Title

by Stanley, Jacob

"You're a bad liar. Anybody ever tell you that?"

  He shrugged. "No lies here. Just enjoying the lovely surroundings."

  She sighed and looked away. He got the impression that she still didn’t believe him, but wasn’t worried enough to spend any time trying to pry the truth out.

  By the time they made it to the Queen Mother’s chambers, he was dangerous enough to chew up nails, which made him relax to an extent. In fact, he was feeling more curious than anything else, like a tourist, exploring some abandoned Disneyland attraction.

  Myra led them up a wide stairway, and then down a long hall that ended in a closed iron door.

  She knocked, and someone slid a piece of metal aside, revealing a rectangular slit. Two eyes appeared in the slit for a moment, and then the door opened.

  The guard who let them in was a tall, thin man with dark skin and darker eyes. He wore a shining steel helm with a foot-long spike sticking out, and silver chain mail all over his body. He had a massive two-handed sword on his hip, and a sawed off shotgun with a pistol grip strapped to his back.

  The man stood aside for Myra to enter, and bowed low without saying a word.

  Beyond the door was another hall with red carpets and low-wattage electric lighting—almost equivalent to candle-light. At the opposite end of the hall they emerged into a large sitting room, with dark leather couches arranged around an oval table in the center of the floor, about the size of a bathtub, with a strange multi-colored fire burning furiously underneath the transparent glass surface. As Kevin studied the flames, he began to notice fleeting images that would appear from time to time in a swarm of realistic color: of smiling faces, and landscapes, and battles, and people having sex in every way imaginable, and horrible deaths of all kinds, blood pouring from open wounds, monsters with sharp teeth grinning, and-

  He looked away quickly before he could see anything else.

  No way. Can’t look at that. Dear god.

  Myra put Andy down on the floor, and then walked a few paces deeper into the room. She cupped her hand over her mouth and said, “Mother? Are you here?”

  There was a short moment during which nothing at all happened, and then a shifting pattern among the shadows in the back corner of the room revealed a figure, almost as if by magic.

  It seemed to Kevin that the shadows had been wrapped around the little woman like a blanket, and now they were melting away, falling down and pooling up on the floor beneath her.

  When the deepest darkness had retreated, the woman stood there for a moment—a small, narrow silhouette. And then she began slowly walking forward, into the light.

  She was nude and apparently malnourished, just skin, bones and gristle, covered all over in wrinkles with tiny breasts hanging like raisins against her prominent ribs.

  Her skin was gray with a dark reptilian diamond pattern all over it, and she had very short silver hair. Her eyes were blazing hell pits with nothing in them but pure predatory hunger. They were so unnatural, so full of weird energy that it was hard for Kevin to look at them for more than a second or two.

  She was smiling, showing sharp metallic fangs exactly like the teeth he’d seen in Myra’s mouth on the times when she transformed in front of him.

  “I’m glad you didn’t take long, little girl,” said the old woman to Myra, speaking with a deep southern accent that seemed to drip out of her mouth one syllable at a time like thick honey.

  “I wouldn’t dream of keeping you waiting, Mother,” said Myra. “I’m always at your service, and you know that.”

  The woman laughed—high pitched little chuckles, and then she said, still walking forward with a menacing rhythm to her steps that made Kevin think of a stalking beast, “You gonna push me too far one day girl… Too far…”

  “I’m sorry,” said Myra. “You don’t have to explain. I understand I made a mistake.”

  “Problem is, I got very little patience left in me for a sassy, uppity, twat like you, always thinking you’re too clever for punishment, thinking you’re too good for me, or for your brother. You think you’re good enough to go off on your own; make your own decisions. Do you think you really know better than me? Better than The Father?”

  “I never thought that” said Myra, and suddenly her voice was filled with bald, unvarnished terror. “I was just trying to help everyone. In regards to my handling of Simone, I was reacting to the immediate situation, which was changing fast. I was trying to be proactive. Trying to be bold. And now I know I went to far. I regret those decisions, and I wouldn’t make them again.”

