Chapter 13
A/N Nope, again I don't own them, but I wish I did, especially a certain leather-clad Harmonixer. (Yeah, right; me and everyone else!) This chapter is rated "R" for graphic violence, sexual content and just about everything else your momma told you not to read.
Koudelka and James both paused at the base of the stairs, looking with curiosity and horror at the cauldron and its grizzly contents. The tree grew from the vat itself, its beginnings lost in a primordial ooze of blood and tissue while its twisted and gnarled trunk rose through the ceiling. Yuri crossed the small space to the cauldron and looked within, sniffing and grinning.
"Is it soup yet?" he asked then regretted it as both Koudelka and James scowled at him.
"Cannot you take anything seriously, barbarian?" James retorted and then pushed Yuri aside to kneel at the side of the corpse. "Patrick, ah Patrick," he said sadly, then crossed himself and began to silently pray. Koudelka walked about the small room, poking into the dark recesses until she came to a cobweb-infested door.
"Yuri, look at this," she quietly called and Yuri joined her. She brushed webs and dust from the double doors, revealing carvings and runes.
"Those runes again," she said. "But these are older than anything Patrick would have carved.
"Yeah, back to the beginning of things," Yuri answered and Koudelka looked up at him.
"You know what's beyond here, don't you?" she asked.
Yuri shrugged. "I been there. But not yet. Don't worry – nothing to bother us this time around," he said quietly.
'This time…' Koudelka raised an eyebrow but, though her curiosity was aroused, she had a feeling if she asked, she still wouldn't understand. When she looked at him she could still perceive the vortex around him, as if time and space were spinning into and out of him; every action he made changed the vortex and she was concerned that anything she did would interfere with what he had to do. And the thought occurred to her that such interference could be fatal for her. Shuddering deep down, she turned back to the cauldron and sat down on the stone floor, content to wait for James.
Yuri stayed by the doors for a moment after Koudelka left and looked at them, wondering if they really did lead to the graveyard he remembered. Then she shook himself and joined Koudelka in waiting for James, flinging himself onto the stone floor and laying back, arms behind his head. James' muttered prayers stopped after a while and Yuri looked up to see a look of grim determination on the old priest's face.
"Hey, what are ya doing?" he asked and Koudelka sat up to look as well, but James did not answer. Instead, he rose from his knees and walked across the room to a recessed shelf where canisters of paraffin were lined up. He tried the first one but it was empty so he tried the next two; finding both carried half. He then opened the stoppers on both canisters and combined their contents, careful not to spill the flammable liquid.
"James, what do ya think yer doin'?" Yuri pursued, climbing to his feet and joining him.
"Not that it's any of your affair," he said testily, "I would never ask you to do this."
Yuri reached out and took the now filled canister of paraffin. "Like hell," he said.
"Yuri, do not interfere. As Patrick was responsible for all this, and as his friend, I am partially responsible, it falls to me to finish this. None of you need to die with me here."
"The hell you say," Yuri said, stepping back and keeping the canister from James.
"Damn it Yuri!" James growled and Yuri laughed, holding James off with one hand.
"Ah-ah priest, not in God's house."
"Shut up - I'm not asking you to do this," James replied.
"No, I'm helping. That's what I'm for -- helping, so shut up and let me do my job, eh?" Yuri retorted, the whole time keeping James back with one hand on his chest and the priest was fuming.
"James, you can't do it alone. We are all in this, and if Yuri wants to help, let him," Koudelka said from her place by the stairs.
James finally subsided and turned to Yuri. "Sorry. I – I guess I feel guilty about all of this," he said quietly.
"Yeah, we all carry our crosses," Yuri said. "Course, I gave mine to my wife an' I ain't seen it since…" he grinned.
James sighed. "Then we'll use the sacred relic of Saint Daniel. Are we all agreed?"
"You do the prayin' an' I'll do the burnin'," Yuri replied, holding up the paraffin can and jostling its contents slightly.
James winced. "You do realize that stuff is dangerous?"
Yuri smiled broadly. "Yup, but what the hell; you only live once," he said and began dribbling the fluid along the roots, following them upstairs to the sanctuary and sloshing the paraffin over the tangle of roots on the main floor before tossing the remaining contents onto the base of the tree climbing up to the choir loft. Finally, he returned to the basement beneath the crypt and nodded. "Ready for your holy magic, priest."
With a grimace, James returned to the cauldron with its tangle of roots and Patrick's mummy. He reached into his pack and carefully withdrew the wrapped relic he had obtained from Yuri earlier that night; the arm of Saint Daniel Scotius, gray and fragile with age, and missing fingers, yet its holy power and their dedicated prayers should release the hold the evil had placed on this monastery and allow them to… to what, he thought – banish the resurrected monstrosity that had become Elaine? To destroy every last vestige of the woman he loved? With a sharp shake of his head, James raised the arm over his head in offering.
"Are you all sure?" he asked and Koudelka and Yuri both nodded. "Very well then, let us proceed." Facing the cauldron, holy relic lifted high, he said his prayer, summoning the holy power of God and His angels and finishing with "Saint Daniel Scotius, protect us from these evil spirits and grant us inner strength, amen."
