by Matthew Fish
“Change isn’t always a bad thing,” Piper said as she reached for his hand and squeezed it tightly. “Look at how you’ve changed my life.”
“Yeah,” Daniel spoke as he held onto Piper’s hand. “I guess—I just didn’t expect things to be so different. I didn’t know that so many people would have passed on in such a short time. I had no idea that so many things could have happened.”
“So,” William said as he lead Piper and Daniel to a large black SUV and climbed into the driver’s seat. “You never exactly told me what kind of trouble you were in.”
“It’s me…” Piper said in a low tone as Daniel opened up the rear door for her. He then made his way to the passenger seat and climbed aboard.
“Well,” William said as he glanced in the rearview mirror at the young woman. “You seem kind enough; I don’t exactly understand what kind of trouble you could be.”
“Corveath hunts me because he believes me to be his property—I am not like your kind, I am completely different. I am the weakest of my kind, I do not even know what we are called, I suppose ghosts…or memories—either way, there are two of my kind out there that are strong, they can transform into fierce beasts.”
“There were four,” Daniel added. He looked behind him just in time to see a large black SUV pull up behind them. The unusual blue-haired girl sat in the driver’s seat. She honked her horn a few times, as she bounced up and down in the vehicle. Beside her sat a peculiar man with very pale white skin. He wore a long black jacket with a hood that covered his head and dark sunglasses. He looked over to the antics of his companion and simply shook his head.
“Well,” We can continue this conversation on our way,” William said as he put the vehicle into drive and sped away. “So am I to assume that you have taken care of the other two?”
“Yes, though barely, they come in the form of these black, smoke-like creatures, they are deadly to even Perpetuals,” Daniel spoke as he placed a hand beneath his seat. He had forgotten how often carelessly Perpetuals drove around. However, this was nowhere near as bad as riding with Bradley. “Though my intent was to gain information from them—however that plan did not work out on either occasion, Abelio’s axe delivers a fatal blow once they are transformed with the use of a special silver collar.”
“One exactly as the one I am wearing,” Piper spoke as she ran her fingers against the cool steel of the collar. She had worn it so long that she could barely remember a time where it was not firmly snug around her throat. “Though, we do not possess any more of them.”
“Where are they?” William asked.
“Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean,” Daniel said as flatly as he let out a short sigh.
“I could not catch them all, I am extremely sorry,” Piper added as she felt as though she had let everyone down.
“We wouldn’t have made it here without the two you did manage to get,” Daniel quickly added as he turned to Piper and reached for her hand. He squeezed her hand tightly and rubbed his fingertips against her palm.
As they left the city, William spoke of many of the events that had transpired in Daniels absence. First, he started with the burning down of his mother’s house, Bradley’s home, and ultimately Daniel’s old house. He recounted the events of Cain and his eventual fall into revenge and madness after helping to defeat the Ankou. He then spoke of Cernunnos’s plan, and its eventual undoing. Daniel stayed quiet, his hand in Piper’s as he looked out the window at the familiar cornfields of Illinois. He took in all of the events as best he could. It was a lot to process. As they exited towards the small town of Utica, they approached a tall tree-covered hill. After a short drive, William drove them into a gravel road hidden beneath the cover of a thick and overgrown forest. The sunlight flickered through the many green leaves, casting streaks of bright yellow against the canopy of emerald green.
“Caesar’s place,” Daniel whispered quietly as the trees gave way to a view of the black wrought-iron fence ahead.
“Mark’s place,” William added.
“Yeah…” Daniel spoke as they slowly approached. Just as the vehicle neared the gate, a resounded thunderclap filled the air. Daniel felt his stomach turn as the vehicle he was seated in violently rolled over onto its roof from the impact. Glass shattered all around him as he lost his grip from Piper’s hand as she screamed loudly.
“The hell was that?” William spoke as he a reached into his black coat and pulled out a handgun. He peered out the smashed window beside him as he hung upside down. A strange, huge flying creature blotted out the sun with its swirling, inky blackness. The large birdlike beast let out a terrible cry as it came down upon the SUV again, sending into some nearby trees.
