had witnessed what had happened to Claudia. Was the same thing about to happen to Debbie? Was she on the verge of dissolving into vapors?
Lukor walked around the young lady of whom he had become so fond, observing her from many angles. It was no trick of the flickering light, no illusion. There could be but one power responsible for this dire transmutation, the drells. Why of all the humans in their realm had they chosen Debbie? Lukor did his best to remain in control, yet his harsh hard exterior melted away as he knelt once more at David’s side. What would happen if he cried before his soldiers, before the humans? “Ner have I seen such an apparition as this. I know not what ta do.”
David glanced toward the captain with tearful eyes. Lukor placed his powerful hand upon the youth’s shoulder but said not a word.
Once more David turned to Debbie, something was happening. Like a great cloud the opacity of her flesh returned, enveloping and concealing bones, muscles, and pulsing blood vessels.
Debbie’s eyes slowly opened, the first thing she saw was David and Lukor, both of whom displayed an expression of relief at her return. “Hi,” she whispered.
Almost simultaneously they returned her greeting.
“Lukor, I’ve got to speak to you, please,” she murmured.
Lukor looked up at the sea of faces around him. There were still several hours of work remaining. He didn’t relish setting a precedent, but something remarkable had happened, he had to know what. “We’re calling it a day a bit early,” he announced, turning to one of his lieutenants. “Line em up and secure em for the trip back to their cells.” He turned to Debbie once more, his look of concern undiminished. “Can you make it back on your own?”
“Yes sir,” she replied, the slightest of smiles on her face.
With David’s help, Lukor assisted Debbie to her feet, “Very well then, take yer place.”
“Are you alright?” asked Leslie, as she was shackled in line behind Debbie.
“Alright isn’t the word,” Debbie replied, taking her best friend by the hand, “We have hope, Leslie, it wasn’t a dream. I’ll have to tell you about it later.”
The murmuring of humans and wulvers alike filled the rocky corridors as they made their way back toward the cells. Many a wulver had his theory about what he had seen this day. That it was supernatural could not be denied, but what was the source of the magic, the drells? No, it didn’t seem so, it was not like the drell’s magic at all. It lacked the mark of their malice, their evil. It had been but an apparition, a thing to elicit wonder. But what other force held sway in their dark universe?
Debbie had hardly been returned to her cell when a wulver guard unlocked the door once more. “You’ll be coming with me,” he grumbled.
“Good luck,” whispered Leslie, as her friend was escorted by her arm down the corridor.
Debbie was led past a black metal gate and through a long and unfamiliar tunnel. Before her was a wide promenade, illuminated from the high ceiling by the strangely fluorescent crystals of a hundred chandeliers. Although it was a hallway hewn from the rock, a multitude of paintings depicting farming fields and sylvan landscapes, softened the cruel gray stone walls. A colorful mural depicting a cloud streaked sky covered the vast ceiling. It spoke of a people’s desire to be free of this dark realm, of their ancestor’s wish that they not forget the world of light.
More wulvers than Debbie had ever seen at one time socialized in the mall. Only a few wore the strange leather garments that she had so long associated with this race. Most were dressed in loose fitting white robes, and sandals.
Here and there she beheld, for the first time, wulver children. Their fur was soft, and they laughed and played like human children, a sparkle of merriment in their brown eyes. Debbie was alarmed to discover that many of them were horribly deformed, lacking a limb, or displaying scars that had cursed them from birth. She recalled Lukor’s words about the deformities among his race. In this world of darkness, these people were victims of the drells as surely as she.
The wulvers in the mall gave way as Debbie was escorted past. Some of the children fled in terror at the sight of a human in their chambers. Many had heard of but never seen these creatures before, even though they lived but a hundred yards from their world.
“This way,” growled the guard, directing Debbie to one of the many brightly colored metal doors along the corridor.
The guard knocked sharply at a yellow entry way. A moment later it opened to reveal Kadra, dressed in a loose fitting white gown.
“Thank you, lieutenant, I’ll handle things from here,” she said, turning to Debbie. Her brown eyes were warm and full of compassion as she placed her soft furry hand upon Debbie’s shoulder. “Welcome ta my home, child, please come in.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” replied Debbie, in a meek tone, as she stepped cautiously through the doorway.
Much of the stone floor of Kadra’s home was covered with gray and brown animal furs, while its few pieces of furniture were made of carefully hewn rock, draped with pelts like those upon the floor. Several small crystal chandeliers illuminated walls displaying paintings of wulver ancestors and sylvan settings like those in the great mall. From the archway leading to the bedroom, Lukor emerged, dressed in a long flowing white robe.
“Please have a seat,” he entreated, pointing to one of the stone chairs.
