Family Secrets

by Thomas F Monteleone

  Ergel began composing how he’d explain it to Master Simon.

  Well, you sees, sir, Ergel found where both the lease human was hiding, but it seems they went and lost the girly human. Ergel had nothing to do with that. The boy human somehow lost her. She’d been follered there by a troll friend so Ergel knows she was there. I had to leaves because, as you certainly knows, sir, last night was a luning night and–

  Ergel slammed on the brakes and swerved to the side of the road.

  Last night – a luning night! What if the dumb girly went out and got her own self eaten. There’d be no getting her back then! And that meant Master Simon would have to let Falzon know that his lease girly was gone for good. The master would probably send Ergel to break the news, and who knew what a crazy-mad rakshasa would do to a poor troll? At the very least he–

  Ergel saw a familiar car steaming his way – a Nevre. He’d seen one just like it in the Uberall motor pool.

  He lowered himself in his seat as it passed. That fixator Uberall, Teddy, was behind the wheel, and he was hurrifying at top speed. Why the rush?

  Something not right with that Teddy. Ergel remembicated back at the Uberall compound when he heard him cheerifying the TV… just about the time it was showing the escaped lease humanses.

  And now he just happened to be hurrifying in the direction of the house where those two lease kids had been staying.

  Could it be…?

  Ergel put the truck in gear and wheeled it around to follow. Gibbel would have to wait. This could be more important.

  As Ergel drove he pondercated all the troubles what had happened since Master Simon leased them two. Nothing but trouble.

  First, before the ink’s even dry on the leases, they jumps off Ergel’s truck in an attempt at escapication. But Ergel reappropriates them and brings them to the farm – where they promptly escapicate again. This makes Ergel look bad in Master Simon’s estimacation, so Ergel runs after them and thinks they gets killed by the Silent Ones along with the master’s son Dillon. Then they makes a bigger fool of Ergel by showing up alive on the television. Then, before he can reappropriate them again they disappears again! Only by luck did Henrel spot them and foller them. And today, just when Ergel thinks he gots them cornered, they ups and loses the girly lease – maybe permanently due to luning lycan mastication.

  Ergel sighed, thinking, Nobody knows the troubles this poor troll has seen since those two humanses was dragged into Nocturnia. Everybody’d be better off if Falzon had just left the brats in Humania.

  Upon further pondercation, Ergel wondered about this lycan he was follering. It occurred to him that Teddy the fixator was driving a Nevre that was the same model as the one that had runned over his foot that night when the two human leases excaped.

  Ergel’s foot still pained him now and again. Could this be the same driver of the same car?

  Ergel noticed that Teddy didn’t seem sure of where he was going. He kept slowing to read the mailboxes. But finally his suspications was confirmed when the Nevre pulled to a stop before the house where the boy and girly leases were seen, the place with Jantz on the mailbox. He drove past and stopped at his previous spyify spot where he watched Teddy the fixator rush inside.

  No question about it now… Teddy the fixator was connected to those human lease brats. Ergel couldn’t prove it, but he knew the fixator had abscondicated with the brats – and near run down Ergel as he whizzed them away from Armagost Farm.

  He found his double-eye scopers but didn’t even get a chance to focusate them before Teddy the fixator was bounding out the door and back to his car. He turned it around and steamed back the way he had come.

  Ergel waited, then follered at a discretelyish distance. And as he motorvated, he remembered that the boy brat had mentioned to Master Simon about seeing some Uberall what had looked like his brother. Suspecticating a human spyer, Falzon had had everybody tested. No human showed up, but what if Teddy had fixated the results? They didn’t call this Teddy “the fixer” for nothing.

  And now that Ergel ruminicated on it, Teddy bore some resemblification to the human boy brat. And then Ergel knew…

  He’s a human! Not only that–Teddy the fixator is the big brother of the boy and girly lease brats!

  Ergel’s achifying foot was just one of the scores he had to settle with this fake lycan. He was gonna fix “Teddy the fixer”… fix him good. Or rather, fix him bad… real bad.

