"What's that?" Brian gasped.
Crystal's face was dead-white as they moved cautiously forward. They stared out into the clearing in dumb horror. The huge, rambling Carlton mansion was a smoking heap of ruins. A giant Venus thorn bush in front of the house was scorched and charred by the flames. One of its murderous, yard-long spikes carried a terribly gruesome burden. Crystal whimpered and stumbled forward before Brian could stop her. She collapsed in a sobbing heap in front of the gray-haired man impaled on the giant thorn. The figure stirred feebly.
"He's alive," Brian muttered. "Crystal! Snap out of it. Get up and give me a hand. We'll cut him down."
With Crystal's help Brian hacked off the thorn and gently eased the frail, old man to the ground. His breath fluttered out between lips flecked with pink-tinged froth. His eyes tried to smile his thanks through their haze of pain.
Crystal held the weakly gripping hands. "Who did this to you?"
The gray lips moved and worked, struggling painfully to form words. The whisper was almost inaudible:
"Serono ... Zeburzac."
Crystal's face hardened to a mask of vicious cruelty as she fought her emotions down.
"We'll get him."
"No." The elder Carlton seemed to gather strength. "Get away—escape."