The Collected Christopher Connery (26 page)

Gail scowled. “Fine. But as soon as we feel up to it,
we’re coming after you.”

“I imagine I’ll be finished by then, but I trust your
judgment.” And even if she didn’t, she couldn’t very well say so given her own
earlier actions. So, not giving herself time to dwell on what lay ahead, Nia
squeezed Arthur’s shoulder then pressed a quick daring kiss to Gail’s cheek before
hurrying to the car door.

The slowing spell took longer to work this time. Nia
could feel the train pulling ahead, like an animal straining against a harness,
but the shriek of the wheels finally softened to a dull roar. Knowing she
didn’t have much time, Nia pushed the door open and immediately began to cross.
The tie vibrated under feet like it wanted to snap apart, but before it got the
chance, she heaved herself into the first car.

For a few seconds, she stayed hunched over on the floor,
catching her breath. As much as she had tried to remain calm for Arthur’s sake,
those steps through the screaming darkness left her heart racing.

But this was the front car. There should be no more
crossing after this. She would find Connery, bring the train to a stop, and –

Her thoughts stopped dead as she looked up. Where she had
expected to find the subway control panel she was confronted instead by the
severed head of an animal.
A bull,
she realized distantly,
it’s a
bull’s head.

Though she knew it was impossible, the bull looked like
it had been freshly butchered, blood seeping from the ragged hole in its neck
and long black tongue lolling from its mouth. She even thought she could smell
animal musk mixing with the smell of decay. Only the beast’s eyes were missing,
rotted away to empty holes.

Nia covered her mouth and nose to block out the stench.
Connery had to be here somewhere. She didn’t have time to be deterred by parlor
tricks, no matter how ugly or foul-smelling. She took a step forward, trying to
see if the control console was hidden underneath the animal’s head. She thought
she saw a tiny red light blinking at her from beneath a flap of darkly furred
skin.

As she reached toward it, teeth closed on her arm. She screamed
and jerked back. Large square teeth ripped free of her sleeve and flesh. She
stumbled away from the console, grabbing desperately for the wall to keep from
falling backwards through the door. She could feel blood running down her arm
and over her hand.

The eyeless bull’s head ground its teeth on the bloody
cloth it had torn from her dress. It chewed until a flurry of cloth fell from
its lips to the floor. Nia watched in terrified fascination as the bull’s
tongue slid out to catch the scraps of cloth clinging to the corners of its
mouth.

Then its mouth opened wide on a shrieking cackle as it
jumped to its feet. No, not its feet.

The bull’s head teetered on a pair of human legs,
capering from side to side. The long tongue flopped obscenely from between its
teeth as it giggled.

Gail was right. Connery was completely mad.

The eyeless bull head turned toward her as if hearing her
thoughts. “Hello,” it chirped before lunging.

Nia’s hand moved to her pocket for a spell that would
stop that – that – that
thing,
but the pain of the bite slowed her
reflexes. Before she could grasp the paper, it was on her.   

Then its head exploded in a shower of blood and brain
matter. She automatically stepped backward in a vain attempt to save her
already filthy dress and thumped into something warm and solid.

Gail’s arm slid around her shoulders, giving Nia a
glimpse of a black pistol in her hand. “You okay, princess?” Her voice was
steady, but her free hand was braced against the wall to keep them both
upright.

“Yes, I’m fine,” answered Nia. “How are you?”

“Fine as sunshine!” Gail replied with sarcastic
brightness. Together, she and Nia limped a little farther into the car. At such
close range, the bullet hadn’t left much of the bull’s head behind, just a pair
of furry ears and a glint of teeth to show what it had been. The legs lying
beside it were spattered with blood, but otherwise undamaged.

“And here I thought it was a metaphor,” said Gail. When
Nia gave her a questioning look, she tilted her hand to display the faded words
on the back.
THE EYELESS BULL SEES HER.
Well, this
was
an eyeless
bull and it
had
seen her. And bitten her. Nia winced as every twitch of
her fingers sent a jolt of pain up her arm.

“Well shot, detective.”

Gail smiled at her. “No problem. Now, is there anything
else we have to do to – uh – take care of this thing?”  

“Yes, I’ll do it.” Nia pulled reluctantly away from Gail
and knelt beside the remains of the bull head. More blood soaked into her dress
where her knees pressed against the floor. As she began drawing a circle on the
floor, Gail knelt beside her, holding her gun in both hands.

Nia drew as quickly as the pain in her arm would allow,
careful not to let any of her blood spoil the spell.

“Geeze, princess,” Gail said softly, staring at Nia’s
arm. “It bit you?”

