by Lisa Randall
“Helen and I are soul mates.” I began. Some gargoyles gasped at this. “Helen recently woke from a deep sleep. We think it was from a curse our maker put on her, to keep her off his trail. We are both half vampire, half witches, and so is our maker.” I said.
So that’s why you two can stand in the sun with no harm. Another gargoyle said. This one had blue eyes, which reminded me of the ocean, back when the water was clear and blue, years before the Human Wars. I realized now that Helen and I no longer needed our goggles when we went out into the sun. We must be getting used to using the radiation in the air, making us stronger. I forgot the last time we actually needed to wear our goggles.
“When I was first turned into a vampire, the sun burned me. But after a while it stopped bothering me. I was able to walk in the sun without any problems.” Helen said to me.
“The same happened to me.” I replied.
Why did you come here? Red asked, bringing my attention back to the conversation. I told them of our mission to find our maker. I told them of our fight with Pandora, and what we learned from him. “We came here to put an end to the suffering the vampires were inflicting on the humans.” I said.
Why did you choose now to come? I remember seeing you, years before. You did nothing then. You just left. The gargoyle with green eyes said, anger clearly visible on its face as it spoke.
“I wasn’t strong enough back then. I also didn’t know about my witch side, or that I had powers beyond reading minds.” I said.
That is no excuse! You should have at least tried! The gargoyle said. I felt ashamed at how I just abandoned the humans back then. There must have been hundreds of more humans killed here since then.
Enough, Peridot! Red said, sensing my shame. The other gargoyle looked away, clearly still mad.
“So tonight, what’s the plan?” Helen said, changing the subject.
We wait for the vampires to notice the humans are missing. Then when they are all in one place, we strike. Red said. Until then, act like nothing has happened; we want the element of surprise with these vampires.
I had to agree. Augustine seemed like the type of vampire that wasn’t used to surprises. I smiled, thinking how I was finally able to come back here and help the humans. I hadn’t realized how much it bothered me until Peridot brought the subject up, bringing old feelings of shame with it.
Helen and I left the gargoyles to get ready for tonight, positioning themselves all around the city to make sure no vampire escaped tonight. They were all guilty for so much pain, and deserved what was coming to them. We walked around the city, looking at the different shops. Helen tensed when we passed another restaurant. To get her mind off of what she had found in there, I told her about the clothing shops.
“Since the downfall of technology after the Human Wars, the number of things for a vampire to do went down drastically. There were no more movies or internet to keep the vampires entertained. So they sought other ways to occupy their time.” I explained.
“When they weren't torturing or killing humans, you mean.” Helen said. I nodded.
“All they had left after a while was reading and making clothes. Some vampires specialize in making different types of clothes, to pass the time. Books are now the common form of entertainment for most vampires. That’s why there are so many of those two shops. The vampires that work with clothes either make new ones or mend old ones. The others that work with the books keep them in good condition and lend them out to others, while some still write their own books. You don’t want to know what they use for paper, though.” There were no more trees, and plenty of bodies left after the wars. Helen shuddered at the thought. I didn’t go into detail about what they used for material in clothing, not wanting to think about it.
We walked around until it started to get darker and darker. Soon, vampires were out and about, roaming the city in a lazy walk to wherever they were going. No one seemed in a rush, not noticing the missing humans yet. I could tell Helen was getting anxious about the fight to come. I could tell she was fed up with these vampires, and it had only been a day. I could sense her anger pouring from her with every minute that went by. She was thinking about the humans she had found, and the condition they were in.
I put my hand in hers, to help calm her down. We didn’t want to give anything away too soon. She seemed to calm down, but only by a little. We wandered around until the vampires started gathering in the town square, waiting for Augustine to arrive. I could hear them talking about the missing humans, and everyone suspected it was us. Helen and I pretended not to know what was going on, waiting for Augustine to arrive to start anything.
A group of female vampires came up to us and began yelling at us and hissing, showing their fangs. They were hungry and blamed us, but they didn’t attack. It seemed everyone was afraid of being punished if they attacked us. Augustine must have said something to them.
A door opened and Augustine walked out, and everyone went quiet. He stood at the top of the stairs, looking out at everyone gathered in the square. He looked confused until a vampire spoke up, telling him the humans were all gone. He stood there for a moment before looking for something. “Red!” he called, “Red, where are you!”
Red flew over next to Augustine, acting like he didn’t know what was happening. Augustine looked at him, and asked him where the humans were. Red didn’t say or do anything. Augustine gave him a snarl before turning away. “Does anyone know who is responsible?” he yelled.
Nobody said anything. They didn’t have to. They all turned and looked to Helen and I, and we both smiled. This caused Augustine to snarl even louder, and turns to Red. “Kill them!” he ordered. Red didn’t move. This caused him to get even angrier, if that were possible. Slowly, one by one the gargoyles landed on the rooftops around us, creating a circle around all of the vampires. “Do it! I command you!” Augustine yelled.
