“No!” Constantine growled.
“I created monsters,” Death mumbled as he held on to the rooftop for support.
“I don’t think you created them; we just gave them too much power.” Constantine walked to the edge of the building. “We don’t have a lot of time. Save the humans first, kill the vampires next, and take care of our mess later.”
“You make it sound so simple, my old friend,” Death told him.
“Do you have a better plan?” Constantine looked back at Death as he prepared to pounce to the ground.
“Not at all.” Death shook his head.
“In that case, we are going with mine. You take the right; I have the left.” Constantine dove from the roof before Death could reply.
Constantine landed in the courtyard of the palace, but Death was already walking inside. The screams rattled through the palace from all directions. Constantine rushed inside, slamming into a dead body in the first corridor.
“Death walks the night,” the soul told Constantine.
“Killers walk the night. Death is just a little too late tonight.” Constantine ducked out of the way as an arm flew over his head. “This is a nightmare. Hey boy, listen to me.”
The soul drifted in and out of awareness, looking down at his dead body. Constantine slapped his thigh, making the young man’s gaze lock on him.
“Ouch, how did you do that?” The boy touched his thigh in astonishment.
“No time to explain, I need you to focus. Can you do that?” Constantine asked the young man, who nodded back. “Good. I need you to grab every soul you see and take them to the courtyard. Can you do that?”
“Soul?” The young man glanced around the corridor.
“Yes. Every soul, every ghost. I don’t care what you call them. Can you get them out?” Constantine pointed at two more souls hovering over their dead bodies. “I need them out of here.”
“What are we supposed to do in the courtyard?” the young man asked.
“Wait for Death to take you home,” Constantine answered softly.
“Home.” A smile spread across the young man’s face. “Yes, I can do that.”
Constantine did not have time to give him any more guidance because the young man ran to grab the first souls he could find. Constantine ran in the opposite direction towards the sounds of battle. He arrived in the throne room to find the place was a killing field. Blood covered the floors, the walls, and every living person in that room. A few vampires fought in a corner but most were fleeing down hallways. Constantine found Sergius in the center of the room, kneeling on the ground and completely covered in blood.
“Are you hurt?” Constantine shouted.
“Linus is dead.” Sergius sobbed next to his dead friend.
“We will make them pay, Sergius.” Constantine bared his teeth, ready to devour the enemy.
“It wasn’t the vampires.” Sergius closed Linus’ eyes and forced himself to stand with his scythe. “Those Reapers killed him when he tried to save a young girl. They are killing everyone Constantine.”
“This is worse than I expected.” Constantine took a deep breath. “Sergius, I need you to get every human out of here. Can you do that for me?”
“What are you going to do?” Sergius asked, eyeing the carnage in the room.
“Stop them before everyone is dead.” Constantine extended his claws. “Death is on the other side doing the same. They need to be stopped or they will kill Odoacer and his troops.”
Constantine ran out of the room at a full sprint, moving with a vengeance. Every evil Reaper he found he cut down. Constantine followed the sound of metal crashing and found an underground chamber. Julius and ten of his men were fighting twenty vampires. The vampires were gaining ground and Reapers were being chopped down one at a time. Constantine leaped over the Reapers and landed on top of two vampires in full leopard form. The vampires were unable to reach the feast fast enough. In one fluid motion, Constantine ripped four of them apart. The Reapers took advantage of the confusion and rallied behind him.
They battled for almost an hour in the confined space, but eventually Constantine and the Reapers defeated the vampires. Only four Reapers were left standing, including Julius.
“I’m glad you made it, Constantine,” Julius told the leopard. “That is you, right?”
“How many wild leopards have you seen in Rome lately?” Constantine asked Julius as he shifted back to his normal size.
“Leopards, none. I saw a few lions once, though.” Julius wiped the blood from his face. “I think we lost him.”
“Who?” Constantine asked.
“Who else? Orestes?” Julius replied, taking a knee.
“We will find him, but we have other problems now.” Constantine walked slowly towards Julius. “How many of those new Reapers have those black eyes?”
“What?” Julius mumbled.
“Almost a hundred, sir,” one of the other Reapers replied.
“Are you sure?” Constantine marched over to the young man.
“Yes. Some of us have been monitoring them.” He motioned with his head to his peers.
“There is something different about them, about the way they look at people.” His friend moved closer to them.
“Constantine, what is going on?” Julius asked.
“They killed everyone they encountered, even our own,” Constantine whispered.
“Are you sure?” Julius stood up very slowly.
“I saw it myself,” Constantine told him.
“This is all my fault.” Julius covered his face with his bloody hands. “I thought we needed fighters willing to do anything. I didn’t know they would…”
“Constantine, Odoacer’s troops have entered the city.” Sergius rushed into the chamber. “Jesus Christ!”
