The Dragon Pool: The Dragon Pool (18 page)

Triumphant, he nodded. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. This dig is still being run by the British Museum in conjunction with Beijing. You're banned from participating in the dig or going anywhere near the site until I or the Chinese government says otherwise."

He stared at her. "You wouldn't."

"I have. We'll be moving everyone not on the first helicopter out of here to the old monastery east of here. You're welcome to come along. Otherwise, take one of the undamaged tents and stay here. Just don't go anywhere near the dig."

Anastasia spun on her heel and strode away from him without another moment's hesitation. More than anything, she felt sad for Kora Kyichu, to have a father who cared so much more about a chance at fame than his own daughter's well-being.

The dead had been wrapped in scraps of charred tent. The first evacuation flight to Lhasa had to carry the injured. As she walked toward the black chopper, she saw them being loaded onboard. Frank Danovich--broken arm in a sling--was supervising the process with Ellie Morris, shouting to those who were helping, including the three ordinary BPRD field operatives, and the pilot, Redfield.

Hellboy, Abe, and Professor Bruttenholm, meanwhile, stood twenty feet away from the helicopter with Mr. Lao, having a very loud conversation. Koh was with the group, but hung back, just listening.

Anastasia marched toward them. Her talk with Han Kyichu had primed her for a fight, and nobody deserved her ire right now more than Mr. Lao.

Ordinary people--solid citizens--would have seen the lightning on the horizon and been heartened by the knowledge that dawn was on the way. The monsters came out at night, after all, and truly bad things don't happen with the sun high in the sky.

Hellboy didn't buy into any of that crap. He'd seen way too much evidence to the contrary. Government flunkies like Mr. Lao, for instance, did all of their best work during the daylight hours.

"You are entitled to make any complaint you wish to my superiors," Mr. Lao said, standing stiffly on the rough lakeshore, where the ground began to slope upward toward the ruined ridge above them. "Through proper channels, of course."

Hellboy crossed his arms, glaring at the insidious, pompous little bastard. Crossing his arms was good-- it helped him fight the urge to pop Lao's head off like a black-suited Pez dispenser.

Abe stood on Hellboy's left and glanced at him from time to time as though afraid he might have to stop Hellboy from doing that very thing. Koh lingered behind them, slinking angrily back and forth like a guard dog waiting for the command to kill.

Professor Bruttenholm didn't hang back at all. He was the field leader of this investigation, and right about now Hellboy felt pretty pleased about that. The old man looked furious. For a moment, Lao seemed like his feathers were getting ruffled. Hellboy liked that. If they could rattle his cage, that would be a good start.

"Those helicopters should be back here, Mister Lao," Professor Bruttenholm said. With his white hair wild, the man looked a bit crazed and even more formidable than ever. He held his burned, bandaged arm down at his side.

"That is not their purpose, Professor," the man from Beijing replied.

Bruttenholm glared. "With those additional helicopters, we could evacuate almost everyone to Lhasa in a single trip, not only the injured. Every moment these people remain here, they are in danger. Rather than oppressing the local populace, your troops ought to be here keeping an eye on the ruins and preparing to battle the dragon when it surfaces."

"We're going to need weapons to destroy the big worm," Hellboy said, as if he were speaking to a child. He couldn't help himself. "Much as I'd like to just knock it unconscious, I don't think it's going to be that easy."

As he spoke, Stasia walked up, and he saw his own anger reflected in her expression. She stood beside him, her hand brushing his, but they didn't bother with any other greeting. They were unified in their disgust with Lao.

"There will be weapons. I have already reported these new developments to my superiors. More soldiers will arrive with the other representatives from your own organization. Your expertise will be utilized and appreciated--"

"Would you listen to yourself talk," Hellboy interrupted. "You're like a robot out of some lame sixties sci-fi show."

Lao flinched, and his expression hardened. Hellboy liked that.

