Chapter 13.
By Carycomic
SCHLOSS KREVCHESKI, LITHUANIA
JUNE 11, 1967 (4:00 A.M.)
Captain Summers immediately tried going for his wand as if he were a gunslinger in an old Hollywood Western! But, Goratrix proved quicker on the draw.
"Totalis petrificus!"
Summers and his guide, Agent Gareth, instantly became paralyzed over the entire lengths of their bodies. Whereupon, Goratrix had grinned. Growing the fingernail of his right index finger to the size of a cat's claw! He then extended his left hand and uttered the phrase. "Accio veritaserum."
The bottle that floated into his left palm he quickly uncorked with that claw. He then removed the cork with his teeth before dipping the claw into the veritaserum. Following which, he spit the cork out... prior to giving each of his prisoners a small nip on the left side of their necks. The ensuing bite marks were then stabbed with that claw, injecting veritaserum into each man's bloodstream!
"Now, mein herren! You will each identify yourselves. Starting with you; the one on my right."
"Summers, John Baring. C-C-Code name: Grey Shadow. RAF Group Captan, c-c-currently on... detached duty... with House Fortunae. Order... of Hermes."
Then, it was Agent Gareth's turn.
"Peter. . .Petulengro... Ellis. Anglisky Lovari Roma.* And... adopted son... of Capt. Guy Ellis (British Military Intelligence). The original... Grey Shadow."
If John could have arched his eyebrows in total surprise, he would have done so.
BRITISH EMBASSY, WASHINGTON, D.C. (30 YEARS EARLIER)
They met in the basement, where the body had- -quite literally- -been put on ice.
"How did it happen?" he half-demanded in a harsh whisper.
Sir Denis Nayland-Smith looked at the floor in abject survivor's guilt.
"He was helping me trace an occult talisman that had recently been stolen from London House. The thief in question was Pao Tcheou: Fu Manchu's nephew. And the talisman in question was a bat-shaped figurine of solid gold. The last of seven such figurines once used to empower and control an equal number of deadly kuei-jin! Those kuei-jin had been slain, back at the turn of the century, by Dr. Lawrence Van Helsing. But, Fu Manchu intended to resurrect them using the negative mystical energies centered in and around the California town called... Sunnydale."
"Fortunately, for us, his presence was detected- -and regarded as unwanted- -by Sunnydale's resident master vampire. Their ensuing struggle for control of the talisman disrupted the spell. Resulting in a devastating earthquake that buried the both of them! Hopefully, for the rest of all time. I did not get to see that fact for myself. As Captain Ellis was suddenly pushing me out of the way of a falling chunk of debris that would otherwise have had me lying here in his place! In short, Flight Lieutenant Summers? You are the new Grey Shadow."
Goratrix crisscrossed his arms in open contempt.
"A mud-blooded wizard and a gypsy hedge mage. The likes of you truly thought you could infiltrate mein castle undetected? Pathetic! What made you attempt such foolishness?"
It was Summers who replied.
"We m-merely wished... to ascertain... why some of your childer... are c-c-currently working... for the East Germans."
Goratrix grinned. "Since I intend feeding the both of you to my watch-dragon, as soon as this interrogation is over, I will tell you. The East Germans are actually working for the True Black Hand! We are merely permitting them to believe otherwise."
"Y-Y-Yes. But, why?"
The grin disappeared from the antitribu Tremere's face.
"Nein! It is I who am interrogating you! Verstehst? Yet, now that we have assuaged each other's curiosities, I deem this interrogation... concluded. Levo!"
Whereupon, the two paralyzed spies floated two feet up off the ground. Goratrix then made a beckoning gesture with his right hand, which resulted in his two prisoners floating along behind him as he marched out of the old chamber, through a veritable maze of corridors, and down to the great front hall of the castle. There, he gestured with his left hand at a pair of huge double doors. These promptly opened inward while a huge iron portcullis simultaneously went upward. Following which, a long wooden drawbridge descended over the front portion of the castle's moat. The strange procession then crossed over the bridge to where the watch-dragon could have a full, uncluttered view of Goratrix and his prisoners. And that is precisely what he would have had. . .were it not for the fact that he had already been slain.
The Setite Abomination formerly known as Owain Ap Bedwyr Crabbe (alias "Spider" Crabbe) lay flat on his back. The upper half of a sword sticking out from where the top of his long neck intersected with the uvula of his draconic mouth. A sword that was now withdrawn by a decidedly female figure standing atop the Abomination's scaly neck.
"Im Nomen von Kain!" muttered Goratrix, in undisguised shock. "Cassandra?!"
The Immortal wizardess merely smiled. " 'Gray Maiden,' men doth hale me. Death doth not fail me."
Whereupon, she revolved her right arm in a counter-clockwise circle at literally eye-blurring speed. But, just before her arm completed the circle, her right hand released its grip on the hilt of the sword that had just slain a draco-vamp. Sending that sword speeding straight at the antitribu Tremere with the speed of a bullet. Only with far more lethality. For, as soon as the blade had penetrated his heart, Goratrix started screaming in pain! Following which...
...he burst into flames.
It was only after Goratrix had been reduced to ash that the paralysis spell on Capt. Summers and Agent Gareth ended. Followed a second later by the breaking of the levitation spell! Causing the two men to fall straight to the ground in moderately painful belly flops.
"Oh!" she gasped (both hands flying up to her mouth in embarrassment). "I'm so sorry."
"Think... nothing... of it," Summers gallantly replied (in between some gasps of his own). "Occupational... hazard."
"It has been... a long time... Milady," added Agent Gareth. "To what... do I owe... this reunion?"
The Immortal wizardess looked at the Kingsman operative.
"I need your help, Peter. Yours, too, Captain Summers! To be more specific; I need your help to prevent an assassination that could lead to World War III."
tbc
GLOSSARY
*Lovari Roma: real-life archetypes for the nomadic gypsies so stereotypically immortalized by Universal Studios' Depression-era horror films.
Pao Tcheou: French version of Fu Manchu created by pulp author Edward Brooker (copyright 1953).
". . .equal number of deadly kuei-jin" refers to "Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires" (a 1974 Hammer Films/Shaw Brothers co-production).
