Magestorm: The Embracing (10 page)

29

Sebastian paced up and down the hallway as the vampires unloaded their cargo in the basement.  The morgue was now vampire accommodations, with no windows and coffin-like spaces available for several soldiers.

“What the fuck?”

Rachel came storming through the doors and into the hall, her heels clicking loudly on the tile floor and echoing.  This was a moment he was dreading, but knew was coming.

“I had to make a quick decision due to an issue at the council meeting.”

“Great, so you’ve made the bed for both of us to lie in.  This better not backfire on us!”

With a roll of his eyes he walked forward to meet her and kissed her.  It was a cold kiss in return, but he expected no less.  She was forceful and headstrong, a typical fiery redhead, but that was also the appeal for him.

“You worry too much.  Once they’re set up, I’ll find out what the plan is, so don’t worry your pretty little head.”

“You know I hate it when you talk to me like that.”

She grabbed his crotch and squeezed hard.  A grunt escaped him, causing her to smile.  With a tug, she pulled him towards their room for their usual aggressive and sometimes violent romp.  The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted.

“My apologies, but I believe you had questions for me, Sebastian?”

Victor stepped fully into the hall and crossed his arms as he waited.  Rachel glared at him, not that he cared, and then clenched tighter to let her man know she was really pissed.

“They are already crimping my style.”

“Relax, once this is over with, you will be queen bitch around these parts.”

“If not, lap dog, I’ll have you neutered.”

She released him and he straightened himself before walking down the hall to where the vampire waited.  They walked out the door together and continued down the stairs as they spoke, Sebastian questioning his new partner.

“What is this patient you needed the hospital for?”

“It’s a sort of science experiment. 
Only better.”

“And it will help us take out the witch council?”

A grin crept across Victor’s face as he nodded.  They reached the basement and walked down another hallway in silence, reaching an autopsy room.  Victor opened the door while standing to the side for the werewolf to see.  The shock on his face was priceless.

Sebastian stepped forward, unsure of whether he should get any closer to the man on the table, cut into pieces.  Arms and legs removed, the men inside the room appeared to be doing a transplant of body parts.  Other bodies were around, and they looked normal.  It was the man on the table that didn’t look right.  The skin was a dull white color, pale and unhealthy.

The door was closed before he could enter, and he looked to Victor with a severely confused look on his face.  The vampire laughed.

“That, my friend, is our secret weapon.  Well, one of them, anyway.  The other will be a surprise.  The man on that table was created by Algernon, and he is immune to magic.  Since he’s not technically alive, and it isn’t quite blood flowing through his veins, he’s basically immune to vampires as well.  He’s the perfect soldier.”

“That’s both encouraging and terrifying.  How do you keep him under control?”

“That’s part of secret number two.  You have to wait on that one though.”

Sebastian nodded, not happy with the answer, but not able to do anything about it.  Right now, all he could think about was the creature, and what exactly it could do.  Later he would question whether the deal with the vampires was really the right choice, of if he was in way over his head.  It didn’t really matter now.  The deal with the devil was done, and he would reap the rewards good or otherwise.

“Don’t worry, Sebastian.  The sneaking around will end very soon, and we will begin our ascent to where we belong, as rulers of this world.  The witches will never know what hit them.”

30

Dhane finished packing his clothing in his suitcase and slipped his father’s spell book in.
 
Whether it was to study while he was gone, or simply to keep it safely within his profession, he wasn’t sure.
 
Either way, it was coming with him.

Dropping the suitcase near the door, he was going through one more mental check of the items he was taking with him when there was a knock on the door.
 
On the o
ther side, Lila smiled weakly.

“All ready to go, I see.”

“Yeah, I think I have everything.
 
Listen, are you going to be okay?
 
I know it’s a difficult time for you right now.”

“I’ll be fine.
 
I just have to work through this.
 
How long do you think you’ll be gone?”

He shrugged, knowing there really wasn’t a good answer for her.
 
Of course, there really wasn’t an answer either.
 
If things went well, the trip could take weeks.
 
If it went poorly, Amelia may want to come straight back here and they could return in a couple days or so.

For Lila, no answer was the right one.
 
