See Part One for story details.
Vastra considered the bulky figure who writhed in agony on the floor behind her friend, his hands clutched between his legs, his body curled into a foetal position, splashes of blood staining his robe an even darker red. She nodded to Jenny but whatever they might have said in greeting was interrupted by a cry of rage and the fast approaching footsteps of the Professor.
The women turned to see the man stomping down from the dais, a sicklesword from the altar display held uncomfortably in both hands. Held too far away from his body and too low to protect himself from Vastra's tongue, which felled him on the spot. The blade tumbled from his hands as he hit the ground and skittered towards them. Jenny bent down to pick it up, looking Vastra up and down as she rose.
"That's not your colour at all, Madame."
Vastra glanced down at the too-short robe and then considered Jenny's gory attire, "Or indeed yours, my dear."
Jenny took a hesitant step forward before rushing on and wrapping her arms around Vastra's torso. The flat of the blade pressed into Vastra's back but she ignored the sensation and concentrated on the warmth of her friend. They clung together for long moments, each intensely aware of the contact. Vastra raised her hands, holding Jenny closer to her. Jenny allowed the pommel to slip from her grasp so that she could dig her hands into the back of Vastra's gilet.
She looked up to smile into Vastra's face but the familiar features were already shifting into a hard stare that was focused on the dais above them. Jenny turned to stare up at the altar that was now awash in sparkling lights that danced across the stone and reflected off the artifacts that decorated the large space.
"Someone's putting on a show," Jenny whispered.
She regretted discarding the sword and edged around Vastra until she could bend down gingerly and retrieve it. Before she could straighten up there was a loud fanfare and a beam of light shot forth from inside the sarcophagus. It flared and dimmed again, leaving only a faint glow that bathed the altar and clearly showed that the sarcophagus was now empty.
Vastra felt Jenny's hand bumping against her side and glanced down to see the stained dirk pressed towards her. She raised a brow and Jenny said, "You seem to have lost yours," before adding, "I'll keep the sword, if you don't mind."
"Thank you, my dear. I fear I was lax at the beginning of the altercation."
Jenny tutted mildly but said nothing as they looked up to see that the bright glow was shifting again, darkened by something inside the sarcophagus itself. Another fanfare rang out and then a form rose up from within. It stood in one fluid motion, rising as if some invisible machine had lifted it from resting to standing.
Jenny gasped, staring wide-eyed at the human figure before them. It was a woman, tall and as beautifully proportioned as the image on the altar, with long legs and ample breasts clad in a tight, red dress that clung to every inch of her form. Above, though still held proud and straight, was not the head of a lioness but that of a woman with dark, shoulder-length hair braided with red beads.
She turned in place and held out a perfectly manicured hand as if expecting a robed figure to help her down. There was a moment of confusion, then the dark eyes cleared and the head turned in a slow arc to take in the fallen men around the room. It stopped when the burning gaze fixed on Vastra and Jenny. Eyes that darkened still further as she took in the women.
That same hand extended towards them, a finger pointing at them as the woman hissed, "You!"
Jenny took a step forward, sword lifting insinctively. Vastra's hand clamped down on Jenny's shoulder, holding her in place. She straightened, adopting as regal a bearing as she could muster under the circumstances and levelled the newcomer with her most formidable stare.
"That would explain the buzzing," Vastra said, almost to herself, before adding, "Pray, end this charade; that ceaseless noise is becoming tiresome."
There was a pause, then the woman's hand glided to her wrist and she tapped at something there. The buzzing ended, the very air around them seemed to shimmer and dance. And then the ornate walls and high altar morphed into the grubby stone of a London sewer chamber, though still lit by the flambeaux above and the dim illumination from within the sarcophagus.
"Think I'd rather live with that sound," Jenny muttered.
The sarcophagus now stood on a rough hewn slab of stone but the woman inside remained an impressive figure.
Vastra rolled her eyes and said, "Let us have no pretense, I thank you."
Again the woman tapped at her wrist and now she was shorter, less homo sapien, more felis and certainly less regal. Her feline form was clad in an orange jumpsuit , the exposed parts of her body covered in fur, sharp teeth clearly visible as she hissed and glared at them. At her wrist was a broad, leather strap.
She dropped down from the slab in a fluid motion and stared at them from the lower section of the dais, eyes alert, body inclined towards them in a wary attitude. The three women considered each other in silence. The Felinoid was unarmed but neither Vastra nor Jenny doubted her abilities in combat. She made no move to attack and they all remained in place for a long moment.
Jenny broke the silence, "So you were using this place to fool the Professor and that into thinking you're a High Priestess? Bit elaborate!"
"Playing with human politics and religion," Vastra said, "surely not at all your own preference? Who employs you now?"
The Felinoid hissed but said nothing. Jenny noticed her begin to edge backwards and tensed to move. She waited for Vastra's signal, aware that her friend wanted answers more than she wanted the woman before them.
"What, cat got your tongue?" Jenny smirked, "Oh, this definitely ain't her style, Madame, and playing with rituals? What were you trying to do, raise the dead? When you could raise an army round here with a bag of gold and a few hard words. What'd be the point of it?"
"And involving the Hawthornes when their interest must surely have been nothing more than academic. Or was that the Professor himself? Perhaps so," Vastra said, adding, "No, there is more to it, is there not? You are working for -"
Vastra didn't have the chance to finish her thought. The Felinoid had taken a long stride backwards and was pivoting, ready to vault up on to the slab and into the sarcophagus. Jenny ran, taking the steps two at a time and lunging at the Felinoid.
She tackled her legs, shifting their momentum and sending them tumbling down the other side of the dais. They rolled to a halt on the cold stone floor, the sword clattering away as the Felinoid scrambled against Jenny to find her feet. Jenny clawed at her with one hand while she tried to regain a grip on the sicklesword with the other.
Then the Felinoid was being lifted off her, hefted bodily into the air and cast aside. She hit the ground hard, her arm slapping into the cold stone with an audible crack. Vastra reached down for Jenny and lifted her to her feet, steadying her carefully before they turned as one, blocking the Felinoid's path to the sarcophagus. Her huge paw kept swatting at the device on her wrist but she remained in place.
"Reckon it's knackered," Jenny said and lunged at her with the regained sword.
The Felinoid dodged the tired thrust, moving away from Jenny but a little more towards Vastra. Vastra took a step forward, attempting to hem the Felinoid between them. She pounced suddenly, bounding at them and scattering the two women as she jumped up to the dais and onto the slab above.
Jenny lashed out with the sword, a vicious slash of the blade that bit deep into flesh and bone. The Felinoid mewled in pain as she pushed past them. Jenny struggled to maintain her balance, using the tip of the sword to steady her as she tried to stand and turn at the same time. She felt a strong hand grab at her arm and fought down a moment of panic before she found her unsteady legs beneath her.
Vastra turned on their heels, carrying Jenny with her and they saw the splashes of blood on the steps before raising their eyes just in time to see the Felinoid fall into the sarcophagus, one paw clutching at the other arm. Again the lights glowed and danced, again the fanfare.
Jenny took a faltering step forward but Vastra grabbed at her, holding her back as the lights faded and the Felinoid was replaced by the mummified remains of Anash. Jenny shrugged off her grip and glared up at Vastra.
"I could have stopped her!"
"Or been transported to wherever the creature went. To be greeted by what, my dear?"
Jenny's annoyance died away and she shrugged, "You'd have followed, wouldn't you?"
"I might have considered it," Vastra allowed after a significant pause.
