Wither The Vain: Part 2 of The Tower

Stationary, Eyewear, and Scaly Things, Going Up

Some people must request before they’re born to have their balls dipped in liquid steel. Because that’s the only way I can really see someone being stupid enough to get in our way after seeing the thrashing I give someone. He was still standing there on the sixth floor though, smiling with all the beaming audacity of the sun at us.

“Glad to see you made it father. Wither, Seth, Christoph, hello to you as well.”

“Hello Pox. Guessed you’d be here. Why?”

“Why? You mean, other than to legitimize my work and gain a modicum of protection against you barbarians? How about the fact that father threatened my children when last we met. Still so smug now Victory?”

I snorted.

Wither The Vain: Part 1 of The Tower

Foundation of Blood

The skull was heavy in my hand. It was a little surprising, I’ll admit. I wouldn’t have expected a weak-minded creation to have such a thick skull. I turned to Wither. He was still clenching his teeth, his fists balled up nice and tight. Christoph and Seth were standing on either side of him. They didn’t look quite as pissed. Not quite. More just tired and eager to hurt things.

I understood. This was an embarrassment. A fucking slap to the face. It would not be tolerated.

Wither The Vain: Lost Cities Part 4

Brigadoon

One person swinging four swords tends to make people concerned that maybe, just maybe, they’re now four times as deadly. That’s nonsense. Nandin had always been proof of that. Even with him flailing around wildly like some random Hindu deity on speed, he was more pest than warrior. There was a problem though.

I had no weapons.

Wither The Vain: Lost Cities Part 3

Akakor

There’s always someone trying to jam their fingers into the gears. We had only just begun to discuss how Anubis would be dealt with when this little gem arrived via owl. For a moment, we thought it was going to be good news. Should’ve known better. It’s never good news here.

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Danny Corsair trailed his fingers over the surface of his bathwater and shivered (twice) before dropping in the hair dryer. Every nerve grinned and giggled as the wriggling electric worms squirmed through his body. The sweet juice pouring through the hair dryer cord only lasted until the breaker blew but that was long enough for Danny. He slumped back in the tub and smiled a twitchy smile, every muscle still jerking.

Wither The Vain: Lost Cities Part 2

Atlantis

It was four in the morning and I was bored out of my beak. Wandering through a theme park prison was not what I had in mind when I had been roused from my sleep two hours prior. A Council owl had arrived bearing Wither’s message that he had been inducted to The Council and that he would be another three days as the meeting continued. After the owl had departed, it had taken me a moment to gather exactly why Wither had bothered to wake me at this deathly hour of the bloody morning to tell me he would be gone another three days. Then it occurred to me.

He was gloating.

Wither The Vain: Lost Cities Part 1

Mu

What a sorry sight the members of The Council were. You’d think that they’d be a little better kept. I tossed my hair over my shoulder in annoyance. I was expecting a meeting of gods, not a high school reunion in a lightless, almost windowless tower scavenged from the sunken continent of Mu. Boring.

I put my feet up on the table, mud falling off my boots as I waited. Delilah rolled her eyes and smoothed her skirt next to me. I looked across the creaky banquet table to survey the attendees. Dozens of impish tribal deaths milled about near the buffet line, occasionally snapping off one of their companions’ limbs. Shinigami of various sizes, genders, and pallor stood quietly in another corner of the room. Among their younger members, cartoony features were the order of the day. Each of them would barely have the power to crush a city block. Somehow, that had garnered them a place on The Council. Others wandered about as well. Aboriginal Australian ghosts paced in place as tropical deaths sat near to the bar, drinking mai tais until they burst into flames. It was like the damned U.N. in here.

Wither The Vain: Scavenger Hunt Part 8

Time's Up

Being carried into one of The Scavenger’s hidden temples trussed up for a spit-roasting was not really what I had expected when I let Natalie out of her prison. I had stopped bothering to struggle after the third Sleeper in that damned vulture’s service took it as an excuse to punch me in the jaw. Natalie was waving to everyone happily as she meandered through the wooden pews filled with Sleepers, Judges, and the occasional human. They had all heard The Scavenger’s cries at night and had come, seeking the source of their nightmares. They had thrown themselves before the mercy of Boyd and the others.

