“That is impressive work, obviously yours.” The doctor eyed Kate. “Very accomplished. I will try to keep you alive so I may pick your brain.” He giggled strangely as if an odd thought struck him.
Simon stepped to the operating table. “Now, let’s talk about who will and won’t survive.” For the first time, he saw what had been done to Imogen. Certain lines and curves such as the chin and the cheekbones still spoke of familiar features, but much of the beautiful young girl, her right arm and her skin, were like the horrible homunculi, deathly pale and translucent. Her eyes were stark white and more machine than human, the pupil of the left one contracted with a mechanical whir. Simon’s face froze as he worked on suppressing his own wrath.
He laid a hand on Hogarth’s trembling shoulder. The manservant studied the tube dangling from the glass canister that throbbed like a vein. Imogen’s white abdomen was beginning to distend as fluids continued to pump into it. Pink liquid bubbled from her mouth. Hogarth reached out and yanked a trocar from Imogen’s stomach and tossed it aside. The liquid continued to gurgle out onto the floor.
White frowned. “That is unfortunate. I may not be able to salvage her now. You have ruined this experiment. I’m quite cross about that.”
Imogen slowly raised her human arm and took Hogarth’s wrist. She lifted the manservant’s hand and brought it to her throat. The white thing placed his massive fingers around her neck and squeezed them, signaling what she wanted him to do.
Hogarth managed a pained, “I can’t, Miss Imogen. I can’t.”
“No, you can’t,” the doctor threatened. “Move away from her. Now.”
Malcolm took a step forward and murmured to Simon, “I can take him.”
Simon shook his head slightly. He laid a hand on the metal table and whispered a word. A shock wave shook the table and carried down to the floor, rippling out across the stained tiles. The wheelchair bucked into the air and the doctor toppled off his feet like a rag doll. The entire group was rocked by the unexpected blast. They fell to the floor or crashed against the wall, except for Simon who was prepared. He vaulted Imogen and the table and bounded toward Dr. White.
A shape dropped on him from above. A shouted warning from Penny enabled Simon to twist and face his attacker with the rapier-like fingers. Simon managed to bring his sword up, impaling the creature, but the weight still drove him to the floor. The homunculus’s stiff fingers thudded into the stone on either side as if it was mere upholstery. The white thing gibbered, with its horrid face a few inches from Simon’s. It wrenched one of its hands free and raised it to strike. Simon managed to shift to the side as spike fingers slashed down, catching the edge of his shoulder. He cried out.
Through the pain, Simon whispered a word and the sword flared. The homunculus squealed as Simon used both hands to force the sword up through the creature’s body, spilling ooze. The thing thrashed in agony and fell limp.
Meanwhile, Dr. White had struggled to his feet and grabbed the intact glass syringe from the floor. Shaking his head to clear it, he lumbered toward the wheelchair. Suddenly the chair was pulled away by Hogarth. The manservant swung a gigantic fist at the doctor, but White managed to dodge the blow, falling back as Hogarth lifted Kate and the chair to carry her away from the madman. White recovered his balance on the shoulder of the homunculus, which weaved on mantislike limbs, watching everyone at the same time.
Malcolm rose to his feet, sighting Dr. White down the barrel of a Lancaster pistol. Something quivered down in front of his face. His arm was seized and pulled up. A white creature clutching the dim ceiling draped tentacles down to entangle the hunter.
Malcolm rose off the floor, dragged by pale tendrils. His arms were trapped. Penny ran for him and reached under his coat to yank out his dagger. She swept through the tentacles holding his right arm. Liquid spewed. Malcolm raised his heavy pistol and blasted the ceiling. The automatic barrel rotated, and he fired one shell after another. Viscous black fluid poured down on Malcolm. The tentacles frayed into slime and Malcolm dropped into a growing puddle as the homunculus fell apart.
Hogarth and Charlotte pulled the last buckle away from Kate’s ankles and the woman struggled to stand, her legs still on fire. Her hand ripped away the strap from her mouth.
“Thank God, Miss Kate.” Hogarth pulled a vial from his pocket. It was the elixir he had been given but saved for her. “Drink this. It will revive you.”