Lycanthropos

by Sackett, Jeffrey

  She shook her head again, shuddering at the very idea of her human mind alive in the body of the monster. "I cannot."

  "You must, I must." He paused. "And if we can, then we must battle the evil without."

  Claudia looked at him, and a cold smile floated upon her lips. "You mean...?"

  "Yes," he said. "We cannot allow the divine judgment which has been visited upon us to become a mad human judgment upon innocent people. We are not innocent, Claudia, you and I; but you, my old companion, you have killed without the power of the beast, you have killed consciously, knowingly, for your own purposes and your own needs. You even more than I must do battle with the dark power, if only because you have served it with such devotion."

  No one spoke as Claudia thought long and hard. Then she nodded with sad and sorrowful acceptance."So be it, Janos. So be it."

  Kaldy rose to his feet and addressed them all. "Soon it will be night, the night of the full moon. The guards will follow their standing orders, and will come to bind me and tie wolfsbane to my chains. Claudia, you must make the guards give you the key to my cell, and after they have left, you, Louisa, must bind her with the plant as well and keep the key. When the change comes upon us, we must fight to keep our minds intact and in control; and if we can, then, Louisa, you must release us both."

  Louisa’s face grew white. "Release you!"

  "Yes," he nodded, "and you are correct to fear, for you run a great risk. Even if we can control ourselves, there is no way of knowing how long the control can be maintained. It may very well happen that we will lose the slender thread of human consciousness the moment the wolfsbane is removed." He paused. "And then, of course, we would kill you."

  Louisa was trembling, but she also felt a strange and welcome sense of purpose. "And if you succeed?"

  He smiled. "Then we shall go from this place, and battle the evil without." His smile faded as he said simply, "Schlacht must be stopped."

  Louisa nodded. "Whosoever loseth his life shall find it," she said, and smiled at Kaldy’s quizzical expression. "It is from the Scriptures, Herr Kaldy. I am to risk my own life in the war against the powers of hell." She nodded. "Yes. Yes, I shall do what you ask."

  "Good," he said. "If all goes well, you must then release my old friend Blasko, and together flee from this count ry."

  Louisa shook her head. "There is nowhere to flee, Herr Kaldy. Almost all of Europe is under Nazi control, and we would be arrested long before we could reach, say, Switzerland or Sweden or Spain."

  Blasko laughed softly. "Donna," he smiled, "I have spent my entire life going where I wished to go and avoiding those who did not wish me to. If we can escape from this building and get out of the city, into the countryside, I can see us both safely to the Alps."

  "You’ll have no difficulty getting out of the Palace, Blasko," Kaldy said. "Claudia and I will...how shall I put it...escort you."

  "If," Claudia said, "if…"

  "Yes," Kaldy nodded. "If we do not kill you both."

  The guards arrived ten minutes later, removed Blasko to another cell, and bound Janos Kaldy according to their instructions. They saw nothing peculiar about Petra Loewenstein’s request that she be given extra chains, extra wolfsbane, and a key to the cell, for they knew her to be the scientist who was working with their commander on the genetics project. They assumed that she wished to examine Kaldy at some point, and so gave her the key, grateful that she would not be bothering them later to come down and unlock the door. It seemed odd to them that the other woman, whom they knew to be their commander’s cousin, was also remaining behind, but it was not a matter of sufficient importance for them to question it.

  After the guards left, Claudia unlocked the cell and sat motionless as Louisa wrapped the chains around her and stuffed the links with wolfsbane. Claudia’s face was drawn and pale, and her eyes expressed the fear she was feeling at the dread prospect which lay before her that night. Louisa left the cell and locked the door and affixed more wolfsbane to the bars. And then, silently, they waited for the moon.

  The sun was fading when Claudia disturbed the silence by saying softly, "Janos?"

  "Yes, Claudia," he responded. He did not look at her, nor did she look at him, for both had their eyes fixed on the darkening sky visible through the high, narrow window.

  "All those years that I suspected you. How I hated you."

  "I know, Claudia."