With that, James dropped the relic into the cauldron and watched as it slowly sank, bubbles forming around it as it slowly moved through the sludge that was inside the cauldron. Almost immediately afterwards more bubbles began to form, not just around the arm but in the rest of the liquid, frothing and spewing upward, churning the liquid and revealing its true nature as blood as it gushed upward and exploded out of the caldron. Intense light followed, white and cleansing in its intensity and the roots draping and crawling from the bowl began to writhe as if in pain, snapping and cracking in their movements and threatening James and Koudelka with bodily harm.
"Come on you two!" Yuri shouted from the stairs, claw already on his hands. As Koudelka ran past him, she handed him a lantern, already blazing with a candle's hot flame. "Thanks," he said and followed them up to the sanctuary. The once quiet centerpiece of the church was now alive with throbbing and shuddering plant roots, thorny protrusions thrusting and whipping at Koudelka and James as they emerged from the crypt. One huge root, its thorns longer than a man's arm, whipped at Koudelka nearly smashing her to the ground while another one gyrated wildly, smashing into the stained glass window sending rainbow shards scattering onto the floor and out onto the ground beyond.
"Go!" Koudelka shouted, pushing James ahead of her and she followed, fleeing the attacking roots. Behind her, she heard Yuri's thudding boots on the tile floor and knew he would be watching her back. "Hurry James, get outside," she called ahead. James was wasting no time, dodging and avoiding the whipping roots, ducking under one that threatened to decapitate him and leaping over another that swept the floor toward his legs. Finally, he reached the window, his boots crunching on the shattered glass and he climbed through, knocking loose more sharp edges in his haste. Koudelka was on his heels and she paused just outside to watch for Yuri.
He was coming, leaping over one root, punching at another, trying to get through the wildly gyrating mass of plants and thorns. He had nearly made the window when a root shot out, slamming him in the back and he lunged forward, the lantern flying free and skidding along the floor to the window. Koudelka bent down and picked it up, handing it to James, and then climbed back in to help Yuri. Yuri was climbing to his feet, several large thorns now firmly ensconced in his back - their needle sharp points stuck in the mesh of the armored vest.
"Yuri, come on," Koudelka called, offering her hand and the injured fighter stumbled the last few feet to the broken window, pushing himself and the gypsy woman through, and breaking even more glass as another waiving tentacle crashed into the glass behind him. James had now stepped forward over the two on the ground and, swung the lantern widely.
"Thou," he cried, "thou who were born and created out of dust, now go quietly and return to thy maker," he yelled and threw the lantern, sending it high into the sanctuary to plummet onto the paraffin oil soaked roots. Instantly they began to burn as the lantern shattered, sending little sparks throughout the writhing roots and spreading ever more quickly along the path of the oil. In another moment, the little fires had spread and met in one large explosion of flame the force of which blew out the rest of the glass and filled the sanctuary with smoke.
Yuri groaned, climbing to his feet. "Ouch ouch, damn these things hurt," he said and Koudelka pulled him away from the conflagration building in the sanctuary and pulled the thorns from his back; the tips were red with blood and Yuri gritted his teeth. But when Koudelka offered to heal him, he shook his head adamantly. "No, no; we don't have time. Catch me when we get above. We've got to hurry before he catches us up," he said and pointed to a nearby scaffold.
James and Koudelka followed his direction and saw a metal framework on the side of the church, climbing up the wall and stopping just below the railing at the choir loft. Several parts of it still had wooden slats for steps but the rest used metal and whatever came to hand; the entire structure looked like it would fall in a stiff wind but yet had stood the test of coastal storms for over five years. Koudelka ran ahead leading the way up the first flight of steps, her boots clacking on the metal steps. James went next followed by Yuri who kept looking back toward the sanctuary; somewhere in there… right after the explosion… they had to hurry. Yuri caught up to James and gave him a helping hand by pushing him along. James was so startled he didn't respond until they made the first landing, swatting the offensive had off his backside.
"I do not need your assistance, Yuri. Why don't you go first and pick off any monsters that might be waiting for us," he suggested.
Yuri squinted at the priest, unsure if James were serious. "You want me to go first?" he asked, then with a grin, "All right, but don't fall behind." And with that, Yuri took the lead, circling around the scaffolding and under a flying buttress, and crossing to the next set of stairs. These were mere metal slats lying across the scaffolding and he climbed up and turned to offer Koudelka a hand up, and then one for James. James hesitated a moment, his grip shaking and Yuri looked closely at the aging priest.
"You all right, James?" James nodded, one hand indicating the area beyond the scaffolding. Yuri looked up and smiled. "Yeah, great view." Below, the Irish Sea crashed and foamed, venting its fury on the cliff face. And in the east where the sun was now above the horizon lay the vast grassy plain with its tracery network of dirt roads and tracks looking barren and grey in the early morning light and, in the far distance, the darker shapes of farmhouses, but even squinting Yuri could not see Aberystwyth.
