One summer, I got my hands on a copy of a translated KGB torture manual. (The good people of Nevada like to be prepared for the Enemy.) The manual said flaying was one of the best techniques to use during a rapid interrogation. There were many ways to extract information if you have more time-but if you were in a rush, they recommended flaying, crushing digits, or electrocuting the genitalia. (Say what you will about the Russians, they certainly didn"t beat around the bush.) Flaying had one obvious downside, though. You can"t lose half your skin and walk away. The tall man wasn"t playing to save his life. He was playing for a quicker death.
Rei c.o.c.ked her head and frowned. The tall man"s stuttering was still indecipherable. She sighed and peeled off his left ear. It was hard work. There were snags. She inspected the floppy piece of meat before tossing it behind her shoulder.
I shuddered uncontrollably. I didn"t even know that was possible. And his screams were so guttural and unnatural that they raised the hairs on the back of my neck. Blood was spurting everywhere. It pitter-pattered onto the linoleum floor. And through it all, Rei"s face remained serene. She acted as though she were prepping the veal cutlets for the evening special.
As she waited for the tall man to catch his breath, Rei examined the blood covering her hands. A shiver coursed through her body, and her eyes went hazy. Her body tense, she swallowed, and her hand went towards her nose. For a moment she looked conflicted, resisting her hand"s motion.
"It"s not like he"s a citizen," she muttered.
Her eyes broke focus, and she licked her hands clean.
My jaw dropped. I didn"t understand. Why was she licking the blood off her hands?
The tall man looked up and started to cry. "Oh, Jesus Christ, you"re one of them. I told you," he said between sobs. "I-don"t-know. We"re wiped during a.s.signments. It"s standard procedure. I don"t get my memories back until I complete the job. It"s standard-" He gasped and started shivering. Having been there, I recognized the signs. Pain was overloading his senses; he was about to pa.s.s out.
Rei"s eyes flashed. "Wait!" she hissed. "Not yet, d.a.m.n it!" She smacked the tall man across the face. Blood splattered across the walls, and he returned from the edge of consciousness. "Just tell me the parameters, you insipid pofatlan."
I could see it in his eyes. The tall man was broken. His body was torn to shreds. Ruined. And the pain wasn"t going away. It was easy to see he didn"t care anymore. He probably just wanted to close his eyes and die. Frankly, it was understandable. He mustered the last of his strength and looked up at Rei with unfocused eyes.
"Cross-country bus arriving at noon at New York Grand Central Station from Chicago. Intercept and retrieve one Dieter Resnick: Male. Age, 17. Height, 6"1"". Brown hair. Light complexion. The package is Imperiti. Threat level is nominal. In event that the package has obtained a chaperon, termination of chaperon takes priority. For exit, proceed to 36th and 7th. Taxi will conduct pick-up after one pa.s.s of your party."
"That"s all?" Rei asked. She looked somewhat disappointed.
The tall man nodded, and his head slacked.
Rei stared at him. That hazy expression was waxing over her. For the next ten seconds she stood motionless as though locked in trance. Then shook herself, walked forward, took the tall man"s head in her hands, and snapped his neck with twist. A few spasms later, he was dead. Rei sighed. She was looking at one of the walls, her hands tight on her hips.
"Fasz kivan!" She aimed a kick at the desk, huffed, and then plopped down on top of it. Cursing again, she buried her head in her hands. "What an unmitigated disaster."
She was still sitting there looking pensive when her body tensed. My heart sank. I"d been a fool to get so close, and now that she wasn"t distracted...Rei gripped the desk with her hands and prepared to spring. I braced myself. Running didn"t seem like it would help. But just as suddenly, Rei"s face transitioned to one of confusion.
"Dieter?" The light timber had returned to her voice. "Dieter Resnick, is that you lurking out there?"
I was locked in a wave of overwhelming terror...but my Sight wasn"t doing its doom and gloom routine.
"Um. Well. Yea," I squeaked.
The tension in Rei"s muscles eased. She exhaled deeply. "Excellent!" she exclaimed. "And here I thought I had f.u.c.ked the dog!" She swung her legs back and forth like she was on a swing set. "Good job not dying. You are much more durable than you look." She smiled jovially. "Now why don"t you step into my office?"
