The Creature in the Case (Abhorsen 3.50)

‘Mind control is what Dorrance thought he could get from it,’ Ripton said, interrupting him. He tapped his coat pocket. ‘I’ve got your diary here. Mind control through people’s dreams. And you just went along with whatever Dorrance wanted, you stupid sod.’

‘What’s actually happening?’ asked Nick. ‘Has it killed anyone?’

Lackridge choked out something unintelligible.

‘Anyone! It’s killed almost everyone down here, and by now it’s probably upstairs killing everyone there,’ said Ripton. ‘Guns don’t work up close to it, bullets fired farther back don’t do a thing, and the electric barrier grilles just went phhht when it walked up! As soon as I figured it was trying to get out, I doubled around behind it. Now I reckon we follow its path outside and then run like the clappers while it’s busy—’

‘We can’t do that,’ said Nick. ‘What about the guests? And the servants—even if they do work for D13, they can’t be abandoned.’

‘There’s nothing we can do,’ said Ripton. He no longer appeared so calm. ‘I don’t know what that thing is, but I do know that it has already killed a dozen highly trained and fully armed D13 operatives. Killed them and … and drunk their blood. Not … not something I ever want to see again …’

‘I know what it is,’ said Nick. ‘Somewhat. It is a Free Magic creature from the Old Kingdom. A source of Free Magic itself, which is why guns and electricity don’t work near it. I would have thought that bullets coming in from farther away would at least hurt it, though …’

‘They bounced off. I saw the lead splashes on its hide … Here’s a flashlight. You go in front, Professor. Get your key ready.’

‘We have to try to save the people upstairs,’ Nick said firmly as they nervously entered the corridor, flashlight beams probing the darkness in both directions. ‘Has it definitely already got out of here?’

‘I don’t know! It was through the second guardroom. The library exit might slow it more. It’s basically a revolving reinforced concrete-and-steel slab, like a vault door. Supposed to be bombproof—’

‘Is there another way up?’

‘No,’ said Ripton.

‘Yes,’ said Lackridge. He stopped and turned, the bronze key gleaming in his hand. Ripton stepped back, and his finger whipped from resting outside the trigger guard to curl directly around the trigger.

‘The dumbwaiter!’ Lackridge blurted out. ‘Dorrance has a dumbwaiter from the wine cellar below us here, which goes up through his office to the pantry above.’

‘What time is it?’ asked Nick.

‘Half eight,’ said Ripton. ‘Or near enough.’

‘The guests will be at dinner,’ said Nick. ‘They won’t have heard what’s going on down here. If we can take the dumbwaiter to the pantry, we might be able to get everyone out of the house before the creature breaks through to the library.’

‘And then what?’ asked Ripton. ‘Talk as we go. Head for the office, Prof.’

‘It’s not a Dead thing, so running water won’t do much,’ said Nick as they broke into a jog. ‘Fire might, though … If we made a barrier of hay and set it alight, that could work. It would attract attention at least. Bring help.’

‘I don’t think the sort of help we need exists around here,’ said Ripton. ‘I’ve never been up north, but I know people in the NPRU, and this is right up their alley. Things like this just don’t happen down here.’

‘No, they don’t,’ said Nick. ‘They wouldn’t have happened this time, either, only Dorrance fed his creature the wrong blood.’

‘I don’t understand,’ Lackridge said, puffing after them. Now that they were heading for a possible exit, he had gotten more of a grip on himself. ‘I didn’t believe him … but … Dorrance thought the blood of one of you people with the Charter brand would rouse the creature a little, without danger. Then when we got you to come in for the Forwin Mill investigation, he saw you had a Charter Mark. The opportunity was too good to resist—’

‘Shut up!’ ordered Ripton. As Lackridge calmed down, the policeman got more tense.

‘Dorrance worships the creature, but I don’t think even he wanted it this active,’ snapped Nick. ‘I can’t explain the whole thing to you, but my blood is infused with Free Magic as well as the Charter. I guess the combination is what got the creature going so strongly … but it was too rich or something; that’s why it’s trying to dilute it with normal blood … I wonder if that means that the power it got from my blood will run out. Maybe it’ll just drop at some point …’

Lackridge shook his head, as if he still couldn’t believe what he was hearing, despite the evidence.

‘It might come back for a refill from you as well,’ said Ripton. ‘Here’s the office. You first, Professor.’

‘But what if the creature’s in there?’

‘That’s why you’re going first,’ said Ripton. He gestured with his revolver, and when Lackridge still didn’t move, he pushed him hard with his left hand. The bulky ex-boxer rebounded from the door and stood there, his eyes glazed and jowls shivering.

‘Oh, I’ll go first!’ said Nick. He pushed Lackridge aside a little more gently, turned the door handle, and went into Dorrance’s office. It was the room he’d been in before, with the big leather club chairs, the desk, and the liquor cabinet.

‘It’s empty—come on!’

Ripton locked the door after them as they entered the room, and then he slid the top and bottom bolts home.

‘Thought I heard something,’ he whispered. ‘Maybe it’s coming back. Keep your voices down.’

‘Where’s the dumbwaiter?’ asked Nick.

Lackridge crossed to a bookshelf and pressed a corner. The whole shelf swung out an inch, allowing Lackridge to get a grip and open it out completely. The beam of Nick’s flashlight revealed a square space behind it about three feet high and just as wide: a small goods elevator or dumbwaiter.

‘We’ll have to go one at a time,’ said Ripton. He slipped his revolver into his shoulder holster, laid his flashlight on the desk, and dragged one of the heavy studded leather chairs against the door. ‘You first, Mr Sayre. I think it must have heard us

, or smelled us, or something; there’s definitely movement outside—’

‘Let me go!’ Lackridge burst out, darting toward the elevator. He was brought up short as Ripton whirled around and kicked him behind the knee, bringing him crashing down, his fall rattling the bottles in the liquor cabinet.

Nick hesitated, then climbed into the dumbwaiter. There were two buttons on the outside frame of the elevator, one marked with an up arrow and one with a down; but as he expected, neither did anything. However, there was a hatch in the ceiling, which when pushed open revealed a vertical shaft and some heavily greased cables. The shaft was walled with old yellow bricks, and some had been removed every few feet to make irregular, but usable, hand and footholds.

Nick ducked his head out and said, ‘It’s electric, not working. We’ll have to climb the—’

His voice was drowned out as the metal office door suddenly rang like a bell and the middle of it bowed in, struck with tremendous force from the other side.

‘Fire!’ Nick shouted as he jumped out of the elevator. ‘Start a fire against the door!’

He rushed to the liquor cabinet and ripped it open as the creature struck the door again. This second blow sheared the top bolt and bent the top half of the door over, and a dark shape with glowing violet eyes could be seen beyond the doorway. At the same time, Ripton’s flashlight shone intensely bright for a second, then went out forever.

The remaining flashlight, left in the elevator, continued to shine erratically. Nick frantically threw whisky and gin bottles at the base of the door, and Ripton struck a match on the chair leg, swearing as it burst into splinters instead of flame. Then his second match flared and he flicked it across to the alcohol-soaked chair, and there was a blue flash and a ball of flame exploded around the door, searing off both Ripton’s and Nick’s eyebrows.

The creature made a horrid gargling, drowning sound and backed away. Nick and Ripton retreated to the wall and hunched down to try to get below the smoke, which was already filling the room. Lackridge was still slumped on the floor, not moving, the smoke twirling and curling over his back.