James glanced up but once, then with a shudder, climbed up onto the next scaffold and letting his eyes glance at the church; through an arched window he could see the flames below, their brilliant red-orange light casting dark shadows onto the outer wall and buttresses. Even with the early morning light, the outside of the church looked black.
"Come on James, move yer ass," Yuri rudely remarked as he pushed past. Koudelka had gone on ahead, climbing the scaffold to a stone ledge that completely encircled the dome of the church. She stepped onto the ledge and hesitated; ahead was a wooden deck and several plant tentacles, each looming in excess of ten feet tall, had broken their way free of the church, smashing through glass windows and now writhed and wriggled in the way – one carried the mummified remains of Patrick Heyworth.
"James, Yuri – hurry!" she called and began immediately to summon her flare magic. Yuri and James both thudded up the remaining scaffold stairs and James skidded to a halt at her side, eyes wide at his friend's remains but, with a quick sign of the cross, he too began to mutter a spell. Yuri didn't stop his forward momentum, instead crashing into the nearest root-like tentacle, getting scratched by the sharp thorns but managing to push it back a few feet to give the others room to move. He then moved out of the way as Koudelka shouted a warning, and watched in awe as her magic formed over the writhing plant and exploded into a ball of searing flames.
"Shit, she's gettin' strong," he muttered.
Koudelka watched and then stamped her foot as the flames subsided and showed the tentacle unharmed. If fire was not its vulnerability then something else would have to be. She waited to watch James who was finishing his own summons; a swirl of cold blue ice gathered above them and suddenly shattered, sending down icy shards onto the plant. It ceased its movements for a moment, shuddering before moving closer again.
"Yuri," she called, "keep the other one busy while James and I take care of this one."
With a nod, Yuri leapt to his feet and sprinted around the tentacle, avoiding another whipping backlash and confronted the mummy carrying menace. He desperately wished he dared use a fusion and blast the stupid things to oblivion, but three things stopped him: their supplies of listel were limited and he knew the others would need it too, and coming up from below was himself, looking for a fight, and waiting above was Elaine; if he used his fusions now, before he really needed to, then they could end up in dire straits later on. Oddly, he remembered clearly the battle against Elaine at the top of the tower; the spire's broken and wasted rubble lying in piles on the stone roof, the bells rolling and crashing down the side of the building and into the sea, and Koudelka's mangled body… no, he shook his head, he wasn't going to dwell on that part. He knew he caused it; he knew he could fix it. The closer he got to the actual event, the more clear became his purpose; he didn't remember much else – foggy snippets of life as he had known it, or life as he ended up knowing it without Koudelka's guiding voice, or the saving graces of that pretty blonde girl in China.
He shuddered, suddenly remembering the pretty blonde's face, sharp and clear as if she stood before him, and a world of warmth and hurt flooded through him in that remembering. 'It's for her I do this; for me and for her and for …' The momentary distraction nearly cost him as the thorn-bearing, mummy-carrying tentacle swung around and slammed into him, pounding him to the wooden platform surrounding the scaffolding on the dome. He went down face first, splinters bruising his cheek and large thorns once again puncturing his back. And his back was starting to hurt now, throbbing with the pain of poison from the thorns. He gritted his teeth and rolled, breaking off the thorns on the wooden deck.
"God damn," he cursed and then jumped back to his feet, the effort to do so making him see sparkles in his eyes. "Shit," he muttered and quickly patted at his pockets, pulling out a handful of herbs; they were crushed, broken, and unidentifiable.
"Damn, which one is the antidote?" his guts were beginning to churn and he muttered beneath his breath as he took a handful of whatever was there and crammed it into his mouth and chewed. The tangy, earthy flavors melded together into a mulch in his mouth and he wished for water to wash it down with but he could feel the tell-tale tingle of the antidote working, and wondered what else he had taken with it. Shrugging to loosen his shoulders, he ducked to avoid another swing of the thorny vine and then moved in to striking distance. He could hear Koudelka's icy attack land on the tentacle behind him, the floorboards shaking and rattling with the impact and he quietly hoped the floor would hold.
He watched the waiving arm of the tentacle, this one standing well over twelve feet tall and with two appendages – one holding the mummy and one free to do damage. With a grin he leapt forward, slicing down the nearest tentacle with his claws, leaving a seeping score along its length but little damage. He spun around to hit it with his boot heel only to see the score crusting over with sap, healing itself.
"Damn shit," he growled. Then, with sudden vicious inspiration, he leapt at the tentacle, grabbing the desiccated mummy and the securing tentacle and pulled; slowly the limb released the mummy and Yuri, grinning idiotically, swung the mummy like a brittle battering ram, slamming it into the tentacle. The head and shoulders shattered in powdery dust and bone fragments and he ducked as the tentacle flailed at him, and then turned and, using the legs and back of the corpse, slammed into the tentacle again.
"Die damn it, just fucking die!"
The thing moved away, leaving a trail of slime, broken thorns and bone fragments, and Yuri pursued. He swung back the corpse - now little more than one leg and part of the backbone – preparing to use what was left in a powerhouse slam, but instead met the whipping tentacle head on. Surprise and pain had him screaming as the tentacle slammed into him, puncturing him with a half dozen long thorns, and sending him flat to the platform, head reeling.
