by Sean Davies
“Don’t worry, you’re safe. They'll love you to bits, just like I do,” Genie chuckled reassuringly.
“Phew, good to know,” Constance sighed with relief, before obsessively picking apart the Vampire’s use of the word ‘love’. She considered bringing it up, but forced the idea out of her head, putting it down to a casual slip of the tongue.
“Look, there's a glade with a pretty pond,” Genie pointed out through the trees. “Let's take a peek while we're here.”
“Alright, cool.” Connie couldn't see anything, but she trusted the Vampire's vision a lot more than her own. “There's so much magical energy here,” she observed; her senses were overwhelmed, but she felt incredibly powerful.
“Yeah, I can feel the spring in my step. Soz in advance if I get hyper.”
“After seeing you off your nut on Rushdust, I can deal with hyperactive,” Connie chuckled.
“Listen to you, little miss vodka shots!” Genevieve retorted in mock outrage. “You were running circles around me.”
“Oh, bollocks,” the Book Wielder argued. “I could barely keep up!”
“Made yourself out to be all prim and proper, wide-eyed and innocent, and you ended up drinking a seasoned Vampire Nightclaw under the table,” Genie teased.
“You are so full of shit, Genevieve Jameson,” Connie laughed, shaking her head as they came to the beginning of the clearing.
The glade was so dense with magic that the air rippled periodically, and the sparkling deep blue waters in the large pond that occupied most of the clearing was filled with tiny diamond-scaled fish. A woman with light green skin emerged from beneath the surface, her long emerald hair skimming the water as she playfully washed her full-figured body.
“Hello, good-looking,” Constance whispered impishly.
“That’s a green Dragon in human form,” Genevieve gasped. “Look, she’s got the same collar scars as Quoro.”
“Speaking of Quoronastra, do you think he’d swap places with her?” the Book Wielder joked, raising an eyebrow cheekily.
Genevieve prodded Connie in the ribs, and she let out a loud unexpected giggle.
A jade globule of something smacked into a tree beside them, exploding in a little green cloud of nauseating poison that made their eyes water and noses sting, even at a distance.
“It’s very rude to peep, little fleshy ones,” the Dragon purred like a feline. “This place is no longer safe. You should leave, just as I am about to.”
“Sorry!” Connie blurted, embarrassed about being caught. “Why isn’t it safe anymore? Maybe we can help.”
The Dragon chuckled slowly. “The ancient ones are siphoning the life out of this area. I could not stop them, so a Book Wielder and a watered-down Archmage-fragment will have no chance. Try if you wish, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
A pair of leathery green wings grew out of the woman’s bare scaly back and she leapt from the water, shifting into her true dragon form once she had cleared the overhanging tree branches and flying away at a lazy pace.
“Are all Dragons total dicks?” Genevieve remarked in an annoyed tone.
“Maybe—it is two for two at the moment,” Connie replied. “Anyway, let’s go prove her wrong.”
Constance followed Genevieve as she walked deeper into the woods, as the Vampire thought that she could see the sun reflecting off copper-coloured metal. Suddenly, the usually graceful Nightclaw tripped on a pale root and fell flat on her face.
“Have a nice trip?” Connie joked, but she received no answer. “Genie?” she asked in a more serious voice when she didn’t get a reply. “If I come over there and you make me jump, I swear to the Goddesses I’ll slap your tight ass so hard…”
The Book Wielder trailed off, finding herself growing quite faint. She saw that Genie had fallen on a patch of pure white soil that was covered in grey leaves and black twigs, and Constance struggled to pull the groggy Vampire out of what she assumed was a null zone, as her own energy was drained away.
The moment Genevieve was clear of the area she flipped back onto her feet, and shrouded herself in shadows to the point where she was almost invisible, before drawing her Katana ready for a fight.
“Huh? What’s going on?!” Genie said sleepily, still very dazed.
“You fell onto a little null zone,” Constance replied. “It knocked you right out.”
