His stomach turns over thinking about what things were done in this lab, and feels like he is about to throw up. Closing his eyes he takes a few deep breaths tying to calm himself. Something metal hits the floor in the other room. Vernon’s body tenses up, and he holds his breath. Looking toward the doorway there isn’t anyone standing in it, and it isn’t open more than it was.
Peering past this door shows much of the same, a near identical laboratory. The only differences are what are stored in the jars, and metal tubes. Vernon walks through four such labs before the adjoining room is different. It is a parking garage with six semi-trucks parked outside the lab doors. Vernon can see down the tunnel that he guesses leads to the warehouse district on his right, and it continues to go past the facility on the left. The ceiling is a good twenty feet above his head, and it is all made with concrete.
An unseen force slams into Vernon’s chest ramming him into a nearby truck leaving a human sized dent. He falls to his knees sliding off the truck.
“You just had to follow me.” Hood’s voice echoes in the underground garage. “You could have run, or called for backup, but no you just had to come after me.”
Vernon coughs up some blood, spitting in on the ground. “I told you, I’m going to finish this.”
“Have it your way.”
Vernon is slammed to the ground, the force cracking the concrete around him. He hears Hood’s footsteps getting closer to him, but can’t get up. There is still something pressing him into the ground.
“You know, I used to be like you. Then I saw my father killed in front of my eyes by one of the men that I trusted. The Astrum Government has more going on then you realize, yet you gladly take the place as one of it’s dogs. If you only knew the folly of your choice.”
“I take it you’re going to educate me on how I’ve made a mistake, and should join your side?”
“I have already extended that opportunity to you once, and no one gets a second. It is a shame really, because you could have made such a difference with that power you have.”
Vernon reaches for that power that Hood speaks of, opening his inner door to the light that’s within. He lets the anger take hold, turning the light black, and covers his body in it. The spell that holds him to the ground releases it’s grip, and he stands.
“You’re right,” Vernon snarls, “I can make a difference with the power I have.”
The light flares around him, and he moves to close the distance. Vernon appears before him, dust flying all around him, throwing a fist encircled in blackness across Hood’s face. Hood takes the hit, and flies backward.
Mid-air two red orbs form in his hands, firing beams. Vernon reacts on instinct, imagining an ice shield, and hold out his hand. A wall of ice appears between him and the beams. They melt some the ice, but don’t break through.
Vernon wonders how he just did that. He doesn’t have any runes on him, and the only way to use magic for a rune user, is to have the rune. Unless he wasn’t a rune user anymore. Something must have happened to him that lets him cast spells. He feels like this might just work in his favor, maybe. Never really casting spells before leaves them in an unstable state. If he uses it wrong it could backfire.
Hood pulls out his staff, the same one he had in the forest. It extends out to a full six feet long. Runes etched into the metal slowly start to glow red. Hood points the staff at Vernon, flame sparks to life at the tip, and grows to the size of his head.
“You will not best me Paladin, no matter what power you might have.” Hood says, and then releases a barrage of fireballs at Vernon.
Each ball of flame whizzes past, exploding behind him. Vernon catches a couple with a small wall of ice, but it quickly melts from the intensity of the fire. Extending the light out past his fingers a few inches, he swipes through another, a flash of hot air hitting his face. He squints his eyes, and waves his hands in the air.
Hood thrusts his staff into Vernon’s stomach.
“I told you, you would not best me.”
A red light glows at the end of his staff pushed into Vernon’s stomach. The heat coming out of the rod starts to burn his skin.
Hood says, “Any last words?”
Vernon smiles, “Yea I do, hope you have a good plastic surgeon.”
Vernon grabs the red dot with his black covered right hand, and the spell fades away. Hood’s face fills with shock. Vernon pulls on the staff, bringing Hood in, and rams his head into Hood’s nose.
He gathers ice into his left hand, calling forth a pillar of ice, slamming into Hood’s face hurling him fifteen feet across the room through the concrete wall. Hood pulls himself out of the wall, concrete crumbling around him.