  50

  Emma missing…

  Telly felt sick as he raced along the road. He couldn’t help imagining the worst – not after Mr. Jantz had repeated Ryan’s account of last night’s events: Dillon’s truck breaking down, leaving the two humans stranded on the road. And then, after the sun had set, Ryan drawing off the lycans. A good plan, a courageous plan… but Ryan hadn’t seen Emma since.

  He blinked back tears. Poor Emma trapped outside on a luning night? And now missing? That couldn’t be good. No way could that be good. The thought of his little sister being chased down in the dark and torn to pieces…

  Telly suddenly hated Koertig for shanghaiing her from Kansas. But then, the tornado would have killed her if he hadn’t…

  Damn! He needed to blame someone!

  Why not himself? Yeah. He was hardly blameless. Emma had asked him to come back to the Jantzes with her and Ryan last night. But no… he’d had to get the damn car back. If only he’d followed them. He would have been there when Dillon’s truck broke down, could have ferried them the rest of the way to safety. They’d still be in danger from Falzon, but at least he’d know they were both still alive.

  Or better yet…if he’d been able to learn to work the breach generator by now, he might have been able to send them back home before luning night.

  But pointing fingers – at himself or anyone else – wasn’t going to bring Emma back. Right now he had to find Ryan and make sure he was still safe, then the two of them would turn the area upside down until they found Emma or – he didn’t want to face the possibility, but he had to – what was left of her.

  He slowed as he passed the fork in the road. Ryan had told the Jantzes that he and Emma hadn’t quite reached the fork when the moon rose. So it couldn’t be far from–

  Ahead, to the right, a truck was pulling out from between two clumps of bushes on the side of the road. When Telly spotted the Armagost Farms sign on its side and Dillon at the wheel, he pumped his fist.

  “Yes!”

  And then he saw a pair of trucks steaming their way from the opposite direction. Each was festooned with a dozen whooping and waving Uberalls crowded on the beds and hanging off the sides of each – like a scene straight out of Road Warrior.

  “No!”

  One truck cut Dillon off in front while the other slewed to a stop behind. Trapped! Telly watched in horror as the Uberalls swarmed the Armagost truck like ants on a gummy bear. He had to do something. Ryan would be in there, and Emma too if they found her.

  He gunned his steamer and raced to the spot, slamming on the brakes and creating a dust cloud as his tires slid in the dirt. The Uberalls were pulling the frightened looking Dillon, Cal, and Ryan from the car. Where was Emma? His heart sank as he realized they hadn’t found her. Still, he had to find a way to defuse this situation.

  “Hey!” he shouted, pushing through the crowd. “I know that little one! Falzon leased him to Master Simon!”

  “We know that!” a necro said.

  “And that other one!” Telly said, pointing to Dillon. “He’s Master Simon’s kid!”

  “Yeah?” said a squatch. “Then what’s he doing with these two humans?”

  “I don’t know,” Telly said, “but I do know if you hurt them you’ll have to answer to Falzon.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” said a big lycan, shaking the third kid by the neck. Telly recognized Cal from when he’d dropped off Emma and Ryan at the Balmore safe house last week. “But this one – who’s he?”

  Another squatch said, “He don’t belong to no one! We can d
o what we want with him!”

  Poor Cal. He’d been a good friend to Ryan and Emma and now he looked scared to death – with good reason.

  Telly shook his head. “Never seen him before. But don’t be too rough on him. You know how Falzon likes to mete out punishment himself.”

  Cal gave him a brief, grateful look, but still looked terrified.

  How do I get them out of here, Telly thought, his mind racing.

  It looked hopeless.

  51

  No-no-no! Ergel thought as he saw the swarming Uberalls. What’s theys doing here? How could they know–?

  And then he spotted that bonehead Gibbel and it all became clarified as glass. He’d gone to Falzon instead of Master Simon – probably expectorating a bigger rewardation.

  Ergel pulled up to the altercation and ran over to where Gibbel was standing. He cocked his fist – big as a melon, it was – and punctuated his jaw, knocking him down.

  “Whatchoo do that for?” he said, looking up from the ground.