“Cheers for pulling me out. I’ll pay you back when we get to my place,” Genevieve said suggestively, before carefully approaching the monochrome area to inspect it. “It’s spreading, let’s find another way round.”
Connie rolled her eyes. “Flirting at a time like this, honestly…”
“Best time, when the adrenaline is pumping,” Genie smirked, as she scouted a clear path that hadn’t been nullified. “Tell me your heart’s not beating like a drum?”
“Yeah, it is, but not in a good way,” Constance replied, completely exasperated. “I thought you were a goner!”
“I’m fine—just really, really embarrassed,” Genevieve laughed drunkenly. “Saying that… you don’t think I could get a quick top-up, do you? I still feel quite dozy.”
Constance gave Genie a puzzled look before realising what she meant. “Oh, you want blood! That’s fine, but it had better not be a sexual thing,” she added, remembering how many times she’d been bitten the night before.
“In that case I should take your wrist, rather than that sweet neck of yours,” Genie suggested, licking her lips slowly.
Constance presented her arm to the Vampire, and sighed in a mix of pleasure and pain as Genevieve’s fangs punctured through her olive skin. The Book Wielder rubbed her thighs together, pursing her lips as she tried to keep her flustered mind focused on the pressing crisis rather than the sexy Vampire Nightclaw nibbling on her wrist.
Genie licked the wound shut with her tongue—Vampire saliva was naturally designed to heal surface wounds and minor injuries, which helped to keep their feeding habits hidden (back in the days when their existence was a secret)—and gave the Book Wielder a kiss on her hand.
“Thank you, hun, I feel better already,” Genevieve said with a smile, feeling a lot less sloshy in the head. “You know, your blood tastes really unique. I thought it was in my imagination at first, but it’s definitely got a weird oily taste to it.”
“Gee, thanks,” Connie frowned.
“Not in a bad way! It just reminds me of that smell that wafts around at a DVO gas station,” Genevieve said defensively.
Constance pulled a face, not knowing whether Genie was pulling her leg or not.
They soon found another route to the metallic object, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and the deadly areas of creeping monochrome blight, and Genevieve used her indestructible Spell-forged steel Katana to chop through the wilderness that barred their way.
At the centre of another small glade was a three-sided spire that touched the tips of the overhanging tree branches, and appeared to have pierced directly upwards through the ground. It looked like it was made of brass and gold, with deep straight lines engraved on each triangular side, running from its muddy tip all the way down to its wide base. At ten-second intervals, the spire would rumble slightly, and its perfectly straight rivulets would pulsate with yellow and gold energy before fading again. A large null-zone surrounded the structure’s base, and veins of snow-white grass and dirt spread through the forest in every direction, climbing up trees, bushes, and flowers alike.
Connie’s mind involuntarily flashed with images of similar machinery, rooted all the way down to the mantle of Mydia, and the glowing sphere of light at their core let out a scared, agonised scream that made the Book Wielder wince, before the vision dissipated.
“It’s the Creator… it’s taking the energy from this place for itself,” Constance explained, nursing her aching post-vision head.
“So much for being just a theory,” Genevieve replied in a low voice. “Are you okay? Did you see it?”
“Just
quickly,” Constance nodded, as she took a deep breath and pulled herself together. “We need to take this spike out, otherwise these null-zones will keep spreading.”
Genie gave her a worried look, but decided to follow up on the questioning when they weren’t standing next to a deadly ancient device. “I might be able to chop the top bit off, where it’s not too thick…”
“Give me a second and I’ll blast it.” Connie brought the appropriate spell to mind as she pulled her book out of her bag.
The Book Wielder stood with her feet planted firmly on the ground, and raised one hand towards the spire while she clutched her silver and black book with the other. A blazing yellow circle of runes formed in the air next to Connie’s hand, and they buzzed with electricity as the Book Wielder summoned more power. A moment later, a lance of bright energy shot out of Constance’s palm, blasting a neat hole in the metal spire.
Connie tilted her head in confusion. “That was meant to explode.”
“Maybe its siphoning power from the air, too,” Genevieve pondered. “Perhaps I should try whacking it after all,” she said, half serious.
