She bent over Jenny's exposed forearm. "I'd suggest you hold still. I'd hate to mess it up. It might hurt, just a little. Let's start with the antennae."
She held the poniard like a paint brush, cutting a fine line about an inch long on her arm.
Jenny didn't even care that tears were sliding down her face. She remembered her breathing exercises. In 2,3,4,5; Out 2,3,4,5,6; In 2,3,4,5,6,7…and as she breathed her patterns, she loosened each muscle in her body one at a time starting at her toes. She began to slide into that state outside of her conscious mind. The pain was still there, but it somehow felt far away.
"And another," said Sam, relishing the pain she was causing. Her voice was almost a caress. "Every butterfly needs two antennae."
Blood was now dripping from her arm onto the floor. Sam ignored it. "You have plenty of canvas for me to draw on. This is kinda fun. I almost hope you hold out for a long time."
She continued describing her bloody art. "Now the head, and the head needs two eyes. A nice long body to support some large wings." She paused as she drew and described each part of the butterfly until she finished that part and then continued through the wings, the design on the wings and each tiny leg. It seemed to go on for hours, but within the vortex of her breathing and focusing on each miniscule muscle, one at a time, she could almost ignore it.
By the time Sam finished and stepped back to admire her handywork, the blood was falling with an audible plop, plop, plop as it hit the floor.
Jenny started to hope that maybe she would bleed to death before Sam could get more artistic.
"So, are we feeling more cooperative?"
Flinching Jenny shook her head and then realized, to her chagrin, that this was an answer.
Sam smiled as if she had done something amazing.
"Very good. That wasn't so hard, was it?"
Jenny held her neck rigid, so her body wouldn't betray her. She only ground her teeth in an effort to keep her mouth closed and then returned to her breathing, now focusing on her jaw and cheek and neck muscles.
"Still haven't learned our lesson? What a shame. Let's see, what shall I draw next? Maybe a…" Sam began, but she never finished that sentence. Into the room burst Burt and Bob, quarterstaffs whirling.
Sam spun to face them and slipped in the puddle of blood at her feet. Burt hit her in the gut with the end of his staff and Bob followed it up with a sharp rap on the back of her head. Sam collapsed in a heap on the blood-slicked floor.
Burt quickly snapped handcuffs on Sam's wrists while Bob cut the bonds from Jenny's wrists and ankles with the same poniard that Sam had dropped when she collapsed.
Neither said a word. Burt threw Sam over his shoulder with a grunt and Bob slung Jenny on his shoulders like a backpack, her arms as straps. He held onto her, his hands gripping the bleeding cuts like a tourniquet. They rushed her outside to Bob's waiting car, throwing Sam into the trunk with a dull thud. Bob put Jenny gently into the backseat and sat next to her, while Burt drove. Bob pulled a first aid kit out of his MDP and proceeded to clean the wounds and put pressure on it with a large pad of gauze. "They're superficial cuts, even though they are bleeding freely. They may leave scars, though. Do you want us to take you to the emergency room?"
Jenny shook her head. "We need to get Sam to The Council, right now. The healers there can take a look at it."
Burt looked over his shoulder. "We found Tidbit and were able to rouse him. I think he'll be ok. The cell phone was a red herring. But what she didn't know is that I had placed a little beacon on her car. When we went back to the house to tell you our plan, you were gone, the cat was knocked out and the beacon was going off. We stopped to revive Tidbit and left him in your office in his comfy bed. We'll retrieve him on the way to the gate and take him to see the healer's as well."
"Can you try not to kill my car while you're at it?" Bob said querulously. "The paint job is new, and this is a classic."
Burt grinned. "Worry not, old guy. I've got this."
Bob moaned. "That's what I'm afraid of."
Suddenly Jenny realized they were putting on a show for her benefit, trying to keep her mind off of what had just happened, and she realized she loved them for it.
After zooming along back roads for what seemed like hours, they finally pulled into her driveway.
