“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded, barking like a terrier standing off against a bear.
The giant paused for a moment and prodded Varanus with his stick.
“Outta the way, miss,” he said. “This don’t concern you.”
Varanus pushed the stick away with a flick of her hand and said, “This is my surgery. Get out.”
The giant twisted his head, his neck giving an audible crack. He bared his teeth and snarled.
“That one’s ours, an’ ain’t none o’ your business,” he said. “Now outta my way!”
He pushed Varanus with a heavy hand, but she stood firm.
“Sally,” Varanus said, “go into the storeroom and lock the door. Open it for no one but me.”
“Yes, doctor,” Sally said, her voice weak and afraid.
With Ekaterine’s help, she got to her feet and hobbled toward the back of the surgery as fast as she could manage. The giant’s three companions made to intercept her, but Ekaterine barred their way. The men laughed a little and started to push past her.
“What has the girl done?” Varanus asked. “What crime could possibly warrant such cruelty?”
“She owes us money,” the giant answered. “Now outta my way.”
He pushed at Varanus again while the other ruffians shoved Ekaterine aside. Varanus exchanged looks with her and nodded. These men were not about to further abuse a woman, certainly not one of Varanus’s patients in her own clinic!
Varanus kicked the giant in the shin, making him stumble. Across the room, Ekaterine grabbed her hat from the table and shoved it, top-first, into one man’s face, crushing the one and disorienting the other. She struck another man in the throat with her fist before grabbing the last man and throwing him into the first, knocking both to the ground. Varanus grinned at her and leapt upon the giant, punching him in the stomach with a rapid barrage of fists. The giant grunted, but the mass of fat and muscle over his stomach withstood the blows better than most. Still, to her satisfaction, Varanus felt a rib break.
The giant drew back his club and swung at Varanus. Varanus ducked beneath the first blow and the one that followed it, but a third struck her on the side of the head and threw her onto the floor. Her vision went black for a moment.
She came to in time to see the giant step over her on his way toward the back room. Varanus shook her head to clear it. She felt something wet trickling across her cheek, and her vision was blind on that side. Blood was probably filling her eye, she reasoned. The giant’s blow must have fractured her skull.
How irritating, she thought as she picked herself up. No matter. It would heal.
Across the room, Ekaterine was busy managing the other three men, which mostly consisted of tripping them up or throwing one into another. They fought hard, inflicting clumsy blows where they could, but Ekaterine bobbed and weaved and deflected with startling grace, and she received but a few hits in reply to her own.
The giant was another matter. Even Varanus, with her inhuman strength, could hardly throw him about like a man of common stature. Still, he did not expect her to attack again, having given her what ought to have been a killing blow. That she could use to her advantage.
Varanus ran after the giant and kicked his ankle, tripping him and sending him to one knee.
“’Ere, what?” he shouted, twisting about. He caught sight of Varanus, and the blood drained away from his face. “’Ow, by God…?”
Varanus did not waste the opportunity. She ran at him and planted her foot firmly atop his knee. Using the man’s bent leg as a step, she leapt up and grabbed him by the head, pulling it downward as she brought her knee up to meet it. She struck the man squarely in the face. The giant fell backward, bleeding from his nose and eyes.
Landing on the balls of her feet, Varanus hurried forward and knelt upon the giant’s chest. She pounded her fists into his face as he tried to rise and kept punching until he finally gave up struggling.
Varanus stood and looked toward Ekaterine in time to see her strike the heads of two of the ruffians against one another. The men fell senseless, soon to die. The last one let out a cry of fright and ran for the door. Swearing loudly, Ekaterine hiked up her skirts and chased after him.
“Well,” Varanus said, looking down at the giant, “it seems you will not be murdering my patient tonight. Too bad for you.”
The giant struggled to rise, grabbing at her with his hands. Varanus swatted him away and placed on foot upon his throat.
“No, no,” she said. “I have won. Be a proper man and accept defeat with dignity. Now then, I have some questions for you.”