If Charles could prove he was telling the truth, she knew she could get Dhane to listen, and if he wasn’t, they may need him to fight off the vampires.
 
She had to be strong, and try to keep him from worrying while he was gone.
 
He had enough to deal with.

“Well, be careful while you’re gone.
 
And make sure to stay in touch, I need.., I mean, we need to know how to reach you in case anything happens.”

“Things will be fine, and I’ll be back before you know it.
 
I’ll make sure to call you and give you the number where I’m staying.
 
Don’t hesitate to use it if you need to talk.”

She nodded and walked out the door with him just as Cassandra and Amber approached.
 
Lila excused herself and returned to her own room to cry.
 
She felt all alone as she clutched the cross hanging from her neck so hard it cut into her hand.

“Can anything else happen?”

Cassandra hugged Dhane and smiled at him.
 
Amber shook hands and bowed her head, a w
arm smile on her face.
 
The
sight
of them, happy to be together even if it was in secrecy, made him feel
warm.

“Dhane, be careful out there.
 
We still don’t know where the vampires went.”

“All good, Cass.
 
If they know what’s good for them, they’re finding a new town to lurk about.
 
You two take care of yourselves, and each other.
 
I’ll be back before you know it.”

Goodbye’s finished, he headed downstairs and through the lobby with his bags.
 
At the front door Terrance was on guard duty, and quickly snatched the larger suitcase from Dhane.

“Let me help you with that.”

“That’s really not necessary.”

“I know, just feel like helping.”
 
Terrance flashed a smile and headed down the front steps next to the mage.
 
Nervously he looked over and opened his mouth, then closed it and
continued walking.
 
At the bottom of the steps was the rental car Dhane was using for the trip.
 
The two of them tossed the luggage into the trunk and Terrance tried again to speak his mind.

“Listen, if you need anything... I mean if anything happens and an extra werewolf would help, give me a holler.”

Dhane smiled and held out his hand, which the wolf shook firmly but carefully.

“Thanks Terrance.
 
Take care of yourself.”

He climbed into the car and glanced out the window at the guard returning to his post.
 
It was unclear what Terrance’s intentions were, and that made him nervous.
 
The man seemed nice enough, especially considering their first meeting, but maybe it was all a cover.
 
There wasn’t time to investigate further right now.
 
He could just hope it wouldn’t be something he regretted later.

Amelia was already waiting on the sidewalk with her luggage, and Xander was waiting to see her off, along with Nicole, her short black hair blowing in the soft breeze.
 
A quick loading of the trunk, a few goodbyes, and they were on their way.
 

The drive was going to be a long one, and he encouraged her to sleep a bit on the way.
 
She didn’t know how to drive, but once the middle of the night came, he may need her to help him stay awake.
 
Soon she was out, and Dhane thought about his final days in Hallow Falls...

It was a quarter past five in the morning when Dhane and Demian checked out of the motel they had been staying in.
 
Since he had the keys to his mother’s house, there was no need to spend the extra money.
 
As they approached the house, Demian began to get
skittish
, like he was trying to remember something.

“I’ve been here before, I think.
 
Long ago, long ago.”

“Maybe Algernon brought you here?”

He shrugged and they continued, though his nervousness didn’t go away.
 
They stepped inside, and it got worse instead of better.
 
The smell of the place spooked him further as his eyes darted shadow to shadow.

“Demian, relax.
 
There’s nobody here but us.
 
I checked out the basement, and there’s only one window.
 
There’s a blackout curtain, so you’ll be safe there for the day.”

“I will try to calm down, try to.”

Through the basement door they stepped, and down the creaky stairs until they entered the room.
 
The sense of
deja
vu didn’t go away and instead increased as he began examining a far wall.

“Something familiar here...”

Dhane was worried his companion was losing it completely.
 
Sure, it was possible he had been here before, but why was he acting this way?
 
Most people would explore further with excitement, wondering if some long lost memories might come back.

The vampire seemed to zero in on a set of bricks on the wall and began to fiddle with them, running his fingers between as though he might try to take the wall apart.
 
The sudden sound of rushing air put Dhane’s heart in his throat and the bricks began to separate.
 

