Tunnels 05 - Spiral

suggest the sea. And in each of the boxes were inexplicable creatures. Other than the deadly teeth and claws, the only aspect the creatures had in common was that the artist had attempted to show they were transparent or semitransparent. Apart from this, each creature seemed to be adapted for its environment, the uppermost one with two sets of batlike wings, the middle one with three pairs of legs, and the aquatic one with fins.
    “If all else fails, the success of the Phase is guaranteed by this,” Eddie said. “This is the backstop . . . this is the ‘
Armagi
.’ ”
    “The Armagi?” Drake repeated carefully.
    “It’s the basis for the word ‘
Armageddon
,’ which has nothing to do with a place where some mythical final battle is going to take place, as many faiths would have you believe. But it is sort of the end . . . the end of the humans’ time on Earth,” Eddie said.
    “
Sort of?
” Will repeated, almost wanting to laugh because he couldn’t cope with what he was hearing.
    “According to our legends, the Armagi are continually adapting organisms, capable of regenerating an entirely new body from even a tiny piece of tissue. You take one apart, and you give rise to a legion. In scientific terms you could describe them as entire clusters of neoblasts, with the gift of being able to differentiate into whatever configuration of genocide machine is required at the particular time.” Eddie closed the book with some force. “So even if you manage to get to the end of the first act — the Warrior Class — the second act will bring the house down. Without knowing it, Vlad the Impaler’s knights forestalled the Armagi because they cremated every single living cell when they torched the catacombs.”
    “So we catch the Warrior Class before they’re able to disperse. And we use fire, too,” Drake reasoned. “We cremate everything — the Warriors and the Styx women.”
    Will spoke up. “I know you might not think it’s as important as all this, but can I ask something?”
    Eddie gave him a nod.
    “Is this why the Rebeccas have so much power over the Styx?” Will said.
    “All our women possess an ascendancy over male Styx, but the Rebecca twins are from our ruling family.”
    “Right . . . and . . . um . . . ,” Will began but seemed uncomfortable with what he wanted to say next.
    “Go on,” Drake encouraged him.
    “Well . . . where does all this leave Elliott?” the boy asked.
    Eddie looked blankly at him. “Where does it leave her? I honestly don’t know. Of course, she’s what the Colonists uncharitably call a Drain Baby since she’s a part-human, part-Styx hybrid. But which genotype is the dominant, I couldn’t tell you. All I can tell you is that she must be kept in isolation if the Phase is affecting her in any way. She’ll be a danger to anyone around her.”
    Will swallowed nervously. “Right,” he said, wishing he hadn’t asked.

    Sweeney was still guarding the Limiters when Will returned to the ford. The soldiers were all standing in precisely the same spot, and only Mrs. Rawls had moved. She was sitting on the bank with her legs drawn up.
    “So the powwow’s over. What’s the skinny?” Sweeney asked.
    “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you,” Will replied.
    Sweeney touched the grid just in front of his ear. “Actually I caught most of it. Crazy stuff.”
    “You did?” Will said, glancing over his shoulder as he estimated how far away the Humvee was. “But it must be . . . what . . . a hundred feet?”
    “Piece of cake.” Sweeney grinned.
    As Will turned back, he was suddenly aware that eight pairs of Limiter eyes were on him. Now he knew what they knew. He coughed uneasily. “So you heard Drake wants to get going right away — and we’re taking Eddie along with us in one of his Humvees,” he said to Sweeney.
    Sweeney jutted his chin at the line of Limiters. “Sure, but what do we do with this sorry bunch?”
    “We let them go,” Will said.
    “So they’re our pals now?” The big man smiled.
    “S’pose so,” Will replied, as he turned to address the Limiters. “Eddie wants you to go to London and wait there for his orders. He said you should take the jeep and the other Humv . . .” As he peered down the track at the second vehicle, he could make out the Hunter’s body on the hood. His mind suddenly went empty.
    “You were saying,” Sweeney prompted gently.
    “Bartleby” was all the boy could manage as he gave Sweeney a helpless