Wither The Vain: Scavenger Hunt Part 7

Ten Sticky Fingers

“How does it feel knowing you’re the father of modern disease?”

“Bah, I’ve been thought of as the father of all disease, modern or not, for long enough it doesn’t matter.”

Josef had his feet up on a teak coffee table and was drinking from a glass of vodka and cranberry. He was taking my visit entirely all too well since the badger invaders had been dealt with.

“Obviously you’re not here to kill me Arturo. If you had been, you’d have helped the Sleepers finish my guards and I off. So what do you want?”

“Those particular messengers were from The Scavenger, yes?”

“Yes. We had been supposed to work out a business arrangement regarding the dispersal of toxins into the water system. I had been informed that a correction to my vaccine had already been released. I thought rather than fighting with each other, that maybe this Scavenger would be interested in some sort of business arrangement.”

Wither The Vain: Scavenger Hunt Part 6

Seventeen Dragon Scales

I stood in the pit beneath Meddigo Tower and smiled. The water coursed beneath me and through the water main that ran between my feet and up into the great reservoir that Morelli had commissioned. I wrapped my gnarled hand around the pipe leading into the reservoir and smiled as I felt the corruption flowing through the water within.

My lips split in a splintered smile. Let Wither try to top this. Already, the occupants of the tower would be growing ill and weak. I could just see Morelli’s office plants withering and turning black as they were watered in vain. Darling that image was, absolutely darling.

Wither The Vain: Scavenger Hunt Part 5

One Fileted Fish

As I pushed open the swinging doors that led into the hospital and saw how many Judges there were in my way, I knew this was going to be one hell of a lot of fun. My hands had led me here, red and raw with hunger. They were eager to feed on the fish tonight. That was good. I was tired of being stuck in old man mode. I was tired of having to worry about this damn cataract. I wanted my black hair back. It would look good with that scar Thane had given me.

Wither The Vain: Scavenger Hunt Part 4

Something Green and Something Fat

Unlike his fellows, this one’s face twisted up in surprise more than fear as I slid my knife across his throat and wiped it off on my feathers. It didn’t surprise me to find that they were using guppies as security guards in places they thought no one could get to.

It was a little saddening, but not surprising. Nine were dead so far and not a single one had managed to hit me yet.

Crawling around in this damp aquarium of a building was grating on my nerves. The humidity was collecting on my feathers, weighing me down. So far, none of the Judge functionaries that could tell me where my target was could be found. It would easy enough to know whom I sought. There had only been one Sleeper captured in the last three months according to the records I had found in the possession of a now very dead barracuda. The other Sleepers had all been killed on the spot and sent immediately to a medical center for summary dissection. I wasn’t sure what they were hoping to extract but I filed away the information for future use.

Wither The Vain: Scavenger Hunt Part 3

Five Sharpened Pencils

I jerked my pencil from the neck of the security guard behind the desk. His fellows were already wading in their own blood further down the hall. I stuck the end of my pencil into the sharpener on his desk and whistled to myself. Things were going smoothly.

Wither would be amazed. I had made sure to complain to such a length that he would be certain to send me after Pox regardless. I smirked. It wasn’t an enviable position I suppose. Hunting down one’s own mad creation with the ability to sling poisons and diseases about with impunity. That didn’t matter to me though. Not now. I had a score to settle with him.

Wither The Vain: Scavenger Hunt Part 2

Three Candy Kisses

I slogged through the sewers, my root system trying to filter out usable water from the filth.  It was truly foul.  Thankfully these weren't like the pipes near the wall or the dock works.  There would be no high pressure flushes this far in.  Which was good, I didn't feel like trying to cram myself into a stuffy little metal coffin for a half hour at a time.  I had more important shit to get done.  Boyd and his retinue were on my mind.  Their komodo had gotten off easy last time.  I was looking forward to breaking him into tiny pieces the next time I met him.  According to Seth, the komodo was a war hero and the only Sleeper to ever survive The Commandant's arena out in Gravesite.  It would be good to crush someone strong again.