Yuri struggled to sit up, his chest flaming in pain with the poisonous tines piercing his armor and the flesh beneath. He tried to brush them aside only to find them securely stuck and each movement sending more pain into his chest.
"God damn," he muttered and then winced. Behind him, he heard the explosion of ice and knew that Koudelka and James had finished off their enemy, but he had made little progress except to get hurt. He tried to look back but the tentacle had moved closer during his self-inspection and it was swinging at him again. He lay back and rolled away, barely missing being flattened by the thorny menace.
"I could use some help here," he said through grinding teeth and then he felt James helping him stand, his arms supporting the injured fighter and pulling him away from the continuing battle. Koudelka had moved up and was summoning her magic again, a quick burst of ice shards pummeling down onto the waiving tentacle and Yuri groaned.
"Poison?" James asked and Yuri nodded.
"Yeah, damned shit hurts like fire," he said and James set him down and reached into his own pack, pulling out a small handful of antidote.
"There's not much but this should begin to help. We need to get you healed or to a fountain," James said looking around. "I don't think we can make it back to the fonts below.
Yuri shook his head. "No, no we can't. We'd never get through the fire or…" or me coming up the stairs, he thought and chewed the antidote's leaves, their bitter flavor fresher than the crumbled jumble of herbs he had tried before. His chest felt the tingle of relief, but the poisonous thorns were still stuck in the armor and his chest and they burned like fire. "Can we get these out, James?"
The priest turned his attention back to Yuri, who had slid down and was now lying at his feet, and nodded. He knelt and, taking hold of one of the thorns, pulled, but the barbs did not release and only caused Yuri more pain with the pulled barbs.
"It's stuck," he said. "Best take off the armor too," and he quickly began pulling at the vest's lacings, freeing one side to expose Yuri's punctured chest.
"Ah God that hurts," the fusionist moaned.
"Don't be such a baby," James admonished and was rewarded with a scowl followed by a crooked smile.
"I knew I liked ya James," he said and then grit his teeth as James tackled the thorns once more, pulling them out one by one with bits of muscle and flesh attached and Yuri bled profusely from the wounds. "Ah damn, damn I'm a fucking pin cushion," he cursed.
James pursed his lips once the last thorn was removed. "Let me heal you," he said and, placing his hands over Yuri's chest, closed his eyes in prayer. A moment only, and a flickering green light enveloped his hands, moving down from the fingers and cascading over Yuri's body. The puncture wounds ceased their bleeding, pink flesh forming and joining into new skin on both his back and chest and Yuri sighed in pleasure at the cessation of pain.
"God that feels good," he said with a sigh. "Thanks, priest."
James opened aging and tired eyes and looked at Yuri. "You're welcome, thief."
Behind them Koudelka was working her magic, a crackling of lightening as her wind magic formed a tornado above the tentacle before it descended in a black cloud and spun the tentacle around in a vortex of wind. The wind twisted the tentacle, whipping it around like ribbon in the wind, and peeling off its bark and thorns. It moved back once the spell had dissipated and Koudelka smiled, summoning her tornado winds again.
James and Yuri looked up at the crash of lightening and Yuri gave James a little shove. "Go on, I'll watch yer back. Help her," he said and James went off, beginning his wind summons before taking a half dozen steps. Yuri moved back, taking a look down the scaffolding, seeing movement below and quietly cursing. 'They better hurry,' he thought and then cringed when a double explosion of thunder ripped through the air behind him. Turning back, he saw both James' and Koudelka's tornado magicks land at the same time and the tentacle shred into slivers of plant-flesh and dissipate on the wind.
"Good," he shouted at them and trotted to join them. "Let's get going," he said as he tied up the loose laces of his armor
James reached into his pack and withdrew a small bottle of listel, offering it to Koudelka. "What is your hurry Yuri?"
"We've got to keep going," he said and cast a quick look behind him toward the lower scaffolding. "We got to keep ahead of him."
"That's all right James. Let's just go," Koudelka said and, waiving off the listel, followed the curve of the dome to another set of planks; she paused just long enough to look up at the dome and then began to climb. Half way up she stopped and waived down to Yuri who was bringing up the rear. "Yuri, there's a font here in the outer wall; come up here."
Yuri climbed up past James and reached the small landing at the font; the stairs twisted around again, climbed up to the side of the dome, and ended at a broken window, the rose cross above it catching the early sunlight and glowing with a holy light. The font was little more than a basin for rainwater, but it was clean and clear and when Yuri dipped a hand in to take a drink, it was briskly cold. James climbed up behind him and offered a prayer over the font and Yuri could swear he saw a little glow reflected in the water's surface.
'Ah shit, now I'm seein' things,' he thought and drank the cold water. Koudelka took a double handful and dribbled it on his neck, letting it slide down inside his armored vest to gently bathe the newly healed skin beneath. Then she took a handkerchief from her pouch and dipped it in the font, thoroughly wetting it before taking Yuri by his chin and washing his face.
