<!LUMAR. PART 7. SHE-DEVIL: WITCH.>

<!by KeriAnndr, kerianndr@yahoo.com>

<!Slaughter continues. Dina walks out of her prison stepping over bodies.>

The chain rattled. Dina winced as she raised her hand to scratch the skin under a rough thick leather collar, which was choking her neck like an ugly black toadstool. The wound in her chest was healing remarkably fast, though it was still sending a jolt of a dull pain through her upper torso every time she tried to raise her arm too fast.

People say that witches, like cats, have nine lives. Dina wasn't sure that she believed that. Anyway, it wasn't magic that saved her life, but rather a weird anomaly of her own body. Since birth she had a rare chest defect: her heart was shifted inside her ribcage about an inch to the right from where it was supposed to be. Lumara who stabbed her that night in the tunnel apparently had her hand set for a normal person and missed Dina's ticker by a good quarter inch. There was pain, there was shock and loss of conscience, but no vital organ was actually damaged.

When Gonta and her gang of Tylins were sent to the Queen's Palace to intercept Dina and then failed to return, another group went to investigate. They quickly found Dina, sprawled unconscious on the body of her hapless would-be killer. Her hand was still firmly clamped around the head of the hairpin she used on her now-dead attacker. Then Tylins ascended to the courtyard and saw the carnage Dina left there. And then they got very, very busy removing some hard-to-explain bodies from the scene, tidying things up and generally trying to save their secret sorority's collective butt. In fact, in the end they succeeded. The inglorious demise of Gonta and her troopers by the hand of a single person remained undiscovered. Tylins didn't advertise that they had Dina in custody to avoid unwelcome questions about their own bungled participation in the mess, and the whole disaster was written off as especially elaborate and brazen raid of Mylar Amazons. Tylins even managed to gain some points for quickly "finding" the route by which "the raiders" had sneaked into the Palace courtyard through the trunk of the old baobab. The ancient tree was burned to the ground and the tunnel under it was filled with earth. All and all, except for the biggest one-time loss in the membership, the secret sisterhood of masked assassins has weathered the storm not so bad.

At first Tylins wanted to put Dina out of her misery right away. The only disagreement was about the most satisfying way to do this. Some were volunteering themselves to quarter or skin her alive. Others were actually more in favor of frying her on a slow flame, since she was a witch after all. Still others insisted on using an aspen stake, mistakenly taking her for a vampire. This time it was Gantera, the Grand Magister of Tylin Order, who saved her life. Gantera was deeply impressed with what Dina had done at the Palace and thought that her lethal talents could be of much use to the secret society if she could only be tamed down a little bit. So, Dina was put in a cell, and Gantera dove into her new project with all the vigor of her youth and entrepreneurial character. She visited Dina in her prison three times in three days, evaluating her as a recruiting material and impressing on her that since she was wanted by both Lumaras and Amazons now, the only friends she got were Tylins.

"Yeah. Right. Some friends", Dina thought every time her chain rattled.

Pretty soon, though, even Gantera with her enthusiasm had to admit that the project was a no-flier. No matter how hard Dina tried to pretend being cooperative, interested, and even submissive, Gantera was too smart to be fooled. One just can't coach a cobra to pick up crumbs from one's hand. Dina was simply too dangerous for a pet. Her fate already sealed, it was just a matter of days if not hours until the decision was finally made on how to dispose of her.

"They better do it soon, for their own sake", Dina fumed to herself, gingerly touching the skin on her neck the collar had abraded raw. If she somehow managed to get out of this alive, Gantera was as good as dead for the collar and the chain!