Anything to stop thinking about Holly.

Wither The Vain: Scavenger Hunt Part 1

One Broken Mirror

As I shaved, I peeled off the skin beneath the stubble, even though the switchblade was plenty sharp enough to just take the hair.  The old man look would help me in the days upcoming.  Besides, I could handle the damned cataract for a little while.  This was in celebration.  There would be no more nonsense about where we were heading.  That was the good part.  Our path was clearly marked out ahead of us.  No more half-assed guesswork from half a set of hands.

Holly was gone though.

It wasn't that big a loss really.  Christoph and Arturo would probably disagree the most.  Arturo appreciated having someone other than me being vaguely human around him, and Christoph saw in her a rebound from Delilah.  Oh well, such was the life of a horseman.  They already knew that.  I slammed my razor down into the counter next to the sink.

Wither The Vain: Feast Of The Dead Part 4

Last Dance Of The Night

Have you ever been hunted? It isn't like they tell you in novels. You don't ever feel like someone's watching, don't feel hairs rise on the back of your neck, don't see flashes out of the corner of your eye. At least, those things don't happen until you know you're being hunted. Then, you realize just how deep into it you are. You start realizing why the roads have been clear in the direction you're going. You realize why the alley you chose to hide in was empty of vagrants. Seth said it first.

"We were herded here. Right into this alley. We need to leave. Now. Find somewhere that suits us better. We can look for a place."

Wither shook his head.

"No time for that. I can feel them coming. We have to choose. Rooftops, sewers, or the streets. Quickly."

Wither The Vain: Feast of the Dead Part 3

Intermezzo

I finished my last sentence and ended it with a stabbed period. The words tore themselves from the page and slammed together at the end of the alleyway. Soon where the entrance had been, there was another wall… and then a roof over our heads… and finally a round table for us to sit at with sub sandwiches already made and on paper plates.

“I didn’t what kind of bocadillos everyone wanted…”

“Oh shut up Arturo.”

I sneered at Wither. I’d have loved to see him do that. Wither sank into his folding chair and leaned back sighing. Seth spun his chair around and took his place. Christoph sat on the floor and was still taller than we were. Holly and I sat, pulled our chairs in, and started in on our sandwiches.

Wither The Vain: Feast of the Dead Part 2

Dance Partners

Screams and rending flesh and mythological beings colliding. How goddamned typical. I mean really. Yippie, time to prance our asses back into battle. That's delightful. I wonder if they'll let me write something down first. No? They won't? Then the little Spaniard over here is fucked.

Christoph and the giant Komodo Dragon man collide and commence to wrestling. Good matchup. Wither howls and punches Boyd in the head as the badger-man continues to strip the flesh from his arm. Keen. Holly and Seth stand back to back, encircled by the jackal and hyena. Not a bad comparison there either.

And that's where the fun ends. I mean, really. Everyone's going one on one, no real weapons of note. But at least they vaguely resemble fair combat.

Wither The Vain: Feast of the Dead Part 1

Invitations To The Ball

As a writer, it's always thrilling to see that one of your creations is well-received.

I was not, however, pleased when Wither read the headline of Tuesday's West Worthington Gazette to us out loud.

"Josef Saria; Miracle Man."

"What did you just say Wither?"

"What do you think I said Arturo?"

"I think you just mentioned Josef."

"I'm glad you noticed. This is a problem. The article here says he's been appointed Director of Health and Human Services for Chrysalis Falls."

Wither The Vain: Q and A

Q and A

Being the youngest of the family, they always question my judgement.

"Did you have to kill him?"
"Why'd you bring that one back?"
"Do you have any idea where we're going?"

Blah. Blah. Blah. It never ends.

"Wither, why did you bring Moon back?"

"Because I had a job for him Seth."

"Care to tell us what that job was?"

"Not particularly."

Wither The Vain: Spare Change Part 4

The Arts

Being beheaded hurts less than you might think. Especially if they sever the spinal cord on the first swing. That's the key. That way you don't feel the two or three follow up strikes it usually takes to finish the job.

Arbiter Moon had no intention of taking more than a single swing.

Foolish.