Hood raises his hand in the air, and swipes downward. Vernon can feel something pass over him, but his light protects him. Hood begins to chant, and a greenish white glow surrounds him. Vernon can tell it’s a healing spell, and runs at him. Hood lifts his head, and smiles.
The aura around Hood changes to a reddish green, as a wave of fire heads to Vernon. He can’t stop it, and it washes over him fire covering his body. The flames melt away only staying long enough to singe his clothes.
Hood says, “Once I beat you, I don’t think I’m going to kill you. You are too interesting a subject to not dissect.”
“Not going to happen.” Vernon replies.
The red pinpoint light flickers back on, and extends out from Hood’s staff like a hair. He lashes out at Vernon, each blow cutting through his jacket like a surgical laser, singeing his skin. Each hit breaks away some of the thread, but more comes out.
Vernon calls forth ice on either side of him, but this doesn’t help him. The magic laser cuts through the ice, and it falls on Vernon, pining him in place. Hood flips his staff around, and water comes out from the end, surrounding Vernon up to his stomach. Vernon slashes at the water, but it stays attached to him. Hood then holds out his hand, muttering a single word, freezing the water in place. Vernon is now trapped in ice.
“Do not concern yourself with what will happen to you.” Hood says. “Just know that I am going to make you become a part of me. That power will be used for great things, I assure you.”
Vernon could feel the sting of ice against the exposed parts of his skin, and the cold is setting in. Hood grabs the middle of his staff with both hands, and twists. As his hands pull apart it reveals two three-foot blades.
“This will only hurt for a moment.” Hood says.
Vernon’s teeth start to chatter from the cold. He tries to struggle, but the ice makes it impossible. Hood gently places the left blade on Vernon’s right shoulder, lining up the thrust. He puts pressure on it, and the blade sinks into Vernon’s skin. All the cold and shivering goes away as the searing pain from the blade slowly going though his shoulder screams out in his brain.
“Now then, Mr. Douglas the rookie Paladin, your very essence will be devoured. I will take it and fuel my own life, and your body will be preserved for study. Good night.”
Vernon stares at the blade, clearly aimed for his head, and tries to gather concentrate on a spell, or his light, or on anything. The only thing going though his mind is the pain from the twisting and turning of the blade in his left shoulder.
Hood pulls back his right hand, and Vernon can see a flash of joy running through his eyes.
A voice shouts out in the background, “Vernon!”
Hot red and orange light fills the room, streaking between Vernon and Hood. The blade connects with the light, and a woman screams. Vernon’s eyes come back into focus, and Marie is in front of him, her folding armor deployed around herself with a blue gunmetal finish. She was in her elemental form, with new wings extended from her back that Vernon hadn’t seen before. The flames covering her skin slowly fade away from her, as she grabs hold of the blade in her chest.
“Vernon!” She says, “I got here just in time.”
“Marie… why are you here?” Vernon asks.
She smiles, “To save you of course.”
Her body slumps in the air, the tip of the blade showing near the middle of her back. The grip she has on the blade doesn’t let up, and Hood tries to shake her off of it.
“Damn woman, getting in my way. Let go of my syphoning blade.”
Vernon looks at Marie’s face, and can see the light in her eyes fading away. His heart twists in agony, as his vision becomes blurry.
He screams out echoing down the tunnels, “Marie!”
The ice surrounding Vernon cracks, as a force of power flows out from him. Hood stumbles backward a step as the wave hit him, and the ground beneath Vernon breaks and shatters. Vernon lets out a battle cry, as his feet lift off the ground. Black light covers his body obscuring it from view, and reflecting back what light shines on it.
As he hovers in the air, a halo of white light appears behind Vernon. Rays of light begin to shine off of it like the tick marks on a clock, spinning around the outer edge of the halo. Vernon wraps his hand around Hood’s forearm and pulls the blade out of his shoulder, ripping Hoods arm off with it.