As for now, her chances of "somehow" escaping looked pretty slim, saying it mildly. Dina rubbed her neck again and look around. The dim light of an oil lamp hanging from a hook on the wall was just enough to see all the fine features of her new home. Her prison was a stone cave apparently in the end of an old tunnel somewhere deep inside the underground maze of Serval. A stout oak door, banded in iron, was blocking the only exit and was secured with a massive padlock from outside. The corner she was sitting in was fenced from the rest of the chamber by a set of thick iron bars, firmly imbedded into the stone of the floor and ceiling, making eventually a cage around her. A rusty chain was fastened to the collar on her neck and ran between the bars to a ring in the wall outside her cage. As a fact, the collar wasn't really a problem. The tunnel had been dug through the bedrock of limestone, which is known to be a very flaky mineral. Small pieces and shards of it were plenty on the floor under the walls, and she was using razor-sharp chips to cut the leather of her collar. She was making pretty good progress at it, and after three days she was about three quarters through. The bars of her cage were not a problem either. Dina could only guess who the cage had been designed for originally, but definitely not for anyone as slender and petite as she was. (What has been kept here before me? A bear? A tiger? A behemoth? One should really give it to these guys: they never stop experimenting with things!) And she sure wasn't gaining any pounds on her current diet, either. Once every day, a small peephole in the door would open and she would see a blue Lumarian eye checking her out. Then the door would open and two Tylins would walk in. Immediately the door would be closed from outside again. Tylins were not going to take any chances with Dina, that's for sure. One of her jailers would stay at the door, the other one would come to the bars and hand over her ration, usually a piece of bread wrapped in a cabbage leaf and a mug of water. They would wait for her to finish the meal and collect the mug. Occasionally they would add oil into the lamp or change the straw litter she was sitting on. Not because they cared so much about her hygiene; just to make sure that she wasn't trying to hide anything in it. And then they would walk out. These two and Gantera was all the company she was getting the last three days. Not that she wanted any, anyway.

So, the door is a problem. She was contemplating it and working on the collar when she heard some noise. Quiet footsteps stopped right outside her door. It was much too early for anyone to be fetching her food. She didn't expect her keepers to appear for at least three hours more. Then who was that? Or has she completely lost track of time sitting in this eternal twilight? The peephole opened, and a dark eye stared at her. Not a Lumara. Then who?

"Just lookee who is here! Dina, is it you? Long time no see!"

Dina had no problem recognizing this clownish, insolent voice. It was Astana, a leader of a small gang of Amazons.

"What is it on your neck?" Astana piped on. "A collar? I can't believe it! Her friends are looking all over Mylar for her, and she is sitting here on a leash playing a pet!"

Another bunch of "friends".

"I love you too, Astana. Why all the sudden interest in humble me?"

"You are too modest, Dina. Way too modest! A lot of people want to talk to you. Some people want to talk about Dega and her girls, and how come they all are dead and you are alive? Some people want to talk about Zaira's gang. Hundreds of sisters are dead, and, guess, who is the only survivor again?"

Raw anger flared in Dina's eyes. "You better watch it, Astana, who you call a traitor!" she hissed. "I killed more Lumaras than you have hairs on your pussy!"

"Speaking of pussy. Some people hear that you were pretty buddy-buddy with Birna the Royal Bitch Favorite Watchdog."

"OK. Then come in. We'll talk."

"No can do. We can't break the door. But when your masters come back to feed you, we'll have the key. We'll see you soon, Dina the Pet. We'll see you real soon." The window closed.

So, Gantera didn't lie to her. Amazons were after her butt, too. Stupid bitches! Astana should have known better than to give her an advance warning. The Zones just never learn.

Having a deadline to meet now, Dina doubled her efforts on the collar. Three hours later the damn thing was finally done. Dina felt that it was held in place by only a thin thread, exactly as she wanted it. Now she could only wait.

Her wait wasn't too long. About half hour later she heard someone approaching the door. Her jailers were back with her water and a piece of stale bread.

Hope you choke on it, Dina thought as she smiled and waived to a guard who was eyeballing her through the peephole. She got her wish right away. Suddenly, the sounds of furious struggle erupted outside. She heard steps, shouts, clanging of metal striking metal. Next came a loud gasp followed by a heavy crash into the door, and then a soft sliding noise, like something being dragged along the stony floor. Then everything got quiet again.