"You are a mess, young man," she said with a smile and Yuri grinned up at her, his heart beating fast in his chest.
"Yeah, well, it happens sometimes," he said and caught her wrist in his and kissed her upturned palm. "I hope we… I wish we had time right now for me to tell you - things…" Koudelka caressed his cheek and moved back, folding the kerchief and putting it back in her pack.
"Later; we'll have time later," she said and when James, who had filled his cup at the font offered her a drink, she accepted with a sigh. "It's almost done. Whatever we find up here…"
"I have seen more death and evil here tonight," James said, "than in all my years as a priest. May God forgive me," he said quietly and climbed past Koudelka, taking the steps slowly, not noticing the expanse of the valley below, not noticing the full moon as it set in the west, her swollen body crimson with the rising sun.
"Yeah, me too; I think I need it," Yuri said and rose to follow the priest, taking Koudelka's hand in his as he did so. Together they climbed the last steps to the fourth floor of the church and stepped inside.
The fourth floor of the church was the choir loft that they had seen from below, the tree of life having burst through the stones of the floor and sending tendrils around the curvature of the room. Looking below James could see the flames had charred much of the root structure and was working its way to the pulpit and organ. Black smoke billowed from below and a stench rose to the rafters like a prayer; James didn't want to think about what kind of prayer was going up to heaven. Instead, he looked at the center of the choir; the plant had brought forth one huge blossom, a pale shade of pink and shaped like a tulip. While he watched Koudelka and Yuri climbed in the window and joined him, a look of amazement on the young thief's face and Koudelka – the gypsy looked suspicious. Her eyes suddenly focused entirely on the plant, a frown creasing her brow and she dropped Yuri's hand, taking a few steps closer. And the flower began to vibrate, at first just slightly, then faster as if in response to their presence in the choir loft.
Koudelka felt a presence in the flower, something both alive and evil and her heart began to pound hard in her chest. She hesitated, pausing half way between the broken window and the flower, her nerves jangling. She had never felt such alarm before, not when fighting the other monsters of this place, nor when channeling the ghosts of the dead. This was intense, frightening, and extremely dangerous. Finally the flower petals began to open, a clear mucus-like fluid seeping out as the petals gently fell back revealing life within. That life was female, short blonde hair, pale skin with tattooing on her torso: an odd marking of circles and lines that reminded Koudelka of the drawings she had seen from that Jewish book of mysticism.
"Oh Patrick, Patrick," James breathed. "What heinous magic did you do?"
The question was moot; the woman in the flower was on her knees, head down, hands to the side, and when finally the last petal fell back she raised her blonde head up and, with a look of astonishment, opened her mouth as if to speak.
Suddenly Koudelka jumped back, her hand sliding quickly into her pouch and pulling out her talisman, the one given her by Madame Blavatsky when she left her teacher to begin her travels – its center a bit of crystal woven about with wood and leather into a cross shape. Koudelka whipped this talisman up and held it before her, the crystal catching the light from the broken window and shattering it into rainbow hews. At the same time the woman in the flower screamed, a sound that pierced their minds and hearts with knifing pain. Both Yuri and James clapped their hands to their ears, grimacing and Koudelka cried out. The sound did not stop, even when the flower woman took a breath; instead, a thick blue-white crystalline mist seemed to form about her, and then was spewed toward the three with the continued scream.
The mist rocketed toward them and struck the talisman, a field of energy suddenly forming and shielding them as the mist broke and shattered around them. Yuri coughed, waving one hand in front of his face.
"God damn - Poison gas."
Almost in response to his remark the monster that was Elaine rose to her feet and leapt straight up, slamming into the curved ceiling, her feet and hands gaining entry and gripping the plaster. It was then Yuri noticed something else odd about her.
"Shit! She's all twisty like," and he was right; her lower body, legs and feet were backward to the rest of her, letting her knees bend behind her. And she was quick as feet and hands pounded their way into the plaster as she ran across the roof. "Somebody stop her," he shouted and almost immediately shots were fired, James dropping in another cartridge into the shotgun and firing again while Koudelka fumbled for the pistol. Impatient Yuri slid to her side, shaking off the claws from one hand and forcing open the pouch, pulling out the double action pistol and, aiming in the general direction of the moving Elaine, fired repeatedly. The bullets riddled the roof, sending down a rain of plaster and paint and the monster woman screeched in frustration, stopping, moving again, zigging left, then right in an attempt to avoid Yuri's rapid fire. But it was the next set of shotgun shells that brought her down from the ceiling with a splat; heels over head she rolled across the floor, coming to a stop mere yards from James. Yuri, still holding the now empty pistol, waived it at the corpse.
"Is she dead yet?"
With a snort, Koudelka rose and snatched her gun from Yuri's hands, and approached the recumbent body, pistol at the ready.
"Um, Koudelka, there's no…" Yuri didn't finish his statement for the body suddenly quivered and moved, legs suddenly jutting sideways, feet walking to raise her rear end up, and then her arms planting themselves and lifting her up on all fours; and in another second she was moving, rapidly scuttling across the floor.