"I can walk," insisted Jenny, but as she tried to rise from her seat onto the driveway, she nearly passed out.
"I've got you," said Bob and Burt simultaneously. So, she looped her arms into each extended elbow and they walked her into the house, installed her on a dining room chair, closest to the door in the hall. They both rushed back out and came back in, carrying a still unconscious Sam between them.
"Let's do this," Burt said, grunting as Bob passed Sam to him.
Bob grabbed Jenny's arm and helped her up. "I've sent ahead," Burt said, huffing slightly with Sam's gangly weight. "They'll be waiting for us at the gate with re-enforcements. You won't have to walk."
As they passed through the office door, she saw Tidbit curled up in his comfy cat bed, his eyes shut. "Tidbit?" she sent, tentatively. He didn't stir. She saw he was breathing, his belly rising and falling, but he was obviously unconscious.
Bob hung the sleeping cat gently over his shoulders, his front paws hanging on one side of his neck and his back paws hanging on the other. The usually expressive tail hung limply.
"Heavens above," Bob exclaimed. "He's heavy! No more kitty treats for you, my boy."
Just as Burt had said, as they stepped through the gate, several guards were waiting with a larger version of the hover car. But when they started through the scanner a loud alarm went off.
"Oops," said Bob sheepishly and held out Sam's knife. "I brought it as evidence."
The guard took it gingerly in a gloved hand. "I'll process it, thanks." One of the other guards had pushed a button on his belt and the wailing of the alarm cut off.
Her ears still ringing, Jenny was escorted to a seat in the hover-car and slumped in the seat, feeling bad that she was getting blood on the pristine interior of the car.
They went down the hill to the city, but instead of parking in front of the huge double doors, they pulled past into what was apparently a parking garage, but instead of parking, they drove the vehicle into an even larger elevator than the one in the lobby.
"We have instructions," said one of the guards briskly. "We're not to make a public scene of this. Violence is rare in this city and we don't want to start a panic."
"We're taking you into the guard station where we will incarcerate your friend here," he said pointing with a thumb over his shoulder, "and where you will be transferred to the healer's center. After that, you will be taken to the Council room, where the Councilors will be waiting for you."
The elevator door slid open into a sterile looking space. A guard looked into the large room through a window that Jenny imagined, from watching cop shows as a kid, was bullet proof glass.
A wheelchair was waiting for her. She protested, but was installed into it anyway. "You go," said Burt to Bob and the guards, "we've got this." He placed Tidbit on her lap. Wait…Tidbit? What?
"Why didn't he change?" She had been too worried and dazed to realize that Tidbit had not transformed when they went through the gate.
"I don't think he can do it when he's unconscious," Burt replied, concern etched on his face. "I hope the old guy survives this. He owes me forty bucks." Jenny recognized it as a joke, if a weak one.
"I'll take Jenny to the healer's infirmary," Burt instructed Bob. "Please stay here to answer questions. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Bob nodded, all business, and Burt pushed the chair out into the hallway.
The corridors seemed to fly by, Burt's long legs moving them along nearly at a run. Jenny clutched at Tidbit, feeling his steady breathing, but not even a slit of white peeked out from his eyelids. "Please don't leave me," she pleaded mentally, focusing the sending directly to the cat and only him.
T
he bandage on her arm was soaked through, but she could no longer feel the pain. Her only thought, her only concern was the cat seemingly sleeping peacefully on her lap.
Onto and elevator and then within what seemed like something just short of eternity, the doors slid open. "Infirmary," said the disembodied voice.
There were healers waiting for them as they were wheeled off of the elevator.
Two of them whisked Tidbit out of her arms and two more wheeled her briskly into a curtained area. It appeared to Jenny to be a typical emergency room, a bed in the center of the curtained off space, some machinery that looked similar to machines she had seen in Earth hospital rooms and everything was white and sterile.
Jenny sighed.
"It's ok," said one of the healers. "You're safe. We'll take care of you and Tarafau."
