by Lisa Randall
*****
I caught Helen before she hit the ground. I tried to tell her the gargoyles had returned and were trying to help us to move out of the rain, but she didn’t seem to hear me. I knew she put everything she had into keeping the barrier up, protecting our group as well as the humans we had managed to save, and I loved her even more for it. Not everyone would go as far as she does, for people she hardly even knew. I had the thought that maybe the years before her sleep were lonely, she seemed happy to be able to speak to other people, ever since she woke up. I was still amazed she accepted this new world for what it was, and didn’t try to pretend it was any different, like how the other vampires had. They had tried to make a city that resembled a better time, for them anyways, not so much for the humans. There were no more shops or buildings anymore, except for the ones they had built out of the rubble; but now all of that was gone, destroyed when we left the Vampire City.
Noticing the rain still wasn’t hitting us, I looked up and saw that the gargoyles we had freed had come to rescue us. I had heard their thoughts in the storm, telling us to hold on until they got there, and hoping no one was hurt. I wish that were true. We weren't quick enough putting up the barrier, thinking it was just normal rain. Alice and Selena were both badly burned, as were the other humans, but they had spent all of their energy healing what they could on the humans that they didn’t have enough for themselves.
Red, the gargoyle that Augustine had introduced us to, was standing over us. He had put up a barrier around us just as Helen passed out, keeping us safe. He gave me a toothy smile and said I’m glad we got here in time. I nodded a thank you to him and his eyes gleamed. We came to take you all to our city, to meet our elders, as thanks for freeing us. He said. I looked around him, for he seemed to have grown larger in size since we had freed him. In fact, all of the gargoyles we had freed seemed to have had a sort of growth spurt. I wondered how they were going to get us there without getting hit by the rain, when I noticed all of the gargoyles had a barrier around them. Everything will be explained, once we get there. For now, rest. Red said. Each gargoyle took a person in their arms and began to fly away, all heading the same way. They seemed to be going north of where we were, and I wondered where they lived. I had been that way before on my own, and the only things out there were barren mountains. Still holding onto Helen, I looked to Red. He seemed to understand and picked us both up easily, carrying us in his arms and we joined the others in the sky.
We were flying for a while, with nothing in sight but barren grounds all around us, rain still falling. The rhythmic beating of Red’s wings and the sound of the rain had made me feel sleepy, and I soon found myself quickly falling asleep, holding Helen in my arms.
*****
I woke in a bed I didn’t recognize, in a room that was likewise unfamiliar. I wondered where I was and got up to leave. As I tried the door, I found it was locked. This made me angry. “Who dares to keep me locked up?!” I shouted. I was seeing red, ready to fight with whoever had put me here. I had to find Hecate, explain to her how much I loved her. I was going to propose to her today, or I was until I found myself locked up. I kept banging on the door until someone on the other side shouted at me to be quiet. There was a shuffling of feet as I heard one person leave, while the other moved to stand closer to the door.
A few moments later, there was a sound at the door, I was pacing the room, still mad at being kept prisoner for something I didn’t do. The door opened, and a strange, unfamiliar man stepped in. He greeted me as if he knew me, which got my attention, and I stopped pacing. “Who are you and why am I here?” I asked him.
The man seemed to think before answering “I am Baal, and we have met before. Maybe you just don’t remember.”
“I think I would remember coming here, and meeting you, but I don’t.” I explained. “Maybe you have time to play games, but I don’t. I need to find her. Get out of my way.” I tried to leave but the man, Baal, stepped in my way.
“What is the last thing you remember, Viktor?” he asked. I couldn’t tell if he was seriously asking me this or if it was a joke. I stared at him and wondered if I should tell him. Instinct told me that the more I told him, the more likely I was to be freed, and I was in a hurry. The need to see Hecate and propose to her seemed urgent.