"Whoa!" Yuri shouted, suddenly galvanized into action. In one stride he was beside Koudelka, grabbing her elbow and spinning her around, pushing her toward the staircase; a narrow winding stone stair spiraled up to the roof and the three of them were now running as fast as they could up the small steps. Looking back over his shoulder, Yuri could see through a carved iron grate that opened on one side of the stairwell, the view showing the choir below, and he could see the movement of the monster beneath them.
"Hurry up you two, she's right behind us," he called and gave James, who was directly ahead of him, a little push. They climbed the tight spiral and barely made the first landing on the next floor when the scuttling monster that was Elaine caught up to them. Suddenly there was battle in the narrow confines, Elaine blocking their retreat and little room to move.
Elaine remained on all fours, her head bobbing up and down slightly as she seemed to be concentrating on something, and Yuri gestured toward Koudelka.
"You summon, I'll try to distract her and whatever you do, don't hit me," he said and jumped at Elaine. His claws were ready and he punched down with one fist, hitting her head and scoring a deep cut on the back of her blonde head; the skull dented, flesh tearing and blood seeping out, but even as he swung a leg in a round house kick, he saw the wound beginning to heal, a clear sticky sap forming new skin. His boot slammed into the side of her face, smashing her delicate features and bruising and bloodying her, but again she was healing even as he stepped back to assess the damage.
"Shit! She heals faster than I can hurt her," he called back and then leapt out of the way as Koudelka signaled him. Her flare magic broke over Elaine's blonde head and sizzled around her and the monster screamed in pain and scuttled quickly back a few steps. She remained on hands and feet, her back arched and rounded, and her head dropped oddly, and then she began to move, concentrating on summoning some form of magic even as Koudelka moved back to let James use his summoned ice barrage. Yuri watched the movements, the head swinging slightly, her lower extremities rising and falling, rising again with a thrusting motion, and he snorted; it reminded him graphically of something.
"Oh for god's sake, she wants sex!" he said with a laugh and Koudelka looked startled, realizing what he meant as James' magic broke over the wiggling woman. "Oh baby, she's hot," Yuri said, laughing.
Koudelka turned to say something but never got the chance. The wiggling monstrosity that was Elaine suddenly arched her back, throwing her head up and opening wide her mouth, let out a piercing scream. Black and purple energy suddenly boiled out from her body, leaving every cavity and crevice, and slamming across the narrow stairs to hit first James, who had barely finished his summons and who now found himself lying on the stairs gasping for breath, and then Koudelka and Yuri. The force of the dark energy pushed them to their knees and Koudelka moaned poison washing over her and coursing through her slight frame like a river. Yuri too felt the poisons and crawled over to Koudelka, pulling her onto his knees as he searched in her pouch. Finding the antidotes she had saved he gave her one, pushing the herb between her lips. He set her down then and went to James, his own insides starting to feel the effects of the poisonous energy.
"Come on James, I need yer magic here," he said as he pushed the leaves between James' parted lips, forcing his jaw to grind them up. "I can't stop that creature on my own."
James nodded, chewing the antidote, then, "Why not use your magic?" he asked quietly.
"Cuz I'm gonna need it a lot sooner than now," Yuri said then shook his head. "Anyway, just get up and kill that bitch or do I have to fuck her to death first."
James shook off Yuri's helping hand, his frown growing as he climbed shakily to his feet. "You'd have sex with a corpse?" James said, then he glanced up at Elaine and shuddered; she was moving in an obscene fashion and, appalled, James crossed himself and began to summon again.
"I'd hump her if it would kill her," Yuri replied. "Stick to fire James, I think she hates that," Yuri said and he moved back to check on Koudelka. She was shaking off the effects of the poison and Yuri helped her to her feet. "I think she hated that fire stuff, Koudelka. Do it again. I'll keep you two healthy," he said and showed the handful of herbs and medicines he'd taken from her pouch.
"All right," Koudelka said, a bit confused. She blinked, glancing toward James, then moved a little forward, summoning her flare magic again. Yuri hovered between them, watching as Elaine wiggled and gyrated on the stairs just below them. She was concentrating on magic again, and Yuri hoped that Koudelka and James could get in another good shot before she struck. He felt useless against this creature, not having a sword that could do damage against her and not being any help with the magic. Clenching his jaw, he ground his teeth in frustration.
'Yuri, you son of a bitch, I'm gonna kill you fer gettin' me inta this mess,' he thought.
Head down like a broken doll, Elaine was moving erratically, the movements drawing a rude grin from the young harmonixer; he laughed softly to himself… she does look like she is having one hell of a lay, he thought. Next to him, Koudelka finished her summons, bright flare magic exploding like a bomb over Elaine's warped and twisted body, and she writhed now in pain, her own magic forgotten in the blistering heat that attacked her. And no sooner had the fire magic ebbed, and then James concluded his summons as well, and put the finish on her. Elaine collapsed to one knee, her bruised and blemished countenance staring wide eyed at James for a moment before collapsing onto the stairs.
