by John Booth
Sal was becoming more agitated while Peter felt calmer. If Han No punished the girls, it would be because he didn’t recognise his own inadequacies. Unless he understood perfectly, a dark part of Peter’s mind whispered. Rule Five was Trust no one. Some people in the Establishment thought that rule should be Rule One.
“Didn’t you mind those girls doing it with me? I thought there was something special between us.” Peter asked the question preying on his mind, the only one that truly mattered.
“We have to go, Peter!” Sal implored, close to tears. “I thought you’d enjoy it. Most men do. I do care for you, Peter, but we have to go.”
“It seems a funny way to show you care, to hand me over to a couple of prostitutes in a brothel. That just doesn’t sound like you care for me.” Peter held Sal by the shoulders trying to make her look at him, but she looked everywhere but at his face. Sal burst into tears, sobbing piteously.
“I haven’t betrayed you. I’ll show you later. I promise I’ll fuck and suck you until you’re ready to drop. But we have to go, Peter, we have to go!” Sal collapsed onto the rich black grass, sobbing uncontrollably.
“I’m sorry.”
Peter offered Sal his hand. He helped her to her feet. Sal scrambled into the trees with Peter following. Sal wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her blouse, her Goth make-up smearing leaving dark streaks across her face.
The bark of the trees looked dark purple. Despite the black leaves, Peter could have sworn he recognised the trees as varieties of oaks, beech and elm. It was like taking a walk in an English wood after having taken a psychotropic drug. Hellogon was a weird mixture of the familiar and the exotically strange.
After twenty minutes or so, Sal sat on the trunk of a fallen tree in a small clearing. She still sniffled but seemed in more control than before.
“You’re a complete bastard, Peter Cragus,” Sal mumbled as she stared down at her hands.
“I’m tired of being lied to and manipulated.” Peter said as he sat beside her on the trunk and put an arm around her shoulders. Sal snuggled into him and put her hands around his chest.
“I’m sorry for everything,” Sal said quietly. Then she sat up a bit straighter as if having made a decision. “Let me tell you about Hellogon.”
“My Mum works for Hellogon Imports. That seems an unlikely coincidence.”
“That company’s owned by Han No. He offered her the job to bring you here.”
“So her job is a fake?” Peter wondered how his mum would cope with that news.
“No, it’s a real job in a real company. Han No uses it to trade things between Hellogon and Earth without anybody finding out. Now shut up and listen as I’ve a lot to tell you and I’ll never finish if you keep on interrupting.”
“Hellogon and Earth have been connected forever. Stonehenge is a portal between the worlds and that’s thousands of years old. The two worlds don’t connect everywhere, just in special places. Most of them are in England, but there are portals in China and a few in South Africa. Some Hellogon philosophers think the Hellogon and the Earth are the same planet, separated by millions of years. Our continents are roughly the same shape and we have identical looking moons, but nobody knows for sure.
On Hellogon, there are four species of sentient life. We can’t interbreed with each other or with humans when we’re here.” Peter started to interrupt and Sal put her hand gently over his lips to stop him.
“When we travel to Earth we become human. Don’t ask me why, it’s a mystery. On Earth, we can breed with each other or with humans, but when humans come here, they stay human. The exceptions are cross-breeds like you. Cross-breeds either stay human or take after their Hellogon parent, which is what you’ve done.”
Sal paused for another moment and ran her hand across Peter’s face as if reassuring herself of the change in him.
“You’re a Vampire. Not quite the same as in the human stories. You have lightning fast reactions, much faster than a human. You can trap the unwary with your mind and you can suck their life energy from them with your touch. You can do that to any of us except for the Grimms. You can also fly.”
“What, do I flap my arms or turn into a bat?” Peter asked laughing. Sal gave him a stern look and he shut up.
