by Masha Dark
“Farewell, girl,” said Dalana softly. “I hope you find peace.”
She took a heavy poker in her hand and with its help raked out the ashy remains of the passport. The last small sparks expired in the dark womb of the fireplace.
As the first to notice Marisa’s arrival, Stefan did not hesitate to make a comment.
“Boys, our little mama has put in an appearance!”
“And it would seem she brought us some milk,” responded Arvid, as he regarded the thermo-pack in her hands with hungry eyes.
The others, including Pavel, pried themselves away from the stack of map paper that was laid out on the table.
“What have you got there?” asked Volsky, as he sniffed the air. “I’m asking because we haven’t had lunch today.”
“Lunch!” huffed Genaro. “I didn’t even have time to eat breakfast.”
“Catch,” said Marisa and she tossed the packet at the men like a basketball.
Genaro dexterously caught the packet, opened it instantly and stuck his nose inside so he could acquaint himself with its contents.
“Fried chicken!” he barked, immediately producing from the package a fragrant piece and tearing into it with his teeth.
“Give here!” roared the agents in chorus.
“Be careful, don’t mess up my map,” said Volsky, protecting the drawing paper with the zeal of a possessive perfectionist.
Marisa walked over to the table and looked at the draft.
“The layout of his mansion and the area around,” explained Pavel.
Marisa nodded.
“According to our intel, he didn’t leave for the city today. He stayed at his country house. Right now we’ve got a watch on the stinking profiteer, and we’re just working out all the details.”
“The plan is brilliant,” said Graham with his mouth full. “You should evaluate it. By the way, are you coming with us?”
“It goes without saying,” Marisa replied.
“You’re acting kind of weird,” said Volsky solicitously. “Are you okay?”
Marisa stealthily looked around at her colleagues. The other agents were chewing and humming with pleasure as they devoured the food she’d brought them, and it seemed that they hadn’t noticed the way Pavel was acting towards her.
“There’s one thing I don’t get,” she said pensively. “How did she know his name?”
“Who?” asked Arvid, blissfully licking his fingers. “And whose name?”
“That vampire. From the lair, the one with the coat of arms,” explained Marisa. “You remember her?”
“You bet,” said Arvid, shaking his head. “Didn’t you do her in today?”
“Indeed I did…”
“So what are you sweating?” Stefan butted in. “It’s one less vampire we have to deal with.”
“Whose name did she know?” asked Arvid.
“Dennis Kameus. She named him straight out. And added that he screamed when she killed him.”
“Bitch,” cursed Graham. “Kudos to you, Marisa, for killing that thing – don’t worry about the rest.”
“Kudos accepted,” grinned Marisa. “I guess it doesn’t matter. Let’s talk about Soigu.”
Later, when it was time to go home, Marisa suddenly realized just how much of a mess she had made of things. She’d forgotten that she no longer had a car. So Volsky would certainly utter the phrase that she had dreaded for the entire day: “Let’s go to my place.”
He said exactly that as soon as they found themselves alone. And, without waiting for her reply, he drew Marisa into his arms and covetously pressed his lips to hers. Marisa, who as recently as yesterday had been ready to give up half her life for such a kiss, tried to break free from Pavel’s embrace.
“What’s up with you?” he asked in surprise as he backed away from her.
“I…nothing…I’m tired. Fiendishly tired,” lied Marisa.
She kept talking, trying to find a way out of his invitation. “You know, I’m so tired, I think I’ll spend the night at headquarters.”
Volsky squinted suspiciously. “Didn’t you say that you don’t like sleeping in any bed but your own?”
“Yes, yes, I have insomnia, but today I’m so overtired that I’d pass out as soon as we got to your place,” Marisa blurted out in one breath.
“I understand,” said Volsky, surprisingly tender. “The explosion, your car burning…then pulling off that business with the vampire singlehandedly…. No wonder you’re about to fall asleep on your feet. You know what? Don’t come with us tomorrow. Leave the dirty work to us. I couldn’t forgive myself if something happened to you, God forbid.”
Maybe it would be a good idea if I didn’t go tomorrow. The thought flashed through Marisa’s head. But no. I’ll go. What an opportunity – to deal with a genuine werewolf. I’ll probably never get another chance like this again.
Interpreting her pause in his own way, Volsky gently pressed Marisa to himself and kissed the top of her head.
“We’re going,” said Pavel resolutely. “I’ll bring you home. It’s no good sleeping in government beds.”
I really am a cold-hearted bitch, Marisa told herself, as she was getting into his car. Though he is sort of right. The explosion, my burnt-out car, and the brains of that creature all over my face – all that did happen. So maybe I’m not really a bitch. Oh, but I’m going to have to kiss him goodnight, aren’t I?
At ten in the morning Dalana stretched out her arms and cracked her numb joints with pleasure. Well, the preliminary plan for the murder of the kun-mus was ready.