The peephole opened. "We got the key, Dina the Pet! We are co-o-omi-i-ing!" Astana sang, slightly out of breath, and was gone.

The rattle of the key in the lock as her signal, Dina sprang to her feet, ripped the collar off her neck and threw it and the chain through the bars. Then she attacked the cage itself. To her dismay she found that the space between the rods was much narrower than she expected. But a witch is a witch, and by her shear will-power (plus some pretty vigorous squeezing, wriggling and thrusting) Dina managed to teleport herself bodily to freedom, though nearly leaving her ears on the rusty grid in the process. A little crumpled, a bruise here, a scratch there, she had just enough time to take a casual posture under the lamp, when the door screeched open and a noisy group of five Amazons, with swords and crossbows in hands, burst into the room. The young women were flushed with excitement of a good fight and joyful cheer of victory. Astana was the last in and closed the door behind. Then they saw Dina standing at the wall under the lamp and stopped, slightly puzzled.

"How did you get out?"

"I'm a witch, remember?"

Unblinkingly, Dina was drilling holes in them with her emerald eyes. As always it worked. Under the full blast of her green cannons, the Amazons felt their happy jubilation evaporating giving place to the raising feeling of strange uneasiness. Sensing faltering in the morale of her troops, Astana stepped forward.

"OK, Dina. Let's go." She also seemed to have lost all her mocking attitude.

"No one goes out of the room, before I say so," Dina said calmly with just a tint of steel in her voice.

The phrase hung in the air like a whiff of icy mist. Astana felt goosebumps of chill crawling up her spine as if the room was suddenly getting cold. Damn! I hate the freakish creep!

Trying not to give in to the strange swing in her mood Astana said briskly, "OK! Then say so. And let's go."

Holding the sword in her right hand she walked toward Dina and put the left hand on her shoulder. Then in tiredly placating tone, "Don't make trouble, Dina. Be a doll. Let's go home."

"Home?" Dina smiled her trademark little-girl smile. "Home is good."

She raised her arm, and in a flash of a movement whipped the oil lamp off the hook and threw its burning contents into Astana's face. Astana flew hands to her face and screamed; the boiling oil was hissing and bubbling on her skin. The room plunged into pitch darkness. Going by touch, Dina gathered the chain from the floor, looped it tightly around Astana's neck and yanked it with both hands in opposite directions, as hard as she could. With satisfaction she felt the crushing of cartilage as the rusty links were sawing through the windpipe. The screams turned into a horrible rasping sound, as Astana was scratching at the chain. Then it abruptly stopped with a loud dry crack of the broken neck, and the cavern grew deathly still.

It all happened very fast. Only too late Amazons snapped out of their stupor and rushed forward to help their leader. Groping in the darkness, they stumbled on Astana's lifeless body, sticky with hot oil, lying facedown on the floor. Dina was gone. Then an anguished cry shook the blackness behind them! Dina found her way around them in the darkness, and stabbed one of the Amazons, Nogana, in the back with Astana's sword.

Now what? Amazons stood probing the darkness around them with swords and straining to see anything in the dense gloom. With Astana down and Dina lurking somewhere between them and the door, they were in trouble. Dina had a definite advantage; she could stab, slice, cut or hit anyone she came upon. But how they were supposed to tell a friend from the enemy if they couldn't even see their own hands in front of their noses!

Leda felt a feather-light touch of somebody's fingers on her face. The hand gently brushed her breasts, then slid down to her stomach.

"Who is it?" She moved the inquisitive hand away with the tip of her sword. The answer was a bolt of searing pain shooting through her heart as Dina drove a sword into Leda's chest. With a cry of pain and surprise the girl dropped her weapon, clasped both hands around the blade jutting from her pierced bosom and sagged to the floor.

