Midnight Brings the Best Revenge
Chapter 3: Stranger and Stranger
Look at her. She's just waking up, totally oblivious to everything that's going on. But, then again, what could you expect a talk show host to know outside of the latest gossip?
She's stirring now, her eyes flickering awake. Her head rises a little and she squints against the light shining from the street lamp. What a more perfect time to kill such an ugly creature?
She can't see me, which is exactly what I have intended. Her vision stops just outside the circle of light that the bulb provides. Isn't electricity wonderful?
CRACK!
I smile. That's right, goblin, look worried. I know that a mere broken twig won't hurt you, but do you? Of course not.
"Who...who's there?" she stammers. "I know you're out there. I warn you, I'm more powerful than you might think!"
I laugh beside myself. What amusing creatures these goblins are! So stupid and self-confident. She is looking nervous now. Do you think my laugh startled her?
"I'm warning you!" she says, standing up. She puts out her hand to conjure up a fireball. "I'm telling you! I can hurt you real bad!"
"You think so?" I muse. I laugh again. She almost falls off of her feet! "Very well, I'll play along."
I step into the light. She gasps, surprised. But, then again, who wouldn't be when they see my face?
"It's...it's you!" she gasps.
I laugh once more! Incredible how foolish they all are!
And so she gains confidence. She takes a defensive stance and attempts to summon up a ball of fire. How her eyes widen as she realizes that no such power can come to her now! What a fool!
"Say goodbye," I sneer. Her scream rings out as the dagger rips through the flesh on her arm. She tries to fight, but without her powers she has no chance. She's still sobbing quietly when a bone is ripped from its joint. But now she quiets, the flow of blood finally making her black out.
All right then. So she's gone. What does it matter? I continue to disassemble her limbs. First her other arm, then her legs. Hell, why not? Her ears as well.
FOWL MANOR
Butler dropped the rag that he had been using and put a dagger in each hand, the rest in his pockets. Artemis's eyes grazed the ceiling and the windows of the den. The rail fell hard outside and a flash of lightning followed by a crash of thunder illuminated the room with an unnaturally eerie glow.
Butler turned to his employer. "You stay here, Artemis," he said firmly. "If I'm not back here in ten minutes, take the secret exit out of the house."
Artemis gave a quick nod. He himself would normally have tried to think up a plan of his own, but there wasn't time. "Be careful, Butler," he said.
Butler turned without a backwards glance and hurried out of the room. His footsteps faded as he rushed down the hallway.
CRASH!
Artemis rushed over to the window and pulled the curtains shut. It was just a little thunder and lightning; nothing to worry about.
Then why was he feeling so jumpy?
No one had ever broken in the house before, with the exception of Mulch Diggums. And he wouldn't be trying to get in from the roof, heavens no. There were several logical explanations for the thumping noises on the roof: it could have been a tree branch that had been struck by lightning...it could have been some debris that the wind happened to pick up during the storm...hell; it could even be that lightning had struck the house.
But he doubted all of those possibilities considerably.
He normally wouldn't have been too worried; Butler could handle this sort of thing. But with all of the murders going on...
He didn't even want to think about what sort of things could happen to Butler if this crazed, homicidal maniac were the one on the roof. Butler was strong, sure. But was he strong enough?
And that's when the doors to the den burst open.
THE HAVEN
"Nasty business, Foaly, nasty."
Commander Root was seated in the big squashy chair in his office, rubbing his forehead. Foaly stood on the other side of the desk, his tin-foil hat sitting atop his head. He was holding a number of case files in his hands. One of them was, of course, the file with all of the information on the current serial killings. Another was a folder (slightly smaller than the previous, but not much so) filled with documentaries of the Mall Massacre twenty years ago. The final was just a few papers held together with a paper clip. These papers contained the information pertaining to the murders that the Mud Men were dealing with. Hence the reason why there were so few papers.
"Look, Julius," he sighed. "It wasn't your fault. There's nothing you could have done about it."
Root leaned back in his chair, still massaging his temple with a finger. "I know," he said. His tone was unusually soft. "I just wish we could do more. Randa Bawshan was a ditz, but she didn't do anything to deserve...dismemberment."