“Please make it stop!” Piper shouted as the car crushed into the thick wood of a few trees that cracked beneath the impact.
“We’re sitting ducks in here,” Daniel said as he reached for Piper’s hand and helped her out of the shattered front window. William unbuckled his seatbelt and fell to the ceiling. He attempted to find his gun, but it had been knocked clear from the last impact. He cautiously followed Daniel and Piper, keeping his body close to the ground.
“Get your asses out of there!” Amelia yelled as the beast descended upon the wrecked and twisted SUV. She pulled out a bottle of water and threw it at the creature, catching it a few feet away from the group that was attempting to escape its wraith. She concentrated on freezing the creature, containing the smoke in a small layer of ice. Amelia felt the presence of the nearby pond. She pulled out water from the source and began building up a large ice barrier around the smoke that undulated and swirled just beneath the growing surface. Soon she had gathered enough ice to make a formidable barrier that was a few feet thick.
“Inside the gates…” William shouted as he began to run. Two black helicopters emerged from the cover of the trees, loosening leaves and causing the branches to creak and sway as though they were enduring a great storm.
“Did Corveath bulk buy all those things as Costco or something?” Daniel spoke as he grabbed a hold of Piper and ran towards the iron gates. He was getting rather sick of seeing these damned helicopters always showing up. A barrage of bullet fire erupted all around them. Amelia directed some of the water and created a small barrier above them as she and Hazamel made it into the safety of Red Manor. Another spray of bullets landed down upon the group, this time a shimmering barrier protected them as the bullets harmlessly struck it.
“Stupid dicks don’t know that we’re safe here,” Amelia spoke as she raised her hands as a helicopter descended and started to pointlessly fire upon the group once more. She allowed her barrier to explode—sending shards of ice into the helicopter. The gunner collapsed as blood shot out of the side, the helicopter made the mistake of getting a little too comfortable with a group of nearby trees as the blades began to attempt to chop their way through as many as they possibly could. It was not long until the helicopter blades gave way and fractured apart from the damaged craft. A loud scream of twisting metal and the tearing of trees filled the air as a small plume of grey smoke filled the skyline. The other helicopter quickly left the area.
“It would seem like they do not wish to stick around,” Hazamel spoke as he looked upon the frozen, swirling mass of smoke encased in ice. “I do fear that barrier will not hold the creature long.”
Daniel reached his hand out and summoned Abelio’s axe. He knew that without a collar, he could not do much—but he would not go down without a fight. The ice shattered and a great bearlike creature perched upon its hindquarters and let out a roar that shook the very earth beneath its feet. It lunged forward and came face to face with the barrier—smashing its massive head against the shimmering glow.
“I do not believe that we have met,” Hazamel spoke as he calmly approached Daniel.
“I…I don’t believe we have properly, no,” Daniel spoke as he kept his focus upon the swirling black bear that brought its claws down upon the shimmering barrier—it’s enraged endeavors bea
ring no reward nor gain.
“We are quite safe,” Hazamel said as he placed a hand upon Daniel’s shoulder and pulled the axe from his hand. “It has been a while since I had held this terrible weapon—I expected to not see it again.”
“Are you sure?” Piper asked as she nervously approached from behind Daniel. “What is keeping us safe?”
“The Red Manor does not allow anyone who means to do harm to enter,” Hazamel spoke as he handed the axe to Daniel. “The creature will tire eventually—theoretically.”
“Hazamel, is it?” Daniel said as the axe disappeared. He stared at the strange man. He could make out sharp features beneath the long hood. His large black jacket covered almost all of his body. A small tuft of silver hair had escaped from its confines during the run to the gates of the Red Manor.
“I am a child of Elatha and Luna,” Hazamel spoke as he nodded, noticing the strange look that Daniel was giving him.
“I am not familiar with that,” Daniel spoke as he flinched as the bearlike creature continued to pummel its fists upon the barrier.
