by Leigh Vernon
He grabbed the door and stepped into the hallway. A man walked past him with a pretty girl in tow. He brushed past Shay with a wide grin on his face. Shay shook his head - if only they knew what was coming.
Chapter 21
Sam had everything in place. The crypt had been placed in the middle of the room with every other ingredient needed for the ritual, and he had told the others to stand around the crypt in circles drawn for each person. There were other writings on the ground as well, most of them similar to those on Gianna's skin. He stood in the middle for a while, chanting loudly as he did. The crypt vibrated for a while, and then it stopped. Sam stood back to gaze at it. Was he missing anything? He looked round to see the others waiting patiently for whatever they were going to get from having sacrificed everything for this moment.
Gianna stood by the doorway, watching the procession with awe. Of course, Sam knew what he was doing as much as anyone would. She had heard him repeat the chants over and over in his dreams every other night. She had watched him endlessly pour over books of spells and magic so he could get this right. She had even watched him study the anatomy of humans and animals alike to determine which one would be perfectly fit for the Seventh. What she didn't understand was his decision to sacrifice this many people to prove his loyalty to the Seventh. Wouldn't it be logical that the Seventh would be glad to adopt anyone who helped him get back as his own son? Or was there something else she wasn't seeing?
---
From where she was bound, Sarah tried to cut herself loose. She had learnt tricks about getting out of challenging situations from her sister when she was younger. They had played games to determine who was faster and able to get out of bindings fast enough, but it was hard to get out of these binds. It felt like Gianna had read her mind and made it almost impossible to get out. However, Sarah knew the tricks and she worked them well. She tried another twist. and the twine cut into her skin. She stopped and swallowed the scream that would have followed that. There was only one way to get out of this, and she wasn't going to like it.
---
Sam resumed chanting again. He walked round the crypt slowly while chanting this time, making sure to step over each mark on the ground as he did. He knew he wasn't going to fail - all he needed was to do this and do it right. It would take much of his power to cast the spell for the summoning, so he needed to conserve it. If it came to it, he could reach for Gianna as well and combine her powers with his. Besides that, he needed to keep his energy level high enough to combat any sort of interference that might occur during or after the ritual was complete. Of course, he knew the only enemy he had was going to try to stop him. After all, he had the one thing Justin cared about most.
Sam raised his voice a little higher as smoke began to seep out from the crypt slowly. One of the others was brave enough to sneak a peek at what was happening, despite Sam's warning for all of their eyes to remain shut. The smoke ran towards him fast, filling him as it did. He tried to scream, but no sound came out. Sam watched silently as he was burnt from the inside out, dead before he even touched the ground.
"Keep your eyes shut," he said to the others. "There are other spirits tapped inside this crypt. They can't become mortal again, but they will try to use your bodies as new hosts. All they need is a peek into your soul."
Fear gripped them strongly as he said this. One of them let out a gasp and shut his eyes more tightly. Sam resumed his chant, forcing more spirits to leave the crypt. One of the spirits hovered around Sam himself. It turned around until it was directly in Sam's path, blocking him from resuming his walk around the crypt.
"What is it you want?" Sam asked it.
It had dark spaces where there once were eyes, nose and mouth. As it spoke, the hollows became more profound and darker.
"Your eyes," it said softly. "So that I may see what the world has become. Tell me, have men destroyed it with their greed?"
Sam moved back a little. He had known that some of the old spirits would try to possess those in the room - he had even been sure that one or two of the others would be victims of this sort of thing. But to be accosted himself despite his level of sorcery was something that surprised him.
"I am not one of them," he answered.
The spirit hovered for a few more seconds before it went around the group, trying to see if anyone of them had their eyes open. Disappointed by the result, it sank back into the crypt where it had risen from.
"The compass," Sam said to Gianna.
She threw it towards him and sank back a little further. It was true she was immortal, but what he was about to do would kill her if she stayed too close.
---
"You want me to help you or you want me to kill you?" The little man asked Shay and Justin as they stood on his porch. "Get off my property before I take the law into my own bloody hands."
Shay began to back away slowly as he chuckled nervously. Justin remained where he was. The other man tried to hold his hand but he yanked it free.
"What are you doing?" He whispered slowly. "You're going to get us both killed."
Justin ignored the warning and walked towards the man till they were standing before each other. Since the man was very little, Justin had to gaze down at him while he stretched his neck up at him.
"Listen here, little man," Justin started. "You have two options here. You either try to shoot us, and we end up killing you, or you help us put an end to this menace before it kills us all."
Justin started back slowly as the small man grew so fast he couldn't explain how. He only stopped growing when he was twice the height of Justin and four times his mass.
"No one told you who I am, did they?" He asked Justin angrily.
The young man seemed to not bother about the display of power. "From what I can tell, you're just a showoff," he answered through a yawn.
Shay grabbed Justin in time to save him from being crushed by the huge man's punch.
"He's going to kill you!" He screamed as they both fell to the other side. "Powers don't work on him."