  "And just before, when you were talking about…about that night…in Jerusalem…how I hated you, Janos, how I hated you when I heard what you were saying."

  "I know, Claudia."

  "And then I forgave you."

  "Yes. Thank you. And I am truly sorry."

  She shook her head. "No, Janos, no. I had no right to be arrogant, no right to bestow forgiveness. I have nothing to forgive you for. What happened to me was my own fault, not yours. I betrayed my God, I turned my back on the truth, and I have been punished for it. I am the one who is sorry, Janos. I am sorry I blamed you for my sin."

  After another long silence Kaldy said, "Claudia?"

  "Yes, Janos."

  "If I were a human being, I think I would be in love with you."

  She laughed sadly. "If we were human beings, Janos, we would both have been dead for thousands of years."

  He looked over at her and smiled. "That’s not the point."

  She returned his smile and her eyes seemed moist as she whispered, "I know."

  Another long moment passed. And then they both began to scream.

  Louisa’s heart pounded madly in her chest as the power of the wolf began to overwhelm the two tortured people. She remembered what she had seen that first night in Budapest, two months before, remembered the head of the guard rolling down the corridor, remembered that she had watched as Kaldy ripped a man’s arm from his body. She watched as the hair sprouted and the fangs grew and the talons thrust out, and listened as the screams became growls. She leaned back against the wall, ordering herself not to faint.

  And then the werewolf which had been Kaldy began to grunt angrily, shaking its head and stamping its paws upon the cold stones. It looked up at the ceiling and wailed, and then grunted and spat and shook its head again. The other werewolf, the one which had been Claudia, began to do the same things, but its wails were louder and its grunts were more liquid. Both of the creatures were shaking violently, the tremors reflecting a massive inner struggle more agonizing, more painful, more horrible than the monstrous transformation itself.

  Both creatures fell to the floor, the chains and the wolfsbane restraining their frenzied writhing. Milky liquid poured from their eyes and blood poured from their maws as they struggled in terrible, hellish agony against the dark side of their own beings, against the beasts within their own souls. The horrible internal battle was waged, the battle of the human soul against the rapacious instinct, the battle of light against darkness, the battle of sanity against madness, of reason against lust, of order against chaos, of Ahura Mazda against Angra Mainyu, of God against Satan, of heaven against hell.

  The creature which had been Janos Kaldy shut its eyes tightly, as if to marshal its strength for the massive psychic struggle it knew it had to win. Resist! his still human mind commanded. Control! Remember that you are a man!

  A voice seemed to cry out from the wilderness within him. You are a beast!

  I am a man! he insisted.

  Maniacal laughter echoed horribly down the dark corridors of his mind. You, a man? Yes, a Wolfman! Beast! Beast!

  I am a man! I am not an animal!

  Was it man who left the severed head of Dzardrusha lying on the floor of the fire temple, Isfendir, son of Kuriash? When your jaws ripped throats and your claws beheaded and disemboweled and your stomach was full and bloated with human flesh, were you then a man?

  I did not do those things! It was the wolf that overpowered me!

  Was it the wolf that led the Karpans to the sanctuary?

  He struggled not to hear the words. I am a man! I am
a man!

  You are a beast! the voice insisted. Lover of carrion! Flesh eater, blood drinker! Your soul is black, as black as night, so black that even the sacred fire in the sanctuary at Balkh could never illume it, a black void so empty that you have been filling it with sin and lust and murder century after century, and still it is not full. You are a beast, Isfendir, son of Kuriash, you are a BEAST!

  Kaldy struggled to maintain control of his thoughts, but then he realized that the voice he was hearing did not emanate from his own mind. The voice seemed to be arising from some dark recess of his being, as if his soul itself were being assaulted by an external foe. Who speaks to me?

  You know, Isfendir, son of Kuriash.

  Who speaks to me? he demanded.

  Cruel, bitter laughter assailed him. You know, blood drinker, flesh eater, you know. I am he who has been with you and within you for three thousand years. I am your bosom companion, I am you father, I am your brother, I am your friend.

