CHAPTER 3 – THE LION'S DEN
The pilot activated his radio set and looked out of his window at an abandoned fishing village sitting on the ground. 'Come in Magic Castle, this is White Dragon, over.'
The airplane – all-white Altair amphibian – circled around, waiting for permission to land. It took off from sea west of Tokyo, just outside Japan's territorial waters; here, it collected nine people from a small rusty fishing boat. After a three-hour flight around Northern Japan and through the Kuriles, it finally arrived at its destination at the shores of Western Kamchatka.
'White Dragon, this is Magic Castle, we hear you loud and clear, over.'
'Magic Castle, this is White Dragon, requesting to land at D-354, over.'
'White Dragon, this is Magic Castle, we confirm D-354, and you are cleared to land, over'
The pilot throttled down two large turbofans, and Altair started to lose its speed; he then leveled the plane and started to descent. In a large cloud of water spray, the amphibian landed and taxied to the small jetty near the village.
A welcoming party was already waiting – two green military trucks stood on the jetty, several soldiers guarding them. It took just two minutes to transfer the passengers; then, both trucks turned around and headed to the big barn in the village center.
…
Saito had begun to regain his consciousness. He slowly opened one eye, then another, and tried to look around.
It was a large, brightly lit infirmary without any windows; part of it was enclosed by large folding screen. Several glass cabinets, filled with various boxes and bottles, lined the far wall. He was lying in a hard bed, stripped to his underwear; around him, stood several more beds, all empty.
Near the door was a large wooden table; small old man in white coat was sitting behind, with an open paper folder in his hands. On both sides of his table, stood two large men in green uniforms, pistols holstered on their belts.
Saito tried to stand up, but his head went dizzy; he fell back on the bed, drawing doctor's attention. Guards threw a menacing look at him, one reached for his holster.
'Where am I? Who are you?' Saito asked.
'Relax, young man.' the doctor answered as he turned to look at Saito. 'The drug should wear off in several minutes – until then, try not to make any sudden movements, or you may lose your balance again.'
Saito slowly started to regain his memories about recent events – the weekend at Fuji that ended with a wild car chase and several shoot-outs… and finally, their abduction by several mysterious assailants.
'Where's my wife and parents?'
'Your wife? Oh, you probably mean this pink-haired girl who arrived with you? She is here. I do not know about any other captives.'
The doctor stood up and pushed the folding screen aside. A single bed stood behind; his wife was lying on it, sleeping. Saito, who finally managed to stand up, slowly approached her. Louise shuddered at the sounds and slowly opened her eyes.
'Louise! Are you all right?' Saito asked as he sat beside her.
'Saito!' His wife threw herself on his neck and hugged him tightly. 'Who are these people and what do they want from us?'
The intercom device that stood at the table crackled to life, and deep voice filled the infirmary.
'Mr. Benedict, are our guests already awake?'
'Yes, Professor.' the doctor answered.
'Good. Have them escorted into the main lab.'
'Looks like our director is requesting your presence' the doctor said to the couple and gestured to the guards. 'You will find your clothes in this locker. These gentlemen will guide you; I strongly advise against doing anything rash while you're here – or they most likely will harm you.'
Saito put on his clothes and went to help Louise; she was still dizzy, and he had to dress her, just like old times. As he finished, one of the guards gestured him to follow; second stood up behind Saito's back, ready to thwart any attempts to escape.
…
Guards led the pair through clean, well-lit corridors, all looking the same; there were doors on both sides, with signs written in language that was unknown to Saito. Several times they met with other denizens – men and women of various ages who looked at them with genuine interest. Saito tried to ask them about this place, but guard pushed him, ordering to move silently. Louise, still not fully recovered from sleeping drug, clung to his arm for support.
Finally, they arrived to big double doors with sign on them that read simply "LAB 1". The lead guard knocked lightly, then opened the door and stepped inside; the pair followed suit. It was much darker inside; Saito blinked few times, his eyes adjusting for the low light.
They were in a huge, two-story tall, dimly lit hall. Hardware cabinets, barrels and boxes filled it up to the roof, leaving only a small circular space in its center; a big apparatus stood there.