“Your kind was never meant to be aware of the children of the moon—I come from a time long after yours. Your son, Mark, he helped save my people. For that I will be forever thankful, even if I can never return to them,” Hazamel spoke calmly as he completely disregarded the creature as nothing more than a child throwing a fit at not getting its way.
“Let’s go inside if we’re going to sit around and shoot the shit,” Amelia spoke as she looked to the threatening creature. “That thing gives me the creeps.”
“Yes, let’s regroup and figure this out,” William said as he began to lead the way towards the large, three story red-bricked manor. They passed by many statues, a great garden that had seen better days. William paused as they passed by a green patch of earth beneath the cover of a small, fruitless apple tree. A black embroidered flag with a silver symbol of the White Stag blew in the wind against upon a pole that was buried beside the tree. William paused as he let out another long, heavy sigh. “Actually, let’s give Daniel a moment here.”
“Right…” Amelia spoke as she remembered that Mark’s grandmother—Daniel’s mother, was buried here.
“Yeah,” Daniel whispered. William had mentioned her passing towards the tail end of the events that had passed. It all seemed so much to take it that it did not quite hit—at least, not properly. “Thank you,” Daniel said as he nodded to William, Amelia, and Hazamel as they continued on to Red Manor.
“Would you like me to leave as well?” Piper asked as she placed a hand upon Daniel’s shoulder.
“I wouldn’t mind if you stayed,” Daniel said as he placed his hand over hers and began the slow walk towards the grave.
“The creature has given up,” Piper spoke as she attempted to interject some good news. She knew why Daniel was sad. However, she had a hard time relating. Just as she had remembered before, she really had no family of her own. She imagined how she would feel if she lost Daniel—that thought made her deeply sad. She figured that was close to how he probably felt. “I’m sorry, fiancé; I would have liked to meet her. Especially since you are here because of her and you are kind, when others are not, because of her.”
“I’m sorry, mother,” Daniel said as he knelt beside the grave and ran his hand against the fabric of the small flag with the Conductor symbol upon it. “I’m sorry for a lot of things—I’ll make things right, I promise.”
“You have done the best you can,” Piper spoke as she knelt down beside Daniel and placed a kiss upon his cheek.
“We fought—after my son was born, we did not talk much,” Daniel admitted as he placed a hand to his eyes and squeezed his forehead. “She wanted to raise Mark to be a Conductor if he possessed the gift. She was so proud of it—the history, our heritage…the whole thing. I just…I just never wanted that life for him. Things were…different from when she was a Conductor. The world was becoming a much more dangerous place. I had lost friends, loved ones. I never wanted Mark to go through the same life that I did.”
“That is an understandable wish,” Piper said as she rested her head against Daniel’s shoulder. “From what your friend William spoke of, he had lost a lot of companions. He had gone through a difficult time.”
“Maybe it would not have been so difficult if I had prepared him,” Daniel said as he felt tears stream down from his eyes. “I failed him.”
“He is safe,” Piper said as she wiped away the tears from Daniel’s eyes with the back of her soft and gentle hand. “You are keeping him from harm, you have not failed him. Is that the real reason you do not wish to see him?”
“I would not know how to apologize,” Daniel said as he nodded. “I’ve kept so much from him—I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
“It’s easy, I apologize all the time,” Piper said as she attempted to kiss away a fresh tear. “You always tell me that it is alright…or, well, that things will be alright.”
“You’ve never really done anything wrong, Piper,” Daniel said as he attempted a smile. However, the attempt was not very successful and rather short-lived.
“Maybe…the things that you think you’ve done wrong,” Piper said as she attempted to work out something in her mind. “Maybe they’re not your fault after all. So maybe it is just like when you say I haven’t done anything wrong. Perhaps you have done nothing wrong as well.”
“I am sorry to interrupt,” Hazamel’s voice spoke from above them. “I chose to check the perimeter while the others waited indoors. I spotted two Children of Cernunnos; I fear that they will not make it here with that creature so close.”
