Fiddleback Trilogy 1 - A Gathering Evil

by Michael A. Stackpole

  Close up the man did, in fact, have a star-shaped scar on his right cheek and a limited amount of left-right facial asymmetry. It looked as if the cheekbone on the right side of his face had been pared down. Still, the scar did not seem nearly as pronounced as it had only yesterday in Danny's Place. His left hand, which was not gloved, did not look that much different than his right, though the bluish veins did not show through the pale flesh quite as well.

  Coincidence I told myself. Yes, Leich looked remarkably like the Reaper I had shot in the face, and the star scar could have been a reminder of that injury. That was assuming, of course, that having forced a bullet through his head and out the back of his skull had not killed him. That, I knew, was patently impossible.

  Then again, returning from Sedona by strolling through a land of gray and purple was impossible as well.

  "Please, Mr. Leich, take me to your leader."

  He nodded and preceded me from the VIP lounge. From the narrow walkway we used to get from the lounge to a central elevator cylinder, I was able to get a good look at the entire Lorica Citadel. The cylinder formed the hub of the complex with walkways going off in six directions like spokes. Unlike City Center, which had been done in white marble and bright colors, the Lorica Citadel boasted mostly dark colors and mirrored trim. The whole of the complex, from there in the middle, looked like a tunnel created to connect heaven and hell.

  The two apes dropped in behind me and said nothing. I sensed from them a high degree of boredom tinged with anticipation of possible excitement. That anticipation grew as we stopped at an elevator, and Mr. Leich inserted a card into the slot. A car descended through the clear elevator tube and stopped before us. The door opened to an empty car, but Leich shook his head. "You two will wait here."

  I entered the capsule behind Leich, and he inserted another card into the panel there. The elevator did not speak to him, but silently whisked us up into the rarified reaches of the Citadel. I watched floor after floor race past through the smoky glass walls, then we passed through a section that surrounded us with blank cement walls. We stopped after 20 feet of cinderblock, and the door opened.

  Initially the similarity in color and design between the foyer and the dimensional gate nearly overwhelmed me. The elevator opened onto a small room with black marble on the walls and floor. Gold joints joined the blocks. The ceiling, done in a burnished gold, reflected light down from panels hidden at the tops of the walls. Off to my left, two black satyr statutes held up a block of black marble as a table and above it, on the wall, hung a gold mirror so guests could make last-minute adjustments to their dress.

  Across from the elevator stood two doors plated with beaten gold. As I approached them, they slowly opened and a white, fog-like mist rolled out and over me. I caught the faint scent of pine as I walked through it, then felt the light breeze as the doors swung shut behind me. Standing still, I waited for the mist to settle down, which it did quickly, leaving me with the impressions that I had somehow ascended into heaven.

  In complete and stark contrast with the foyer and the whole of the Lorica Citadel, Nerys' domain had been done every possible shade of color save black. The overall impression of the place was that she had chosen white as her color, and doubtlessly that would linger in the minds of casual visitors, but it painted a woefully inaccurate picture of her lair.

  As the last of the mist dissipated, I found myself on a white marble walkway between two gurgling streams. The streams looked as if they had been lined with mother-of-pearl and, though the water doubtlessly made my task impossible, I could see no joints between sections of inlay throughout the 12-foot lengths I saw. As nearly as I could tell, Nerys had located some unknown species of gigantic tube-oyster and had fashioned the streambeds from the halves of its shell.

  Above them, strung between two Doric columns of white marble, white silk sheeting formed softly billowing walls. Where they parted I saw other columns and sheets that formed, as nearly as I could determine, a ghostly labyrinth that could change in an instant. Still, there were times when I could see a fair distance through the area, and it seemed to me that Nerys' home might well fill the entire top of the Lorica Citadel, giving me roughly 1.5 square miles in which to search for my hostess.

  The impression that Nerys had found talented oyster artisans continued as I walked forward toward a pulsing fountain. As the water rose and fell from the central spiral, I decided it reminded me most of a spiral horn of some sort. I would have guessed it had come from some mutant narwhal, but I knew the last of that species had died four years before. Moreover, the spire had the same opalescent, mother-of-pearl look as the streambeds. That coloration extended to the basin surrounding the fountain and the trough that caught the excess water and channeled it into the streams.

  I crossed a small, crystalline bridge over the stream to my right and walked down the white corridor before me. My steps sounded hollow, but the silk walls absorbed any echo they might have made. At the end of the corridor I turned right again and smiled at the beautiful young woman standing there. I kept my smile polite even though, aside from the strip of dark blue silk tying her black hair back and the matching loincloth, she wore nothing at all.

  "Please, Mr. Caine, follow me."

  "As you wish." Following her was not difficult, but the addition of other women similarly clad did provide a certain number of distractions. The apes' anticipation and disappointment were now clear to me. More importantly, Mr. Leich never even made a move to look in through the doors, as if the potential glimpse of such beauty meant nothing to him. Oddly, though, I had not gained the impression he was a homosexual. Instead, I thought, he might have just seen me and them as a source of revenue for the Reapers or, worse yet, had the same use for us as the Draolings.