Justin's eyes flew wide open. He got up quickly as another punch hit the ground before him. Shay was already on his feet. He brought out a gun and aimed it at the now huge man.
"Steady now, Duncan. We don't want to do this, do we?" He asked.
"Then get off my property," the man answered.
Justin stood beside Shay, who still had the gun trained on Duncan. He was amazed that there were truly those who were resistant to powers, despite having powers themselves. This was something he wouldn’t forget in a hurry.
"Come on, now," Shay continued, moving away from the man as slowly as he could. "We just want to talk, that's all."
Duncan looked like he was going to crush them again once more, but he stopped and started to shrink again. Shay also lowered the gun, careful to make sure he still had it in case things went sideways. Justin released the breath he had been holding for long.
"I told you not to come back, didn't I?" Duncan asked Shay. "And what is this? You bring me a pure breed?"
Justin looked from one man to the other. "How did he find that out so quickly?" He asked Shay.
The other man just stood there watching Duncan carefully.
"And he's naive too," the short man added.
"You know I would never be here if things weren't so bad," Shay offered as an explanation. "And Justin here, despite being a pure breed, is the only shot we have at stopping what's coming next."
Duncan stared at the two of them. "What's coming?" He asked nonchalantly. "A tornado?"
"Even worse." Justin felt he had heard enough talk already. "The Seventh is being summoned back from the dead, or wherever he is, and we must stop him."
Duncan looked from Shay to Justin and back again before he burst into heavy laughter.
"What did you just say?" He asked when he could control himself once more. "The what?"
Justin couldn't decide if it was the laughter or his amused face that made it difficult to understa
nd why he was laughing that hard. Shay only slapped his forehead in frustration.
"Why don't you let me handle this?" Shay said to Justin. "Duncan here is one of those who finds it hard to believe in things like this."
"You should listen to him," the short man said in agreement. "I may be old, but he's old enough to know I don't deal with rubbish like this."
Justin let the two of them at it while he stood by the side, arms akimbo.
"Uh, Duncan," Shay began. "You want to know why I really left those years?"
Duncan blinked at him twice. "Because you were afraid of what wasn't true," he answered.
Shay nodded. "You're probably right. After all, there was no evidence that things like this would find a way back to us in… how many years has it been?"
"Six hundred and counting," Duncan replied as he cast a glance towards Justin, who was looking smug.
Shay walked up to the man. The gun was already in his pocket. "What if I told you that the writings are true? That I have seen the darkness that we all fear with my own eyes?"
Duncan still wasn't convinced. "I'd tell you to take your belief and flush it down the toilet. What's wrong with you, Shay? You have everything you need to live forever and you're concerned about how humans choose to destroy themselves?"
"Justin," Shay called, “show him the sword."
Justin unhooked the sword from behind and drew it out from its scabbard. Duncan's eyes flew wide open. He grabbed the sword and held it against the blazing sun. As it caught the light, a gasp escaped from his open mouth.
"And you're sure this is it?" he asked. "Like, I'm actually holding the Black Jade sword?"
Shay nodded. "The very one."
Duncan looked towards Justin. "Has he used it yet?"
"More than once, actually," Justin answered. "And I intend to continue using it until all of this is over."
Duncan grumbled. He swished the sword through the air twice before returning it to Justin.
"Okay, so what if I decide to help you? There's only three of us and there's more of them."
"Four of us, actually," Shay answered him.
Duncan looked around. "Where's this fourth person hiding?"
"She was taken by the man behind all of this," Justin explained.
"Oh great - that makes us three and a girl who we hope isn't dead yet. Still not a good number."
"Will you help us or not? You're too pessimistic!" Justin said loudly.
Duncan smiled broadly and approached the young man. He stood with him till he grew to his very height.
"Listen here, boy. I've fought enough battles in a lifetime to know when the odds are not favorable, and there’s no reason for me to care about what befalls the human race. It's not like they haven't done much damage to each other already. So, you can probably guess what my answer is."
The venom in his words matched the anger in Justin's eyes and for some seconds, they both stood staring at each other like wrestling opponents.
"All right. Break it up!" Shay yelled to the two of them.
Duncan turned to Shay. "I'm not going anywhere."
Shay nodded. "Too bad you won't be getting that revenge you've always wanted."
Justin watched as Duncan grabbed Shay by the collar. He tried to step in but Shay held his hand out, stopping him in his tracks.
"What are you talking about?" Duncan asked with gritted teeth.
"I found out who killed your brother, and he would have killed him with the same weapons had things been different," Shay answered, pointing to Justin, who was not so sure what they were on about.
Duncan held his hand on Shay's collar for a little longer. He was trying not to get too angry at the man, as he knew he could kill him with one strike. Yet, something kept nagging at him - Shay didn't seem afraid. In the years he had known him, Shay wasn't one to hide his feelings or his fears. If he was afraid, he would show it. The emotionless face he was looking at as he grabbed the collar tightly showed that there was an iota of truth in what he was saying.
"I don't believe you," he finally said, with raised brows.
Without getting out of his hold, Shay turned to Justin. "What did the woman do to you?" He asked solemnly.