"Your people are doing an admirable job evacuating the injured," Lao said. "At this time, the peacekeepers I brought from Lhasa must make Nakchu village their first priority."

"Peacekeepers!" Stasia sneered.

"We follow the Western example from time to time," Lao replied.

Abe put one hand on the butt of the gun he'd started carrying ever since surfacing from the lake.

"The village is already destroyed, you idiot."

Hellboy put up a cautionary hand. "Come on, Abe. Don't call the jackass names."

But there wasn't even time for the insult to sink in before he saw motion out of the corner of his eye. Stasia saw it too, and started to turn. But the dragon-men were swift. Koh lunged past her, transforming in midleap, crocodile jaws gnashing and fire spitting from his eyes as he reached for Mr. Lao.

Lao screamed.

Hellboy liked it.

But he knew that Lao dead would only mean some other heartless prick in his place. He snatched Koh out of the air, turned, and hurled him back the way he'd come.

The dragon-man hit the ground rolling and came up almost instantly, hissing and advancing again. He ignored Hellboy and the others, focused solely on Lao, speaking rapidly, spitting venom with each word.

"What's he saying?" Hellboy snapped at Lao.

The man from Beijing smoothed his suit, staring at the advancing Koh warily. "He says there are only forty-two left alive in his village. Keep him away from me, or there will be only forty-one."

Professor Bruttenholm moved toward Koh, his hands raised. "Be calm, my friend. We have only one enemy here."

Stasia laughed softly. "Right. Just not quite certain if it's the dragon or the snake here in front of us."

"No harm will come to the villagers," Mr. Lao said. "They will be held at Nakchu while an investigation takes place. Your friend, Koh, will have to return there as well and await the results of our investigation."

Abe stepped up beside Koh. "That's not going to happen."

Hellboy glared at Mr. Lao. "Come on, even you don't believe we'll go for that. You want an international incident, and all the worldwide media coverage that comes with it? Push us. Let's see how that works out for you."

Mr. Lao smiled thinly, but before he could reply, Professor Bruttenholm cleared his throat.

"What you fail to realize, Mister Lao," the old man said, "is that if you want to defeat the dragon, we are going to need Koh's cooperation. You said yourself that you needed the expertise of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. You do. Of course, if you'd prefer we leave you and your 'peacekeepers' to deal with the Dragon King yourselves, we'd be happy to do that."

The smile left Lao's face. "You have a plan to destroy the creature?"

Hellboy glared at him. "Yeah, well, some of us are actually thinking straight."

Stasia shot him a sidelong glance, one corner of her mouth curled up in a smile. Koh moved nearer to Lao, but Abe put a gentle hand on him, and the dragon-man allowed himself to be held back.

The BPRD chopper, with Redfield in the pilot's seat, lifted off with all of the injured onboard. The downdraft kicked up a cloud of dust, but Hellboy and the others did not turn their gazes away from Mr. Lao.

"We do, indeed, have a plan," Professor Bruttenholm replied. "Until the additional BPRD agents arrive to aid us against the dragon, however, our first priority is the safety of these people. Evacuating them as quickly as possible would speed us along to our goal of dealing with the Dragon King. We cannot wait hours for our pilot to return. Instead, a small team will escort the rest of the expedition to the ancient monastery to the east and hope that the Dragon King will not find them there, or, if he does, that its walls and cellars will protect them. Redfield will make as many trips as necessary to get everyone out of here."

Lao hesitated a moment, then lifted his chin and let out a long breath. He nodded magnanimously.

"I will bring one of my helicopters from Nakchu to aid in the evacuation effort, and half of my soldiers--"

"I thought they were peacekeepers," Abe muttered.

Professor Bruttenholm shot him a withering glance, but Hellboy smiled. Abe only got a chance to say it because Hellboy hadn't spoken up first.

"Half of my peacekeeping unit will be stationed here along with whatever BPRD agents remain to watch over the lake and guard against the creature's return."

