And there was the secret leader, seated at a desk, reading from an ancient-looking tome by candlelight, like any other scholar. He wore a black robe with the great green eye of the High Exalted Cyclops on the front.
Benny felt a chill. This was the man who had been mentally persecuting him?
They halted before the desk. Virtue appeared. “He knows who we are, but I can't read his mind to know who he is.”
“And I can't tell you,” Helena said. “But soon it will be clear. Very soon.”
“Yes, I knew you were coming,” the robed man said. “I set a token defense so you would be sure to get here on schedule. The roots of the Kudgel army run so thick that you will never get out of here, let alone defeat them all. But for the moment we are free to talk. I give you this one, last chance: join us, and become privileged officers in the new order. You, each of you, have talents we can use.” He paused as if smiling in the deep shadow of his hood. “Especially the winsome vampire lass.”
“You are disgusting,” Virtue snapped.
“I was referring to your mind reading and your evocative bites, both singularly useful to a leader,” the Cyclops said with another seeming smile. “The Amazon will do for erotic purposes, especially since she is not pregnant or in her blood cycle at the moment.”
“Try it, and I'll cut your dinky member off and feed it to you,” Helena said. “I know who you are.”
The man ignored that. “Dale Beranger is an excellent warrior.”
“Not for your team,” Dale said. “I serve the cause of good, not evil.”
“And Benny Clout, with the lovely ghosting ability. That is perhaps the most desirable, as I have not encountered it elsewhere.”
“Well, desire this,” Benny said, showing one finger.
“I take it that the four of you are declining my generous offer.”
“And there you are correct,” Dale said. “Now will you submit peacefully to arrest and trial, or will we have to kill you first?”
“None of the above.” The Cyclops stood and threw off his robe and hood to reveal--
“Purp!” Dale said, shocked. “My head butler!”
Benny and Virtue stared, almost beyond words, similarly recognizing the man. It was the purple servant who had seen to the operation of the mansion in Upper Sultry, except that now his eyes were the same shade of green as in his Cyclops nightmares.
“I do have to admire the way you went openly among us,” Helena said. “I knew I didn't like you, but didn't know why, until I learned your identity. You were right there in the mansion all the time.”
“It was a convenient hiding place,” Purp agreed. “Ideal for tuning in on news of the planet.” Then, taking advantage of their stasis, he lifted his hand and fired a fireball spell at Dale.
But Benny was already in motion. He lurched into Dale, knocking him out of the way, and took the blast himself. He stifled his ghost response, wanting to protect his friend. He was holding the club, and it deflected the fire as it melted, but the heat still scorched him painfully.
Helena leaped forward, her sword stabbing at Purp's chest. But he moved his fingers, and a levitation spell lifted her into the air and threw her into a wall. Reacting quickly, she twisted her body so as to strike the wall with her feet, avoiding injury. But she was out of position, leaving only Dale before Purp.
Dale did not try to attack. “Why did you join the Kudgels?” he asked.
And Purp answered. “I was sick of being treated like an outcast. I joined because I felt that nobody else loved and cared for me. I was apt, and quickly rose through their ranks to their top office. I studied magic along the way, which helped. I wanted to take revenge on the cruel world. Now I am doing that.”
“But I really cared for you, and still do,” Dale said. “That's why I kept you as my most trusted servant.”
“And I cared for you,” Purp replied. “And still do. You were the only person who ever showed me respect or compassion, and I thank you for that. But this is war.”
“Renounce your evil ways. There is still time.”
“And why should I do a thing like that?”
“Because I did. I struggled with my evil side, and was losing, until Virtue enabled my good side to prevail. She can do the same for you.”
“No. What I am doing is good, and everything else is evil. It is you who are doing evil now, serving the wrong side. I'm simply repaying those who wronged me.”
Dale shook his head. “You are hopelessly reversed.”
“That is as you see it. But I am also a very powerful sorcerer. You are doomed.”
