The Creeper Dance, Reaper #1

by Darcy Lennox

  Akilis had learned a thing or two in New York and Boston, but most impressively, he had learned how to network – people liked to talk to him, he was that kind of guy. In a dark corner of the Hammersmith and Circle line Eastbound platform, White Spiders hung rigidly by the stairs staring passengers down as they exited the super bullet trains. With faces to resembles that of humans, the synthetic flesh ended just by their collarbones where they were built with reflective mirror material. Some say the material was chosen to entice people to look at them.

  We waited for the train to disperse of its passengers and let new ones flood the carriages. When the protective tube shields that had been placed by the Organisation due to one too many Stallite creatures jumping before trains out of curiosity finally closed, the train shot off in its new and improved super speed. Akilis and I hid from the White Spiders on the platform and then climbed the stairs so that we were on the above ground level platforms where the giant exit was visible amongst a mass of people entering and leaving all at once.

  ‘The exit is a portal; most people don’t know that but those who do will know how to leave through it. People don’t pay attention to the small details in their day to day lives. It’s our way out,’ Akilis said.

  ‘How?’

  ‘I can’t tell you that – for now, you’ll just need to trust me,’ he held out his hand.

  I took it and restrained the need to crush his bones to smithereens. As we joined the crowd of people exiting I held my breath and followed his step, one minute we were walking side by side people and creatures and the next, we were not.

  On the other side of the portal was a tunnel of nothingness, there were no walls and no floors, it was a mirage of black matter like we were floating in a transparent bubble. A golden door, emerged from the darkness, it was slightly slanted to the left – or maybe we were slanted to the left, I could not tell. There was a shifting of several keys until the door was pushed open by a hand that was followed by a man who looked only a little younger than Akilis’s human age of thirty-two.

  ‘Wasn’t expecting you back so soon,’ he said to Akilis in an accent that sounded very much like that of a native Londoner.

  ‘Me neither,’ Akilis said, stiffly.

  The man, who seemed just as tall and just as wide as Akilis was sporting a heavy jacket and chiselled features that could very well compete with Akilis’ own. He swung the door out wide open for us to step through. I let go of Akilis’s hand instantly.

  ‘Go on,’ he nudged at the both of us.

  Akilis gave me a cautious look, it was a warning for me not to do anything stupid and then, he stepped through the door where the darkness engulfed his body whole.

  ‘It’s harmless,’ the young man said with a slight smile – he was responding to the confused look on my face. There was a different scent about him, it was strange, and it made me feel uneasy.

  Ignoring him, I thrust myself through the darkness which felt more like mist and heard the door lock behind me. When the mist cleared, it was not any brighter – perhaps it was an illusion.

  ‘We’re underground,’ Akilis said.

  ‘I gathered,’ I said as my body automatically measured the air pressure and dust particles in the atmosphere. They were different, still dirty, but different – we were no longer in London that was for sure. New York had a cheesy tang to it.

  ‘Troye,’ Akilis suddenly turned to the man. ‘We have news of the Daggertooth clan in London, and you’ll want to hear it.’

  When I turned to look at Troye once more, he was nothing like the young boy Akilis had explained. In fact, he was not a boy at all, he was a man.

  Troye, spread his hands out across the air where a black hole increased in a size big enough for the both of them, and me. And then it started to make sense – he was Ilythian of course, which explains the strong stench of fresh cut grass and stardust about his aura, but there was an element of something else. Sand? No. Roots? No. It tasted like, metal – no, glass? Yes. And something else, I just could not put my finger on it.

  The Kingdom of Ilythia was the first of the stars to be born, because of this and the convenient geographical location it was created in, it became the headquarters of all things great and important for all the kingdoms. Naturally, each kingdom had their very own governing system of course, but the Kingdom of Ilythia was the biggest and most populated of our kingdoms so it was inevitable that most officials were stationed there.

  History is strange that way, although Stallites such as Troye are quick to call their kingdoms home, this land – earth – was once their home too centuries ago. They descend from the same breed of homo-sapiens species as that of humans, but there was a mutation in the genes sometime around 4 BC – a date that is familiar to humans as the birth of Jesus Christ, but for us it means something else entirely different. As the world developed, small gatherings of groups and families grew into human civilisations of towns and God-fearing cities standing on the pillars of slaves, but something changed along the course of nature. Some humans developed abilities that were welcomed with great enthusiasm at a time of exceptional supernatural interest, some were capable of controlling the seas with a simple push of their minds, some could create magnificent sources of explosive energy from the tips of their fingers and more. They called them, the Zi’tikai, people believed to have been celestial beings blessed with gifts from the Gods. But with distorted balance, equilibrium would come in the form of other mutations and some were not as great as that of the Zi’tikai.