Before Connie could reply, the engraved lines on the spire flashed blood red and the metal folded out at the base, creating three man-sized alcoves. Cogs, gears, wires, golden energy, and liquid metal formed together in the openings, and the small hole Connie had created proceeded to seal itself up in the same way.
The Book Wielder could sense new, artificial life forming in the spire, and prepared herself for a fight.
“What the hell is it doing?” Genie questioned, watching the spire guardedly.
“Defending itself. Look—”
One bronze, one copper, and one gold humanoid figure emerged from each alcove, which quickly sealed up behind them. The mechanical beings took another three steps forward and stood to attention, taking no visible action. They had bladed wings which made them look like skeletal angels from a distance, and smooth, plain face plates devoid of any features. Yellow and golden energy pulsated across thin channels on their armour panels, and the small gears and pistons underneath their metallic ribcages continually turned and repositioned themselves as though each moving part had a mind of its own.
“I’ve seen something like them before,” Genevieve murmured, racking her brains until she’d unearthed the memory. “Oh! There was a statue of one in a Clockwork Angel club Annabelle and I went to on our travels, although we didn’t know we were surrounded by Supernaturals at the time. We must’ve looked like a right pair of tit-heads…” Genie couldn’t help but reminisce, considering the mechanical figures seemed more like statues than imminent threats.
“How is that even possible?” Constance asked guardedly, unable to shake the sensation that they were in grave danger thanks to her nagging intuition.
“Maybe their leader Zero—or one of her high-ups—went wandering in the depths of Desem’s DVO channels and spotted something like them?” Genevieve theorised. “Anyway… are they going to attack us, or just stand there?”
Constance took a cautious step forward. “They probably will when we threaten the device.”
As soon as the Book Wielder’s foot touched the slowly dying grass ahead of her, one of the machines leapt into the air and glided forwards quickly. Genevieve didn’t think twice; she darted in front of Constance with her superhuman speed and swung her Katana elegantly, slicing the mechanoid into cleanly cut pieces.
“Look out!” Constance called, firing a flash of lightning over Genie’s shoulder.
The Vampire was shocked; the other machines had joined the fight with speed parallel to her own, but luckily Connie’s quick spell had deterred one robot, giving Genie enough time to parry the freshly formed arm blade belonging to the other.
The two intact mechanical creatures split up, one engaging in super-fast melee combat with Genevieve as the other advanced on Constance, deflecting her spells as though it had become impervious to her magic after the initial bolt of lightning had connected.
Genevieve tried to move away from her foe in order to assist the Book Wielder, but received a deep cut on her shoulder and a small nick on her neck as soon as she turned her attention for a split second, forcing her to focus on defending herself.
“They’re adapting to our moves!” the Vampire Nightclaw shouted. “The gun, Connie, use the gun!”
Constance stopped backing away and cancelled her flamethrower spell (which had only succeeded in making the skeletal angel’s metal body glow), before pulling the pistol out of her handbag and unloading it towards the mechanoid with embarrassingly poor accuracy. The bullets smashed through the creature’s heated metal head and body, causing it to slouch over lifelessly.
Genie jumped in the air and kicked out with all her strength and body weight, knocking the final ancient robot back long enough for the Book Wielder to bath it in fire and lightning before it could close in again.
“Phew,” Genie exhaled as her wounds slithered shut, and she turned her attention back to the ancient spire.
Constance, however, could still sense the power resonating within the defeated mechanoids, and she nudged her Vampire lover on the arm. “Genie? They’re fixing themselves…”
The energy pathways of the spire’s defenders pulsated in time with the structure itself, and their maddeningly mixed internal mechanisms clunked and whirred as liquid metal slowly pulled them back together and repaired their damage.
Genevieve lashed out with her blade and scattered the parts, but the more damage she inflicted, the quicker the guardians repaired themselves.
Connie reached out with her senses and felt that the mechanoids were linked with the energy-draining spire, but her Book Wielder negation magic was unable to sever the invisible threads of power.