Yuri grabbed Koudelka by the elbow and swung her around, giving her a push. "No time to dawdle kids, she'll be back for more. Come on, let's go," he said. Koudelka nodded even as she sprinted the next few turns of the staircase and James followed closely behind. Yuri still brought up the rear, watching for both the return of the flower child Elaine and himself coming up from the choir below. He knew Elaine would come again; Koudelka had told him the story last year and he knew she would come healed and ready for battle.
"Damn I wish I had that stupid sword… Sacnoth," he muttered, remembering the huge magical broadsword he had the first time he'd been this way; but that was back with Roger, in the house they had built and he wouldn't see it again. The sword Koudelka had given him, Life-Drinker she had called it, was lost somewhere below, knocked who knew where when he was dodging plant tentacles. "God damn, why is it never easy?"
As if on cue, the never easy that was Elaine caught up to them, at the curve to the sixth floor landing and she was out for blood. She slammed into Yuri, pushing him to his knees. He kicked out with one foot, connecting with her face and crushing her nose, blackish blood spurting out and dribbling down her pale face. He followed through with the kick, spinning around on the stairs and punching with his clawed fist and crushing through her skull, blood and brains splattering over them both and her eyeball bounced out onto the floor and rolled over the edge of the safety grill. But the damage was not permanent for even as Yuri withdrew his fist covered in blood, the injury was already beginning to heal, and in frustration he pulled back and punched again, his arm like a piston as it pounded into Elaine's head, cracking the skull further and shattering bone and tissue.
Elaine wailed in agony, pulling back from Yuri and then lurching forward again, head butting him in the groin, and forcing him to his knees. She scuttled away then and concentrated on her dark poisonous magicks, her body thrusting and lurching as she did so. Yuri, on one knee where she had left him, looked back at James and Koudelka, but the few seconds this had taken were not enough – he would have to buy them more time and prevent Elaine from spewing her black poisons. With a shake of his shaggy head and ignoring the throb between his legs, he climbed to his feet and sprinted to the wiggling menace that was Elaine. She tried to shuffle away but he leapt, his hand on her shoulder, and straddled her, her thrusting and undulating nether regions between his legs. He grabbed a handful of her blood-streaked blonde hair and pulled, forcing her head back; her one eye bulged and her lips opened revealing sharp white teeth.
"You want a piece of me, bitch?" he said and wrapped his other arm beneath her, pulling her back and up to his chest, his hand gripping one breast. "You wanna fuck with me, do ya?" He let go her hair and rammed his left hand into the side of her head, continuing to hold her bucking body between his legs as he pounded at her head and neck. The earlier damage was already partially repaired save for the missing eye, the empty socket staring up at Yuri as he gripped her tighter and forced her to the ground, one knee pushing in on her back. Face down on the stairs, Elaine struggled to free herself but Yuri would have none of it. He twisted his right hand, grinding the flesh of her breast in his fist, nearly twisting it off.
"How do you like that, eh bitch? Feel good? You like it rough?" he growled and then used the grip on her breast to help him flip her over, slamming her twisted back onto the stones and he sat on her, pinning her to the ground. "Oh yeah," he said with a feral grin, his eyes bright and nearly crimson. "I'm gonna enjoy this," he said. His right hand still pinning her down by her breast he then rammed his left into her lower body, sharp claws ripping and tearing tender flesh before Yuri pulled it free with a twist. "See how you like it, bitch," he growled.
Elaine, her one eye staring at him vacantly, opened her mouth and screamed, an ear-piercing shriek that accompanied a thrust of her power to match the thrust of her body beneath him and Yuri found himself coughing and choking on a face full of dark, poisonous magic.
"Yuri!"
Behind him Koudelka called, her spell forming over his head and, poison wracking him, he rolled off Elaine, leaving her heaving form to huddle against the stairwell wall. Fire exploded behind him, the heat burning his back and sweat instantly poured from him; his arms over his head he held his breath, hoping he could survive the next few seconds – he had to, he had to live through this, he had to save Koudelka and…
His ears were ringing and he felt fullness in his head, realizing he couldn't hear. Slowly he dragged himself up and staggered back toward Koudelka who was pulling not only antidotes but a healing potion from her pouch.
"You stupid fool," she exclaimed but Yuri shook his head, falling to his knees at her feet and rolling over onto his back, pain washing over him like her fire magic. She knelt and stuffed the herbs into his mouth, forcing him to chew them before pulling the stopper from potion bottle. "You are so damned reckless!"
Yuri chewed the herbs and took the bottle from Koudelka, tossing back the flavorful vintage – an herbal mix bottled in a dark wine. He licked his lips and felt the tingle as the medicines began to work, his ears ringing and his heart beating fast and strong.
"I'll live, I think," he said and waived with the hand holding the small bottle. "Better kill the bitch, Koudelka," he said and then sighed, closing his eyes. "I'll be a minute. I'm okay."
Koudelka touched his shoulder before rising to summon again; a barrage of ice broke over Elaine as she watched and she smiled, realizing that ice would work better this time. 'Fine,' she thought. 'Ice it is,' and she called on her magicks. James took a step back, shaking his head as Koudelka went back to work. He glanced at Yuri before sighing and beginning again the summons for his ice magic.