It looked like a thick spear, standing on two pedestals. On one end was a half-meter long thin silver needle; the other end of the spear was connected to various devices and instruments through big cluster of cables, wires and pipes. Several rings of different diameters were affixed to it, designed to rotate on the device axis.
To the left was a desk with a computer terminal; a tall black-haired man in a dark tailored suit sat behind it, engrossed in work.
As they made it closer, he turned on his chair to look at the new arrivals. He sported moustache and a short rounded beard with hints of grey hair, and seemed to be in his late fifties.
'Louise Valliere, the Void Mage, and Hiraga Saito, the Gandalfr. Nice to meet you both.' He gestured to guards. 'Wait outside.'
As soldiers made their way out, the man stood up and approached the pair.
'I am Professor Viktor Galvanov, the owner and head of this station. Sorry for rather unpleasant circumstances of our meeting, but I like to keep my existence in secret – which means that I can't allow to myself luxuries like invitations.'
'Your mercenaries nearly killed us! What do you want from us? Where are my parents?' Saito shouted angrily.
'Please, one question at a time. These were outsourced help and did not complied with my explicit order; but, as I may see, you handled them very well. As per your other questions…' He walked to his desk and took something from drawer; Louise was surprised to see her wand.
'Lady Valliere, could you tell me how do you use this beautiful contraption?'
The pink-haired girl, now fully awake, was filling with anger.
'Give me that, you commoner, and I will show you in no time! But you might need medical help after that!' she shouted and tried to hit him with her fists; Saito barely managed to grab her. Galvanov just smirked.
'What an energetic young lady. Well, at least answer one question: how did you get your magic? And I don't mean your noble ancestry; I'm interested in the very nature of your abilities.'
'Our Founder, Brimir, took it from elves and gave it to His followers! Stop asking such simple questions and give me my wand back, you dog!'
'And how the elves got it?'
Louise was caught off guard by this question.
'I… I… I don't know.' She murmured, deep in thoughts. 'There is some old Elven texts that tell about great ancient gods that descended upon Great Desert to bring the magic down to earth… but that is considered to be a fairy tale even by Church of Romalia!'
Galvanov sighed.
'And yet another true story that grew to become a tale for children. My dear, your abilities weren't brought to you by some god, or founder, or other higher being. They are result of contamination of your planet's biosphere by an alien substance that was brought by a comet.'
'I… I don't understand! Your talk – this is blasphemy! How dare you to insult our Founder, you petty commoner?' Louise retorted angrily. 'And what is a "biosphere"?'
'Blasphemy… Founder… It seems that we've got a zealot here.' Galvanov grimaced. 'As Karl Marx said, "Religion is opium of the people"; and you, my dear, look like a washed-up junkie.'
Saito, on the other hand, understood Russian scientist very well – he still remembered that particular concept from his biology lessons back in the school.
'Your theory – it's like panspermia, right?'
'Smart boy! Yes, exactly. According to my calculations, it happened around fifty thousand years ago, give or take two thousand. The comet broke apart before event, presumably under the gravitational influence of your moons. A very fortunate circumstance, I must add – the comet was around twenty kilometers in diameter; an impact event of this magnitude could easily trigger a mass extinction. At least three major fragments blew up in atmosphere over Great Desert.'
This man could be Colbert's blood brother, Saito thought. Galvanov cleared his throat and continued.
'The comet nucleus contained a very unusual substance. It did not burn upon entry and wasn't consumed in the blast. Instead the substance – we here refer to it as "black dust" – fell over desert, affecting all its inhabitants, including elves. At some point later, humans somehow contacted with black dust and got the abilities you refer to as "magic" – these were ancestors of your present-day nobility.'
'How did you learn all of this?' Saito asked with amazement.
Galvanov smiled. 'Thirty years of hard work – and some help from my dear associate.'
He waved in direction of one of lab's darkened corners.
'Please reveal yourself.'
A cloaked figure appeared from the darkness; as it approached, Saito saw that it was clearly a woman. She lifted her hood, revealing her face; the pair froze in surprise.
He knew this woman, he knew her too well. Long green hair, braided into ponytail. Rimless spectacles. Haughty look.