  My guide led me to an island inside the stark white world. It necessitated my crossing another stream on a crystal bridge, and I noticed how the pulsing, soothing sound of the water enhanced the beauty of the surroundings. Off to my left I saw a gold and glass cart with a dozen decanters of various liquors, a clear ice bucket and a number of cut-crystal glasses. Standing beside it a blonde woman in an emerald-green loincloth waited to take my order.

  Not desiring to drink when Hal wanted me to attend his meeting later, I smiled and ordered a club soda with a twist of lime. She set about making the drink while I looked around the island. Aside from her, me and the cart, the circular room described by the white curtain walls was featureless. I had the annoying feeling that I was being watched, but I could not determine a focus for that sensation.

  The woman crossed to me and handed me my drink. I thanked her but she said nothing to me. I noticed her green eyes matched the color of her garment and she, too, had her hair bound back with a green strip of silk. She seemed happy and quite at ease with being half-naked while I was fully and formally clothed. While she was certainly attractive enough to interest me, her casual attitude toward her nakedness stole carnality from our encounter while still making it exotic and erotic.

  "A pretty child, is she not?"

  I turned around at the sound of Nerys' voice, a bit disturbed that she managed to have made it over the bridge I had crossed without my seeing or hearing her. My irritation quickly faded as I looked at her, and a smile spread across my face. She wore a black gown with a mandarin collar and sweetheart neckline that showed her throat and bosom to great advantage. The bodice hugged her tightly, then flowed gently from her hips to end at ankle height. The long sleeves even had a bit of a triangular tab that covered the back of her hands. She wore a cinnabar necklace in which parallel strips of the stone formed a crescent at her throat and which was matched by two cinnabar earrings that were carved like cameos. The earrings showed a spider design on each, though the arachnids depicted looked to be black widows, not fiddlebacks.

  "Her beauty evaporates in your presence." Unaware if her servants constantly worked in this state of undress, I saw the wisdom of her having them do that. Surrounded by such beauty, yet clad in a
garment that revealed little and promised much, Nerys Loring became much more mysterious and seductive. Her mature beauty and strength of character made her the equal of her quiet servants while her charm and intelligence pushed her well beyond them in desirability.

  Nerys walked over to me and brushed her hand along the front of my coat. "Roger does superior work. This suit flatters you."

  Her perfume smelled of orchids and conjured up a momentary, fleeting memory of heat and darkness. I tried to capture it, but it faded in a flash. "Thank you. You, of course, look absolutely lethal in that gown."

  "You have an amusing way with words, Mr. Caine." Nerys nodded to the woman, and she brought her what I assumed to be straight vodka with a twist of lemon. Nerys accepted the drink with her right hand, then gently caught the woman's chin in her left hand. With its long, curved incarnadine nail lightly brushing tanned flesh, Nerys' thumb stroked the bartender's cheek, then she released her. The girl retreated as she had after serving me, but I detected a certain joy in her step at having passed muster with her mistress.

  "You doubtlessly noticed, Tycho, that I have a number of beautiful women here to serve me. Do you know why?"

  I shook my head and sipped my drink.

  "You will agree they are all spectacular. I find their soft, gentle lines pleasing to the eye. They move with a fluid grace that fits with all this." She pointed at the silk curtains and the moat surrounding us, then caressed my shoulder with her left hand. "They are not, like men, angular and hard and bellicose. They are the yin of my world, while the outside is the yang. They serve me in my sanctuary from all that would distress me."

  I smiled appreciatively. "You are fortunate that you can isolate your world so easily."

  "My goal is insulation, not isolation. I find running a multinational corporation very draining. When I have been vampirized by business demands, I am able to retreat here and recover amid this paradise." Keeping her hand on my shoulder, she slipped behind me and whispered in my ear. "If I thought you wanted her, I would give her to you. And, at my request, she would give herself to you. She would doubtlessly enjoy it, as would you, I am certain. You could live here forever with her or others, but I sense in you aspirations for something more than being kept as a . . . pet."

  I drank a bit more to cover my discomfort at her use of the word 'pet,' "What would lead you to believe that?"

  She completed her circle around me, having spiraled in closer so we stood as close as I had with the female Draoling that morning. "I had understood it was your custom, once you had completed a task, to return home to await your next assignment. I also know that in preparing for your visit here, you would have studied Lorica and its situation quite thoroughly. I know you would have seen the possibilities here. You know, very soon, I will be able to offer you limitless power."

  I looked into the depths of her black eyes. "And for this power, what would you have me do?"

  "I'd not ask you to be my consort. Your talents, while they might be considerable in that area, are too valuable to squander on sexual excess. There are others who can sate my hungers, but you have skills I need. Poor Radu is the best I have in that area and, as you know, he is barely competent." She reached up and caressed the side of my face, "Now, you should tell me what it is you're doing by remaining in Phoenix."