Benny and Dale leaped forward, but Purp's fingers turned into long tentacles that wrapped around them both and began choking them to death. Benny remembered those tentacles from his nightmares. Purp was not fooling about his sorcery! They were helpless.
Helena attacked again, this time more than physically. She scraped her fingers across her own damaged ear and flung the blood at Purp. He winced and cast a deflection shield so as to avoid the spray. That was successful, with only a single small drop striking one tentacle, where it smoldered. But his concentration was weakened and Dale and Benny twisted free of his grasp as his tentacles faded back into fingers.
Dale hit Purp on the head with the butt end of his sword, but the Cyclops managed to grab the weapon. Dale wrenched it back, but Purp drew his own sword and attacked. Now it was sword against sword, and in moment it was apparent that Purp was the better swordsman.
Benny and Helena drew their swords and attacked, but Purp was so skilled that he beat back all three. Dale went into berserk mode, but Purp then sprouted an extra set of armored arms and was still overpowering the trio. No wonder he hadn't feared them! Physically and magically he was more than their match.
Then Purp stabbed Benny in the chest. Benny's ghosting avoided it, which surprised him, because the Cyclops could nullify his magic and he had already been weakened by the fireball.
“I knew your talent would accommodate it,” Purp said. “I am saving you for later use. This is just to remind you that your life is hostage to my convenience.”
“Never!”
“Oh, you will cooperate when I start torturing your vamp wife.”
That froze Benny. It seemed that the Cyclops could and would do that to gain his ends, and Benny knew he would not be able to let it happen.
But that momentary diversion of the Cyclops’ attention allowed Dale to use his Mage cry to blast Purp with lightning. That rocked him back, surprised, and gave them a key advantage. The need to brag had weakened him, just as it had the green mountain giant. They followed up without mercy, knowing that any break in the action could be disastrous, and soon the man was on the floor, unconscious.
Benny, still angry about the way Laughing Jack had died, and by the threat to Virtue, raised his sword to hack off the Cyclops' head.
“Wait!” Dale said, making Benny pause. “Remember the mercy you and Virtue showed me. Can you do less for him?”
“He's right,” Helena said. “We should tie him up, spellbind him, and carry him back to Gant for questioning. We still need to learn what we can of the Kudgels' future plans, so we can counter them.”
Virtue appeared, nodding agreement. True to her nature, she responded to the threat of torture with forgiveness.
Benny sighed. They were right. Sometimes mercy made sense tactically as well as morally.
Chapter 19
They found a wagon with a horse in a nearby stable, evidently one the Cyclops used for traveling, and used it to cart their captive along forest trails toward Gant. Virtue did a skry on the appropriate route.
“That's an odd choice,” she said. “But I trust its magic. We'll use that trail.”
No one argued about the details of individual routes. They just wanted to get this done.
They boarded the wagon, guarding the unconscious man. Benny sat up front and guided the horse. Helena sat beside him, as Virtue was keeping a close eye and mind on Purp. It was eas
y for Benny and Helena to talk with the two immediately behind them.
Purp woke. “You're too late for information,” he said. “I have taken a lethal potion and will die within the hour. There is no antidote.”
“You're bluffing,” Helena said, glancing back. “We stripped your body of all devices, and you know we will cut off your tentacles if you try to grow them.”
“Ask the vamp, sweetie. My mind is open.”
“Oh!” Virtue said. “He had it in a hollow tooth. We didn't think of that.”
Helena banged her forehead with the heel of her hand as if knocking out the dottle from an empty pipe. “Standard ploy! What were we thinking?”
“You were so busy nullifying my magic you never thought of garden variety poison. An elementary error, warrior girl.” The Cyclops' contempt was obvious.
“But why?” Dale asked. “We spared your life so we could question you, then maybe convert you to the side of good, as I was converted. That is no bad thing.”