  Liar! Liar!

  Yes, the Liar, the voice laughed, yes! I am he! I am the Liar! I am the lord of the House of the Lie!

  And then Kaldy understood. Angra Mainyu!

  The Devil.

  Yes, Angra Mainyu. Withdraw, little man, and give me your body as my instrument, as you have done beneath each full moon, century after century, millennium after millennium! For this time is mine!

  The werewolf threw itself against the hard wall of the cell, and the iron chains echoed loudly against the stone as it sought to direct its mounting rage against the inner demon that tormented it. I shall not! I shall not!

  Then madness awaits you, for the mind of man cannot control the passions of the beast! Flee, Isfendir, son of Kuriash, flee! Save yourself from the death of the mind! Flee!

  I…SHALL…NOT!!! The werewolf attempted to scream the words, but all it was able to do was emit a roar that caused Louisa von Weyrauch to shrink back from the door of the cell.

  So be it, son of the Magaya! Then know me for what I am, and know yourself for what you are, and behold that which no man can behold and survive, for no man shall see my face and live! And a horrible, enveloping darkness seemed to billow up from the depths of his being, a darkness that threatened to smother his consciousness and snap the tenuous thread that still bound his human mind to the inhuman body it inhabited. Wave after wave of pure, unadulterated evil washed over the werewolf, and it threw itself onto the cold stone floor and shrieked.

  I am a man! … You are a beast! … A man! … A beast …!

  The frightful struggle went on and on, and the screams of the tormented werewolves became deafening. And then, after a half hour had passed, both creatures grew suddenly still, and their rapid breathing calmed, and they stared at each other in silence, exhausted by the ordeal, weakened by the wolfsbane, breathing heavily, trembling from fang to claw.

  The werewolf which had been Janos Kaldy hobbled over to the door of the cell, its arms still bound to its sides, its legs still bound together, the wolfsbane on the chains and on the bars still draining it of its strength. It fell forward and its muzzle pressed out slightly between two of the bars. Louisa shook with fright as the werewolf stared at her. She trembled at the sight of the sharp teeth and the yellow eyes and the bristling fur and the moist snout. Her legs trembled and her heart beat like the heart of a hummingbird as the creature stared at her and began to growl.

  "Herr Kaldy?" she whispered. "Are you still there? Are you in control?" The creature did not answer her. "Do you know who I am?" The werewolf ‘s growl grew louder.

  They couldn’t do it! she thought to herself in her terror and her fear. They fought against the beast, and they failed. These are monsters in front of me, these are monsters staring at me, monsters, monsters!

  And yet…and yet…

  There was something in the glowing eyes that arrested her, something somehow marginally intelligent, something other than appetite and rage. She looked long and hard into the yellow eyes of the werewolf, and the creature returned her gaze, not blinking, breathing heavily. Louisa began to suspect that there was a human mind behind the inhuman, glowing, yellow eyes.

  Perhaps I should release them, she thought. Perhaps they are in control of themselves and they just can’t tell me. Then again, perhaps not. Then they will kill me, and it will be a pointless, horrible death.

  No. A bullet in the back of my head fired by Helmuth, that would be a pointless, horrible death.

  This would be a good death, a Christian death.

  She took a step forward and cleared her throat. "Herr Kaldy, I know that even if you and Claudia are still in control of yourselves, you might lose that control and kill me if I let you out. I’ll take that risk, Herr Kaldy, I will, but you must let me know somehow that it is a risk worth taking. You must communicate to me somehow that you can still hear me and understand me."

  The werewolf tried to speak to her, but it lacked human vocal cords, and its lupine tongue and fanged lips could not adapt themselves to human speech. Louisa stood and watched and listened, too terrified to move, smelling the foul odor of the creatures, feeling the inhuman, yellow eyes boring into her, watching as the saliva dripped from the creature’s jaws and splattered onto the stones.

  And then at last one audible word rumbled up from the throat of the werewolf.

  "SCHLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACHT!" it growled.