Red smiled, and the rest of the gargoyles did the same. When none of the gargoyles moved, Augustine seemed to have figured out they were all now free from the vampires. The other vampires seem to figure this out as well, and they all turned to attack us. Before any of them could get close, Helen let loose the same power she used on Pandora. Everyone felt it, but waited to see what it had done. We all heard voices before we saw them. All of the humans that had died at the hands of these vampires had lingered as ghosts, waiting to take their revenge. They now had that chance, and they took it. Helen’s power seemed to give the ghosts just enough power to be seen and to take their revenge on their killers. Vampires ran around, being chased by the ghosts of their victims, and the gargoyles just watched. I turned to check on Helen and she seemed to be in a trance. Her eyes shone bright and she stared straight ahead, hair floating on an invisible wind. The magic she was releasing must be pretty powerful to take her over like this. I was starting to get a little worried about her. The last time she used so much magic, she passed out.
The vampires started to run away from the city to get away from the ghosts, but before they got very far a gargoyle would fly down and pick one up with its giant talons and fly away into the night, screams soon coming from the direction it had gone. When it came back empty handed, it had blood on its claws and talons.
Soon, the only vampire left was Augustine. He tried to run and hide in the nearest building, but a gargoyle flew by and picked him up. I noticed it was Red before he flew away, the other gargoyles following him. They didn’t come back after the fight, so I thought maybe they just all left for good. I wouldn’t blame them if they did. I turned to Helen to tell her it was over, but before I could speak, she turned to me and said “Not yet.” Her voice sounded strange with all of the magic she was channeling. She let go of my hand and looked about the city around us. Flames began to erupt around the buildings around us, spreading to the rest of the city. Even though most of the buildings were made of stone, her fire made it crumble like dry dirt. When most of the buildings began to fall, the ghosts she had released came up to us. They bowed to both o
f us before disappearing. When the last ghost vanished, Helen’s magic stopped, and she passed out. I caught her before she fell. I held her in my arms as I walked the both of us out of the city.
*****
I woke up late, the sun had already set and it was very dark outside. I immediately thought of my talk with Hecate. It had been so long since I had seen her; I thought she was mad at me for something. Yesterday we had talked for hours before she said she felt tired and left. I kind of felt bad, keeping her awake for so late at night, but she didn’t seem to mind until the sun began to rise. We talked like we used to, about anything and nothing, with me trying to remember every word she said. But something wasn’t right. Something felt off when I was with her. Like it wasn’t the real Hecate.
But of course it was. There is no way it couldn’t be her. I thought to myself.
When she smiled, my life seemed to be worth living. But lately, when she smiled, it didn’t seem to reach her eyes. Her eyes seemed to hold back feelings she never showed to me, but I could sense they were there. Her scent lately has changed as well. She used to smell like wildflowers in the sun, but now she just smells like sulfur.
I wondered at what could have changed so much with her since I last saw her, and how much time has actually passed since then. She mentioned last night it had only been a month, but it seemed like a lifetime to me. I remember her feeling mad at me the last time I had seen her, but now she didn’t seem to remember why.
I had been in bed while thinking these thoughts when a knock came at my door. The gentleman here kept it locked for some reason when I was put in here, and I wasn’t allowed to wander about at all. Sometimes I got to leave, but I was always escorted by someone in strange clothes, and I only ever spoke to Hecate or the one who calls himself Baal, who seemed to be in charge. I wondered why he kept me locked up when the knock came again at my door.
“Come in?” I said, wondering at who it could be. Usually when Baal called for me he made me go to him, and Hecate’s knock was different so I knew it wasn’t either of them. I was surprised when Baal came into my room, closing the door. I could just make out a guard outside before the door closed.
“And how are you today, Viktor?” Baal asked. I couldn't think of when I first met Baal, but I had a feeling I had been here for some time. He must be someone I trust, since I never give my name to strangers, for knowing someone’s name gives them power over you, or so someone once told me.
“I am good, thank you Baal. Can I see Hecate again today? I have some questions for her.” I asked. He shook his head no.
“I’m afraid not.” He said. “I need to ask you a few questions, instead.”
“Questions? About what?” I asked.
“About the portal.” He said, his face twitching as if he tried not to growl these words at me.
“What portal?” I ask. Then I remember seeing a portal yesterday, and he had asked me if I knew anything about it. All I could remember now was that it was a portal to Hell, where the demons lived. “The Hell Gate?” I asked. Baal seemed happy that I remembered and continued to ask me questions about it. Where I had learned of it and how to keep it open. All I could remember about portals was what I had already told him. He again told me that if I wanted to see Hecate again I had to help him out.
How was I supposed to help him with something I knew nothing about? As if sensing he wasn’t going to get any information from me today, Baal turned to leave. I sighed and lay back down in bed as he left me to my thoughts.
Chapter 18
I awoke to find that it was now daytime, and Rai was carrying me in his arms. Sensing I was awake, he looked down at me. “How are you feeling?” he asked, setting me on my feet.
“I had another vision.” I said, still holding on to him. I was still lightheaded from all the magic I had used last night in the city. I showed him the vision I had from what I could remember of it, as he looked at me. We were alone now, so we could openly speak of my visions. Before, Claudia was with us, so we didn’t get a chance to speak of it.
“So, this Viktor, who could possibly be our maker, is being kept in the Demon City by a demon named Baal, who wants to keep the portal open permanently?” I asked.