Hood screams in pain. He drops the other half of his staff, and Marie with it, as he grabs at where his arm once was. Vernon cradles her, and places her on the ground. Her armor layered itself at the place of impact, but the blade was too sharp, and went through anyway. He pulls the blade out of her, and she takes in a sharp breath, but the light in her eyes comes back slightly.
Kissing her lips gently, he then stands and faces Hood.
“You will pay for that.” Vernon says, his voice reverberates deeply throughout the room.
Hood laughs.
He extends his right hand, and the blade that was in Marie flies to his right hand. Gripping the pole tightly, he shoves the blade into his wounded shoulder. Mouthing a few words under his breath, a circle of green and red runes appears at the base of his feet, and his wounded shoulder. He pulls out the blade, and jams the tip into the ground, driving it to the hilt.
“Omladit!” Hood yells.
A green glow surrounds him, as the runes turn. His arm is remade as the circle of runes leaves his body, and the superficial wounds he had over his body vanish as the runic circle from the ground crawls upward.
Hood’s body is rejuvenated, and Vernon watches as it happens.
Hood says with a deathly red gleam in his eyes. “There is no damage that you can do to me that I cannot repair. Know for taking my arm, I will rip each of your limbs from your torso, before killing your woman. I will then let you bleed out laid over the corpse of dead wife.”
On instinct, Vernon holds both of his hands open in front of him, a pillar of white light opens on the ground beneath them, flowing though his hands. He grips down, seizing the light in his grasp, and raises it high.
The light pulls out of the ground, forming into a sword. Hood extends his newly made left hand, and pulls his other blade to his hand. Vernon can feel his eyes twitching with hatred, as he lets out another battle cry.
Vernon wakes to the feeling of cold concrete on his back, his clothes tattered to shreds. Every inch of his body is aching in pain. Pain which he was happy to have, because he was sure he was still alive. He takes a moment to wiggle everything, making sure he is still in one piece. He opens his eyes, but everything is blurry. Lifting his head, he can see other people around, running back and forth. Marie is a few feet away from him, and there are healers surrounding her.
Vernon chokes out, “Marie… is Marie ok?”
“Hey now, just lay your head back down bud. They’re taking care of her, it’s alright now.” Duke says kneeling at Vernon’s side.
“Seleif… Hood… where?”
“Gone. Just rest.”
Vernon lays his head back down, and closes his eyes.
26
There is a constant beeping from the heartbeat machine behind Vernon’s head. He rubs at his head, and turns over in the hospital chair he’s been sleeping in for a week. It was starting to grow on him, but he was really beginning to miss his bed at home. Well, the bed I had anyway, he thinks. He stares at Marie in the hospital bed, still asleep since the attack she took that was intended for him. The doctors had told him a few times that it would be ok to go home, and get a good nights rest. That lots of people do that. He didn’t care, he wanted to be there when she woke up, whenever that was.
Blu and Ignis were sleeping in the corner curled up next to each other snoring away. Between the snoring and the beeping, it had been a long week. Vernon pulls out his virtual note pad, and writes Marie a note. Saying that he’s there, and will be back shortly. He places in front of the all the other messages that he’s written her while she’s been out. They fill her virtual space, like a dome covering her over, the newest note within arms reach for if she wakes. Vernon gets out of the chair, and heads down to the cafeteria to see if there is anything to eat.
The next day comes, and Vernon wakes up to the same hospital room. There were still no changes, but the doctors did have some news, it looks like Marie had been poisoned when she got stabbed. They are still working out what it is, but that might take another day. Duke walks in, as the doctors are leaving.
“Hey Vernon, how’s Marie doing?” Duke asks.
“Everything is still the same, she’s asleep, but they don’t know why.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”
“How did you two know that I was there in the first place?”
“She still had a copy of the underground tunnels, and we were talking about where Hood might be. When she showed me the map, and it was labeled New Atlantis, I just put two and two together.”
