Axler, James - Deathlands 27 by Axler James

Author:Axler, James
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter Nineteen

The ville had once been a huge rambling country mansion, built around 1885 in the classic Victorian Gothic style-towers, turrets, winding corridors and stained glass. It seemed that there had once been a number of multistory buildings surrounding it that had taken most of the nuke impact during skydark, preserving it, though there had been some minor damage to the roof where modern repairs stood out like a sore thumb.

A number of outbuildings and barns and courtyards were set among spreading woodlands. But the high wall, set with spikes and electrified wires-powered by a big water generator-was the main defensive feature that struck Ryan's eye as they trudged the last hundred yards toward the spread.

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Joaquin had reined back to walk his horse alongside the outlanders.

"Impressive, huh?"

"Can't argue with that," Ryan said. "You get a lot of trouble here?"

The sec sergeant laughed. "Josh, you tell him."

"What happened yesterday was the first serious incident we had for about a year."

Joaquin corrected him. "Closer to eighteen months. Mob of Hole ghoulies, stoned on the jolt they bought from the man with steel eyes."

"Steel eyes?" said Ryan.

"You heard of him? Called the Magus."

"Also known as the Warlock."

"And the Sorcerer," J.B. added. "Used to pick up stickies and sell them on to Gert Wolfram. Fat bastard used to use them in his traveling freak show. So the Magus is still around peddling his dirt?"

Joaquin clicked his tongue, setting spurs into his gelding's flanks, moving it on again. "Yeah. Controls most of the jolt in Deathlands."

"And this mob attacked your ville?" Ryan asked.

Morgan replied. "Came out of the night. Raving and screaming. Stormed the wall. Plenty got chilled on the wire. Until their corpses blew all of the main fuses. Few of them managed to get through and we took some losses. More than an hour to clear the scum away."

"The ghoulies tend to stick in the heart of the old ruins, do they?" Krysty asked.

Again it was Morgan who replied. "Not really ruins. I been around and seen the black canyons of Newyork. Those are what I call ruins. Washington Hole isn't much more than what the name says. Big hole. Ash and fused lava glass. Biggest crater in the world some say. High rad count. Get some triple-serious muties there, which is good news for Baron Sharpe with his-"

"Enough, Josh," Joaquin said sharply. "Don't let your tongue taste so much air."

He pushed the horse ahead at a faster walk, leaving Ryan and the others behind him.

BARON SEAN SHARPE was waiting for his returning sec men as soon as the heavy gates swung open.

He stood in the main courtyard, hands locked behind his back, wearing nondescript shirt and pants of dull beige with worn knee boots.

Ryan's first glance went automatically to see how the man was armed, that being one of the most important things to check out in Deathlands.

It was a satin-finish Ruger revolver, stuck in a workmanlike holster on the left side of the belt.

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