  I needed time to think because a number of things were beginning to cascade together. "As you suspected, I decided to remain to study the situation. I wanted to get the lay of the land, as it were."

  "Oh, you did—you're living with her," Nerys laughed aloud. "Were dear Marit half as pretty as she is vain, I might have even offered her a place, here in my sanctuary. And yet, here is how much I wish you to work for me. If you so desire, I will accept her here and even tell Mr. Leich to refrain from killing her—not that he accomplished anything with his pathetic attempt yesterday."

  "I would appreciate that."

  Nerys' eyes narrowed as she turned away from me. "You went with her to Sedona today. Why?"

  I decided to see if I could make her jump. "I heard a rumor about your father."

  She did stiffen for all of a second, then she dipped a finger in her drink and let the liquor drip from her nail onto her tongue before she curled it back into her mouth. "I thought that situation had been handled."

  "As had I, which is why I decided to follow up this lead."

  "How did it turn out?"

  "A dead end, or so it seems." I shrugged lightly. "I will continue to pursue it."

  Nerys swung back around and her face had hardened. "And you will report to me when you hear anything?"

  "I will."

  She nodded once, curtly. "You will have to forgive me, Mr. Caine. I have suddenly developed a headache." She looked over at the bartender. "Lilith, dear child, you will entertain Mr. Caine in my stead. You will see that he is, in every way he desires, satisfied."

  The woman nodded solemnly.

  "Remember this, Mr. Caine," Nerys hissed in a whisper, "Whatever pleasure she gives you, I can extend beyond infinity. This I will do when you tell me this rumor business is ended. But also realize that my ire with failure similarly knows no limits and cannot be escaped."

  Nerys' sudden and very sharp twist of mood put a severe damper on what could have otherwise been a very pleasant evening. Lilith excused herself while another of her compatriots led me to the dining alcove. As with the rest of this place, silken curtains described the boundary of the room, but it had been left open on one side to supply us with a full and glorious view of City Center in the darkness.

  I sat in a chair at the end of the rectangular table, with the window to my right. At the other end of the short table, beyond two candelabra and an orchid centerpiece, the dinner setting originally meant for Nerys remained in place. Lilith, when she returned, sat at my left hand and was provided another table setting. Despite her lack of physical presence, I very much sensed Nerys was still with us.

  Lilith, when she returned, had put on an emerald-green gown that was, in terms of design, identical to the one Nerys had been wearing. Lilith also turned out to be intelligent and quite entertaining. She had a quick sense of humor and was polite enough to laugh at my jokes. This made the meal survivable because, if not for the laughter, I would have thought myself at some bizarre sort of wake.

  Each dish, from salad and soup through entrees to dessert were served first at Nerys' empty place and to me. After a minute or two, Nerys' place would be cleared, then a plate with smaller portions would appear for Lilith. I had no doubt that the food she ate had been taken from Nerys' plate, though the exact symbolism behind that reality escaped me. Lilith, for her part, seemed not to notice and, in any case, finished all she had been given.

  I regretted Nerys' departure because she, more than anyone else I had met, knew enough to help me rediscover my true identity. As solving that mystery was the only thing that would have satisfied me in all I desired, Lilith could never do what her mistress had demanded of her. She did, however, make for a charming dinner companion and, in the face of Nerys' mercurial mood shift, let me relax more than I would have otherwise.

  Had Nerys still been there, a phone call would never have interrupted dinner. A woman in blue brought me a small radio-phone. "Excuse me, Mr. Caine, but it is for you, and it is urgent."

  "Thank you." I took the phone and pressed it to my ear. "Caine."

  "Mr. Caine, you must leave there immediately. A car is waiting for you in Eclipse. Go, now!" The caller hung up with a click, but I had no trouble in recognizing the faintly mechanical voice. Why does Coyote want me out of here?

  I snapped the phone shut and handed it back to the woman. "Lilith, I have to leave, there's been an emergency."

  Lilith reached for the phone. "I will call a car for you."

  "I have one waiting, thanks." I smiled at her and kissed her right hand. "I'm afraid all I need is for you to show me the door."

  She took my hand, then gave the phone back to the serving woman. "Call and make
certain the elevator is waiting for us. Have them lock it out for express service." She glanced at me, then added, "To Eclipse."

  Navigating by some system I could not puzzle out, she took me through a direct route to the elevator lobby. The door stood open, waiting, and the car was empty. "Get in and hit any button. It will take you to Eclipse."

  "Thank you." I frowned. "My leaving like this will not cause a problem for you, will it? Nerys won't be angry, will she?"

  Lilith kissed me lightly on the cheek. "Do not concern yourself. She is very understanding. You desire transport, and I have provided it. She will understand. Go."

  I stepped into the elevator and pressed the "Close Door" button. The second the doors slid shut, the cage began a near-freefall. Floors blurred as they rushed past, and I stumbled back to grab onto the railing. For a moment I imagined the bloody heap I'd be if the elevator never stopped, but by that time the mechanisms had begun to slow my descent. With nothing more than an elevated pulse to mark the ride, I emerged in Eclipse.