Page 35 (1/2)
Alexia was not quite sure what to say She was both repulsed and frightened by the eminently reasonable way in which the ainst a olf, a ht of as an abomination Yet a man whom, she realized with no surprise whatsoever, she loved
"Thank you for the kind offer--" she began
The scientist interrupted her "Your cooperation would be invaluable, but it is not necessary, Miss Tarabotti Understand, ill do e must"
"Then I would act in accordance with my conscience, not yours," she said firically be as warped as your perception of hi at her intently, as though trying to get her to stay silent But Miss Tarabotti’s tongue had always gotten the better of her--hinged in the middle as it undoubtedly was "I would as soon not be a willing participant in your fiendish experiht little psychopathic s in Latin
A brief silence descended
There was a rustle aathered in the doorway, and the automaton pushed them aside to enter the cell
Lord Maccon could see the revulsion on Miss Tarabotti’s face, but he still did not turn around to find out what had caused it He re away fro his naked back to the events He had grown tenser and tenser as Alexia and Mr Sieed barbs
Miss Tarabotti could feel his vibrating aggravation at every point of contact between their bodies She could see it in the hard muscles under his bare skin He practically quivered, like a dog straining at its lead Alexia kneas going to break a moment before he did
In one smooth movement, Lord Maccon turned and lashed out with thea certain apprehension enter Alexia’s face, stepped out of range At the sa for Miss Tarabotti
Caughtto stay in physical contact with her, Lord Maccon could not switch to strike against the autoh
Alexia was not so restricted As soon as the evil thing closed in on her, she screamed and lashed out, certain she would die if that repulsive i her aversion, the autorabbed Miss Tarabotti under the arernailless hands and picked her up bodily The h she made definitive contact with the heel of her boot, it did not see and screeching like a banshee, over one waxy shoulder
Lord Maccon whirled back toward her, but the coe and the automaton’s attack had broken contact between theht his panicked expression through the tangle of her hair and then the flash of soht, Lord Maccon had thrown the shard of mirror into the auto suspended
"He is changing back!" yelled Mr Sie rapidly fro Miss Tarabotti, followed
"Neutralize hi in the doorway They rushed into the cha they had no idea how fast the change would occur She had claie a olf back into hue back She hoped this gave Lord Maccon so in any event, his ani everyone, even her, at risk
As they moved rapidly down the corridor, Miss Tarabotti heard a portentous snarl, a sad wet crunching sound, and then terrified screa than her own, she stopped her bansheelike screeching and turned her attention to trying to get the autoor Unfortunately, the construct’s grip was like iron about her waist Since she had no idea exactly what the rip could actually be iron
Whatever the skeletal superstructure of the homunculus simulacrum, it was coated in a layer of fleshy substance Miss Tarabotti eventually stopped struggling, a waste of energy, and staredout of its back A s from where it stuck In fascinated horror, she realized Lord Maccon was right The being was filled with blood--old, black, dirty blood Was everything, she wondered, about blood with these scientists? And then: Why had Lord Maccon been so intent on wounding the automaton? It came to her He needs a trail to follow This will never do, she thought It’s not bleeding enough to leave drops behind
Trying not to think about it too closely, she reached for the piece offlesh She slashed the soft underside of her arainst an exposed corner of the sharp shard Her own blood, a healthy bright red, welled fast and clean and dripped in perfect droplets onto the carpeted floor She wondered if even her blood smelled of cinnamon and vanilla to Lord Maccon
No one noticed The autoh the receiving room of the club and toward the machinery chambers They passed by those rooms Miss Tarabotti had visited on her tour of the Hypocras facilities and on toward parts she had not been allowed to see This was the area from which she had heard those terrible screams
They reached the last rooed to twist about enough to read a small slip of paper tacked to the side of the door It said, in neat black calligraphy, frauination cha of the interior fro, until Mr Siemons issued instructions in that undecipherable Latin of his, and the automaton put her down Alexia bounced away froazelle Undeterred, the autorabbed both her ar her immobilized
She stiffened in revulsion No th of the club, her skin still shivered away in horror whenever thedown bile, she took a deep breath and tried to cal some kind of equilibrium, she shook her hair out of her face and looked about
The room contained six iron platforms of equal size and shape, bolted to the floor and paired off into three groups of two Each platfore man, was equipped with a plethora of restraints ray frock coats and glassicals bustled about They clutched leather-bound notepads and were jotting observations in theraphite wrapped in sheepskin An older e, was also in attendance He wore a tweed suit, of all horrible things, and a cravat tied with such carelessness it was allassicals, but of a larger, entlemen paused to look at theeness by the optical glass