  Our history tells us that it started with the Dark Wolf somewhere in what is now known as North America. It is said that a sacred tribe of people hidden amongst their native woodlands and away from outer society could turn themselves into wolves. The Dark Wolf was a notable tribesman of his people and due to his pure goodness and love the Gods gave him a gift. He was first to shift, but when wolf tried to become man again it did not work. And so, in a fit of rage he lost control and murdered his people in cold blood. When he eventually saw through the red, the Dark Wolf howled for days. It is believed that it was his howl that woke them up from the dead and allowed his fellow tribesman to shift into wolves, thus a new breed of humans were born, shifters or what we now call, lycans. But they were not the only creepy crawlers of the night, and soon the humans learned of such danger fearing that this was the consequence of the Zi’tikai people because, with all good must come bad. But the story of the Dark Wolf was only one of many as terrible things were happening all over the world – nature wanted it that way.

  The ancient Zi’tikai breed of what we know as the Stallites of today were shunned from their world and forced to create stars of their own. Shifters and other creatures of the night and day followed them there, terrified for their lives on land with the humans. And yet, as they settled into their kingdoms the nature of their ancestry was forgotten within the archaic stories of a secret species eager to leave their old lives behind and begin afresh in a world that accepted them for who they were. Just like the humans did with their new modern world of borders and countries, for power and greed.

  When the mist from Troye’s hands withered, he folded his arms and stood up tall like he was a tree that was growing at a superfast rate right before my very eyes.

  ‘We know you do,’ he said.

  ‘You do?’ Akilis said in outright surprise, hell even I was surprised.

  ‘Of course, we’ve been watching you – the both of you,’ he said and his eyes fixed on me specifically.

  Shit. Is there anybody that had not been watching me? I clenched my fists and flared my nostrils, my fangs were on the verge of release. The innocent expression on Troye’s face merged into a smirk. Clearly, he wanted a reaction out of me, but not today.

  ‘Come on,’ he said seriously with a level of confidence that was almost intimidating. ‘We’ve been waiting for you.’

  When he disappeared through his portal, I took a hold of Akilis’ wrist to which he halted like an obedient dog. ‘Is there anything el
se I need to know?’ I gritted my teeth.

  ‘No – I didn’t know – now I’m beginning to think this was much bigger than either of us anticipated, I’ve been played as much as you,’ he said suspiciously.

  I let go of his hand and followed suit, the portal automatically decreased and dissolved in the air when I was out of the other end. We were now above ground; the air was cleaner, and I could see New York’s infamous street lights through the large bay window. We were several hundred meters above ground in fact, which was evident by the flying pellabores. I stepped closer to the window and looked down at the people on the ground, so small like insects. After the war, sky scrapers were built incredibly tall due to the population that on some days like today, it would skirt the surface of the clouds.

  ‘Welcome,’ a voice boomed.

  I quickly turned on the spot to several strange faces in a room too small to accommodate them all. Akilis, who seemed just as stunned as I was stepped back in line with me. ‘What the hell…’ he said to Troye.

  Troye smirked and took his position besides a man, who could easily wreak havoc on every head in the room if he wished. He was sat in a chair that only emphasised his colossal build, I recognised his face instantly. The Great Kendrix Balthazar. A warrior of the Xanyth Guardianship, he was one of the most famous Ilythians in our world and a master of mental energy. It was Kendrix that saved us from extinction after the Battle of Dust. Considered a deity amongst men, he was not a force to be reckoned with. Parents now told their children tales of his legend, each story bigger and greater than the last. Despite the years, he still looked sturdy for his age, he must be in his sixties now – I was not sure, being immortal meant I never had to keep up with other people’s birth years, fortunately.

  I felt Akilis tense next to me. They looked at us, as we looked at them. They were folk from all four kingdoms, Ilythians, Ahkulites, Zjarrians and Tokenites together as one for the first time in what I imagined must have been years, maybe decades. Soil, ice, fire and sand gathered in one room, each scent just as distinctive as the other.

  ‘I do not bow to any man,’ I said making sure to sweep my eyes over their glaring holes as they individually averted my gaze when their turn came.

  Some of the strange faces hissed in my direction as they pulled their heads to the ground. Clearly, they were aware of some of my abilities.

  ‘She is nearly two millennia old, she has earned her place in this world,’ Kendrix voice rumbled softly like that of thunder after the lightening.

  I heard them gasp and whisper between themselves, even amongst the other kingdoms I was something of a myth, still.

  ‘In fact,’ he paused as his voice picked up. ‘She was there when our stars were born, am I right?’ he looked directly at me, unlike humans, lycans and vampires – creatures from the stars were not as easily swayed by my trancing abilities, but that did not mean it was not possible either.

  ‘Yes,’ I said finally and the tight packed crowd of beings in this single room broke out into a buzzle of whispers.

  ‘I believe you have information for us,’ Kendrix said and the whispers came to an automatic stop, tension lingered in the atmosphere – I could hear their hearts beating faster like that of a song in which the tempo increases so quickly that you cannot pick up the single beats anymore.

  ‘The Daggertooth clan want to take over the world,’ Akilis stood up to his full height. ‘They’ve been planning on doing so for years – carefully waiting for their time, abiding by human laws so that suspicion remained at the minimum.’

  ‘He is right, it only became evident to us last night that they are building an army. But not just any army, a hybrid army,’ I said.

  ‘What do you mean by hybrid?’ Troye asked.