'Long time no see, Gandalfr!' said Matilda de Sachsen-Gotha, better known as Fouquet.
…
'Fouquet? How did you, of all people, get there?' Saito exclaimed with anger.
'Remember the spell that brings various things from this world to Halkeginia? Well, it can work both ways.' Matilda replied with a slightly sad smirk.
'Saito, let me go this moment! I want to blow this blasphemer into tiny pieces!' Louise shouted.
'Please, my dear, I would hate to call guards.' Professor winked to Saito. 'It must be hard to live with such heavy case of black dust infection.'
'Infection? What do you mean? Magic can eventually kill its user?' Saito asked, clearly troubled by the perspective. Louise stopped her attempts to break free, equally disturbed by professor's words.
'No, nothing like that. Actually, it could prolong your life – it won't grant you immortality, but infected people could live up to 120 Earth years. They are more resistant to common diseases and heal more quickly. They also age slower than normal people - Matilda told me about Osmond, the headmaster of your Academy of Magic. According to her, he's 89 now – and he doesn't show any sign of diseases that is commonly associated with an old age.'
'And keep in mind the fact that old pervert smokes his smelly pipe for about fifteen times a day!' Matilda said with disgust.
'Aside from magic abilities, there are various symptoms of infection. The most striking is unusual hair color and eye color – although it is manifests mainly in women. Irritability is also common – sometimes it can reach extreme levels, for example, girl that likes boy will beat him to show her affection. Sometimes, high black dust concentration affects brain functions – turning infected mad; I believe that was the case with your late king Joseph.'
Saito looked at his wife – and wasn't surprised when she blushed slightly.
…
Two floors below, three other prisoners were sitting in a small cell. Manami lied on the bunk, sleeping; Keiji and Takeshi were on the floor, talking quietly.
'What would we do now, Hiraga-san?' young cop asked.
'I don't know, Keiji. I'm honestly don't know.' his boss answered him. 'These guys who abducted us – they're clearly not simple bandits.'
'Did you recognize someone?' Keiji asked.
'Their leader. Hendrik Kruger – bad news. Ex-South African Special Forces, or Recce; was involved in several secret operations in 90s – ones that ended with massacres. Wanted since fall of apartheid.'
They both went silent as Kruger entered the room. He changed back into his desert fatigues and red Recce beret.
'Alright, little policie, it's time for us to talk.'
…
'All right, let's put science lessons aside. I ask you directly – what do you want from us?' – Saito asked their Russian host.
'Let me show you something first.'
Galvanov put Louise's wand on microscope table and walked to the big apparatus.
'This is Warlock – my best creation.'
The Russian professor was now beaming with pride.
'This machine allows me to apply various stimuli – heat, cold, light, radiation and so on – to a black dust sample, mimicking its interaction with human body. First, you load the persona matrix – information about mage, which is used to define initial range of possible spells. Second, you load the spell matrix – an instruction set for stimuli-inducing machinery. Finally, you insert the sample into this notch – and then magic happen.'
He gestured to shelf that stood beside apparatus; it held several small glass cylinders with fine black-colored dust inside.
'You see, the biggest fragment of the comet was ejected out of the star system; approximately four thousand years later, it collided with our Moon. In 1982, Soviet space agency sent a secret mission to its impact crater; that's where my current samples come from.'
'Sadly, I have three problems. First, every use of the Warlock consumes black dust – and I'm already low on supplies. Second, the source – as you may have already guessed, one cannot simply go to the Moon and back. And finally third – I'm dangerously low on test subjects, and Matilda here is absolutely not to be dissected.'
Galvanov looked at Louise and smiled wolfishly.
'And that is where you, my dear, come in. You see, your infection is unique – your body not only has the same mutations as that of other mages; it actually can produce the black dust, which makes you invaluable for me.'
He turned to Saito.
'As for you, my boy – you are the first earthborn human who was infected with black dust and survived. You will be my zero patient – a model specimen for future experiments.'
'You're even crazier than Joseph…' Louise whispered with fear.
'Try it, Russian. Just try it – and I will do anything to kill you!' Saito shouted with rage.
'So be it, Gandalfr. Guards!'