  “You betraydified me! You was s’posed to go to Master Simon!”

  “Well, the Uberalls motorvated me to their compound,” he said, rubbing his jaw as he got to his feet, “so I told Falzon. Theys his humanses, after all.”

  Ergel jabbed a thick finger in his face. “Yer gonna rectificate this situmation! We’re gonna take them kids back to Master Simon and yer gonna help. Now wait here whiles I put these rabbles in their places.”

  With that, Ergel turned and marched toward the spot where Teddy the fixator was saying things to the Uberalls, appearifying like one of them but Ergel knew he wasn’t. When he arrived he realized they were all argumenting what to do with the three kids.

  “Those two,” he said, barging into the crowd and pointing to Dillon and the lease brat, “gets returnified to Armagost Farm with me.”

  “Not happenin’,” said a big lycan who had another human by the neck.

  Ergel smashed him square in the face, just as hard as he’d hit Gibbel. Trolls could take a punch like that, but hardly anyone else. This lycan, big as he was, was no exception. He fell like a big choppicated tree, and he did not get up.

  Ergel looked around. “Anyone else with an itch to informify Ergel about what ain’t happenin’? ’Cause Ergel is glad to scratch it.”

  Nobody said nothing. In fact, they backed away and left a space around the kids.

  Ergel shoved Dillon and the lease brat toward Gibbel. “Youse two waits over there by that troll until I’m through here.”

  As they slunk away, a squatch spoke up. “All right for those two, but what about this one?” He pointed to the third human kid.

  Ergel had never seen this one. He glancinated from the new kid to Teddy, who looked worried for the human. And that was when he got a beauteous inspircation.

  “Looks to me like he missed out on the luning last night. I think one o’ youse should transicate and put the bite on him.”

  This met with a roar of approval – except from Dillon who ran back to him.

  “No, Ergel, you can’t do that!”

  Ergel lifted Dillon by the front of his shirt and tossed him toward Gibbel.

  “Get over there with Gibbel! Ergel does what he wants here!” To Gibbel he said, “Corralify them behind one of the trucks. No more interruptations!”

  The Uberalls formed a circle around the frightenated human. Obviously they’d done this kind of thing before.

  “Who gets the honor?” said a necro.

  Amid a chorus of raised hands and shouts of “Me!” Ergel waved his arms and said, “Silencify yerselfs. The honor should go to one of youse who deserves a rewardation for being the most useful and helpful Uberall of them all.”

  “Who?” they said. “Who?” “Who?”

  “Youse all knows who.” Ergel took great glee in pointing him out. Teddy the fixer, of course!”

  The shock on the sneaky fake lycan’s lying face was like a giant billy-goat pie with sugar on top.

  Things was about to get real nastyfied for Teddy the fixator.

  52

  Me?

  Telly stood stunned among the cheering Uberalls and prayed he’d heard wrong. But no, they were pushing him into the center of the ring, straight at Dillon.

  Why had that sadistic troll picked him? Telly guessed it was an honor to be chosen to trans and chew up a helpless human, but for reasons known only to him, he wanted no part of it. And then he caught Ergel staring at him with a wicked, gap-tooth grin and realized the big ugly troll knew something – or at the very least suspected it.

  He thinks I’m human, Telly thought.

  How had that idea penetrated his thick troll skull?

  “No-no!” Telly cried. “Let somebody else more deserving have the honor! I’m not in the mood!”

  If he could stay on the sidelines he might be able to work an escape route for Cal. But in the ring with him, and of course unable to trans, he’d be helpless. And hopeless too. Because once the Uberalls learned he was human, they’d tear him apart.

  “Oh, no!” Ergel shouted. “You’re the one, Teddy. You’re gonna transicate and show us you stuff!”

  Telly tried to escape the circle, but on every attempt they pushed him back.

  “What’s the matter, fixator?” Ergel said, giving him a particularly hard shove. “Afraid of humanses?”

  This got a big laugh from everyone.

  Telly was getting mad now, and it somewhat dampened his fear. He was mad at all these bloodthirsty Uberalls, but especially at Ergel.