They both fell silent. It had happened only two hours ago. A group of scouts had spotted what looked like a goblin leg lying in the middle of a ghost town's street. When word got to Root, he himself had personally gone up to the scene. Foaly had already been there, getting pictures and writing down some notes.
It was most definitely one of the more grotesque scenes that they had found. All of her limbs (plus her ears) had been torn apart using a dagger (which they had found lying some number of feet away from the torso) and pure strength.
Not the kind of thing patrol scouts see every day.
Foaly set the files down in front of the Commander. "Here are the files you wanted. I don't think that the murders here and Above Ground are the same criminals; look at how different the killings are!"
"I understand Foaly," Root growled, "but I never said that I thought they were all of them the killed by the same person. I said that they're all connected."
Foaly rolled his eyes. "Well, obviously, sir. But how?"
Root swiveled in his chair. "Well, Oravano is most definitely situated in the entire thing. It could be him."
Foaly tapped one of his hooves thoughtfully on the ground. "But he couldn't be doing this on his own. At the Mall Massacre he had quite a few helpers and even then he didn't do much."
"I'm well aware of that fact," snorted Root. "He's not smart enough to mess with the Haven and Above Ground at the same time without some sort of help. But, you must admit, he's certainly strong enough to rip apart a goblin limb from limb."
Foaly folded his arms across his chest and huffed. He didn't like being uncertain of the facts. He decided to try another idea with the Commander. "What about these Mud Men suspicions?"
"What, vampires?" Root sneered, a very scary sight. "You're supposed to be the best, Foaly! You should know that the few vampires that are still around are weak and unintelligent. They hide in their small covens and talk about whom they would kill if they could get Above Ground. No, we'd know if one of them were Above."
"But what if it wasn't one of the younger vampires? What if a vampire had escaped The Burning?"
Root almost laughed aloud, which made Foaly's idea pretty wild. The Burning had taken place in the Haven over 5,000 years ago. That had been the time for vampires; the time when they really had been feared.
A small collection of elves and even a handful of goblins had gotten together to end their reign of terror. They met during the daylight hours Above to discuss plans and ideas. Yet, somehow, the vampires always knew who had gathered them all together and where they had been hiding. Most of them died over time. But soon there were more faeries and even some Mud Men who had banded together to stop them. They were much more successful than their predecessors as they took action instead of talking about doing so. They'd search of the vampires' lairs all day and drag the coffins and bodies into the sun. Those who stayed underground used UV Lights to destroy them.
And then the real problem arouse. A hero by the name of Randolph Morhan stood up with a plan on how to destroy all of his kind. Yes, Randolph Morhan had been a vampire. He wanted to help them because he still lusted for mortality. The plan itself had been simple: destroy the first and you'd destroy them all.
Easier said than done.
Try as they might, they never found the first vampire. Randolph didn't know; he was young, only 106 years old. Most of the vampires had no idea who the first was either. Only a small handful knew and they weren't talking.
It seemed that nothing could be done to stop the horror. That is, until Randolph revealed his back up plan. It was intelligent, cunning, sneaky...and dangerous. There was no guarantee that it would work.
Of course when the vampires found out that Randolph was spying for the hunters, thus betraying them, they attempted to kill him. Unfortunately for them, that had all been part of the plan.
All of the vampires came to kill Randolph, with another intention of taking over The Haven. But when they got there, they saw that they had been fooled. Randolph had been standing in a room in an old house, and soon as his kind entered it, the house went up in flames. Randolph had sacrificed himself for the sake of the Haven and Above. No one had escaped that fire.
Or so it seemed.
Root stood. "I refuse to believe that a vampire is behind the Above's murders. It must be a Mud Man deciding to pull some stunts that no one's tried before. You know, to get the media's attention."
"You got a better idea than that?" asked Foaly. "'Cause, you're gonna' need one."
Root turned a light shade of pink. "Get out of my office, centaur. I'm going to read these case files."
Foaly shrugged. "Very well, Julius." He exited, leaving Root to sit at his desk and review their problems.