Safe, thought Jenny, wistfully. It probably wasn't true, but it would do for now.
Chapter 22: Queen of the Groga
Jenny walked into the Council room, in clean clothes and a clean, white bandage on her arm. Her head barely hurt now, but she was assured that she didn't have a concussion and the pain would stop eventually. Tarafau was Tarafau again, but he did have a concussion and was ensconced in a very large bed with many pillows, a bandage around his head and an ice pack strapped to that. He was a little muzzy, but said he wasn't in any pain and wanted to get out of bed. The healer had put a guard in his room, as much to keep him company as to guard him.
Jenny felt relieved and saddened at the same time. Happy that he would recover, but it hurt to see him helpless and in pain, regardless of the brave front he put up.
Myla met her at the door, his arms outstretched to embrace her. "We're so glad you and Tarafau are safe," he sent, cooing audibly as he was wont to do.
The other two were seated on the dais, looking into one another's eyes, obviously in the midst of a conversation. They turned, however, as Jenny walked to the front of the room.
"Welcome, Gatekeeper," said Liliath formally. "Our commendations and commiserations on your ordeal and the way you handled it. Lizzie made a splendid choice."
Ingot nodded, his brows furrowed in concern. "What do the healers say?"
"Tarafau will recover and my injuries are minor," Jenny replied.
"Not so minor," Ingot said. "I heard you will bear scars for the rest of your life. The healer's say that something on that blade has insured it."
"I hope I do carry them, as a reminder that I can do hard things. And Tidbit loves butterflies."
Ingot nodded, looking into her eyes. "You carry also the gratitude of the entire Alliance. You have proven yourself worthy of your title."
"All I did was keep my mouth shut. Burt and Bob were the ones who should be praised. They found me and rescued me and captured the spy. She is no Earthling, Ingot. I don't know where she comes from."
"You are right, Jenny. She is a Fleistian. They call her the Queen of the Groga, but she has no Groga blood, that we can tell. She is pure evil and has proven this over the course of many years. She institutes the raids and tortures and enslaves those they capture. She also has certain shape-changing abilities, which is why she was able to blend in so well on Earth.
You cannot be faulted for not recognizing her. We didn't and we have known of her for a very long time. It wasn't until she transformed into her regular appearance that we realized what she was. She has been well-trained and has scores more years of experience than you've been alive."
"That may be, but she is about to find out that Earthlings have a very important trait. We are survivors and we aren't very good at being pushed around. When all is said and done, we are more than we seem as well. I won't stand for her letting the Groga on my planet or anywhere in my universe, if I have anything to say about it."
Ingot grinned, but then sobered and shook his head.
"Contrary to what we previously thought, I am afraid they are already there. We must discover a way to locate them and purge Earth of their influence. We must discover if they have moved beyond the boundaries of Earth, into farther reaches of your universe. This isn't finished. It is only beginning. Until we have determined the extent of their influence, we may not rest or feel secure. I am sorry, but this is truth."
Jenny sighed, both grateful for his truthfulness and feeling unworthy of his praise. "So, what are our next steps? I know she had some minions hanging about that cabin, so there are at least a few of them still there. And my first question is, how in the heck did they get there? I met Sam nearly 6 years ago at school. So, they may have been there at least that long. Miriha's first words to us, when we got to her was 'They're back,' which means they're not a new threat and at some point, they have gotten access to the network. This means the network is compromised. This means we're all in danger.
My second question is, what can we do about it? How did you defeat them before?"
Ingot hung his head and Myla and Liliath shook their heads almost in unison.
"We didn't," Liliath sent so softly in her mind that Jenny almost didn't catch it. "We beat them back and nearly destroyed them, but we never defeated them. They stopped attacking us, because we outnumbered them and outclassed them in weaponry and tactics. When they stopped raiding, we stopped pursuing them. We had the best of intentions, but it was a mistake."