"Mighty big of you," Hellboy said.

Stasia glanced at him. "Do you notice he can't say the word 'dragon?'"

Mr. Lao straightened his tie, ignoring them. He stared at Professor Bruttenholm. "If you insist on keeping custody of Koh, you will be held responsible for his actions. I do not think he can be trusted."

Abe cocked his head, studying Lao as though he were an insect. "Then we're even. None of us think that you can be trusted."

"Enough!" the professor said. He nodded to Lao. "I accept full responsibility for Koh's participation in this operation. I do this for your sake, sir. The young man may be our only hope."

Mr. Lao nodded in return, then turned and strode away, toward what remained of the camp. Hellboy, Abe, Stasia, Professor Bruttenholm, and Koh watched him go in silence. For a moment, Hellboy didn't know what the man was up to, but then Lao fished through equipment that had obviously come from his own tent and withdrew a long, black radio. He tested it a moment, then held it up and began to speak in Chinese. The language sounded melodic, even from the lips of this uninspired man.

Beyond him, in the camp, Hellboy spotted Tenzin next to one of the few remaining tents and felt grim satisfaction at knowing Lao would be overheard by someone who spoke his own language.

"Right, then, let's get on with it," Stasia said. She took her Yankees cap from her back pocket, perched it on her head, and pulled her ponytail through the opening in the back. Her face was streaked with soot, but her eyes were bright and intense.

"Abe, what were you saying about the lake when Lao interrupted us?" Professor Bruttenholm said.

The fins on his neck rippled as though he were underwater, and he glanced at Koh before focusing on the others.

"The water is heating up. And not just a little. It's getting hotter and hotter with every passing minute. Since this is no natural occurrence, there's no way to know how hot it will get, but most of the fish and plant life in the water will be dead soon."

"You were able to follow the dragon?" Stasia asked.

Abe nodded. "I followed it to the far southern end of the lake basin. There's an opening there, where the sandy bottom meets the more solid wall that comes down from the shore. That's where the Dragon King went in. I could still see the fire burning in there when I swam back.

"It gets worse, though. You'll recall I said the soil at the lake bottom was oddly loose. I believe that somehow, it is only a layer of detritus that covers the true bottom of the lake. There are hollows down there. Caverns, perhaps. I am less concerned about the lake's temperature than I am about what lies under it."

"You're thinking more dragons?" Hellboy said.

Professor Bruttenholm ran a hand over his goatee. "The legend does say that the Dragon King had many dragons who served him."

Stasia touched Hellboy's arm. A dreadful suspicion crept into her eyes.

"Perhaps we've been wrong," she said. "Perhaps the Dragon King's temple has been under the lake all along, flooded and covered over all those years ago."

"That's a pleasant thought," Hellboy said.

Koh hovered around them. He had reverted to his human face at some point, and he wore a frown as he tried to decipher their English. Hellboy glanced across the camp at Tenzin, realizing they'd need the guide to come along if they were going to be able to communicate with Koh.

"Here's an even uglier possibility," Abe said. "What if the one we saw is just one of the worker bees? What if it wasn't the king at all?"

"No," the professor said, "it's much too large to be a servant. Think how vast the caverns beneath the lake would have to be if this was only a small dragon, and the king had yet to be seen. I feel certain this is indeed the Dragon King. The legend suggests it, if nothing else. Still, no doubt we must accept that there could be others down there.

"Abe," he said, turning to the amphibious man, "did you discover anything else?"

"No, Professor."

The old man nodded. "Very well, then. You and I will remain here with what volunteers we might have from Dr. Bransfield's expedition, and however many soldiers Mr. Lao deigns to assign to this detail. Hellboy and Anastasia will take Koh and the guide, Tenzin, with them, and lead the rest of the expedition to the monastery."

Hellboy stretched his back, muscles and bones popping. He felt stiff. A walk would do him good. "Right. And then we go find the grave of the warrior midget."