Chapter 3: Stranger and Stranger
Look at her. She's just waking up, totally oblivious to everything that's going on. But, then again, what could you expect a talk show host to know outside of the latest gossip?
She's stirring now, her eyes flickering awake. Her head rises a little and she squints against the light shining from the street lamp. What a more perfect time to kill such an ugly creature?
She can't see me, which is exactly what I have intended. Her vision stops just outside the circle of light that the bulb provides. Isn't electricity wonderful?
CRACK!
I smile. That's right, goblin, look worried. I know that a mere broken twig won't hurt you, but do you? Of course not.
"Who...who's there?" she stammers. "I know you're out there. I warn you, I'm more powerful than you might think!"
I laugh beside myself. What amusing creatures these goblins are! So stupid and self-confident. She is looking nervous now. Do you think my laugh startled her?
"I'm warning you!" she says, standing up. She puts out her hand to conjure up a fireball. "I'm telling you! I can hurt you real bad!"
"You think so?" I muse. I laugh again. She almost falls off of her feet! "Very well, I'll play along."
I step into the light. She gasps, surprised. But, then again, who wouldn't be when they see my face?
"It's...it's you!" she gasps.
I laugh once more! Incredible how foolish they all are!
And so she gains confidence. She takes a defensive stance and attempts to summon up a ball of fire. How her eyes widen as she realizes that no such power can come to her now! What a fool!
"Say goodbye," I sneer. Her scream rings out as the dagger rips through the flesh on her arm. She tries to fight, but without her powers she has no chance. She's still sobbing quietly when a bone is ripped from its joint. But now she quiets, the flow of blood finally making her black out.
All right then. So she's gone. What does it matter? I continue to disassemble her limbs. First her other arm, then her legs. Hell, why not? Her ears as well.
FOWL MANOR
Butler dropped the rag that he had been using and put a dagger in each hand, the rest in his pockets. Artemis's eyes grazed the ceiling and the windows of the den. The rail fell hard outside and a flash of lightning followed by a crash of thunder illuminated the room with an unnaturally eerie glow.
Butler turned to his employer. "You stay here, Artemis," he said firmly. "If I'm not back here in ten minutes, take the secret exit out of the house."
Artemis gave a quick nod. He himself would normally have tried to think up a plan of his own, but there wasn't time. "Be careful, Butler," he said.
Butler turned without a backwards glance and hurried out of the room. His footsteps faded as he rushed down the hallway.
CRASH!
Artemis rushed over to the window and pulled the curtains shut. It was just a little thunder and lightning; nothing to worry about.
Then why was he feeling so jumpy?
No one had ever broken in the house before, with the exception of Mulch Diggums. And he wouldn't be trying to get in from the roof, heavens no. There were several logical explanations for the thumping noises on the roof: it could have been a tree branch that had been struck by lightning...it could have been some debris that the wind happened to pick up during the storm...hell; it could even be that lightning had struck the house.
But he doubted all of those possibilities considerably.
He normally wouldn't have been too worried; Butler could handle this sort of thing. But with all of the murders going on...
He didn't even want to think about what sort of things could happen to Butler if this crazed, homicidal maniac were the one on the roof. Butler was strong, sure. But was he strong enough?
And that's when the doors to the den burst open.
THE HAVEN
"Nasty business, Foaly, nasty."
Commander Root was seated in the big squashy chair in his office, rubbing his forehead. Foaly stood on the other side of the desk, his tin-foil hat sitting atop his head. He was holding a number of case files in his hands. One of them was, of course, the file with all of the information on the current serial killings. Another was a folder (slightly smaller than the previous, but not much so) filled with documentaries of the Mall Massacre twenty years ago. The final was just a few papers held together with a paper clip. These papers contained the information pertaining to the murders that the Mud Men were dealing with. Hence the reason why there were so few papers.
"Look, Julius," he sighed. "It wasn't your fault. There's nothing you could have done about it."
Root leaned back in his chair, still massaging his temple with a finger. "I know," he said. His tone was unusually soft. "I just wish we could do more. Randa Bawshan was a ditz, but she didn't do anything to deserve...dismemberment."