“It is a fate worse than death. I would rather die than be a part of the world that scorned me.”
“Oh, Purp, forgive me for not making you feel more appreciated,” Dale said sincerely. “I always respected you, despite not knowing your larger mission.”
“I was never angry with you personally. I would have spared you from the Kudgel conquest and left you to live peacefully in your mansion, if you hadn't gotten involved in the war. I didn't know about Flack's revenge until later, and figured you could handle that yourself.”
“Please, I beg you, tell us about the Kudgels' plans,” Dale said. “There's a tremendous amount of pain and sorrow you can prevent.”
“What do I care about the pain of the world? It didn't care about mine.”
“But there is one who does care,” Helena said, glancing back again. “You should do it for her.”
“Who? The vampire?” Purp demanded dismissively. “She'd care for the hurt feelings of a scorpion.”
Virtue nodded, agreeing. Benny felt it in her mind.
“Your sister,” Helena said. “Magenta.”
“Magenta! She fled from me and became a whore.”
“She fled because she loved you and could not betray you, but neither could she tolerate the destruction you planned to unleash on the world,” Helena said evenly. “She earned her living the only way she could without attracting attention, hidden in the slum so that no one would think to use her against you. That is what you did to her. She is a good person, enduring a life of humiliation in her effort to do the right thing. But she will die in the Kudgel conquest, after being gang raped, because she is a beautiful woman; you know that.”
“I know that,” Purp said brokenly. “I do love her, and would spare her if I could. I would do anything for her, now that I know what she did for me. But it's too late. I am dying, and she is far away.”
“Far away physically,” Helena said. “But perhaps not mentally. Will you talk to her, if she comes telepathically?”
“Yes! Let me be with her before I die.” The discussion of his sister had made him into a completely different man. It seemed that whatever good there was in him was connected to his memory of Magenta.
Helena glanced back at Virtue. “Signal Tele, who I know is not far distant. Bring him here.”
“We are already on the way to him,” Virtue said. “I skried our route, and that put us in that direction. I did not know why, until this moment.”
“Good girl,” Helena said. “Now we will need a temporary local host, so Magenta can actually touch her brother. I don't think you will do for this, vampire; we'll need you to complete the telepathic linkage, as before. So, by elimination...” She did not finish.
“What, you can't host a whore?” Dale asked, laughing.
“I can host a good person. That's not the problem.”
“What a nuisance,” Purp complained. “I can't kiss my sister without kissing you, blooded Amazon? Maybe I'll be lucky enough to die first.”
“No. That would make it pointless. But I'm hardly keen on it myself. That is the problem.” Helena sighed. “But it is expedient. I promised to be there for her when she needed me. That time is now. I will do what I have to do, as an Amazon does.”
Benny remembered again how Helena had honored her deal with him by saving Virtue. Now she was doing something similar with Magenta.
They were approaching Tele's residence. Benny drew the horse and wagon to a halt.
Tele emerged. “Virtue minded me,” he said. “There is little time. I will join you there.” He climbed onto the wagon. “Ready, Virtue?”
“Ready,” Virtue agreed.
Then Helena changed. She seemed to shrink to a more petite form, and her scars and tattoos faded. Her skin turned green, her face and hair purple, with bright green eyes. Her rough battle clothing metamorphosed into the exposing gown of a prostitute. In fact she looked like Magenta, and she was surpassingly lovely in a delicate feminine way; it was an amazing transformation. Benny knew it was illusion clothing the physical woman, but it was extraordinarily realistic.
“Hello, all,” Magenta said, soft voiced. “I am glad to meet you again. But what is the occasion?”
“Magenta!” Purp exclaimed.
“Snus!” she exclaimed in return, knowing his real name rather than the one Dale had given him. “I can't be with you!”
“Yes, you can,” Benny said. “He is dying, and wanted to see you before he departed. You can do him no harm now, but you can comfort him, if you wish to.”