“That seems to be the case.” Rai said.
My visions so far showed that Viktor was also slightly insane. He couldn’t remember a lot of his past, and he couldn’t see that Baal was acting as Hecate to get information from him. All of this time I had hated our maker for all the evil that he had done, but from what I have seen in my visions, he was just losing his mind. Now all I felt for him was pity. I got the feeling that whoever this Hecate was, she broke up with him after he did something bad, and it broke him. It was easy to see when he saw Hecate, he looked relieved that she would even see him.
It seemed that now we had two reasons for going to the Demon City. We had to stop whatever Baal was planning, and we had to either rescue our maker, or kill him.
After a few minutes I was able to walk on my own as we headed to the spot where we were to regroup with Alice, Selena and any survivors from the Vampire’s City of horror.
Eventually, we could sense Alice and Selena nearby, but could not see them. All we could see were a few huge boulders sitting out in the middle of nowhere. As we looked around for them, the boulders disappeared, revealing two large tents. The tents opened up and Alice and Selena stepped out.
“We wondered where you two were.” I said.
“How did you manage to pull off that little trick?” Rai asked, smiling.
“I grabbed some tents before we left home, thinking they may come in handy if we were caught out in the acid rain.” Alice said, looking pleased to have thought of it. “The illusion was Selena’s idea. She thought since we saw so many people come running from the city, that maybe a vampire or two would try to take them back. So we put everyone in the tents and I kept them quiet while she reached her senses out to warn us if one got close, in which case I would cast the illusion, making whoever saw us to think we were a part of the landscape.”
“Well it sure fooled us; I wasn’t expecting the rocks in front of us to turn into you two.” I said.
“So, what happened?” Selena said. Rai and I recounted what had happened at the Vampire City, and they were even more grateful to not have gone with us. Selena had managed to heal the injuries on the victims we rescued, but they were scarred in ways we were unable to heal. Who knows how long they were kept in that city, subject to any vampire’s whim. I wondered if the gargoyles all made it back to their home safe as well. I hoped they did, being forced into slavery for so long, with no one willing to help them must have been horrible.
A terrible smell soon permeated the air and it began to rain. At first I didn’t feel anything wrong, but then it began to burn, and we were all scrambling to get inside the tents. They protected us a little from the acid rain that had come out of nowhere, but we all knew they wouldn’t last very long. They were old, and made from a material that isn’t produced anymore, so they were already pretty thin to begin with, even with Selena and Alice’s magic infused into them.
Holes were beginning to form all over the tents, letting the rain through. I could hear the others trying not to scream as the rain fell, burning everything it touched. I put up a magic shield, hoping I could hold it until the rain passed. It kept the rain from falling on us, but the damage had been done. It was still coming down almost twenty minutes later, and I was getting tired. Rai grabbed my hand and I felt a rush of energy. He channeled some of his energy into me, strengthening the shield covering both tents. I glanced around and saw that other than Rai and me, the others were covered in burns, scattered all over their bodies. Everyone was like a bright red blister, the burns were so bad. Selena and Alice tried to heal some of the humans, but they were getting tired and hadn’t even thought to heal themselves first. I hoped they would all be okay until the rain stopped, we couldn’t move to find shelter, I didn’t dare risk moving in case the barrier moved and someone go
t hurt. I wondered why Rai and I weren't covered in burns like the others, but I guessed our vampire genes healed us faster than normal, now that we were surrounded by radioactive energy.
I didn’t think it was possible, but after another thirty minutes, the rain began to rain down even harder, puddles forming all around us, the barrier still keeping it from falling on us. From inside the barrier, it looked like rain falling on glass, but the rain wasn’t clear, it was darker as if filled with smoke and when it fell, each drop made a hissing noise as it hit something. Soon there was a fog of steam around us, and the smell was horrible. I hoped this wouldn’t last much longer, I could tell that soon I would be at my limit of using the radiation-filled energy before I passed out. Keeping the rain from passing the barrier was harder than just keeping one up. I figured because the pressure was constant from the rain, I had to use more energy to keep it in place. The strain from using magic constantly was different that when I had used a large amount all at once, causing me to pass out. If the rain kept coming down this hard, I knew I would be passing out soon. I knew Rai was helping me to keep the barrier up, giving me some of his energy, but it wasn’t enough. I was afraid if I passed out, everyone would be hurt or worse. That thought kept me from dropping the barrier. These people didn’t deserve the pain of acid rain, not after the hard life they had endured in this strange time.
I was so focused on keeping the barrier up I didn’t hear Rai talking to me. I heard his voice, muffled and in the background, the sound of the rain hitting the barrier seemed to be all I could hear, drowning everything else out. Rai began to talk even louder now, seeming to know I didn’t hear him. I still couldn’t make out what he was saying, and I knew I was going to pass out soon. The rain seemed to be getting heavier, and there was a strong pressure building all around the barrier, so I put even more energy into it. The pressure built up to the point I could tell I was using too much energy, and it was only a matter of time before I passed out. The edges of my vision were blurring, and I turned to Rai and said a quick “I’m sorry” before passing out.