A shadow darted along the base of the wall. Then another one. Two more were not far behind. The rats were all moving toward the same target—a crack between iron shutters that covered the basement trapdoor. Kate jerked the rusty handle with all the strength of her despair. The massive lock barring entry swung open easily. She’d blown its cover.
Kate dove down inside.
The concrete walls of the basement ceiling forced her to keep her head low. Above her was the floor of McDonald’s. She searched around, moving in the direction of a flickering light. Small gray bodies scampered right alongside her sneakers. She had taken no more than ten steps into the basement when she caught sight of Annie. The girl was walking as though hypnotized, following a tiny creature that was whistling softly, snapping its fingertips in a ragged rhythm, as though coaxing a frightened little dog to come nearer.
Snappity-snap…
“Hey you, boy, what do you think you’re doing?” Kate shouted. “Stop!”
His face was eaten up by deep wrinkles. Kate couldn’t make out anything else. Something came crashing down on the back of her head and she sank into blackness.
The pain brought her back to conciousness. Her wrists had been bound and the skin beneath was burning. She shook her head and was overcome by a wave of nausea. When it subsided, she was able to take a look around her. The shallow space had become more crowded. Sitting there cross-legged on the floor were Alik, Liolik, and Aslan. There were other men she didn’t recognize, including one dressed in what appeared to be a police uniform. She was the center of attention.
“Damn busybody,” said a familiar voice.
Porphyry was sitting beside her, smiling. “I told you not to go after the Nutcracker, but you wouldn’t listen. Now you’ve only got yourself to blame.”
Stretching cautiously, Kate felt that the thick rope holding her wrists behind her back was bound so tightly that it offered no possibility of escape. They hadn’t bothered searching her, though. The barrel of the gun had slipped deep between her buttocks. The Walther was still with her.
“You’re lucky. You get to witness something few people ever live to see.”
Bending her fingers down to her wrist, Kate groped the edge of her sleeve, where her trainer had taught her always to keep a razor hidden for just such a situation.
“Only you won’t live to tell anybody about it. Too bad.” The joke was followed by sinister laughter.
With the tip of her finger, she pressed the edge of her sleeve until a thread gave way.
“What an excellent specimen you brought along with you! The Nutcracker will be very pleased.”
The seam ripped. A strip of metal slipped out.
“You stay quiet or we’ll have to sedate you,” Porphyry said, fiddling around with a set of brass knuckles.
Kate slowly leaned back and felt the wall with her shoulders. No one would notice what she was doing with her hands. And who would pay much attention to a girl whose hands were tightly bound?
The boy with the face of an old man came out of the darkness. He closed his eyes and whistled softly. The floor began to move. A pack of rats crawled out in a dirty stream and then froze. Letting out a thin, barely audible whine, the midget bent over in a low bow. Everything went so quiet that Kate held the razor in place, afraid that her rustling would betray her.
There was a soft tapping of claws in the distance, as though someone was snapping pieces of brushwood in half somewhere in the darkness. It grew nearer and nearer until a rat the size of a large cat appeared next to the boy. Its bushy whiskers stuck out, and the fur on its snout was gray with age. The men bowed their heads. Lifting its nose, the rat studied Kate intently with its black beady eyes. The boy bent down even farther.
“The Nutcracker is talking with the Mother,” Porphyry whispered solemnly. “He is finding out what she wants… Oh, beautiful! The Mother is prepared to accept his offering. It’s going to happen now!”
The razor was making slow progress.
The Nutcracker disappeared into the darkness and re-emerged carrying Annie, who was completely naked. The girl was unconscious but alive. The Nutcracker whistled, then declared, “In honor of our eternal union, we bring offerings unto you, O Mother Rat, the gift of innocent flesh.”
He set the body on the stone floor. The rat raised her whiskers and nodded. At least Kate thought she had. She couldn’t be sure of what she had seen. Her head was throbbing, the razor was cutting into her finger, and the rope was not quite giving way.
Following some secret signal, a furry wave of gray-coated beasts lunged forward and began devouring the child. Greedy gnawing and the sucking pop of meat being ripped apart could be heard amidst the frenzied hubbub. Annie disappeared beneath the fangs.
Kate winced, closed her eyes, and went at the rope frantically, with redoubled energy.
When she opened her eyes again, it was all over. The last of the rats were busily picking over the remains. Their snouts were coated in a thick layer of blood.
Porphyry was ecstatic.
“The offering has been accepted,” the Nutcracker intoned. “Our union is strong.”
The announcement was greeted with a buzz of approval from the men.
“Now, for the most important part of all,” whispered Porphyry.
The Nutcracker disappeared again. When he returned, Kate guessed right away what he had brought with him. It was Sonya. They had put her in what looked like a doll’s dress. She was in a deep sleep, but still alive. Kate had no doubt about that. She knew.
Brushing away the remains of his first victim with a sock, the Nutcracker put Sonya down in a pool of blood. “Today is a great day,” he said. “Our union with the Gray Tribe has lasted for over three hundred years. The time has come to pass it on. Many years ago, Mother Rat rewarded me with her bite, so I can understand the language of the Gray Tribe and speak her will. Soon, the hour will arrive when I must leave. We have waited for so long for someone fit to continue in my place. Finally, we have found her: a blond girl with green eyes!”
The men let out cries of adulation.
With a sharp gesture, the Nutcracker commanded utter silence. “O Mother Rat! Favor the chosen with your bite, and I vow to bestow all my knowledge upon her, so that she may take my place honorably.”
Kate worked in furious haste.
“What an honor, you should be proud of your sister,” her former partner whispered to her.
Mother Rat twitched her nose and fixed the newcomer with a stare. Did she suspect something?
Please, not yet.
The rope gave way. Trying not to change position, Kate shook off the knots that bound her, and eased her palm under her belt.
“May the great union with the Gray Tribe last forever!” screamed the Nutcracker.
Her fingers slid down to the grip of the gun. The safety mechanism went up ever so softly. Now, in one fluid movement, just as her trainer had instructed her.
Mother Rat sniffed Sonya’s wrist and licked her chops.
Scraping the skin on her back with the clip, Kate placed the cartridge into the chamber and withdrew her arm, straight out, extending it so that it became one with the weapon, and gently pulled the trigger. A nine-millimeter bullet smashed through the rat’s snout, spattering the Nutcracker in blood. The thunderous shot was enough to shake the basement. No one dared move. Five more seconds of shock.
One…
Without bending her hand, Kate aimed the gun at the stunned face of Porphyry.
Two… Crack!
A fountain of brains and shards of the skull once belonging to the specialist at solving other people’s problems spewed upward.
Three… Crack!
The bullet pierced Liolik’s belly. The fat man moaned as his face hit the stone floor.