…
Saito realized that time to act has come. He noticed Louise's wand lying on the microscope table; beside it was a small scalpel used to chip off samples.
Saito quickly weighed his options. Galvanov was unarmed and couldn't put up a serious resistance. Guards were outside, behind closed door; it would require several seconds for them to react. Matilda stood up beside her new master, her wand nowhere to be seen.
In a quick move, he darted to the microscope table and took scalpel in the left hand, and the optical device itself in the right; despite its small size, it was rather heavy. Suddenly, his Gandalfr runes started to glow.
'Partner, this knife of yours – looks like it's a weapon!' Derf 's voice, clearly worried, sounded in his head.
'But it's just a medical scalpel… damn, I have no time to contemplate on this!' Saito answered him and tossed microscope at Matilda.
His aim was far worse than that of Louise; the device hit female thief in chest, but it was enough to shock her for a couple of seconds; and these seconds were all that Saito needed to execute his bold escape plan.
In one long jump, he reached Russian scientist, took him by the collar and pressed the scalpel to his neck; overwhelmed by his sudden attack, Galvanov didn't put up any resistance. He just smiled thinly, seemed to be not afraid of threat.
Guards burst into the lab, guns in their hands. Saito pressed his weapon against professor's neck.
'Now, would you kindly order your goons to stand down? And don't forget to ask them to bring my parents and my friend here.' Saito asked him.
'As you wish, boy.' Russian waved to the guards. 'Please, do as he said.'
He then reached for his intercom. 'Hendrik, bring your prisoners up to main lab. All three of them.'
In the meantime, Matilda regained her footing and tried to reach her wand.
'Don't you even try, witch!'
She looked up and saw Louise with wand in her hand, ready to blow anything into smithereens. Saito smiled at the sight; Matilda just frowned and put her hands up in the air.
Two minutes later, Takeshi, his wife and his assistant entered the room, escorted by Kruger and three guards. Security chief's eyes widened as he saw the situation; he reached for a large holster on his belt and pulled out a big silver revolver.
'Tell him to drop it, or else!' Saito said in a threatening tone to his hostage. Galvanov smiled calmly and nodded.
'Hendrik, please comply.'
Kruger threw an angry look at Saito and put his gun on the floor.
'Mom, dad, Keiji! You alright?' Saito cried to them.
'We're fine, son. Despite that Afrikaner here, who tried his best to break us.' Takeshi answered. Hendrik just clenched his teeth.
'What will you do now, boy? Kill me – and you will never make it out of here alive.' Galvanov asked, smiling thinly.
'Louise, open a World Door to De Ornielle!'
Louise nodded and started her chant; professor just watched, as if not noticing the scalpel aimed at his neck.
'Fascinating, simply fascinating.'
As Louise finished her spell, portal opened. It was late evening in Halkeginia; she could see their mansion at De Ornielles, several windows still lighted – someone, probably Siesta, were still awake, or just forgot to put off the light. The last thought angered her – after all, it was her property as well, and she hated when somebody used it inefficiently.
'You three go first. Hurry up!' Saito told his parents. 'Louise won't be able to keep it for long!'
Manami was first, she approached the World Door with caution and stepped through, Keiji followed her; Takeshi was the last. Behind them, Saito noticed a girl in maid uniform that stood in mansion main door; apparently, Siesta noticed Louise's portal.
Now it was time for them to escape. He turned his attention to Russian professor.
'Alright, Russian. Now I and my wife will go through the portal; I don't want your sorry ass on my premises, so I will let you go. Do something, and you're dead.' Saito warned his hostage. Galvanov just smiled.
'Boy, in my twenties I weren't afraid of KGB – and, if you know what KGB is, you might want to work on your threat talk.'
Saito shoved the Russian aside, hurtling him into Hendrik; both men fell to the floor. He then grabbed his wife from behind and jumped into the portal. Kruger tried to get his gun, but Galvanov grabbed it first and shook his head. They just gazed at the portal; without Louise maintaining it, it quickly shrank and finally closed, leaving them behind.
…
With Hendrik's help, Galvanov stood up, straightened his suit and walked off to Warlock control table.
'How could you let this happen?' Matilda shouted in anger. The Russian handed the gun back to its owner, sat down and activated his computer terminal.