“I’m sorry about your father, I had no idea.”
“You think you didn’t. When I saw everything match up, I knew, but I didn’t want to believe. Since we hadn’t heard anything yet, we went over there to see if that was where you were. Marie and I ran into some hooded characters, and Marie ran on ahead. When I went after Marie, and found you, it wasn’t you I found.”
“What do you mean?”
“You were covered in…” Duke pauses for a second. “Darkness, you were covered in darkness. There was a glowing circle behind you with tick marks like a clock, and you eyes were shinning white. Then then blindingly golden yellow light sword in your hands.”
“Yea I remember some of it, but not what happened to Hood.”
“He was on the ground, and you were standing over him. I called your name, and when you looked at me. You roared. When I looked back at my father, he was gone, and you collapsed.”
“Have you told anyone what you’ve seen?”
“No I haven’t, I figured that I should talk to you first. Hear anything from your parents?”
“Nope nothing, but I have to handle one problem at a time here.”
“I understand, Gon and Gos would like to see you before they leave, but they wanted to wait till everything died down around here. They are down stairs in the cafeteria waiting if you want to talk to them.”
“Just send them up here. I don’t want to leave Marie’s side if I don’t have to. They say she could wake up at any moment, and I don’t want her to worry.”
Duke nods, and leaves the room. Vernon sits down in his chair, squeezing Marie’s hand tightly. She came after him, even though she hates fighting. Duke helped get her to him, and then rescue both of them out of that place. He just shakes his head, and kisses her hand. He doesn’t want to think any further than that, because everything is fine now, and all she needs to do is wake up. Vernon lays his head down on her hand. There is a knock on the door, and Dray-Gon walks in.
“Vernon, I thank you for helping us. We were able to rescue all the eggs that were taken from the forest.”
“That’s good news, and you’re welcome.”
Gon curls up his nose, “This room smells of drigh venom, where is it coming from?”
“Drigh venom… that might have been used on Marie. Can you do that thing you did on me?”
“I can, but it may harm her, like it harmed yo
u.”
“She’s a fire elemental, I would put credits on her being able to handle a little fire.”
Gon smiles. “For you, I will try this.”
Taking in a deep breath, his form melts into his larger half dragon state. Golden fire slowly pours forth from his lips, and washes over Marie. There is no heat standing next to the fire, and the sheets do not burn. Marie starts to moan, and rustle around in her bed. Vernon smiles, because that was more movement from her that he has seen in days.
“It’s alright Marie, I’m here.” Vernon says, grabbing her hand.
His fingers and palm start to heat up, but he doesn’t care. He holds onto her through the fire. She settles back down as the fire fades away, along with Gon’s breath. His form shifts back into his human self.
“That is all I can do for her, you should know soon. If it was the venom keeping her asleep it is no longer there. If it was something else, then your doctors will have to figure it out.”
“Thank you Gon, I pray that is what it was.”
“My son and I are going to find a new nesting area, it will be some time before we see you again.”
“I figured, just don’t get yourself captured. I don’t know if I could pull of two escapes off.”
Gon laughs, “I will try to keep that in mind. Do you mind watching the little ones for awhile longer?”
“I feel like they are part of my family too. They have helped out in the worst of it, and I couldn’t ask for more than that. So yea, they can stay as long as they like.”
“Then I will take my leave, may the winds be at your back my friend.”
“Same to you.”
Gon turns to leave the room when the door opens, and Tyler walks through. They freeze, and stare at each other.
Tyler says, “What are you doing here?”
“I am just about to leave.” Gon replies, and bows his head, and starts to walk for the door.
Tyler takes a step in front of him, blocking his way out. “Yea that doesn’t answer my question.”
“I do not owe you an answer human. Now let me pass.” Gon snarls.
Cypher Theorem Series Box Set: Books 1-3, The Zero Class, Shadow Moon, Dragon Fire: A Science Fiction Fantasy Page 59