“Yes.”

“Shit, Nia, you should –”

“I’ll heal it in a moment.” Nia triggered the spell and
the legs fell loose from the remains of the bull’s head. Suddenly lightheaded,
she sagged backwards and would have fallen to the floor if Gail hadn’t caught
her.

Gail gently stroked a damp lock of hair back from Nia’s
forehead. “How about you heal yourself now before you pass out? I’m gonna guess
that thing’s mouth wasn’t all that clean.”

She had a point. Fighting the haze in her head, Nia
reached into her pocket and pulled out a handful of spells. They threatened to
fall through her numb fingers as she shuffled through them, but she finally
found a healing spell. Thank goodness she had replenished her predrawn spells
before coming down here. It was perhaps the one intelligent thing she had done
all day.

“Do you need any help?” Gail holstered her gun, so she
could put her other arm around Nia’s waist.

“No, I’ll be all right.” But that didn’t mean Nia wasn’t
happy to lay her head back against Gail’s shoulder as she pressed the spell to
the wound on her arm. The spell quickly knit the skin together and burned away
any infection. It wasn’t strong enough to completely erase the teeth marks, but
the bleeding stopped and it no longer hurt.

“Well, it looks a little better.” Gail ran her fingertips
over the pink, ridged skin.

Nia shivered.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

Jumping, Nia sat up and saw Arthur standing in front of
the now closed door, one hand on his hip and a playful smile on his face.

“Nope, nothing, doc,” said Gail. “Though I wouldn’t
recommend coming over here unless you want to ruin your shoes.”

Arthur took a step forward. “What do you – hell!” He
jumped back, nearly slipping in a thick puddle of blood. “What is that?”

“Disgusting,” Nia supplied, which made Gail laugh.

The train lurched violently to the side. Arthur fell to
his knees as Nia gasped and grabbed Gail more tightly. Connery’s legs rolled
across the floor until they bumped against Nia’s own. She was certain this time
the train would derail. She could see it in terrible detail. The train would
scrape along the wall, sending up a shower of sparks before slamming to the
ground. The other cars, driven by their inertia would pile into the first car.
There would likely be fire.

Then, miraculously, the train seemed to right itself, but
no, not entirely. It was still skidding and bumping over the tracks. Too fast,
much too fast.

“We need to stop the train,” said Gail. “Otherwise…” She
didn’t have to finish.

Arthur was already at the blood-stained controls.

“Will that work?” Gail asked. “Don’t we have to stop it
with magic?”

“No,” Nia replied vaguely. She had done too much magic
that day; it was hard to keep her thoughts in order. “In fact, the magic might
cause – well, a chain reaction which would –”

“I get the picture,” said Arthur through his teeth. “This
shouldn’t be too difficult, but everyone hold on anyway.”

Gail squeezed Nia more tightly.

Arthur held absolutely still for another few seconds,
clearly waiting for something, then he pulled back hard on a lever. The wheels
screeched and the floor bucked beneath them.

Falling to his knees, Arthur clung to the console,
reaching out for something. Nia stretched out an arm, as though she could catch
him with one hand if he fell.

Then the train dragged to a reluctant stop in a dimly lit
station.

When the train came to a stop, Arthur slammed his hand
down on a button and the door – well, one of them at least – screeched open.
Not wasting any time, Gail got to her feet and pulled Nia up with her.

“Come on, doc,” she said as she snatched up one of
Connery’s legs. “Grab a leg and let’s get the hell out of here.”

Arthur obeyed her and together they squeezed through the
half open door, hopping over the gap between the train and the platform. Nia
felt a little dizzy from over-using her magic and was grateful to have Gail’s
arm around her waist to keep her from slipping down into that dark space. She
had the unsettling feeling that it might turn out to go on forever, leaving her
to fall and fall past an endless series of train doors.

I may need a little rest,
she thought as she
stumbled gratefully on to solid concrete. She glanced back at the train, but it
was dead, a rusted corpse train slumped on the tracks.

“Look.” Arthur pointed toward the stairs. “This way’s
open.”

He was right. This station was also closer to the
surface, because the gray square of light was much larger here. Nia thought she
could feel a touch of breeze against her face.

Gail turned to grin at Nia. “It’s about fucking time. Is
it safe now? Are we all set to go?”

“Hm?” Nia had to think a moment before she understood
what Gail meant. “Oh, yes, everything feels fine. The magic is gone.” In fact,
it had been gone ever since she had separated Connery from the bull’s head,
which explained why the train began having trouble. Returned to its own devices
and unprotected by magic, it was in no condition to be running at such speed.

