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Sorry about the absence. I hope to be back by September 15 October 6, with a full explanation. Or, at least, a decent excuse.
Elizabeth Panderson looked at the Ring of Beneficience. It had no marking, no stone. It was plain white. There was no writing on the inside. She had to admit, its understated quality impressed her. This Ring didn't have to tell you it was powerful. It knew it was powerful. There were a few gonners who could learn a lesson from that.
She tried to put it on. And missed. Perplexed, she tried again. Her finger tapped against the edge of the Ring. It was like trying to thread a needle. Panderson grunted, kept trying. The Ring did not move, she had her finger lined up, but she couldn't put the damned thing on!
"How do I put the damned thing on?" she asked Lissa. It was a mind-control order. Lissa couldn't lie or refuse to answer. "What do I say? What's the ritual?"
Lissa wanted to make up a phony ritual, something involving certain parts of Panderson's anatomy. And maybe a firehose. But she couldn't get up the will. "You just put it on. There is no magic word or ritual. Just put the Ring on your finger. If that's too difficult, maybe you'd better not take over the world. Things are bad enough as it is."
Panderson snarled in frustration as she threw the Ring at Lissa'ssmirking face. Lissa caught it, in her right hand. Before Panderson could say anything, Lissa had it between her thumb, first and third fingers, and pinky. Her middle finger slid easily into the Ring, she held her hand up, it smoothly dropped into place, then tightened to a comfortable snugness.
"I command you to give me that Ring back!"
Lissa's hands catted into small paws. She slipped out of the chains with links to spare. She was cat-girled now, her human-sized paws possessing rudimentary fingers and vicious claws. She kept her dress, though. It didn't really constrict on the top, and the skirt was loose enough not to interfere. But her shoes and pantyhose were shifted. "You want the Ring? I'll shove it in your guts with my claws!"
"Stay back! I order you!"
Lissa slashed through Banny's steel chains easily. The chains dangled from his wrists. She bounded toward Panderson. The blond woman ordered Lissa to stay back. But Panderson had told the truth earlier when she said she couldn't make you do something contrary to your basic nature.
And right now nothing was more contrary to Lissa's basic nature than letting the Panderson gonner live.
Victoria was between Banny and his Ring. She squinted at him, and two circles burned instantly in his shirt. He staggered back in sudden pain. He wondered: How bad am I hurt? How soon til she can do that again? And will it work on microwave popcorn, 'cause that would be cool!
Panderson snapped her hand at Lissa. And from each fingertip came a thin metal strand. The five threads whipped Lissa; only her cat reflexes kept her from losing an arm. Panderson wielded her strands with the skill of a Wild West show performer. More, because the whips could bend and move independently. One wrapped around a leg, and Lissa slashed it with a foot claw. The strand drew in, but Panderson showed no signs of pain.
Hands together, Banny swung the chains dangling from his wrist. He hit Victoria across the eyes. "Hey!," she cried out. "I just got this face, you know! I haven't even had much of a chance to use yet!" He did no real damage.
His own face bright red with embarrassment, Banny apologized profusely. "Is this better?" He swung the chains a little lower. And hit her in the chest. "Ow! I just got those, too!" She held up her right palm. A small hole opened in the center.
Lissa was just about in slashing distance. Panderson glared at her. Lissa staggered back, stunned by something she couldn't even see.
"You just got that hand-gun, too, right?" Banny wrapped his left chain around Victoria's right wrist. He spun to his right, his back was against her body. He jumped back, and they both hit the ground, him landing on her. The 'hand-gun' went off. Banny and Victoria closed their eyes as acoustical ceiling tile bits rained down.
Eyes. Banny realized that she was staring at the back of his head. Was her heat-eye-thingy ready? He slammed his head into hers, slamming hers into the concrete ground. Then he spun around, spun her around, and choked her with the chain.
He choked her, he twisted her neck, he whipped her with the chains... She would not die! He could not kill her!
Lissa collapsed to what would have been her knees had she been fully human. She was in pain. By 'she was in pain' we do not merely mean it hurt. Pain surrounded her, she was buried in pain, pain was all she knew. The universe was pain, and in the pain was a little tiny speck that was Lissa. She was in pain, and there was no way out.
Go to Chapter 63: Power And The Powerless
Go to Chapter 65: And A Memory Is All That Is Left For You Now
Bring your friends into the Gonspiracy! Tell them about
Banny
And
Lissa
and get their eternal gratitude, and a chance to win $10,000 and a Sony DVD Player, because using your friends for your own personal enrichment, and having them owe you for it, is the gonner way!
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Dave Lerner Stories (note that to use the mailto you'll need to edit it in your 'send to' window. I apologize, but I've already lost one address to spam, and if I get inundated again, I won't have time to read your letters.) - All Rights Reserved. Note that this includes images of the Tricryptogon, and the name "Tricryptogon".