"I knew there was something fishy with you," I spat accusingly as I backed away from the burly battle servitors in Langwidere's Hall of Heads. "I guess my history books were right about you being sleazy!"
Rasputin pulled back his grey hood, revealing his long, stringy dark hair. "Sleazy? Me?" the Mad Monk made a brief petulant face before chortling with amusement. "History is always written by the victors, as they say. But, nevertheless, I am pleased enough that I ended up in your American history books."
"Cut the bullshit," I growled, pointing the Nemeses Argentum at the two monster servitors, who continued to aim their laser sights at my heart. I furiously drew into my own energy, and only succeeded in slightly brightening my halo, and making my temple throb with pain. I was clearly outmatched! "What do you want? What the hell is going on? First you magically show up in the parlor with that Navigator who wanted to kill me and now this."
"Put your toy scissors away, my dear. I know from this splitting headache that both you and I are experiencing that we can't use our sorcerous powers to their normal effectiveness. Governor Langwidere has informed me that the so-called "terrorists" of the Tower of Reason are behind the present energy irregularities, and so she's presently on her way there. Is what the governor said true?"
"I'm not telling you shit," I said as I desperately drew upon my Sight, concentrating with all my might to overcome the suppression field. A servitor clacked its metal claws, and haltingly stepped forward to me as it moaned like some kind of unholy future zombie. This was really bad! Could I talk my way out of this? "But, maybe I'd feel like talking more if those monsters didn't have laser sights pointed at my goddamn heart!"
The Mad Monk paused, and observed the battle servitors standing before him. "I suppose this is somewhat rude, isn't it? I told palace security that battle servitors were not needed. I myself would not appreciate this lack of decorum in any action against me. Here-" Rasputin then raised his left wrist, and holding his staff in the crook of his elbow, he inputted a sequence of numbers into what seemed to be a keypad on a thick metal cuff. With a small beeping noise, the servitors then slouched on their feet, and their laser sights lowered. "Better?"
"I'll feel better when you explain what the hell is going on!" I growled. In my anger, I realized that my halo was slightly brighter, but I sensed that my abilities weren't powerful enough right now to enable me to blow this guy up. "Start talking!"
Rasputin nodded. "Very well, then. I have much to tell you. To begin with, this is Langwidere's Hall of Heads, and her most secret inner sanctum. While it is known that the governor enjoys changing her hair and her features, it now goes beyond that. Langwidere has now perfected the science of soul transference, and entertains herself with wearing different beautiful heads that strike her whims. Either that, or she changes her head if she feels like spying on someone. She takes these heads from the beautiful who fall out of favor with her, or just see her on a bad day. This most privately kept secret is known to very few in the governor's inner circle. Even Evring Sinclair was only just told about this a few hours ago. He had remained completely ignorant until then! What a surprise to Evring, the poor lad!"
"So, she transfers her consciousness from head to head?" I asked. "And she wanted my head?"
"Your foreign spirit currently lives in Evanora's flesh, and governor Langwidere and Evanora of the East both had a... friendly competition concerning soul and consciousness transmission spanning the last few decades. The governor has revealed to me often that she was somewhat jealous of Evanora's techniques concerning the manipulation of the soul, and that, should the Wicked Witch of the East ever visit Tar Vigaz again, she would take Evanora's head to somehow inherit her knowledge. And look, here you are, much to Langwidere's chagrin and delight!"
"I've been through this with basically everyone," I huffed. "I'm not Evanora."
"Well, I know that, but you try convincing governor Langwidere of anything when her mind is made up. And consider yourself lucky to be facing me instead of anyone else. The governor, seeing that her sanctum was breached and her wards broken, sent me up here to subdue you as she departed the palace. And now, here I am with these ridiculous servitors as she races to the Tower of Reason to correct the problem with the deadened local Warp. And well, there's that whole other debacle with the tiresome Family of Liberty, of course, but that would take some time to explain."