“The last thing I remember is having a fight with my beloved, and then getting drunk. I had been planning to propose to her and she thought I wasn’t serious. I need to find her and explain my love to her is real. Let me leave to find her now.” I said. Baal looked at me for a moment, and then a small smile appeared on his hard face, which gave him an eerie look. “Or else what?” he asked. Then I felt it. There was a strange power coming from him, and I knew he was stronger than I was. I looked at the floor in defeat. I hoped Hecate still wasn’t too mad at me.
“What do you want of me?” I asked. I figured the quicker I gave this guy what he wanted the quicker I could leave. Baal’s eyes widened a little, like he was surprised I was cooperating.
“What do you know of portals?” he asked. This surprised me. It wasn’t what I was expecting to hear. I thought maybe someone told him about my debts at the local bar and he had come to collect. He looked like the sort of person to hurt others for fun, and to get paid for it was even better. I wondered why such a man was asking me about something that didn’t exist.
“Nothing.” I said, which was the truth. I knew magic existed in the world, but had never seen or heard of a portal before. “Look, if you are here to collect my debt from the tavern, I would be happy to. There is no need to keep me here.” Baal looked confused for a moment then he began to laugh. It wasn’t a giggle or even a chuckle, but it was like he couldn’t believe what I was saying and found it hilarious. He went on laughing for a moment, and the more he laughed the angrier I got. I began to see red again and demanded that he stop laughing at me.
“Oh Viktor. Poor, poor Viktor. You really have no idea, do you?” Baal said. He seemed like he was ready to give up talking to me so I asked him to explain. “I’m done explaining to you! Every day it’s some other level of your insanity, and it’s hard to keep track of our progress. Really! You would think that after years of this I would get some answers!” Baal yelled, stepping closer and closer to me, jabbing his finger in my direction. Seeing the confusion on my face, he seemed to calm down a bit. Smoothing his dark hair with one hand, he calmly said “Yes Viktor. I said years. We have been playing this game for years and years now. It’s been so long I can’t even remember when we started all this. Every day I come here and ask you questions about the portal, and sometimes I even get a snippet of information. But other days, it’s as if you don’t know me at all.” He turned towards the door and started to leave. “That’s all for today. I will see you tomorrow, Viktor. Sleep well, and hope that tomorrow you give me some answers, or you will pay.” With that, he left, locking the door behind him.
I thought about what he had said. Had we really been doing this for years? It felt like just yesterday I was sitting in the meadow with Hecate, proclaiming my love for her. We were happy for a time, then something happened and we had a fight. I couldn't remember any of that, though. It was as if my mind had put a wall up. Everything after that seemed so far away in my memory. I lay on the bed and wondered if I truly was insane.
I couldn’t sleep, and got up to pace the room again. There was a desk and chair, a bed, and the door. There was no window, no other way out. I went over to the desk, and saw there was a bound journal sitting on it. I picked it up and opened it. It read like a diary, but the handwriting was mine. I didn’t remember ever writing in this. The dates for the entries were from the future. I wondered what today’s date was. I began to read some of the entries. It was my handwriting, but the prose was different, as if my thoughts were jumbled and I had a hard time putting them to paper. Skipping to the last entry, I read: Baal asked me about the portal again today. He doesn’t know I have this journal. Hecate came to me one day and gave it to me, te
lling me to keep it in a safe place. Safe! Baal wants me to help him with the portal, but I don’t know anything about it. Portals! Hecate told me about them once, but I have a hard time focusing on what she had said. I had been more excited about our picnic in the woods than any magical stories she had to tell me. Magic is REAL! Every time I tell Baal I don’t remember, he goes into a rage. MAD. Well, not every time. One time he just laughed. He calls me insane, but I don’t know why. HE IS THE INSANE ONE! Every day I think of Hecate and where she may be. It’s been so long since she contacted me, I wonder if she is okay. She told me to write my thoughts down, to keep them safe. But safe from who? From myself forgetting them? Or from Baal? She seems different sometimes, like it isn’t really her. FAKE! But then she smiles at me and I forget my worries. I have read the other passages in this journal and I am convinced Baal put them there somehow. LIES! I don’t remember writing anything in this book, it just appeared one day. The entire thing is about the same as this entry. I wonder if I am doomed to repeat the same day, over and over. CURSED. According to these entries, Baal has been asking me about portals for years now, and sometimes I remember a little, but mostly I do not. I have given up trying to remember anything. If I am meant to remember, than I will. Forcing myself to remember just makes it worse. INSANE! He calls me insane but he is the insane one! Obsessing over portals that don’t exist. DEMONS! Telling me he is a demon from hell, sent to keep the portal open for eternity. HELL! But he is failing. He can’t keep it open. FAILURE! The magic here is fading. He doesn’t know what to do. He needs a band aid for a hemorrhage, and nothing works! PORTALS! It’s all he ever cares about! He doesn’t ask me how my day was, trapped in this room! TINY! Nothing to do!