I swallowed.
"Sure thing, Ms. Bathory."
Chapter 9.
WHAT ARE YOU?.
I didn"t consider running. She had just taken care of the three most bada.s.s men I had ever seen in my life. The guy I couldn"t even dent with a pipe was sitting like a peeled orange in the corner. Refusal was probably on the same page of the playbook as kicking dynamite. I shuffled in. It was the best I could do after the adrenalin twisted my quads into knots. After stepping over yet another pool of blood, I surprised myself and looked up to match her stare.
I couldn"t sense a hint of killing intent. Rei looked back with a relaxed expression on her face. I must have looked nervous, because she was trying for a gentle smile. But my mind was already cranking away. Why was it that she never smiled fully? Even when she talked, she only spoke with her mouth half open. The train of thought was ludicrous, but then again, there were people shooting lightning out of their fingertips. I felt I had a bit of leeway on this one. I considered what I was about to imply and chose my words carefully. They needed to be vague enough to not get me killed.
"So..." I began. Rei c.o.c.ked her head to the side. The clotted blood kept her hair matted to her head. It looked like she had an enormous cowlick. "You do exist."
Rei"s smile dropped like a rock. For a moment she sat very still. Then she raised an eyebrow and smirked. "More impressive still," she purred. She leaned forward and rested her chin in her hands. "Truthfully, are you of the Imperiti?"
"Imperiti?" I asked.
Rei merely smiled.
Frankly, I had really hoped for a blanket denial. Instead, Rei was measuring me again, just like she had been doing all along. I didn"t like it, but Rei didn"t seem willing to give me any more hints. She was just sitting there giving me that easy stare, waiting to see what I could put together. I smirked. Monster or not, I could recognize a p.r.i.c.k when I saw one. I couldn"t bear to turn down her challenge.
I shuffled the deck of facts I had so far: 1) She was absolutely silent. She had snuck up on me twice. On the bus I hadn"t woken when she got on, nor did I sense her presence when she returned from the bathroom. Check on major stealth. 2) She was fast and nimble. She had jumped over my seat on the bus and landed with barely a rustle. When she had attacked the thug in red, I could barely even track her with my eyes. Check on inhuman speed and dexterity. And 3) most importantly, she didn"t stay the f.u.c.k down. The blue thug had delivered a punch that should have mushed her brain, but Rei had managed to stand back up. She was spitting up blood-tinged foam one moment and cutting people in half in the next. Heck, besides a vague bruising on her cheek, you couldn"t even tell Rei had been in a fistfight.
I crossed my arms. "Okay, fine. I"ve been around long enough to know the limits of the human body. I"ve seen a bunch of full-contact martial arts matches, and I"ve been in a bunch of nasty fights myself. You are stronger, faster, and quieter than any human I"ve ever seen."
She nodded.
"I watched that giant collapse your f.u.c.king lung...but here we are talking."
Rei took a deep breath and then nodded in agreement. I guessed I was amusing her. That was fine with me; it was better than p.i.s.sing her off.
"And what you did to that goon in blue was physically impossible with any type of blade. You would need a f.u.c.king laser to do that. I worked in a kitchen all the way through high school. When you butcher meat, you go for the joints. You never aim for the bones. That"s the fastest way to ruin a blade."
Rei stifled a giggle. "That one wasn"t all me. I had a bit of help." She waved her hands. "But please continue your guessing. It is most amusing. You"re getting warmer, Imperiti sp.a.w.n. Let"s see how close you can come."
I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks as my temper flared. I had no idea what the heck Rei was talking about, and I hated it. That"s probably half the reason I study so hard. I can"t stand being in the dark.
"Oh," she purred. "This look I like." She raised her eyebrow expectantly.
My jaw tensed. When faced with something we don"t want to accept, humans are rather predictable. I was beating around the bush. I was staring at a heaping pile of evidence with a very obvious explanation, but I kept on dancing around it. Then again, I wasn"t sure if the end of this conversation entailed the end of me breathing...Unsure if I would get another, I took a deep breath.
"Alright, Rei. In the middle of the day, you wore a huge hoodie, long pants, and gloves without breaking a sweat, yet at night, you were comfortable in a tank top. You move too fast. I can never tell where you are. You never smile, and you know way too much about human anatomy for the average high school-"
"Excuse me!" she interjected. "I will have you know that I am nearly two decades old." She crossed her arms in front of her. "I"m going to be a soph.o.m.ore in college this year!"