"Oh yes, look at me. Totally fucking lucky!" I sarcastically moaned as I motioned dramatically at the room around me, indicating toward the row of decapitated staring heads. Behind me, I could even hear faint whispering from the heads, which made my hair stand on end. "Alright, look, what's your plan then?"
Rasputin did not respond immediately, and began to smile wickedly.
Alarmed, I realized that I could now hear running footsteps racing down the hall as the Mad Monk grinned. He laughed, and finally answered with a, "Why, I actually intend to do just that, tsarina!"
A large shadow wearing a military coat suddenly appeared in the doorway!
"So, I argued with the governor that using these servitors was overkill, and that I could just keep you confused and talking for the short time it would take for our esteemed captain of the guard to get here. It would be better for your precious pretty body and face to remain untouched by the rough hands of battle servitors. Lower ranking guards are not permitted to see within the inner sanctum, so the captain of the guard himself had to be summoned from another wing of the palace when it was discovered that you were here," Rasputin explained with a sneer as I turned to see the very large and dark-bearded military guard walk inside the sanctum. He was breathing heavily, and his eyes were filled with anger!
I stepped back, brandishing the Nemeses Argentum before me as the captain smiled greasily. He was a wide-shouldered bear of a man a full head taller than me with cruel brown eyes, and a short dark beard. The captain's military coat was long, black, and covered with various medals and lapels. He began to speak in a deep, gruff voice: "Excellent work, Grand Advisor! You certainly have a way with words! The governor will be pleased. You sure her psychic powers are crippled?"
Rasputin nodded as the captain continued to advance, his arms outstretched threateningly! This guy was as big as a professional wrestler! "Yes, she's psychically crippled, as am I, and it is most uncomfortable. But, I'll make things even easier for you. A little calming aid for our little Empress..."
"I'm not going down without a fight!" I growled at the guard who was walking scarily to me. "Magic or no magic, I can still kick your-"
A sharp pain blossomed on my thigh, and I realized that a dart had pierced my costume! It was a small black dart with a red feather. Immediately, I reached to pluck it out! Oh no!
Seeing this, the captain of the guard laughed confidently. His body language relaxed as he now stood within a pace of me. I began to wobble on my feet, and my head felt even worse than before! A small trickle of blood fell from my nose. "Steady, steady. We don't want that pretty flesh bruised. Just fall into my arms, girl! We have a use for both your head and body later!" I stumbled backwards in fear, briefly falling to one knee as I continued holding the Nemeses Argentum in my right hand! The giant man simply followed me as I tried in vain to get away from him, and held his arms out, waiting for me to collapse fully. "Calm yourself, naughty girl! Soon you will go to sleep, and soon, all your problems will be over," the captain mocked as I struggled. After jeering at me, he shouted back to Rasputin, "I say, excellent shot, Grand Advisor! I underestimated you!"
"I never miss," Rasputin snickered as I leaned against the command console, my world spinning. An unusual electric tingling began to sparkle through my nervous system. "And people always underestimate me!" the Mad Monk added. My headache was now even worse as the strange tingling feeling spread through the rest of me! Was this just me being poisoned, or was my Corona actually brighter now? Right before the smiling captain had reached to grapple me with his massive arms, another quick motion caught my eye, and the military guard's happy expression suddenly dropped, changing to horrified shock.
The captain of the guard slowly turned to face Rasputin, and I could now see a long yellow dart sticking out of his neck! This dart was the exact same dart that Ven Tristan had used in his attempt to assassinate me! "You..." the guard rasped in stunned betrayal as he fell heavily to his knees.
"No, I never miss," Rasputin laughed as the guard toppled over. I continued to sway on my feet as I now watched the giant man begin to convulse on the floor. Whatever poison had been in his dart was by far more lethal than what I had just been given! While I was still dizzy, and I felt strange energy moving through me, it didn't seem to be getting any worse. Maybe this was from my helpful poison resistance?
"Tsarina, I do so apologize for that. Langwidere has just not been trusting me lately for whatever reason, so she sent her captain to babysit me with you as she ran off for the Tower of Reason!" Rasputin chirped happily as the guard began to seize on the stone floor. "I've injected him with Soul Lathe. He won't be bothering us anymore."