Soon there was a narrow passageway of darkness, and the two men looked at each other with surprise.
 
Quickly digging into his pocket for a lighter, Dhane flicked the flame on and entered the passage, which was about fifteen feet long.
 
It felt a lot longer in the cramped area, but finally he entered a room on the other side.
 
The lighter seemed to have trouble pushing into the darkness, so he tried heading to the center of this new room.
 
There, as expected, was a light bulb and pull chain.
 
With a tug, the lights came on all over the room, and his mouth dropped.

Demian followed the distant light now, through the passage, and into the room.
 
There, he froze with wide eyes at the sight before him.
 
Dhane could only look at him and imagine that this was why the vampire had blocked his memories of this place.

There were medieval torture devices against one wall, a cage in one corner, shackles hanging from the ceiling along another wall, and a vampire feeding table.
 
A drain was installed in each corner area, obviously for excess blood and whatever else.
 
A rack held whips, a couple maces, and several swords and daggers.
 
A set of shelves held basic tools, such as hammers and pliers, which were obviously for unconventional use.
 
The room was a complete nightmare, one which Demian had already experienced.

With a cry, the vampire scrambled back through the passageway, up the stairs, and straight out of the house.
 
He was outside before Dhane could even get through the narrow brick opening.
 
Out on the front porch, Demian was curled into a ball, shivering and mumbling to himself.
 
It was a horrible sight to see, one that the mage would never forget.

“Demian, are you okay?
 
What happened down there?”

“I remember, horrible, horrible.
 
Never make me go in there again, never again.”

There was undeniable terror in his voice, and it made Dhane very sad.
 
Thoughts of what must’ve happened there, things his father must have done, made him feel regret despite the fact he wasn’t even around at the time.

“I’m sorry, Demian.
 
I had no idea that was down there.”

It took a little while for Demian to regain his composure enough to get up off the ground.
 
Time was getting short before sunrise, and Dhane was beginning to worry about what to do.
 
He went back inside the house and up to the second floor.
 
Once he had all the doors closed, it looked like it would stay pretty dark in the hallway.

Downstairs, the vampire was just standing up when he returned, and the sun was only about ten minutes from peeking over the horizon.
 
There was not time for a slow and careful broach to the subject of going back in.

“The sun will be here soon.
 
Obviously the basement is out, but the hallway has a closet that I think we can keep dark enough.
 
We have to go now though.”

Demian shuttered, but then nodded and carefully followed his friend back inside.
 
Into the closet he stepped, lied down, and tried to go to sleep.
 
All he could think of was that basement.

Quickly the mage moved to seal off the closet, stuffing towels at the base of the door, and then taping more of them all around the door’s edges.
 
It wasn’t the ideal location, but it would have to do for now.
 
Once he felt it was safe, Dhane retrieved the journal he found and went out to the porch.

It didn’t take him long to realize that the journal didn’t belong to his mother, but rather his father.
 
The beginning was all about how they met, and how young love blinded them both, but before he hadn’t realized the point of view wasn’t specific.
 
It started as more of a story from a third person, friendly, happy.

After a year, it seems, something changed between them.
 
She had become colder, more forceful towards him and towards everyone.
 
That was the beginning of the darkness that seemed to consume them.

Marissa began doing experiments in her basement, first simply minor ones like blood tests and such.
 
Determined to find the source of power for werewolves and vampires, she went much, much further.
 
Apparently, angry at the close friendship between Algernon and one of the young vampires, she tricked the vampire into her basement, trapped him, and used him as a guinea pig.
 
She even pulled out his vampire fangs with pliers to see if they would grow back.
 
They did.

Eventually, she began to push Algernon for a child.
 
It began with pleas for starting their own family, but after failing to impregnate her, he began to have visions in his sleep about the end of the world on the horizon, and only his child could save everyone.
 
The dreams haunted him, and Marissa pushed him to his breaking point.
 
If a child was necessary, a child would come, even if it would come by raping the witches.

Through a series of coincidences, the opportunities arose for him with various witches in the council.
 
By now, he had already reached the height of his power, and nobody could hold him off.
 
Eventually, three women became pregnant.
 
Marissa was one of them, finally.