  “You just talk and talk and talk…”

  Suddenly the woman sprinted across the floor with unnatural speed, moving right into Myra’s personal space. She was a tiny little thing in comparison to her daughter, and yet still 1000 times more intimidating.

  Both of the Queen’s hands came up to softly stroke Myra’s cheeks, and Kevin was shocked to see that those cheeks were wet, with big tears streaming down; shocked to see Myra shaking all over like a leaf.

  “Talk ain’t gonna always work,” said the old woman. “You have to respect me. I don’t want to kill you Girl. I love you. Always have loved you. You’re my most blessed child; the smartest, the most resourceful. I love that you’re bold and brassy; full of piss and vinegar. It’s good that you have a mind of your own. But I need to have respect from you, or everything will fall apart all around us. Do you understand that?”

  “I do respect you. Maybe I don’t show it as often as I should, but it’s there. I swear it. Of course it is.”

  “Actions girl. Words don’t mean nothing. It’s all in the actions, and your actions are hurtful to me.”

  “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’ll try to do better. I promise I will.”

  The woman suddenly hugged Myra, pulled her down and kissed her cheek. “I know you will, Momma knows you’ll always try. Sometimes I just have to remind you how important it all is. I ain’t got many years left, Girl, and I have to use them to make you the best person you can be. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes Momma. I understand.”

  “Yes… I know you ain’t really a bad girl. Momma knows what’s in your heart.”

  Myra sobbed, buried her head in her Mother’s shoulder.

  This strangely intimate moment went on for some time, and while it lasted neither participant seemed aware of anyone else in the room.

  Then the Queen Mother patted Myra on the back a couple of times, signaling the end of the embrace, and they separated.

  Only then did the old woman take a close look at everyone else. Her eyes paused on Kevin for a long time, and she seemed to be weighing him very carefully. Then she looked over at April and Andy, who were now standing side by side.

  The old woman’s brow furrowed. “Why are they here?”

  “For leverage,” said Myra. “Young Mister Tanaka here has a soft spot for innocents.”

  “Oh. Well, that won’t be necessary anymore.” The old lady turned toward April and Andy, “Back to dust, both of ya, and stay there until I call you forth again.”

  “What?” asked April, confusion in her eyes.

  Then the skin began to melt off her face, leaving behind a muddy indistinct humanoid mask covered in red and blue veins.

  She let out a piercing scream of terror as her whole body began to crumple and shrink inside her clothes.

  Beside her Andy was also melting away, but he didn’t seem to realize it was happening. He was too busy watching the sudden disintegration of his sister to notice his own peril.

  The process was diabolical in its speed and efficiency. Within 10 seconds all that remained were two piles of slightly damp clothing. Even the mud disappeared, becoming one with the floor itself.

  A long and terrible silence followed.

  Kevin looked from Myra to the Queen Mother, and then back again.

  They seemed to be studying him, waiting to see how he would react.

  Finally he somehow managed to find his voice. “Jesus Christ!” he scre
amed. “You killed them! You just killed them, for no reason at all!”

  The old lady let out a long peal of laughter. Then she licked her lips and said, “You’re all shook up, ain’t ya? Look at that. You’re fit to be tied over there.”

  “Why did you do that?” screamed Kevin, “Why would you do something like that?”

  The Mother grinned. “Oh, lord help, don’t you worry your head ‘bout them two. They weren’t real people at all. Just a couple’ golems I made. Killed the two real people they was based on a while back. Wasn’t no reason to keep ‘em alive anymore.”

  “We needed to keep their father on our side,” added Myra. “Mother decided it would be easier to use golems in the role than real people. They have to be remade every few weeks, and we use blood we took from the real April and Andy during the creation process, which makes them very realistic. They don’t actually realize they’re golems.”

  “Golems…” Kevin was suddenly nauseas. “So basically, just fake people?”