Justin reeled out how he had fought with Gianna on other occasions, but how things had been different the last time they met. Shay turned his attention back to a now sober Duncan.
"Somehow, he knows how to defeat every single person that crosses his path. We can either sit here and do nothing like you advised, or we can put an end to this once and for all."
Duncan let him go. "Even if I wanted to join your cause, I have no interest in whether or not you save the world. Just let me at her."
Shay nodded. He adjusted the collar of his shirt and stood with arms akimbo. The smug look on his face told Duncan that he still wanted something.
"What is it now?" The man asked. He was tired of being bullied into agreeing to things he had vowed never to indulge in anymore.
"Even if we have powers, we still need weapons. Swinging a sword is tiring as well," he said as he turned to Justin, who was now leaning on a foot.
"You need guns, don't you?"
Shay nodded. "Lots of them."
Duncan turned towards the house. "Come with me," he said over his shoulder.
Justin and Shay followed him in. As they walked into the house, Justin began to think about what was going to happen should they arrive late or fail to stop what Shay had told him was going to be the end of the world as they knew it. He thought about it and realized he didn't sign up for any of this; there were moments when he felt the need to back out suddenly. It had been the soul of Shay living inside of him forever that gave him a huge cause for concern, but now that he was free, he realized he was a very important part of the mission. The fate of the world rested on him now. He just needed enough strength to bear that weight when the time came.
"Please, help yourselves," Duncan said as he opened a closet of ammunitions.
"Sweet mother!" Shay exclaimed.
Justin ignored the man's extravaganza and walked into the closet. He ran his hand over a semi-auto but decided to settle for two magnums instead. They were both silver in color and he liked the feel as he curled them round in his hands.
"Fine choice," Duncan said to him. "But you're going to need more than that."
"I still have the sword," Justin replied.
"That still wouldn't be enough," Duncan insisted. "Here, take this."
He handed him a couple of grenades and grinned widely as he did so.
"You want me to go in blowing people into pieces?" Justin asked.
"Actually, no. I'll be the one making sure you get out in in one piece," Duncan answered. "Or, are you anywhere near power resistant as I am?" He added when he noticed the confused look in Justin's eyes.
Shay tapped Duncan on the shoulders. "You wouldn't happen to have some Kevlar hanging around, would you? Just to be extra careful, is all."
Duncan nodded and opened another drawer in the closet. He took out two vests and handed them both to Justin and Shay.
"They don't do justice to my might," he told them. “I might as well just go in my birthday suit and nothing would happen."
Justin shook his head. The man was a nut case.
"So, what's the plan?" Duncan asked loudly. "You do have a plan, don't you?" He asked the other two, who ignored him and continued to fit ammo into every available space they could find.
"Right. There's no plan," Duncan concluded. "Just awesome."
---
The driver walked across the street and entered the clothes store. The scent of the one he was looking for was very strong here; he could feel everything breathe out his scent as he ran his hands over them. As soon as he noticed this, he walked from aisle to aisle in the store, looking for what could point him in the direction she wanted to go. Somehow, the smell led back to the storekeeper, who had his nose buried deep into an old magazine. The driver looked at him like he was some sort of alie
n. The stares earned a mumble and a shift to the other side from the old storekeeper. As soon as the driver noticed this, he pulled the man's face back and continued to stare at him.
"You buying or what?" The storekeeper finally asked with a wry look.
"He was here," the driver said as a matter of fact. "Where did he go?"
The storekeeper ignored him and tried to get his face off the man's hand. The driver refused to let go, holding his face harder till the storekeeper began to howl out in pain.
"Where is he?" He asked menacingly.
"I don't know who you're talking about. A lot of people come here!" The storekeeper answered. "Please, let me go."
The driver held him for a little while more, trying to find out if the man was truly saying the truth. He realized the man had been too engrossed in what he was reading that day to pay much attention to stop by. He let go of his head and walked out the store. After he was gone, the storekeeper grabbed the phone and called the police.
Chapter 22
Sam's chants were louder now that he had the compass in his hands. He moved it in many directions, looking for the perfect angle. This was the most difficult and the most frustrating part of the job; he needed to find the perfect angle for the Seventh to begin his ascension from. If he was lucky enough, there would be no bloodshed involved. If he did fail, he might be able to make it out but they would not be able to. Nonetheless, he knew he had to succeed; he had come this close to not succeed now.
He rounded the crypt a number of times until the pointer stopped and moved again. He traced his way back, paying more attention to the compass as he did. This time, he held the right position for a little more than five seconds before he lost it again. He now had an area of concentration; he just needed to find the exact place.
---
Sarah gasped. She was free! She brought her hands forward and examined them. The bonds had cut into her deeply and there was blood all over them. She couldn’t care less about the blood - she could always clean it off - she was more worried about getting out of wherever she was alive. She checked the room closely. It looked clean and there were some arranged furniture in it. If that was the case, this wasn't a warehouse of a shop or something of that nature. It was either a room in a big house or any other room of such magnitude. There was one way to find out.