Blood Heavy: Ascension

by S. L. J. Shortt

  She had Wick's journal laid out in front of her and was studying it very carefully.

  “Where's the padre?”

  “Bathroom,” she said flicking over a page.

  “Anything useful in there?” he asked walking over to her.

  “Plenty. Sink, soap, toilet paper, a flush,” she smirked before seeing his face. She turned back to the journal. “Theories, research, spells. Hell if I can understand it though. I'm not exactly fluent in Enochian. The last known documented occurrence of the language was in the sixteenth century by an English dude named John Dee who claimed to have made contact with heaven. I know our people investigated it at the time but they never found any proof. To be honest, I always thought it was a myth.”

  “Well, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole demons and angels are real thing. I mean, vamps and shifters and stuff, I always just thought that was genetic mutation or something. You know, X-men style, kinda like you Professor Xavier,” he smirked.

  “You see me rollin' around in a wheel chair, bald as a babies ass?” she said with a glare.

  “I'm just saying, all the stuff we deal with has a half reasonable explanation for it. Magic is just a weird type of energy that nobody's been able to put under a microscope yet and bad crap happens to good people because this is harsh crazy world to live in. I never thought that there was a higher power or anything like that. It was all just random coincidence which people stuck a fate label on it to make themselves feel better,” he shrugged.

  “You don't believe in fate either?”

  “Look around at all the crazy we deal with Rach. You see a plan or a pattern or anything resembling order?”

  “No, but rule one of the supernatural is check your assumptions at the door. Just when you think you've seen it all, something else will rear it's ugly head and try and bite your face off,” she warned.

  “I guess you're right. I mean, I'm proof of that right. I always assumed I was human,” he sighed.

  “You are human Jerry,” she said like she was stating something from a text book.

  “Half human...we don't know what the other half is.”

  “You're human enough. Jerry,” she said standing up next to him. Rachel was still a midget, barley pushing five feet and yet she seemed to tower over him like a big sister. “Human isn’t in the veins, it’s in the humanity…I know how much this is scaring you, I know how much those questions in your head are hurting you but you just side-lined your own problems the moment your saw your friends needed you. That's the action of a selfless good man, not a monster. You prove your humanity with every single thing that you do.”

  He couldn't help but smile. Getting emotional advice from a fourteen year old telepath was a little strange but he was truly glad that she was there. He felt slightly guilty that maybe he hadn't appreciated her enough but the crooked smile she gave him showed that she didn't agree.

  Whatever thoughts she was reading in his head she seemed pleased with, otherwise she would let him know by giving him a world class migraine.

  “Thanks Rach,” he said giving her a hug that lifted her straight off the ground.

  He didn't need to be able to read her mind to know that she loved him like a brother.

  “You're welcome...now, we need to work,” she smiled giving him a pat on the arm after he put her back down. “In case you've forgotten, there is a very powerful and pissed off demon out there that probably wants to kill us all...well, not you but she'll probably want to put you in a hurt locker for good measure.”

  “Ya think?” he groaned sarcastically.

  “It's what I'd do,” she shrugged.

  “Great. So, you think this exorcism business will really work?”

  “You better freakin' hope so.”

  “Yeah, but we could also use some kind of plan b.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don't know. Dump her in a vat of acid, put her head in a blender, something,” he said. “I'm not sure how you kill something that was never alive in the first place but we better damn well find a way.”

  “Well, that should be easy,” Rachel scoffed.

  “Yeah, I got nothing...” he sighed. “I'm gonna go clear my head. You'll know if I have any epiphanies.”

  “Or any breakdowns,” Rachel added for good measure. She wanted him to know that she was watching him.

  “I'll breakdown after we stop Aria,” he said heading towards the door. She let him go.

  After wondering the halls of the mansion for a while he found himself walking in circles around the huge indoor swimming pool that was at the back of the building. It was domed in clear, UV resistant windows and heated to a higher temperature than most hot tubs. Sophinia, like most vampires, was cold blooded and enjoyed the extra heat, much like a crocodile that bathed in the sun. It was hardly enough to scold a human but they'd probably over heat after a while in that water.

  He then made his way to the garage where Jerry's incomplete car had been moved by Sophinia's vampire staff. Everything he'd brought with him only an hour before was there, including the Boss herself, positioned on top of a hydraulic lift. For some reason, his mind flicked onto mechanical mode. Just looking at the car made him instantly start running down the list of things that still needed to be done before she was finished.

  Joe had hit the nail right on the head when he'd got it for him. The machine could distract Jerry from just about anything and that was what he needed right now. He had to put his own fears about himself, about his family aside and concentrate on the problem. Aria was the problem, she had to be stopped. Without thinking he popped the hood of the car and started checking and fixing the engine. There wasn't much left to do other than attach the wheels, bumpers, one of the back doors and then re-paint her.