"What was in my dart?" I quickly asked, holding my head as I leaned against the console. I still felt dizzy, but the effects didn't seem to be escalating. Was it just me, or was my Corona really brighter, despite the pylon? It even shimmered with a strange prismatic rainbow, and I again felt a strange electric sensation race through my nervous system.
"Oh, just a fun little psychic enhancer called 'Spook'. Harmless. I have a rare stash put aside for special occasions, such as tonight," the Mad Monk casually replied as he reached into one of his pockets. He produced another dart similar to mine, and with a toothy grin, he quickly sunk his dart into his own leg with a deep (and somewhat salacious) moan! He closed his eyes and sighed, almost as if he was relishing in the pain! Was he actually enjoying this? Historical Rasputin had been noted to have certain proclivities toward strange enjoyments of pain, I remembered with a cringe. The Mad Monk opened his eyes after a few moments, and I noticed that his cheeks were flushed as he removed his dart from his thigh! "Ah, that should help to overcome whatever those metal men at the tower did! What a fun diversion for this evening!"
I shakily lowered the Nemeses Argentum, genuinely confused at what was going on now. My headache, while briefly explosive, was now starting to subside, and now, I found that my Corona was still aglow. I looked at the convulsing guard on the floor, unsure about everything right now. My Sight was weak, but I was now able to determine that this poison was some kind of brutal paralytic. It was slowly paralyzing every part of him, and eventually, his heart would stop without an antidote. It would be a slow and torturous death, I knew.
"The captain should probably be dispatched," Rasputin cooly suggested, but did not move. "It would do no good to have someone administer an antidote, and to have him speak of my betrayal. Pity on that. He is a strong and loyal fighter."
My halo flashed irregularly as I knelt down beside the fallen man. The Mad Monk was right, I reluctantly conceded. Witnesses were bad, and while I could normally surgically remove memories from people, I was far too weak to do so right now. Swallowing heavily, I held the Nemeses Argentum in my hand, and turned the captain over so that his throat was exposed.
His eyes were not paralyzed yet, and he was expressing incredible fear. The man was now terrified!
I breathed deeply as I considered my situation. Only a few short weeks ago, I was eating cheap ramen in my apartment in New Jersey as I desperately tried to finish projects to pay my rent. I had been planning on going hiking with my friends soon, and then going to an engagement party. Now, I was standing over a paralyzed helpless man who was obviously frightened of me while I contemplated my morality in a room filled with disembodied heads. When I had killed people before, it had been either accidental, in self-defense, or, in Nabopolassar's case, actually desired by the subject.
No, wait. I had killed in other circumstances, I remembered. I recalled my brutal judgement and execution of the Inquisitor on Rhadabus, and the destruction of the Ebon Hare. Was this really who I was now, and were Ven Tristan's cursed last words to me accurate?
"You're a beast, a pretender, a murderer! You've taken everything from me! You are a monster!" the renegade Navigator had said shortly before dying...
The situation before me now felt deeply wrong. This would be the removal of a witness, and it would definitely count as murder!
"Hesitant, are we? Let me help with that, tsarina. I am a gentleman, after all," Rasputin gently spoke behind me. Disgusted with myself, I stepped away from the captain's trembling body. A wave of tingling dizziness pushed through me, and I went to lean on the console again, contemplating my degradation of character. My eyes found one of Langwidere's staring stolen heads, and even it seemed to judge me as I stood here half-sick. I closed my eyes and took a breath as I heard the Mad Monk humming to himself. I regretted opening them when I saw one of the combat servitors making its way over to the prone captain. The hulking metal monster reached down with one of its massive claws to grasp the head of the captain, who continued to tremble as he was entirely paralyzed, his eyes wild with fear. The captain was still entirely conscious...