“Go ta ’ell,” came the reply.
Varanus applied more pressure with her foot to make a point before easing off enough to allow conversation.
“Ain’t possible…” the giant said. “Should be dead.”
“But I am not, and you must think of the future,” Varanus said. “Surely you have no wish to die.”
“The Boss’ll ’ave you for this.” The giant leered at her.
This caught Varanus’s attention and she asked, “So, you’re not alone, is that it?”
“Rest’a the boys ’ill kill ya for this. Give you a sound thrashin’ an’ cut yer—”
Varanus applied a little more pressure to interrupt the statement.
“No vulgar language in my surgery, thank you,” she said.
Korbinian joined her and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. Looking down at the giant, he said:
“I wonder where this boss fellow is.”
“That’s a very good question,” Varanus said, smiling at Korbinian. She looked down at the giant and asked, “Where is your boss? The rest of your gang? Where are they?”
“Not sayin’ nuthin’.”
Varanus applied a little more pressure. As she did so, Ekaterine walked back in carrying the corpse of the last ruffian. It would seem she had run him to ground and dispatched him.
I hope none of the neighbors saw, Varanus thought.
“A’right! A’right!” cried the giant. “I’ll talk!”
Varanus looked down at him and lifted her foot.
“Who is your boss?” she asked.
“Mister Jones!” the giant answered.
“And where can I find him?”
“The Ol’ Jago Pub down Parrott Street!”
Varanus leaned down and smiled.
“Much obliged,” she said, and pressed down hard with her boot, crushing the giant’s windpipe in a single stomp.
* * * *
With the ruffians all dead, Varanus put her hands on her hips and surveyed the damage. Thankfully, there was very little of it, though one of the chairs would need replacing.
Varanus placed a hand on Ekaterine’s shoulder and said, “Marvelous, if I do say so.”
“These three were nothing,” Ekaterine said, tossing her hair. “The big fellow, though.… That was impressive.”
“Yes,” Varanus said, looking down at the giant’s corpse. “I think I should like to keep him for study.”
Ekaterine sighed and looked at her.
“This is when I hide the bodies, isn’t it?” she asked.
“Well, I have a patient to attend to,” Varanus said. “And, much as it pains me to say so, I fear that I shall have to take her to the London Hospital. I can’t very well treat her with dead bodies strewn about the place, and I dread to think what would happen if any more of the gang were to show up.”
“Yes, we’d have to hide the poor girl in the cupboard again,” Ekaterine said, “and I’m certain she would become cross with us.”
Varanus shook her head and said, “You’re right, of course. Her being cross with us is foremost in my mind.”
Ekaterine motioned to the bodies.
“What would you like me to do with all of them?” she asked. “I mean, we can hardly dump them in the street now can we? Someone might look into it.”
Korbinian appeared behind Varanus and whispered in her ear, “Waste not, wan
t not.”
At his prompting, the idea came to Varanus in a flash.
“Put them in the cellar for now,” she said. “I’ve been itching to do a dissection for months.”
“Grand idea,” Ekaterine agreed.
She took one of the corpses by the arm and hauled it up over her shoulders, carrying it like a man might carry a sack of potatoes. She was strong enough to manage, but only just. It was not nearly as effortless as it would have been for Varanus.
“Shall I…?” Varanus began, reaching out to help her.
Ekaterine released one hand long enough to wave Varanus away.
“Nonsense, I can manage,” she said. “Your patient, remember?”
“Yes, of course,” Varanus said. She turned toward the back of the clinic.
“Oh, a moment,” Ekaterine called. She motioned to the side of Varanus’s face where the giant had struck her. “Best clean up first.”
Varanus touched her temple and felt drying blood. The injury had healed—her flesh was smooth, her skull solid, her vision clear—but the blood remained. She hurried to the washbasin by one of the tables and cleaned her face.
With the signs of violence removed, she went to the back of the clinic and knocked on the door to the storeroom. “Sally!” she called. “It’s Doctor Sauvage. Are you in there?”