"Well I"m sure you"ll be thankful you look youthful later in life..." Caution told me not to, but I was getting frustrated. "Then again, I doubt aging will be much of an issue."
Rei broke out into a full-blown smile.
Bingo.
I flinched. G.o.d, she was gorgeous. She was covered in a mixture of guts and grime, her hair was matted with the blood of three dead men, but it didn"t matter, as that silly smile blossomed, she was perfect. Like a bloodied angel. (I decided to pencil in some serious therapy if I ever made it out of this warehouse alive.) But there were two small problems with that lovely smile. The uneven lighting accentuated them. They were probably the two reasons she avoided smiling in public. Rei didn"t have incisors. She had fangs.
I swallowed. So there was a reason my gut instinct screamed predator. There was a time in human history when we lived or died by such intuitions. Nowadays, we ignore the scratching at the window, but back in the day we would have started for the nearest sharp object. Modern day reasoning tells us it"s probably just a tree branch. We train our children to overcome such fears. We try to explain them away. We make our sons and daughters look under the bed, confirm their error, and rinse and repeat as necessary. And we haven"t stopped there. We"ve turned all our ancient boogiemen into caricatures. We"ve relegated them to works of fiction. It makes the supernatural abstract, safely walls the monsters off from reality. It makes us feel powerful. It makes us feel safe. Only the old superst.i.tions remain. We still knock on wood, open umbrella"s outdoors, and think twice before crossing a black cat"s path. They"re the last vestiges of those ancient instincts. But acknowledging that history is frightening. It means that long ago scary things really did go b.u.mp in the night. And it begs an even scarier question. Where exactly did all those scary things go?
"The name Bathory..." I asked as quietly as I could. "Is that some kind of joke?"
Rei looked at me appraisingly. "And well read to boot," she said. "You are not the average peasant, Dieter Resnick."
I was starting to shake. Stars above, I thought to myself. This has to be a f.u.c.king joke, right? Bathory? No. Seriously. Bathory?
Rei glanced over at me in annoyance. "Relax, please. We don"t need you blasting any more holes. I have been sent to guide you, not harm you."
"What?" I mumbled. Confused, I noticed that a tension had built in the air around me. It almost felt like a physical pressure...but as I noticed it, the strange sensation began to fade away.
"Thank you," she purred. Seemingly satisfied, Rei continued. "No, Dieter, my family"s name is not some kind of jest. It is an old name. One that few Imperiti remain acquainted with." She stared past me. "A long time ago, Bathory was considered a n.o.ble name. Did you know this?"
"I"m only familiar with, um, Liz." I had to be careful. I didn"t know whom I was addressing.
"Liz...? Ah. You speak of Erzsebet." Rei gave a sad smile. "Yes, the Lady of Cachtice tends to grab the headlines. Alas. Still, it is impressive that you know of her."
I exhaled. "So you aren"t..."
Rei looked at me with surprise. "Goodness, no. Erzsebet is long dead. Whatever gave you that insane idea?"
I glanced over at what was left of the tall man.
"Oh, please, that is entirely different!" she exclaimed.
It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. "Clearly."
Fl.u.s.tered, Rei crossed her arms. "He tried to kill me."
"Uh, huh."
"He tried to kill you-twice!"
"Well, I did hit him with a pipe."
Rei rolled her eyes. "Ah. Yes. That was when you attempted to come to my aid but managed to electrocute yourself instead, correct?"
"Well how the h.e.l.l was I supposed to know that was going to happen?" I asked, recalling just how helpful I had been to the damsel in distress. "What did you want me do, sit back and watch as they kicked you inside out?" I crossed my arms in frustration-and winced as my palms brushed against my shirt. "d.a.m.n it!" I yelped.
At the sight of my hands, Rei jumped off the desk. She was holding my burnt fingers before I even knew what was happening.
"I owe you an apology. I thought you would sit quietly and wait for our next bus. I thought you would remain oblivious. I hoped to lure them here, kill them, dispose of their bodies, and return before the next leg of our journey-at which point I planned to b.u.m another cup of that coffee beverage off you. I did not antic.i.p.ate the use of an ACT device, and I did not antic.i.p.ate your...gallantry."