“You can fly by thought. While on Earth, you’ve a shadow of these talents. Your reactions are faster than humans, though not by as much as here. If you jumped off a two story building on Earth, you’d land without injuring yourself, though it might hurt a bit. Now you’ve been here you’ll be able to see in the dark,” Sal paused and whispered. “You can even make stupid girls fall in love with you.”
Sal fell silent and Peter said nothing. They were lost in their thoughts for a while. Then Sal continued her lecture.
“Solly is a Grimm. On Earth, they all tend to look like him, short, fat and bald. On Hellogon, they look like monsters. They have big bat-like wings, grotesque bodies and hands like claws. They can fly. They move at frightening speeds so they can appear next to you without warning. They’re the strongest of all of us and they are great at business and negotiating.” Sal laughed. “They always end up running small businesses on Earth. Not big ones, as they wouldn’t find it fun. They like to get their hands dirty.”
“Solly never has any customers.”
“Who said he was in the furniture business?” Sal laughed at Peter’s naivety. “And then there are Warlocks, like me.”
“Shouldn’t you be a witch? I thought warlocks were male witches?”
Sal punched him gently in the stomach. “Never call me witch. Our species is Warlock and that’s what I am.”
“We look pretty much like humans, though we don’t have any body hair down under. We can do all sorts of magic: light fires, make lights, party tricks kind of stuff. We have two great gifts, the first of which is to create the portals to Earth. We created all the portals. We can jump to Earth from anywhere if we have time to prepare, though we might end up a thousand miles from a portal. On Earth, we created the great portals the species use to travel with. But only a Warlock can open the weak portals like the Sunner Door.”
“There are arches in Solly’s store upstairs that he can project door shapes onto,” Peter said.
“Solly has collected up some of the most ancient gates and brought them to where they’re strongest, near Hellport Lane. They can be used to travel to different places in Hellogon.” Sal explained.
“Our second great talent is to turn our enemies to stone. They don’t stay like that for long. How long depends on our power and the strength of the one we did it too. For a vampire, petrifaction might last five minutes. It’s an exhausting magic.”
Peter said nothing, but he wondered what might happen if someone petrified in Hellogon was sent through a portal to Earth.
“Han No is a representative of the fourth species. He’s a dragon. If you were to see him here, he would look like a Chinese dragon. Snake like, with small wings on his back to enable him to fly and claws. Dragons can spit liquid fire that kills. The dragons are highly intelligent and totally ruthless. They’ll use any weakness they can find to achieve their ends.”
“On Earth, they become human in form. Humans and the other species are just tools to use and play with. They always look Chinese and there seems to be some ancient connection with that race.”
“What’s this ‘Great Game’ Han No talked about?”
Sal explained wearily. “The species form alliances and fight for supremacy of Hellogon.” She leaned against Peter, resting her head against his shoulder. “The Vampires and Grimms team together as do Dragons and Warlocks. Alliances are loose and don’t include all members of a species. There’s fighting between people in each species as they wrestle for power. My mother was killed by your uncle when I was seven in a Vampire raid on the Warlocks.”
Peter cuddled Sal. “It must be terrible to lose your mother to an endless pointless war.”
“Daddy tired of the fighting and fled with me to Earth. Now I’m e
ighteen, I’m fair game for any of the species to capture or kill. My magic isn’t very good because I’ve had no chance to practice it. That’s why I’ve been wearing a Vampire disguise. The other species tend to leave Vampires alone. Even the Dragons fear them.”
“Why am I so important to everyone?”
“You’re the last of the Cragus family. For untold centuries the Cragus have been the ruling family of the Vampires. There aren’t many of any of us left, perhaps a few thousand of each species, possibly only a few hundred Dragons as they never were prolific breeders. We face extinction unless one species is allowed to rule or perhaps one or more of the species is destroyed.”
Peter’s Establishment trained mind saw a flaw in Sal’s explanation.
“With so few of the four species left, how’s it possible to maintain a society?”
