Kurst did not care about their profile, but lying would give him autonomy, time away from prying eyes, and another chance at the one being he hated almost as much as the Creator Himself. “We have been trained for discretion when working among civilian populations.”

“I’m taking a serious risk here. Bagging Franks once and for all is worth it, but if one of you gets caught in the act, keep your mouths shut. You’re not even supposed to exist yet.” Stricken was a cold, calculating thing. It was remarkable that his immortal spirit had sided with the Creator in the war before time in order to be born. Kurst suspected that Stricken would have made an excellent demon. “Permission granted. Take a few. Leave me the rest.”

“Yes, sir.” He began walking toward the others.

“One last thing, Kurst,” Stricken called after him. The albino pointed at his temple with one long, thin finger. “Don’t disappoint me, stay in contact, or I’ll make sure you get a really nasty headache. I’m talking about the kind that causes all the blood vessels in your brain to pop right before all your cells melt into a caustic sludge. You were expensive, but you are still replaceable. Don’t fuck this up. You hearing me?”

“You have been heard, sir.”

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 12

Darmstadt, Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt,

Holy Roman Empire, 1703

The creature had been secured to the stone walls with chains sufficient to anchor a large ship. A rope was tied around his neck, placed so that the harder he pulled, the tighter it became. The first time the beast had regained consciousness, he had nearly strangled himself fighting against the chains.

It was watching them silently, as was the norm. It was probably correct to refer to it as a he, as all of the parts he had used were from male cadavers, but Dippel could not help but think of his creation as an it. The creature could not communicate except through inarticulate roars and bellows, and despite Johann Konrad Dippel’s firm conviction to science, there was something about it that caused a general sense of unease.

“I am afraid I imbued the fiend with far too much physical strength. Will these measures hold should it become agitated again?”

“I assure you, Herr Dippel, escape is an impossibility,” the chief workman stated, pride apparent. It had been rather difficult to find a craftsman both capable enough to engineer a solution, and willing to remain silent to the church and local authorities that the eccentric who lived in their nearby castle had created a monster and was keeping it locked in the basement. His services had cost a fortune. “A team of oxen could not break those links.”