I looked at her in confusion. The mere brush of cotton had sent waves of pain down my forearms, but Rei"s touch was painless.
"This will not do. These are third-degree burns. The palms are ruined. You will lose most of your fingers, perhaps one of your thumbs." Rei looked me straight in the eyes and frowned. "I apologize, Dieter, but I cannot deliver you damaged."
I opened my mouth to protest, but Rei reached up and placed a finger over my lips. A wave of heat danced across my cheeks.
"Hush," she ordered. "Trust in me."
Before I could object, she whipped out her box-cutter and opened up her left palm. She repeated the motion on her right. Her dark blood dribbled onto the floor. I barely had enough time to let out a gasp before she started slashing my own. I stood stunned, too scared to do anything about it. Finished cutting, she put the boxcutter back into her cargos and grasped my palms with her own.
I began to pull away, but to my surprise, I found the pain in my hands was easing. I looked up at her in confusion only to realize how close we were. I could feel the cool breeze of her breath, count her eyelashes, smell her perfume.
As our blood mixed, Rei looked at me serenely. Perhaps she was feeling as good as I was...
"Fascinating," she muttered. "It is just like Bator"s poem."
"Rei," I asked meekly. "This isn"t going to..." What was the word for it?
Rei was looking a bit woozy. "No. You needn"t to concern yourself with that." She shook her head clear. "However, I would appreciate if you never mention this. It could be easily misconstrued."
I stared at our hands warily.
"My most anxious baggage, relax. I owe you this. I did not expect you would sense another mage. I did not expect you would pursue a killer exuding such an obvious killing intent. And I certainly did not expect that after observing our opponent"s power, you would still attempt to intervene. I miscalculated badly. It was my fault you were injured."
I tried to respond, but I was feeling rather odd. Euphoric, maybe.
Rei seemed to notice the transition and released her grip.
"That should be about enough," she said. "Now observe this." Wiping off her hands, Rei walked over to the dead man and kicked the chair. It began to spin around in circles. For some reason, it reminded me of those revolving meat thingies at Greek sandwich shops. My growing euphoria mixed with a new sense of nausea. I guess that was the point. Rei was leveling my high.
Rei turned away from me, her expression troubled.
"I also did not antic.i.p.ate you would form a weft-link while dying of a heart attack."
My head spinning, I tried to focus on her. Giggle or throw-up? That was the question.
"What?" I managed.
"Unbelievable. You don"t remember the spell at all, do you?"
I shook my head no. If I opened my mouth I was definitely going to throw up.
"Fascinating...you certainly can"t be lying to me now." She strummed her chin. "It is common for mages to whiteout when they lack control. And your file did note another such incident...but a partnering permutation? At your level, to be able to conduit that complex a spell...and on a diversion?" Rei shook her head. "Some people have all the luck."
"Luck?" My head was swimming. I was trying to hold on to the conversation, but I"d much rather be running to the bathroom. "I"m sorry. What are we talking about?"
Rei sighed and wiped some of the dried blood off her face.
"Dieter, if I told you outright you would say something like "oh, you"ve got to be kidding me" or "but that"s impossible." You Imperiti are all the same. You reject that which conflicts with your beliefs. If you do not puzzle it out yourself, you will not accept it." Rei put her hand on my shoulder. Her palm wasn"t bleeding anymore. "My most impossible charge, you appear to have a brain-use it."
I knew I needed to focus, but little sparkles were dancing on the periphery of my vision, and my skin felt warm and fuzzy. I bit down on my lip to cut through the haze. I think I understood what Rei was getting at: We pick up facts one by one. Take them in. Memorize them. Recall them. But concepts? Concepts are different. You have to work at concepts. Build a foundation. Tease out the details. Run through examples. If you keep working at it day after day, things finally start to click. You can"t explain concepts like you can explain facts. You can"t memorize them. You have to earn them. And sometimes that can hurt...
The flashback came before I expected it, and this time the memory was more vivid, more tactile, than it had ever been in the past. It had to be because of what Rei had done to me. It was like...like...I was on drugs.
"Rei," I muttered, "I don"t feel so good."