invisibility spell around the both of them. That didn't mean I had to like it, though, and I was happy when the warlock let go of her.
Devona had undergone something of a makeover in the hours we'd been apart. Her normally blonde hair had been dyed midnight black and instead of her usual black leather catsuit she wore a tight white sweater, a short black skirt, black leggings and knee-high black boots. I wasn't sure why she'd changed clothes – she finds her regular outfit not only comfortable but it doesn't constrict her movements if she needs to fight. Maybe she'd decided that breaking her lover out of jail was such a special occasion that she needed to dress up. If so I wasn't complaining. She looked damned good, but then she could wear a burlap sack and she'd still look beautiful to me.
Devona ran over and hugged me and I hugged her back as best I could given the number of injuries I'd sustained since we'd last seen one another.
When we parted I looked at her and said, 'What's with the new look? Here I am, stuck in Tenebrus, while you decide to pay a visit to your hair stylist?'
She smiled. 'I'll explain later. Right now-'
She was interrupted by Rondo bellowing my name.
'Richter! I'm going to fucking tear you apart!'
The Creeper – eyes so red and swollen he could barely see – started toward me, killer hands raised and ready to do what they did best.
Bogdan gestured and a baseball bat suddenly appeared in his hand. He got a good grip on it with both hands, stepped forward, and swung as Rondo came at me. The bat splintered as it came in contact with Rondo's head and for an instant I thought the Creeper would shrug off the blow and keep coming. But he stopped, swayed on his feet back and forth a couple times, and then his eyes rolled white and he fell face first onto the ground.
Bogdan dropped the broken bat next to Rondo then came over to join Devona and me.
'Nice hit,' I told him. 'You ever get tired of magic, you might consider a career playing baseball on Earth.'
Scorch walked over too and Tavi was suddenly there as well, having arrived so swiftly he might as well have magically appeared as Devona and Bogdan had done. The lyke was in his combination cobra-mongoose wild form and he looked just as intimidating as Scorch did in her full demon guise.
'I've never broken anyone out of jail before,' Tavi said. 'It's actually quite a lot of fun.'
I was about to warn Tavi not to jinx us but I was too late. Lycanthropus Rex had fought off the jackalheads and Overwatchers and now reached for us with his giant clawed hands. He caught us by surprise, including Tavi who otherwise might've gotten away, and lifted us into the air, Scorch, Tavi and Bogdan in his left hand, Devona and I in his right. He brought us up to his mammoth grinning face and I was grateful that I couldn't smell his undoubtedly horrendous breath.
'Looks like you found some friends of your own, eh, Richter?' Rex said in a booming bestial voice. 'They can't help you, you know. Not against me. I'm too strong.'
I tried to keep my voice steady as I spoke, but in truth I was terrified. You don't have to confront a fifty-foot wolfman everyday, even in Nekropolis. 'Right now Keket is having fun watching the chaos you and Rondo created, but she'll grow tired of the show and reestablish order soon enough, and you'll likely end up thrown into maximum security. From what she told me, it makes Hell look like a tropical resort.'
'Maybe so,' Rex growled. 'But at least I'll get to crush you and your friends to a pulp first.' He bared his teeth in a hideous parody of a grin. 'Any last words, Richter?'
'Yes. You're about to feel a slight prick, and it's most definitely going to hurt.'
I still had hold of Gnasher's dire blade, and while my arms were pressed tight against my body due to the pressure of Rex's grip, I was able to angle my hand so the knife point touched the flesh of the giant lyke's hand. I didn't need my full coordination to simply shove the dagger forward, and given how deadly its magic was, I didn't have to do more than break the skin for it to work.
The effect was as dramatic as it was instantaneous. Lycanthropus Rex's eyes glazed over, his body went limp and his fifty-foot frame plummeted to the ground like a felled tree. It was all I could do to resist yelling 'Timber!' on the way down.
The impact was rough but most of us were hardier than normal humans and Tavi and Scorch used their bodies to protect Bogdan, so none of us received any serious injuries when we hit. Too bad I can't say the same for Rondo – the poor unconscious sonofabitch was directly beneath Rex when he fell.
Once Rex was done we pried ourselves free from his dead hands and started moving away from the body. Not because we were afraid of Rex coming back to life – which isn't unheard of in Nekropolis – but because a horde of excited scarabs came scuttling toward the downed giant from all directions. We managed to get clear just in time for the beetles to fall upon Rex's remains, and as we ran, we heard the sound of noisy, moist chewing as the insects tucked into the feast of their lifetimes, illustrating an important principle in Nekropolis: the bigger they are, the better they taste.
We didn't stick around to watch the grisly show. Numbers of jackalheads and Overwatchers were hauling ass in our direction and it looked like my great escape was in danger of being over before it had fully gotten under way. I had no idea what to do, but Devona grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me toward the nearest canyon wall, the others keeping pace with us. I soon realized she was leading me toward a scarab's lair – the same one Gnasher had taken me to before. The five of us hurried inside the cave and were swallowed by darkness. My night vision isn't any better than it was when I was alive but Devona led me on confidently and I continued to follow, trusting her.
We soon reached the rear of the cave, having to pick our way through the scattered skeletal remains of past scarab meals, but instead of stopping we kept going. I half expected to run face first into a wall, but we encountered no obstacles. We stepped from darkness into light and it took my eyes a moment to adjust before I was able to get a look at my surroundings.
We were standing inside a tunnel formed of the same gray fleshy substance as Tenebrus. Behind us was a solid wall, or at least what appeared to be a solid wall. I reached out to touch it but my hand passed through without resistance.
'Hologram,' I said.
Devona nodded. 'It's how Gnasher comes and goes from Tenebrus. The passageway is too small for any of the scarabs to get through, though.'
'How come the big bugs don't eat him?' I wondered aloud.
'Because I always make sure to carry extra sugar cubes with me.'
I turned toward the sound of Gnasher's voice and saw him standing next to a tram made from bits and pieces of junk. Sitting behind the wheel was a verman, but this was a patchwork version cobbled together from the parts of separate rodent bodies. It seemed Victor Baron did work for the Dominari, too.
Looking at both the hodge-podge tram and the reanimated verman I remembered what Gnasher had told me about his people: We despise waste . From the looks of things it was a principle they took to heart.
The sole illumination in the tunnel was provided by the tram's headlights, and they revealed the tunnel extended for some distance.
'Where are we?' I asked.
'This is the Underwalk,' Gnasher said with more than a hint of pride. 'Over the centuries the Dominari have created an intricate series of tunnels beneath the city. Not only does it help us get around more easily, we're able to do so without attracting unwanted attention.'
I was impressed. The Darklords strictly control travel to and from their Dominions by monitoring traffic across the bridges that connect them. The only way a system of tunnels such as the Underwalk could exist was with the Darklords' tacit approval. The Dominari were even more powerful than I'd imagined, almost as powerful as Gnasher liked to make out.
I turned to Devona. 'I take it you were able to reach a deal with the Dominari.'
She nodded. 'Once we did, they brought us down into the Underwalk, loaned us a tram and a driver, and he brought us to their secret entrance to Tenebrus. As soon as we were inside, we started looking for you. It seemed like we found you just in time.'
'I had the situation well in hand before you four showed up,' I said defensively. Then I looked down at my crushed wrist. 'Poor choice of words,' I admitted. 'Thanks for coming.' I looked to the other members of the Midnight Watch. 'All of you.'