“We brought lots of human slaves to Hellogon. They plough our fields, gather our crops, and build our homes. We don’t need as many as we once did, but humans don’t breed well in Hellogon. People go missing on Earth all the time, young fit people, some of them end up here.” Sal sounded embarrassed and ashamed as she explained.
“Han No and the others want to use me to control the Vampires?” Peter asked, checking if he understood this aspect of their plan.
“Han No wants to control the Vampires through you and forge a grand alliance with the Dragons as our leaders. Solly wants to unite the Vampires and the Grimms and destroy the Dragons and the Warlocks. The Warlocks want you dead as they fear that with you in the Dragons’ power, Han No will have no further use for us.”
“You betrayed your own people to sell me to Han No,” Peter said with a sigh.
It took a few moments for Sal to realise what Peter had said. She went rigid in his arms and pushed him away, getting to her feet and looking at him in horror.
“Are the Dragons expecting to find me here or do we have to walk any further?” Peter asked her mildly. He was totally sure of his conclusions. The only thing he didn’t know was why. That was the trouble with Establishment training, it taught a logic that was inescapable and often bitter in its consequences.
“I didn’t, I wouldn’t…” Sal trailed off as she saw the disappointment and certainty in Peter’s eyes. “Han No came to my house before I left to meet you yesterday. He told me he’d kill my father if I didn’t lead you to him. I didn’t lie to you, Peter. Every single word I’ve told you is true.” Sal voice rose higher. “He wanted me to explain Hellogon to you before he made his offer. He promised he wouldn’t hurt you. He promised…”
“I want you to tell Han No I’ll consider his offer when I’ve heard from the other side. Then, if you’re able, go and tell my mother not to worry about my absence. You owe me that.”
Sal spoke in desperation. “Peter, he’ll kill my father if you don’t stay.”
“No he won’t, because then he’d lose his hold over you.” Peter explained gently.
“Why would he want to control me? He’ll probably kill me on the spot.”
“No he won’t, because he knows I love you, though it may take me a little time to forgive you.”
“Peter…” Sal wailed in distress and fell to her knees crying.
Peter looked at Sal, his guts churning. Causing Sal pain was necessary because Han No would see through her if the distress wasn’t real. He wondered how flying worked, perhaps if he struck a pose like superman and thought up, up and away.
* * *
Sal knew Peter was gone. It was as if her world became a little darker. A swishing in the undergrowth caught her attention.
Sal stood up and turned towards the sound, a smile on her face as she thought Peter must have changed his mind. Her smile turned to fear as Han No walked into the clearing on his reptilian legs with two tall Warlock guards on either side of him.
“We heard his speech, but before we could act he flew away. I am very disappointed in you, Saloni Dark. You have failed me.” Han No’s forked tongue slid out and around his mouth, tasting the air.
“Still, you and your father may have some uses yet.”
Han No turned to his guards. “Take her back to The Bird Cage and find a client who likes to punish girls. Instruct the client to avoid causing permanent injury. Other than that, he should give her agony. Tell him to take his time over it.”
Chapter Thirteen
Cragus
Peter flew through the air above the black forest and looked out across the deep purple landscape. Flying proved as easy as thinking about it for a Vampire. The extraordinary thing was the nature of it. He flew vertically upwards at first and then tried horizontally like Superman does in the movies, but that proved uncomfortable. In the end, he flew as if standing on an invisible platform. Despite travelling at speed, he felt no wind on his face and he heard the world around him clearly, as if he was hanging stationary in the sky.
Peter decided he was moving the air around him along with him. He wondered what would happen if he was in a rainstorm or if he flew into clouds, but he wasn’t going to find out today as the sky was clear.
The vast red sun started to set and Peter supposed it must be getting darker. Given the size of the sun, it would take it ages to set, probably hours. He looked over the rolling black grassed hills around him and tried to decide where he should go.