“William mentioned that you were a scholar of sorts in your time? Do you know what these creatures are?” Daniel asked as he looked around for any sign of the great bird that had transformed into a bear.
“They do not exist in my time—nor have I encountered them in the memories I have come across,” Hazamel spoke as he looked to Daniel and Piper and smiled. “I would count that as a good sign. I do, however, feel compelled to act. I hope you do not mind.”
“What do you intend to do?” Piper asked as Amelia and William emerged from Red Manor.
“Whatever I may be capable of,” Hazamel spoke as he pulled his hood down, revealing his long flowing silver hair. He tossed his sunglasses to Daniel and exposed his brilliantly ruby red eyes. He confidently strolled out past the iron gate.
“What the shit are you doing tard-bait?” Amelia shouted. “The plan was to talk this over!”
“Get back in here, Hazamel!” William shouted. “That’s an order!”
“I’m just going to lead it away,” Hazamel spoke as he spotted the bearlike creature sitting just past the tree line. He closed his eyes. “I was worthy once—am I still worthy?” He whispered as he held his hand out. Within seconds Abelio’s axe appeared. A loud roar erupted from the woods, scaring off a large number of perched sparrows.
The black bear charged at Hazamel, its fanged mouth agape and ready to strike. Hazamel calmly stood there, axe in hand. Just as the bear was about to bring it’s force down upon him—he turned to smoke and appeared behind the creature. He buried the axe into the back of the beast. Abelio’s axe seemed to stick for a moment, with a bit of resistance Hazamel retrieved the axe and swung it sideways into the beast in an attempt to find some kind of weak spot. The creature swung around just as Hazamel disappeared at great speed. He stood in front of the gate as he allowed the beast to come crashing into the barrier, rendering it disorientated.
A young woman with long, curly black hair and thin grey eyes that flashed in the sunlight charged in atop a pure white stag. She wore a tan leather, fur-lined, hooded coat and a short leather skirt that showed off her long legs that squeezed tightly against the stag’s body. She wielded a bone-white bow. She pulled back an arrow with black fletching and loosed it into the creature. The arrow disappeared in an instant, passed into the smoke, and disappeared. She and the White Stag circled the creature as it got back u
p to its feet. “What are you doing Hazamel—get to safety.”
“I am attempting to figure out what we are dealing with here,” Hazamel said as he twirled the axe in one hand and brought it high above his head. The creature quickly whirled around and knocked the weapon from Hazamel’s hands.
“We have to help them,” Amelia said as she attempted to rush towards the gate. William held her back as Daniel and Piper attempted to rush the creature.
“Stop…both of you—if anyone can do anything about this, it is these two. We do not need you getting hurt or worse—getting in their way,” William commanded as he stopped Daniel and Piper from rushing out of the safe zone completely unarmed.
“Over here, you beast…!” Lily shouted as she let another arrow fly. The bear turned its attention away to Hazamel and attempted to swat at her. She pressed her thighs firmly against Sun and lowered her body as he darted forth at great speed as the creature gave chase.
Hazamel retrieved the axe from the ground and sped towards the bear, leaving swirling plume of dust in his wake as he glided along the ground. He raised his Abelio’s axe and cut at one of the creatures hind legs. It passed through, though it slowed the creatures advance. The bear returned its attention to Hazamel who led it back towards the barrier wall. He figured the beast would be dumb enough to fall for the trick again. He stood inches away from the barrier as the black bear roared towards him. He turned to smoke just as the bear stopped. He appeared in a spot that he figured would allow him to safely strike—instead he felt the fierce claws of the bear tear into his chest.
“Release him!” Lily shouted as she loosed a barrage of arrows. None of which seemed to do much damage.
“You are…” Hazamel whispered as he felt himself growing weak. “You are just a memory…” He raised his hand out and began to absorb the smoke, clearing it away. The creature tore away more and more at Hazamel’s body as he cleared it of the thick, chocking fog. Eventually an older man’s form was revealed. His body was heavily wounded.