Yuri lay on his back for a moment, the sound of battle coming slowly back to his ringing ears. He heard the loud crash as Koudelka's ice barrage landed and he rolled onto his elbow to survey the damage. Elaine was obviously weakening; she was on her hands and feet again, but her body was moving rapidly, her pelvis thrusting and her head swinging back and forth in a mindless motion. Yuri smiled, chuckling aloud.
"Oh yeah, she's got it now; she's coming, she's coming," Yuri laughed and fell back again, grinning like a fool as James' attack landed and Elaine's high pitched screech answered him.
Koudelka squatted at his shoulder and tapped the top of his head.
"Are you all right, Yuri?"
Still grinning, Yuri opened crimson-flecked eyes and stared up at Koudelka. He reached up with one hand and took her own, caressing it with his thumb.
"I'm okay, are you?" And when Koudelka nodded, he sighed. "Good." He took a deep breath and leapt to his feet, catching his balance as the world spun on its axis for a moment. He looked back at the lump that was Elaine and then nodded toward the stairs. "We better get going." He took Koudelka's elbow and hurried her along a few paces behind James. When they reached the last turn of the stairwell, he paused.
"James, Koudelka, listen up," he said and pulled Koudelka around to face him. "When we get up there… she's gonna come back ya understand?" he looked up at James who merely frowned.
"How do you know that?"
"Well she has returned twice now, James," Koudelka stated.
"Yeah, and she's gonna come back loaded for war. Ya gotta be ready. An' not only that –" he looked down at Koudelka and, still holding her elbow, pulled her close into an embrace. "I love you Koudelka, I want you to know that," he said and gave her a quick kiss. "I may not remember who I am or what I did, or what I'm supposed to do… but I promise you, you will come out of this alive. Elaine is gonna come up over the side, James," he said looking up at the priest again. "She's gonna come up and then lightening will strike. The bell tower will crumble; you gotta get out of the way – both of you, ya understand? You get Koudelka outta the way," he finished and James, looking down at the fighter, could see the glint of intense conviction in his eyes. James frowned, rubbing the back of his neck briefly before nodding.
"Yes, I understand. But what about you?"
Yuri sighed. "I'll be there; but I'm gonna be busy. You gotta be ready now; Elaine will come up and then there's gonna be one hellava fight. And I've gotta stop… well, I've got to stop what happened before."
Koudelka gripped his hand, holding it tightly. "Yuri, what are you going to do?"
Looking down at the gypsy woman, Yuri smiled. "What I have to. Let's go," and he thrust his chin in the direction of the rooftop.
They continued to climb, making the final turn of the stairs up to the roof. The narrow stairwell widened and opened up onto the stone of the bell tower; above them, the steeple rose like a black spear against the early morning sky, the six lower bells waiving gently in the morning wind off the coast. James and Koudelka took cautious steps around the opening for the bell-ropes and looked around. The top floor of the bell tower was open to the air, the steeple above them; and around the outer edge, was a stone wall about three feet tall and a foot thick, crenellated like a castle keep and pitted and cracked with age. The sea winds from the coast had freshened with the morning light and a few heavy grey clouds scudded across the sky, shredding and tearing, threatening with rain. In the east, the sun was above the horizon, a sharp lance of yellow light, but not yet strong enough to do more than brighten the local sky; the mists of the night before had left damp on everything and the stones under foot were slick with moisture –footing would be precarious. James looked over to the stairwell when Yuri did not join them and so it was he who first saw Elaine as she crawled over the crenellations to the roof. She looked battered and bruised, but no less dangerous and James called out a warning as she paused on the stone wall.
Suddenly she shuddered, her shoulders arching and her lower body growing odd rings like a cocoon; her arms elongated and her fingers grew claws. From her back sprung six ringed and ridged legs, which quickly articulated and lifted her body from the stones. Bent nearly double, her back now grew like a thorax, joining with her legs to form an elongated abdomen, her chest and human arms left to dangle beneath the new insectoid body. From her human head sprang a hood that was scaled and armored and two vestigial wings fluttered behind her. Raising herself up on her six legs, she surveyed the bell tower and screamed.
Yuri was standing on the last steps of the stairwell, keeping a close eye on the shadows below; he knew he was there, running up the spiral stairs, making note of the combats that had occurred. He knew he would be tired from his earlier combat on the inner grounds and against the gargoyle, and he knew his own magical energies would be depleted. He remembered James giving him listel for recovery and he knew that without that recovery, he would be a lot easier to kill. For Yuri knew in his heart this would be a combat to the death, he himself would not stand for interference if it meant saving a life, and he knew he was under the impression the people here needed him. He also knew he was being reckless. With a shrug, he turned and climbed the last steps as Elaine climbed over the wall.
"Any second now," he muttered, adjusting his claws and rotating his shoulders. And in the next second, the monster raised her head, screaming to the cloudy heavens and the thumping sound of boots on stone caught his attention, and then a boom as lightening stuck the bell tower and all hell broke loose.