“Can I get a little help here?” Genevieve asked in frustration as she kicked a broken head into the trees, only for it to scuttle back to its owner on little robotic spider legs.
“They won’t stop until that spike is destroyed,” Constance said, quickly formulating an impromptu plan in her head. “I’ve got an idea—you are sure that Katana’s indestructible, right?”
Genevieve sliced three stumbling chests’ off their brassy legs in a single swoop. “Uh huh, I’ve hit harder things than these clockwork assholes.”
“Good, come with me!” Constance led the Vampire away from the regenerating robots by her arm.
“What’s the plan, Connie-Lee?” Genie questioned, as they approached the spire as closely as they could without crossing onto the growing null-zone. “We won’t have long ‘til they’re good as new.”
“I’m going to focus as much magic onto your Katana as possible,” Constance explained rapidly. “I need you to Nightclaw your way up to the tip of the spike and cut all the way down. I’ll do as much damage as I can from here, and pull you out of the dead-patch before you’re knocked out.”
“Will that be enough to stop it?” Genie asked, immediately holding her blade out towards the Book Wielder.
“Hope so. It’s the only idea I’ve got,” Constance told her with a grimace.
The Tropican Book Wielder looked at the Katana, placed her free hand above the flawless Spell-forged steel, and scowled as she enveloped it in a vortex of golden fire and yellow electricity.
Genevieve leapt high up into the air as soon as Connie was finished, and she somersaulted towards the spire, cringing as her energy was swiftly stolen by the ancient device. The Vampire Nightclaw hammered her Katana into the tip of the spire before Connie’s enchantment was also siphoned away, and guided it down as she travelled towards the white ground.
As Genie’s blade sliced through the gold and brass spire like a hot knife through butter, Constance forced herself to turn away from the advancing mechanoid guardians, instead throwing all of her might into a series of whip-like magic attacks that burnt into the device’s damaged sections and spread inwards to ruin its unfathomable inner workings. The tall three-sided metal spike was split open and half-melted when its
engraved rivulets finally ceased pulsating with energy.
The spire’s three defenders fell to the ground at Constance’s feet as their energy source was irrevocably damaged, and Genevieve kicked herself off the ruined structure, flipping backwards in the air and landing gracefully by the Book Wielder’s side.
“Nice work, Genie-Jay,” Constance panted, catching her breath.
Genevieve blinked rapidly and smiled; her mouth was lined with dagger-like fangs, and her skin was turning grey. “Thanks… hun…”
“Wow, that thing drained you dry—come on, help yourself,” the Book Wielder said, moving her wavy hair away from one side of her neck. “But try and leave me with enough to stay conscious.”
The Vampire Nightclaw didn’t need telling twice, and bit into Connie’s soft skin as gently as she could with her overwhelming thirst clouding her mind.
Constance yelped in pain and clutched Genevieve’s blue hair, but soon the Vampire’s strong bite became sensual. Connie eyes fluttered closed, and she bit her lip to stop herself from moaning in pleasure.
Genevieve quickly healed the Book Wielder’s neck and gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry about that, honey! I’ll bring blood packs next time we go for a pleasant stroll,” she joked, giving the ruined machinery an amused look.
“It’s cool,” Constance sighed, trying to clear her head of dirty thoughts.
Genie gave her a coy, knowing smirk. “I told you the adrenaline gets you going.”
Connie blushed and inspected the closest nullified patch of ground. “It wasn’t the fighting, it was that bloody mouth of yours.”
Genevieve winked and stuck her tongue out at Constance.
Constance pursed her lips and shook her head in disbelief, shocked at how easily the Vampire was able to entice her.
“So, are the dead patches receding?” Genie asked, her voice turning serious.
“It doesn’t look like it, but they’re not spreading anymore,” Constance determined, poking a petrified patch of grey mushrooms with an unaffected stick.
Genevieve kicked the lifeless mechanoids. “Well then, mission accomplished, I guess. If only we could see the look on that Dragon-bitch’s face.”