Butcher Bird

In the fraction of a second it took for Shrike to turn her blade toward Cinders, the old woman pressed together the withered claws that were her hands. A screeching filled the air, like the metal wheels of a dozen subway trains slamming on their brakes at the same time and Shrike was lifted from the floor in the jaws of one of Madame Cinders' enormous mechanical orchids. The serrated blades of the machine's jaws tightened on Shrike's ribs until she screamed.

"Cornelius!" Spyder shouted.

The spider clattered forward, its metal legs gouging holes in the stone floor as it shot at Madame Cinders. Spyder climbed onto a table and tried to reach Shrike's outstretched hand. Lulu shot at the base of the metal bloom, but her shots bounced off, filing the air with hot shrapnel. Cinders didn't notice them or didn't care. She threw a small glass vial at Cornelius. It broke on the ground before him and where the fluid splashed on him, his metallic body glowed and began to melt. Cornelius screamed in fear and pain as the internal fire spread throughout his body. He turned and ran for the stairs. Blinded by the heat, he missed and smashed into the far wall, exploding into a thousand twitching fragments of bone and metal.

"This, you must have guessed, is the other thing. Taking the thing you love," said Madame Cinders. "You won't attack as long as I can kill the girl. It's in your eyes. See how easy it is to stop you? You know nothing about power." She turned her gaze to the iron orchid and it lifted its head, carrying Shrike almost to the ceiling. She hung limply in its jaws, not fighting anymore. Spyder swore he could hear her ribs crack.

"No one in this world or any other will hold me in this dying body any longer," Madame Cinders said. "The Dominions and I will rule completely. I'm not greedy. Let them have the universe. I'm happy with this one small world."

Cinders reached under the folds of her hijab and pulled, breaking a thin gold chain that held a small vial around her neck. Pushing a button on her gurney, she rolled forward, positioning herself next to the great book.

"I've guarded this vial for a hundred years," she said. "It's the last of my blood. I had it extracted when my body succumbed to the curse, after returning from Hell. I've been a slave to these machines ever since. No more. With this blood sacrifice, I'll be reborn into a new body." Madame Cinders inclined her head toward Shrike. "Perhaps I'll take hers. If I haven't already broken it too badly."

She raised her shriveled hand and upended the vial over the Dominions' book. The thick red fluid spread over the book's face like a living thing. It smoked where it touched the runes. The blood bubbled, and the book began to drink it down. Then it rose slowly and silently until it hovered just above Madame Cinders' head. She pushed open the cover and ran her hand ecstatically over the thick pages. With another small gesture she brought the book closer to her face until it was almost touching her. Then, she bent her head forward and bit into it, chewed and swallowed.

As the old woman ate, Lulu came to where Spyder stood. When he saw her twitch the barrel of the four-ten up a few inches, he reached over and pushed the gun back down. "No," he whispered.

The old woman ripped at the book with her teeth.

"I consume myself. I consume the wisdom of the true gods," she said. It sounded like some spell or prayer. She seemed to have forgotten about Spyder and Lulu, her dying guards, everyone else in the room. "Let their power fill me." Each time she swallowed a piece of the book, her voice grew stronger. When Spyder could see her arms, the flesh was transforming, returning to a more natural color.

When Madame Cinders had eaten all of the book's pages, she sat up on her gurney, looked at Spyder and Lulu and smiled. "You have no idea what this is like. I can see everything. Every Sphere, every creature and blade of grass within. This is what the Dominions see. These are the eyes of god." Her flesh returned quickly, and as she spoke, her face transformed to that of the young woman in the painting above the Empire desk. She was human, almost beautiful. Spyder hated her even more now.

All that was left of the book was the spine, and Madame Cinders devoured it quickly, impatient to finish her meal. With her new, strong hands, Madame Cinders pulled the tubes from her arms and body. She turned and slid slowly from the gurney to the floor, wobbling on her legs like a newborn calf. Spyder looked up at Shrike. She wasn't moving at all. Madame Cinders walked toward Lulu and him. He took a step back, but a fallen table blocked him from moving any further.

She stood in front of Spyder and stretched like a cat, feeling her body coming back to life. Then she leaned toward him and whispered, "Am I not beautiful?" She giggled like a young woman just finding her body for the first time and realizing the power in her flesh. "Do you want me?" she asked him in a purring, seductive voice.