“I know,” Constantine replied. “We need to focus. Julius, Sergius, I need you two to take as many of our Reapers to meet Odoacer. He needs to secure the city and find Orestes as soon as possible. The rest of us need to find Augustus before our demented Reapers find him. Go.”
“Constantine be careful,” Sergius told him as he left the room.
“I’m sorry.” Julius cried.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, you couldn’t see in the hearts of those monsters. Hurry, go.” Constantine pushed Julius out the door. “You three follow them, and make sure you all come back.”
“You are right. It is my fault.” Death appeared behind Constantine.
“Ahh.” Constantine jumped a few feet off the ground. “What is it with you sneaking around today? You are not even supposed to do that to me. I’m obviously exhausted if I’m not able to sense your arrival.”
“There is too much death here for you to feel me properly.” Death kneeled next to one of his Reapers. “I did this. I should have taken my time and inspected them better.”
“Sure, there are hundreds of things we could have done better, but we didn’t.” Constantine slapped his friend over the head.
“Ouch.” Death rubbed his head softly. “Have I mentioned you are violent?”
“Sometimes it’s the only way to get you out of this doom state you get in,” Constantine answered. “We don’t have time to find who is at fault. We need to stop a hundred Reapers from killing half of Rome, destroy the remaining vampires, and put a barbarian on the throne. So can you focus now?”
“Are we doing the right thing?” Death asked Constantine.
“Only time will tell, but right now, we have work to do.” Constantine pulled his old friend off the ground and dragged him outside. “You take these souls home, and I will find the soon-to-be former Emperor of Rome. Then we hunt some vampires. Simple enough?”
“You are nuts.” Death forced a smile and wiped the tears from his cheeks. “Time to work.”
Death disappeared down the hall and Constantine followed him. The morning was half way over but he was the best tracker in the empire. If anyone could save the young boy, he could.
Chapter 14
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br /> Present day- Texarkana
Bob sat in the truck, speechless. Constantine tapped the arm rest with his claws at a slow, steady beat. The silent stretched between them, and Constantine eventually faced Bob.
“Are you serious?” Bob had to swallow twice before the words could come out.
“The good news is, we saved Augustus,” Constantine told Bob with a shrug. “Yes, he was deposed of the empire, and Odoacer’s men declared him king. We did capture and killed Orestes in Placentia. Basically, everything was accomplished.”
“Boss, you started the Dark Ages?” Bob mumbled as his eyes became increasingly bigger.
“One coup. It was one simple coup.” Constantine stood up on his seat. “Do you know how many coups I had organized before that one? Do you know how many political powers I had dethroned? How was I supposed to know it was going to take humanity one-thousand years to get over that one?”
Bob busted into uncontrollable fits of laughter. “Humanities darkest time were instigated by you!”
“When people say it out loud, it always sounds a lot worse,” Constantine mumbled, rolling his eyes.
“Did you at least kill off the vampires?” Bob struggled to breathe and speak at the same time.
“No!” Constantine pouted and sat back down. “It took us a year to hunt down all the demented Reapers. Julius didn’t realize he had recruited blood-thirsty mercenaries. After we cleaned that mess, we spent the next seventy-seven years hunting down vampires in every part of the world. We didn’t have time to focus on Rome. Both the East and the West of the Roman Empire had fallen into chaos. Our war only left more carnage in its wake.”
“How did you stop the war?” Bob leaned closer to Constantine, who was barely whispering.
“War,” Constantine mumbled.
“War? What do you mean?” Bob asked.
“War intervened.” Constantine almost choked on the words. “The great Horseman War mediated a treaty between Death and the Vampires.”
“Now that is insane,” Bob said incredulously.
“He had never mediated a successful peace treaty in his existence, and he was the one that ended the horror.” Constantine covered his face with his paws. “To this day, I still have to hear about it. Of course, he took full advantage of the chaos and conducted some of his most memorable war campaigns against humanity, but he blames the Dark Ages on us.”
“You technically started it,” Bob added.
“Don’t take his side,” Constantine snapped.
“And Death?” Bob tried to change the topic a little.
“Damaged forever.” Constantine took a deep breath. “That was the last time any human ever saw his real self. He blames himself for everything. Death became a monster to humanity, the bringer of suffering. To punish himself, he shifted to whatever vicious image a person believed Death was.”
“Is he still punishing himself?” Bob asked.
“Not anymore. Now it’s just a habit. At least that’s what he wants me to believe.” Constantine stared out the window with teary eyes.
“I’m sorry, boss.” Bob reached over and touched Constantine on the back.
“Some lessons are hard to learn,” Constantine admitted.
“What happened to the Reapers?” Bob asked softly.
“Asleep in the river Styx waiting for judgment day,” Constantine gave Bob a weak smile.
“I. Need. Back up!” Isis’s voice blared through the speaker system in the jeep.
Bob hit his head on the roof of the truck, startled by the sound. Constantine looked around the area for Isis.