I turned away, and a sickening wet crunch echoed in the room. The activity of the pylon was apparently not powerful enough to stop the draw of the soul to my Key, and I felt the gem begin to warm on my chest. I felt a brief sense of great fear and confusion from the man's soul, and as I took another deep breath, the smell of copper filled this chilly space.
"There, all finished! My, my, my! The servitors here have certainly been malfunctioning lately! It must be from the interference of the Tower of Reason, it will be argued."
I opened my eyes again, and saw Rasputin holding the yellow dart in his hand. He placed it in a long black box, which closed with a click as it was placed in one of his robe pockets. "I'm going to command the servitors to stay here, but we should probably leave, and you should probably not look at the floor," The Mad Monk suggested.
"Agreed," I replied as we made our way out the door.
As the two of us made our way to the hallway, I noticed that my Corona began to flash again with unexpected brilliance, and a weird wave of dizziness struck me again. The two of us stopped. Was this the Spook affecting us?
"Did you feel that?" Rasputin asked me. I turned to him and saw that he was leaning against the metal hallway.
"Is that from the Spook drug?" I asked.
"I-I actually do not think so," the Mad Monk said, breathing deeply, his hand on his temple. "I beheld a vision. Something disturbing. Whatever scientific wizardry they are enacting at the Tower of Reason appears to be somewhat unstable."
Curiously, I closed my eyes, and deep within myself, I distantly sensed many metal men running and yelling as they desperately attempted to keep one of the psyker captives alive. An entirely nude man with a shaved head and multiple needles puncturing his skull was screaming and straining violently against the bonds that held him to a metal table. The man then began to change his pitch, and strangely, his garbled shouts actually began to take on coherent words.
"The Omega! The Omega! She comes from beyond heaven and all the stars! She will kill us! She will judge us all, and all will love her or perish in holy fire! She will kill the Weeping King! She is the last! The very last!" the tortured psyker screamed as he was further restrained, and a long needle placed through the corner of his left eye socket!
Hearing this, I reflexively vomited on the black carpet as I forced myself out of the vision. The peculiar sparkling sensation of Spook raced through my nervous system again. Between the pylon being unstable, and the application of psychic enhancing drugs, I was now extremely uncomfortable. This sucked. While I had really enjoyed the Harlequin performance, the rest of this party was pretty much garbage.
Rasputin now stood beside me. "What did you witness?" he asked me, his bright blue eyes shining in wonder.
"Nothing. Let's keep going."
Why did that psyker say that, and what the hell had I just seen? I wondered to myself. Last I checked, I had absolutely no intention of judging people with holy fire or killing the Weeping King. While that definitely sounded somewhat metal and cool, actually becoming an evil godhead was not on my list of things to do, so I put it out of my mind, and continued on my way.
Rasputin and I walked out of the hallway, and were now in the warded suite again. After centering myself a little more, I turned to the Russian as he stood before the previously warded main door, searching for what I presumed was a key in his deep pockets. "So, what's your goal? You probably have some kind of goal in all this, right?" I asked the infamous Mad Monk.
"My primary wish is to serve the House of Romanov once again, even in this accursed universe," Rasputin said as he produced a gold key. "Do you trust me yet?"
"No," I replied honestly.
"Then consider me untrustworthy. I will be good help to you, though. That I do swear before God in heaven." The Mad Monk placed his key into the lock. Before this door unlocked, I noticed a line of runes on the frame briefly come to life before burning out with a pop. Once again, the smell of gunpowder filled the air, and the door was now open.
Rasputin cautiously peered into the open hallway before turning back to me. "The other guards have all been summoned to corral the people to various public areas of the palace, so the upper floors are now empty. Convenient. I would still suggest that you calm that halo of yours if you can."
I took a deep breath, and withdrew my light as best as I could. Unfortunately, because of pylon instability and psychic drugs, I found that I couldn't suppress it completely, and my Corona hung around my head and shoulders with a thin glow. "Where are we going now?" I asked, still terribly suspicious. "You have to have a goal in all of this, so cut the shit," I quietly demanded as we left the previously warded suite, and began walking down the hall.