There was a lengthy silence before Sally could be heard, speaking faintly:
“Is it safe?”
“Yes, it’s safe now,” Varanus answered. “The men have left.”
“Left?” Sally asked hesitantly. She did not sound convinced. “What’ya mean ‘left’?”
“I mean that they’re no longer here, and you’d best not think on it any further,” Varanus replied.
There was another long pause and finally the door opened. Sally stood inside, among the boxes and barrels, looking wan and sickly. For the first time Varanus saw just how much blood was on her dress. Good God, what had the ruffians done to her? There was no doubt that she would have to go to the hospital. Regardless of skill, Varanus was simply not equipped to deal with injuries this extensive. She only hoped that the poor girl would survive the journey.
“Sally,” Varanus said, “I am going to take you to the hospital. We will go out the back way, just in case the men are lurking around the front.”
Rather, to avoid Sally seeing the corpses lying about on the floor.
“Can you walk?” Varanus asked.
“I-I—” Sally stammered. She was panicked, which came as no surprise under the circumstances. She took a few uncertain steps and nearly collapsed against Varanus. “I think so,” she said, sounding only half convinced.
“Well good,” Varanus said, taking her by the arm and leading her to the back door. “We will see if we can obtain a cab on the way.”
At the door, Sally hesitated, eyeing the dark alley nervously.
“Can’t I stay ’ere, doctor?” she asked.
She half turned back toward the clinic, and Varanus was obliged to take her by the arm and pull her the other way, only just preventing her from seeing Ekaterine carrying one of the bodies to the cellar stairs.
“Normally I would prefer that,” Varanus said, “but under the circumstances, I think the hospital will be far more secure than here. And besides, you require several days of rest, and I am not in a position to provide that.”
Sally slowly nodded. She squared her shoulders, lifted her head as best she could, and stepped out into the street. Varanus followed and took a last look back inside. Ekaterine, still descending the cellar stairs, looked up at her and called in French:
“Hurry back! I’ll be certain to save one for you to manage!”
* * * *
To her great relief, Varanus managed to obtain a cab along Shoreditch High Street, only a few blocks away. It was a fortunate thing too, for Sally was already fading by the time Varanus settled her inside. Varanus let the girl rest against her shoulder as they rode through the East End.
At the hospital, Varanus paid the cabby to wait and helped Sally to the front gate. It was closed, of course, but she shook the bars to summon the watchman. Presently a man arrived carrying a lantern, his eyes heavily lidded with fatigue.
“We’re closed!” he shouted. “Come back in the morning!”
“This woman needs help,” Varanus said. “Let us in at once!”
“We are closed,” the watchman repeated. “Come back in the morning!”
Varanus shook her head. She did not have time to waste.
“Is Doctor Constantine here tonight?” she asked. She knew that he would be. Constantine was as devoted to his medical work as Varanus was to hers.
“Aye,” the watchman said hesitantly.
“Then go to him,” Varanus said, “and tell him that Doctor Sauvage is at the gate with a patient in dire need of aid, requesting his assistance.” When the watchman hesitated, she snapped, “Now!”
The watchman stumbled back a step and hurried away. It took only a few minutes for him to return in the company of a dark-haired man with a short, neat beard. The second man, Doctor Constantine, looked alert and energetic despite the late hour.
“Good evening, Doctor,” he said to Varanus, as the watchman unlocked the gate. “Who is your patient?”
“Her name is Sally,” Varanus said. “She was set upon by ruffians not long ago, and she is in dire need of care.”
“So I see,” Constantine said. He looked into Sally’s eyes and smiled. “No need to fear my dear child. You are safe now.”
The gate opened and together Varanus and Constantine helped Sally into the hospital. Constantine led them through the silent halls to an examining room.
“Sit down and make yourself as comfortable as you can,” Constantine said to Sally. “Doctor Sauvage and I will return in just a moment.”
“Yes, sir,” Sally said, nodding weakly. She flashed a look at Varanus, her eyes asking what she should do.