Today I saw a man being tortured by a portal. Baal was right. Portals exist! REAL! He kept looking to me, as if I would help! Puny human! How dare he bleed in front of me! He should know, bleeding in front of me, a vampire, means death! DEATH!
I closed the book, hands shaking. I was a vampire? What sort of creature is that? I threw the book back onto the desk, thinking the man who wrote this was not me. Baal must have put this here to confuse me. Suddenly, I felt a presence in the room. Looking around, I didn’t see anyone, but I could feel them. “Who’s there? What do you want?” I asked it. “Do not give him what he wants! I beg of you!” a magical voice answered me; it sounded like Hecate’s voice. “That man is evil and plans to release Hell onto Earth, destroying it even further!” Another voice spoke, it was a man and I didn’t recognize the voice at all “We understand now, Viktor. We forgive you. Please. Do not give Baal what he wants.” “Who are you? How do you know my name?” Maybe this was another trick by Baal, to get me to reveal something. “We are Helen and Rai, and we are coming to help you. Please do not give Baal any information. Don’t put us in your journal; we need to have the element of surprise when we get there.” The female voice pleaded with me. “We must go now, Viktor. Be safe.” The male voice said. The presence began to fade, and when it was gone I wished it had stayed longer. It was nice to talk to someone other than Baal for once. I lay back on the bed, and tried to sleep. Hopefully, those two would come rescue me soon, before Baal either got what he needed or killed me.
Chapter 19
I woke up with a horrible headache. Looking for Rai, I found him next to me. He too was just waking up. We stared at each other and I asked him mentally if that was for real. If he had been in the dream with me. He had a surprised look on his face which told me it was real. We mentally showed each other the same dream, just to confirm it. Before we could think on this any further, we were falling. I scrambled to brace myself, but realized we were being carried. I looked up and saw Red’s face. He was carrying the both of us somewhere. I wondered where the others were, and Rai showed me what happened after I had passed out. The gargoyles came and saved us, and were now taking us to their city as thanks. I felt somewhat nervous at facing the elder gargoyles, but also excited. It is good you are both awake. We are here. Red said, landing next to more gargoyles which also carried members of our little group.
I got up and went to find Alice and Selena, to give them energy to heal themselves, but seeing how badly everyone was still hurt, I wondered if it would do any good. Red was making strange sounds to another gargoyle, and I realized this was their own language. It sounded like rocks moving against each other, and pebbles moving with sand, each voice was different. More gargoyles came to greet us, some larger and some smaller. I told them to send for healers. Red told me. I wondered why he didn’t just talk mentally with them as he did with us, when he said When we talk with each other, us gargoyles take a verbal request or command more seriously than if it were done telepathically. It makes it more urgent and important than anything else being said. He explained. I hoped their healers were good, I could almost feel the pain coming from the others from where I was sitting. They all looked terrible, the acid rain burned deep, and if they weren't healed soon I feared we would lose them.
Hearing the flapping of wings, I looked up to see three medium sized gargoyles go over to the wounded and put their hands over the wounds. After a moment a faint blue glow began to come from their hands and the wounds began to close, those being healed began to breathe easier as well. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing they would be okay. Turning to Red, I said “Thank you. I didn’t think it was possible to save them.” Red nodded in understanding. Our healers are some of the best in this world, as are our seers, young vampire. The mention of seers got our attention, and Rai took my hand. We only heard a little about a prophecy concerning the both of us, and maybe the gargoyles would be able to clear some things up for us.