"Mmm," Rasputin made a pensive noise as we both walked down the hall. The light from the crystal chandeliers above offered pale illumination, and the radiance of my own halo reflected off the many mirrors, giving the hallway an otherworldly feel. The Russian walked a short distance before responding. "I told you the truth. I wish to serve the House of Romanov once again. But aside from that, my other goal is to depart this planet. I want an opportunity to leave this gold pile of filth. What I wish is that you take me aboard your vessel as I desire greatly to see this new and exciting galaxy I keep hearing about. For my aid, this is what I request of you, tsarina."
"But, where are you taking me now?" I insisted, massaging my aching temples.
"Somewhere helpful. You came here with a mutant, correct? The gold bird man?"
"Yes?" I replied, a worried lilt to my voice.
"No doubt they have placed him with the other mutants in the first floor servant's wing. And, since governor Langwidere suggested that the mutants were at fault for the recent terrorist attacks, they will no doubt attempt to execute any mutant scapegoats in the palace to slake the bloodlust of the guests. It may even be a cover for a sort of Chaotic rite as well for the Family of Liberty, but I am unsure they would be able to enact such a thing if the Warp is being interfered with."
"They're going to execute them?" I replied in horror, my voice heightening involuntarily. I felt my halo brighten, and swayed on my feet again. I leaned up against the wall for a few heartbeats. Rasputin did not answer immediately, and stood patiently beside me, and soon, we were on our way again after a few deep breaths.
"I see this as a probable outcome, tsarina. What I would assume you would want to do, considering your prophetic visions, is to retrieve your crewmembers, and depart this world. You have all the food and supplies you need now, correct?"
I paused in the hall again, and turned toward Rasputin. "But I need... I need to talk to Langwidere though! I need to try to fix things here!" I exclaimed sadly, shaking my head as I leaned against a mirror. Something in me deeply wanted to "fix" whatever happened in this world. I needed to either brainwash this woman or to kill her, and not being able to do either right this minute was deeply upsetting. The humans of this world deserved better than being led by this psychotic head hunting woman!
"I'm afraid Langwidere might not be so easy to confront now," Rasputin gently replied to me as he guided me along again. "If she had come to you shortly after your imprisonment in the warded suite, perhaps you would have been victorious over her, as you seem to outrank her in sorcerous strength. But now, with all the problems behind the Tower of Reason and the uneasy mood displayed by her party attendees, she will be under guard again. She is suspicious that people moving against her, and rightfully so. Not only that, she is not even in the palace at the present, as I have said."
"Fuck," I exhaled with a sigh. This felt terrible. I told everyone that I would fix all the problems here and I had failed! I had even confronted the governor alone, and I had failed to destroy her! Admittedly, I didn't know that Mombi was Langwidere wearing a different head, but still, I should have known better somehow!
After a walk down the long quiet hall (which I assumed was also soundproofed, along with many of the palace rooms), we came to what appeared to be a modest wooden doorway across the hall from a tall picture window. First, Rasputin produced another gold key, and unlocked the window hinge. He then pushed the window open, which let in some refreshing evening wind. "Always nice to get some air in here," he said. He then slowly turned to me and smiled. "This window is the only non-warded and unbarred window in this wing. Langwidere is usually very cautious in her acquisition of potential new heads, and so, this entire wing is covered in protective runes to ward against any escape. While usually securely locked, this particular window is peculiarly unwarded, and has been for some time. Even the bars in this window seemed to have vanished! Peculiar, isn't it?"
"This whole wing is warded? Not just the suite I was in?" I asked.
"The suite you were imprisoned within is what we of the secret inner court playfully call our 'visitor's wing'. The governor would often house her prey within that suite until she wished to take their heads. It is why her inner sanctum is adjacent to that suite, you see? You were in an area that was nearly impossible to escape from, but it appears that fate did not wish to see you caged and decapitated. How lucky for you once again!"
