and stretched his legs. "Well,
I know you two haven't seen each other in some time, so I'm going to leave you
alone for awhile. Besides, I need to feed."
Kharker nodded in mildly surprised approval.
"Thank you."
"Sure."
Ruegger departed, leaving the two werewolves in
silence.
"That was … generous of him," Jean-Pierre
said.
"Yes, maybe it was.”
"It's certainly much better to have him as
a friend than an enemy."
"Maybe ... maybe. But never let him fool
you, my son."
"What do you mean?"
Kharker’s face grew tight. "He's the most
evil bastard I've ever met. I've said it before and I'll say it again: his is
the Evil of Old, and it is to be highly respected. The problem is that he's
under the misconception that, beneath all the darkness, he's really a good guy.
And that's what he wants to be. Right now, anyway. But if Danielle were ever
taken away from him—permanently, I mean—he would revert right back into the old Ruegger, the Ruegger that could kill a hundred
innocents without flinching. Back in his heyday, he would've given Junger and
Jagoda nightmares. So don't turn your back on him. Ever."
"Come on, Khark. You're exaggerating. He
loves you, like I do. Maybe I'll even grow on him sooner or later. Hell, he's
already growing on me. But of course I'll keep that secret to my grave."
"Of course." Kharker grabbed a
bottle of wine and refilled his studded iron goblet. "Seriously, Ruegger
is good at playing both ends against the middle, and even though he may love me
he considers me the opposite of what he stands for. And if I'm in danger from him ...”
"Then I don't stand a chance. What you're
forgetting, my friend, is that he'd be all too easy to
kill, if that were called for. Which it won't be. Ruegger is our ally."
"Of course." After a moment, Kharker
said, "By the way, after you and the Darkling had thrashed it out, what
did you talk about?"
Jean-Pierre waved the question away. "Oh, a number of things. We talked of Danielle for
awhile, and he told me that he understood my fixation with her. I suppose it
was his own way of forgiving me, or at least I hope
so. At one point, he said that if we’d battled in a city, I would've been the
victor. In a city, I would've been able to use my power of psychic dominance.
Out here, though, I was at the mercy of Ruegger's spoonbender tricks."
The Hunter smiled. "Yes, you're both very
strong in your own ways. You control people. He controls things."
"We talked for a little while longer, but
that was about the extent of it, really."
Kharker rose from his seat, goblet in hand.
" We going somewhere, Khark?"
"Yes, my son. Follow me."
Together, they left the Elephant Room and made
their way down into the catacombs.
"So you've become disenchanted with love,
eh?" said Kharker.
"Perhaps everyone becomes disenchanted with
it at one point or another, but it's given me the shaft more than most, I'd
wager."
"It's a turning point for you."
"I'm working on becoming the man I was
before I'd ever even heard of Danielle. I was strong then. Precise. I need to be that way again."
"Why?"
"There are changes coming. I can feel
them."
Kharker nodded. "You always have had strange
powers of the mind. They've served you well, so far."
"So far.”
"What you need is a symbol of your change.”
They descended into the catacombs and threaded their way through the large
dusty tunnels. "You need to eradicate Danielle from your life, utterly and
completely."
"I've already done that: I let her go. It
took more strength on my part to do that than it would have done to kill
her."
"Perhaps, but you need a concrete symbol of
her destruction. You need to desecrate her image, to tear her limb from
limb."
They’d reached the area of the tunnels reserved
for the prisoners and had stopped before a certain door. With his mindthrust,
Lord Kharker flung it open and stepped aside.
"Danielle ...” whispered the albino, seeing
the occupant of the cell. "It's her, the one you gave me on
I know you two haven't seen each other in some time, so I'm going to leave you
alone for awhile. Besides, I need to feed."
Kharker nodded in mildly surprised approval.
"Thank you."
"Sure."
Ruegger departed, leaving the two werewolves in
silence.
"That was … generous of him," Jean-Pierre
said.
"Yes, maybe it was.”
"It's certainly much better to have him as
a friend than an enemy."
"Maybe ... maybe. But never let him fool
you, my son."
"What do you mean?"
Kharker’s face grew tight. "He's the most
evil bastard I've ever met. I've said it before and I'll say it again: his is
the Evil of Old, and it is to be highly respected. The problem is that he's
under the misconception that, beneath all the darkness, he's really a good guy.
And that's what he wants to be. Right now, anyway. But if Danielle were ever
taken away from him—permanently, I mean—he would revert right back into the old Ruegger, the Ruegger that could kill a hundred
innocents without flinching. Back in his heyday, he would've given Junger and
Jagoda nightmares. So don't turn your back on him. Ever."
"Come on, Khark. You're exaggerating. He
loves you, like I do. Maybe I'll even grow on him sooner or later. Hell, he's
already growing on me. But of course I'll keep that secret to my grave."
"Of course." Kharker grabbed a
bottle of wine and refilled his studded iron goblet. "Seriously, Ruegger
is good at playing both ends against the middle, and even though he may love me
he considers me the opposite of what he stands for. And if I'm in danger from him ...”
"Then I don't stand a chance. What you're
forgetting, my friend, is that he'd be all too easy to
kill, if that were called for. Which it won't be. Ruegger is our ally."
"Of course." After a moment, Kharker
said, "By the way, after you and the Darkling had thrashed it out, what
did you talk about?"
Jean-Pierre waved the question away. "Oh, a number of things. We talked of Danielle for
awhile, and he told me that he understood my fixation with her. I suppose it
was his own way of forgiving me, or at least I hope
so. At one point, he said that if we’d battled in a city, I would've been the
victor. In a city, I would've been able to use my power of psychic dominance.
Out here, though, I was at the mercy of Ruegger's spoonbender tricks."
The Hunter smiled. "Yes, you're both very
strong in your own ways. You control people. He controls things."
"We talked for a little while longer, but
that was about the extent of it, really."
Kharker rose from his seat, goblet in hand.
" We going somewhere, Khark?"
"Yes, my son. Follow me."
Together, they left the Elephant Room and made
their way down into the catacombs.
"So you've become disenchanted with love,
eh?" said Kharker.
"Perhaps everyone becomes disenchanted with
it at one point or another, but it's given me the shaft more than most, I'd
wager."
"It's a turning point for you."
"I'm working on becoming the man I was
before I'd ever even heard of Danielle. I was strong then. Precise. I need to be that way again."
"Why?"
"There are changes coming. I can feel
them."
Kharker nodded. "You always have had strange
powers of the mind. They've served you well, so far."
"So far.”
"What you need is a symbol of your change.”
They descended into the catacombs and threaded their way through the large
dusty tunnels. "You need to eradicate Danielle from your life, utterly and
completely."
"I've already done that: I let her go. It
took more strength on my part to do that than it would have done to kill
her."
"Perhaps, but you need a concrete symbol of
her destruction. You need to desecrate her image, to tear her limb from
limb."
They’d reached the area of the tunnels reserved
for the prisoners and had stopped before a certain door. With his mindthrust,
Lord Kharker flung it open and stepped aside.
"Danielle ...” whispered the albino, seeing
the occupant of the cell. "It's her, the one you gave me on
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