"They are guerilla fighters, strictly hit and run," Myla put in. "They are careful to sneak in, overwhelm their prey in a swift and unexpected attack and then they vanish with their captives before anyone can do anything about it, nor do they leave any trace to tell us where they might have gone."
"So, we're just gonna sit here and take it?" Jenny knew she was probably being unreasonable, and she hated the hurt she saw in their eyes. That didn't change the fact that she really needed some answers and for some reason she had thought she would find them all here.
"No, Jenny, we are not only not going to sit here and take it, as you say, but we are mobilizing every agent we have in the dimensions that have been raided. This includes those on Earth. There will be a meeting at Sanglarka tomorrow, to organize your resources to begin to search for the Groga on Earth and to neutralize them. You will be in charge of the meeting and Tarafau will advise you as you go."
He saw the hope for Tarafau in Jenny's eyes and nodded. "Our healers say he will be able to attend the meetings and will be able to help organize your effort. He must, however, not do anything physically strenuous for at least a couple weeks."
Jenny breathed out a sigh of relief. At least one thing was going right. She had been so afraid that Sam had killed her Guide. As Tidbit, he was very vulnerable, even though he was scary when he was in battle mode, as Cinder had discovered. As Tarafau he was formidable. Sam had attacked him when he was helpless, something evidently that she was good at. "Sneaky Sam," she thought to herself.
As if it was a cue, suddenly an alarm blasted through the building. The klaxon was loud, and a bright light filled the room. It was a see-through read out that hovered in the air before them. Jenny got the feeling that each person saw the screen as if it centered on them and in their own language. "Subject escaped. Lockdown in progress." The message flashed in red letters on a light green background.
Ingot waved his hand and the image faded and the alarm ceased.
"Be seated, all. We can do nothing for the moment until security clears the building."
"Does this mean what I think it means?"
Ingot nodded morosely. "Engoza has escaped."
"Engoza?"
"You know her as Sam. Her real name, or the name she goes by, is Engoza. It translates as 'knife of death'. I doubt it is the name she was born with, but anything is possible, I suppose."
"I will never dignify her by calling her by that name. From now on, to me, she is 'Sneaky Sam'. She would hate that and that's just fine with me." She folded her arms in front of her chest, hugging that thought to her.
"So, she has escaped? Even with all of the security you have in this place? How is that possible?"
&n
bsp; "We won't know for sure until the report from the security team," replied Ingot. "I myself cannot imagine how this could have happened. In over a century, nothing like this has ever occurred."
Liliath was visibly agitated. Up until now, Jenny had only ever seen the kind and stately side of her draconic nature. But now she could see how the legends of fierce and terrible dragons must have come about. The slitted pupils of her reptilian eyes had narrowed, her nostrils flared, and her teeth were bared in a snarl that made Jenny want to turn and run. She hissed audibly and turned to Ingot. "We can no longer tolerate this. With Engoza free and the latest raids, it is like before. There is much more to this than it appears, and we must eliminate this threat once and for all."
She then turned to Jenny and appeared to be forcing herself to calm. "Jenny, there is no way for you to know how serious this is. On your world there have been horrific battles that have engaged your entire planet. Think of that same intensity of death and destruction across worlds, galaxies and universes. Think of the devastation that can occur when a malignant force such as the Groga have access to the network of gateways to unlimited dimensions. Even a relatively small force can wreak havoc and despair beyond our imagining, if their access is not revoked.
Like your predecessor, you are in fearful danger. For whatever reason, you were targeted long before Lizzie made the final choice to put you in the position of Guardian. The fact that you attracted the attention of Engoza, as you did, is troubling. It means they have access to intelligence that we do not. It means this is much bigger than last time.
Originally, the Groga stumbled upon the network by chance at a gateway on their world that we had not yet established in the network. When we discovered this, through much sacrifice on the part of our agents and after much destruction on several worlds, we searched out the gates on that planet in that dimension and closed them. It appears we missed a gateway and they have obviously searched it out. We know they are no longer on their original planet.
The House on Infinity Loop Page 19
