Terrors by Richard A. Lupoff Read Free Book Online Page A

I was forced to set a secondary timer in motion. I have no way of telling howlong it is set to run. My guess would be five minutes at most. We had best get out of here and put as much distance as possible between ourselves and this place, as quickly as we can.”
    With his enemies at least temporarily vanquished and the immediate danger of explosion removed, the Wizard’s manner changed dramatically. The taciturn, commanding man of action was replaced by a gentler presence,one nonetheless commanding, but kindly and sympathetic.
    “Will you tell me your name?” he asked.
    The woman said, “I am Isabella Alejandra Orquidia Paloma del Sueño y Montalvo,
Señor
. I thank you for rescuing me from those—” she hesitated, then concluded, “—from those creatures.”
    “Isabella del Sueño, the star of
Ride Vaquero
,” the Wizard responded.
    “That is I, yes.”
    “You were reported missingfrom your Hollywood home and from the studio,
Señorita.”
    She smiled at the courtesy. “I was lured to a supposed charitable event for the relief of suffering in my homeland. I felt it my duty to attend and offer my support. When I arrived I was seized and drugged. I awakened here. I do not even know where I am,
Señor
. I am indebted to you for driving those monsters away and freeing me from them,but I need to learn more of what happened. And then, of course, to return to the studio. They will have halted production of my new film,
The Caballero from Monterrey
.”
    The Wizard nodded. “Of course. But first we must make sure your needs are met. I’ll bring you to my headquarters. My assistant Nzambi will care for you. Do you require medical attention?”
    “No.” Isabella del Sueño pressed herhands to her temples. “My mind is clear now. For a while it was terrible, while I was drugged Iseemed trapped in a nightmare from which there was no escape. But I feel now that I am myself once again.”
    The Wizard led her to the doorway of the aged building, onto the loading dock. He bent to his waist to tap a series of commands into a tiny panel concealed there. In the sky above the buildinga door opened on nothingness. An automatic reel began to revolve above them, and a ladder of metallic links gradually unwound and descended.
    It halted not far above the wooden dock.
    The Wizard helped Isabella del Sueño to place her foot on the bottom rung. She was wearing golden sandals. Her toenails were painted a smooth, shining shade of scarlet. Soon the glamorous olive-skinned actress wasaboard
Kpalimé
. The Wizard followed her, then drew up the ladder and shut the miniature airship’s door behind them.
    Kpalimé
rose silently into the chilly air of the Seacoast City night. The airship’s gas-bag was compact. The amazing lifting power of its content, an element drawn from secret mines in an African valley unknown to the outer world, was the key to its remarkable performance. The gondolaslung beneath the gas-bag was similarly compact, its efficient design such as to pack a wealth of controls and comfortable quarters into a small space.
    The Wizard engaged the compressed-air engines of the Zeppelin and guided it away from the riverfront, toward the tallest building in Seacoast City, the Central Railroad Tower. The airship had covered perhaps half the distance from the river toits hangar when the sky behind it was brightened by a single monumental flash. “Hang on!” After an interval that could not have been as long as it seemed the little airship was rocked by a violent shock-wave. The Wizard nodded. He had expected as much.
    Minutes later the door atop the Central Railroad Tower slid back to admit
Kpalimé
. The Wizard guided the airship to her cradle. A crewman lockedthe ship down. Crewmen swarmed to service the little Zeppelin.
    Inside the Wizard’s headquarters Nzambi awaited. When the Wizard and Isabella del Sueño entered the room, Nzambi took the other woman’s hands in hers. The actress introduced herself. Nzambi nodded,