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"Good girl. Wait a moment-let me pull this chair a littlecloser."
Burton shifted the armchair until he was sitting face to facewith the nurse. He looked her in the eye and spoke in herlanguage.
"Allow yourself to relax. Keep your eyes on mine."
Two pairs of dark, fathomless eyes locked together.
"You have long lashes," said the girl.
"As do you. Don't speak now. Relax. Copy my breathing. Imagineyour first breath goes into your right lung. Inhale slowly; exhaleslowly. The next breath goes to the left lung. Slowly in. Slowlyout. And the next into the middle of your chest. In. Out."
As her respiration adopted the Sufi rhythm he was teaching her,Sister Raghavendra became entirely motionless but for an almostundetectable rocking, which Burton could see was timed to herheartbeat.
He murmured further instructions, guiding her into a cycle offour breaths, each directed to a different part of her body.
Her mind, subdued by the complexity of the exercise, graduallygave itself over to him. He could see it in her luminous eyes, asher pupils expanded wider and wider.
Suddenly, the black circles closed inward from the sides,forming perpendicular lines, and the deep brown irises blazed abright pink. Something malevolent regarded him.
Burton blinked in surprise but the illusion-if that's what itwas-was gone in an instant.
Her eyes were brown. Her pupils were wide black circles. She wasentranced.
Recovering himself, he spoke to her: "I want you to return tolast night; place yourself in Penfold Private Sanatorium, inLieutenant Speke's room. You've been reading to him but now you areinterrupted. A man enters the room."
"Yes," she replied softly. "I hear a slight creak as the doorswings open. I look up from my book. There is a footstep and he isthere."
"Describe him. In detail."
A shudder ran through her body.
"Such a man! I've never seen the like! His frock coat is ofcrushed black velvet; his shirt, trousers, shoes, and hat are allblack, too; and his pointed fingernails are painted black; but hisskin and hair-straight hair, so long that it falls past hiscollar-they are whiter than snow! He's an albino! There is no traceof colour on him except in the eyes, which are of a dreadful pinkwith vertical pupils like a cat's."
Burton started. Those same eyes had looked out of the girl'shead just moments ago!
"There is something wrong with his face," she continued. "Hisupper and lower jaws are pushed a little too far forward, almostforming a muzzle, and his teeth-when he smiles-are all canines! Heenters the room, looks at the lieutenant, looks at me, then tellsme to fetch a trolley. I must obey. It's as if I have no will of myown."
"So you leave the room?"
"For a moment, and when I return there are three-three-"
She stopped and whimpered.
"Don't worry," soothed Burton, "I am here with you. You areperfectly safe. Tell me what you can see in the room."
"There are three men. I-I think they are men. Maybe somethingelse. They are short and wear red cloaks with hoods and they areeach sort of-sort of twisted; their bodies are too long and toonarrow in the hip; their chests too deep and wide; their legs tooshort. Their faces, though-their faces are-"
"Yes?"
"Oh, save me! They are the faces of dogs!"
Burton sat back in surprise. He reached into his jacket and drewthe sketch by Dore from his pocket. He unfolded it and showed it tothe girl.
"Like this?"
She recoiled away from him and began to tremble violently.
"Yes! Please-please tell me-what are they?" Her voice rose involume and pitch. "What are they?"
He took her hands in his and stroked their backs with histhumbs. Her skin felt smooth, soft, and warm. The heady scent ofjasmine filled his nostrils.
"Shhh. Don't be afraid. It's over, Sadhvi. It is in thepast."
"But they aren't human!"
"Perhaps not. Tell me what happens next."
"I walk back into Lieutenant Speke's room with the trolley, seethe-the three things-then the albino jumps from behind me andrestrains me, with a hand over my mouth. He is so strong! I can'tmove! The dog-log-menthey lift Lieutenant Speke from his bed, placehim on the trolley, and wheel him out of the room."
"There are no other nurses? No one else sees them?"
"No, I don't think so-but you have made me realise something:the sanatorium, or at least this wing of it, seems very quiet; moreso than it should be, even at such an early hour."
"So the dog creatures leave the room-and then?"
"Then the man turns me, looks into my eyes, and tells me toforget; to remember only that Speke's family took the lieutenant.He leaves the room and I follow him along the corridor towardreception. I feel strange. There are nurses standing motionlessand, as he passes them, he says something to each in a low voice.We reach reception, and I see the trolley standing empty by thedesk. The albino orders me to move over to it and I obey. He speaksto the nurse at the desk and she starts to blink and look around.Then he walks toward the main door and, as he passes me, he says,`Awake!"'
She sighed and visibly relaxed. "He's gone."
"And now you find yourself pushing the trolley and rememberingnothing of what just happened?" put in Burton.
"Yes."
"Very well. Close your eyes now. Concentrate on the rhythm ofyour breathing."
Sister Raghavendra's hands fell from his and she leaned back onthe sofa. Her head drooped.
"Sadhvi," he murmured, "I'm going to count down from ten. Witheach number, you will feel yourself awakening. When I reach zero,you will be fully conscious, alert, refreshed, and you willremember everything. You will not be afraid. Ten. Nine. Eight.Seven-"
As he counted, her eyelids fluttered and opened, her pupilsshrank into focus, she looked at him, her hand flew to her mouth,and she cried: "Dear God! Did that really happen?"
"Yes, Sadhvi, it happened. A combination of shock and mesmericsuggestion caused you to bury the memories-but we have managed touncover them."
"Those dog-things were abominations!"
"I suspect the Eugenicists have been at work."
"They can't! They can't do that to humans!"
"Maybe they didn't, Sadhvi. Maybe they did it to dogs. Or towolves."
Her eyes widened. "Yes," she whispered. "Wolves!"
"What's the motive for abducting Speke, though? That's whatpuzzles me," continued Burton, thoughtfully. He stood up."Anyway-thank you, Sister Raghavendra. You've been veryhelpful."
She rose from the sofa, stepped forward, and placed her hands onhis chest.
"Captain, that albino fellow-he's-he's evil. I felt it. You willbe careful, won't you?"
Burton couldn't help himself; his hands slipped around her slimwaist and he pulled her close, looking down into her deep, soulfuleyes.
"Oh!" she gasped-but it wasn't a protest.
"I'll be careful," he whispered throatily. "And when the mysteryis solved, shall I return to tell you about it?"
"Yes. Come back, please, Captain Burton."
It was midday, but London, buried in the heart of the congealingfog, was deprived of light. It tried to generate its own-gas lampsand windows blazed into the murk, but their fierce illumination wasimmediately crushed and reduced to vague patches of yellow, orange,and red. Between them, the vast and sickening gloom writhed like aliving entity, consuming all.