  “Like robots,” said Myra. “In a way.”

  “And you two killed the real April and Andy?”

  The old lady said, “Not us. Me. I did the honors myself, and I took a certain pleasure in it, because they were becoming an annoyance. Nothing you can do about it either. How do you feel about that, Shapeshifter? Does that hurt you inside? Does that make you angry? I’m just curious.”

  Kevin felt a warm core of heat start growing in his belly, a kernel of pure rage beginning to blossom.

  Suddenly wasn’t sure he could take any more of this.

  And why should he?

  Here he was, within easy striking distance of both of these monsters. Andy and April were gone, so they had nothing to hold over his head anymore, and the old woman didn't see him as a threat at all.

  Probably means things are about to get worse for me in some way. They think they've got me now. No more worries on their part.

  Which meant this might be the best chance he would get. The bad guys had no idea he was currently enhanced. His strength and speed would catch them by surprise, for sure. Plus Myra was holding that suitcase, which probably contained his Mask. When would he get another chance to be in the same room with The Mask again? It was a powerful thing, and it’d be bad if these two ended up with it. Probably they would never find a way to use it without his help, but he hated to bet on that.

  Also, now that he was thinking things over, he realized there was another reason to act sooner rather than later. Right now he was able to change shape, but that wouldn’t hold forever. He had maybe another 30 or 40 hours before the Mask particles stopped working again, and then he’d just be regular ol’ Kevin Tanaka, every bit as helpless as he had been at the church.

  Would another opportunity like this present itself within the next 30 hours? Could he risk the possibility that it wouldn’t?

  Might as well make a fight of it. Try to steal back the Mask. Even if I can't win, it'll give ‘em something to think about.

  And if things didn't work out, then maybe he could make a run for it. He hadn't seen many security guards out in the main part of the palace. If he could make it past the ones in here, find an exit somewhere...

  Heck, I could probably just jump out a window. Doubt if anybody around here can outrun me at the moment.

  He'd seen the old lady move pretty fast just now, but he could move faster when he needed to. By a considerable margin.

  He gave himself an endorphin hit to calm his nerves, and another to boost all his major body stats—heart-rate and etc—for maximum performance.

  Then he just went for it.

  He attacked the old Queen first, mostly because she was closest. He went in with a leaping kick, aimed at her midsection.

  She dodged easily, which wasn't a huge surprise. He flew on past, and landed right next to Myra, who tried to give him a wallop with the palm of her hand. He ducked underneath, surprised her by stealing away the suitcase, and then came up with it, sweeping it through the air, catching her hard on the side of the head.

  The blow, which was delivered with every last speck of his enhanced strength, dropped her like a stone.

  He spun around, expecting the old woman to be there, coming in with a counterattack, but she’d just vanished into thin air. There was no sign of her at all, anywhere in the room.

  Which was probably good since she was apparently scary enough to make Myra shiver and weep.

  The big concern, as of now, was the guards. They were drawing swords rather than guns—probably afraid to fill the air with bullets in a small space like this with the Queen and Myra around.

  Fine with me, he thought. I can’t dodge bullets, but swords shouldn't be too much trouble.

  The first guard that reached him took a wide swing at his head. Kevin rushed in close before the motion could finish, caught the man’s arm, and snapped it with a wicked wrenching motion. The man screamed, his sword fell on the ground, and Kevin retrieved it, then held it out in front of himself as he charged at the rest of the men.

  Aggression seemed like the best approach. Everyone was shocked right now. Best to keep them back on their heels.

  He took a couple of wild swings with the sword, more with the intention of making them flinch than anything else. One guard held his ground, parried, and then tried a stomach stab. Kevin dodged the incoming blade, saw that the guy’s arm was extended, and brought his own sword down, full strength, cutting right through the meat of the forearm.

  And the bone.

  The man’s severed hand hit the ground. Blood shot out in a geyser. The guard screamed, and fell, and kept on bleeding.