“Oh, I do, I do!” She dropped down beside Purp, stroking his face with her hands. “Oh, my brother, I never wished this upon you!”
“Nor I this on you, my sister,” he replied. “But I wanted to kiss you one last time, and beg your forgiveness.”
“Oh, you have it! I always wanted only the best for you, my brother, though I could not share it.” She kissed him avidly on the mouth.
“Then I can die relieved,” Purp said. “I thank you for coming.”
“Not yet,” Benny said, because at this moment Helena could not speak for herself.
“Not?” Magenta asked. “But I feel the death closing on his heart.”
“Purp,” Benny said. “Or Snus, or Cyclops, whatever. The raping and killing. Only you can save her. You know how.”
“What do you mean?” Magenta asked. It was evident that she had none of the memories of her host.
Purp shuddered. “When the Kudgels I have unleashed conquer the cities, they will abuse the citizens before killing them. It is part of their vengeance against the old order. I am appalled in retrospect; I am suffering great remorse. I do not want this for you, my beloved sibling.”
Magenta laughed without humor. “You forget my profession. I cannot be abused.”
“You do not know the Kudgels of my army. They enjoy making lovely women scream in agony. That is what turns them on.” He paused. It was evident that he was growing weaker. “This must be stopped. You must stop them, for your sake and the sake of all other women.”
“How could I ever do that?”
“You must take over from me. You must lead them to peace and decency.”
“I can't do any such thing! I know nothing of armies.”
“Yes, you can. In fact, only you can do it, because you are my closest kin; my body and brain will yield their secrets to you. Kiss me again, as I die. Take the information from my mind. You will have it all, and with the help of your friends here, you will be able to do it.”
“Oh, Snus! I would far rather save your life!”
“That you can't do. But you can save my soul. Now, please, before I fade.”
Tearfully, Magenta yielded. She bent down and kissed him again, deeply. Her body shuddered, as did his. There was a momentary glow.
Then she raised her head. Green tears streaked her purple face. “Rest in peace, my brother,” she said. “I will do what you wish.”
It was clear that Purp was dead. Yet his expression was one of peace.
>
Now Magenta addressed the others. “I have his information. I know the battle strategies. I know the names, locations, and assignments of all his troops. I will command them, and the conquest will be turned aside. There will be no rapine. But this is complicated; there will have to be many orders, correctly phrased; an army does not turn on a pinhead. I will have to return to my own body and get in touch with you as myself. In the interim, I ask you to see to the disposition of his body; I regret I can't attend.”
“We will do that,” Benny said.
“We will,” Dale agreed.
Magenta smiled, and her beauty radiated like a flaring torch. “I know you will. You are good men. I wish I could do more for you, in the way that I am practiced. But I suspect that my host would object, not to mention your women.”
They laughed. It had to be a joke.
“Oh, one more item before I go. There is one thing you must attend to immediately. A huge battalion of Kudgels will be heading for the Northern Mountains, to blow the horn which will summon the Sky Titans. This is what the Kudgels were to do if my brother was somehow killed or defeated in battle. They will soon know he is gone, and will act. They must be stopped; the Titans will bring utter devastation to the land. The Kudgels don't care about their own survival. They just want the world to burn. Do not let that horn be blown!”
Then she faded, and Helena returned. “I was listening. She's not fooling. We have another job to do.”
“She's not fooling,” Virtue agreed.
“We were getting bored by the inaction anyway,” Dale joked.
“I leave you to your campaign,” Tele said, climbing off the wagon.
“But we have to bury the body,” Benny said. “We can't just leave it exposed. It was the only thing she asked of us, for her brother.”
“I don't think we can wait for that,” Helena said. “Magenta absorbed a lot of information in a hurry, and still has to assimilate most of it, which I think she will by the time we can get together with her physically. I really have only a passing sniff of it. But that horn is paramount; we have to get on it immediately. That much I know.”
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