They both fell silent. It had happened only two hours ago. A group of scouts had spotted what looked like a goblin leg lying in the middle of a ghost town's street. When word got to Root, he himself had personally gone up to the scene. Foaly had already been there, getting pictures and writing down some notes.
It was most definitely one of the more grotesque scenes that they had found. All of her limbs (plus her ears) had been torn apart using a dagger (which they had found lying some number of feet away from the torso) and pure strength.
Not the kind of thing patrol scouts see every day.
Foaly set the files down in front of the Commander. "Here are the files you wanted. I don't think that the murders here and Above Ground are the same criminals; look at how different the killings are!"
"I understand Foaly," Root growled, "but I never said that I thought they were all of them the killed by the same person. I said that they're all connected."
Foaly rolled his eyes. "Well, obviously, sir. But how?"
Root swiveled in his chair. "Well, Oravano is most definitely situated in the entire thing. It could be him."
Foaly tapped one of his hooves thoughtfully on the ground. "But he couldn't be doing this on his own. At the Mall Massacre he had quite a few helpers and even then he didn't do much."
"I'm well aware of that fact," snorted Root. "He's not smart enough to mess with the Haven and Above Ground at the same time without some sort of help. But, you must admit, he's certainly strong enough to rip apart a goblin limb from limb."
Foaly folded his arms across his chest and huffed. He didn't like being uncertain of the facts. He decided to try another idea with the Commander. "What about these Mud Men suspicions?"
"What, vampires?" Root sneered, a very scary sight. "You're supposed to be the best, Foaly! You should know that the few vampires that are still around are weak and unintelligent. They hide in their small covens and talk about whom they would kill if they could get Above Ground. No, we'd know if one of them were Above."
"But what if it wasn't one of the younger vampires? What if a vampire had escaped The Burning?"
Root almost laughed aloud, which made Foaly's idea pretty wild. The Burning had taken place in the Haven over 5,000 years ago. That had been the time for vampires; the time when they really had been feared.
A small collection of elves and even a handful of goblins had gotten together to end their reign of terror. They met during the daylight hours Above to discuss plans and ideas. Yet, somehow, the vampires always knew who had gathered them all together and where they had been hiding. Most of them died over time. But soon there were more faeries and even some Mud Men who had banded together to stop them. They were much more successful than their predecessors as they took action instead of talking about doing so. They'd search of the vampires' lairs all day and drag the coffins and bodies into the sun. Those who stayed underground used UV Lights to destroy them.
And then the real problem arouse. A hero by the name of Randolph Morhan stood up with a plan on how to destroy all of his kind. Yes, Randolph Morhan had been a vampire. He wanted to help them because he still lusted for mortality. The plan itself had been simple: destroy the first and you'd destroy them all.
Easier said than done.
Try as they might, they never found the first vampire. Randolph didn't know; he was young, only 106 years old. Most of the vampires had no idea who the first was either. Only a small handful knew and they weren't talking.
It seemed that nothing could be done to stop the horror. That is, until Randolph revealed his back up plan. It was intelligent, cunning, sneaky...and dangerous. There was no guarantee that it would work.
Of course when the vampires found out that Randolph was spying for the hunters, thus betraying them, they attempted to kill him. Unfortunately for them, that had all been part of the plan.
All of the vampires came to kill Randolph, with another intention of taking over The Haven. But when they got there, they saw that they had been fooled. Randolph had been standing in a room in an old house, and soon as his kind entered it, the house went up in flames. Randolph had sacrificed himself for the sake of the Haven and Above. No one had escaped that fire.
Or so it seemed.
Root stood. "I refuse to believe that a vampire is behind the Above's murders. It must be a Mud Man deciding to pull some stunts that no one's tried before. You know, to get the media's attention."
"You got a better idea than that?" asked Foaly. "'Cause, you're gonna' need one."
Root turned a light shade of pink. "Get out of my office, centaur. I'm going to read these case files."
Foaly shrugged. "Very well, Julius." He exited, leaving Root to sit at his desk and review their problems.