“More messed up than riding a dragon, or being dragged underwater to chat with an aquatic fairy, or fighting an army of dudes on bears?”
Dred smiled. “Maybe not. But the experiments Morgaine did to make us . . . they’re pretty gruesome.”
“Don’t worry about it, Dred. It takes a lot to surprise me these days.”
Kay opened the back door with a key from under the mat, and she and the others went inside. From the corner of his eye Artie noticed the light in the kitchen go on, and then the one in the den.
Dred continued, “The lab where we were made is horrible. Full of these glass canisters with things in them. Dead things. Babies, kids, and men who look just like you and me except that they’re missing limbs, or they have no eyes, or their skin is turned inside out.” Dred thought for a second. “I guess those ones don’t look anything like us.”
“Gross.”
“Yeah. I just thought you should be prepared. I sure wasn’t. If someone could have warned me, I would have appreciated it.”
“I do. Thanks, Dred.”
“No prob—”
They were interrupted by a scream. Artie felt Dred’s nerves jostle, and vice versa. The brothers drew their swords and rushed headlong from the dark into the Kingfisher house, and toward trouble.
7
IN WHICH THE PARTY IS UNPLEASANTLY SURPRISED
Artie burst through the door, Excalibur tingling in his hands. Bedevere had leaped onto the kitchen island and Qwon was behind it, her back to the fridge. Artie could hear Kay yelling from the hallway that led to the front door but he couldn’t see her.
Blocking her was Erik in full berserker mode, bouncing off the walls. He was attacking a very large creature that appeared to have the front end of a saber-toothed tiger and the powerful back half of a rhino.
Surely, this was Merlin’s “gift.”
As soon as Artie was through the door, the creature charged. Artie held Excalibur across his face as the sabertooth/rhino raked a massive paw through the air. Artie’s blade cut deep but it didn’t make the creature stop, and the force of its blow knocked Artie over. He slid across the small kitchen table, upended it, and banged his head into the wall, the table collapsing on top of him.
Dred stepped into the breach, jabbing the Peace Sword at the creature’s head. The creature swung its haunches to the right and Dred thrust the Peace Sword forward. It sank deep into the creature’s furry shoulder. So deep that it became stuck.
“Ack!” Dred exclaimed, trying to work the sword free.
Artie untangled himself from the table and knelt. “Qwon, use Kusanagi to call the wind!” Artie could feel each sword in the room as if he were attached to it with invisible thread.
“What?” Qwon yelled.
“Call the wind! Kusanagi can—”
But Artie was struck speechless by a sudden change in air pressure. Windows cracked and shattered. Loose things were sucked into the middle of the room. It grew dark, and then came a low rumble followed by a high-pitched wail. Erik—who had just stuck Gram halfway into the right thigh of the beast—was blown hard into Dred’s chest. Together they were thrown into the den, over the couch, and onto the coffee table. Artie struggled to stay on his knees as he squinted across the kitchen. Qwon stood there, fighting with the power in her hands, her eyes shut and her knuckles white. Bedevere stood next to her, his remaining arm drawn over his face.
The storm cascaded from Kusanagi in visible waves. It was like Qwon was holding an artillery cannon. Viewed from the outside, the Kingfisher house looked like the scariest, most evil haunted house the world had ever seen. There were flashes of lightning in the windows and billows of mist, and the wind blew so hard that the clapboard siding of the house trembled.
In the midst of all this, the sabertooth/rhino lowered its head and dug its claws deep into the floor. The wind passed over it, tearing at its fur, making it look like a field of wheat undulating in a
Dred smiled. “Maybe not. But the experiments Morgaine did to make us . . . they’re pretty gruesome.”
“Don’t worry about it, Dred. It takes a lot to surprise me these days.”
Kay opened the back door with a key from under the mat, and she and the others went inside. From the corner of his eye Artie noticed the light in the kitchen go on, and then the one in the den.
Dred continued, “The lab where we were made is horrible. Full of these glass canisters with things in them. Dead things. Babies, kids, and men who look just like you and me except that they’re missing limbs, or they have no eyes, or their skin is turned inside out.” Dred thought for a second. “I guess those ones don’t look anything like us.”
“Gross.”
“Yeah. I just thought you should be prepared. I sure wasn’t. If someone could have warned me, I would have appreciated it.”
“I do. Thanks, Dred.”
“No prob—”
They were interrupted by a scream. Artie felt Dred’s nerves jostle, and vice versa. The brothers drew their swords and rushed headlong from the dark into the Kingfisher house, and toward trouble.
7
IN WHICH THE PARTY IS UNPLEASANTLY SURPRISED
Artie burst through the door, Excalibur tingling in his hands. Bedevere had leaped onto the kitchen island and Qwon was behind it, her back to the fridge. Artie could hear Kay yelling from the hallway that led to the front door but he couldn’t see her.
Blocking her was Erik in full berserker mode, bouncing off the walls. He was attacking a very large creature that appeared to have the front end of a saber-toothed tiger and the powerful back half of a rhino.
Surely, this was Merlin’s “gift.”
As soon as Artie was through the door, the creature charged. Artie held Excalibur across his face as the sabertooth/rhino raked a massive paw through the air. Artie’s blade cut deep but it didn’t make the creature stop, and the force of its blow knocked Artie over. He slid across the small kitchen table, upended it, and banged his head into the wall, the table collapsing on top of him.
Dred stepped into the breach, jabbing the Peace Sword at the creature’s head. The creature swung its haunches to the right and Dred thrust the Peace Sword forward. It sank deep into the creature’s furry shoulder. So deep that it became stuck.
“Ack!” Dred exclaimed, trying to work the sword free.
Artie untangled himself from the table and knelt. “Qwon, use Kusanagi to call the wind!” Artie could feel each sword in the room as if he were attached to it with invisible thread.
“What?” Qwon yelled.
“Call the wind! Kusanagi can—”
But Artie was struck speechless by a sudden change in air pressure. Windows cracked and shattered. Loose things were sucked into the middle of the room. It grew dark, and then came a low rumble followed by a high-pitched wail. Erik—who had just stuck Gram halfway into the right thigh of the beast—was blown hard into Dred’s chest. Together they were thrown into the den, over the couch, and onto the coffee table. Artie struggled to stay on his knees as he squinted across the kitchen. Qwon stood there, fighting with the power in her hands, her eyes shut and her knuckles white. Bedevere stood next to her, his remaining arm drawn over his face.
The storm cascaded from Kusanagi in visible waves. It was like Qwon was holding an artillery cannon. Viewed from the outside, the Kingfisher house looked like the scariest, most evil haunted house the world had ever seen. There were flashes of lightning in the windows and billows of mist, and the wind blew so hard that the clapboard siding of the house trembled.
In the midst of all this, the sabertooth/rhino lowered its head and dug its claws deep into the floor. The wind passed over it, tearing at its fur, making it look like a field of wheat undulating in a
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