Dragova grabbed a container and put it down by the piper's feet. "Here."
The piper resumed his playing, and although the men found the tune quite irritating and repetitious, rats began to crawl out of all corners of the cellar and assembled practically at his feet. Klaus and the councilmen were pleased at the sight; Lord Renier watched unemotionally; and Jacqueline, still hidden, frowned.
The musician continued to play with one hand as he squatted and, with his other hand, opened the container of oil and poured it on and around the seemingly intoxicated rodents. Then he took a lit candle and dropped it in the center of the group of rats. The flame encircled them, trapped them, burned them, but the piper's song was powerful enough to keep them from running away.
Their fur, their flesh, burned, and the cellar became filled with the horrible odor of living flesh being burnt from its bones and the terrifying sound of hundreds of squealing, choking creatures.
The men covered their mouths with handkerchiefs; Jacqueline Renier, too, covered her mouth, but it was to suppress a cry of pity and anger. For among the creatures who were painfully dying were several of her friends, including the rat who had bitten the burgomeister.
The flames themselves died a bit, and through them Jacqueline saw the charred, ashy remnants of the rodents. The sight was too much for her. Her human form faded and within seconds the white mist she had become blew out of the cellar, out of Dragova's house, out into the street.
An hour later, Jacqueline Renier sat by the shore of the river. She tossed stones into the water and watched them splash. A figure sat down beside her and kissed her on the cheek.
"My darling girl, it is so good to see you," Claude Renier said. "Actually, I saw you before. . at that fool's house."
She kissed her grandfather's hand. "It is good to see you, too. But I must admit I was puzzled by your presence there. That. . musician's magic is quite amazing.
It is repulsive and, I might add, dangerous. Suppose I had been in rat form. Would I have fallen under the spell? "
"That is difficult to know, my dear. But clearly this piper is a potential danger to you and others in our community. Would you like to take care of this matter, my dear, or would you prefer I handle it?"
Jacqueline wasted no time answering. "Grandfather, I would like your permission to give this piper a demonstration of my own magic."
Claude looked in her eyes and saw the true meaning of her words: her demonstration would rid Richemulot of the piper forever. "Very well," he said. "But allow me to pass on this information to you. After you left, Burgomeister Nellak gave the piper a thousand gold coins in advance for his services. The piper will come here — to this river — tonight at midnight, and he has promised that every rat in the community will be drawn here by his song. He further promised that, under his spell, all of them will then march into the river and drown. Perhaps you might want to visit with him prior to that. "
Jacqueline kissed her grandsire's hand again. "Thank you. I will waste no time preparing for the piper's. .surprise."
Claude Renier stood up. "I must go, my darling girl. You must come see me more often."
"I shall," she promised, standing up next to him. He nodded and winked his eye; then he mounted the horse his two guards held steady for him, and they were off.
Jacqueline turned back toward the river. She shook her head and said," Only one creature will suffer tonight!"
Gauzy clouds whipped by the midnight full moon like a series of ghosts. The air was chilly by the river, and the sounds of the approaching men echoed everywhere. About a hundred yards from the river, the piper raised his hand, and the burgomeister and two of the city council members halted. "You must stay here," he instructed. "I will need full concentration tonight. I must not be distracted. And certainly you won't want to be in the path of the throng of onrushing rats."
The burgomeister's face registered disgust. "I should say not!"
"Very well," the piper continued, drawing his flute from his belt," then I shall proceed with my task. "He took a couple of steps toward the river, but stopped and turned his head back to the town leaders. "And I shall expect the other thousand gold coins when I am finished."
"Indeed," Klaus Nellak snapped nastily. "Be careful where you step. There are some dangerous bogs along the river banks."
The piper laughed and made his way to the river. He gazed up at the moon and thought how perfect the bright moonlight would be for allowing his employers to see all that happened. He looked about him; all was still; all was quiet.
He began to play. The melody this time was mellifluous and quite catchy; the men from the town found themselves tapping their toes to it — until they saw the first few rats scurry by. The piper's tune continued with little deviation, only slight variations. Within minutes, thousands of rats lined up near him, completely still and completely silent, staring straight ahead.
The piper's lips curled into as much of a smile as he could allow without hindering his performance.
Suddenly, the piper seemed engulfed in a mist that blew around him and slowly passed him. It smelled horrible, and he coughed several times. His tune was momentarily halted, but when the mist passed him, and he noticed the rats twitching and beginning to scatter, he resumed his tune. Again, the rats stood silent and faced the river.
Then a crisp but husky, alluring voice called out to him: "Your music is magical."
The piper turned his head to the left and saw a woman standing a few feet from the river's edge. She was radiant. She wore a white gown that hung low over her shoulders, nearly touched her feet, and gave her the appearance of hovering over the ground, not merely standing upon it.
"Are you a stranger in these parts?" she asked softly.
The piper nodded, his eyes taking in all her beauty, his song continuing all the while.
"Then I must make you feel welcome. "Jacqueline slipped one of the straps of her gown down over her shoulder, revealing a generous sight of her cleavage. "Has it been a very long while since you had a woman?"
Again the piper nodded, blowing on his pipe while thanking the stars above for his good fortune. He smiled at her; Jacqueline recognized the lewdness in the grin and responded to it by extending her arms out to him.
Yes, she thought, come to me, you torturer! Come to me! Feel the delightful sensations I have in store for you!
The burgomeister grew nervous as he watched the piper, continuing to play his music, step toward the woman, but he dared not follow. He nudged his accomplices with his elbows and whispered," What is the fool doing? Who is that accursed woman? I cannot see her features. Is she a witch?"
The piper was within twenty feet of her, close enough that he felt hypnotized by her beauty, felt himself sinking into her seductive, twinkling eyes. Sinking into them. Into her eyes. Sinking.
Sinking!
The cold wetness that surrounded his legs halfway up his thighs awoke him. He tried to step forward, but his motion only resulted in him sinking deeper into the bog. He struggled again, and sank deeper, before he realized that struggle was useless.
Jacqueline laughed evilly, loud enough to frighten the men from the town, who tried in vain to see — through an ever-thickening fog that now obscured their vision — what was happening. She stepped toward the musician, raised her hands to her chest, and her form quickly and smoothly changed into that of a rat. She squealed, the sound every bit as loud as her human laughter. Her rat form ran lightly over the scummy top of the bog; then she bit the outstretched arm of the piper until the instrument fell from his hand. She picked it up in her teeth and scurried back to the dry land surrounding the bog.