  “Enough!” he shouted but they only laughed at him.

  53

  The troll Ergel called Gibbel herded them behind the cab of one of the trucks where they couldn’t see what was going on. But Ryan could hear the raucous laughter of the Uberalls.

  “What’s so amusicating, I wonders,” Gibbel said.

  “I was wondering about that too,” Ryan said. “And by the way, there’s no such word as amusicating.”

  “Is too. Now shut up you… you… lease!”

  “Ow, wow. I’m sooo insulted. Why don’t you take a look and see what’s so amusing?”

  He was looking for a way to distract this troll so that he and Dillon could take off. He had no worry about outrunning Gibbel, but his big hope was that their bolt for freedom would bring the Uberalls in pursuit, giving Cal a chance to escape, which would save Telly’s hide as well.

  “I believes I’ll do just that,” Gibbel said, “but not without youse two.”

  He grabbed them each around the back of the neck with his meaty paws and dragged them out from behind the truck. When Ryan saw Cal and Telly in the middle of a circle of laughing, jeering Uberalls, being pushed back and forth, his stomach lurched. He knew he was going to hurl so he made sure that Mrs. Jantz’s partially digested pancakes landed squarely on the troll’s feet.

  He’d hoped Gibbel would loosen his grip, but the troll only tightened it and shook Ryan like a rag doll.

  “Vomick on me, wills ya? Why I oughta – ows… what was… thaaaaat?”

  Gibbel’s grip loosened and his eyes rolled up as he started to sink to the ground. That was when Ryan noticed the syringe sticking out of his neck. And then he noticed another man – human or lycan, he couldn’t tell – standing close behind them.

  “That should sh-shut him up for a while,” the man said.

  Ryan stared at him. He was dressed like one of the locals but something about his eyeglasses and his mane of silver hair looked so familiar. And then recognition hit.

  “Doctor Polonius!”

  He smiled. “One and the s-same.”

  “But how did you get–?”

  “We can chit-chat later, little man. Right now let’s d-drag this oaf out of sight.”

  Even with the three of them lifting – Dillon and Ryan each took an arm and Dr. Polonius took the feet – Gibbel’s dead weight was a tough carry.

  “Who’s Doctor Polonius?” Dillon whispered as they dragged the troll.

  “W
e know him from home.”

  Dillon’s eyes went wide and he almost stumbled. “Humania?”

  Ryan nodded.

  Dillon said, “But how–?”

  “That’s what I’d like to know. But right now I’m more worried about Telly and Cal.”

  “All questions will be answered in g-good time, boys,” Polonius said, releasing Gibbel’s feet.

  “Why are you helping us?” Dillon said.

  “I’m not helping you,” Polonius said. He pointed at Ryan. “I’m helping him. I have n-need of him and his sister. You just happen to be with him.”

  Ryan would have pressed him about that “need” remark, but mention of Emma sparked a pang in his chest. They hadn’t been able to find a trace of her beyond her shoe.

  “Emma’s missing.”

  “Then we’ll simply have to f-find her.”

  “I…” Ryan’s throat tightened. “She was outside last night during the luning. I think–”

  “Nonsense. I’m sure she’ll t-turn up. Worrying never solved anything, so put aside your concerns about your sister and f-focus on your own predicament. We need to find an escape route from this rabble.”

  “Not without Telly and Cal.”

  Polonius shook his head. “I have no use for them. But as for y-your half brother, he can take care of himself.”

  Yeah, probably, Ryan thought, but not in this case.

  “They expect him to turn into a wolf. And if he doesn’t, they’ll kill him!”

  “A wolf, you say?”

  “They think he’s a lycan!”

  “Well, I think you’ll find that Telly is full of surprises. Meanwhile, I’ll create a d-diversion.”

  “How?” Dillon said.

  Polonius pointed to one of the trucks. “That second troll–”

  “Ergel,” Dillon said.

  “His name is immaterial. What m-matters is that he arrived in that truck and was in such a hurry to reach the Uberalls that he left it idling. Jamming the safety release valve on the steam tank should have interesting c-consequences, don’t you think?”