“Fucking finally,” said Gail, the exhausted words
burnished by triumph. “Let’s get out of here. We could all use a rest.”

“And coffee,” Nia added dreamily before she could stop
herself.

Gail laughed. “Yeah, okay, and coffee.”

“That’s all well and good,” Arthur interjected, “but what
about –” He nodded his head at Connery’s legs, which lay crossing each other on
the floor.

That was a very good question. They weren’t prepared to
transport the legs of a grown man. Even wrapping them in their coats wouldn’t
hide them completely. And Nia did not feel up to explaining herself to every startled
passerby. She pressed her fingers to her temples, trying to think of a
solution, but all she kept coming back to was how unfair it was that, after all
they had been through, they still weren’t done. It seemed to her that there
should be a limit.

She looked up at the name painted on the wall, MALIKA’S
CROSS. She couldn’t remember that from her maps and had no way of knowing how
close or far they were from the hotel. “I suppose we could leave them and come
back, but I worry…”

“Nuh uh.” Gail shook her head. “If they get lost again,
this will have all been a waste of time.”

“Then what do we do?” asked Arthur, giving on of the legs
a light tap with his shoe before immediately stepping back with a regretful
grimace.

For a while, it seemed like they were going to stand
there pondering for the rest of their lives, then Gail said, “You know what?
Just grab one.”

Arthur and Nia both stared at her. It was Arthur who
finally managed, “What?”

“If anyone asks, we’ll say it’s a prop for a play. They
look pretty plastic with all the magic in them anyway.”

“A prop for a play?” said Arthur in disbelief.

“A very gruesome play.” Gail grabbed up one of the legs
and wrapped her coat around a thigh, hiding the exposed and all-too realistic
muscle and bone. “Anyway, even if they don’t buy it, Nia can just play the
Illuminator card. They’ll probably give her the benefit of the doubt.”

Arthur still looked uncertain, but he bent down and
picked up the other leg, wrapping the base carefully in his jacket as Gail had.

“I can take that, Arthur.” Nia held out her hands, but
Arthur shook his head.

“You’ve done enough, Ni. Let’s just get out of here
before anything else happens.” Nia noticed that Arthur still held his free hand
to his chest as they climbed the stairs. She hoped his binding was holding. She
hoped all he needed was rest. She rubbed her aching eyes. She hoped that was
all they all needed.

No gates barred their way and a minute later, they
stepped out into the fading light.

They had only just missed the rain. The pavement shone in
the twilight and they had to walk carefully to avoid stepping in wide dark
puddles. They also had to walk carefully to avoid crashing into anyone because
they had inadvertently stepped out on to one of the widest, broadest, and
busiest boulevards in New Crossbridge.

“Well,” said Gail after they spent a moment standing by
the station entrance, watching people and cars and trolleys bustle by, “at
least we’re not far from the hotel. We’ll call a cab later to go for the car.”
With that she turned and led the way down the sidewalk. “Hurry up you two!” she
called over her shoulder at Nia and Arthur, who were still standing motionless
with Connery’s right leg hovering awkwardly between them. “We don’t want to get
rained on.”

They didn’t get rained on. And no one stopped them,
though they did get a few strange looks despite Gail talking loudly about how
well the play was coming along and how she planned to invite her aunt, but not
her grandmother because her grandmother couldn’t stand murder mysteries. Nia
tried to help, though she wasn’t nearly as good at the playacting, especially
not when she was so foggy-headed.

As was usual for their level of luck, they made it back
to the hotel right at the early dinner rush. By now, however, Gail was fully
committed to her role as director of this bloody theatrical event and chattered
brightly to Nia as they passed through the doors. “Have you learned your lines?
Good. Remember that scene where you find the body is probably the most
important in the whole thing.”

Overall, the ruse was much more successful Nia could have
imagined, but she was still almost relieved enough to cry when they finally had
a locked hotel door between them and the rest of the world.

Gail dropped her leg on to the floor after freeing it
from her coat. “That went well, I thought.”

Arthur, who had cast off his burden almost before the
door had closed, rolled his eyes. “Yeah, this was way more fun than dinner last
night.”

“I’m telling Xavier you said that.” She folded her coat
over her arm and moved toward the door. “Why don’t we take a few minutes to get
cleaned up and then meet back here to debrief? We look like we’ve been through
a slaughterhouse.”

Nia looked down at her blood-and-chalk stained dress. She
had nearly forgotten. She supposed everyone on the street had just taken their
gore-streaked attire for costumes. “That sounds like a good idea.”