"Dina! It was all Astana's idea! We didn't want to come!" Arba, the youngest of the group, whined in a shrill, panicky voice.

"I'm so damn out of here!" Llana, the other one of the two last Amazons, bolted across the black void toward the door.

Her blind reckoning was right on the money, and she hit the door with her outstretched arms after twenty or so running steps. With the sharp creak of protesting hinges, the wooden monster started opening. From the far side of the chamber Arba saw Llana silhouetted in the dim light filtering from outside through the crack. She was pushing the door further when Dina landed on her back like a big black insect. She wound Llana's long ponytail around her left palm, swung a knife in a wide shining arch and plunged it between the girl's shoulders. Llana gasped and arched backwards. For several moments Arba saw two women standing together as if in embrace: Llana with her head thrown back, helplessly waiving her arms in the air, reaching up to the light, and Dina clinging to her from behind, shaking and thrashing her from side to side, thrusting the blade deeper into Llana's back. Then Dina wrestled her kill down to the floor and dragged the body, still twitching in agony, out of the light into darkness. The door swung closed with a bang.

Absolutely terrified by a grisly scene, Arba staggered backward until she pressed herself to the cold, damp stone of the cave. With her back to the wall, at least Dina wouldn't be able to grab her from behind, couldn't leech to her like a blood-sucking spider! Arba's shocked imagination readily flashed a picture of a huge, fat, black, ugly spider with Dina's face, sucking and munching on Llana's corpse. She could almost hear the ruffling of multiple clawed legs on the stony floor!

I must get out of this lair before I lost it completely! She could hear her heart thudding louder and louder in her own ears. Get hold of yourself! Stay calm! It won't do you any good to panic! It almost worked. At least she stopped hearing the shuffle of spider's legs. The only sounds were those she made breathing, trying to slow her pounding heart. She stretched her left hand to the left feeling her way along the wall. Then she started moving with careful steps, keeping her back pressed to the safety of the hard stone. With the sword in her right hand she was poking, slashing, dicing the darkness in front of herself, making sure that neither Dina, nor a huge black spider, nor anything else out there would get to her from that direction. Every several steps she would stop and listen intently, all wound up like a coiled spring, to any movement or stealthy steps closing in on her. The silence and darkness wrapped around her like a thick wool blanket so dense, she could hardly breathe through it. Arba has probably never been terrified like that before in her entire life. She wasn't a brave warrioress anymore; just a little girl again, scared out of her wits, lost forever in an unending nightmare of a terrible dream!

After ten minutes of this torturously slow journey around the room, her left hand touched the iron handle. Two more paces, and she pressed herself to the rough planks of the door. Almost there! A faint glimmer of a hope rose within her chest. She doubled the intensity of her crazy fencing with a shadow and pushed with her legs and back. The heavy door didn't bulge. Oh, no! The door is stuck! I trapped forever in this tomb with corpses and Dina-spider! Oh, please! Please, Lord, don't let it be stuck!

She pushed stronger, desperately, putting all the strength in her legs into the push. With shrill grate of wood on stone the door yielded. First slow, then faster, faster it started swivel on its hinges, and Arba almost fell, back first, out into the vestibule. She threw herself onto the door, slamming it shut, and leaned her forehead to the cool metal of the iron braces. She was flooded, almost overwhelmed with a wonderful feeling of relief. She did it! Yes, she did it! She was out and still alive! Wonderfully, deliciously alive!

"I thought you will never come out."

Arba jumped and spun around, heart in her throat. Dina was standing behind her with the arms crossed on her chest.

"What took you so long?" Dina demanded pouting her lips like a spoiled brat.

Though Arba had a sword in her hand, a thought to charge Dina with it didn't even crossed her mind. Instead she started talking fast, almost blathering.

"Look, Dina, I'm really, really sorry! It was all Astana's idea. We didn't want to go. Please don't kill me. I've never meant to do you any harm! Any! I actually admire you!"