  More and more blood.

  Kevin felt himself freeze, and everything around him seemed to slow down.

  Dude's gonna die from that, he thought. I Just killed a guy. Definitely. I'm a killer now.

  He was reeling, totally out of the fight, helpless with shock, watching the guy die right there in the floor.

  It was him or me, he told himself. Not my fault.

  The other guards were closing in fast, and he was vaguely aware, but couldn’t make himself react.

  Then Myra, who had apparently recovered from being clobbered with the suitcase, grabbed him from behind by the throat with one of her tentacle fingers, and lifted him about 3 feet off the ground.

  He fought against the grip with all his strength, he kicked behind himself, and landed a couple of good ones, but she didn’t even react.

  He was doomed. The blackness was closing in. He dropped his sword and the suitcase as his fingers went limp.

  And then, when he was right on the cusp of unconsciousness, he remembered his experimental electric eel enhancement.

  It was a tricky thing to use, like exercising a muscle you didn't realize you had. By the time he made it happen he was pretty much in the twilight world already.

  Myra reacted to the sudden surge of electricity by screaming, shuddering all over, immediately letting go of him.

  He landed in a pile, because he wasn’t really awake when he fell, but the impact woke him up, and he saw that the two remaining guards were standing over him, swords raised about to stab down.

  He grabbed the suitcase off the floor beside him and held it out in front of himself like a shield, blocking the downward thrusts. Then he rose up into a squat and threw himself at the two guards, hit them like a football player, knocking their legs out from under them.

  He stood up, looked around himself at the chaos.

  Time to go.

  He zoomed out of the sitting room, ran down the hall towards the metal exit door.

  And then stopped.

  The way out was blocked by the guard with the chainmail and the helmet.

  The guy had his sword out, gripped in both hands. He looked calm, cool and collected.

  Kevin didn’t have a sword at all now.

  Crap.

  Chainmail guy raised the blade for a huge chop; the kind of chop that would definitely cave in a skull.

  Kev
in, relying on pure reflex, threw the suitcase at him as hard as he could, aiming for the guard’s face. It hit solidly with a meaty sound, stopping the sword swing in mid-motion, and sending the guard flying back into the door like someone had pulled him from behind with a rope.

  The dude slid down the door, falling off to one side, and Kevin saw that his helmet was bent, and there was a whole lot of blood pouring out of it.

  Did I kill another one?

  He hesitated, trying to determine if the guy was still breathing.

  (Wasn’t a fair fight at all. Didn’t even give him a chance to do anything. Crushed him like a bug, just crushed him-)

  Kevin’s hands shook, and his legs shook, and his mouth was dry.

  And then he heard footfalls—the two uninjured guards from the other room coming down the hall after him—and that was enough to snap him out of it. He managed to pull his eyes away from the downed man, grabbed his suitcase, and ran out the door into the outer hall.

  He was trembling all over, feeling cold and numb as he fled.

  Two dead guys, he thought. Holy crap.

  3 - Explanations

  Myra stood bent over at the waist, her muscles still aching from the spasms caused by the electrical charge.

  How in the hell did he do that? she wondered.

  One guard was dead, another badly injured, and a couple others had taken off after Kevin down the hall.

  “Catch him!” she screamed after the guards. “If you want to live, get out there and catch that man!”

  “No!” said her Mother. “Don’t chase. Get back in here!”

  Myra turned and saw the old lady, standing in a corner. She was cloaked in light to make herself mostly invisible, but the effect was already in the process of fading away as the Queen relaxed her force of will, releasing control of the light rays.

  “What?” said Myra. “You’re letting him go?”

  “If I wanted to keep him here I would’ve done so myself—I don’t need anyone’s help to whip that man. You’ll notice the guards didn’t shoot. That’s because I told them not to before you arrived.”

  “But why?”

  The Queen ignored the question and addressed the two guards, who were returning from the hallway, “Did the young man make it out?”