She went through the familiar process of showering and
dressing almost in a daze. Her torn stockings were a complete loss and her
dress was going to take several careful applications of cleansing magic before
it would be wearable again. For now, she balled it up and tossed it into the
same magically sealed bag holding her poor mutilated dressing gown.

While waiting for Gail and Arthur to finish with their
ablutions, Nia ran a finger lightly over the faded bite marks on her arm. They
still stung a little. Lifting her eyes, she saw Connery’s legs still lying
akimbo on the floor. Rather sick of looking at them, she rolled them under the
bed to join the head and arms. She couldn’t help feeling a small flush of
success as she looked at the collection of limbs. No doubt the Directors
expected to be receiving her resignation soon. Well, they would be
disappointed.

With sudden energy, she dug the Academy’s message out of
her bag. Turning it over, she quickly wrote a few brief lines informing them
that she had completed her objective and would be in touch when she had made
more progress. She then sent the message away, happy to be rid of it.

That finished, she turned around and realized that both
Gail and Arthur were regarding her curiously. She flushed under their gaze,
remembering with sudden but absolute clarity how they had both risked their
lives to save her from her own recklessness. If something had gone wrong – it
didn’t bear thinking about.

Or perhaps it did. Perhaps she needed to think of it a
great deal. “I –” she began haltingly. “I wanted to say thank you. To both of
you. What I did today was extremely foolish and I would have understood if you
had simply left me to suffer the consequences.”

Arthur snorted and rolled his eyes, but Gail just
continued watching her thoughtfully.

“I mean, I can’t imagine either of you doing that, but it
doesn’t change the fact that you
could
have,” Nia continued fervently,
needing to get the words out before they stuck in her throat again. “And you
both ended up in danger because of me.” Her eyes flickered up to Gail’s face
then back to the carpet. “Especially you, detective. If I had been any slower
–”

Gail held up her hand. “Look, apologize all you want for
the sneaking off and acting stupid. You won’t ever hear me argue with you.”

Nia was surprised to feel herself starting to smile.
“Thank you for the permission, detective.”

“But,” Gail continued pointedly, “you don’t have to
apologize for – whatever was going on in my head.”

“But I was the one –”

“Because you wanted to save me. I can’t get angry at you
for that. Anyway, it’s fixed now, so we can both forget about it.”

“Very well,” said Nia, though she couldn’t feel
completely at ease with Gail’s reasoning. Yes, perhaps the healing had been
necessary, but it had been at Nia’s insistence that they entered the house in
the first place. But if
that
has been a mistake, that meant the entire
investigation had been a mistake and she couldn’t believe that. Not yet.

“Anyway,” said Gail, “all I want to do right now is get
some rest. Today felt like it went on forever and I can’t even remember half of
it.” She paused in the doorway to give Nia a smile that sent a jolt of warmth
from her belly to her face and back again. “If you need me for anything, you
know where to find me.”

The door clicked closed behind her. Nia and Arthur stood
in silence for a few moments then Arthur broke the silence with a simple,
“Honestly, Ni.”

Nia started. “What?”

“Don’t you know an invitation when you hear one?”

Face burning, Nia turned away and folded her arms.
“Arthur, I don’t believe I need you to –”

“Oh, yes, you do.” Arthur put his hands on Nia’s
shoulders, making her squeak, and gently but inexorably guided her toward the
door, opened it, and pushed her out into the hall.

She twisted away from him and turned around. “Arthur, she
said she wanted to rest.”

Arthur just raised an eyebrow and moved to close the
door.

“Arthur!” Nia realized she had squeaked again and dropped
her voice to a whisper. “Wait, could I – could I at least change my clothes
first?”

Arthur seemed to consider for a moment. Then, “Nope.
You’ll probably just lose your nerve if I let you back in. Good luck.”

“But I should check your binding, to make sure that
everything is –”

“My binding is fine. I’ll come get you if anything
changes.” Then he smiled at her, more gently this time. “She likes you, Ni, and
you obviously like her. Don’t waste your chance.”

Before she could reply, he closed the door and left her
stranded in the hallway.

After taking a moment to glare at the door, hoping he
could feel the force of her stare through the wood, Nia took a breath and
turned to face Gail’s door.
She may be working, No, she said she was going
to rest. Maybe she’s already asleep. I probably shouldn’t disturb her. But she
did say that I could stop by if I needed her for anything… Of course, she
probably meant anything relating to the case.

Yes, which is why she almost let you kiss her in the
subway this afternoon.

She wasn’t exactly feeling her best then.

So, go see how she feels now.

Gathering her courage, Nia stepped forward and knocked.