Dawn bled through fog. The old woman materialized beside a too-perfect campfire.
"Poor lambs! Eat, warm yourselves..." She offered steamed buns radiating synthetic yeast scent.
Xiao Man reached—Lupus-0 yanked her back.
Odor analysis:
Surface: Lavender, oatmeal, grandmother's perfume
Base: Formaldehyde, zinc oxide, Class 3 decay
"Naughty doggie!" Her skin rippled. Mantis blades slid from sleeves. "Kaine wants her brain patterns intact! Lullaby needs its queen bee!"
Lupus-0 lunged. Blades screeched against his claws—vibranium alloy? Sparks ignited dry grass.
"Come here, precious!" A blade-hook shot past Lupus-0, snagging Xiao Man's collar. "We'll put you in a golden hive!"
Xiao Man bit the blade. Her teeth glowed blue—γ-7's energy?—chipping the metal. "I'm nobody's battery!"
Lupus-0 tore off the woman's face. Beneath: chrome skull stamped "Model S-7 Skin-Stealer". Green optics flashed:
The blade swung for Xiao Man's temple—
Juniper smoke couldn't mask the scent of accelerated cellular decay. Five Orphnochs ringed the fire:
Stag-antlered woman (Left arm crumbling)
Badger with quartz teeth (Hind legs ashed)
Moth-winged child (Singing to a dead comms device)
The stag-woman offered a vial. "Neuro-Soothe. Synthesized from our marrow. Blocks pain signals for six hours."
Lupus-0 drank. Blissful numbness drowned the collar's bite.
"Price," she pointed at Xiao Man. "One happy memory. Vivid, warm, untainted."
Xiao Man volunteered: "My sixth birthday! Mommy baked a cake shaped like—"
"Not yours." The stag's finger aimed at Lupus-0. "His."
He searched fragmented memories:
...cold steel table... Kaine's voice: "Subject Zero, today you graduate from pup to wolf..."
...the first kill—a deer Orphnoch begging for its fawn...
No joy. Only purpose.
The stag-woman sighed. Grey flakes peeled from her neck. "Then the next dose costs more." She tossed another vial. Her left pinky dissolved to dust.
"You'll owe me in Wind City," she whispered. "Find Dr. Aris Thorne. Tell her... the swans are dying. Then kill her."