Fiddleback Trilogy 2 - Evil Ascending

by Michael A. Stackpole

  Crowley looked around as another group of the transformed creatures walked away under guard. "What are you going to do with them?"

  "For now, we're putting them in the secure areas of the GBI complex. Without Fiddleback to guide them, most are very shocked and stunned by what they have become." I shook my head. "They were looking for an edge, a secret that would give them an advantage over their peers. They thought they'd found it with GBI. Now they're just fodder for tabloid stories."

  "At least they can find work in the circus." Crowley walked over and leaned against the triceratops' shield. "Pygmalion had some builder-beings in the lead constructing that tunnel through the dimensions. I moved the markers he had left behind for them into an area with a dimensional gateway. I managed to program it to randomly select a new destination every three seconds, so I've been scattering his no-deposit, no-return warriors all over the place. A lot of them looked like that guy over there, and some of them were good."

  I nodded. "When Rajani spoke with Mickey, he became docile. She thinks she has broken the links in his mind that make him a killer on order, and the fact that he's not slain her is fair proof of that. He was fast, Crowley, very fast. The black swirls and lines look like decoration, but they're really carbon-fiber armor. I'd like to see an MRI of him because I think the bones in his arms and legs have been replaced with titanium replicas."

  "Interesting. Where's the big guy you were with?" Crowley looked around, then glanced down at the dinosaur's shattered skull. "Out looking for a taxidermist?"

  A single loud gunshot punctuated the night. "There was a loose Roboguard IV in the Garden of Contemplation."

  We shared a smile, then both looked over toward the main building as Hal Garrett and Sinclair MacNeal led a group of five men toward us. Four of the men wore business suits and, despite the darkness, sunglasses. They seemed unimpressed by the odd menagerie of creatures in the Sun Court. The fifth man was smaller and moved with the care of old age, yet I sensed a vitality in him that even Pygmalion had not exhibited.

  Sin stopped and pointed me out with a wave of his hand. "This is Coyote. Coyote, this is—"

  "I know." I bowed deeply and held the bow out of respect. Straightening up slowly, I noticed, from the corner of my eye that Crowley had also bowed to the elderly man. I smiled politely and made an introduction. "May I present Damon Crowley."

  "We have met."

  Crowley smiled. "How kind of you to remember. It was a long time ago."

  I looked over at Crowley and raised an eyebrow in a silent question.

  Crowley shrugged. "His coronation, a Red Army cell. It was a long time ago."

  The small man surveyed the courtyard. "You are responsible for this?"

  I nodded reluctantly. "Some of it. The man who catalyzed it, Arrigo El-Leichter, is dead. Your Colonel Nagashita killed him."

  "My grandson, is he one of these . . . things?"

  "No, sir, he is not." I frowned. "El-Leichter was a pawn of a Dark Lord we call Fiddleback. Ryuhito resisted him. Another Dark Lord, Pygmalion, offered Ryuhito something more. Your grandson left with him."

  The small man sighed heavily, then remained silent for a while. Sin looked down and swallowed hard, but the small man shook his head. "You were to get to him and convince him of his error. Clearly things were worse than I imagined, and I did not charge you with the right duty."

  He looked up at me. "Mr. MacNeal and Mr. Garrett have told me you are the person who is most capable of dealing with these Dark Lords. Is this accurate?"

  "They are generous with praise and optimistic. However, with my friends I am willing to defy Dark Lords."

  "Can you bring my grandson back?"

  I hesitated as the full import of the question landed on me heavily. Could we find a Dark Lord's home dimension and extract Ryuhito? The logistics and timing for such an operation would be staggering. Part of me knew it would be impossible, but another part said that not even trying would be criminal. "It would be difficult and dangerous, but I am willing to try."

  "Good. Whatever it takes, you shall have. From this point forward, this facility is yours to use as a staging area. My people will secure it. Draw up a list of things you need, and I will supply them. Whatever expenses you incur are mine."

  "You love your grandson very much."

  "This is true, but that is not the reason for my generosity here. As I told Mr. MacNeal," he said hoarsely, "I do not act out of love for Ryuhito, but out of my love for the world." He bowed and withdrew inside his group of guards.

  Sinclair stared after him, then turned back with a surprised expression on his face. "Can it be done? Can we find Ryuhito and pull him out?"

  "It can be done, but the odds of Elvis becoming the pope are a bit better than our chances of success." I jerked a thumb at the carnage behind us. "Had Pygmalion not intervened, Fiddleback would have won here. Going one on one with a Dark Lord is not a survival trait."

  Crowley smiled slyly. "I don't think we'll have to do it alone, Coyote."

  "Oh?" The amused tone in his voice sent chills down my spine.

  "As I noted before, Pygmalion is not a favorite of the other Dark Lords. In fact, in coming here I met one who pledged his help to destroy Pygmalion."

  "Really?"

  "Yes," Crowley nodded solemnly. "In fact, he said without him you will fail. I think he's right."

  "Who?" A sinking feeling tugged my stomach toward my toes as I realized who Crowley had spoken with. "Fiddleback? An alliance with Fiddleback? I might as well commit suicide."

  "Without him, you likely will." Crowley's eyes hardened. "While I don't begrudge you that option, I hope you reconsider. Alone, you'll kill yourself. And the rest of world will die with you."