Chapter Twenty-Nine: What Works for Trolls…
The revolver barked once, the sound coinciding almost perfectly with a high-pitched squeal that was suddenly cut off.
Hyde looked behind him at the gory remains of the Goa'uld parasite that had been perched on his shoulder in preparation for taking him as a host. "Huh," he grunted, mildly impressed. "Nice shot."
"Thank you, Mr. Hyde," Holmes said calmly, replacing the revolver in his pocket.
Nemo released Daria as the Tau'ka relaxed. Holmes had been trying to protect Hyde, not kill him. Chaos and Fortune, she'd never been so afraid for another. She had seen Vader in situations just as deadly as that one could have been, but her friend had so many tricks up his sleeve that it was nearly impossible to be afraid for him. The man was practically invincible, a one-man army and backup all on his own. Hyde, as powerful as he was, was no Force Adept. There was no way he would have been able to avoid the shot had it been aimed at him, and then she would have lost both of them…
She shuddered at the idea. Without Henry, she didn't know what she'd do.
Then she realized what Holmes had just saved him and Hyde from. That prim'ta had been nearly full-grown, ready to take a host. If Holmes had waited any longer, he would have had to kill Hyde.
The Tau'ka turned to Holmes. "Thank you," she said in true gratitude.
Please convey thanks from myself as well, Henry added. My God, we didn't even notice that thing…
Holmes smiled a little. "You are welcome- all three of you."
She paused. "Wait a moment," she said slowly. "How do you know…?"
"I was asked to investigate the first time Mr. Hyde made appearances throughout London," he explained. "And I met with Dr. Jekyll just this evening."
He succeeded back then, Henry added. A good thing too- if he hadn't, I'd certainly be dead by now.
Daria resolved to inquire more fully into Henry's history before joining the League. Why would he be dead if Holmes hadn't investigated him?
"We need to be moving," Nemo reminded them, calling their attention back to the mission at hand. As curious as he was in regards to Holmes's influence on Jekyll's past, now was not the time for reminisces.
Hyde nodded his agreement. "I don't have forever, you know," he added pointedly.
They returned to the corridor, Holmes confidently taking the lead. Even underground, the detective had an unerring sense of direction. Swiftly, he brought them back to the main entry corridor and from there, figured out which way the devotees of the cult traveled in order to attend 'services'.
"I would predict that the ceremony will begin very soon," he told them as they followed the trail of the cultists. "Miss Noclaf, what is it likely to consist of?"
"Now?" she said after a moment's thought. "Panic on Kheti's and the priests' parts. From what I understand, it was supposed to be a rebirthing ritual. Nebthet was planning on taking a new host- me."
Hyde's shaggy head snapped around at the same time Jekyll exclaimed, No!
"You're not serious," the behemoth growled.
Daria nodded coldly. "That was why Kheti kidnapped me, rather than just kill me. Nebthet would have wanted as powerful a host as she could get her hands on. Being what I am- and likely the only Tau'ka they would ever get a hold of- it would have been too good of an opportunity."
"Monstrous," Nemo rumbled.
"Being a queen, Nebthet would have preferred a female host," she continued. "Mina would have been at risk, but I think even a Goa'uld would balk at trying to take her."
Hyde smirked. "She is a feisty one…"
Daria glared at him, not caring for his noisy appreciation of another female. Tau'ka could be rather jealous beings. For his part, he only chuckled darkly. It was fun to annoy her. She always reacted in the most amusing fashions.
"In any case," she said, turning her baleful gray-green gaze from Hyde to the other two men, "I'd imagine that Nebhet's trying to figure out what's gone wrong and that her underlings are starting to panic a bit, particularly since Hyde isn't exactly… what's the word I want…?"
" 'Subtle'?" Holmes suggested with a wry smile.
Nemo actually chuckled a little at that. Hyde was anything but innocuous. His face returned to its usual grave stoicism as he said, "There are certain to be cultists who have not been turned into Jaffa. We will need to make sure they are not harmed."
"We'll do our best," Daria promised. "Hyde, you know what a host smells like, right?"
He nodded. "Like the Yank."
"Rather like that, I imagine," she replied. "We can't let any person with a symbiote escape, otherwise it'll mature, take over the host, and we'll be dealing with this all over again within two years."
"We're going to have to deal with Mr. Sawyer," Nemo pointed out.
Daria glanced away. "I'm afraid so… I wish it were otherwise…"
Nemo and Hyde were quiet for a moment. Sawyer had led them well for the past several months, and none of them forgot that it was the young American who had made it possible for them to defeat Moriarty. They didn't want to lose him- well, Hyde didn't care one way or the other himself, but he knew Jekyll would feel the loss and be rather annoying about it…
"If you pansies are going to stand around here yammering like a bunch of old women," Hyde growled, growing impatient, "Then I'm going on ahead." He turned and lumbered off down the corridor like some oversized ape.