Stage A consisted of getting in place. Dalana would park her car about one and a half kilometers from the house of the kun-mus, where she would leave the car, which contained – apart from the kitten, a minimum of belongings and the two passports – a ‘metamorphosis kit’ that would create the character of Diana Salo. It was unlikely that anyone in their right mind would be tempted by such a rust bucket. Dalana estimated it would take her ten minutes, fifteen tops, to bypass the security booth, cross the borders of the gated community and get to the wall of Soigu’s mansion, where she would smoothly transition to stage B.
This part of the plan was much more complicated and dangerous than the first part. First of all because of the Sentinel, and secondly because of Soigu himself. She could evade the former’s deadly touch by not setting foot on the ground – Dalana planned to soar over the grounds, from the wall to the house, and then carefully land on the roof.
As for Soigu, in stage B the main thing was not to get caught, not to let the kun-mus notice her. Dalana recalled quite well how the shapeshifter had almost marked her presence that time in the restaurant. This would require her to split her consciousness and to exert her concentration to its limits. Flying required considerable strength of will, and hiding her thoughts from the kun-mus at the same time would be phenomenally complicated. However, Dalana expected that she would be able to handle the challenge.
Stage C was easier than the preceding part – to find a way into the house unobserved. Dalana planned to accomplish the infiltration by means of an upstairs window. According to the layout of the house she’d extracted from Stella Soigu’s brain, that would lead her into an empty room. Once she was there, Dalana would pinpoint Soigu’s location in the house. In all probability the kun-mus would be either in his study or in the drawing room with the fireplace. However, where he was would not be all that important.
Stage D depended upon injecting the poison into the body of the kun-mus. This needed to be done quickly, almost instantaneously, and with surgical precision. Dalana had darts made specifically for this purpose, and she’d tested them repeatedly.
After this an intermediate stage would set in – waiting. The poison of the creature that dwelled in the sewer could not kill a kun-mus. It was only capable of slowing the shapeshifter’s process of regeneration. The action of the poison was most effective three hours after it entered the blood stream of the victim, which is to say that Dalana needed
to wait for three hours before she could move on to stage E.
Stage E was simple. But only in theory. Combat always possessed an elemental and unpredictable character. In order to destroy the kun-mus, which would already be poisoned by the venom of the sewer beast, she would have to chop off his head. Dalana planned to use a short sword that she had purchased in an army surplus store. The sword did not instill much confidence in Dalana – it could very well let her down. If that happened she would have to deprive Soigu of his head with materials at hand.
In stage F Dalana would leave the house, return to her car, drive it part of the way to the airport and abandon it in a location previously agreed upon with the client. Dalana must quickly transform herself into Diana Salo and then vanish, taking her belongings and leaving the client’s, which latter would consist of a waterproof bag containing part of Soigu’s body. Any part. His head or perhaps his arm. It was the wish of the client.
Once the plan was finished, Dalana intended to find herself a new means of transportation. That is, she would steal another car, this time one that was fast and powerful, and she would use it to get to Arlanda Airport.
Dalana suddenly sensed someone else’s presence. Someone besides her and the kitten had entered the house.
A moment…and Dalana calmed down, seeing that the Tengri of the Clear Sky had once again deigned to visit them. She supposed he had brought her that damned vet-card.
Long time no see, Daughter of the Red, said the Tengri instead of the traditional long greeting, and he immediately spilled a heap of items onto the floor: sheets of paper, leaflets, a cat carrier, a bag of cat food, a small collar with a leash…
“Ugh, do I really need all this crap just to take a kitten with me?” Dalana said aloud, growing resentful.
Then she added for the Tengri: I thank you once more, Esege Malan.
Farewell, Bloody Daughter, the Master of the Clear Sky replied haughtily. I have business to attend to. The West Wind has returned.
With these words the Tengri disappeared.
As Dalana gathered the feline accoutrements from the floor, Dalana reflected on the times when humans had not yet invented email, when they traveled on horses and in wagons, when they warmed their dwellings with open fires lit right on the dirt floor… Back in those days, there were no worldwide delivery services. The Couriers had been indispensable and valued as if they were worth their weight in gold. Very few mere mortals or immortals could afford them. And ‘universal’ Couriers, those like Esege Malan who could deliver anything to any corner of the earth, were generally affordable only to sovereigns. Naturally, the Couriers themselves did not receive money for their work: they were not at all interested in material goods. All the wealth accrued to those who had somehow managed to compel these creations to run errands for their clients.
However, the need for the Couriers had not really diminished. And they cost just as much as they had before. Dalana wondered what would have happened if Victor hadn’t been in Stockholm. She probably would have had to fly to Canada without the cat.
In the luxurious mansion in Danderyd, the being who called himself Alexander Soigu in the human world was expecting guests. Just like Dalana and Special Agent Pavel Volsky of the Coalition, this malicious, ferocious creature was also preparing himself for the night ahead. And his plan involved turning the house in Danderyd into a veritable slaughterhouse.
3.
Hic haeret aqua.
Water stands here. (There is an obstruction)
(A Latin apothegm)
The door split in two from a staggering blow and fell to the floor with a terrible crash.
In horror, Jan looked at the two halves of what had been his bedroom door just a minute ago. Then the boy raised his eyes to his father and was instantly covered in clammy sweat.
“It’s funny,” said his father.
The boy could hear his own teeth grinding.