Seeing our interest, Red smiled. Yes, we know of the prophecy. Well, there are more than one, and quite a few are about you two. His eyes seemed to shine in the twilight, giving him an eerie look. This was turning out to be quite the topic of interest, I thought. Rai sensed what I was feeling and gave me a small smile and a squeezed my hand. On one hand, I really wanted to know what these prophecies were, and if they were good or not; but on the other hand, I didn’t really like the idea of beings we have never met before knowing about our pasts, presents, and futures.
We have plenty of time to speak of these things, Red. Another gargoyle said, coming up beside him. He seemed older and larger than Red, making him look small in comparison. For now, let us focus on healing the injured and getting some rest. I’m sure our friends have had quite a day. He said, turning to us. His face was scarred and he had long fangs, but his eyes made his face look kind and gentle. I smiled and thanked him for their help. If the gargoyles hadn’t come to rescue us, we would probably all be dead, except for Rai and me. We would have probably just suffered greatly from the rain, and from watching our new friends die.
Red led us to a nearby cave, and I finally noticed where we were. It looked like we were inside of a mountain. There were caves and tunnels everywhere, shaped to fit each gargoyle’s needs. The light we saw was slowly fading with the sun, which was shining through small holes and cracks all around us. Rai and I made ourselves comfortable enough in the cave to get some rest, and Red left us to watch over our friends. He knew we wouldn’t need anything to eat or drink to recover, just rest, which made me glad to have those around me who understood my vampire condition. I was still sleepy from using too much magic again, but I tried to stay awake long enough to talk to Rai about our shared dream-vision. We spoke low, not wanting to disturb anyone nearby that could hear us.
“So that dream we both had…” I said, not knowing where to begin.
“Yeah, it was weird.” Rai said. “Is that what it felt like before?” I nodded. It was like we were standing in the room watching him, but until the end of the vision he wasn’t able to sense or see us.
“I wonder why I was able to join you this time.” He said. I had wondered at that as well. Maybe we were both getting stronger, magically. That was the only conclusion I had come up with. We had literally nothing else to go on for information, and I hope
d the gargoyles were willing to help us. Rai took me into his arms, knowing what I was thinking and feeling about all of this. There was nothing else to say, we would be getting answers sooner or later anyways. All we were able to do now was sleep. I closed my eyes and soon drifted off to a dreamless sleep.
*****
I woke with Helen still in my arms a few hours later. I wondered how our friends were doing, and wanted to check on them, but I didn’t want to move and risk waking her up. Helen needed her sleep, the amount of radiation she had used wasn’t like the other times, but it still took its toll on her. I had hoped the gargoyles would be able to tell us what was going on with her, ever since Red said they had powerful healers.
I had never actually been to the gargoyle city before, and it was beautiful. The small openings in the mountain that led outside were hidden to those who didn’t know they were there. I wondered if their ability to hide was the reason they had lived for so long. Seeing how powerful the gargoyles are up close, I would have thought they were a threat to the demons. I was surprised that the demons hadn’t tried to get rid of them long ago.
I thought back to my visits to the Vampire City, and shame came over me. If only I had known the gargoyles were prisoners, I would have tried to help them. Or, I would like to think I would have. Before I met Helen, my life was empty, meaningless. I didn’t care about others around me, or what was happening to them enough to step in and help them. Since meeting Helen, my life had meaning. She cared for others and how they were treated; I could feel it through our bond. Now that I thought about it, feeling what she felt the first time I met her and looked into her eyes, I knew she had awakened the person who I used to be inside of me. It was as if a part of me had gone to sleep over the years, and I just didn’t care about anything anymore. Then Helen came into my life and it was like I was seeing the world for the first time. Things that had happened before seemed worse now, and I was ashamed at how I had been. I left the Vampire City without a word, without a fuss, and just let the suffering continue.