At 1:12 the Master motioned to the female, and she stepped forward. ‘In a moment the way will open, my pet, step through then await our arrival.’ He turned to the line of Kafla. ‘Come through at an even pace, there is no need to rush, we have foreseen that the way will be open.’ Grunts and mewling assents answered him.
The black, smoky mass pulsed and opened. The Master beckoned to her to follow then led the way. She stepped forward without hesitation and stood on the small concrete patio. Grass covered the sloped ground around it and a tent enclosed the grass. She jerked her head back and forth until she caught sight of him, waiting at the entrance to the white canvas covered walkway.
He smiled at her encouragingly. ‘I realize it’s disorientating. Come this way, pet.’ She strode forward, following him through the improvised tunnel around the side of the estate and to the back of the waiting container truck. He pointed to it. ‘Wait in here and more of your new hive will join you shortly.’ The female Hunter sprang into it and sat in a far corner.
Outstanding. Everything progressed precisely as he planned. Of course it did. As he reentered the tent, the next Kafla, a sleek Tracker the size of a terrier bounded through the opening. The Master laughed at its exuberance and gestured down the tented path. ‘Your Hunter is ahead. It will be a simple matter for you to find her.’ It smiled at him, revealing teeth like small daggers, and scampered off toward the truck. A male Hunter stepped through and shook its head. The bones decorating its large ears clicked rhythmically. It huffed and looked around the tent.
‘That way, young one,’ he said as he pointed. The Kafla flexed his powerful shoulders and loped up the path.
He crossed his arms, a rare chuckle finding its way from him as a large male Warrior stepped through.
The Tear slammed shut with a loud clap. The Warrior tottered one-legged then fell forward, his body sliced cleanly in half from crotch to skull, his innards spilling onto the cement patio.
‘What?’ the Master screamed. It couldn’t be. He knew the signs, consulted the writings, and had his best disciples on the matter. The blackening of the sun, the turning of nature’s course, should have provided his pets hours to cross, not minutes. The fires of the Abyss raged within him. He would have answers and have them quickly, or he would suck the feeble brains from the skulls of the supposedly intelligent disciples who caused this error. He stormed from the tent into the house and phoned the laboratory where his scientists monitored the eclipse. His voice seethed with poorly controlled rage. ‘This is Mr Velius. No, things are not well. We are…displeased with the results of your…predictions. You and your team will assemble and find the reason we have half a Warrior staining the patio. No, we will come to you. You will explain it to us…personally. Expect us in a few minutes.’
He growled and slammed the handset down, breaking it in two, then stalked to the front door and out to the truck. He paused outside the tunnel and composed himself, then pulled back a panel and stepped inside. ‘Our pets. Await us here and we shall return shortly.’ He pulled the rolling door down and sealed the container truck, then stepped off the high bumper, disappearing before he touched the ground.