“It’s funny,” repeated Soigu, and he took a step into the room. “I knew of the result sooner than the cause.”
Jan crawled away to the very top of his bed and huddled against the headboard.
“At first I found out that they had obtained a warrant and were coming to arrest me,” continued Soigu. “And only then did I find that this happy event came about because of you, my son…because you stole my razor.”
Jan went pale when he heard the last three words.
“But you know,” said Soigu almost affectionately. “I’m actually grateful to you for what you did. If you hadn’t sent them that razor, God himself only knows how much time I would have deliberated about disposing of my shell. I might have stuck around in this body for another ten years or more.”
As he cowered against the headboard, Jan tried to not to think about the silence that had been reigning over the house for some time now. For some reason this ominous silence frightened the boy even more than the fact that his father had guessed everything.
“And you seem to have done well for yourself,” declared the elder Soigu. “You managed to shut me out. I guess you do have a bit of my Gift, after all. True, far less than I had hoped. That human body of yours…and then there’s your mother, that greedy, lascivious bitch. There’s just too much that’s human in you. So, I’m going to have to kill you, my son…”
All at once Jan understood the reason for the silence. The people – the chauffer, the housekeeper, all the auxiliary staff – he’d killed them all.
“Yes,” Soigu said, grinning sinisterly. “All of them. Besides your mother. She’s not really a servant…”
Soigu began laughing loudly.
“…so,” he continued through his laughter, “I’m going to kill her last. After I’m finished with you.”
Jan howled and threw himself at his father. His fear evaporated the moment the boy realized that his mother was in danger.
“Run, mama, run!” Jan yelled as he flailed his fists at his father’s body.
But his father’s body was like stone. After about twenty completely ineffective punches, Jan felt himself begin to tire. He ran to the opposite corner of the room and, breathing heavily, he unclenched his numb fingers.
“Did you really think that you could harm me?” asked Soigu in surprise, and then he burst into laughter again.
“You’re a monster!” yelled Jan, his voice breaking.
“Yes!” Soigu bellowed in reply. “But you aren’t. Unfortunately for you.”
As swift as lighting, Soigu darted towards his son, grabbed him with both his hands and threw him straight across the room. Jan flew over the bed and crashed into the wall. He immediately lost consciousness from the pain.
The thud of the boy’s body hitting the floor almost swallowed another sound that came from the direction of the broken door.
Soigu turned towards the sound…and an enormous frying pan smacked him in the face.
“Degenerate!” roared Stella. “You killed him! You killed my son!”
The cast-iron skillet came down on Soigu’s head once more. Stella raised her arm for a third blow but this time Soigu captured her wrist. A wet crunching sound was heard as the bones in the hand clutching the handle of the frying pan snapped. Stella shrieked. The sonorous clang of the falling frying pan, the crisp, moist sound of breaking bones, the woman’s scream full of pain and terror – all this merged into an unimaginable cacophony and combined with a guttural, inhuman roar. This last issued from Soigu’s throat.
Stella crashed down to the floor, gingerly holding her mangled arm to her chest. To the still greater horror of the woman, her husband’s split skull began to heal; it knit together before her eyes.
Noticing Stella’s reaction, Soigu grinned savagely.
“Have you finally realized who you’ve been fucking all these years?” growled Soigu.
At that moment Jan, who was crumpled against the wall, groaned weakly.
“Jan!” Stella yelled through her tears. “You’re alive! Are you hurt?”
“Mama!” gasped the boy as he
tried to stand up.
It was too difficult for him, and he once again slumped down onto floor.
“A twist!” said Soigu with a hint of astonishment in his voice. “I was sure that you wouldn’t survive. It’s possible I’ve been too hasty with you…”
“Don’t you dare touch him, you bastard!” gasped Stella in a frenzy. “Or I’ll scratch your eyes out!”
“Would you get a load of that, your maternal instincts are really coming to the fore,” spat Soigu. “But it’s too late, my dear. I’m tired of being a man.”
With these words he quickly stooped down towards the woman.
“Mama!” was all that Jan managed to yell before he yet again sank down into a bloated, black void.
Marisa tensely looked out the window of the van at the vehicles sweeping by. The day had passed like an idle daydream, as they say. All her thoughts spun around the upcoming operation, and there was nothing else going through her head. Even Volsky, to Marisa’s great joy, paid her almost no attention, and all their conversations were concerned only with their work.
Bumblebee called her when they were halfway to the lair of the beast.
“What, is it urgent?” she asked rudely.
“Don’t growl at me!” replied Bumblebee agitatedly. “This is no joke.”
“Lay it out for me, but do it quickly,” snapped Marisa.
“That email,” he said with a slight hitch in his voice. “Hell, I don’t even know how to say this…”
Marisa rolled her eyes angrily.
“All in all…” Bumblebee kept wavering.
“Spit it out,” Marisa ordered him rudely.
“In a word, it was sent from my computer. I guess it’s me who sent it to you,” he blurted out.
“Hey, are you on something?” asked Marisa. “I don’t have time to deal with you right now, you know? Go sleep it off; we’ll talk about this tomorrow.” And then she hung up.