“Not until I’ve seen ta her more immediate needs,” s
aid Kadra, taking Debbie by the hand. “She is much in need of a bath and clean clothing. Follow me, my dear.”
Debbie was led across the bedroom, past its hard stone bed, to a bathroom, whose amenities including a flushing stone toilet, wash basin, and shower. It was when Debbie had removed the filthy rank dress from her body that Kadra’s expression lit up with alarm.
“My dear, that dreadful belt has irritated your skin terribly. I’ll not have ya wearing it any longer.” Kadra turned toward the archway, “Lukor, I’ll be needing da key to this belt locked about the child’s hips.”
“Ya can’t remove that,” objected Lukor, coming to the bedroom arch. “Tis against da law of the drells.”
Kadra’s eyes lit up with anger. “Lukor, she’s our guest, and no guest of mine is going ta be trussed up in one of those things. Now, I’ll have da key, thank you.”
That she-wolf, so strong minded, so impossible. Lukor realized the futility of arguing with Kadra when she was in such a mood, and entered the bedroom, key in hand.
“Just lay da key on da bed, I’ll not be having ya staring at this child’s nakedness.”
This was becoming ridiculous. “Kadra, I’ve seen many a naked human, male and female,” objected Lukor. “She’s not a wulver.”
“Wulver or human, a lady has her dignity,” objected Kadra.
Lukor said not a word, but threw the key on the bed and walked from the room.
“Men, whether they be wulver or human, ya have ta be firm with em,” said Kadra, returning to the bathroom, key in hand. “So much like children they are.”
It was a comment that brought a smile to Debbie’s face. A moment later, Kadra inserted the key in the lock and the chastity belt sprung open, dropped to the stone floor.
“It’s so good to be free of that horrible thing!” said Debbie. “Oh thank you.” Debbie fell into Kadra’s arms, tears in her eyes. She didn’t want to make a scene, not now, but she couldn’t help herself.
“Hush my dear, yer welcome,” replied Kadra, stroking Debbie’s long brown hair. “Lukor, what can we do about this young one’s ankle shackles?”
“I’ll not be having those removed,” said Lukor, his tone stern.
It became abundantly clear that Debbie’s freedom would not become complete, at least not yet. Kadra seemed unwilling to pursue the issue further.
“Let’s get ya cleaned up.” Kadra helped Debbie into the stone shower and turned the valve, releasing water from the large tank above. The deluge was chilly, but Debbie had never felt better. The pounding of the water upon her naked flesh, washing away the stench of her servitude, was ecstasy.
It was nearly an hour later that Kadra led the young lady through the arch and into the living room. Her hair was washed and brushed and she was wearing one of Kadra’s long white gowns.
“We’re ready ta discuss business now,” announced Kadra, guiding her guest to the most comfortable rock chair in the house.
For the better part of an hour Debbie spoke of her Earth and the doctors and engineers who had allowed her to return to it twice. “There are people on Earth willing to help us. The time for our rebellion is now, but we can’t do it without you. No one knows more about the drells than the two of you. There must be some way to defeat them.”
Kadra rose to her feet, took Lukor’s hand in hers. “She’s right, ya know, there will ner be a better time.”
“What chance would we have?” objected Lukor, looking away in frustration. “Da power of the drells is great, we’d be as grub worms ta them.”
“There might be one way,” objected Kadra.
“No way,” insisted Lukor, a scowl on his face.
“You’re being stubborn, and foolish,” replied Kadra. “You know the way, the Globe of Lilith.”
“What’s the Globe of Lilith?” asked Debbie, leaning toward the pair. Lukor looked to Debbie, “A legend, no more,” he retorted, some anger, mixed with fear, in his voice.
“No legend!” objected Kadra, walking toward Debbie. “I’m a priestess of Lilith, and I know tis real enough. The scriptures of Torin say tis the source of the drells power. It draws in, focuses, da cosmic forces that the drells require.”
It was then that Debbie recalled the words of Sybil. “Wait a minute, there was this woman on Earth, I met her when I went across to the other side. She said that the drell’s power might come from a crystal or something like that.
“She speaks wisely,” replied Kadra, “without the Globe of Lilith the drells would not be able ta reach yer world at all. They would not have da power to enslave our peoples.”
For Debbie, hope was glowing ever brighter. “Where is it, this Globe of Lilith?”
“In da Temple of Lilith in da caverns of da great spider, guarded by da terrible goddess herself,” Lukor answered. “That is why speaking of such things is useless. There is not a warrior among us who could stand before the goddess, no less defeat her in combat, she’s immortal.”