Varanus nodded at her and said, “We shall only be a moment, Sally.”
She followed Constantine into the hallway. He turned to her, his expression clouded with anger.
“I may not have examined her yet, but I can see what she has endured,” he said. “By God, who has done this to her?”
“Men of the streets,” Varanus answered.
“Something must be done about them,” Constantine said. “This cannot be allowed to happen!”
Varanus shared his sentiment but not his optimism.
“They are gone now,” she said, “and I do not think it would be possible to exact vengeance even if they remained. And Sally is but one example. How many other unfortunates have suffered the same on the streets of your majestic city?” She paused. “Will you save them all?”
“If I could, yes,” Constantine said.
“We are agreed on that point,” Varanus said, “but I fear we cannot. What we can do is attend to that poor girl in there.” She pointed toward the examining room.
Constantine nodded. He took a step toward the doorway, but Varanus caught his arm.
“Doctor,” she said, “I am very grateful that you have agreed to see us tonight. I must ask.…”
“Yes?”
“As you know, my duties prevent me from attending my clinic during the daytime,” Varanus said.
It was a convenient conceit for her to avoid the sunlight. Its touch hurt less than it had fifteen years ago, but it still burned her.
“I know this,” Constantine said. “And I am grateful for it. Your patron’s kind donations have already proven to be a significant benefit to the hospital’s finances this year.”
Well naturally, Varanus thought. Where was she to contribute her not insignificant inheritance if not to medical institutions and places devoted to the advancement of science?
“Sally must have several days at least to recuperate,” she said. “I cannot let her convalesce at my clinic, therefore she must remain here. It will be much safer for her as well.”
“And you wish to know i
f I can arrange a bed for her,” Constantine finished. He took a deep breath and glanced down the hallway. “Yes,” he said at length, “I will make sure of it. There must be a place somewhere, and your patient is truly in need.”
“Thank you,” Varanus said. “I am most grateful.”
“Not another word about it, Doctor Sauvage,” Constantine said. “You would do the same in my place.” He motioned toward the examining room and continued, “Now then, let us see to the poor girl. As she is your patient, I shall follow your lead.”
Varanus smiled at this and said, “Thank you, Doctor. It relieves me to know that I shall have a competent nurse.”
Constantine cleared his throat.
“Kindly do not tell the fellows,” he said, “or I shall never hear the end of it.”
Chapter Three
After tending to the worst of Sally’s injuries, Varanus left her in Constantine’s care. The return trip to the clinic was uneventful, which Varanus almost regretted. Her temper had only grown during the examination, and the fact that the perpetrators were dead was only a partial recompense. Someone would have to answer to for the barbarism of the streets, and at that moment Varanus was content to turn the first would-be mugger she encountered into a whipping boy for the whole of the criminal classes.
By the time Varanus arrived, Ekaterine had cleaned and cleared the surgery. Varanus wasted little time in beginning her autopsy on the giant. The cellar was kept cold with blocks of ice, but it was still not cold enough for the bodies to keep more than a few days. She worked quickly but carefully, while Ekaterine recorded any abnormality or point of interest. Indeed, Ekaterine scarcely needed prompting with most of the information, which pleased Varanus greatly. Over a decade of working together had made their coordination almost perfect.
In particular, the giant’s heart caught Varanus’s attention, for it seemed in the midst of malignant decay. She suspected that were it not for her intervention, he would have lasted only a few more years. She also noted a tumorous growth on the brain, which intrigued her. She decided to preserve both the brain and the heart for further study.
The work was so engrossing that she did not even notice the approach of dawn until Korbinian prompted her about it. Alerted, she and Ekaterine rushed to conceal the bodies and lock the cellar and then hurried to find a cab back to the West End. To Varanus’s relief, they arrived just before the first rays of light appeared over the skyline. The morning sunlight would not kill her—not with the pervasive smoke and the protection of a veil—but she did not relish having to explain skin burns to the servants.
A Cautionary Tale for Young Vampires Page 3