Fate did have a weird way of having everything just "work out" sometimes for me, I was forced to admit. This was probably either my weird Traveler fate-influencing ability, or maybe Tzeentch was just having fun with manipulating events around me. Whatever it was, I was thankful that I was no longer confined, and that I still had my head!
Rasputin then went to open the door across the open window with another key. This room appeared to be some kind of very large walk-in laundry storage closet, with towels, blankets, linens, and other fabrics neatly folded on shelves. In the far corner of the room, a closed rectangular sliding door was built into the wall. It wasn't very tall, and only stood about my height. "Why are we here?" I asked Rasputin.
"One of the governor's other blind spots is that Langwidere minimizes any interaction with the palace servants. Such is her arrogance. This means that something like this can actually operate clandestinely in the palace to not only move dirty linens, but to move very secret people," Rasputin softly answered me as he walked forward into the cloistered space. A small light flickered above as the Russian stepped to the back of the room, and with a thin hand, he pulled the sliding door aside. This revealed what appeared to be another small storage space about a meter and half squared. Within, a small pile of clean towels were stacked along with a container of cleaning fluid, and a short bottle of amasec. The Mad Monk removed these items, and placed them aside in the closet. I noticed that he took the short bottle of amasec, quickly uncorked it, and took a swig. "Want any?" he asked me.
I shook my head as he placed the bottle in his robes. Yeah, this guy was definitely Grigori Rasputin...
"Alright, great, you found unwarded booze," I said with a shrug. "What now?"
"You Americans are not familiar with dumbwaiters?" Rasputin tutted beside me with a laugh. To the right of the open space, I now noticed that there were a series of switches that I had missed behind another small stack of towels, which he then moved aside. Two large buttons that indicated both up and down were obvious, but nine other smaller buttons lined the wall in three rows of three, with each numbered accordingly. "This dumbwaiter heads to the servant's chambers and the laundry room below. Over the years, it has been reinforced to allow up to a hundred kilograms of weight, allowing for the transportation of sneaky people with mischief on their minds!"
"So, there's been spying in the palace, and Langwidere is too full of herself to investigate? Really?"
Rasputin giggled. "Oh yes! I actually took notice of it years ago, but when I went to inform the governor on this, she was having a bad day, and she became angry at me for upsetting her further with my interruption. I decided to keep my knowledge of this to myself," the Mad Monk apparently found this bit of information very funny, as he kept laughing, tears filling his eyes. He then doubled over, and I felt another wave of nausea strike through me as my Corona momentarily brightened, and then dimmed again. "Excuse me, tsarina. Must be the Spook!" Rasputin laughed again as he reached to touch my shoulder in a manner that was too friendly for me. I backed away.
"If I'm understanding this right, that window behind us isn't warded or barred, which means that people can secretly come up from the servant area below us using the dumbwaiter, and they can escape out the window," I observed. This was all apparently happening under Langwidere's nose! The governor was definitely a mess, I thought. I wondered how long all this spying had been going on, and who was doing it. "Who has been spying? Do you know?"
Rasputin was breathing deeply from his fit of laughter, and settled himself down. "The Blue Architects. Well, what remains of them. From what I know, they're a Tzeentchian cult currently operating out a seedier part of Evna, and years ago, they were much more populous. They went to war against a cult of Nurgle living in Evna's sewers. The two groups nearly wiped each other out, and the war actually spilled over onto Evna's streets. The Blue Architects prevailed, but their numbers were decimated. Since governor Langwidere needed someone to blame all the collateral damage on without informing the public that a literal Chaos gang war had happened right under their noses, the governor used the mutants of the Blue Architects as scapegoats for the whole thing."
"And they're still around? So, this is really why their media is so against mutants and Tzaangors?" Alberich had informed me of something like this when he had been speaking to the psychic bartender downstairs.