“How in the hell did she find them before we did?” Constantine asked, his eyes still searching.
“It’s Isis we are talking about. She would find trouble at a Tibetan Peace Summit.” Bob pressed the speaker button on his truck.
“Isis where are you?” Bob asked.
“Behind Oakland Village,” Isis mumbled back.
“Of course she is around the corner from us.” Constantine shook his head. “Swing the truck around. I’ll head that way now.”
Constantine jumped out of the window again and dashed through the parking lot. Bob put the truck in drive and rushed after him.
“Never a dull moment,” Bob told himself, shaking his head.
About the Author
D. C. Gomez was born in the Dominican Republic and at the age of ten moved with her family to Salem, Massachusetts. After eight years in the magical “Witch City,” she moved to New York City to attend college where she studied film and television.
After college, in an effort to expand her horizons and learned more about people, she joined the US Army. She proudly served for four years. Her quirky, and sometimes morbid, sense of humor was developed. She currently lives in the quaint city of Wake Village, Texas, with her furry roommate.
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Of Love and Dragons
By: Jenn D. Young
Prologue
Aleria
Cold sank deep into my bones as I wrapped my arms around my knees and drew them up to my chest, the hollowness I felt inside gnawing away at my sanity. I had betrayed the person that had looked at me like I mattered most in this world. Why? Because of my family. I had always known that they would cause my downfall, and here I was, trapped in a cold prison cell because of them. I deceived him and now I would be punished. Pain radiated from my chest, the thought of never seeing him again made me nauseous. I would make my family pay for the pain that they had caused me. Tears fell down my cheeks as the despair overwhelmed me.
How was I going to survive this?
Chapter 1
Aleria
“Aleria, come downstairs now, everyone is gathered,” My mother shouted, echoing throughout the old house. I made a face of disgust and rose from my desk. A few deep breaths and I was ready to make my way into the figurative Lion’s Den.
I forced a smile as I mingled and made small talk with the men and women that knew my parents. The entire party was a demonstration of power and wealth. Our large home was adorned with large paintings and statuary, the food that was being served was of the finest quality and the top shelf alcohol flowed freely. It was nothing but a grand facade.
“Aleria...” Disdain dripped from my mother’s voice as her eyes trailed over my dress. Her blood-red nails tapped against the glass in her hand, her lip curling before she took a sip of her champagne. “...that is a horrible color on you. Why didn’t you wear the dress I had set out?”
“It didn’t fit,” I muttered. She knew that; purposefully getting a dress that was a size too small in an effort to make me feel insecure in my body.
“Well, dear, if you would stop eating so much, then maybe you would be able to lose that weight and fit into a dress of the proper size.” She walked away, laughter echoing behind her.
Swiping my sweaty palms on the fabric of my dress, I snatched a flute of champagne from a waiter as he walked by. My anger dulled as the minutes passed, and I conversed with the familiar strangers. The snide comments of the company in the room did not hit their mark after my mother’s caustic remarks. I was used to their insults and passive aggressive complaints about my shortcomings as their eldest daughter.
The faces in the crowd blended together as I drank the bubbly liquid slowly, smiling and nodding when appropriate. I didn’t listen to the conversations; the words went in one ear and out the other. They were all about the latest trends in the fashion or financial markets, things that never interested me. Continuing to attend these boorish events was not my choice. I only attended because my absence would have been frowned upon.
My ears perked up as I heard the whispers of a group of girls just a few years younger than my twenty-one-year-old self.
�
��Did you see how gorgeous Maximos looked?” One of the girls gushed, putting a hand over her heart as she fanned herself with the other.
“Yes!” They all squealed in response, “When he was holding his daughter, it was just to die for.”
I blanched in horror. Their chorus of laughter was anything but subtle and as I realized their topic of discussion, they needed to be more discreet. I gave them a withering look, arching a brow in question while signaling across my throat in a cutting motion.
Abruptly ceasing their mirth, their faces paled as they moved apart and returned to their parents sides.
The girls could only be discussing the photos released of one of the Dragonkyn warriors and his infant daughter. I had seen the photos myself and agreed with the girls, but this was not the place to be discussing such matters.
I was ten years old when the Dragonkyn arrived. They had come from another planet thousands of lightyears away, reaching Earth after their home world was destroyed. Due to environmental instability and a shift in their planets core, their world was no longer able to support life.
Once it became clear to the people of the planet Drakona, their king had sent out ships to try and find the closest planet would support their lives and way of living. He found Earth just a few short months before the planet collapsed and became a neutron star.
They had wished for peace among our kind, showing us their technology in exchange for asylum for their people. The proud Dragonkyn had shown the people of Earth what their advanced tech could accomplish, quickly propelling our planet into the same realm of space travel.
The partnership had been truly beneficial. The Dragonkyn warriors had found mates among the human women to replenish their depleted population, and Earth had been thriving under their superior medical and technological advances.
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