The people of the
former Shadowlands clung to the best cover available while they
watched Nemesis cross their country in a slow and angry progression
toward the pass through the Dandha Presh. In more than one place
Soulcatcher’s appearance gave rise to the rumor that Khadi
had been reborne and was walking through the world again.
She always did love a good practical joke.
What the witnesses saw seemed to be the goddess in her most
terrible aspect. She was naked except for a girdle of dried penises
and a necklace of babies’ skulls. Her skin was a polished
mahogany black. She was hairless everywhere. She had vampire fangs
and an extra pair of arms. She seemed about ten feet tall. What she
did not seem was happy. People stayed out of her way.
She was not alone. In her wake came an equally naked woman as
white as Soulcatcher was dark. She was five and a half feet tall.
Even covered with cuts and bruises and dirt, she was attractive.
Her face was empty of all expression but her eyes burned with
patient hatred. She wore only one item of ornamentation, a shoulder
harness to which a cable ten feet long had been attached. That
cable connected her to the rusty iron cage floating in the air
behind her. The cage enclosed a skinny old man who had suffered
several severe injuries, including a broken leg and some bad burns.
The girl was compelled to tow the cage. She never spoke, even when
the monster encouraged her with a switch. Possibly she had lost the
faculty.
Narayan Singh had been the unfortunate who triggered
Goblin’s booby trap, not its beloved intended.
The Deceiver shared the cage with a large bound book. He was too
weak to keep it closed. Wind toyed with its pages. Once in a while
the breeze showed its vicious side and yanked a page away from the
book’s tired binding.
Sometimes delirious, Narayan thought he was in the hands of his
goddess, either being punished for some forgotten transgression or
transported to Paradise. And perhaps he was right. It did not occur
to Soulcatcher to wonder what use she had for him alive. Not that
she was taking any special trouble to keep him that way. Nor did
the Daughter of Night seem particularly concerned about his
fate.
The people of the
former Shadowlands clung to the best cover available while they
watched Nemesis cross their country in a slow and angry progression
toward the pass through the Dandha Presh. In more than one place
Soulcatcher’s appearance gave rise to the rumor that Khadi
had been reborne and was walking through the world again.
She always did love a good practical joke.
What the witnesses saw seemed to be the goddess in her most
terrible aspect. She was naked except for a girdle of dried penises
and a necklace of babies’ skulls. Her skin was a polished
mahogany black. She was hairless everywhere. She had vampire fangs
and an extra pair of arms. She seemed about ten feet tall. What she
did not seem was happy. People stayed out of her way.
She was not alone. In her wake came an equally naked woman as
white as Soulcatcher was dark. She was five and a half feet tall.
Even covered with cuts and bruises and dirt, she was attractive.
Her face was empty of all expression but her eyes burned with
patient hatred. She wore only one item of ornamentation, a shoulder
harness to which a cable ten feet long had been attached. That
cable connected her to the rusty iron cage floating in the air
behind her. The cage enclosed a skinny old man who had suffered
several severe injuries, including a broken leg and some bad burns.
The girl was compelled to tow the cage. She never spoke, even when
the monster encouraged her with a switch. Possibly she had lost the
faculty.
Narayan Singh had been the unfortunate who triggered
Goblin’s booby trap, not its beloved intended.
The Deceiver shared the cage with a large bound book. He was too
weak to keep it closed. Wind toyed with its pages. Once in a while
the breeze showed its vicious side and yanked a page away from the
book’s tired binding.
Sometimes delirious, Narayan thought he was in the hands of his
goddess, either being punished for some forgotten transgression or
transported to Paradise. And perhaps he was right. It did not occur
to Soulcatcher to wonder what use she had for him alive. Not that
she was taking any special trouble to keep him that way. Nor did
the Daughter of Night seem particularly concerned about his
fate.