Nemo unsheathed his sword. "No time to waste."
Holmes and Daria followed the other two.
"One of these days, Miss Noclaf," the detective said conversationally, "You really must tell me what you are."
She smiled crookedly at him. "Mr. Holmes," she replied, "I'm rather complicated. Keep up now- I don't want Hyde getting to Nebthet before I do."
OSCOSCOSCOSCOSCOSC
"Fisher! Down!"
Jason ducked as Quatermain drew a revolver from its holster and fired at the jackal-headed beast. The weapon barked once, eliciting an answering howl of pain from the creature as the bullet bit deep into flesh.
The two men were backed against the wall, while Mina Harker was in the thick of the fight against the strange creatures. There were three of them now, all colored in various patters of brown, black, tawny gold, and sandy cream. The nearest- the one that had been shot by Quatermain, snarled and left off its antagonizing of Mina in favor of rather less agile prey. Its bulk seemed to fill the narrow corridor as it swung a clawed hand at them, missing by inches only because it hadn't quite maneuvered out into the corridor yet.
A dome of swirling blue-green energies flowed up around Jason and Quatermain, keeping the monster at bay while the hunter fired twice more into the monster. It lurched, and howled again, a high-pitched, truly eerie cry that resonated in the stone of the walls.
Mina Harker, being immortal, could not honestly say that she was fighting for her life. Rather, she was fighting to keep the jackal-beasts away from the two men. She whirled, darted, ducked, and slashed with knives and claws, leaving bloody gashes in her wake.
The vampiress dodged a swipe of the nearest jackal-beast's hand, only to run right into the clutches of the other. It grabbed her by the neck, crushing her throat in a powerful grip. She gasped, feeling bones crunch beneath the viselike pressure.
Something large, ceramic, and smelling of rotten grapes crashed into the back of the jackal-beast's head. It yelped, doglike, and dropped its victim. Mina fell to the floor, gasping for air even as she felt her crushed throat heal itself.
"You're welcome, luv!" Skinner's voice called cheerily.
The two jackal-beasts began yipping and barking at one another, the wine-drenched one shaking the red liquid out of its fur as it swayed, just managing to stay on its feet.
"Skinner!" Mina shouted. "Get out of here! They'll smell you out!"
A nearby jar picked itself up and flew at the other jackal. It dodged the missile, proving extraordinarily graceful for a creature of its size. The monsters seemed confused as they continued to yip and bark- they could see that random objects were now throwing themselves. But objects didn't move like that if there wasn't someone touching them, and they couldn't see who was doing it.
Watching them, Mina realized that she could no longer smell the creatures- couldn't make out their animal musk over the overpowering smell of the wine. By throwing the jug of wine, Skinner had made himself effectively invisible to scent as well as sight.
Not that it would help much- he had no weapon but whatever he could pick up and throw.
Distantly, over the sounds of the jackal-beasts, Mina heard other noises- an uproar of some sorts, coming from a chamber beyond this one. More yips and howls, along with a familiar bellowing that occasionally dissolved into colorful English curses and a piercing screech.
"The others have Daria!" she shouted to the two men pinned down behind her.
"Wonderful!" Quatermain shouted. His revolver sounded again. With a final startled yelp, the jackal-beast that had been menacing him and the mage collapsed into a twitching heap of furry limbs.
Alerted by the demise of their comrade, the other two stopped yipping and turned to the visible League members. Their ears were pricked forward as they growled threateningly.
One of them lunged at Jason, who yelled in surprise. Mina sprang at the beast, digging talon-like nails into its back. It halted, howling with sudden pain as it tried to fling her off. She hung on grimly.
"Oi!" Skinner shouted at the second, wine-drenched monster. "Peabrain!"
Something heavy thanked off the beast's head as it halted and turned to look for the source of the noise. This attack had more effect than the previous one. The jackal-beast swayed on its feet, then fell forward with a faint whimper.
Despite her creature's best efforts, Mina clung to its back like a limpet even as it clawed at her. The gashes would heal soon enough. Lips drawn back in a snarl that revealed long fangs, she drew a knife and slashed it across the creature's neck. Bright crimson blood gushed from the wound as it slowly collapsed. Suddenly ravenous at the sight of the red liquid, she crouched catlike on the dead creature's back and dug her fangs into its neck, drinking greedily. This was blood of a completely different caliber than anything she'd had before, more… vibrant… even than human blood.
Jason looked a little green as he approached, and resolutely tore his eyes away from the feeding vampiress.
"Where are the others?" he managed to ask.
Mina gestured vaguely at the door across from the one they'd come in through. He glanced at it and nodded. "Good," he said, a little faintly.