  Why did building and repairing machines seem to sooth him so easily? He flicked on a digital radio that sat in the corner and moved through the channels until he found a song he liked. The Yardbirds – Turn Into Earth.

  As soon as his head was focused on the car, time slipped away. In the back of his mind he was still on high alert and the double-barreled sawn-off was never more than a foot away from him but he refused to let the paranoia of thinking that Aria would show up any minute take hold of him.

  It was at least an hour later when a voice he hadn't heard in a few weeks made him jump and spin around. “Well, you stepped on one big ass landmine this time didn't you Jerry?”

  Celeste was standing about fifteen feet away with her arms crossed and a faint smile on her face. The head of the Salem witches looked a gorgeously eccentric as usual, with baggy black pants and a tight white top that had a split down the middle so that everyone knew she was wearing a black lacey bra. Her charcoal dark hair was tied back and this time she didn't have a snake moving all over her body.

  “Celeste, good to see you. What brings you to our nightmare?” Jerry smiled and put down the socket wrench he'd been using.

  “Reckless friendship. By all rights me and my girls should be on a different continent by now. But, I guess I'm a sucker for those beautiful eyes of yours,” she said walking over and giving him a small kiss on the cheek. It was kind of comforting that she showed no hesitation in being near him. Then again, she probably didn't know that he was a hybrid. “Sophie called, gave us the full download. Asked us to come here and beef up security a bit.”

  “I appreciate that,” Jerry nodded. “But whatever you guys do, Aria will find a way through it.”

  “I know, your...priest friend filled us in,” she hissed a little when saying the word 'priest'. It wasn't surprising. The religious nut jobs had been the ones that had hunted down and burned witches back in the day so it was natural that the Salem girls would be a little uneasy around the clergy. “Still, it'll at least slow her down a bit.”

  “Let's hope so,” Jerry agreed.

  “I should probably warn you, that's where our help ends,” she said looking firm but there was a trace of guilt in her voice. “We're not equipped for
something like this Jerry, I can't endanger my girls. If this Aria decides to target us, we'll be virtually defenseless against her. There's no honor in leading your own family into a slaughter, even if it is to defend friends.”

  He could see that she wanted to help but was way too old and smart to let that loyalty endanger the people she cared about. He didn't blame her, not for one second.

  “I've got my family to look after, you've got yours. You go do what you gotta do. I got no problem with you and yours finding shelter before the bombs start dropping. Unfortunately, those bombs are aimed at me, so I can't just make a break for it,” Jerry said.

  “I know. Black Forrest, werewolves and now a super demon...you seem to get all the nice jobs,” she smiled sadly.

  “If it ain't her, it's just gonna be something else down the line. I guess I should get used to it,” he said solemnly.

  “You pulled a miracle out of the bag when you went up against Selena, maybe you can do it again.”

  “I now have definitive proof that angels and demons exist but that ain't enough to make me pray for miracles. Of course, if she slips on a banana peel that gives me an opening to chop her head off, I might concede it as an act of God.”

  A half grin appeared across her mouth before she turned around a sighed. She began taking lazy stepped in a circle and looked to be deep in thought. After a few seconds she spoke.

  “When I was ten, I had the biggest crush on a boy named Duncan. But I learned very quickly that his beautiful golden locks were as deep as his beauty went. He was mean, a bully. He teased me because I was from a poor family and because we were servants but what hurt me the most was when he told me that I was ugly.”

  “Celeste, you are about as far from ugly as anyone can get!” he objected. His mind suddenly flashed to Aria's divine (yet definitely not divine) face. He felt a tingle creep into his stomach remembering just how beautiful she was. Celeste was beautiful. With that smooth raven black hair and soft skin. Her small mouth that could command so much respect. Everything about her was great but like Cass, Claire, Soph and pretty much anyone or anything he'd ever seen, Aria took the cake. At least in his eyes. By some sick sense of irony, the most exquisite creature on earth was also the most dangerous.

  It worried him that Celeste or Rachel might have some how sensed his mind moving to thoughts of Aria so he blocked them out as best he could and focused on her words instead.

  “You're sweet,” she smiled. “But, at the time, I dared to believe that he and I could be together, silly little childish hopes, so when he told me that, I was crushed. I went home and looked in the mirror and I hated what I saw. At first I thought it was my imagination, then I realized that my dirty brown hair had turned black, my skin had become smoother and suddenly I was pretty. It was the first time I used magic. The first spell I ever did and I did it without even realizing. Of course, there was no one around to tell me that I was a witch. That I had natural power. It scared me. I was terrified. I didn't even want to know what others would think so I ran away. I never saw my family again...”

  Jerry felt a wave of sadness wash over him as tears began to fall from her eyes.