“She’s no goddess,” objected Kadra. “She’s just a beast, a pet of the drells. She’s na more than a symbol of their power, and she’s not immortal, she can be slain.”
“You’re a priestess!” objected Lukor, looking toward his mate in astonishment. “How can ya speak so?”
“Because I know better than you,” she replied, rising to her feet and pacing back and forth, clenching her fists. “I renounce my vows, I’ll no longer be a party ta this madness, not so long as there’s a hope of defeating the drells. They’ve sacrificed, nay, fed, so many terrified human children to that obscenity. Even some of us have become its victims.”
“What!” exclaimed Lukor. “Why have ya ner told me these things till now.”
“Twas forbidden, and I was afraid of what the drells would do ta both of us should they find that I spoke of this ta ya.” Kadra hesitated, taking her mate’s hand in hers, bringing him to his feet. “They will know I have spoken of it. When da Circle of Priestesses commune but eight days hence, they will know what I know, and our lives will be at an end. Tis we who will become da feast for the beast, hung upon her web, cocooned thereupon to meet our fate. I am the only wulver in da circle, all the rest are drells, they have little enough regard for me. They will think nothing of sentencing me ta pay the ultimate price fer my offense.”
To have held so much in her heart for so long, Lukor was amazed. Her burden had been greater than he had ever imagined. “How can da globe be destroyed?”
“Casting it forcefully upon da floor shall suffice. I know of a route to its resting place. I will lead those who shall destroy it.”
“Won’t the drells try to stop us?” asked Debbie.
“Not if their minds are engaged by other pressing concerns,” replied Kadra, turning to the young human, a grave expression on her face. “Concerns like yer people on Earth wreaking havoc upon them. From what you say, it is within their power. We shall have our revolution, a revolution of wulvers and humans.”
“We’ll not have a chance against the drells,” objected Lukor. “We’ll be slaughtered. Anyway, we don’t have a plan.”
“We will,” insisted Kadra. “We need to gather the elders.”
“Dr. Wilson told me he needs time to gather up the other young people and get them to the clinic in York,” said Debbie. “I didn’t ask him how long that might take. I just know we can’t move on the drells until he and his team are ready.”
“How will ya know when that is?” asked Kadra.
“I’ll know,” said Debbie. “And then there is this guy, this Aberdeen or Abaddon, or whoever he is. He might help us too.”
“But he’s on Earth,” objected Lukor. “How could he help us here?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Debbie, “but we might find out.”
“So, what is next?” asked Kadra turning to Lukor.
“We set off for the crystal caverns,” said Lukor. “We need to leave tomorrow morning.”
“But that’s suicide,” objected Kadra. “Don’t you see? Would you destroy our
plan, destroy you and these children, before we even begin? You are playing right into the drell’s hands. I can’t lose you.”
“I can do nothing else,” replied Lukor. “If I do not do this thing they will become suspicious. They might even move against our community like they did in our grandfather’s time. And they did that simply because they were the children of the rebellion. No, we must go. Anyway, we are not ready to oppose the drells. A plan half conceived is not a plan at all. I am not convinced that we will ever have a real plan. I am not yet persuaded that we would have a chance. By Torin, I need a sign.”
“What of faith,” asked Kadra. “Will ya not take it on faith?”
“I need to get Debbie back to her cell,” said Lukor. “She will need to put that dress of hers back on.”
Not the belt? Lukor had said nothing of the belt. Debbie hoped he wouldn’t insist upon it as well.
“That thing is filthy,” objected Kadra.
A look from Lukor spoke volumes. He would not be moved.
Kadra seemed on the verge of arguing further with her mate but she kept her peace. It would do no good to talk to him further when he was in this mood. She could only hope that he came back to her with a new attitude when he returned from the journey. If he returned? No, she would not think in those terms. She would try to believe that there was a higher power guiding their steps, shaping their destiny.
Chapter 14
“Captain Lukor, this don’t make sense,” objected Lemnock. “Why should it be me that goes on this suicide mission with you?”
“How many times do I have to tell you it is the command of the drells that you accompany me,” replied Lukor. “Why do ya not understand that? There is nothing I can do about it. Tis not my call.”
“I have no love fer these humans like you do,” retorted Lemnock. “Why do da drells want me dead along with you and them?”
At this point Debbie jumped to her feet. She quickly went to the bars to see Lemnock and Lukor standing there. “You don’t get it do you, Lemnock? It doesn’t matter how you feel about humans, that’s not what this is all about. You’ve seen too much. You know the truth and it will make you free if you give it half a chance. That makes you a threat to the drells. But they’re not going to win if we work together.” There was a trace of anger in Debbie’s voice, but that wasn’t what made Lemnock step back from her.
The Realm of the Drells Page 20