"That's right, tsarina," Rasputin said with a grin as he drank more amasec from his bottle. My Corona brightened once again, and I heard a faint cry for help at the edge of my psychic senses. "Give the people someone inconvenient to blame for their troubles, and someone to feel superior over. With a little influence, they will happily direct their hate toward who you indicate, easily allowing you to cover up whatever impropriety you may have involved yourself in! And, you'll be seen as strong and decisive in the media! Basic manipulation of politics and power, really." The Mad Monk grinned again, and watched me with wide sparkling eyes. He then reached to touch my shoulder again as he purred, "I can really be of great use to you, you know. As an advisor, I can help you achieve great things."
"Okay, uh," I stammered as I cringed away from Rasputin's creepy long fingers. "I've got a couple questions: How long is the drop from the window? Without stronger psychic abilities I can't fly or anything. And is there like, an escape shuttle or something down there?"
"We're approximately twelve meters up, but the wall on that side is covered in sturdy flowering vines. From what I know, the various spies have always been able to climb down with ease. The view outside of that window faces part of the grand hedge maze that surrounds part of the property, and from what I have overheard, there is a secret hatch somewhere within the maze that leads to an underground tunnel network."
"Twelve meters?" I gulped, and Rasputin nodded. I wasn't Spider Man, so I hoped that for my sake that the pylons would be off when I had to escape from the window. "Do you know anything else about what this tunnel is?"
"Unfortunately, no. This is all the information I can offer you at the present. But, I'm guessing you can influence at least one of the present operatives downstairs into revealing more. I have overheard them speaking in whispered tones of both a gold Empress, and some messianic Tzaangor they call 'White-Feather', who may or may not be the gold bird mutant you travel with!"
"So, you really knew all this and didn't tell the governor?" I suddenly asked, suspicious. "For years?"
Rasputin shrugged. "As I said, I tried to speak to her. If someone does not offer me respect, I will not give respect in return."
"But, I remember that you said earlier tonight that you swore and oath to the governor," I answered. "You went back on your oath to the governor by keeping all this from her for years, even before I showed up."
The Mad Monk paused and narrowed his eyes. Slowly, he began to smile mirthlessly as he angled his chin upward in a dangerous expression. "I enjoy you, you know. You're clever. But, my advice to you: Don't reveal your cleverness and inquisitive nature indiscriminately. It may be a detriment to you and your future survival concerning individuals of both power and arrogance. And now, I will simply tell you this: All you need to know is that, many years ago in Moscow, I made an oath to God to exalt those of the Romanov name, and I did not make such an oath to God to protect governor Langwidere."
Rasputin remained smiling in my direction, his eyes unblinking and unmoving as he looked down at me.
I cleared my throat, deciding to change the subject. "What's the plan then? We go down to the servant's quarters, pick up Alberich, come back up here, and escape by climbing down the wall?"
"Something like that," Rasputin sniffed. "But, you're going down to the servant's quarters alone. Just in case another guard comes walking down these halls, I have to be there to dissuade them against suspicion. So, get in the dumbwaiter. I'll send you down."
"Hmm," I paused, watching the incredibly suspicious Mad Monk as he creepily smiled at me again. "Hold on, just let me see if I can see something," I spoke. "If we're both to trust one another, just let me do this. It won't hurt you, and it might not even work because of the pylon, but I want to try."
Rasputin's grin dropped for a moment, but he then nodded. "Ah, you wish to look within my soul. If you can summon the strength to enact this, I will accept your gaze with strength, Romanov daughter."
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I then pulled within my strength as much as I could. The strange dizzying feeling of Spook raced through my nervous system as I summoned all the psychic energy I could. I needed to see if there was any duplicity in Rasputin's plan if I was going to be sent down by him in a tiny elevator to the servant's wing. The Spook drug offered me a slight boost in strength, which I was thankful for. Opening my eyes, I then fixed my now-glowing gaze on Rasputin, and reached within his soul.
As I pierced his mind, the Mad Monk's smile vanished, and he almost dropped the bottle of liquor that he had been holding. While my abilities were lessened, the Spook definitely helped, and I realized that I could not sense any deception in his plan. He really did seem to want to help me. As I continued gazing into his mind, I sensed my Corona suddenly ignite fully once again, causing Rasputin to fall backward with a short cry!
