Jekyll & Hyde Inc.

“Well, yes, technically you did,” said Miss Montague. “This is the dregs, the leftovers. I was supposed to destroy them, but I decided to hang on to them for the armory. I had a feeling they might come in handy some day. I never thought I’d end up drinking this muck myself.”

“Don’t do it!” Tina said urgently. “The Elixir kills far more people than it transforms.”

“I know, dear,” Miss Montague said calmly. “But this is my chance to be like Edward. Perhaps he’ll feel differently about me, when I’m more like him. And having seen so many Hydes come and go down the years I am curious as to what it will feel like, to be more than human.

“And . . . I am so very tired of being old. Of having to struggle to do the things I used to take for granted. I’m ready to risk the potion, just for a chance to be young again. To feel like myself . . . instead of a useless bag of bones.”

She smiled happily at Daniel and Tina. “So, you just stand where you are while I drink this. And then I’ll kick both your arses.”

She took the cap off the vial and knocked the whole dose back in one. She threw away the vial, pulled a face, and shook her head vigorously.

“Oh, that tasted vile . . . ”

Her back snapped straight and her head came up, her face filled with shock and wonder. Her body bulged as new muscles formed and youth swept through her like a cleansing wind, driving out old age. All the wrinkles disappeared from her face, leaving her looking like the woman who first fell in love with Edward Hyde. She blazed with fierce intensity, like a living goddess, and smiled dazzlingly at Daniel and Tina.

But even as they braced themselves for a fight, Miss Montague frowned . . .  as though something was happening that she didn’t understand. Her muscles suddenly became even larger, bulging out until she couldn’t stand straight anymore. Her back hunched, and one shoulder rose higher than the other. Miss Montague opened her mouth to say something, and blood poured out. She fell to her knees, twitching and shuddering, and then fell backward, staring in horror at something only she could see. Daniel and Tina rushed forward, feeling the need to do something even though Miss Montague had been ready to kill both of them just moments before. They knelt by her side but already she was growing older, shrinking in on herself, as though her own energies were burning her up. She became small and fragile, and her face collapsed into a maze of wrinkles. When she finally let out her last rattling breath, she looked like an ancient mummy.

Daniel and Tina slowly got to their feet again.

“I did warn her,” said Tina.

“I don’t think she cared,” said Daniel. “She said she was ready to die for Edward.”

“He wasn’t worthy of her,” said Tina.

“No,” said Daniel. “He wasn’t. Let’s go visit the old monster—and make him pay.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” said Tina.

When they finally burst into Edward’s outer office, it was empty, with no sign anywhere of the determinedly glamorous secretary. Daniel looked quickly around in search of hidden traps or ambushes, but everything seemed normal. He frowned, and sniffed the air.

“Can you smell something?”

“Something . . . ” said Daniel. “What is that?”

“Nothing good,” said Tina.

They cautiously approached the door to Edward’s office. Daniel placed one hand flat against the door and pushed it open, and when nothing bad happened, he led the way into the office. Where Edward Hyde was sitting happily behind his antique mahogany desk, waiting to greet them.

His secretary lay sprawled across the desk, her throat cut from ear to ear. Blood had streamed down the sides of the desk and pooled thickly on the floor. The secretary’s face was a mask of horror, and her clothes had been ripped open so Edward could get at the flesh. There was a great hole in her side, with the ribs showing. Edward put a hand into the hole, pulled out a piece of meat and popped it into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully, savoring the flavor, and blood ran down his chin as he smiled at Daniel and Tina.

“I got a bit peckish while I was waiting to see if you’d come back.”

“I always knew you had no heart,” said Tina.

“Neither does she, now,” said Edward.

“How could you?” said Daniel.

Edward shrugged. “She served a purpose, which is all I’ve ever asked of anyone. I told her she could go, but she insisted on staying in case there was anything she could do for me. And as it turned out, there was. Did you happen to bump into Esme Montague, on your way here?”

“She wanted to protect you,” said Daniel. “Because she loved you.”

Edward shrugged again. “I never asked her to. Where is she?”

“She drank what was left of the Elixir,” said Tina. “It killed her. And you don’t give a damn—do you?”

“I never have,” said Edward. “One of the great secrets of life, if you want to be free.” He smiled easily. “And the other great secret? You’re all just here for me to play with.”