  ‘My blood, my dhamujki blood – last night we witnessed them inject a vampire and a human with my blood to merge the vampire genes with my own. My dhamujki genes make me an ancient breed of half vampire and half lycan, I excel both species in all senses and abilities – they thought that a transfusion of my blood and vampire blood would unify to create other dhamujki hybrids like myself.’

  ‘And? Did it work?’ one of the Stallites said, anticipation evident by the glaring of his eyes and the gawping of his mouth. When he saw me give him the attention he so desperately yearned at the request of his question, he looked down at his feet quickly.

  ‘Yes,’ I said which was followed with startling gasps.

  ‘Both human and vampire?’ Kendrix said quietly while pondering the outcome in his mind, I could tell by the way that he furrowed his brows and looked to the ground anxiously. The years of war had been unkind to him.

  ‘Yes and no.’

  ‘No?’ Troye said.

  ‘From what we saw, the vampire hybrid was a success,’ Akilis said. ‘Her eyes were the same as hers after the transfusion. There is no doubt that they are probably turning vampires into hybrids as we speak. But as for the human…’

  ‘It did not work – my blood and human blood – it should never be,’ I gritted my teeth as an image of the beast played in my mind.

  ‘Why? What did you see?’ Troye asked curiously.

  ‘That thing – whatever it was – because it clearly was not human nor vampire, it was evil – just pure evil,’ Akilis spat. ‘I have never seen anything like it.’

  A sharp murmur erupted from the crowd, shock – fear – anger plastered across their faces.

  ‘It seems,’ Kendrix broke the chatter. ‘That we have work to do.’

  ‘Yes,’ Troye gave a slight nod. ‘I’ll inform the others.’

  ‘Others?’ I said.

  ‘Did you think it was just us?’ Troye smirked.

  Yes, I did, and yet again, I was surprised to find that I was wrong. And then I began to wonder what else I did not know.

  Chapter Twelve

  Akilis and I were each given a room to rest in for the night. I soon found out that the building was not any old tower block, the stench of creatures from all four stars was poisonous in the corridors. Kendrix had spent the last decade keeping his people safe in buildings such as this. Every single room was taken up by creatures of the day and night, apart from vampires of course. This building was the primary headquarters for former Stallah Society members to congregate, it was protected by a magnetic field that could repel White Spiders and other man-made machines. But more impressively, it released hallucinogenic gases susceptible to non-Stallite beings if they steered to close. They called it Star Tower, but not all Stallites knew of its existence, because not all Stallites were on our side.

  My mind flickered back to Kendrix, clearly, he must have done his own research – well enough to know how old I was at least. The mention of our stars triggered an on-going memory chain of events in which the open space before me suddenly became a film theatre as vaults of dramatic lights pierced the sky, the ice, the sand and the soil. People, terrified of the unknown, looked to the stars in awe – waiting… wondering whether this strange phenomenon was that of a miracle or a disaster. A sizzling sound erupted in my ears and a chill went up my spine, I dragged myself out of such memories and put a steel door in front of the memory box locked around the chains inside my mind. Each kingdom became a country, not exactly like the humans however with their theoretical borders and separate ruling system – their countries are like that of prisons used to frighten people into doing what they wanted. As the centuries went by, people felt as one with their kingdoms so it was only fitting that their identities became part of their kingdom’s origin. Take the Ilythians for example, the simple acknowledgement of their good nature earlier made me realise just how much character each kingdom had. The Ahkulite people – my people – were regularly referred to as shadows, due to the climate and the amalgamation of diverse species in which vampires, lycans and all had become creatures of the night by natural progression.

  Thump! The loud sound of flesh slapping metal dissolved the accelerated thought process in my mind and when I tried to get back on tra
ck, I was too lost to stir the wheel. Tired. Yes, I was tired.

  The loud thump sounded again, it was Akilis – I could smell the familiar scent of mint and rugged, day old salty sweat behind the door. As I opened the door in my haze, I had not realised how hungry I was until I was dragging him inside my room and pushing him onto the bed with fangs on full display. He locked his hand around my neck before I could get to the base of this collarbone where my hands were clawing at his jacket. I froze at the unexpected movement, unable to speak nor breathe.

  ‘If you wanted to feed, you should have just asked,’ he said.

  He released my neck and I dug my fangs into his skin like a starving animal that had not been fed in weeks. Grappling at his neck and hair, I sucked out as much blood as I could until I felt his hands on my shoulders pulling me away from his neck. His blood so sweet I would not have known the difference if it were red sugar in my mouth. He was unlike any other vampire I had tasted but Akilis was not like most of course, he was different.

  ‘I need enough for myself to live,’ he said while rubbing the bloody patch on his neck with the sleeve of his jacket gently.

  I leaned into the space on the bed next to him and watched him do this simple task. He was concentrating far more than needs be to clean his neck and it was somewhat amusing to watch.

  ‘What?’ he suddenly said.

  ‘Nothing,’ I said and quickly wiped the smirk off my face.

  ‘I forgot how,’ he paused trying to think of the appropriate word. ‘How… messy things get around you.’

  I could tell he meant that both physically and mentally, but messy was not the word I would use to describe our… companionship.

  He smirked playfully, not the kind of smirk that teased – the kind of smirk that wanted to make you laugh.