Visions of Tech-priests barking orders and shouting commands as a tortured psyker shackled to a metal table wailed in incredible pain. The skin of the tortured young man I had seen before had begun to catch fire, and the long metal needles piercing his brain had even begun to melt in a hot glow against the side of his shaved head. He strained desperately against his metal bindings as his screams reached a maddened pitch, shredding his vocal cords. With a final wail of misery, the psyker's entire burning nude body messily burst into a pile of scorched and steaming meat! Instantly, the gore-covered adepts moved with a frantic pace down the line to the other tortured psykers, of which there were several. "Pylon offline! Omnissiah, what a mess!" a Tech-priest shouted out as he watched another of his kin fasten another terrorized psyker to the pylon network.
I forcefully pulled myself away from the terrible vision, and realized then that my Corona was blazing with heat and light. Quickly, I suppressed my halo. The Mad Monk was now cowering behind a toppled stack of towels, and I could easily sense his fear. With a few deep breaths, I now sensed that my psychic powers were now back at full strength! Actually, no, I was now even stronger than full strength thanks to the injection of Spook!
"Fuck, I'm sorry! I think the Tower just went out, and I just had a vision!" I stammered out to Rasputin as he slowly stood, a line of dripping red blood falling from his nose. His face even appeared reddened as if burned! "I-"
"N-no, no worries. To be in the presence of s-something like you is a gift. A frightening gift but a gift nonetheless," Rasputin hastily sputtered to me, his jaw chattering in fear. "Y-yes, and my strength has also returned, I sense. G-go and save your friend, tsarina. Now you know I am sincere. I will send you down. I will be up here. Press the code "999" on the buttons beside the dumbwaiter when you wish to return, and I will retrieve you."
Feeling more confident now that I had my abilities again, I pulled myself into the dumbwaiter. Rasputin shut the door, and now, the only light in here was from my own Corona. Slowly, I felt that I was descending, and now that my superpowers were back online and also boosted with psychic drugs, I could now see easily what was happening in the rooms below with a quick look of my Sight.
A clear image of a frightening scene appeared in my mind.
Three Tzaangors wearing chef's outfits and about a dozen human palace servants and aides stood together in what appeared to be a wide meeting area that held doors that led to a kitchen, a laundry room, and other utilitarian spaces. Many of the kitchen workers held broad knives in their shaking hands, and I could tell that they were afraid. This entire group stood behind two long upturned tables as if bracing themselves against great danger. They were nervously guarding against a threat that had come to them very recently.
Curious, I turned my psychic eye to what the frightened servants were watching.
A group of about a half dozen military guards in black uniforms stood aiming their weapons at the frightened group. Behind them, a woman was speaking in an authoritative voice, and she was being flanked by two strange people in gaudy red, white, and blue robes. She was attempting to make demands of these frightened people, who were not complying.
"Just give us the mutants and the psykers peacefully and let us examine you all for cult activity. If you have nothing to hide, then why be afraid of us? Stop resisting, for we stand for freedom and justice for all!" a familiar wicked female voice purred.
The foul-smelling psychic shadow then turned, almost sniffing the air like a wild beast and sensing my presence as I observed her. The woman's soul was black, pink, and dead all over, and I knew then that I had certainly met her previously as her face became clear in my mind. Her black eyes twinkled with happiness as she was then able to perceive me, and she smiled.
Raula White, I telepathically growled at her. I see you. Way to crash a party you weren't invited to, bitch. Super trashy!
And I see you, soon to be Corpse-Empress... she telepathically hissed like a snake back at me as the dumbwaiter slowed. Reaching its destination, the door opened, revealing a shadowed laundry room where multiple people were desperately hiding. Yes, I see you, little whore! Am'Erika will be pleased by your destruction!
This party was turning out to be one of the worst I had ever been to, but hey, at least it was exciting! Oddly enough, the prospect of me being able to kill Chaos people excited me in a visceral way, and I found that I was smiling in strange anticipation. I took a deep breath, and braced myself for a conflict!