"You do?" Dina's feline eyes glided over Arba's body from face to toe and back to her face with amused interest. "What's your name?"

"Arba."

"OK, Arba. I won't kill you. You can go."

Arba nodded, turned and headed down the tunnel. Just before she was about to disappear around the turning, Dina called her.

"Arba!"

The girl stopped and looked back. "Yes, Dina."

"Before you left, could you do me a little favor?"

Arba nodded.

"Could you put the meat into the larder?" Dina nudged one of the bodies on the tunnel floor with her foot and jerked her head toward the door to her former prison. "You, guys, killed them - you must learn how to clean after yourselves."

Arba nodded again. She sheathed her sword and came back. One after another she dragged five bodies - four Lumaras and one Amazon, the casualties of the brief skirmish in the tunnel - into the dark room and put them in a neat row to the left from the door.

"And, Arba, be a pal. Could you put some light into the room? The girls wanted to talk to me. What happened? Cat got their tongues?" Dina giggled.

Obediently Arba took one of the burning lamps from the tunnel, brought it in and hanged on the wall. In the disturbed, unstable light of the lamp shapeless shadows started dancing across the walls. Arba looked around. It's a tomb. Lifeless forms were scattered all over the floor. Right at her feet Astana was lying on the stomach, her head turned to her left shoulder; the chain was still coiled around her neck. The wave of long hair fell over her face in a cascade of glossy black. And Arba was thankful for that; she didn't think that Astana's face was still pretty.

Bent over Astana's lower back was Leda. A crude Amazonian sword with a black handle in the shape of a leaping panther was stuck between the gentle mounts of her breasts. The flickering flames, reflected in her glassy eyes, made them alive with twinkles and sparks of red light seemingly coming from inside her skull. Uneasily Arba thought that the corpse was stealing amber glances in her direction.

Farther toward the center was Nagana. She was lying on her right side looking away from Arba, the head slumped on her arms, her right leg stretched out and the left one bent at right angle flat on the floor in front of her body. The play of firelight on her back created illusion of muscles rippling and rolling under the bronze skin. She is sleeping and having a bad dream. The short sword embedded to the hilt between her shoulder blades didn't seem to be of any inconvenience to Nagana at all.

Llana was sprawled on her back to the right from the door, in the corner, where Dina had dragged her to just before slipping out of the room herself. Llana's chest and upper belly were arched upward, propped from beneath with something that didn't let her flatten herself completely on the floor. Something, which was firmly embedded in her back. Pools of darkness on her face, just beyond the reach of wavering light from the lamp, seemed to slink and slide, constantly changing their shapes as if she was grimacing. Or reciting an endless silent monologue; the one only she could hear.

A strange thought came to Arba's mind. They are not dead. They all are only pretending to be dead. They are UNDEAD!!! Get out of here, girl, while you still can. Before they start getting up. With their gnarled fingers, gaping hungry mouths, eyes alight with unearthly fire! Out! Now! She didn't move. Too late. It's too late. She raised her eyes from the macabre display on the floor and look at Dina, who was standing at the door just inside the room. Dina bent down and picked up Llana's crossbow. Unhurriedly, taking her time, she inserted an arrow and cocked the trigger.

"I'm sorry, Arba. I changed my mind." Dina shrugged. "You see, it wouldn't be fair to the girls, if I killed them and didn't kill you." She was smiling almost apologetically.

Arba didn't say a word. She couldn't take her deep dark eyes, huge with the horror of sudden realization, from the weapon in Dina's hands. Slowly Dina raised the crossbow to her shoulder, took aim and shot her in the chest. Without a sound the girl crumpled atop the pile of bodies on the floor, as if she was already dead even before Dina's arrow went through her heart.

Dina looked around checking if anyone else needed her attention. No one did. Carefully stepping over the bodies, she crossed the floor to the lamp and closed the lid. Then she walked out, locked the door and disappeared into the darkness of Serval labyrinth.