He needed to meet with the Vampires and preferably representatives of the Grimms as well. The landscape wasn’t completely devoid of habitation. The odd farm and hamlet stood out here and there, but Peter suspected the Vampires would want to live somewhere much more impressive. Sal had mentioned castles and mansions, which sounded much more appropriate.
It was noticeable that all four of the intelligent species of Hellogon were arrogant bastards, happy to enslave and abuse humans as much as they were to play games of life and death with each other. Peter felt he would have to play an equally harsh hand. From the moment he arrived on Hellogon he’d felt different and he didn’t think he would find such behaviour difficult. Perhaps he had changed more than just physically when he crossed between the worlds.
He decided to fly as high as he could to get a better look around. It soon turned out his top altitude wasn’t much higher than he had already been flying. He came to a stop in mid air and turned slowly. He didn’t need to use his feet to turn, he just willed his body to do it.
Over to the east, in the opposite direction to the sea of red fire that was the setting sun, he saw the glint of a river snaking its way across the lands. There were hills in that direction and he had the feeling a castle should be built on a hill. He set off towards the hills as fast as he could go.
As he flew, Peter worried about Sal. It was a calculated gamble to give her to Han No. By sending her back, her father would be kept alive, because it was certain Han No would have killed her father if Peter had taken Sal with him. Han No would have seen betrayal by Sal as an insult and be forced to respond. On the other hand, there was no guarantee Han No wouldn’t still kill Sal and her father.
Peter showing he cared about Sal was the only thing that might keep them alive. Peter hoped it would be enough. Sal betrayed him, and he would have to find a way to test her loyalty before he could trust her at his side. This world and its politics were so dangerous he couldn’t afford to have any doubts about her.
As he approached the river, he spotted a castle at the top of a small hill. It looked like something out of a fairy tale. Even the stone in this world was black, and the castle grew from the hill like a massive lump of intricately carved coal. It was no wonder Peter hadn’t spotted it earlier. The castle blended into the landscape.
The river looked amazing. The sunlight hitting its surface reflected back as a deeper darker red. The river sprawled across the broad flat land like blood from a giant’s artery, spilling across the landscape.
Peter dropped in altitude and saw that the castle was much more impressive than he’d first thought. In the deep purple light of the setting sun it cast an awesome silhouette. Peter spotted a
figure standing on the battlements and decided to fly towards him. There was no time like the present to introduce himself to the Vampire families.
If the young woman resting her arms on the black stone of the castle walls saw him land she made no acknowledgement of it. Peter was deciding whether to cough when she turned around to face him. She was every bit the goth Sal pretended to be. Her long hair was black as a raven’s, thick and rippling in the air as if possessing a life of its own. Her eyes were jet black and she had facial markings like Sal’s make-up. Peter could see the markings weren’t make-up; the boundaries were softer and her flesh more alive than Sal could manage with make-up.
The woman appeared to be a little older than Peter, but not by much. She stared at him eagerly as though she saw him as a challenge. She was attractive, but Peter was not thinking in a way that allowed him to see such things and her beauty made no impression on him.
“Welcome Lord Cragus to Castle Cragus,” she said courteously. “My name is Ilarna Dran and we are related to each other.”
She walked through an open door into a sumptuously decorated room and Peter followed her as he looked around unobtrusively. He was on the lookout for potential threats.
“Who runs this castle?” Peter needed to understand the Vampire politics if he was to be effective. Rule Three was the one you followed when your life wasn’t in immediate danger.
“Lord Baldan is First Lord of the Vampires, until you are accepted as the true heir.” Ilarna laughed as if she thought that was extremely unlikely. “They say you are a half-breed brought up by a human mother. That must be a little bit like being raised by a cow.”
Peter stepped closer to the girl and she backed away as she saw anger flash in his eyes. “No offence intended, Lord Cragus. It’s just the way we think of humans here.”
“Don’t repeat the offence and we’ll get on just fine. Where can I find Lord Baldan?”