  “But, I realized later that it wasn't being different that truly scared me...it was being alone. And that pain stayed with me for years until I found another witch. He taught me everything he knew. Most of all, he taught me not to be ashamed of what I was. He taught me not to be afraid of what I was and that I didn't have to be alone because of what I was.”

  Suddenly Jerry realized why she was telling him this. Celeste did know that he was a hybrid. Sophinia had told her.

  “Three hundred and ninety two years later, I'm the head of a coven. I have eighty six witches that I teach and look after. I've mastered my gift and I've saved a lot of lives. I've helped people when they needed it the most. And I couldn't have done any of this unless I was different,” she turned and looked at him.

  The moral of the story was clear but she still needed to look him in the eye and say it.

  “Don't fear what you are Jerry. Use it. Master it. Like me, you're a freak,” she said warmly, no insult in her words whatsoever, “but look through history Jerry, it's not the normal people that change the world. Socrates, Da Vinci, Picasso, Hitler, Einstein, Bob Marley, hell, Micheal Jackson...the freaks are the ones that make a difference. The freaks are the ones that mold the future. Hand me a chance to be normal, I'd turn it down in a heartbeat. I'm a freak and I'm proud. You should be too.”

  Jerry looked away but couldn't keep the small smile from appearing on his face. Her words had hit their mark.

  “She didn't call you hear just to put up extra protection, did she?”

  “No, I didn't.”

  Jerry looked over to see Sophinia standing by the Boss. How long had she been there?

  “Thank you Celeste,” she inclined her head slightly.

  “I hope I helped. I'm gonna go see about putting up these wards.”

  Celeste sent one more smile at Jerry before leaving.

  “Look, I'm holding it together okay. I don't need to be babied,” Jerry said.

  “That's not what Rachel tells me. Working on that car may distract you but it doesn't stop the anger and self doubt from swimming around in your head. In fact they're cascading, so much so that you actually asked your own best friend to kill you if you ever turned evil.”

  Jerry gritted teeth together and thought out some choice words for Rachel about respecting his privacy. Things he knew she would hear.

  “We're all concerned for you Daniel.”

  “So you're gonna keep bringing in motivational speakers until I'm sane again, is that what you're saying?”

  “I'm saying that I'll do whatever it takes to protect you. Even from yourself.”

  “Look, Celeste is great and I respect her a lot, but me and her are hardly in the same boat,” Jerry sighed.

  “The magic might keep her young but it doesn't change what she is. She's human but she's also something else. That puts you two firmly in the boat together. It's the same boat that Rachel sits in. There aren't many hybrids out there but the majority of them are part human. Just like you.” As usual her voice and words were so soft that you could practically sleep in them.

  “I get what you're saying, I do. But you can't expect me to just turn this off some how. It ain't just gonna go away. But I'm managing it. And besides, we got bigger problems right now so all I can really do is lock myself in the shelter and ride out the storm. You can get all Freudian on me once Aria's out of the picture,” he said dismissively.

  “Alright. But putting your issues in a lock box isn't going to make them go away. You'll have to face this sooner or later,” she warned.

  “I'd rather face the mass-murdering super demon first. She'll be easier to fight,” he snorted.

  Sophinia studied him for a few seconds then shrugged with her wings. “Come on, lets see how they're doing with our new defenses.”

  Jerry and Soph walked back to the house, passing several vampires that were on her security team. They were rushing about all over the mansion setting up patrols and observation points. Normally they were just there for show and if they happened to need a bit of extra force in deal with something nasty. No one was actually stupid enough to attack a pureblood vampire. Well, except Jerry of course but Aria was on a whole other level. She definitely would attack this place.

  Also moving around were some of the Salem witches. Girls mostly but there were a few guys mixed in here and there. They were putting up protective wards and enchantments just about anywhere they could. A few of them were being drawn on the walls with their fingers which amazingly began to light up like the tail end of a firework before vanishing again.

  After moving down the main hallway towards the library, they found Wick working with Pam and Celeste. Pam, the heavily tattooed biker witch that looked tougher than most men gave Jerry a quick nod before going back to work. Vic was with them but he didn't seem to actually be doing anything, other
than swigging from his hip flask. He seemed to just be watching out of pure curiosity.

  “Urg,” Soph sighed. “I hope my house isn't going to end up covered in magical graffiti.”

  “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that,” Wick said walking over to them. “Most of the Enochian spells I'm gonna put up do actually need to be drawn and not just with magic marker. A mixture of mandrake, black root and dead sea salt are the most common. Mixing them into candle wax works best. And...err...some of them require human blood,” he said a little awkwardly.

  “If it's mixed into candle wax I'm sure we won't have a problem,” Sophinia smiled unoffended.

  “Well, most of them will go around the parameter of the mansion so you probably won't have to look at them often,” he smiled and went back to work.