“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
“The Masters are the pinnacle of mutant evolution. They’re more intelligent than humans, they’re stronger, and they’re more adaptable. We should feel privileged to serve them,” Arlo stated earnestly.
Carmen stared at the marble slab and blanched. “I always thought they picked a strange name for their organization.”
“The Dragons? What could be more appropriate?”
There was a loud splashing from the north side of the island.
Carmen jumped. “What was that?”
“A fish or a gator,” Arlo said. “Maybe a turtle. Who knows?”
Carmen tried to relax, an impossibility given the circumstances. She wiggled her fingers and flexed her arms to keep her circulation flowing.
“Any chance of being untied?”
“The Masters will untie you when the time comes,” Arlo said. His hood bobbed up and down as he studied her. “Since we’re being so honest with each other, maybe you’d see fit to set me straight.”
“About what?”
“Why, Carmen?” Arlo queried. “Why’d you do it?”
Carmen frowned. “You hit the nail on the head earlier. I did it for wealth and power.”
“But you already had wealth and power,” Arlo observed. “You were a Dealer in a prime district.”
“It wasn’t enough,” Carmen said. “Once a person gets a taste of genuine power, they always want more. Power is addictive. I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted to be appointed to the inner circle, to become a Director. When they made you one, and not me, I realized I would have to increase my power base myself. That’s why I took the initiative and contacted Don Giorgio in Las Vegas.”
“You did what?”
Carmen laughed, a brittle sound. “Do you mean to tell me the Masters didn’t let you know about my Vegas activities? I thought they know everything.”
“You overstepped your bounds,” Arlo said. “No one except the masters may negotiate distribution contracts. Besides, Las Vegas is already part of our distribution net work.”
“But the Vegas market is far from saturated,” Carmen noted. “And they pay for their Powder of Life in gold and silver.”
Arlo suddenly raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. “So that’s it! You diluted the Powder you were sending down the line on your network, then shipped the skimmings to Don Giorgio for him to sell there.
What kind of split did you arrange?”
“Fifty-fifty,” Carmen confessed. “I’m surprised Don Giorgio went along with your scheme,” Arlo mentioned. “He knows the consequences of violating a contract with the Dragons.” Carmen bowed her head. “Giorgio is dead.”
“What?”
“He planned to use his share of the profits to finance his war against the other Dons,” Carmen elaborated. “Giorgio wanted to take over Vegas.”
“The other Dons found out and had him killed?” Arlo speculated.
Carmen shook her head. “The Warriors killed him.” Arlo’s robed figure visibly stiffened. “The Warriors? How did they get involved?”
“I’m not sure,” Carmen said. “My regular runner to Vegas couldn’t find out.”
“The damn Warriors again!” Arlo snapped. “They pop up all over the place! The Masters will want to hear this news.”
“Do you think the Masters will step up their timetable for destroying the Family?”
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Arlo said. “They—” A muted hum sounded in the distance, from the north. “Oh, God!” Carmen exclaimed in alarm. The hum grew in violence, becoming a distinct, peculiar buzzing.
“Your hour of reckoning has arrived,” Arlo commented.
Carmen started to back away from the marble slab, but he grabbed her right arm.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“Let go of me!” Carmen cried, vainly striving to break free.
“Be still.”
Carmen listened as the buzzing grew louder and louder. “I’ll pay you!”
she blurted.
“Pay me?” Arlo repeated.
“Yes! I have over two million in gold in a secret stash!” Carmen said.
“No one knows about it! It’s all yours if you’ll let me go!”
“Two million, huh?” Arlo remarked.
“That’s right! And it would all be yours!” She glanced at the ring of robed figures. “All of you! You could split it!”
“What good would the gold do us if we’re dead?” Arlo asked.
“The Masters don’t need to know!” Carmen stated. “You could lie! You could say I fled Florida and you weren’t able to apprehend me!”
“Do you really expect to be able to buy us off?” Arlo inquired. “The Directors of the Dragons don’t need your paltry two million.” His head shook back and forth. “You don’t understand at all.”
“What’s there to understand?”
Arlo gestured at the robed forms on the granite pedestals. “Why do you think we were selected as Directors? Why do you think you were denied promotion to Director rank?”
“I never—” Carmen began.
“I’ll tell you!” Arlo said, cutting her off. “You pathetic bitch! We were chosen because we owe our exclusive allegiance to the Masters. We don’t care about money, or power, or all the rest of the trappings that go with our posts. All we care about is serving the Masters. Nothing else. Which explains the reason you weren’t promoted, why you would never have risen higher than a Dealer. The Masters aren’t fools! They evaluate us according to our loyalties and promote us accordingly. They knew where your loyalties were.”
The humming now resembled an odd, pronounced whirring.
“They’re almost here!” Carmen cried, and tried to bolt.
Arlo held on tight. He motioned at the pair who had assisted him previously, and they promptly jumped from their pedestals and hurried to Carmen. They seized her arms.
“No!” Carmen wailed.
The whirring reached a crescendo, then abruptly ceased.
Carmen felt her stomach muscles tighten. She gazed at the north side of the clearing with baited breath. The trees were engulfed in inky shadows, and a minute elapsed before she spied the dark, lean shapes moving toward the clearing, their tall bodies rising and falling with their unearthly rolling gait.
“The Masters,” Arlo said happily.
Carmen wrenched her body backwards, frantically attempting to flee, her face a mask of stark terror.
Seven alien forms materialized at the edge of the clearing and halted.
Arlo bowed, his hands clasped at waist height. “Masters!”
The seven advanced toward the marble slab.
“No!” Carmen shrieked, bucking and heaving. She kicked the red-robed form to her left, but he ignored the blow.
One of the seven, the tallest, bounded forward. It reached the marble slab and rounded the end, coming for Carmen.
She threw back her head and screamed.
The tall Master clamped its right hand on her neck, its left grasping the fabric of her dress over her breasts, and lifted her into the air with supreme ease. “Greetings, Carmen,” it said in a guttural voice.
“Long-time-no-see.”
Carmen gurgled and thrashed.
“Be patient,” the Master advised coldly. “We’re not about to rush the proceedings on your account. You should be grateful for the unique experience you’re about to undergo. Not many humans have ever been skinned alive!”
The steely grip on her neck slackened just a bit, and Carmen screamed even louder.
Chapter One
“Did you hear that?”
“I heard it. Was it thunder?”
“Thunder don’t sound like that. Besides, there ain’t a cloud in the sky.”
“Then what was it?”
“I don’t rightly know.”
The twins studied the sky to the west, the bright sun, making them squint.