  Louisa hesitated for less than an instant. Then she tore the wolfsbane from the bars and thrust the key into the lock

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Helmuth Schlacht regarded it as fortunate that he had been assigned to supervise the construction of the concentration camp at Hunyad, for it had afforded him the opportunity to requisition whatever supplies he wished, without having to explain in any detail what they were for. A certain amount of concrete was needed in any construction, and the fact that he had requisitioned much more than was customary for such a purpose had not been questioned. And when he had ordered the labor battalion to dig a pit fifty feet deep and fifty feet square and then to line the walls and floor of the pit with cement, it had elicited a few quizzical looks but no arguments. One did not argue with a colonel of the Totenkopfverbände, the "death’s head units" of the S.S. Even the Gestapo kept its distance from the Nazi elite, though both were controlled by Himmler.

  Schlacht stood on the top of the wall, the edge of which was level with the ground, and looked down at his creatures. He held his arms akimbo as he smiled at them, at the fifteen pairs of burning yellow eyes, at the fifteen sets of snarling fangs, at the thirty taloned claws, and he delighted in the angry, bellowing howls that rose up from the large enclosure fifty feet below.

  It had been a bit of a risk, building this holding pen for his werewolves, for he remembered from Kaldy’s escape from the Ragoczy Palace that these creatures were capable of prodigious leaps, but, as he had guessed, fifty feet was too high for even things such as they to jump to freedom. They could, of course, have boosted each other up against the walls, but he knew that their subhuman minds could not have conceived of such an idea. So now, with the chain-link ladder of metal and wood piled up and resting on the top of the wall, his creatures could snarl and bark and howl and spit to their hearts’ contents. They were down in the pit, and there they would remain until sunrise.

  Schlacht cocked his head slightly as he looked at them, their faces and forms clearly visible in the bright electric light. They are not quite the same as Kaldy, he mused. It must be because the enzyme was diluted. They are not as large, not as furry, their muscles are not as thick, their posture not as bent as the original from whose saliva the solution had been derived. And, of course, he reminded himself, they can be killed. He smiled again and emitted a short laugh. It isn’t easy, but it can be done.

  He had been standing there for over four hours, watching the things that would soon make Berlin the capital of the planet. Only Corporal Vogel was with him, and his loyal and ever silent adjutant had stood waiting for the order that would send him to bring the m
onsters their food. But Schlacht had been so captivated by the incredible sight of fifteen werewolves running about the holding pen that he had allowed the time to pass unnoticed.

  At last, he turned to Vogel and said, "Their appetites must be terrible by now, don’t you think? I’m not being a very good zoo keeper." Vogel smiled at the quip. "Go," Schlacht ordered. "Bring our friends their evening meals." As Vogel ran off to comply, Schlacht looked back down at the creatures. This is so much more entertaining than tying them up and covering them with wolfsbane, he thought. That is what we will have to do when we are on campaigns, of course, but for now, this is better than going to the opera! I must film this, perhaps tomorrow night. The Führer must see this!

  He turned a few minutes later when he heard the sound of approaching feet, screams, and weeping. Vogel was leading thirty S.S. soldiers, each pair of whom was dragging one prisoner toward the edge of the pit. Fourteen of the prisoners were dressed in the customary prison garb, the ill-fitting white shirt and pants with gray vertical stripes. The fifteenth prisoner, the fifteenth sacrificial lamb, wore a clerical collar.

  Schlacht walked back to the end of the procession and grinned cheerfully at Gottfried von Weyrauch. "Well, old fellow, ready to meet your Maker?"

  The minister was weeping like a child as he begged, "No, Helmuth, please, please. Helmuth, please, don’t, don’t…"

  "Oh, Gottfried," Schlacht said, feigning annoyance, "don’t be such a baby!" He leaned forward and sniffed, crinkling his nose. "I do believe that you’ve soiled yourself, you filthy man!"

  "Helmuth, please, oh, please don’t, Helmuth, please don’t…"

  Schlacht folded his arms across his chest and pretended to be serious as he asked, "Would you like an opportunity to save yourself, old fellow?"