'You're young, Matilda. Childish. Impulsive. You care about small things, but you fail to see the big picture.' he said without ever looking at his Halkeginian accomplice. The screen flashed to life as Galvanov logged in and began to enter commands.
...
INITIALIZING WARLOCK…
CHECKING REACTOR POWER OUTPUT…
REACTOR STATUS: 32% POWER OUTPUT
WARNING: INSUFFICIENT POWER OUTPUT, WARLOCK PROTOCOL INITIALIZATION…
POWERING UP…
REACTOR STATUS: 98% POWER OUTPUT
POWER STATUS: READY
...
Doctor Benedict silently entered the lab.
'Did you get the record?' professor asked him; old man nodded and gave him small laser disc. Galvanov just smiled and entered another command.
'What's so funny?' Matilda asked anxiously.
...
PERSONA MATRIX LOADING…
SUBJECT: VALLIERE, L.-F.
BRAIN CHART LOADING… SUCCESSFUL
NEURON MATRIX LOADING… SUCCESSFUL
BLOOD CELL CONFIGURATION LOADING… SUCCESSFUL
INITIALIZING BRAIN EMULATION… SUCCESSFUL
PERSONA MATRIX STATUS: READY
...
'Let me just say that people can be extremely malleable when it comes to life and death. I needed only two things from the girl – and I got them both easily. First…'
Galvanov reached for his pocket and produced a small book in black ornamental cover with little golden lock.
'The Founder's Prayer Book? But how this thing can be useful to us?'
'Go to adjacent lab – they have an ultraviolet lamp over there; use it on the book – you will find most interesting read. I must say that I misjudged that Founder of yours – he wasn't brilliant. He was a goddamn genius.'
Matilda calmed herself; she was completely puzzled by professor's serenity.
'And the second?'
The Russian scientist inserted doctor's disc into his terminal. Drive started to buzz, and new data filled the screen.
...
SPELL MATRIX LOADING…
ID: WORLD DOOR
SYMBIOTIC CHART TYPE: 0
ENERGY SIGNATURE OVERLAY LOADING… SUCCESSFUL
RELEVANT EMITTERS FOUND: 4
INITIALIZING …
NEUTRON EMITTER INITIALIZING… READY
LIQUID NITROGEN DISPENSER INITIALIZING… READY
DOUBLE BETA PARTICLE EMITTER INITIALIZING… READY
TYPE IV CAVITY MAGNETRON INITIALIZING… READY
COORDINATE CHART INITIATING… READY
SPELL MATRIX STATUS: READY
ENTER DESTINATION COORDINATES:
...
He entered string of numbers.
A long, thin mechanical arm moved to grab one of the sample capsules; it then inserted it into the device.
...
INJECTING BLACK DUST SAMPLE… SUCCESSFUL
CONNECTING… SUCCESSFUL
WARLOCK STATUS: READY
AWAITING USER CONFIRMATION
EXECUTE SPELL? Y/N
...
'Their escape is an unfortunate event – but not a disaster. Have you ever heard of ultimate strategy game, the chess? Sacrifice a pawn to get to the king.' Galvanov said and pressed the Y key.
'We just lost an asset that we've been hunting for several months – I'd call that a loss!'
With loud humming, magnetron activated; the rings around the device started to spin. The sample camera filled with liquid nitrogen; it started to evaporate, producing clouds of white mist.
'You've said that we lost? No, my dear Matilda.'
Bright flash formed on the end of sample chamber, and Warlock discharged with a loud clap. The flash transformed into a small white ball; it fell off, slowly flew for a couple of meters and expanded into a floating circle with bright white rim. Image of medieval city with magnificent castle at the background appeared in its center.
Matilda just stared with amazement. She immediately recognized Tristainia and its Royal Palace.
Viktor Galvanov turned to face her and spread his hands, grinning in triumph.
'We've just started playing.'
Author's notes:
All things scientifical.
As I promised earlier:
- Viktor Galvanov is based on Tim Curry and his multiple villain roles.
- Hendrik Kruger is based on several villains from various media, mainly on Lt. Frye from The Rock. Expect some psychotic actions from him in the future chapters.
